October Flower Workshop 2021

Stacy will begin the workshop with her poetic demonstration of orchids in a startling composition of stand-alone blooms. Stacy, David, Jackie and Sherrie will all be available to answer any questions you have about composing and painting this elusive subject while Stacy displays her painterly approach to flowers.

There will then be a Powerpoint of florals in history along with images of the instructors’ work with commentary and an open question and answer session. This will put painting flowers in perspective and set the stage for what will be a stimulating and informative workshop for all who love painting flowers!

In order to give participants a sense of how David starts and completes a composition about flowers, he will paint from one of his existing masterpieces of peonies and show how it came into existence. You will thrill in the abstract quality of the paint that magically becomes a finished painting in short order. And having the actual finished painting to compare his ‘start’ to will help you understand what happens to achieve ‘finish’ in a painting.

This will be a wonderful way to begin the workshop as David will be available to answer questions about his process throughout the entire demonstration, and everyone will benefit from the lively discussions that ensue between David and Sherrie as they answer questions from the participants.

In her fresh and painterly way, Jackie will paint two different floral arrangements in oil to show how she simplifies the complex configurations of hydrangea and roses. Her work embodies why artists paint—the pure joy of making brushstrokes. These sped-up demos will fill the first two hours, and the last portion will be Sherrie’s pastel lily painting.

In an unusual start, Sherrie will show how after two failed setups and one misguided start, she finally finds the right arrangement and the right paper. This demo highlights the relationship between your idea and the medium you choose.

Not only will Jackie and Sherrie be available to answer all your questions, but David will also be on hand to expound on the importance of getting a start that embodies the concept, while still keeping it fresh. Jackie’s two demonstrations exemplify this principle and there will be much to learn about setting up a still life with Sherrie’s pastel painting.

As we saw in Sherrie’s pastel floral, she has always resonated with not only oil, but watercolor and pastel as well. She feels that different ideas or subjects call for different mediums. Because of this heightened sensitivity to the qualities that each medium has to offer, she is the perfect one to show you how she handles pastel, watercolor and oil and why she chose a particular medium for each subject. These demonstrations further show you how the subject can suggest what medium you choose in order to capture it.  Sherrie and David will be present to discuss the benefits and pitfalls of these diverse mediums.

David shows you how the same principles that apply in every subject matter apply here. This flower demonstration will take the mystery out of tackling a new subject matter, and equip you with the understanding that will free you up to paint whatever inspires you. In this stunning start of a yellow rose, your amazement will grow as you watch abstract paint morph into ‘reality.’ This will be a great wrap-up to what will be a stimulating exploration of painting flowers.

After experiencing this workshop, we predict that you will lose most of the fear that this subject matter often creates for painters, which will give you much more confidence to try whatever subject you find beautiful in whatever medium speaks to your artistic leanings.