Two years ago, Martha Jordan at The Winslow Art Center invited me to make the best of the pandemic lockdown and start teaching online via Zoom. Because she’s the most optimistic, can-do person I know, I said yes. It turned out to be a great decision, but, at the time, I was scared to bits. I can’t even bear to listen to myself on my voicemail greeting so the thought of teaching in front of a camera was nerve wracking.
I bought a slick camcorder (Canon Vixia HFG 50 in case you’re wondering) and some studio lights, and set up a canvas and palette configuration that allowed me to capture both my painting and my colour mixing at the same time.
I was supported in this leap into the deep end of modern technology by the wonderful people at The Winslow who sat in on every class and helped me through any glitches that I encountered - something that they do to this day.
Since that first class, I’ve taught many workshops to countless painters from around the world. In any given class, I might have North Americans, Europeans, Brits, Australians, and people from Africa, the Middle East and South America. Some of us have just had breakfast while others are having a glass of wine to end the day. Australians watch in the middle of the night. The lessons are recorded but being able to ask questions while the class is happening has hardy souls tuning in at all hours.
In the past month, I’ve added a new element to my Zoom class that’s taken the quality of my teaching to a new level: OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). Working with the amazing artist and tech wizard, Mark Daniel Nelson, I learned how to add multiple views and picture-in-picture effects to my Zoom streaming.
It seems like a small thing, but it’s actually huge. Prior to this, all of my photo references were posted in the chat box on Zoom and students had to download them and refer to them in a separate window or device while I was teaching. Now, the reference is right on screen as I work. A clumsy element has become seamless and smooth.
I won’t tell you how many hours it took me to become proficient in using this because it would reveal my tech ineptitude, but perseverance pays off in the end, I’m happy to report:)
An added benefit is that streaming via OBS increases the quality of the image tremendously, so students are getting a higher resolution experience than Zoom provides on its own.
The speedy video above is a portrait demo that I did during a recent workshop. My class saw it in real time and asked questions along the way. All that pointing and gesturing was me answering them.
Notice the view change from a large photo next to the canvas to a small photo in lower right? These are the things that thrill me!
I’ll be using my slick new technology to teach two workshops starting in May:
One Subject, Many Takes: Finding Originality Through a Series
and
The Painted History: A Fresh Look at the Family Album
I hope you’ll join me and experience a clear and amazing workshop from the comfort of your home studio.
Happy painting!
Upping my tech game