I flew over the Rocky Mountains last week to the gorgeous, lakeside city of Kelowna, BC to teach a workshop at Ellis Art Studios.
I always say that online teaching is my favourite way to teach, and then I get to a real life workshop and change my mind. Then my favourite is in person instruction:) What that shows me, is that they’re both excellent, but different ways to teach the art of painting.
Online classes allow me to get a lot of information across. I’m in front of the camera for 3 hours and most of it is taken up with demos. I spend time critiquing the homework that participants have submitted on our private message board, and then I launch into the lesson which is all painting, all the time. People ask questions as I paint - which I love since it makes my feel less like I’m talking to myself - and I answer them, painting all the while. By the end of a 4 week, online workshop, I’ll have demoed for about 9 hours!
The result of this is that the feedback that I get from the painters in my class is that my lessons are thorough, logical and in depth. They also like having 1 week to do the homework since it gives them time to process, practise, and refine.
I’m always deeply impressed by the level of work that is produced by participants in my online classes.
In-person classes are completely different in terms of time spent. I demo for a small portion of the day (usually 45 minutes in the morning and 30 in the afternoon), and then send the artists off to their easels to tackle what I’ve presented for themselves.
I spend the rest of the day circulating from easel to easel, suggesting individual solutions to any issues that I see. I clock a lot of miles on my feet but not as many on my brush.
And yet, the work that students produce in in-person classes is also impressive. Being able to make suggestions while painters are in the midst of creating can veer a work down a different path in short order. The immediacy of painting and getting feedback makes for a high energy, creative experience.
What’s lost in person, is the time to contemplate and process; what’s gained is the opportunity to talk to me and other students in real time as the painting is being made.
I can’t say that either way of teaching is superior. In my experience, both methods have resulted in excellent work and satisfied workshop participants. I’m grateful to be able to offer both.
Here are a few of the paintings that artists in my in-person workshop produced. The The workshop was about using one image and imagining it in different ways, using different techniques.
Enjoy!
Liked the comment….people in 3-d
I love your online classes. Have learned a lot from the demos and the homework critiques. Wish I could get to an in person workshop. Eagerly awaiting the next offering from Winslow. Thank you for the time and energy you bring to all of us, in person or online.