FINAL WORKSHOP DEMO AND CLASS WORK SLIDE SHOW!

After a great week in Ocean Shores, I am back home and in the full swing of things. Today, Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society had their opening reception for the annual show.

Tomorrow I will post more about that, but tonight I want to share a slide show of the final two days of the workshop with everyone. I was so impressed with how much progress everyone made from their first painting to the second and third! Everyone got at least a good headstart on their paintings. We only have one day for the profile from conception to drawing to finish and the same for the child, so most are working faster than normal. It was a great group and I really enjoyed getting to know and work with everyone.

Here is my final demo...TaDa! another self portrait! I just get younger and younger. Also the group photo. We set up my gorilla pod tripod on a chair back and then lifted the chair and set it on a table . Good thing Jeff is over 6 feet tall because I couldn't tell what was in the viewfinder! He got us lined up and then put the self timer on. Worked like a charm.

Enjoy the slide show.

NEW VERSIONS OF BILL THE PAINTER AND MORRIS!

Here are the two paintings I have done for demos this workshop. The first one is Bill the Housepainter. I floated random color on the paper and let it dry. Then I applied two coats of diluted matte medium and finally I tried something new, Aqua Pasto. It is a thick gel like substance that creates some interesting texture. I put the Aqua Pasto in the hair, beard stubble and some in the upper left of the background. When all this was dry, I painted my image. I really like the textural effects with this new stuff. I will be experimenting again with this item.

I decided to do a quick little painting of Morris to demonstrate painting on Tyvek. He just has the perfect face to play around with.

The weather and the people here in Ocean Shores couldn't be nicer!

PAST DEMOS OF MORRIS ELLIS!

This is Morris Ellis, an artist that I photographed (with his knowledge and permission!) at a major art show. His hat and beard were so interesting to me that I used him as my demo for about 5 different workshops. I started using other faces but Morris has a special place in my heart. Here are 3 of the 5 paintings. I never photographed the other two. I will take care of that when I return home.

We had a great first day today. Everyone is working quickly and really doing a great job. Jerry and I spent the evening tonight at Peggy Stermer-Cox's home. It was exciting to meet in person someone I met on line. She and her husband were great hosts and we had a very lively discussion over a delicious dinner. You would not believe that this petite 4 foot 10 woman has spent 20 years in the military and has done 5 parachute jumps and rappelled out of a helicopter! We were really impressed. It was wonderful to be able to see her unique and beautiful paintings in person. Things always look even better in person. Peggy is really a special person and artist. Check our her blog and website.

What an adventure this art path has become.

HERE IN OCEAN SHORES!

We had the most beautiful drive from Portland, Oregon to Ocean Shores, Washington, this afternoon. The trees are turning so we had a fall foliage tour. Not much fall color in our neighborhood in California so I was thrilled.

The staff at The Polynesian Resort is so friendly and are bending over backwards to accommodate the workshop. We have a huge conference room to work in and everyone will get their own table...unheard of! Our private accommodation has the most incredible view with the ocean off a little in the distance. I have posted a photo I took from the balcony.

I often have groups fill out an evaluation sheet after my workshops to help me fine tune it. I am receiving so many nice comments from some of the participants in the Oakland group so I thought I would share one here. Not having any formal training as a teacher, I especially appreciate feedback from those who do.

" We are a very special group, who have come to love and support each other, and cherish our differences, but this can be challenging for a teacher. I am a retired educator and psychotherapist, and I know both good teaching, and good handling of people. You are tops, as well as fun. Keep it up!"