February 2015 – Hudson River Valley Art Workshops

An interview with Lorenzo Chavez: Prominent Landscape Painter in Pastels and Oils

February 27, 2015

Lorenzo Chavez’ suggestive renderings and fluent technique have earned him numerous awards and many devoted collectors throughout the United States, and he is considered by many to be the West’s premier pastel painter.

Lorenzo returns to the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops from May 3 to 9, 2015 to teach a Studio and plein air Workshop, Field Study to Studio Concepts, in pastels and oils.

Shoreline

How long have you been teaching and what got you started teaching?

I first starting teaching Plein Air Workshops in 1993 when I was recommended by one of my artistic heroes, Ned Jacob, to a gallery in Aspen, Colorado that was doing workshops. The workshops were during the summer months in the Colorado Rockies. I am still good friends with one of the students I met there. He said I was shaking when I did my first demos. I probably was. He continues to take my workshops, but now he says, “You’re like an old pro at teaching workshops.”

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What is your favorite part about teaching?

My favorite part about teaching is the people I meet and their love of painting and passion for learning. That is inspiring.

What would you tell your prospective students are three best reasons for taking a workshop?

The 3 best reasons I would tell someone to take a workshop are:

How great it feels to do something that is an investment in yourself.

The interesting people you will meet and possible new friendships of like-minded folks.

To paint out of our comfort zones can be a bit scary, but once we do it is immensely rewarding.

What are you currently working on in your own art?

I recently returned to an earlier passion of drawing and painting the figure. I find it a great and stimulating challenge which continues to make me a better overall artist. I am working on some figures that are based on the Pueblo Cultures of New Mexico. What fun, and how inspiring it has been.

Of course, I absolutely love painting the landscape and I am working on some studio and plein air paintings that will be part of a series of exhibitions for the Plein Air Painters of America (an organization devoted to the advancement of plein air painting).

Where is your art currently being exhibited?

Six great galleries currently represent my work on a full time basis and I am involved in group exhibitions such as the Maynard Dixon Country Exhibition, the Legacy Gallery, Rims to Ruins Exhibition to benefit the Mesa Verde National Park Foundation, and several others.

L Chavez Sierra Sunrise 18x14

Is your work represented in galleries, and if so, what hints would you give to artists looking for gallery representation?

In the workshops I have taught over the years, I have met a number of artists that want additional mentoring. The topic of getting into a gallery recently came up with a couple students. I told them it is important to visit the galleries you’re interested in. Make a list of five, or so, galleries you would love to have your art associated with and in areas you would love to travel and paint. Get to know the folks who run these galleries. Be visible and friendly; one never knows where it leads.

Spring Pattern

Do you sell your work in any online gallery?

Most good galleries have an online presence. Remember, selling artwork is a team effort and a business partnership between yourself and the gallery. Work with them, be honest, and lead collectors to your galleries.

Prairie Homestead Pastel 14x18

What is your favorite art quote?

My favorite art quote is by Robert Henri. “The object is not to make art but to be in that wonderful state of mind where art is inevitable.”

L Chavez Pacific Impression 14x18

Describe your studio.

For a landscape painter everything starts with being inspired by the great outdoors. The main focus of my workshops has been the study of plein air landscapes. That is where the magic happens. I teach concepts that help to clarify the landscape language, such as understanding the color of natural light, value planes, atmospheric perspective and how to simplify the landscape and create a compelling design from nature’s variety. My primary studio is a plein air set up under the wide-open sky.

OUTDOOR STUDIO Canyon de Chelly

Once indoors, we have unlimited time to play with the artistic elements to create even more captivating art from our studies from nature and imagination. My two indoor studios are both at our current home in Colorado. One is devoted to oil painting where I use a large Hughes easel. The pastel studio has an older upright easel I purchased years ago and has become a good friend. Close to the easel is an antique desk holding numerous pastels at the ready.

INDOOR STUDIO

Name five of your “can’t do without” tools/products.

Buy the best quality equipment; it pays off in the long run. Tools of the trade I depend on are: a sketch book, pastels/oils, outdoor easels, sun block, a great pair of walking shoes and a good hat. However, the most important tool is the knowledge of how to construct a painting.

Chavez painting Mesa Verde

Read more of our recent Instructor interviews:

An Interview with Leah Lopez, Award-Winning Artist and Instructor

An Interview with Frank Francese, Watercolor Artist

An Interview with David Daniels: Artist in Watercolor + more

An interview with Judy Coates Perez, mixed media textile artist.

Interview with Liz Kenyon, Pastel Painting Instructor

Patti Mollica discusses creating her art, and teaching

An Interview with Kim English, Oil Painter

An Interview with Barbara Nechis, Watercolor Artist

An interview with Hollis Chatelain: Fiber Artist

An Interview with Natalya Aikens: Computer + Stitch = Art Quilt

Ruth Powers: Designing and Sewing for Picture Piecing

An Interview with Leah Lopez, Award-Winning Artist and Instructor

February 25, 2015

Leah Lopez’ dynamic, evocative art has been exhibited in many prestigious national shows. She teaches drawing and painting at the New York Academy of Art, and at her Union Square Studio. We are thrilled that Leah will return to the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops to teach a Workshop in oil and acrylic, Still Life to Landscape, March 15 to 21, 2105.

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How long have you been teaching and what got you started teaching?

I’ve been teaching over 15 years. I was offered a great teaching position and really enjoyed it. I continued to teach through the years wherever I went, and discovered that there is always more to share and so many ways to help students develop their own personal artistic goals. Eventually, it made the most sense to open an atelier style school, in my studio, enabling my to truly share my personal experience and help others to develop their own unique work. It is an enriching experience for both mentor and student.

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What is your favorite part about teaching?

Seeing another person really let go and begin to create art.

What would you tell your prospective students are three best reasons for taking a workshop?

The Three-I’s are the best reasons: workshops are an Intensive, Inspiring and Interactive learning experience.

You leave feeling like you’ve been bathed in exactly what was needed to return back to your studio with renewed gusto.
Experience an infusion of inspiration that comes from working side-by-side with a successful, professional artist/ skilled teacher and a group of enthusiastic individuals all aspiring to be the best artists they can be.
Camaraderie and life-long connections are made at workshops. In a relaxed environment you can interact with others by sharing your love and appreciation of art and learn from their perspectives, as well.

What are you currently working on in your own art?

I like to work on a variety of things at once, while maintaining a harmonious thread so that what I learn in one piece can help in the development of another. My painting subjects are still life, landscape, cityscape, and figurative – all often revealing a hint of allegory. Composition is the thing that always ties them together. More than subject matter, I’m primarily focused on Composition and the fascinating uses of color, texture, value, and edges.

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Where is your art currently being exhibited?

Throughout the year I exhibit nationally. I have gallery representation in Portland, ME, Carmel, Pasadena and Oklahoma City. I exhibit frequently in New York. As a member of esteemed organizations like American Women Artists, my artwork travels across the states to new galleries and museums every year.

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Is your work represented in galleries, and if so, what hints would you give to artists looking for gallery representation?

Yes and a very good topic. A few hints to get started are

Do your research…

Get organized and be prepared

Plan to make an impression

Follow through professionally and develop a mutually beneficial alliance.

If it turns out that it isn’t a good fit, don’t waste valuable time, find the right fit.

Do you sell your work in any online gallery?

Occasionally, my work is a part of an online auction or exhibition. The next auction is the Salmagundi Club’s “Spring Auction” at www.liveauctioneers.com. The auction schedule is:

Friday, March 13, 2015, 8:00 PM

Friday, March 20, 2015, 8:00 PM

Friday, March 27,2015, 8:00 PM

What is your favorite art quote?

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” – Oscar Wilde

Describe your studio.

People say, when they enter my studio, they feel as though they’ve been transported to a distant place and time or an old world master’s studio. I absolutely love it. I don’t like to leave at night, and toss around the idea of sleeping over just so I can awake and immediately start painting and catch every minute of the light. It has a high ceiling and a big wall-to-wall skylight window that faces north, from Union Square toward the Empire State building. It’s up on the 11^th floor so unless I decide to leave I almost forget there is a bustling city outside. The wooden floors are a dark walnut. My walls are a warm olive grey and my paintings hanging about. I have floor-to-ceiling thick black drapes which I use to control the amount and direction of the North-light that washes in, which creates atmosphere that cannot be duplicated artificially, and has long been sought by artists and photographers alike.

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Name five of your “can’t” do without tools/products.

Flake white

Old Masters Maroger Medium

Italian Wax Medium

Rosemary & Co. Ivory flats and filbert brushes

Real hog’s hair filbert bristle brushes

Read more of our recent Instructor interviews:

An Interview with Frank Francese, Watercolor Artist

An Interview with David Daniels: Artist in Watercolor + more

An interview with Judy Coates Perez, mixed media textile artist.

Interview with Liz Kenyon, Pastel Painting Instructor

Patti Mollica discusses creating her art, and teaching

An Interview with Kim English, Oil Painter

An Interview with Barbara Nechis, Watercolor Artist

An interview with Hollis Chatelain: Fiber Artist

An Interview with Natalya Aikens: Computer + Stitch = Art Quilt

Ruth Powers: Designing and Sewing for Picture Piecing

An Interview with Frank Francese, Watercolor Artist

February 21, 2015

Frank Francese is a well-known and well-published artist, and one of the most-requested instructors here at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. Two of Frank’s paintings inspired by his visit to Guatemala in 2014 have recently been honored in national competitions: One was chosen by the National Watercolor Society to be part of the 2015 traveling exhibition which will be displayed across America. The second was chosen to be part of the annual American Watercolor Society Exhibition in New York City.

Frank will join us to teach a 5-day Studio Watercolors Workshop this summer, July 12 to 18, 2015.

Ireland Copper Coast

How long have you been teaching and what got you started teaching?

I have been teaching for 20+ years, cannot remember the exact date when I started. I chose teaching workshops as a way to make a living in the arts and also be able to paint as much as I would like.

Puerto Vallarta Mexico

What is your favorite part about teaching?

My favorite part of teaching is seeing the students’ eyes light up when they understand watercolor painting.

Ireland

What would you tell your prospective students are three best reasons for taking a workshop?

The three best reasons for anyone to take a workshop are:

Learn new techniques in applying paint to paper.

Understanding the order in which one must use in achieving a competent painting.

Gain confidence in one’s self!

Francese Colorado

What are you currently working on in your own art?

I am currently working as always: to achieve what I see in my mind and putting it on paper. I can never achieve what I see, but I never give up!

Francese Colorado2

Where is your art currently being exhibited?

2014-15 National Watercolor Society 94th International Exhibition: San Pedro, Ca. Painting selected for 2015 Travel Show.

148th American Watercolor Society International Exhibition 2015: New York City, NY.

Do you sell your work in any online gallery?

I am showing in no galleries. Cannot find a competent gallery to work with! I want to have complete control of my work. I sell where I teach!

I have had a retail page on my web site: www.ffrancese.com for two years. I have had no sales associated with the web page! I am removing it from my web site.

What is your favorite art quote?

My favorite quote: Work….work….work!

Describe your studio.

My studio is a complete wreck, very cluttered, messy! But, I know where everything is and can find it quickly! I am at home!

Name five of your “can’t do without” tools/products.

A mind that will look beyond the obvious….a sketch that will guide you…professional material to paint with: paint, brushes, paper…The ability to accept what comes of your painting; I never like what I paint, only after time do I appreciate the work…A commercial mind…the ability to sell your work!

Read some of our recent Instructor interviews:

An Interview with David Daniels: Artist in Watercolor + more

An interview with Judy Coates Perez, mixed media textile artist.

Interview with Liz Kenyon, Pastel Painting Instructor

Patti Mollica discusses creating her art, and teaching

An Interview with Kim English, Oil Painter

An Interview with Barbara Nechis, Watercolor Artist

An interview with Hollis Chatelain: Fiber Artist

An Interview with Natalya Aikens: Computer + Stitch = Art Quilt

Ruth Powers: Designing and Sewing for Picture Piecing

An Interview with David Daniels: Artist in Watercolor + more

February 15, 2015

David Daniels is the watercolor instructor for the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, DC. He is also a Professor of Painting at Montgomery College in Rockville MD, as well as teaching workshops around the world.

David returns to the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops to teach a 5-day Watercolor Studio class June 28 to July 4, 2015.

How long have you been teaching?
I started teaching Art to elementary school students many many years ago. It was my first job out of college. I traveled from room to room and school to school with a cardboard box filled with donated art supplies. Admittedly, that was not the most ideal teaching scenario, but it did teach me patience and made me able to adjust to almost any situation.

Fast forward many years and you will still find me moving from place to place, however now I am traveling to teach Watercolor Workshops throughout the United States and Europe.

Those early years were a very formative part of my life and history. So putting that all together I have been painting and teaching for over forty-five years.

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What is your very favorite part about teaching?
I love watching students discover their full potential. Most students have no idea how good they really are. As an instructor I can help students learn to listen to their own voice and trust their artistic expression.

I also enjoy helping student be able to talk about their work. Critique is a critical part of my teaching philosophy. Phrases like “I like it” or “it’s pretty” just do not go far enough. I enjoy helping student to learn the vocabulary of art and be able to put into words their feeling about the work.

Why take a workshop?
It all comes down to “A like-minded community”. There is nothing more beneficial to a student than to surround themselves with people with similar interest and goals. Many life-long friendships have been forged while attending a workshop.

This is not to negate the importance of instruction or demonstration, but it is the collective energy created by the group that you will always remember.

What are you currently working on in your own art?
My biggest challenge in life is always my next painting. My scientific background challenges me to question many of the common practices that influence most watercolor painters.

For the past several years I have been gluing my watercolor paper to an aluminum support before I start painting. I then varnish the completed painting. This has caused many a raised eyebrow in the watercolor community.

Park path 61 x 41 Park Path

My most recent paintings have begun to explore combining watercolor with wax, gold leaf, and pastel.

What are your favorite art quotes?
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightening to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.” Chuck Close

“When you know how to paint something, you should by all means stop painting it. You will be ceasing to learn and starting to perform. Your work will become an exercise in self congratulations.” Wolf Cohn

“Just get out of your own way.” David Daniels

Describe your studio.
That is a little easier said than done because it is always in a state of flux. My physical studio is a beautiful 14” x 24” structure in my home, with floor to ceiling windows on three sides. I have one large working surface that measures 6’ x 12’ which accommodates the large sheets of paper that I paint on.

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I love being surrounded by things that bring joy to my heart, and peace to my soul.

Here is a partial list of “stuff” that can be found in my studio

5 mobiles

A collection of 20 antique watercolor paint sets

An aquarium

3 computers

Cardboard moose head

3 drinking ducks

A stuffed crow

My Great, Great, Grandfather’s foundation rocker

An assortment of huge houseplants

Well, you get the idea. The other important fact is that my studio is never the same on any given day. As I change so does my studio.

Name five of your “can’t do without” tools or products.
At sixty-six years of age, I certainly did not grow up with computers, but now I find them a very important part of my creative process. I use them for everything from storing images to paint, to compositional studies.

My library is indispensable to me. I have a great collection of books that I love looking at, holding, and being surrounded by. They bring me great joy knowing that some of the most brilliant people in the world are only pages away

The last three are pretty predictable for a watercolorist. I enjoy the best materials that I can buy. My collection of paper, paint and brushes are extremely important to me.

An interview with Judy Coates Perez, mixed media textile artist.

February 8, 2015

Judy Coates Perez is an International award-winning mixed media textile artist, traveling globally to teach painting and mixed media techniques on fabric. Her three-day Workshop, Acrylic Inks on Fabrics, will be held at the Hudson River Valley Fiber Art Workshops April 9 to 12, 2015.

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How long have you been teaching and what got you started teaching?

Before I began teaching painting about 7 years ago, I home-schooled my kids who are now 21 and 24 years old. Having kids with very different learning styles, I learned a lot about teaching and that my main goal was to facilitate the process of learning by helping my children learn how to learn.

I often see my role as an instructor is to be a guide for creativity, by teaching techniques that will help others create the work they visualize in their head, because they have not yet gained the skills to transfer those ideas to fabric on their own.

What is your favorite part about teaching?

I love it when students get excited about their work, when they surprise themselves with what they’ve accomplished.

I am a very relaxed teacher, and want students to also feel comfortable and enjoy the process, otherwise what’s the point? It’s about doing what you love, because when you love it, you’ll do it a lot, and when you do it a lot you will improve. The important thing to remember is, you won’t master a new technique in a day, but you might be surprised at just how much you can achieve.

What would you tell your prospective students are three best reasons for taking a workshop?

Having someone to guide you and answer questions as they come up when trying something new, or find out where the problems lie when you haven’t been successful with a technique on your own.

Trying new things with others can also be a wonderful source of encouragement when you’re feeling out of your element.

Working within a group is a great opportunity to see how others approach the same task, learn from one another’s successes and mistakes, which can often lead to new ideas.

What are you currently working on in your own art?

I have been taking mixed media samples left over from one of my classes, cutting them up and sewing them together to use as a base fabric to paint imagery on top of.

Where is your art currently being exhibited?

My house, lol. I am not the best about regularly entering exhibits.

Is your work represented in galleries?

I haven’t pursued working with galleries, my focus for the last several years has been on teaching.

Redbird

What is your favorite art quote?

I love this quote by writer Neil Gaiman, it applies to every creative pursuit:

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”

Describe your studio.

It’s a good sized room off the back of the house with a 4’ x 8’ table in the center that my 25 year old Pfaff sits in. My daughter usually sews on my Bernina 1630. I have old school lockers that I keep my batting and bulky supplies in, flat files from my days as a graphic designer, several large shelving units, and cupboards, an old dresser to hold my hand dyed fabric and a few small filing cabinets.

Clean studio

Messy studio1

Name five of your “can’t do without” tools/products.

Paint: acrylic inks and Setacolor textile paints

High thread count white cotton fabric

A mechanical pencil

Mistyfuse

A camera (usually my phone now)

Some of our recent Instructor interviews:

Interview with Liz Kenyon, Pastel Painting Instructor

Patti Mollica discusses creating her art, and teaching

An Interview with Kim English, Oil Painter

An Interview with Barbara Nechis, Watercolor Artist

An interview with Hollis Chatelain: Fiber Artist

An Interview with Natalya Aikens: Computer + Stitch = Art Quilt

Ruth Powers: Designing and Sewing for Picture Piecing

Carol Esch: Talented Fiber Artist & Fiber Arts Workshop Student

February 7, 2015

Carol Esch is one of the most lively and enthusiastic students, and her attendance really lifts a Workshop’s energy and level of enjoyment through the week. Carol has attended a variety of Fiber Arts Workshops at our facility over the years, and has made the most of the classes to really expand the range of techniques used in her impressive art quilts.

Carol Esch Collage

How long have you been taking Fiber Art Workshops?

Oh gosh, I’ve been taking workshops at Hudson for at least six years…maybe longer! Some of the instructors I’ve had: Jean Wells Keenan, Carol Taylor, Sue Benner, Pat Pauly, Liz Berg and Rosalie Dace. These teachers are not found on the East Coast for five day classes! Kim and Mark find and employ the very best instructors!

How did you find the Workshop experience?
I loved it so much at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops that I gave my husband a gift of a week of painting with John MacDonald. We then discovered that Deborah, John’s wife, was in my fiber art class! My husband Don has taken two classes with John, one with Kim English, and one with Kenn Backhaus. Don loves the ambiance and food…and Mark complies with no asparagus, goat cheese or lamb for Don!

What would you tell your friends are the three best reasons for taking a Workshop?
One of the best parts of taking workshops here…besides the food of course…is the length of classes, camaraderie, and ability to work in the studio 24 hours a day.

What projects are you currently working on in your art?
Currently I’m working on a series of “window” quilts. I am, however, a PROCESS person so I love learning new things.

Where is your art currently being exhibited?
My quilts have been in AQS shows, several guild shows in New Jersey, a couple of small shows, and one of my window quilts won Viewer’s Choice in the Prallsville Mills show which is mostly for painters and photographers. I am applying to a few other shows and learning to resize photographs and fill out all the info. Some fiber artists must have full time people to do all this!

What is your favorite art quote?

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. – Thomas Merton

Describe your studio.

My studio (stash and cutting table) are in one area of my house, but I sew in another sun-filled area.

Name five of your “can’t do without” tools/products.

My favorite tools are my right angle ruler, Olfa cutter and mat, Kai scissors and design wall.

Interview with Liz Kenyon, Pastel Painting Instructor

February 5, 2015

Liz Kenyon teaches a very popular Pastel class demonstrating techniques for creating the most alluring textures and subjects. She returns to the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops at a beautiful time of year, May 31 to June 6, 2015 to teach her Pastel Still Life 5-day Workshop.

Pears on Stage

How long have you been teaching and what got you started teaching?

During a recession in the 1990’s I was compelled to expand my freelance career by applying for a job teaching illustration and graphic design to eighteen year-old artists. The commercial art field was in a downward spiral, the computer was about to change everything, and my students were more interested in graffiti and tattoos than advertising. My job had become challenging and stressful.

Things took a different turn in 2000 when I fell in love with soft pastels. I found I was experiencing a whole new world of self expression and personal success. My enthusiasm for the medium produced peer recognition and fulfilling teaching opportunities with artists like myself and I haven’t looked back since.

What is your favorite part about teaching?

Teaching enables me to live with purpose and authenticity. The creative process is not always a bed of roses. I often feel let down as I expect a painting to look better than how it seems to be working out. However, experience tells me it will work out if I just keep moving forward. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, my expectations end up being surpassed — teaching then allows me to share that kind of success with others. I find a little encouragement and some pointers can both guide a beginner and advance a seasoned pastelist. By instructing, I can help in the struggle and share in the victory of the creative process.

What would you tell your prospective students are three best reasons for taking a workshop?

I have trouble going into a workshop without a few goals — it feels like going on a tour without a guide — I might miss things that would make a difference in my life experience. A workshop is like a trip, you should be changed by it and your life enriched:

1) Experience is the best part of doing art and a class needs to enhance that by developing a new attitude and boosting your inner creative dialog.

2) Learning new techniques and improving your work habits comes not only through instruction, but by sharing the space with other artists.

3) Coming to an awareness of how your art speaks to people — what questions to ask yourself, how to create richer “color” (or a reflection of the world you see).

What are you currently working on in your own art?

I am focusing on making art, not just pretty pictures. It is more fulfilling to express a mood; a sense of light; a temperature and a tactile surface quality with the pastel medium. I search for iconic subject matter to draw out a sense of warm familiarity and use the interaction of color and pattern to stimulate interest. For me, exploring the soft edges and illuminating qualities of color is what gives pastel painting its voice.

My subject matter at this time is: reflective and familiar ceramic pots, sunlit pitchers, creamy cheesecake, succulent strawberries, pears and apples — fertile forms. In addition: Cirque du soleil atmospheres with French macaroon cookies and intimate teacup moments.

Cheezy Cake Where is your art currently being exhibited?

I prefer one-woman shows, but because of my busy teaching schedule right now, I am primarily donating my work for causes rather than putting together shows. I’ve been featured in fundraising events such as: Scottsdale Artist School, Free Arts for Abused and Homeless Children Auction, and Veteran’s fundraising benefits. In addition, I am usually in the Arizona Pastel Artist’s Association bi-annual juried shows and signature membership exhibitions. Recently, my work has been exhibited in Boulder Colorado by Mary Williams Fine Arts as well as showing in the Scottsdale Exhibition Gallery and Celebration of Fine Art gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona.

What hints would you give to artists looking for gallery representation?

Artists looking to show in galleries must first understand their market. Find galleries that carry similar styles to your own work. Enter competitions, both locally and online. Publish regionally and locally online and in print. Maintain a website, no prices, talk it over with prospective clients one-on-one. Blog, do a weekly Facebook update, try a “painting a day” online exhibit. Advertise in art magazines. A learning curve I was surprised to face was being aware of the type of framing that a particular gallery typically uses. Shipping weight can also be an issue. You’ll need patience with gallery sales — clients often need to view work repeatedly before actually purchasing.

Do you sell your work in any online gallery?

Yes, please visit: www.LizKenyon.com. I maintain this site regularly with new work, listings of workshops, gallery showings, publications, and awards won. I have not only sold my work to online viewers, but have been asked to teach in workshops across the country by schools who saw my workshops and classes described online.

What is your favorite art quote?

“Are you making art or are you making pretty pictures?”

Describe your studio.

I live and work in an historic, mid 20th century glass-fronted condo in central Phoenix. The largest wall of my living room/studio is devoted entirely to glass — floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall. It’s just me and the light. And, because I live surrounded by my work, I am always just a few feet away from being able to grab a stick of pastel and work at my own pace and time. The complex is a draw to artists who enjoy living in the valley, so I often have chats with neighbors and friends, discussing goals and artistic values. My life is very fulfilling.

LizKenyon in HomeStudio

LizKenyon working spaces

Name five of your “can’t do without” tools/products.

— A 4 x 6 inch mid-toned grey paper rectangle with a 3/8 inch circle cut out of the center. I hold

this up to determine the actual temperature and value of a color I’m viewing.

— A large size color wheel.

— “Perfect Color Choices for the Artist” by Michael Wilcox has numerous value and hue color

comparison charts especially finding neutrals.

— 3-4 three-inch metal clamps to attach reference images to my working surface.

Read more of our recent Instructor interviews:

Patti Mollica discusses creating her art, and teaching

An Interview with Kim English, Oil Painter

An Interview with Barbara Nechis, Watercolor Artist

An interview with Hollis Chatelain: Fiber Artist

An Interview with Natalya Aikens: Computer + Stitch = Art Quilt

Ruth Powers: Designing and Sewing for Picture Piecing

Patti Mollica discusses creating her art, and teaching

February 4, 2015

Patti Mollica will be back at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops this spring to teach her enormously popular Workshop in oils and acrylics, Loosen Up and Get Painterly May 17 – 23, 2015.

Patti is a very successful artist and instructor, and we recently asked for her insights about her work and teaching.

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How long have you been teaching and what got you started teaching?
I teach a painting method of “loosening up”. So many people get caught up painting small details at the expense of a bigger, more gestural approach. My method teaches them a step-by-step approach for painting with more confidence and “swagger”.

What is your favorite part about teaching? Three things: Watching people get excited about breaking new ground with their work, hearing their testimonials that I’ve helped them achieve certain goals, and meeting new people and forming friendships. It’s very rewarding!

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What would you tell your prospective students are three best reasons for taking a workshop? Workshops are a targeted way of learning a lot of information in a short amount of time. They are very goal oriented, and having lots of personal time with the instructor, who can coach the student when they get “stuck” is key.

What are you currently working on in your own art? Staying loose, experimenting with different color schemes, abstraction exercises and incorporating collage elements into some work.

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Where is your art currently being exhibited? Simie Maryles Gallery in Provincetown, Nancy Dodds Gallery in Carmel, and I sell a lot of work on my blog and website.

Do you sell your work in any online gallery? I have a presence on Daily Paintworks and sell work there as well.

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