I don't get to attend as many oil painting art workshops as
I would like, so when the opportunity to participate in one does present
itself, I really want to get the most out of my time there. Here are a few of
my own "warm-up to workshop" guidelines that I use in preparation for any oil
painting lessons that I take so that when I'm in the thick of the it, I'm still
focused, purposeful, and gaining ground in my art.
Be the teacher's pet. Okay, this might just be me but I
always have questions for my instructors. Whether it is wanting more advice on
what oil painting supplies to use, what we are going to cover in terms of oil
painting techniques that I'm not familiar with, or what great oil painting
gallery the instructor is a fan of that I should look at too--I always have tons
of questions. A great way to appease my curiosity is to seek out the instructor
before the workshop and ask all the questions I have buzzing in my head, and I
encourage you to do the same. They'll appreciate your interest and you'll have
a better sense of what to expect!
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I would love to take an oil painting workshop with Dan McCaw. He has such a
strong compositional sense that he stresses with light and dark forms.
Morning Light, oil painting, 24 x 36. |
Put blinders on. I'm a social butterfly, so usually when I
get in a group with a bunch of oil painting artists, I want to flit around and
chat about their work and see how they actually put oil on canvas. But doing
all this distracts from what I'm learning and doing, so in workshops I try to
steer clear of the socializing and only chat during breaks. That way I'm not
left with a sense that I didn't give myself the time to properly develop my own
work.
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Seated Figure
by Dan McCaw, oil painting, 12 x 9. |
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Demo equals memo. If my instructor does an oil painting
demo, you'll always find me as close to him or her as I can be, but off to the
side so that I'm not in anyone else's way. I don't take my eyes off the
instructor. This isn't because I want to imitate and copy their process down to
the last stroke, but the times that I actually get to learn oil painting by
watching a painting actually being created right in front of me aren't too
frequent. So keep your eyes glued to the instructor, take notes if that is your
thing, but definitely immerse yourself in their process and try to figure out
how to apply their painting techniques to how you want to work.
Now we are ready to take on any and all art workshops, and
it just so happens that our Workshop CD Collection
features more than seven years worth of workshop tutorials, step-by-step oil
painting lessons, and technique guidelines from some of the country's best art
instructors. That's right, seven years! So learn confidently and smartly with Workshop CD Collection because you have the
know-how to make the most of any painting session--and there are plenty here to
keep you busy. Enjoy!
