Painting the Field Study – Plein Air Workshop

Our focus will be on painting the beautiful landscape of the historic Leighton Art Centre. Anyone who has had the pleasure of painting the stunning vistas of this heritage site will know that beauty abounds! And often, along with this beauty, comes great complexity.

Our aim, therefore, will be to “simplify” this complex scene through the use of the ‘field study”. Using thumbnail value sketches & painting exercises, we’ll learn to build a strong composition & “abstract design’ by focusing on the fundamentals: Shape, Value, Edges & Colour. We’ll talk about visual concepts & how to paint our ‘field studies’ with these ideas in mind.

‘Field Studies’ are notes & ideas gathered in the field through sketches & small paintings, which, along with photo references, can later be used for larger studio paintings. A field study is a way to resolve problems before tackling a more complex studio painting.

Day 1 of this workshop will include a demo in the morning followed by an afternoon of painting exercises.

Day 2 will build on the valuable ideas & concepts learned on the first day.

You’ll receive plenty of one-on-one, hands-on guidance as Bobbi sensitively guides you to your own “personal artistic vision”.

Audience: Some experience to advanced artists welcome – maximum 8 students.

Supplies: Please find the Supply List here.

Registration cost: $240. + GST & Eventbrite Fees*

* or register by phone: 403-931-3633, Mon-Sat, 10 am – 4 pm to avoid Eventbrite fees

Did you know that Members of the Leighton Art Centre get 10% off the registration cost of all workshops and kids’ summer camps? Please visit www.leightoncentre.org/support/members.

For our Cancellation and Refund Policy, please visit www.leightoncentre.org/programs-events/adult-programs.

Artist/Instructor/Guide

Childhood art creation opened a world that I happily took on as my personal identity. My parents lovingly encouraged my early efforts. Then it was my husband and children who supported and cheered my every advance. Each chapter of my life has brought renewed and abundant painterly richness for me as an artist.

At times we are fortunate enough to have a profound influence come into our lives at pivotal moments. For me, that authority was the masterful American artist, David A. Leffel whose philosophy about art and life has been a significant force in my artistic journey. Leffel’s profound words, “you learn about life as you learn to paint and you learn to paint as you learn about life” have long resonated with me.

Ultimately, painting is about life and how uniquely one sees it. It’s about “the pursuit of knowledge” … not about technique or formulas. I believe that it is about beauty and when one looks for beauty, it will be clearly observed. Each time I begin a new painting, I look for innate beauty.

“Processes” have always fascinated me … how they intrinsically connect my work. As I have matured as an artist, this idea has become increasingly more important: the quality of the surfaces I choose to paint on, often hand-made; the lovely marks my brushes make; the luscious quality of the paint as I sculpt with my brush. All of these are processes that connect me more deeply to my work and bring a joy to my daily practice of painting.

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