About the Workshop

This workshop is for all levels. Explore materials, technique and the 5 steps to a successful painting: Drawing, Value, Temperature, Edges and Design. Instructor demos and plenty of at–the–easel instruction means students can count on significant improvement in their work over the three days. Bill is the awards juror for the Richeson 75: Small Works competition.

Bill says: “There will be ample opportunity for individual instruction as well as a full 2–hour demo and several ‘mini demos’. I try to circulate through the class systematically so that each student receives a significant amount of one–on–one instruction. I expect to see significant improvement in each student’s work over the three days.”

Day one begins with a demo in the morning and then the students paint most of the rest of the workshop. At key points I will do 10 minute demos on specific subjects (painting lips, painting eyes, the temperature of skin, etc.) I critique each student’s work during the workshop and then we do a group critique at the end.

We will explore the following topics:

Materials: Unique properties of Pastel, Hard and soft pastel, Papers, Sanded surfaces

Technique: Blending vs. layering strokes, Achieving deep darks, Use of tools

The five steps to a successful painting:

Drawing—capturing a likeness

Value—creating form

Temperature—using warm and cool colors to create a realistic effect of light

Edges—the key to veracity

Design—the key to a successful piece.