Paint with Amy Brnger in this three day workshop and take a deep dive into compositional strategies, color development, and confident but loose paint strokes that energize and enliven your painting. A flower centric still life will be the motif. Move beyond replicating what you see and develop meaningful still life paintings that use objects as a starting point but utilize your imagination and unique painting approach to create paintings that are more than reproduction.

Participants can expect to learn:

Compositional strategies in painting development;

Create painting friendly floral arrangements;

Utilize still life objects and cloth to enhance the composition;

Create vibrant color using a limited palette and target neutral colors to enhance color;

Learn or reinforce studio habits and practices

Participants will create their own still life set up and flower arrangements. During the three day workshop, participants will work through composing, creating major shapes in a painting to minimize distractions, and deciding how to create central and supporting actors in the composition. Each day Amy will show examples of still life painting and demonstrate exercises to build up color knowledge, spontaneity, edge work and confidence. She will also conduct a daily demonstration and support and critique participant work every day. Participants will work on short, time limited exercises and then move into a longer painting session. Expect to make one full painting during the workshop, as well as short session images.

Day 1: Establish individual painting goals. Compose flower arrangement and supporting still life. Begin creating major shapes to develop the skeleton of the painting. Target light and shadows as part of the compositional strategy.

Day 2: hone in on color development and a fuller structure of the painting. Work on paint application and layering.

Day 3: Conduct an early in the day group critique of paintings, move into a painting warm up and then resolution of issues in the longer session painting.

All levels are welcome, but some familiarity with oil paint is helpful. Other mediums are welcome, but Amy will demonstrate in oil and discuss strategies and painting techniques and color mixing unique to oil painting.

Materials list

I use Gamblin paint, primarily, but I also like Michael Harding, Windsor Newton, and RGH. Please bring artist grade paint.

Titanium white
Cadmium yellow light (or lemon)
India yellow
cadmium red medium or light
Quinacridone red/rose/or magenta
Ultramarine blue
Phthalo turquoise
Chromatic black

Also handy:
Raw sienna or gold ochre
Cobalt blue or teal

Medium
½ refined linseed oil, ½ odorless mineral spirit. If you like Galkyd or a gel, that’s fine.
I would have 8 oz oil and a quart of odorless spirits on hand

Palette–larger hand held or one to set on a table

Brushes:

Brights: ¼”, ½”,¾”, 1”-- at least one of each. Bring one or two rounds if you have them. I buy Trekell Opal Synthetics because I like the snappy responsiveness of them, but you can also bring hog bristle, if you prefer.

Palette Knife. I like the Richeson or Che Son brands that are about 4” long with a rounded end.

Surfaces:

Larger painting surface (I prefer primed panel). Primed canvas or paper taped to a board is also nice. Square motifs should be 16” or larger. Rectangles should be 16” x 20” or larger.

Bring a few reject paintings that you have sanded and primed OR bring three sheets of primed canvas or paper that you can tape to a board. We will use these for daily painting exercises.

Other Necessities

Two wide mouth containers with covers; one for medium, one for mineral spirits.
Paper towels: I like Bounty multi cloth (2-3 rolls)
Plastic bags for dirty towels
Plastic/vinyl gloves for painting. Optional, but I always use them
Sandpaper
Silicone scraper or razor blade with handle or old credit cards
Straight edge
Protective clothing/apron and old shoes
Cardboard or newspaper for car to transport paintings home
Sketchbook
Vine charcoal or soft pencil. Eraser. Sharpener
Hand wipes are great for quick hand cleaning