Plein air Painting with Gouache

This workshop will be focussed simply on painting with gouache en plein air. While there is much to learn in the studio, painting plein air adds life and spontaneity to a painting that you just don’t get in the studio. You are forced to deal with outside circumstances and make decisive brush strokes to capture your subject as quickly and accurately as possible before the light changes. This leads to our paintings appearing much more loose and suggestive, as opposed to the usual “tightness” that can result from photo studies.

Our primary goal will be learning to simplify the landscape. To accomplish this, we must also simplify our physical circumstances- small canvasses, one large brush, a limited palette and a limited time frame. I will demonstrate a technique that ensures accurate color and value on the first stroke, limiting the need for any “editing” throughout the course of the painting. Each day will begin with a brief lecture and a plein air demo. We will break for lunch, and students will paint plein air around downtown Santa Fe in the afternoons.

Class Schedule:
9am -4pm daily.
Each morning will begin with a brief lecture discussing a particular subject that we will focus on that day (simplification, accurate color and value, paint application, etc.), followed immediately by a plein air demo near our hotel. We will break for lunch around 11 or noon, and students will paint plein air in the afternoon. I will assign different “prescriptions” each day to each student individually based on your needs. Monday will begin with introductions, setting of individual goals for the week and a slightly longer demo to cover all the basics. After that, each day will be tuned to a specific subject. Each day will end with a group critique. This gives everyone a chance to see, learn from and gain inspiration from each other’s paintings.