Drawing Outside at Willowood with artist Jane Ramsey, July (4 wks)
New to plein air? This is for you.
Challenged when you have tried plein air? This is for you, too!
Love working en plein air? Join us!
Wednesdays, 10 am – 1 pm (3 hour)
4 sessions, July 8, 15, 22, 29
These three-hour sessions will be spent outdoors at Willowwood Aboretum finding inspiration from working en plein air. (in case of rain, we’ll move indoors to the studio at Makers)
These sessions are designed to emphasize the value of working from direct observation and the joy I find sketching outdoors. I want to create a plein air experience that is enjoyable, easy with a set-up that works best for you!
We will explore sketching to capture overall views where we’ll consider composition, spatial arrangement and editing to simplify. The incredible diversity of trees found on the grounds will be perfect for doing smaller focused studies exploring shape and definition. This will be fun!
The “Color Notes” part is a term I use for adding color information to all or just parts of my drawings. I’ll even add small notes of information that I want to remember, should I choose to work on it further in the studio. When used together with your photo references, they inform and guide for creating a larger finished painting.
Or, these sketches can just be kept as they are. Moments of visual memories. Valuable exercises in drawing from life.
Art set-up for drawing/painting:
- Work in a sketchbook or paper attached to a small drawing board on your lap.
- You can also bring your plein air easel set up. Either works.
Art materials to bring:
- Drawing materials – pencils, erasers, blending stumps. Graphite and/or charcoal.
- For adding color you can bring colored pencils and/or pastels.
- Watercolor is my chosen medium, but you can work in something else if you prefer.
- There are no rules on the materials used.
Other things to bring:
- Bring an outdoor chair to sit if you prefer. (There are some benches at the park.)
- Pack bottled water, snacks for when you need them.
- Bring bug spray and dress appropriately for outdoors.
- Hats with a wide brim are really helpful.
I’ll have my favorite art supplies with me that you can try out. I always have Blackwing pencils and other supplies available individually for purchase.