Workshop Description

So what does ‘plein air’ painting mean anyway?

Simply, it’s a fancy sounding French word that means grabbing your paints and brushes, your canvas and portable easel…maybe even a good cup of coffee…and getting yourself OUTSIDE to paint!

Plein Air painting allows you the opportunity to feel more deeply appreciative of the world that’s in front of you. It’s a tonic for these times when we too often attempt to capture the world in front of us by quickly snapping an image on our phones, only to find a picture that only vaguely approximates that beauty and all too often disappoints.

Painting outside allows us to slow down and really have a look. To really see. To engage with our vision by creating for ourselves the color, the flow, the temperature, the very air in front of us, and in doing so not only walk away with a new piece of personal art, but a memory of that experience that will never fade.

In the company of other friendly and supportive people, you’ll find the experience even more enriched by recognizing the uniqueness with which we all experience and see the world.

In this workshop I aim to share with you this joyful creative practice by teaching you the essentials of outdoor painting.

We’ll begin with the properties of basic color theory, the miraculous realization that virtually every color under the sun can be found on your palette using a very small range of primary colors. We will discover how subtle shifts of color can make mountains recede off into the distance and flowers jump right off the canvas. We’ll work on how to apply that knowledge to creating harmonic pictures that are dynamic and personally capture the world in front of us. Throughout the workshop we’ll talk about what makes a good composition and really tells the story we want to share.

On top of all this, we’ll be in Italy! The Umbria region is one of the most glorious settings for painting in the entire world and we will take full advantage! From the valley below us full of beautiful sun drenched farmlands to the ancient houses, churches and the historic piazza of our home village of Todi.

Join me for my workshop Snowy Cityscape, a two-day winter wonderland plein-air painting excursion for adventurous artists who love the cold! I suggest painting in oils, but students may use other paints like acrylic or watercolor if they prefer. With demos and consistent personalized feedback, we will paint on the streets of New York City on a day that there is snow on the ground, which is why we are offering three possible dates.  

By giving a deposit, students agree to be available for all three possible weekends listed above.  As the weather is uncertain in advance, we hope that one weekend will produce snow on the ground.  The final payment will be due the week when snow is inevitable.  If no snow is present on any of the three weekends, we will refund the deposit.