Pastel Workshop-Loosen-up!!

Just finished our "Loosen-up" workshop and as usual found it as much a learning experience as a teaching one. It was a small group this time which was lovely; giving us a little more elbow room in the studio and a bit more time one on one.

I had a student, Amanda Houston, who is an amazing pastelist surely taking my class just to get in the groove. She came late this morning with what has to be the greatest excuse for being late that I've ever heard: "I was castrating a calf." Now, how many people do you know can say that? Turns out she and her husband raise grass feed cattle and a bull calf has to be castrated within a certain time frame. Never knew that and not sure I really wanted to, but I do now.

 

It poured rain all day as we worked in our warm studio space. Nice to be able to have a place to work this time of year that's warm and dry. I have to admit, I'm a bit of a fair weather plein air painter.

My students were a pretty serious bunch though, working hard to take in the new concepts presented and integrating them into their work. Each student trying to find the path to nourish their desire to make art, following their own silvery stream, trickling here, meandering there. I very much hope I was a help in clearing the path for each one.

I had a great weekend. Hope my students did too. Thanks for coming!

My next workshops are:
February  13-14, How to Start/How to Finish, West Linn, OR: Two of the most difficult things about painting will be explored. Strategies for getting past creative blocks and procrastination will be a focus as well as how to make those final assessments and adjustments to bring a piece to completion. Marla is a great creative coach and skilled at helping you take your painting to the next level. Bring pieces in progress for critique and start some new work. Cost $250. 
March 26-28, Eight A Day Meditations and Variations, LaConner WA: Let Marla be your guide in meditations and variations for three days. Move past resistance and hesitation. Finding freedom in the mileage gained by working on multiple pieces of the same composition. Over the course of this three day workshop we'll use the fundamentals of painting as the foundation and jumping off point. We'll explore the lessons that can be gleaned from delving deeply into a theme and repeating it. Some mixed media techniques will be employed to foster a playful approach. This is a fast paced and fun exploration of what painting means to you! For registration and pricing information, call Robyn at LaConner Workshops; 360-416-6556 ext. 5.

Love to have you join me!