Blog

I had 13 artists sign up to paint with me for my Fall Workshop. We had intended to paint in Santa Cruz both days, but due to the fog and wind/sand storms the first day, we moved to Carmel Beach the second day. It was a beautiful day and I did a demo teaching painting from very thin, transparent colors to thicker, opaque colors. It was a new (rather limited) palette and new technique for most of them, and they were troopers! They ended the day with beautiful paintings and many said it was the best workshop they've ever taken...which was a huge compliment! I learned some things the hard way, too: not to agree to holding it on the weekend, which was required by the SCAL; to be sure each person in the class was at an intermediate level, since plein air is hard and I can't control the weather; and to try to talk with each person ahead of time to be sure they indeed got all the correct colors, brushes, and various equipment needed. (I'd emailed four pages of painting info to them three weeks in advance, but it's not as effective as one on one talks!) Many didn't have any of the supplies I listed and were frustrated trying to get good results with things that they thought might be ok. I was happy that I filled my trunk with art supplies: I had enough to cover everyone, and by the end, they all saw the benefits of what I'd suggested. Since I still have walking pneumonia, it was quite a stretch to teach, but God gave me all that I needed and I'm planning to rest and try to get all better before Open Studios...coming in mid October!