Workshops are certainly learning processes. Giving up old ways for new and remembering to keep aware of old ways trying to creep in are really mental work. Keeping in mind all the new information and applying it is tiring.
I try to critique my work from a workshop with a light hand and keep in mind a lot of mental contortions were going on.... but then I always wish I had done better. That's life!
We were at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, an absolutely gorgeous place with beautiful views with Bryan Mark Taylor and about 10 other students. We were going to tackle cityscapes, something our town doesn't have!
We started with a 2 hour lecture/demo with tons of information to keep in mind. It was sprinkling off and on and threatening to really rain. Thank heavens it didn't. Lots of dramatic clouds though and changing shadows. Plein Air painting is a challenge with the weather sometimes!
We choose our view and started to work. A whole new way to look at color and mixing colors. A new way of laying down the paint. Lots of perspective problem solving (something I don't usually have to deal much with in landscape painting compared to tons of buildings, on hills and crooked streets.
I usually get impressed by something in my scene and have a hard time pulling away from it.
My view was from between two pillars of the Palace of Fine Arts looking across the water and into the city. Can you tell I was scared of laying down the paint!! It was foggy atmosphere, but REALLY! And the skyscrapers look like NYC around Central Park...not! Didn't really get to the details either.
We were so tired by the time we went back to our room at the Youth Hostel at Fort Mason. We debated where to go for dinner and decided to check out Chestnut Street for a restaurant. Found a great meal, a book store and went back for a girls sleep-over! Lots of laughs!
Next day - met at Marina Green, picked a view (very easy, there are views at every 360 degrees). Again rain threatening day and breezy. A couple of us painted on a hill with a view of the Palace of Fine Arts dome. The clouds kept changing the scene, the dome would go from pure white to a translucent pink. The fog would be rolling in over the trees behind the Exploratorium.
And a turn to the right of this scene was a view of the Golden Gate....in between billows of fog.
We spent a couple hours in the afternoon watching a demo and worked more on our paintings....more problem solving. Cars....I never thought about painting cars before. I usually avoid man-made objects if I can. We went back to our room to regroup with tired feet from standing all day. We hadn't gotten much exercise so we decided to walk down to Fisherman's Wharf and find a place to eat. They were getting ready for the Marathon taking place on Sunday.
Saturday morning we got up early and headed across the Golden Gate for the Vianza Winery near Napa. We watched Brian paint another demo and had lunch at the winery. Great sandwiches!
Several of us painted the valley. It felt MUCH easier that the cityscapes because it is much more familiar. Even at that though, the sky kept changing which made the scene so different, sunny bright to cloudy dark, rainy...bring out the umbrellas!
That afternoon we left for home. Tired but our brains full of different ways of seeing everything.
I was so wiped out Sunday I didn't really get much done but I did practice mixing paints.
So there you go... you've seen my workshop paintings. My cityscapes are so unfinished and uncorrected of all the errors but that is part of the learning process!
Can you see her?
Simone painting to the very end!
I try to critique my work from a workshop with a light hand and keep in mind a lot of mental contortions were going on.... but then I always wish I had done better. That's life!
We were at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, an absolutely gorgeous place with beautiful views with Bryan Mark Taylor and about 10 other students. We were going to tackle cityscapes, something our town doesn't have!
We started with a 2 hour lecture/demo with tons of information to keep in mind. It was sprinkling off and on and threatening to really rain. Thank heavens it didn't. Lots of dramatic clouds though and changing shadows. Plein Air painting is a challenge with the weather sometimes!
We choose our view and started to work. A whole new way to look at color and mixing colors. A new way of laying down the paint. Lots of perspective problem solving (something I don't usually have to deal much with in landscape painting compared to tons of buildings, on hills and crooked streets.
I usually get impressed by something in my scene and have a hard time pulling away from it.
My view was from between two pillars of the Palace of Fine Arts looking across the water and into the city. Can you tell I was scared of laying down the paint!! It was foggy atmosphere, but REALLY! And the skyscrapers look like NYC around Central Park...not! Didn't really get to the details either.
Next day - met at Marina Green, picked a view (very easy, there are views at every 360 degrees). Again rain threatening day and breezy. A couple of us painted on a hill with a view of the Palace of Fine Arts dome. The clouds kept changing the scene, the dome would go from pure white to a translucent pink. The fog would be rolling in over the trees behind the Exploratorium.
And a turn to the right of this scene was a view of the Golden Gate....in between billows of fog.
Saturday morning we got up early and headed across the Golden Gate for the Vianza Winery near Napa. We watched Brian paint another demo and had lunch at the winery. Great sandwiches!
Several of us painted the valley. It felt MUCH easier that the cityscapes because it is much more familiar. Even at that though, the sky kept changing which made the scene so different, sunny bright to cloudy dark, rainy...bring out the umbrellas!
I was so wiped out Sunday I didn't really get much done but I did practice mixing paints.
So there you go... you've seen my workshop paintings. My cityscapes are so unfinished and uncorrected of all the errors but that is part of the learning process!
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