The Painted History:
A Fresh Look at the Family Album
Tuesdays, March 15 - April 5, 2022
Online at The Winslow Art Center
The family albums have passed down to me and I’m endlessly fascinated by the glimpses of family history that they reveal: my beautiful mother loved to dance; my father looked like a young Elvis; my bratty little brother was remarkably cute for someone harbouring such devious plans; and birthday parties were magical affairs with fancy dresses, fancy tortes, and Kool Aid, glowing from glasses.
Cameras captured special moments because film was physical and finite and you had to pay to have the pictures developed. So people took pictures of moments that marked special events and I think that heightened importance clings to the images even now.
In this 4-week online workshop we’ll bring those images into our contemporary lives. We’ll edit and refine both the pictures and our responses to them to create works that have both personal meaning and artistic merit.
You can find more information and registration here.
AND
The Living Portrait From Photos
Saturdays, March 19 - April 9
Online at The Winslow Art Center
When I talk to a person, I notice kind eyes, a dimpled smile, bright hair in sunlight and the way a scarf reflects colour into skin. All of these combine to create a living person in my mind. I don’t actually pay attention to whether they have wrinkles, blemishes or minor imperfections yet that seems to be the stuff that photos amplify. In a photo, we can see all of the details but lose a sense of the person.
Which leads to the dilemma of painting a portrait from a photo. How can we convey a living person when our reference gives us so much unimportant stuff?
Infusing the portrait with life will be the focus of this 4-week workshop.
We’ll start with a logical approach to achieving accurate proportions in the head and features, learning how to get a likeness without getting bogged down in detail.
Because lighting is so important for showing form we’ll tackle different light effects from frontal, to side, to backlit faces. You’ll learn strategies and palette choices to tackle each one.
For more information and registration, click here.
My workshops are all recorded so you don’t have to worry about missing a day. They’re available for 60 days after the final class. As well, each class has a private chat room for posting your homework and getting feedback.
I hope to see you online😊
Happy painting!
PS: In my previous post I asked for help in identifying that amazing effect of colour and value perception and I got a response. Thank you, Mitch Egeberg, for pointing me to Josef Alber’s work on“simultaneous contrast”. Understanding colour is a lifetime’s pursuit.
2 Brand new workshops
Hi, Ingrid - Meg here, from your Tuesday flower workshop. There’s an app called Interaction of Color by Joseph Albers you might be interested in. I got it a few years ago when it first came out at very moderate cost. It’s now up to $13.99 but you’re such a serious colorist it might be worth the investment. See you Tuesday!