Weekend With The Masters

I've been away from this blog for some time now, so with the year ending soon, I'll try to catch up on some of the things I've been doing.  This past September I attended American Artists' Weekend With The Masters in Monterey, California.  It was an extraordinary opportunity to attend workshops presented by some of our finest artists and be inspired by their skills.  I had never been to this area of California, and what I saw of it was beautiful, however I spent most of my time indoors with the artists.

- Day 1 -
Started with a three hour portrait painting demonstration by Scott Burdick.

Next, a lecture and slide presentation by Richard Schmid on The Adventures of Painting From Life.

Afterwards, a three hour portrait demo with Rose Frantzen, showing the use of oil sticks as well as paint.

That evening after a short break, there was a panel discussion on the objectivity and subjectivity of art and the parameters for judging a painting.  David Leffel was the moderator; the panelists were (L to R) Daniel Gerhartz, Rose Frantzen, Richard Schmid, George Gallo, Jacob Collins and Quang Ho.

- Day 2 -

This was the first day that we got to paint or draw in the workshops.

My full day workshop was Painting a Portrait with Rose Frantzen.  She started with a demonstration that morning.

After lunch, we worked on our own paintings.  Below is an overall shot of our session, divided into two groups with a model for each group.  My view of our model is on the left and my likeness of him, on the right.

After dinner, we were treated to a oil portrait demonstration by Richard Schmid of Alexey Steele.

- Day 3 -

Full day workshop; Painting Small Sketch Portrait With Nancy Guzik.

Morning demo.

That afternoon, we had another model to paint.  My portrait sketch below.

That evening, a side-by-side painting demonstration of one model by 

Daniel Sprick and Quang Ho.

- Day 4 -

The final day of workshops, mine is a full day with Nancy Guzik, again, but this time Drawing Children.

Nancy demonstrated first while discussing proportions of the head at various ages and comparing distances using the five essential darks.  After her demo, we sketched two young models in various poses, five minutes per pose, eventually increasing time.

I counted 20 sketches in my book.  Shoulder rubs during a break were helpful.

Here are three of my sketches, one each of two sisters (left and middle), then

Michelle Dunaway (right) sat in to give the girls a break.

In the final couple of hours of the workshop, Nancy did a demo painting of one of the young models to show us how to apply what we had practiced in our sketches to painting in oils.

A fund-raising silent auction of donated materials was held that night.

Overall, this was a fantastic experience and I'm so glad I went.

I wouldn't hesitate to go again, if the budget allows, and I'd encourage

anyone that's interested in painting and learning from real pros to go.