Workshops

                                  "All Saints By The Sea Chapel"
                                   by Carol Jessen, Maine Artist
Last week I gave a workshop in St. Charles, Missouri.  My students were great!  We had a fun time, and I hope they learned a lot, too. 

One piece of advice I gave them is to work towards the dark shapes.  In order to do that you have to know how to mix a really dark paint color.  And that requires a lot of pigment!

So many students are not squeezing out enough paint on their palettes.  You can't mix a dark with a tiny bit of paint. 

A couple of years ago I visited the Wyeth Museum in Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania.  There was a special exhibit that taught me a big lesson.  As I walked around looking at wondrous paintings by Andrew and Jamie Wyeth and Rockwell Kent, I began to notice that much of the drama of their work was due to the ability to create very dark shapes to set off the lights.  Get a book of reproductions and study it and you'll see what I mean!

Speaking of workshops, don't forget my Maine workshop July 20th - 24th in beautiful Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  Here is one of many possible spots we may paint that week.  Please notice the dark shapes around the front of the church and especially the steeple.