May 2013 – Hudson River Valley Art Workshops

June Workshops

May 30, 2013

The season is heating up and so are the workshops! In June we have something for everyone – watercolor, oil, pastel, and even painting horses and dogs!

First up is a pastel still life class with Liz Kenyon, but sorry folks, this class is full already! Liz’s favorite subject matter is desserts, but even if you’re not in this class you can still admire the desserts by joining in any of the other workshops!

Following Liz’s class is a great class with Leah Lopez – June 10 – 14. Leah is an award-winning artist, originally from New Mexico, but now residing in New York. She has taught a number of workshops for us and always received rave reviews from her students.

This year she is teaching a 5-day oil painting workshop on Still Life and Landscapes.

These are scenes from her workshop with us in 2011. You can see and read more about this class on our workshops blog.

Next up in the schedule is a 5-day workshop with Tony van Hasselt – Painting in Nature’s Studio – June 24 – 28.

In this class Tony shares his love and knowledge of painting outdoors at inspiring locations in the Hudson River and Catskill area, such as local farms and small riverside towns.

He starts with a logical approach to painting on location and rendering a watercolor in the traditional manner. Then each day you’ll be exposed to more creative and fun possibilities, adding the charm of vignettes and calligraphy. Indoor sessions explore underpainting techniques as well as an introduction to adding incidental figures to the landscape.

Last up in June is an exciting 3-day class with Ellen Gavin where the subject matter is horses and dogs – June 20 – July 1. Ellen ’s equestrian paintings have been widely exhibited, awarded & collected. Her energetic painting style – is reflected in her teaching philosophy.

In this fast paced workshop, learn to fearlessly explore a fresh approach to oil painting. Emphasis on mixing color, value, composition. Horses, figures and dogs will be the main subjects, stressing movement & expression. You can keep the anatomy and avoid getting ‘too tight’. This is primarily a studio workshop, working from photos, though working from life will be discussed.

“Class has exceeded our expectations! Ellen is a fabulous artist and instructor,” was the typical comment from the students in Ellen’s class with us in 2011.

We have more great classes coming up in July, too:

Karen Rosasco: Watermedia, July 8 – 12

Henry Yan: Charcoal Figure Drawing, July 15 – 19

Frank Francese: Watercolor Studio, July 22 – 26

Gerald Brommer: Stained Papers and Collage, July 29 – August 2

The pool is open and warming up! Great for a refreshing dip after class or during lunch!

Abstracting with Bob Burridge

May 26, 2013

Bob Burridge was here for his annual party . . . I mean workshop. Although around the dinner table each night it was definitely a party atmosphere, maybe because we have 3 people celebrating their birthdays on different nights.

This is Lil Masten, who has been coming to our workshops for years. She started the birthday celebrations right by buying wine for everyone that night.

Here are the two entertainers – Bob and Mark, during one of their evening “shows!”

The party continued in the studio. This is what one of the students had to say:

“I’ve never laughed so hard at a workshop & had so much fun!! Bob is so knowledgable & wants to share everything he can with his students. I’ve attended many workshops over the last 8 years, I felt that what Bob taught me brought everything I learned previously together & I feel I can start out fresh again. Thanks to a wonderful instructor full of heart, soul, passion and amazing knowledge about art & the meaning of a true artist.” – Mary Fran

Meanwhile outside the studio, the weather was confused. We had 80 degrees the first half of the week and then rain and 40 degrees on the last half of the week! But the lilacs didn’t seem to mind.

Back in the studio, Bob presented many mini demos and lectures each day to keep everyone inspired, thinking, and laughing!

It wasn’t long before the walls of the studio were filled with some amazing and unique works of art.

The pool was “open” but somehow no one was tempted to brave the chilly winds and rain to dive in!

Dinner on the final night was the topper. Everyone loved the Chipotle Chicken and the Tirasmiu dessert, but the final act was a magic show by Bob including turning a napkin into a rabbit and making a salt shaker go right through the table to appear on the underside.

Here is the group that was responsible for this wild week-long party.

Bob will be returning again in May of 2014, so don’t wait to long to sign up because the workshop is sure to fill up quickly, as usual.

Creating an Area of Dominance in Watercolor with Eric Wiegardt

May 22, 2013

Eric Weigardt, AWS-DF, NWS, just taught a 3-day workshop for us, a change from his usual 5-day (which he’ll be teaching next year). Last year Eric received the highest national honor for a watercolor artist, the prestigious American Watercolor Society’s Gold Medal of Honor, April 20th 2012 in New York City. In American Watercolor Society’s (AWS) 130 year history, only 64 Artists have received this award since its inception in 1948.

Here you can see the students happily working on their assignments.

You can tell that Eric loves to teach!

The class was a studio class, but the weather was so gorgeous that several student decided to work outside.

Eric conducted one of his morning demos outside, too. This is the finished demo painting of the hugh lilac bush that is in front of our cottage building. This painting will soon be hanging in the inn, so stop by and take a look when you are in the area.

The walls of our inn are filled with paintings of instructors who have taught here in the past and will in the future. The “gallery” is open most days and the best time to come is between 10:00am and 4:00pm.

Assemblage and Collage with Mary Alice Braukman

May 17, 2013

The boxes and boxes started to arrive, so we knew that Mary Alice Braukman would soon here! Mary Alice, with her contact with a number of art material suppliers, also brings lots of free goodies for her classes to enjoy trying out.

This is the batch of stuff that each student received this this class; paints, canvas and other interesting surfaces.

It was a fun week and a very happy group.

Watercolor From Within: Techniques for Painting the Essence of Nature

May 6, 2013

It was a gorgeous Spring weekend and Barbara Nechis was here teaching a 3-day workshop to a full house.

“Barbara is an exceptional instructor along with being an accomplished artist. Her painting style is unique. She has a kind way of teaching and also a great sense of humor,” is what one of her students had to say after the class.

Every afternoon, Barbara conducted a group critique to review what everyone did that day.

Meanwhile, outside Mark and Bob were busy working to get the pool ready to open in a couple of weeks. Even though the pool was not open for swimmers, people enjoyed having their lunch out by the pool.

This is one of the new dishes for this year – a mild chili made with tender braised boneless short ribs. A number of people asked if they could get any leftovers for their lunch the next day – and yes, they did.

Putting it all together in kitchen.

Barbara’s good friend, Mary Alice Braukman, arrived to teach our next workshop and Barbara stayed an extra night just so that they could have dinner together!