Tilly Foster Farm

I took a workshop with Marc Hanson recently at Tilly Foster Farm in Brewster, NY. It was a great workshop. There were 13 of us, all very serious about our artwork. With Marc's direction, we all did a small black and white study, then did three different sizes of a view that we liked. Each time, I was able to work out the details and values of the painting. Marc is a good teacher. He was able to critique everyone as they worked and his advice really helped. His demos were inspiring. He really puts a lot of time and attention to his paintings, even the smallest of details. The scene that he painted seemed fairly plain, but he made it look so special and interesting.

Tilly Foster Farm is a public park that has animals like chickens, sheep, a large horse stable, turkeys, cows, and two very interesting pigs. There were so many scenes to paint, it was hard to choose one. In the end, I chose one in which I could stand in the shade, as it was pretty hot after a while of being in the sun, and I chose a really neat looking barn. It was early morning, so the shadows were long and interesting. We had mostly great weather that week, except Friday, but we worked inside the last two days, so it didn't matter.

Thursday evening, Marc did a nocturne demo at a nearby lake that was so cool. I have not yet tried it, but I hope to do one soon.

I was happy with my painting of this large barn. I feel like I learned quite a bit during that week, if only I can remember it all. It was so nice to do nothing but art all week, too. I know that I will do the black and white studies, and have already done one on a recent painting trip to a nearby farm. It is very helpful.

Painting: Morning, "Tilly Foster Farm," 16x20, $650.