Autumn Still life 9 x 12, Canson Mi Teinte

Autumn Still Life, Pastel Premiere Italian Clay

Hello Friends

I haven’t been able to post lately.  It’s not that I haven’t been painting!  I’ve been doing demos–seven of them!–for my fall zoom classes. I have three sessions with 21 people and I;m using the same demo for each, in addition to powerpoint lectures.  It’s been really fun.  We are in the second week now.  I have a friend from Massachusetts in the class, as well as painter from Annapolis. One of the benefits of online training.

The classes run three hours and my prepared materials run about two.  I asked them what they’d like to do for the third hour and they decided on a paint-along.  This seemed like a good idea so I got a still life filmed and sent it to them all.  With three classes, I knew I was going to be doing the same still life or other subject three times each week!  So I thought maybe I should save my valuable paper and use Canson Mi Teintes.  I had bought some for exercises and color studies but got some more in a nice medium brown shade.

On Wednesday we did the first of the paint-alongs.  Right from the beginning I was frustrated as hell!  And I could hear other people griping about their paper as well! I couldn’t get a good dark. I couldn’t cover up the paper–and I was using the smooth side.  The colors just didn’t sing at all.   So I decided that was the end of the Canson.

Today I used a smaller sheet of Pastel Premiere Italian clay, about the same color as the Canson and what a different experience–like night and day!  I used Giraults and Ludwigs and they went on beautifully.  I was able to layer more successfully and really achieve the sheen of the vegetables.

In my classes, I’ve always taught that the surface is the most important thing.  I basically don’t let people use Canson or Strathmore paper in my classes.  For beginners, it’s UART and the PP Italian clay.  More experienced people work on pastelmat, black UART, and a variety of other surfaces. When I teach people in my studio, I have a variety of surfaces that they can purchase from me to try out.  Can’t do that now, unfortunately.

This experience of online teaching has been frustrating, scary and really fun!  I’ve been very fortunate to have a good friend as one of the students who is great with technology. She’s helped me at every stage and has been editing my videos for me.  I’m very fortunate.  I purchased an all-in-one computer for my home studio and run the zoom classes on it.  It feels good to be using my beautiful home studo again.  And–fortunately–I still have my public studio where I teach one-0n-one once a week.  My student is, in effect, paying for the studio!

Looks like we’ll be doing this again in the winter.  I actually hope so. Having put so much effort into it, I want to do more teaching this way.  The videos are great. The downside is using the IPAD for live demonstration.  The colors and lighting are really off.   It has to be positioned just so and something I can’t get to the painting surface!  If anyone knows more about this and can share advice, I’d appreciate it.

Anyway, I’m having a good time with this and am hoping you are finding ways to keep busy creatively as well.