Successful workshop

Sun Kissed

Original oil painting  14x18"

by Susan Roux

I pushed them out of their comfort zone.

Isn't that what a workshop's all about? You don't go there to do what you already do. You go to learn. The color workshop I just finished teaching was in my eyes very successful. The students were open to experimenting and by day three, it was evident they had learned a lot about color.

I have to thank Home Depot for making so many color swatches available. It was a great way to play with color in a tangible way. The first step to loosening up with color is not to fear it. The more you understand about it and how it works, the less fearful you become. Who's afraid of playing with colored squares of paper?

We worked a series of short exercises. These were great reminders of certain basic principles. As the workshop progressed and students struggled, a quick reminder about an exercise that targeted that very thing, instantly put it into perspective for them. 

I found my students eager to play with color and I have to say they seemed pretty fearless in their approach. Understanding that a workshop painting is not intended to be a masterpiece, is important. It's an experiment applying new principles. It can take awhile for new knowledge to take hold. Practice, practice, practice. It's the key to adopting any new knowledge as your own.

Here you can see a students progression from early on to nearing completion. 

The workshop was held in a local Grange Hall. It was well lit, spacious and filled with tables that allowed us to spread our stuff around. 

Some students chose to work on a single piece while others began a few. The beginning stages held the biggest change from their usual approach. It opened opportunities to explode with color. This was their moment to be wildly and spontaneously creative. Follow the gut instinct. Once the painting was in session, those initial choices effect every other color you apply to the canvas.  Of course we didn't neglect the importance of value. It is after all the tool for defining objects. Color on the other hand is the key to emotion...

I opened the workshop with a quote from South African artist, Petru Viljoen. In referring to color, he said:

Now we're entering the world where angels dance... 

I thought it very appropriate for describing poetry in a painting. The world where angels dance. What a lovely, delicate, pure image it brings to mind. 

The top painting, Sun Kissed was the workshop demo on day one. Here you see me finishing Dream Stroller which was posted in progress when I wrote about creative color comparing it to wine. I don't usually develop a painting so much before adding a figure. But this time, it's how it came to be. 

If you're interested in taking a workshop at some point in time, please contact me. I'll be repeating this workshop in the months to come. 

Note: I figured out some of my photography issues with regard to my paintings. Sun Kissed is the perfect example. Some areas have less layers of paint than others. Often my less important distant passages are placed in rather quickly, neutralizing right from the start. Since there is less paint there, the light passes through to the canvas and bounces back to my camera as light. So rather than the background receding as in the actual painting, it appears to leap forward not neutralized at all! Argh, no wonder I've been frustrated... If you really squint at my images, they'll resemble the original a bit more.