Fall plein air painting workshops- classes

Plein Air Painting
for the outdoor enthusiast
held on the Niagara Escarpment, a Unesco world biosphere reserve

 October, thinking of you, oil on canvas, 18x18in, sold, copyright Jan Yates

Paint the warm sienna's and saturated purples and yellows of Fall fields, orchards and vineyards in this painters' paradise. For those preferring structures, there are barns, fences and wonderful fallen down sheds for inspiration.

Painting outdoors improves your skills when working back in the studio. It is a great exercise to enhance observation and make sound choices when it comes to composition. Learn about packing light, preparing surfaces, simplifying your pallet, mark making, brushwork, paint handling, colour / value relationships and how to work quickly in changing light and temperature. Painting tools as well as mediums will be addressed. You will be responsible for your own supplies and a list is provided upon registration.  Some outdoor easels are available. Ongoing Tuesdays and /or every other  Saturday throughout September and early October.  info/registration here

2014 art workshops/ classes

Just a quick word to say I've updated a few January/February class dates including encaustic, cold wax AND Weekly Studio sessions in Drawing and Painting.

info on the website
http://www.janyates.com/teaching.html 

art-making and tools

Tools are an important, and personal, part of making art. Our attachment to them is so interesting-we all have our favourite brush, knife etc. Any time that I introduce a new tool as part of my process I will try to use it -and only it- in the initial stages of a  painting's unfolding. I want to not only push it, but I want it to guide me in order to explore new possibilities. This is emphasized in my classes but I am planning to introduce a new workshop that will focus entirely on tools in making art. stay tuned.

 November, Niagara Escarpment, oil on canvas, 20x30in, 2012, available

 Other than laying in an initial  thin under wash with a large house painting brush, the image above was rendered with one brush- a number 12 bright.

Unfortunately I was too impatient to put another coat of gesso on the canvas before starting. It's been sucking up the thin layers of paint so there will be a few areas to be touched up, but I will stay with the same brush size.