Highlands, NC: Plein Air Painting
August 11-14, 2022
Join me this August for a fabulous few days of plein air painting in the cool North Carolina Mountains,
or switch things up and build something wonderful with sculptor Matt Toole in a Found Object Sculpture Workshop.
Join me this August for a fabulous few days of plein air painting in the cool North Carolina Mountains,
or switch things up and build something wonderful with sculptor Matt Toole in a Found Object Sculpture Workshop.
During this workshop in the magnificent North Carolina mountains, you will engage with the unparalleled joys and challenges that painting outdoors can bring. Using a limited palette, you will be introduced to plein air painting techniques that will help you render realistic landscapes full of atmosphere and light.
Melinda will begin the first day with an overview and demonstration of the essentials of plein air painting using the alla prima method. Topics discussed will include composition, perspective, the importance of value; and an in-depth discussion of color: identifying, mixing and modifying it in order to bring our work to life.
After the first lesson, we’ll approach each new painting opportunity by building on the fundamentals and adding in whatever new set of variables each day brings: changes in the light, overcast days, clouds and sky painting, water painting, “interior” landscapes and maybe even a sunset. There will be two painting sessions each day (morning and afternoon), with the goal of completing each short study on site to the best of our ability.
This workshop is open to all levels of student. Melinda designs her workshops to accommodate the personal goals of each participant, offering quality one-on-one time and the encouragement necessary for each person to move beyond their previous understanding of painting. You can expect positive and permanent shifts in the quality of your work, as well as a new sense of confidence, easefulness and joy in your practice.
When we paint outside we are not just standing in front of our subject, we are surrounded by it. We are, for a part of the day, dedicating ourselves to being present with what we see, hear, feel and sense. The intensity with which we approach the act of seeing and witnessing creates an alchemy through which we inevitably become a part of the landscape—it comes with us when we go and a part of us remains behind, woven into it. ~Melinda
Melinda will begin the first day with an overview and demonstration of the essentials of plein air painting using the alla prima method. Topics discussed will include composition, perspective, the importance of value; and an in-depth discussion of color: identifying, mixing and modifying it in order to bring our work to life.
After the first lesson, we’ll approach each new painting opportunity by building on the fundamentals and adding in whatever new set of variables each day brings: changes in the light, overcast days, clouds and sky painting, water painting, “interior” landscapes and maybe even a sunset. There will be two painting sessions each day (morning and afternoon), with the goal of completing each short study on site to the best of our ability.
This workshop is open to all levels of student. Melinda designs her workshops to accommodate the personal goals of each participant, offering quality one-on-one time and the encouragement necessary for each person to move beyond their previous understanding of painting. You can expect positive and permanent shifts in the quality of your work, as well as a new sense of confidence, easefulness and joy in your practice.
When we paint outside we are not just standing in front of our subject, we are surrounded by it. We are, for a part of the day, dedicating ourselves to being present with what we see, hear, feel and sense. The intensity with which we approach the act of seeing and witnessing creates an alchemy through which we inevitably become a part of the landscape—it comes with us when we go and a part of us remains behind, woven into it. ~Melinda
REGISTER here: https://www.themountainrlc.org/visual-arts-week