I had the pleasure of attending the Ontario Plein Air Society's July Workshop at the Bridgewater Resort on the Skootamata River, adjacent to the village of Actinolite, near Tweed, Ontario.
It was my first art workshop and I have to confess that I was over the top with enthusiasm about attending it.
Because I live a half an hour's drive from the Resort, I elected to be a 'day time' outcamper.
The food was splendid, the companionship great, the setting excellent and the instructor Edward Abela was first rate. Taking all in all, I couldn't have asked for more.
Keith greeted us and set the participants at ease by announcing that it was a non competitive workshop in which our only concern was our own development. Those words took a weight off my shoulders for I had been privately wondering how I would stack up against the other painters. My biggest fear was that I would be the worst painter in the group.
It didn't take long for the group to settle into the pattern of the workshop. Our aim was to produce at least one work a day.
The workshop marked a coming of age for me as a painter. No matter how good (or bad for that matter) my painting may appear, the truth is, most of my acrylics were more 'head works' then from the heart. No wonder, for when I watched Edward Abela paint, it dawned on me that my self taught style needed some tweaking.
When Edward asked the group what we wanted to learn from the weekend, I said......"To take an amorphous mass of green trees and separate them into distinct areas which I could paint. And, I wanted to make advances in colour work. Well, the good news is I felt that I had achieved both goals.
From the minute the easels were set up on the first morning I tore into my works with a passion.
I focused on breaking the "small stroke syndrome", and developing a longer more relaxed and comfortable brush application.
The good news is I feel that I achieved both goals by the time the workshop ended.
Size: 16x20
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ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure to meet such a gifted yet unassuming person as Frederick. He left the workshop with a number of excellent paintings, all ready to frame which will no doubt be a lasting memory.
ReplyDeleteJuly 21, 2011 6:01 AM