This summer I had the privilege of taking several workshops at the Providence Art Club, the first of which was with a brilliant young painter by the name of Sam Allerton Green. Sam beat us up from 9-4 for three days, with all kinds of exercises. Putting paint on, taking paint off, re painting it over again, painting pictures in only ten strokes. Below, is some work I created during this workshop.
The second workshop was with Theresa Girard in conceptual drawing and abstract painting. Theresa is a highly successful painter exhibiting in Florida and New England, among other places, and she is a great, engaging, enthusiastic, encouraging teacher. Three studies from her workshop are below.
The third workshop was with Nick Paciorek. Nick is an incredible teacher and a master of color. He sells his work nationally and internationally in over 25 galleries. He bends your mind over color, and it hurts. A change of pallet was not easy for me at all, but it opened my vision to new ideas. You will know which slides are from Nick’s workshop.
The final workshop was with my friend and mentor, Kevin Gilmore. Kevin is a gifted artist in collage, paint and abstraction. Much of his work is based on his musical theory. He had us drawing on old sheet music paper connecting the notes that are similar to create a basis for a painting, among other methods of entering the work. One fun thing was cutting a page from a magazine and then using what was on that page to recreate the same message. Hence, Bar Charlie. This led to Block Island Bar Opening, in addition to the abstract works.
From June, July, and August, these instructors and others have been at the Providence Art Club, and many of them did additional workshops at other venues. As artists and students of fine art, we are very fortunate to have such wonderful instructors.
Other than the classes and a little family time on Block Island, lots of time at the Art Club, and time with friends, all in all it has been a great summer.