Plein Air Workshop, August 8-11

Arbutus over Fiddler's Cove, oil on linen, 40X40"

This studio painting came out of recent  trip to Saturna (one of the Gulf Islands) with my good painting friend, Mark Hobson.  There is no substitute for the experience of observing directly from life the colors and atmosphere of a place.  It greatly informs my studio paintings.

It was a stunning painting day in Fiddler's cove, and this was the view down as we hiked back after spending the day in the cove.  I did a study of this tree on location, and completed this studio painting from a combination of field study, photo reference and visual memory.

Field studies have become increasingly important to me - and I find them much more challenging to do than larger studio paintings because there are the constraints of time, changing light, and weather conditions.  Along the ocean there is also the tide to consider - the shoreline keeps shifting!  The painting process needs to be efficient and decisive.  Composition is the first consideration, and painting what will change first is the next....it can be a little daunting even to the experienced outdoor painter.

I firmly believe that these life studies are a tremendous skill builder, and I have been getting requests to teach an outdoor painting workshop for some time now,  and so here it is!   August 8-11th, 2012 I will be teaching "Plein Air Simplified"  with the focus of teaching students to put first things first while editing out  inconsequential elements.  We will travel out from my home studio in Sorrento BC and I will take you to some of my favorite  top secret painting locations....which I suppose will not be top secret for long!

Please feel free to email me:  gayeadams@telus.net should you have any questions.  Details are posted on the right of this page.