Thoughts on Painting

All of the stars were in alignment last week. My husband was in town, my daughter Katie was able to pick Shannon up from school and hang out with her until Dad got home, and I got the last spot in Joe McGurl's workshop in Easton, MD, as well as a room at the Tidewater Inn after finding out the other Bed and Breakfast in town was already full with workshop attendees. I feel so very fortunate to have attended this workshop and learned so many new things.

Easton is an adorable little town. I had never been there but enjoyed driving around and looking at all of the quaint little shops and art galleries. Nancy Tankersley's studio was right in Easton and a beautiful, light filled space to work:

 This is Joe setting up on the first day for his morning demonstration. We spent the morning watching the demo and then would go paint in the afternoon. He was a wealth of knowledge and so funny and humble for being such an acclaimed artist. He made the class fun, and also challenging. He spent a lot of time explaining how he works, and why, with a lot of great stories thrown in about his life in the art world. After we watched the demo on Monday we headed out to a spot in Easton (not really a marina because no boats were parked there) but a launching/gas up site. It was a beautiful peaceful site, and VERY windy the first day. Two easels took a tumble and it was very challenging to paint that day. 

This was our view and boats came and went all day. In the afternoon Joe demonstrated for us the "vanishing canvas" where you try to get the canvas to disappear into the background.  He nailed it. The rest of us, not so much! But the effort was quite a learning experience.

This was the beginning of his painting. See how the water matches almost exactly. It may look easy but it is extremely difficult. 

After painting all day, we went back to the hotel and cleaned up and then went to a great dinner at the Tide Water Inn (where I was staying so that was convenient). Nancy reserved two tables on the patio and we sat outside and everyone had a great meal and a glass of wine and got to chit chat about art. The weather was perfect and a good time was had by every one. I got shrimp and cheesy grits (because they were amazing) and everyone who liked crab of course got crab. Maryland is the place for really great seafood. I wish I liked crab because it looked delicious.

Day 2 we met at the studio for a quick demo and then headed out to the Chesapeake Marina Museum. It was really a great place, with a lot of fascinating things that I didn't get a chance to explore because we were busy painting. It is in the town of St. Michaels, about 10 miles south of Easton. The weather was perfect (high 70's) no wind, and I got a pretty bad sunburn but it was worth it. 

The next morning we went to a horse farm about 20 minutes north of town and painted there all day. It was fabulous weather again.

We got another great demo from Joe and then he was kind enough to let me use his "viewfinder" thingy that clips on to the side of the panel! It really did help with the block in and to help get the composition correctly on the canvas. I will definitely be purchasing one when they are available.

The final day of the workshop we got some more rain. Bummer, but I had to leave early anyways so it was fine. We all got together one more time at the studio in Easton and watch Joe finish or rework his painting from our first class plein air outing. It was fascinating, and at the end he even added a boat that was not in the original painting and it was really impressive.

I would highly recommend, if you can do it, going on a workshop with a good teacher and a group of other painters. I love ordering DVD's and learning in my own studio, but there is something that you really get from watching other painters, live demonstrations, and dinner out with other artists that you just don't get anywhere else. It was really a shot in the arm for me, as well as a huge creative boost that I wouldn't get without the input of other artists and a great teacher.

Happy painting Everyone!