"Workshops by Jane Jones"

WORKSHOP INFORMATION & SCHEDULE

Luminous Color with Underpainting and Glazing

Luminous color! As artists we are so quickly attracted and entertained by color. It’s the focus of our lives! And that’s what this workshop is about. The master artists of the past used the technique of underpainting and glazing to make their colors as beautiful and luscious as possible. Artists have traditionally used relatively slow drying media for this technique, but we will be using alkyd mediums, which dry more quickly and are much easier and convenient to use. Emphasis will be placed on working with the mediums and solvents safely and with as little odor as possible and on creating a painting that is chemically stable and archival.

Beginning with a detailed drawing, you will work from a still life set-up. As you can see from my paintings, I work in a tight realist manner rather than in the more loose alla prima or Impressionist style. One of the great things about the underpainting and glazing technique is that it allows the artist to work in small, manageable steps to create a painting with a lot of control and detail. Painting this way begins with a strong drawing, but if your drawing skills are not as good as you would like for them to be, don't worry. The still life set-ups will include fruits and some sort of a bowl, compote or other dish and drapery, which are pretty easy to draw. I will spend some time teaching how to draft a perfect ellipse and how to square up a drawing so that the appropriate objects are symmetrical and aligned with the edges of the painting.

A neutral color underpainting will be developed that is based on study of the values of the composition. One of the beauties of this technique is that it allows the artist to work with value before the other qualities of color are considered. The form of the objects and the light striking them are established in this stage. I will teach brush technique to blend the colors very softly and smoothly.

Once the underpainting is dry, you will begin glazing over the underpainting with layers of luminous, transparent color mixed with alkyd medium. This is my favorite part of this technique because it is like painting with stained glass. Attention will be paid to continuing to sculpt the forms with color and enhancing the illusion of light.

This workshop is great for beginners who are concerned with controlling the painting process and for more advanced students who want to learn new techniques for creating the illusions of reality.

Instructor demonstrations and slide presentations, along with individual instruction and critique will be used to teach the process and techniques used. I spend a lot of time working with students individually to solve problems and encouraging you to make the best paintings you possibly can. It is my hope that you will leave the workshop with increased passion about continuing to paint and with more tools to create those paintings.

COLOR CONFIDENCE WORKSHOP

Color Theory and Mixing: How not to be a color victim

Are you tired of mixing the wrong colors and wasting precious paint and time? This class will help you identify what color you want to mix and then how to mix it efficiently. The basics of color theory will be covered, but most of the class will be spent mixing color and making small studies. You will make some charts to help you increase your sensitivity to color while you learn to mix specific colors. Then you will make some small, quick paintings to use what you are learning and how making simple up-front choices in your colors can determine what your paintings communicate. Using a limited palette will help you develop a foundation for how to think about color mixing. In this class color theory will come alive as color expression. You will also learn about how colors affect each other so that you can compose with color freely and meaningfully.

Creativity is sometimes chaotic, but color mixing doesn’t have to be, it can be a tool to express your creativity and this class will make it just that. This is a workshop for all painting media.

SCHEDULE

On-going Classes

Art Students League of Denver, Denver, Colorado

check for current classes and times on their website: www.alsd.org

Both classes are offered there.

Workshops for 2008

Wilds Art Center, Loveland, Colorado

Luminous Color with Underpainting and Glazing, August 4 - 8

Dillman's Workshops, Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin

Luminous Color with Underpainting and Glazing, October 5 - 11

Scottsdale Artists School, Scottsdale, Arizona

Luminous Color with Underpainting and Glazing, October 13 - 17