Looking Ahead

Summer is JUST around the corner- or should I say - just around the next snow storm. We have had a couple of "nice" days here in the high country but I KNOW there is at least one snow still out there because my irises are just beginning to bloom.  Sigh. . . . .
Painting students are getting restless for the great outdoors and all my classes will go OUTside at the end of June - Yay!
Join us on Tuesday Evening, June 21st,  and- or
Thursday Morning 
June 23rd at the Alamosa Family Rec Center. Call 719-589-2107 to register for 8 weeks of plein air painting.

In the meantime- I am looking ahead to my summer - starting with Taste of Creede -Memorial Day Weekend, May 28 & 29.
Artists gather from all around the country to join world renown painter - Stephen Quiller in historic Creede, CO. Sunday's main event is the Artist's Quick Draw at 1pm - with a live auction immediately following.  Last year my buyer came all the way from Westminster, CO to be at this party.

2016 Santa Fe Plein Air Festival is next in June, and Susan McCullough and I will paint for a week in New Mexico with plein air painters from all over.  This is a juried event - so the show should be awesome and will open Thursday, June 9th at 5pm
InArt Gallery, 219 Delgado St in Santa Fe, NM.

Sun UP to Sun DOWN- Plein air Painting in Taos, NM - 
All day painting on July 29 and All day Show on July 30th at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art.
This special event will feature Myself, Susan McCullough, and Peggy Immel,  all painting from dawn to dusk, on Kit Carson Road in front of Wilder Nightingale Fine Art in Taos, NM. Come on Friday to watch, come back for the show on Saturday. All work will be for sale.

Summer Workshops
I will be teaching 2 one-Day Workshops this summer:
Wednesday, August 17th at the Art Center in Estes Park, CO.  
Call 970-586-5882
and  
Friday, August 19th at Fare Bella Gallery in Manitou Springs, CO  
Call 720-226- 4315

Classes and workshops are a good way to inspire your painting and make the most of the summer season.  Get OUT there!  -  and I hope to see you at one of these events.

Volleyball Painting

So - what do Volleyball and Oil Painting have to do with each other?
Yeah - -  I don't know either.

I was asked to put together a one-time painting class for the Adams State University Volleyball team.
 Do we need a reason?
We do it because it is fun. These girls were way FUN.
Fresh from practice and weightlifting, the team blew in and immediately engaged with enthusiasm - ah, youth. . .
For me the hardest part was figuring out WHAT to prepare for a one time, disinterested group (not to be confused with -uninterested) and how much real learning should be my goal for them.
Yes! I believe learning can be fun.
In the end, I chose to focus on Design (my favorite thing),
Value, Color and Brushwork- bringing those things together in one painting with no reference or set-up to paint from.
Below are my 4 basic points and what I hoped they would take away - besides their painting.
Design: placement of imagery on the canvas
Value: the light and dark of imagery, that's a little bit of Light Logic
Color:  just WARM and COOL - no color wheel or color theory
Brushwork: using the EDGE of the Brush, and using the FLAT of the brush

This might be reminiscent of a one-time event that involves wine and some paint, where folks pay and walk out with the ubiquitious copy of some one else's painting
. . .  not that there's anything wrong with that. . . .
but as an educator my highest hope is that some real learning will take place - even if it is ONE thing, or ONE "ah ha" moment.
Well, I had an "ah ha" moment - I need to loosen up and get a few more athletes into my painting classes.
Bring on the football team. - Go Grizzlies!

Summer- Plein Air Workshops

June is here- Yay!
Wondering what to do this summer? - consider a class or workshop.
I will be teaching 2 workshops this summer - something for everyone- in different parts of the state.

4-Day  Plein Air Workshop at Adams State University, Alamosa Colorado
July 13 - 16th, 8am to 2:15pm each day.
Register for this class, at http://www.adams.edu/summer/

For 4 days we will focus intensely on composition, method, and how to apply it in the plein air setting. Demonstrations and painting instruction will benefit students wanting to enhance their skills as well as novice painters looking for more confidence in the landscape.
ALSO, painting supplies are included in the fees and special rates for housing are being offered.
Go to the ASU website via the link and look for  Course #579  in the Summer 2015 Class Schedule. APPLY on line, get Tuition info - etc.  
For help - call the folks at the Adams State OneStop - they can walk you thru the process. Adams State OneStop -phone: 719-587-7306 or toll-free: 866-344-1687
email: onestop@adams.edu


1-Day Workshop in Estes Park at the Art Center of Estes Park.
Monday, August 17th,  10am to 4pm
$85. Better Paintings - More Confident Painters.
We will use the landscape to focus on Design, Color, and Finding your own voice.
Call the Art Center of Estes Park at (970)-586-5882 for information and registration.

Now get out there and PAINT!