Richard Drayton

Students from the January Weekend Workshop “Colored Pencil Adventure”

My January colored pencil workshop brought together a wonderfully enthusiastic and
dedicated group of artists!

For the first-time students that joined us, the focus was on learning my technique of
blending colors to achieve a high level of richness and saturation and a truly
painterly effect with Prismacolor art pencils.

I provided several different image and color progression exercises designed to expedite
the learning process, and my ongoing students continued to hone their skills on one of
these or a project of their own.

As usual, I had the most fun…..working with everyone individually and as a group..
…answering questions and getting to know everybody while sharing some of the
secrets of creating a high performance visual experience.

My thanks to everyone for all the kind remarks and allowing me to have so much fun!

The next weekend workshop with Richard Drayton is Feb 23 & 24 and can be found HERE!

Winter Sale on all workshops and Field Expeditions!

 

Out with the old in with the new! Enjoy our new website interface and as you shop take 10% OFF all NEW Workshop registrations!  Between now and January 9th use the coupon code ARTS13 as you register to get 10% off the total cost of any new registrations for a workshop or field expedition.  Every workshop and field expedition is on sale for new registrations during this special offer (2) per customer. Take a moment to browse Master Artists teaching this in 2013 arranged by areas of interest HERE.

Our new Sedona Art Retreats also make a wonderful gift of creativity for yourself or someone close to you.  Hurry the coupon expires Jan 9th!

Image courtesy of Gretchen Lopez “Nana’s Cottage” 5×7 oil plein air – still wet! www.gretchenlopezart.com Gretchen Lopez teaches in our weekly classes program!

Betsey Nelson

Betsey Nelson writes: “The further I delve into painting the more I want that atmosphere to overwhelm any other consideration of the painting. Actually,  I want that atmosphere, that space to be the painting. I don’t wan’t the painting to be about anything, a building , a person and object. Learning this has caused me to let go of a lot of earlier concepts I held of what painting is and just to let the painting happen and get out of the way. More importantly it means stopping before getting too descriptive or decorative. This allows every painting to be a whole new adventure, a whole new excitement and a whole new joy. The missteps lead to the next wonderful discovery – the price to be paid for getting there.
Betsey Nelson teaches  a workshop: Painting Strong and Loose November 8-11, 2012 see all the details HERE.

Pierre Mion

Pierre Mion

During a recent exhibition of Northern Arizona Watercolor Society’s annual juried spring show Pierre Mion won an award of excellence from the juror for “Mexican Hat to Monument” (top, above).  During the duration of the show, which was in the Sedona Arts Center,  Special Exhibition Gallery, people who attended the show were asked to vote on a favorite painting.  This award, The People’s Choice Award, was not publicized until the first meeting of NAWS this past September.  The name of the “People’s Choice” painting is “Tracks at Chapman’s Corner”.  It is a watercolor.   The reason for the name is the Chapmans, Jim and Barbara Chapman, live a couple of miles down the road from my farmhouse in rural Virginia.  This scene is by the corner of the road that goes up to their home.  Pierre Mion painted it recently from photographs he took when he still lived in Virginia.  The tracks in the snow, at the bottom of the painting, are from a small animal that has apparently gone down to drink from the water. Pierre Mion is teaching a workshop at the Sedona Arts Center in November “The Watercolor Portrait”. The 4-day workshop features a step-by-step process balancing planning and spontaneity. See more by clicking on the dates – Nov 5-8, 2012.

Richard Drayton

Richard Drayton offers a unique critique/consultant  service through our ongoing virtual class, “Drayton Online”.

The changes suggested to Laura were:

1.  Darkened the entire background to bring the figure forward.

2.  Intensified the blue in the hat.

3.  Removed the black behind her neck.

4.  Made the hair more golden in color.

5.  I gave the entire piece a little more vibrant color saturation.

To get professional consultation on your work… simply register for the class then you will be given instructions for submitting one painting and/or drawing for analysis.  Richard will then analyze  the piece and manipulate the image – as shown in the illustrations above – to reflect suggested improvements.  The resulting image, along with written comments will then be delivered to you by print and/or email.  All recommendations will be simple to execute, and guide you toward a more effective composition. See all the details HERE.

Richard Drayton also teaches a workshop” Colored Pencil Adventure” next meeting Nov 9 – 11, 2012. He teaches how to push the creative boundaries by combining the colored pencil with a variety of methods and media. Details HERE.

New Peter Fiore workshop

Peter Fiore “Rising Sun” 36×36 oil

Peter Fiore has created a beautiful series that explores the seasons through a set of trees that are  painted almost as outdoor portraits. His website is rich in both image and word; the “White Pine Suite” can be seen on his website HERE.

His workshop at the Sedona Arts Center  meets  May 20 – 24, 2013

“Landscape Painting – Beyond the Photograph”
May 20 -24, 2013.

The study and interpretation of light is the foundation of all representational painting; time of day, weather, color and texture, among others will be explored in this workshop. You will learn how to control light, key your paintings and create good value structures so that you can achieve the specific feeling or mood you are after to fill your paintings with light and energy. Working from your own photo reference, you will learn how to redesign the elements of the photo to create a more dynamic and compelling painting. Demonstrations, critiques and discussion of materials, techniques and common problems will be a part of this 5 day workshop. Class will be held mostly indoors and students should bring 5-10 landscape photographs (5×7 or larger) to work from. Also, students should bring a digital camera. They will spend some time outside photographing and learning how to make solid photo reference.

The essentials of painting; design, value structure, color and exquisite paint quality will be the focus of this workshop. The workshop is open to all skill levels and styles. The main focus is on oil painting, however all media are welcome.

Joella Jean Mahoney – Workshop

Joella Jean Mahoney in her studio.

No experience is required for this unique weekend of art immersion with a master teacher and artist. Joella guides you to finding your own rich, personal content through a process of collage and spontaneous painting. These intuitive works are then assembled into a life-size collage that expresses a map of your entire life! You will learn surprising things about the source of art and about yourself.

Joella Jean Mahoney is Professor of Art Emerita, University of La Verne where she began developing the art Department n 1964. She holds a BA in Art from Northern Arizona University and an MFA in painting from Claremont Graduate University. Mahoney is known for her dramatic, large scale landscapes in oil. Even though she has a flower series, a figure series, and a horse series, the canyon landscape of the Colorado Plateau has become the major motif of her paintings.

These landscapes contain all the elements of her huge originality; the spontaneous brush strokes, the inventive shapes, lambent color, and monumental scale of work and vision. Mahoney’s distinctive style that bridges realism and abstraction uses color and structure to share with the viewer the spiritual content of experiencing the miracle of nature and life.
See more at http://www.redstonegallery.com

See all the details about this workshop that meets on Oct 6 – 8, 2012 at the Sedona Arts Center HERE

10% Discount on Workshops through Sept 5th!

 

Hello Everyone,

To celebrate “Back to School” at the Sedona Arts Center, we are offering a 10% discount on all new workshop registrations between Aug 20—Sept 5, 2012! Take advantage of this opportunity to receive a special discount on your enrollment in any currently scheduled 2012/2013 workshop. Click HERE to explore all the categories and a chronological list of all workshops. (This coupon does not apply to Field Expeditions or Year Round Classes)

During online registration enter the coupon code FALL2012 in the “coupon” field to receive your discount. If you choose to use our payment plan and make a $100 deposit to reserve your spot, the entire discount will be automatically applied to the balance due. This coupon can be used twice for two different workshops during this special enrollment period.

You may call to register but you must mention the coupon to receive the discount!
888-954-4442 or 928-282-3809
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Arizona Time.

Welcome Back to School!

Vince Fazio,
Director School of the Arts

A One Brush Wonder by Gretchen Lopez

“Before the Dance” 18×24 oil Gretchen Lopez

I rarely include figurative subjects in my demonstrations for my advanced painting class.  They really are a challenge, especially when there is a time element involved. But upon rethinking where I am taking them, I thought that a good demo, should focus on a figurative subject. So for my painting demonstration, I selected photo reference of my Husband’s Grand Niece, Paloma….for a couple of reasons; It would serve to demonstrate my “one-brush wonder” exercise, by showing the student how to paint shapes instead of things.  Then by utilizing a larger brush throughout the course of their painting, they can learn to maintain some vitality in their paintings.

A long shot?  for a demo yes…but for my students, no…

Gretchen Lopez teaches Beginning Painting and Going Further with your Painting on an ongoing basis on Fridays at the Sedona Arts Center. Her next series of classes start September 21. Registration and more information available HERE.

Drayton Online

We are trying something new this year…. “DRAYTON ONLINE”.

There is a reason that advertising agencies have art directors, and we think everyone can benefit from professional critique of their work.  My years as an art director and illustrator gave me the background needed to help artists improve their compositions in both subtle and dramatic ways.

To participate, simply register HERE and then follow instructions to submit a painting and/or drawing for analysis to Richard Drayton.  Richard will then analyze the piece and manipulate the image – as shown in the illustrations above – to reflect suggested improvements.  The resulting image, along with written comments will then be delivered to you by email.  All recommendations will be simple to execute, and guide you toward a much more effective composition.  We are also offering this in a one-day class format called “Digital Analysis”.  Digital Analysis is available twice this fall  Oct 6 or Nov 17

Here is how the analysis of the above painting played out.

The original composition on the left (number one) leads the eye of the viewer off the bottom of the painting both left and right. My goal is to keep eye moving within the painting, thus maintaining viewer involvement and interest.

Painting number two, on the right, has been adjusted in the following ways.

1. Added another leaf and made the original leaf larger and brighter to balance the cast shadow on the lower left and pull the eye back into the composition. Also darkened the  background behind the larger leaf to increase contrast.

2. Removed the foreground shapes and darkened the lower right to keep the eye from slipping off in that direction.

3. Softened the cast shadow and lightened the left edge.

4. Leveled the back edge of the table so both sides are aligned.

see Richard Drayton’s work online at his website. www.richarddrayton.com