Beginner Winter Plein Air (Outdoor) Painting: Palette Knife Technique, Feb 6

Description:

*We will be limiting the number of people to 10 to allow for social distancing. Please bring a mask that is fitted over your mouth and nose . 

With professional painter, Melanie Barash Levitt

In this one day winter outdoor painting workshop, students will enjoy the process of setting up an easel outdoors and painting the beautiful winter White Mtn. landscape “en plein air.” By dressing properly and wearing hand and foot warmers, painting in the winter can be enjoyable and you can stay warm! The focus of this class will be painting a winter scene with a palette knife and creating beautiful texture in your painting.  Brushes also can also be used to apply thick paint. Through demonstration and individual attention in oils, students will learn how to distill the important information from their observation and translate it onto the canvas.

Melanie will address the importance of sketching, composition, color mixing, and other tips for painting outdoors.  All this will be taught in an understandable step by step process which will lead students to improve their ability to see the landscape and create a finished painting in a short time. This class is suitable for the total beginner or the intermediate student who wants to learn how to paint outdoors. Students will work on and complete at least one painting. No need to invest in expensive equipment! We can provide you with a plein air easel, mixing palette, palette knife and brushes.  You will need to bring your own paints, canvas boards, sketchbook, pencils, paper towels and a bag for trash. This class is limited to 10 students to allow for individual attention. (there are 6 plein air easels for rent) Location in Jackson, NH  TBD. We will be painting near a bathroom and a place to get hot drinks and warm up! In case of inclement weather, we will have a make up date of Sunday, Feb 7 or the following weekend if needed.

Saturday, Feb 6, 10am-4pm, $165 bring your own supplies  or have us provide some of your supplies for $195 .This class is also open to high school students.

Private & semi-private sessions are also available. (please inquire)

Cancellation Policy: We ask that you to give us two weeks notice if you need to cancel for a full refund minus a $20 cancellation fee. Cancellations should be made by phone by calling (603) 387-3463. This provides us the opportunity to fill the space. We are sorry, but we cannot give refunds or issue credits for missed classes or no shows.  

Please Dress in layers:

-Warm Winter Boots with wool socks

-Hand and Foot Warmers are a must

-Long underwear as base layer

-Warm Winter Ski Coat with hood

-Ski Pants with layers underneath for warmth

-Tight fitting warm gloves (so you can hold a palette knife)

-A pair of wool socks cut at top to wear over your tight fitting gloves  for added warmth

-Fleece Face mask or neck warmer

-A bathmat or piece of cardboard to stand on instead of snow

-Your car to take breaks to warm up

-Sunblock

-A thermos with warm drink

-Plenty of water

-Lunch and snacks or food can be ordered at nearby cafe

-Mask (for when we are meeting closer together at 6’ for demo. We will spread out 10-12’ when painting and you can take mask off)

ART SUPPLIES (Michaels has most of these supplies)

-Sketchbook & soft pencils

-Canvas boards - I like Ampersand Gessoboard to use with a palette knife ( 12x16" is good size and maybe bring a second smaller one if you finish the first)

-Plein air easel (french easel, pocade box etc) You can rent one from Jackson Art and also includes use of palette, brushes and palette knife for the day for $35.

-Optional: Easel Umbrella for glare from sun

-Oil Paints:  (you can also get water soluble oil paints or open acrylics)
Limited Palette  (I like Gamblin because it works best with palette knife painting)
Bring what you have. This is suggested list:
Titanium white
Ultramarine Blue
Prussian or Phthalo Blue (optional)
Cad yellow light or Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red or Cadmium Red Light
Aliziran Crimson or Quinacrodine Red (optional)
Dioxine Purple (optional)
Pthalo Green (optional)

-Optional Variety of brushes  (I use flats/brights size 4,6,8)

-Palette knife with neck and pointed tip

-Brush washer or jar to put mineral spirits

-Oderless Mineral Spirits (Gamasol recommended)

-Medium for oils- Liquin (optional)

-Rags or paper towels

-Palette to mix on

-Plastic bag for trash

 

Melanie Barash Levitt graduated in 1990 from the Rhode Island School of Design and received a BFA in Graphic Design. She worked in the graphic design industry for over fifteen years and was part of the creative team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Melanie spent a year living in Japan and that time had a great influence on her life and her art. She has painted her whole life, but fell in love with plein air (outdoor) painting over fifteen years ago on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. She still paints there in the Summer, but mostly enjoys setting up her easel outside and painting the local landscape of the White Mountains of NH where she resides. Being outside in nature and taking in the scene and translating that beauty on canvas is her true passion.

Melanie paints in a loose, impressionistic style with a brush or a palette knife and likes to focus on creating light and color harmony in her paintings. She also teaches oil painting and printmaking at her studio, Jackson Art, and runs art camps for kids in the Summer. Melanie’s artwork resides is in the home of many collectors through the US, Canada and Europe. She exhibits her work in galleries and shows throughout NH and ME and has been featured on Boston Chronicle, WCBV TV (ABC) and been published in Boston Voyager Magazine.

We are sorry but registration for this event is now closed.

Please contact us if you would like to know if spaces are still available.