Jill Carver Workshop Day 5

Near Lizard Head Pass
Oil  6" x 8"
$100.00 + $10. s/h

This is Jill Carver demoing.   The last day of Jill's workshop was spent in a big, open field surrounded by incredible peaks, great colors, and sheep.  Some of her main points from this day were:

-- When going from a small plein air piece to a large studio painting refer to your small study and a black and white photo for correct values.
--Keep the greatest contrast of color and value near the focal point.
--Keep the hardest edges near to the focal point and soften edges far away from it.
--There are warm and cool tones within both light and shadow.
--Don't over exaggerate the strong fall colors.
--When starting your piece make it a sunny or a cloudy painting, then stick w/ that.  Don't change the light as the clouds and light change (as it did all day for us).

It was a great workshop.  Jill is not only a good artist and teacher, but a down to earth person, w/ a great sense of humor who is fun to be with for a week.  We were very limited to our dinner and lodge choice in the small town of Rico.  So, we also all spent every evening eating together and all stayed at the same lodge.  But, this allowed for more camaraderie, sharing, getting to know Jill, the other students, and the spouses who came along.  I learned a lot, made new friends and spent a week in the Colorado out doors.

An absolutely beautiful location for a fall plein air workshop.

Jill Carver Workshop Day 4

Side Streets of Rico
6" x 8" oil
$100.00 + $10. s/h

The 4th day of Jill Carver's workshop was spent painting old buildings on the back streets of Rico.  Rico, Colorado has a population of 250, so there aren't really many side and back streets!  Like many old western towns, Rico had a much larger population in the mining days.  Many of the buildings are old mining structures, or from that era.
Then shed on the right has seen better days and parts of it are falling over.  The challenge here was do I fix it a little or not?!  I am aware that the windows are tilted, but, they were that way!

Some of Jill's points from this day:
--Use your sketchbook to try out different compositional ideas.
--From your thumbnail sketch draw your concept on the canvas, work only from your thumbnail at this point, you have already processed what is necessary information and what isn't.
--Stick to simple shapes and simple masses.  Make sure that you convey your original concept.
--Try to shoot for 3 or 4 main masses, no more than 5.
--Keep the masses strong, use large brushes to block in the main shapes.

Jill Carver Workshop Day 3

Aspen Mass
6" x 8" oil on board
$100.00 + $10.00 s/h

The third day of Jill Carver's workshop was spent studying composition and design.  We reviewed points made by both Carlson and Payne.   We spent a good part of the day in an aspen grove.  Each student was given a card with one of Edgar Payne's outdoor painting composition guides.  This was a great way to approach the days piece.  It was much easier to walk around and look for a "grouped mass" (which is what the above piece is) than to just walk around trying to find a great painting.

Here's Jill doing a demo in the aspen grove.  

Some of her points from this day were:

--be aware of why you want to paint something; what drew you to that scene or object.

--before you start painting, walk around a little more to see what else is there.

--don't paint a post card.  Emphasize a point, go close-up

Jill Carver Workshop Day 2

Cottonwoods Near Rico
8" x 10" oil on canvas on board

I am in Rico, Colorado taking a 5 day plein air workshop from Jill Carver.  The first day of class we did value studies, which I may post at  a later date.  Today, we painted near town in a beautiful spot surrounded by Cottonwood trees.  Our palette today consisted only of Ultramarine Blue, Cad Red Light, Cad Yellow Light and White.  My personal palette is a bit more extensive than that so this was a great challenge. 

Here is Jill demonstrating in the Cottonwood grove.  Before heading outside we met in the old Courthouse to review color theory.  Some of her points:
--Look for color harmony throughout the painting.
--Be aware of your main motif and adjust the color palette to support it.
--Boost some colors and subdue others.
--A warm against a cool and a cool against a warm creates a "pop" in a painting.