Our session will be tailored to each participant’s specific needs. We will set goals for the day that work for you, explore a variety of painting techniques, deepen your skill set, so we can get you where you want to be. We will “light on form” painting methods, to create expressive, professional level work, in the genres of portraiture, landscape, still life or imaginary realism. Bring a few photographic references, preferable on an iPad or laptop. Find a subject where capturing the light effect is paramount. Have a couple projects ready to go. Extra points if you bring a still life setup with your own light. One of you may have a model willing to pose for you and a couple friends. Working from life is always best. Please bring everything you will need, including an easel, drop cloth, your basic oil painting setup. Here’s a materials list to give you an idea of what I suggest.

Robert will teach you to think and analyze photographs like a painter, presenting a short demo about the effect of light. Honest observation and abstraction of forms will be the key. Concrete, practical application, rather than meaningless theory, will be the order of the day. The instruction will be tailored to allow for a deepening of the individual’s unique approach and response to the subject at hand. Expect lots of individual, tailored attention and nothing less than a major epiphany regarding how the subtle manipulation of light on form actually works in depicting realistic subjects. Participants may want to get a copy of my book. We will be working with concepts from, The Power of Positive Painting.

We will explore value-based “light on form” painting methods. Robert will present a short drawing/painting lesson at the beginning of the workshop. The focus will be on understanding how value can be used to create a sense of where the sun is (or isn’t), what time of day it is, what is the humidity and temperature. In other words, to create a convincing sense of the place. Students may work in any opaque medium (oils, acrylic, guache, pastel) and any subject – bring a couple options. Robert will provide/suggest reference material as necessary. We will set goals together but will tailor the work to the individual needs of the student. Goals can be as broad as becoming comfortable with a media or an idiom, in this case, landscape or portrait. Or they can be as specific as learning to develop a greater variety of edges in oil painting. Honest observation of value will be key. Understanding the limitations of photography and how to analyze it to make it seem as if it were painted au plein air. The instruction will be tailored to allow for a deepening of the individual’s unique approach and response to the project at hand.