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The mind remembers, in fuzzy or vivid detail, snippets of history and portions of the whole picture. You might remember what dress you wore the first day of kindergarten but the rest of the school year is a blur. You may even have the outline burned in your memory of the peripheral view of those who were with you when you stood for an award, but can’t for the life of you remember who those people were. Or, maybe, you remember every little detail of particular event – the people, the scents, the colors of the sky, sounds of commotion but most important to you are a few key details of the moment. The apron grandma always wore, dad’s work boots, the color of morning on the farm. Those are the details we will bring into focus in this two day intensive exploration in dreamscaping. Working from real photos in large format, we will use a selective eye to set apart the points of focus from the background blur – both real and in our mind’s eye. Though there may be undesired parts of the photo, we will focus on over-painting using my developed “pastelcrylics” technique that brings a soft, painterly, dreamlike quality to the work, obscuring what you don’t want and enhancing what you do. Through exercises in selective focus and obfuscation we will recreate our memories and mental visions while exploring various painting and aging techniques that will give a new life, with a selective slant, to your pieces.
The instructor will provide a large format print of each students’ personal photo (see note. Important!).
**IMPORTANT NOTE: In order for me to have time to get large format prints made from your photographs, you will need to provide me with a high quality scan (e-mail) or color photo copy (snail mail) no later than two weeks before the event. If you are not able to do this, you will be working from a photo frommy personal collection. This workshop will serve you best if you provide a personal photo to work from. Original photo size should not be smaller than 3x5”. The photos do not need to be perfect composition and the background isn’t important (but could enhance the overall composition if desired). Examples of good photos to work from: childhood home/farm, candid photos of loved-ones, a picture of you dancing as a child, etc. Old and slightly faded photographs are fine.
Student Supply List:
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Basic Art kit (scissors, pen, pencil etc).
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Personal photo provided to the instructor ahead of time (see note)
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Box of inexpensive CHALK pastels (not oil)
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Small bottle of glazing medium
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Various artist brushes including 2, 1-2 inch wide soft bristle flat brushes (not chip brushes)
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Craft knife
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8 oz. bottle of fluid acrylic paint in ecru (cream or white will work too). Inexpensive craft acrylics will work.
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Various acrylics in your favorite colors including black and burnt umber
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2-3 Large (poster board size) heavy watercolor paper. The heavier, the better.
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Brayer
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3-5 large (approx. 11x17) black and white copies of photographs (if you are working from a color photo, have a high contrast black and white copy made first. Create your enlargement from that.)
Optional Supplies:
Old cupboard door (check for a building salvage center in your area).
A $20 materials fee to be paid to the instructor at the beginning of class.
Materials fee includes: Large format photo copy; Gel mediums; Extra chalk pastels; Aging and sealing supplies; Printed booklet of hints, tips and information of the exercises and techniques
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