It seems, Patrick John Mills, an artist in Ottawa decided to paint the same subject everyday in March. It takes a certain mindset to paint in the cold, day after day. It would be great to see a gallery pick these up and display the paintings en masse.
For more info you can read the full article from the Ottawa Citizen.
Image Credit: Patrick John Mills
Date: April 27th, 2013
Time: 10 am to 3 pm
Where: All Opus locations
Cost: Free
Description:
Whether you’re a seasoned painting pro, a beginning artist, or a creative individual looking for a new challenge, join us at Opus Outdoor Painting Challenge for a fun day with your fellow artists.
Paint in your favourite medium – acrylic, oil, watercolour – or create a mixed media piece, drawing, or collage; you name it! Your only limits: working outdoors within the designated painting zone on the surface we provide you with. And, in true plein air style, the challenge will happen rain or shine.
Each Opus store will be awarding prizes to three works, chosen on site by an impartial jury. The top prize in each location is a $500 Opus Gift Card, with 2nd and 3rd prizes being $250 and $100 Gift Cards, respectively.
More Information: Opus Website
When: July 11 – July 14, 2013 (Th, Fri, Sat, Sun)
Where: Fort Langley, BC @ Wisteria Acres (www.wisteriaacres.com)
Website: http://www.hamillstudios.ca/wisteriaacres.html
Fee:
Register before March 18 and pay only $525! This includes 6hrs of instruction per day, 3 nights accommodation (max. 8 spots) and four catered lunches.
Description:
For a fraction of the cost to paint with an instructor oversees, you can enjoy painting local landscapes on a beautiful retreat just outside of Fort Langley! The focus will be on plein air painting, though we will have access to a spacious indoor painting space if you prefer. Instruction will include techniques in oil and acrylic, including composition, colour theory, tonal values, texture, and brushwork. Paint all day with a catered lunch in between, and then enjoy good food and relaxed company each evening by the fireplace in a restored country cottage.
Register:
Contact Joanne Finlay at jfinlay@telus.net or call 604-539-1139. She will provide you with a form to complete and send along with your deposit cheque.
Paint Campobello – Plein Air Painting Workshops with Michael Chesley Johnson
Instructor: Michael Chesley Johnson
Date: July to September, 2013
Time: N/A
Location: New Brunswick
Cost: $300 (not including lodging)
Michael Chesley Johnson is once again offering his popular plein air painting workshops from July into September at his summer studio on Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada. These workshops are a real treat for the student because they are small in size – typically no more than four students – and offer some of the best Maritime scenery anywhere.
Campobello Island is home to the 3,000-acre Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, which was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning, and to the Herring Cove Provincial Park. The parks offer quiet beaches, bold cliffs and meadows edged with apple trees, and elsewhere on Campobello and in neighboring Lubec, Maine, the painter will find fishing villages and lighthouses.
Michael schedules two types of workshops. He gives workshops for any level of student in which the fundamentals of plein air painting are taught, and also workshops for advanced painters where the finer points of the painting process are discussed. Additionally, he is happy to serve as a guide or mentor for the advanced painter seeking a retreat. Workshops cost $300 for four half-days. They run half-days allowing the painter to paint on his own, if desired, or to explore the area’s many recreational opportunities with family or friends. Although Michael will paint in oil or pastel, students are welcome to bring any medium.
For details or to register, please visit www.PaintCampobello.com or contact Michael at mcj.painter@gmail.com. For details on Michael, visit www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com.
Michael also offers a similar program in the Red Rock country of Sedona, Arizona, from October into April. For details, visit www.PaintSedona.com.
Michael Chesley Johnson is a plein air painter working in the American Southwest, coastal Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. He has been an Invited Artist at the Sedona Plein Air Festival for the past 6 years (2006-2011) and in 2011 also participated in the Plein Air Southwest, Grand Canyon National Park and Zion National Park invitationals. In 2012, he is an Invited Artist for both Plein Air Magazine’s Plein Air Expo & Convention and again for the Grand Canyon event. Additionally, he is a Contributing Editor for The Artist’s Magazine and a frequent contributor to Pastel Journal. He also specializes in teaching small-size plein air painting workshops and has many books and instructional videos available.
Every good plein air student needs to discover Hawthorne at some stage. “Hawthorne on Painting” is a little paperback which is currently being listed on Amazon and other book selling sites.
Charles Hawthorne is often quoted by painterly illuminati, although some say his teachings are contradictory. I bought the slim paperback online. It is without any illustrations but it IS full of advice.
The book consists of students’ notes of his teachings collected by his wife.
I’m paraphrasing here:
“Avoid drawing – simply put one spot of correct colour and value next to another…”
“Don’t paint with a brush, use a lot of paint with something like a palette knife without a pointed end.”
“Exaggerate colour, create a surprise…”
“Paint something ugly…open peoples’ eyes by showing them the beauty inherent in commonplace things.”
So I took my pochade box to Government House in Victoria and and instead of selecting the gorgeous flowers I chose a tractor in the gardens.
Wow, did I struggle. I missed my brush, I missed my under painting, I missed my drawing and I duly started with a spot somewhere in the middle, laying other spots around it, ignoring edges. Just like he said.
I’m not so certain about the end-result but I learned a lot, and had fun. Just like he said I would.
The 6 x 8 was dripping with wet juicy acrylic so I had to carry it to the Show ‘n Tell with my dustpan – my fellow Al Frescoes laughed when they saw my Hawthorne-method painting.
Next I’m going to discover Henry Hensche. The book is listed at over $1,500.00 on eBay but I’ve ordered the penny-horrible version off the Internet. Talk ta ya later…
**UPDATE
Here are the two separate methods I have used as sleeves on a tripod leg to keep the umbrella in place.The sharp end of an umbrella pole can slide into either of these. The upper grip can either be a hole drilled into the paint box or a key-ring wide enough to accommodate the umbrella pole.
LEFT :: From the liquor store, a plastic sample holder
RIGHT :: From an old bicycle tube, some rubber. (Note- the valve is not necessary but it does provide a helpful handle).
