apologies

I apologize for making it sound in the blurb thingy that Malcom T. Liepke is coming to LFPC-he is NOT, I should have been better with my punctuation and grammar.

Sorry it has been so long-I promised to be consistent, but Thanksgiving, then Christmas preparations have taken time, not to mention I rearranged my studio -but that is another blog.
The next three artists I want to highlight for the Lowell Franciscan Life Process Center are Jennifer Balkan, Edee Joppich, and Aline E. Ordman.. Jennifer Balkan  will be there April 1-3. What I like about Jennifer's paintings are her bright colors and that her figures are in unconventional poses. I would love to take a workshop with Malcom T.  Liepke, but he doesn't give them, so I am considering Jennifer's workshop(April 1-3 2016)

This  is one of Malcolm T. Liepke's.
Here is one of Jennifer Balkan-"Blue Moon II "

Her's are not as refined-if that is the correct word-and seem a little more of a caricature, but she uses a lot of color in her skin tones like he does, and her figures are close to the viewer like his although not quite as close.
The next workshop that appeals to me is by Edee Joppich (April 21-24 2016). Notice it is one day longer.Most of the workshops are for three days, but she is  giving a four day one. Edee is from Detroit Michigan and is primarily watercolor and collage. She owns Jopich's Bay Street Gallery gallery in Northport , Michigan. http://www.edeejoppich.com/gallery.html .

I think her workshop would be interesting to find out how she constructs her images and what kinds of  materials she uses and if she alters them and how . Also,  how hard it is to find buyers-people are cautious to spend money on oil paintings which if painted correctly can last hundreds of years-how do you convince them to spend money on an image made of unconventional (so to speak)materials?Maybe her materials are all archival. This will take more research, but this is what struck me when I perused the list of teachers at FLPC. Her style is very different from the other artists I really like ( and will  feature in future posts) so it could be a really big stretching and learning curve for me.
The last artist I will highlight today is Aline Ordman (May 13-15 2016). She works in oils and pastels and the feature of her workshop is painting from photos. This appeals to me because much of what I want to paint is from my walks-and the highway department frowns on me setting up in the road to paint plein air so photos I must take.(Because I wear braces I cannot take trek over uneven ground so getting off the road to paint that view is seldom possible.) She is an impressionist painter.

This painting is called "Frolic". Her colors appeal to me and I like "happy" paintings. This is interesting because the figures are so close to the right edge. Of course MOST people read a painting(at least in the West) from left to right. I am not one of them.I tend to enter a painting from the right. Painter Ian Roberts says you should design a painting so it is "entered" with the viewer in mind as if  he is standing directly in front of it. That seems fairly logical, when you think about it.

I would love to take one of his workshops. This is one of his paintings "Dogwoods at Kalopore". Sadly, he is NOT giving a workshop at FLPC.At least, not in 2016

Collie Whisson and Jon Redmond hold Artist Workshops at FLPC in Lowell Michigan for 2016

My wish book arrived via e-mail with all the workshops available in 2016 at the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell Michigan. I need to buy some winning lottery tickets to avail myself of all the wonderful artists Art Director Kathy Bechtal has lined up ! I have a process for elimination, and money is not the first criteria;what fun would there be in that?
The first thing I do is read through the line up and see who is coming, the artists particular media, and the thrust of their workshop. Then I sigh,  because they all sound good, and I can't take them all, money aside, because my husband would feel neglected. Then, I write down all their names and look up their websites, read their bios and artist statements  and then look at images of their work. This takes some time-and is very enlightening. 
Then I start crossing off workshops. The first ones I cross off are any I have previously taken-that usually eliminates-one to.... none. oh well. Then it's media I am not using or don't want to learn.Let's face it art supplies are expensive and to keep trying new media requires usually quite an investment. This actually is somewhat relieving, because it narrows my choices. After that it is the focus of the workshops, for instance -I don't like to paint still lifes so those are dismissed, then the artist's style. They are a wonderful artist, but I am not interested in hyper realism or whatever.Then after the first of the year, I get the dates for my husband's vacations, and that eliminates more, and the Mary Free Bed Art Exhibit weekend is also eliminated and Grand Rapids Art Prize-if I am entering.  But, I don't have those dates yet (except for Art Prize), so I have gone from a list of  twenty to eight. I am still not looking at finances. That comes after the final elimination of dates. I need to sell more paintings so I can take more workshops!
Here is a link to all of the workshops so you can see the variety Kathy has engaged. List of workshps and images of the artist's work
I am so blessed that this facility is so close to where I live. It is close enough I  can drive daily to the workshop which saves me travel expenses as an overnight guest or flying expenses.
There is one other criteria which eliminates my attending a workshop-sadly that is is if not enough students sign up for the lessons. Classes are small-fifteen is the most I have seen.  Wouldn't it be nice to be wealthy enough to sign up, and if there weren't enough students I could just give some scholarships and fill the class or just make up the difference and still have the instructor come for fewer students. One can fantasize.
One really cool artist coming is Collie Whisson (Sep 2-5)-all the way from Australia!

English-Rooftops by Whisson
His art book -"Creating Impressionist Landscapes in Oils one of the first art books I purchased. Perhaps, that isn't something I should mention-I've had it awhile and he might wonder why I am not at this point teaching a class myself.............(yes, his is one I want to attend-along with Jon Redmond (July8-10)

,This is by Jon Redmond titled Penobscott -Bay
Other artists I am interested in attending their workshops are(and I will be uploading an image of their work in my next blog:
Jennifer Balkan (April 1-3), Catherine Kehoe, (Aug17-20), Eric Bowman(June24-26),
Zoey Frank(May 27-29), Edee Joppich(April 21-24) and Aline Ordman (May 13-15)

plein air experiment

Monday I got up early to conduct my painting experiment. Okay, so it wasn't all that early, but it was before noon-8:30 AM to be exact when I got outside.  My goal was to capture color and values to compare with the same scene from inside the house so I didn't worry about composition, just some contrast. Initially I was just going to paint color planes, but I did a bit more...........although it is still a quick study.
My choices were limited. I wanted a view from the house that wasn't all tree leaves, and was on the first floor. I didn't know how fast the sun would change and going upstairs is not a fast procedure for me so the ground floor it had to be. And then I wanted something kind of interesting or pretty. I also wanted a counter
or table available so I didn't have to try and rush in with my easel. Of course had I been really prepared I would have set my easel up inside the night before, I did not think of that.  Now, you  know why I was not a science major...........
Outdoor considerations revolved around ease of access back into the house, not facing directly into the sun, a shadow to set up in would be preferable and flat ground . That left out most of the yard, not because it is excessively hilly, but because my husband hadn't been able to mow it, and the grass and leaves were too high for me to walk safely. So I ended up in our driveway, about 15 feet from our side door, below the kitchen windows.
I divided my canvas in two horizontally, deciding to paint the top the outside view, and the bottom the inside view.  The same view except for the vantage point, but not as drastic as if I had been upstairs. I painted my neighbor's field and his out buildings.  Here they are:

The inside one is darker, but not by a great deal-one or two values. I tend to paint  my values too dark outside -I'm working on that so it may have been lighter than what I painted it .It looks like I messed up the tree inside or the sun changed enough that it wasn't as dark as the outside one when it should have been darker,. One other consideration may be the distance of the subject matter. The farther away something is the less contrast, and this view was about 1/8 of a mile away . Corot advised "Begin you foreground fifty feet away."(from Carlson's Guide to landscape Painting by John F. Carlson).
 Today I also sent a dozen  paintings to Lyons District Library , 240 E. Bridge St., Lyons, MI. My paintings will be on display until the Wed . before Thanksgiving. Their hours are Mon: Noon-7:30,   Tues/Wed/Thurs:10am-6:30pm, Fri&Sat:10am-2pm-, and Sun-closed.

Plein air or not?

Last week I was preparing some panels and I noticed out the window that the sun was shining on the silos to the north. There were great shadow against the grain where some of the corn had been harvested and some was still standing(actually quite a few acres). So I hurried and set up my easel, grabbed a palette with paint globs and painted the scene. I found out with a brilliant day outside and a dark inside, it was very hard to even see the paint I mixed. I felt like I was painting blindly, but I didn't want to turn on the lights because I don't know if the bulbs are warm or cool. This was not my studio room. I finished the painting and it's okay. Somehow , I lost my darks and if I was to paint it  on a larger canvas would have to make some changes . So, did I really paint plein air , since I was inside looking out, or did I do a "studio painting"? or did I do a studio plein air?
I have read other painters doing the same scene over a length of time-a month, a year etc. A scene they see out their studio window-and I assumed they painted it from inside, but  maybe they still went outside and set up under/in front of their window...........because if you paint from inside you do have the glass to consider-it alters the color because the light/color has to pass through it, but how much? And does it alter the tone passing through glass-it must be a little darker. And also our windows have permanent screens, so of course that causes a value shift from the actual tone and would grey down the color also.
If there are any more nice days I think I will experiment. I'll prepare 2 canvases for the same scene-one from a first story window and paint the scene from the inside and then paint the scene outside and hope the sun doesn't change drastically before I can get out and set up. Of course, if I pick a typical Michigan day it'll be cloudy as we advance into November so there shouldn't be too much altering in contrast between painting inside and getting outside. That is the downside of living near the Great Lakes. Many, many, cloudy days.
A reminder-when you go plein air painting have a check list . I did not and congratulated myself on packing everything and not needing one. I scouted the site-my friend's farm yard, taking reference photos, deciding on the best place to set up  -an interesting view with contrast, and an area I could set up in the shade. Yes, I had it all, ......................except odorless mineral spirits. The last thing I was  going to pack and what I left behind. ......so I did not paint, and haven't had the combination of weather, the right time etc to get back.
But first, I need to find the time to make that checklist..........................

Tery Mieura's Notes on Color

A sunny day in Michigan and a good day to do some plein air painting-this afternoon which is a good reason to review some of Terry's color notes.
Going along with the color is his mantra of do not copy value but organize your values-so you have 3-5 in a painting and ave large connecting areas of the same value. Also if you tend to paint to dark-as a reminder use a white canvas , and if you paint to light-use a mid toned canvas
Paint colors he uses are:Titanium white, cad re light or medium,alizarin, Transparent red earth (or transparent oxide red  referred to by some artists as TOR, cad. lemon, cad yellow deep, yellow ochre . The yellow ochre should be mid value not a dark one. These vary from paint company to paint company. he uses a lot of Gamblin paints as do I.

These paint mixes are general, of course, the daylight circumstances  may call for the colors to be tweaked.

 Remember-color hue gives you the direction of the color only

1. To lay in darks-he uses ultra marine blue, and TOR. This makes for cleaner more  intense  transparent dark and you want your darks thin and transparent. I also added Alizarin to the mix by  mistake (see why you always need to put your paint in the exact spot on your palette?) and it worked okay but had a more purplish hue.

2. To paint a road he starts with-TOR, grey and white. You can mix your grey with complements or black and white.

3. Dark green-Cad Lemon,Cad Red and either Uultra Marine Blue or black

4. Warm green- Ochre, black or Ultra Marine Blue and just a tad of Cad Red

5. Mid green-add more yellow to cool the green . If you just add white to change the dark green to a mid green it could get too chalky-so add the yellow first then a little white if you still need to lighten.

6. The color of the sky is relative to colors around it-add a little of the environments colors into the sky

7. White in sunlight is the color of "vanilla ice cream"-so if you need to go have a cone to get that down-go right ahead. He makes it with - Titanium White, a touch of Cad Lemon and adds a little Ultra Marine  Blue  to grey it down . Not too much of either or you'll have a pale green instead  (anyone for mint choc chip ice cream without the chips?)

8. Do muted colors last -you can't get them down without some context.

9. For a green color in foreground, midground and background-he mixed his foreground color first, adds blue for the midground so it moves further back,and then just a tad more blue and white to move it even further  back . He makes the three piles at one time.

10. Brightest green -Cad Lemon and Cerulean Blue

11. Do not let under colors mix with top colors you will get MUD

12. Make sure your color is right on your palette -spend as much time as you need getting it right-you can't change it /alter it once it's on  the canvas-it'll be wrong or you will have to scrape it off.Ask yourself-what is the hue-then is my puddle  cooler, warmer, darker, lighter etc.  I had a yellow that was the right color family  but it was too bright and did not recede-I had to add the complement to grey it down(which was a grey from Ultra marine Blue and Alizarin). Terry  mixes his grey first- he gets the value right with his grey then adds the color to it. Much easier than trying to grey down the color and then trying to adjust the value .And you waste less paint.

Exhibit and more Terry Miura Tips

The Keller Williams building is a beautiful space. I met some really interesting and positive people, was well supported by family and friends and even made my way home without getting lost! Thank you to ACT ,
Keller Williams Rivertown,   Bransco Properties,Bransco properties,  The Gordon Group The Gordon Group, Transnation Title Agency of Michigan,www.transmi.com ,  Bella Leon LLC, West Michigan Caterer, www.westmichigancaterer.com (they make the best cornbread I've ever had), and Americas Preferred Home Warranty , Inc   aphw.org.  In addition to what has been on display I also had available art cards and two paintings that had been in the Mary Free Bed exhibit.

This Clouds and Field #2

Waiting-Gondolas both are 11x14's selling for $250
All paintings will still be at Keller Williams RiverTown until noon on Oct 26, 2015
Now what you've all been waiting for -more of Terry's Tips: This is short and on toning your canvas. My comments/explanations are in parantheses.
Reasons  to tone a canvas:
1 To kill the starkness-many painters also use a glass palette over a midtone grey paper (terry does) to help judge value better ( and with a toned canvas that can only make it easier ).
2. The toned surface will come through and help  harmonize( if it is not a complementary color to the main color in your painting).
3. Mid tone greys are often used-cool or warm (depending on what you want to achieve) or Transparent Oxide Red.( for a mostly brown painting-remember most tonal paintings are in values of grey or brown)
4, Don't use a complementary tone for the background, because it will then come forward, only the foreground. (Unless for some reason you WANT your background to come forward and not the foreground)
When using the complementary undertone it will make the foreground vibrate (think Christmas-if you had a red undertone and painted green over most of it with smallish areas of red showing about the green-it would vibrate)
5. High key paintings are not toned-you want the white canvas to brighten the painted surface-to reflect light through the transparent layers.
6. Tonal paintings can have toned surfaces and the tone is usually darker than the painted layers. If you're doing a  painting with lots of sky , it's better to tone only the lower part(the land).
Next Time I will write on Terry's color Tips. And the post will be on time !

More terry Miura -tonal and Impressionist painting

I'm sorry for the week delay in my posts. I was still working on marketing aspects which need the computer and being frustrated, Finally I called graphic artist and tech  guru Jeremy Mullens www.jeremymullens.com who sat down with me and patiently taught me and advised me. Worth the drive to Grandville and the time. I also met his wife Liz Mullens who is a fantastic artist and is on Facebook.
Art prize-I only got to Frederik Meijer Gardens to see the Japanese Ceramics. Just a small part of the huge event, but a very nice part. How did they get their pieces so huge and perfect? How did they get those magnificent glazes? How did they get them all over here without breaking any of them? Such a variety of techniques and ideas. A favorite-especially among the children were the dog couple whose bodies were made up of smaller dogs by Naoto Nakata. I was there to also see the West Michigan Bonsai Club's show-no, I wasn't, I was a day early.....................
The next post will be about my exhibit sponsored by ACTion Art showing at Keller Willaims RiverTown in Grandville so I want to include in this post two paintings by Terry Miura www.terrymiura.com.the first a cityscape and the second a landscape. The first one is titled  "Late Return No. 2 ",


and the second  is titled "Working Day".
 Miura is primarily a tonalist. Tonalists change value by lightening or darkening colors and impressionists change value by using warmer or cooler colors. Impressionists have more color in shadows and are  usually in a high key (lighter  values). Tonalists are more low key, have little color in the shadows and use mostly browns or greys. Although you might have some of one or the other in either kind of painting, the artist must decide if the painting is to be done tonally or in an impressionist manner.

Terry Miura's Tips

I finally got my notes in order from the workshop I took with Terry at the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell  Michigan. These tips are what I wrote down during his slideshow and demonstrations.  They are not from his book, as that would be stealing. Some of the tips he gave during those times may be in his book, but again, I am only writing from what I have in my notes from the workshop.
1. Plein Air sketches are not masterpieces. they are for;
   capturing color notes,
    color shapes, 
   collecting specific information
2. Photographs are for:
    structural information
    to use as a process-he enters the photo into a computer program and adjusts to 3-4  simple values to    see which value plan he prefers
3. Paint big strong, interesting shapes
4. Paint only 3-4 values
5. Look for light and shadows-you need contrast if you can't find any-move !
6. Painting is a stage: see how light hits the planes (foreground/middle ground/background)
7. Lose an edge of every shape so your painting melds together
Stages of  painting
1. Thin wash (this is easier to cover than thick and dries faster)
2. Opaque wash
3. Thick paint
Do thumbnails first before painting-the more you do, the more you see (the less scraping you will have to do and the less paintings you will throw away.
Pick the one you like and do it in a 3-4 value study and stick to it when painting
Do you need a sky? If not leave it out
Decide your focal point (who is your star?) and then everything else is to enhance it/point to it /support it /be subordinate to it
Your focal point can stand out by one or more( but not all) : value/contrast, thicker paint, harder edges, size,shape,- in relation to everything else in your painting.
Your focal point should be neither too big nor too small. (I picked a distant dead tree, and it was too little  -the barn in front of me too big-so I'm going to remember Goldilock's' creed -It has to be "just right")
More tips next time and I will try to  get permission from Terry to upload  one of his paintings for the next post.

Business cards

For my upcoming event at Keller Williams on Oct. 15th I need business cards. The last time I personally ordered business cards for Art Prize in 2012 I ordered a LOT. I was in a venue that had not a lot of traffic and I came home with almost ALL of them.  Then a month later we had to change our phone number...............so the business cards were no longer valid. I decided to be more savy this time around.
There are of course many on line ways to create and order business cards for a moderate price. That is good if you plan on handing out a lot and if you have a more static logo to use. If  however, you are an artist you can feature your own art on your business card, and then you may want something more fluid.
I read about this in I'd Rather be in the Studio by Alyson B. Stanfield. It is an excellent resource for understanding,  planning and promoting (your) art. I borrowed her book through an inter library loan, but you can find it on ebay, Amazon .com etc .However, you will pay a tidy sum  for a used copy, because she is no longer printing her book. You can get her updated book in an instant download  for less on her site at  artbizcoach.com .
Sculpture John T. Unger is mentioned in Alyson's book . He keeps the text on his cards, but changes the images. When someone is interested in a particular work of his, he can hand them a card with that image and they can remember why they wanted it. Having several images on his cards gives him in his words "a mini-portfolio" of his more recent work. You can read more on his blog johntunger.com . After reading that about John,  it sunk into my head that he is the son-in -law of my very good writing and walking friend, Katherine ! No, I have never met him, but I love his work. So, I went into Libre office on my computer to make my business cards. After MANY hours and frustration I called a friend in the printing business who agreed to help me. I toted along my laptop and we set to work. After an hour we gave up. She uses a wonderfully easy program called Quark, which I do not have. I went on Youtube, my husband's favorite site for help with repairs of any nature,and found a tutorial. Eureka! I was able to make a business card-going  from Libre office to Youtube and back several times. It took the tutor only 18 minutes-it took me much, much longer. And the really sad part? The tutor was explaining the process in his third language-English.....It turns out though, that he could not get the "business card"option to work under Libre office so he created the business card under the "labels" option instead.
The moral is, if you don't know what you're doing and you don't want to spend days in frustration, see if there is a Youtube tutorial. Some viewers commented that the tutorial I used  was boring, but for those of us almost computer illiterate it was just what I needed.
Once your card is designed, you have some other decisions. Will the card stock  work on your printer ? Do you have enough ink ? Can you cut them so they look professional? Of course you can make them any size, but a standard size will make more recipients happy.   I found out my local printing company will print them on their printer quite cheaply ( about 60cents /sheet and 10 cards  per sheet depending on the card stock and number of colors) All I have to do is email or take in a PDF file. And I can pay $4.50 to have the sheets  cut on their big professional cutting machine.  It sounds like a deal, and I will be supporting a local business.
If you stop by at Keller Willaims at Rivertown Crossing in Grandville on Oct.15th,  you  can view my paintings and get  my business card with an image of one of my paintings.

Brush washer container

In my studio when I paint my container for cleaning brushes is one my sister gave me for Christmas over
40 years ago. It is a glass jar with a wire coil inside and a screw on lid. It works great, but I was skeptical of taking it to plein air paint. Sure, I could adapt it to hang somehow  but, what if I dropped it and it broke or even cracked-not a good idea to have odorless mineral spirits spilling onto the ground.  Now they sell nifty containers to attach to your set up. They're metal containers with metal handles and a lid, but they cost -be still my heart-$20!
I tried fitting  my glass brush cleaner in a coffee can. The new small cans are made out of cardboard. The bigger coffee cans are actually metal but too cumbersome for outside of your studio.
A week or so earlier I received an email from Margo Burian (margoburian.net)about a wash container she devised. She used a new paint can, a sink stopper and a sink screen. It looked like a great idea.  I bought the stopper, the screen and went to my friendly Sherwin-Willaims paint store for a paint can. Well, a gallon was way too large to take, but a quart can was just the right size and all aluminum (as was the gallon). Sadly, the gallon comes with a metal handle but not the quart cans! and why not? Surely, even thought they are small, a handle would still be helpful to carry them from storage to wherever you're painting-even in your home? The price was right-free-so I thought I'll devise a handle. Home to create the perfect plein air brush washer container.
First thing I found out was my drain stopper did not fit inside the can. Should have looked at Margo's idea a little closer. Since one of my kitchen sink stoppers was cracked all was not lost, money for it was not down the drain (haha) and I put it in my sink. The screen also did not fit, but  made of thinner material with a handy pair of pliers I was able to bend it , and change it from a nice circle to a free form rounded mesh which did fit inside the can. The mesh is good because then the particles go below and the solvent is clear above.
 An old spoon could be used to pry open the lid, and a small ball peen hammer would knock it tightly closed. The hammer would not take up too much space in my bag and the spoon rested nicely beside the can in the basket.. BUT-how to attach it to my set up? If I punched holes in the can for a wire handle then I'd have leakage so to the dollar store I went.
There I supported China and bought two plastic baskets for $1. (Naturally, you could not buy only one). I looped a chain through the spaces in one of them and connected the chain to itself with small s-hooks which I tightened with pliers and then taped with electrical tape.
The basket was a little big for the can-so I wrapped foil around the can and then it was secure. It was a little bigger than I wanted but at least it was light weight and could be attached to the cart with bungee cords rather then take up space nside my carry bag.
When painting  I attached the chain over a big "S" hook which I hooked over the side of my paint box. In the picture you'll see shoe laces to make it less tippy but I didn't need them.

Wet Canvas Carrier

Today I'm showing my wet canvas carrier. I saw some posts on WetCanvas in the Plein Air Hall of Fame section which showed various artists' home made carriers. Some used foam core, some used picture frames.
I used a sturdy box . I chose the box because it opened on the top, was taller than it was wide and not too deep. Although, it could have been a few inches thinner.It took up a lot of room on the tote cart. It can hold about six panels, but for me that is way more than I need. Because: 1.I'm not generally going too far from my car so I could put some on the floor on plastic 2. I  am returning home after I paint so I don't need to store them over night or for more than the trip home. 3.  I am not a prolific plein air painter. I do two paintings 9x12 and then I am worn out, so i didn't need so much space. So if you're going to make one, consider your needs carefully.
I also chose this box because it was coated  in plastic. Therefore, I could set it on wet ground without it decaying. And the plastic made it sturdier.
It was free. We purchased something from e-bay and it was mailed in this box.
I bought four rectangular dowels at Menards and my BIL cut them in 15" pieces.  (I had one already)I glued the strips with wood glue in my box, two at a time. I had no clamps so I had to rely on the glue and some books to weigh them down until they were adhered. Then I flipped the box and did the other end. Last, I used some foamcore I had as spacers and glued in the last supports.Obviously, you want your wooden dowels to be the height of your box and the number and spacing depends on how thick your panels will be. I use very thin-1/8 inch panels.
Now, the box was bigger than the 9x12 panels , but not big enough for 12x16. However,I

I don't paint that big plein air so that was okay EXCEPT the small panels would not stay against the supports since they were smaller. So, I cut cardboard the size of the box and inserted it against the support. Then I applied very small velcro pads to the corners of the painted panels. This allowed the panels to rest against the cardboard , but the paint was not disturbed. Last, I drilled holes close to the top between the wooden supports and  used a rope -a very thinnish rope
for a handle.
This photo does not show the rope, but I am sure you can imagine it.

plein air with Terry Miura

So, Friday, Saturday and Sunday(11,12,13th) I spent with the fabulous painter Terry Miura (pronounced Meera) and nine(if I counted right) other students. He is an excellent teacher-explaining why he is doing what he is doing-whether it is mixing a new pile of paint, scraping off a drawing when the angle of the building wasn't quite right etc. However, like all great painters he had one big fault-he made it look EASY ! Watching him and listening to him, I understand what he is saying, I hear what he is saying, I watch him execute what he is saying, and then I go paint and although his words resonate in my head-my eyes and hand do not cooperate...............
I needed more paint, to apply the paint , not push the paint-lay it on delicately -you don't want to disturb the color underneath or you get mud-(enough to build a wall with bricks in my case-hah) .
And we saw beautiful slides of his paintings, got to see actual small paintings-he gets so MUCH information on a 9"x12". and if you go on his web site (www.terrymiura.com) you can see he not only is an accomplished landscape painter, but he also paints beautiful cityscapes and wonderful figures. No wonder he has students that study with him for many years.
The weather was fairly cold and mostly overcast, but no rain only a few spits. We painted at the Fransiscan Center the first day, at a nearby farm the second-very kind hostess-even made us cookies!-and at a bed and breakfast along the river on Sunday. The Fransiscan Center was having a work weekend so they made their workers cinnamon rolls and there were extras for us to have also.  And their first apples were ripe so they generously allowed us to sample them too. Folks, this was not the place to start a new diet ! During your time at the center-if you take a class there- Kathy Bechtal, the art director, also provides coffee, water and chocolate chip cookies......What torture to be diabetic !
We had an international group-three from West Michigan , one from OH, one from WI, two from CAN, Terry and a gal from CA (and she was born in Russia) and I think Terry said he was born in Japan.And another gentleman I didn't hear where he was from, and another man from IL.
I wasn't tired the three days, but Monday I was exhausted. I am slowly recovering .
Some things worked well, others didn't-they're for the next blog. Glad I could paint close to my car.Got a great book Terry wrote with his tips that he gives to his workshop students.

Look at values, compare values on your canvas and more.It's all highlighted, now to get it so it reverberates in my head while I paint. Lots of concentration required, You must apply your paint purposefully and mix it right.Close, is not good enough.. I got my copy signed.here he is doing a demo on Sunday and the pic he was kind enough to take with me.
Thank you Terry for teaching such a good workshop !
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update on plein air prep

Day two of prep and Many, Many hours later I think I have got it-of course it depends how windy it will be.
First I would like to say the tripod/pochade' box is a much faster set up that the plein air easel. I seriously thought of using it instead until I remembered Someone wanting to look at stars altered my tripod so it no longer held static in a level position.  I think I had to put J.B. Weld in a crucial spot to make it rigid and that someone broke the weld.
The umbrella contraption with plastic conduit was  too cumbersome and did not seem all that sturdy-and I have no desire to secure it with tent stakes if I don't have to-(all that bending ........not to mention keeping my balance and swinging a hammer.) Also,it took up too much room on the rolling cart. You can see in the photos how big it is. Also the umbrella kept breaking "spokes" so it had to be thrown out. I did learn you can paint an umbrella.
A gal on WetCanvas forum said she used car windshield sunscreens , but I couldn't find any at Meijers. I did have black foam core board , some silver foil soft foam core material (used in packaging some medical stuff that my sister Karolyn gave me). I scored the black foam core so it would bend and duct taped the silver to the top.The silver will reflect the sun and the black keep too much light from bouncing on the canvas.

I drilled one hole in the back, two on the front sides and tied them to the easels legs and through a board and legs in the rear with shoelaces.

Seems to work well INSIDE-don't know about outside, It'll be lighter to carry and easier to set up so I hope it works.The last pic shows the silver top. In the easel pic you can see a red  bag on the back added for weight. (recognize the material Janet?)The leather container once held binoculars but the top broke. I put in two plastic "cool aid" containers and attached a strap. This will hold my brushes. I bought new plein air brushes that are 23 " long! Not what I am used to. The blue topped container holds my glass palette.
I'll show the brush cleaner I made next time and show it all packed on the cart.
Thanks great niece Schuyler for helping me load the photos !

First Post

I'm preparing for a Plein Air workshop  at The Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell, Michigan. (www.lifeprocesscenter.org/visualarts-workshops.htm) I never imagined I could take workshops near my home from such accomplished artists as Kathy Bechtel , Art Director, has lined up. If only I had money to take all that I am interested in !
The instructor for the workshop I have signed up for is Terry Miura.- www.terrymiura.com. I signed up for the workshop and then realized one of his paintings is featured  in an art book I own -Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala. I'm going to take my book and see if Terry  will be kind enough to sign his name by his featured painting Into the Valley.  It is a great example on linear perspective.
This evening when I have some shadows to paint I'm going out in my backyard to do a little Plein Air painting and try out my set up before the workshop. Last year I used a pochade box attached to a tripod. The box I have had for almost 50 years, the tripod , not so long. But it was somewhat wobbly so I got a plein air easel at Hobby Lobby with their 40% off coupon. It might be heavy to haul over "hill and dale" but I'm putting it on a luggage cart and not going too far. It is sturdier than my previous set up. So then of course, I had to figure out new hanging devices etc for brushes, brush cleaning fluid, paper towels etc. But the  biggest trial was an umbrella. Not sure if I will even use it , but hey I'm entering the big time so thought I'll try it. I was given a small black umbrella so I painted the outside silver(to reflect the sun), then dismantled a laundry unit of it's plastic conduit/pipe and reassembled it to attach the umbrella to-with clamps and bungee cord. It works fine in my den where there's no wind-so there will be a trial run with it tonight.   And we get a lot of wind here so it should be a good indicator-not like being on the beach at lake Michigan, but more than in town. I bought some camping type stakes to anchor to the ground.(can't forget the hammer!)
One good idea I have":I use a glass palette and need a small paint scraper-the kind you put in a razor blade in. But I didn't want the razor to cut paint tubes or whatever in traveling -so I found an old eye glass case (hard plastic kind) and the scraper with the blade fits in it perfectly. Protection and no need to take a little screwdriver -to lose-to put the blade in and out.
I'll take pics of my setup tonight and post the next time with information on what was successful or a failure or not a rousing success , but not a cast off idea either.