Sort of a Survey

[blondheim12]

Dear All,
I'm teaching some workshops for beginning plein air painters. Sort of a series of how to get started workshops about equipment, painting surfaces, color theory, safety issues, etc.etc. on the first day and painting on location on the second day.
I'd like to have your opinions on what you like the best and least about workshops, what you expect from instructors, what teaching style you prefer, that sort of thing. I am always continually trying to improve my workshops.
Love,
Linda
http://pleinairflorida.org

[Ruth]

I like workshops that are well organized, with handouts containing all the information. If people have to take notes, it gets time-consuming because you have to keep repeating things.

The sooner the participants get their hands on whatever is happening, the better. Lecture-type sessions tend to lose interest. Demonstrations are good if they're quick and well-organized. If you do a demo, be sure you talk loud enough for everyone to hear, and place it where everyone can see without having to crowd around and look over shoulders.

Question-and-answer sessions are good, but have the questions written down and handed in so you can screen them, and read them aloud so everyone can hear. You can supply some of your own "questions" this way, and make them funny enough so that the answer is remembered.

If you have recommended certain materials and supplies, have some on hand that you can sell.

I don't know how many people you have at these workshops. If you have people who are at different levels of skill and experience, have an activity planned for those who already know the basics, while you teach the basics to the beginning beginners. If they don't know what you mean by terms such as perspective, value, warm and cool colors, etc., and if they don't know the basics of color mixing, they'll be frustrated and won't enjoy the experience. Painting outdoors is complicated even for experienced painters, as you know!

I have some friends who are studio artists, who are just beginning to venture out to paint. Somehow, they tend to forget everything they know when faced with all outdoors. They also don't realize how fast they have to work, and will take a tiny brush to a huge canvas trying to paint every blade of grass and every flower petal! If there's a way to avert this in your preparatory session, do it! If you have something that works, please let me know! :D I keep telling them to use big brushes, and keep it simple, but it doesn't sink in! :D I've been using Larry's method of ragging-in and painting with a knife, which helps me a lot.

Another helpful thing is to carry a piece of cardboard with a window cut in it, to use as a viewfinder.

Okay, enough.

Good luck with these workshops. I'll be interested to know what kind of presentation you come up with!

Ruth

[walden]

Well, I've only taken one workshop, so I don't exactly have a wealth of experience to draw on, but I can tell you what helped me most. While we were beginning each painting, my instructor went around and gave each of us a few minutes of individual attention-- in that time he gave me tips on drawing that helped me a lot, as that was one of my weakest areas. (I knew that my road looked wrong, but I had no idea why-- he saw that it looked like it was going uphill, and that the reason was that the angle was wrong. That was a big help! He taught me how to sight my paintbrush down an angled line and pull it straight down to my canvas. ) Also, he wanted us to do value sketches prior to each painting, and when on the second day I started without doing my value sketch, he good-naturedly chided me on it so that after that I always did it, rather than just letting it go. I don't always do it now, but I got a lot more out of the workshop by following his procedure during that time than I otherwise would have. So, if there is some procedure you want people to do-- make them do it (many of us are just clueless teenage rebels at heart. :D ).

I haven't experienced this myself but I've heard of situations like it-- the one thing that would really bother me would be if there was a lot of idle chatter in the group either while people were painting, or while the instructor was talking or demoing, and the instructor didn't try to control it.

[walden]

One other thought-- making me do the value sketches for a week taught me something important about art procedures and techniques in general-- that I need to do them a dozen times or so to know if they work for me. Like, when I first tried Larry's ragging in technique, it worked great, then the next two times I messed it up, then it worked again-- and I know that I need to KEEP doing it for a while to see if I want to make it a permanent part of how I work, or how I work sometimes. The same is true of your comment on my painting about working all over the canvas (thanks for that pointer, by the way!)-- I'm going to try working that way for a while, and I know I'll need to do it at least a dozen times or so to give it a fair trial, to see if it's a good technique for me.

[blondheim12]

Thanks Lisa and Ruth,
I always have a huge booklet to hand out with lots of information that the attendees get to keep. I save old plastic slide covers and give them out to my students for compositional aides. I don't work in a lecture style. I prefer informal questions and answers. Most of the people who take my workshops are painters who have studio experience but not plein air experience. They want to know how to get set up and what to do in the field so my emphasis is on the mechanics of plein air painting, equipment, safety issues, etc. There are plenty of people who teach painting workshops but few who tell you how to get from a to b. I didn't want to jump on the painting bandwagon, but instead to facilitate painters in learning the joys of location painting. To solve the mystery of it for them. Where to buy equipment, how to make painting panels or where to buy them. Easels, etc. What covenience items to take along, how to deal with wind. My interest is in what people would like to learn or have, what are their expectations from taking a workshop?
Love,
Linda
http://pleinairflorida.org

[CarlyHardy]

When you're covering the basics of what to take for plein air and how to get set up....a slide or video presentation would be really helpful. A pic is worth a thousand words. As many times as people said...take BUG SPRAY with you!....it didn't sink in until the first day out on location and the bugs began biting folks who did not prepare ahead of time.

Simplicity is so key to working plein air. I'm really glad I took my french easel (it's now been christened! with oils) because the wind blew over everyone's easels that were not heavy enough to withstand it.

And demos are so great! I noticed with Susan's demos that she took less time explaining with each one. The first was the most detailed with comments....the next the comments were less detailed until the second and third stage of the painting...and the last was fast working thru the stages quickly and answering questions, more limited comments. We got a good idea of the time it should take for a plein air painting with the last one!

Limit painting to a one inch brush for blocking in and a palette knife. That should get some of those folks out of the every leaf and grass blade stage...lol.
carly

[blondheim12]

Carly,
Thanks for the advice and opinions.
I don't like pallette knives at all. Never have. I think it was the Leroy Neiman era that really turned me off to that look. I'm from the old school of painting. brushes only. When I was in art school, back in the stone ages, palette knives were considered a novelty . That's what makes painting so much fun. We all have our likes and dislikes so all painters are different.
I do like demos. I often do paintings in partial stages, say three paintings at different stages of completion of the same subject, so that people can see the progression. It also saves time so that I can spend more time working with people instead of doing the painting myself.

I don't like to paint on peoples work either. I think that is a little insulting. I'd rather take a panel myself and show them on my own painting.

I appreciate everyones thoughts about what they would want to have happen in a workshop.
Love,
Linda

[nancymae]

Wish I were closer to take one of your workshops!!! My main peeve with workshops that advertise the level of instruction. I have had many workshops that advertise for beginning/intermediate painters.....and I really don't get anything new....because the beginning painters need so much help, I didn't get much feedback at all, and really knew everything that was being taught. I won't take another course that is for beginners (unless I AM one). I understand that there would be more need for help with the beginning students, but there should be SOME value for the intermediate students that already know the basics....except for just watching the instructor paint.

My two cents!!

Good luck with your pleine-air classes!!!

Nancy

[Phyllis Rennie]

Hi Linda, I've never had the opportunity to take a workshop but if I were to sign up for one about plein air, here's a couple of things that I would want to learn.

What kind of mediums work well outside? What kind of containers to put them in to transport? How to keep from spilling them on the ground?

What to do with the paint left on the palette when the session is over? Good suggestions for transporting dirty brushes, etc.? What to take along to clean your hands?

Simple, basic stuff for someone whose done it for awhile but if you've always painted in a studio, it's not part of your system.

Wish I lived closer. I'd love to sign up. Good luck.

[impressionist2]

Linda,

The most important thing to me is the daily demo. One well known portraitist whose workshop I took, decided he didn't feel like doing a demo on the first day. By the second day he had a mutiny on his hands. The class felt, and rightfully so, that they paid good money and expected to be able to watch an advanced artist in action. I learn the most from the demo.

Second most important thing is to give each student some individual attention. That means everyone in the class.

It helps if the teacher is enthusiastic and interesting to listen to as well.


Renee

[blondheim12]

Originally posted by Phyllis Rennie
Hi Linda, I've never had the opportunity to take a workshop but if I were to sign up for one about plein air, here's a couple of things that I would want to learn.

What kind of mediums work well outside? What kind of containers to put them in to transport? How to keep from spilling them on the ground?

What to do with the paint left on the palette when the session is over? Good suggestions for transporting dirty brushes, etc.? What to take along to clean your hands?

Simple, basic stuff for someone whose done it for awhile but if you've always painted in a studio, it's not part of your system.

Wish I lived closer. I'd love to sign up. Good luck.
Phyllis,
That is exactly the kind of thing I teach in my workshops. They are practical information about the mechanics of painting on location. I take all kinbds of equipment with me to show them and set it up for them to see.
All your suggestions have been great and I thank you for helping me continue to improve my workshops as I go.
Love,
Linda
http://pleinairflorida.org