Robert Liberace Workshop

The Robert Liberace workshop in Brattleboro, Vermont was great. Robert shared his brilliant skills as a portrait artist with about 18 students at High Street Painters Studio for five rather hot days in June. The studio was divided into two areas, with two striking models per day. Setup positions for the students were picked by lottery out of fairness to all, though there were very few bad positions to speak of. Robert gave demonstrations each morning, for about two hours.

He lectured and demonstrated, all the time waving his arms in enthusiastic gestures. The students sat their attention rapt in his words, and soaked up as much information as they could. When it was their turn to work, Robert would come around and give pointers, all the while giving positive reinforcement and encouragement. Time flew by as day after day, students labored over their work, until all five portraits gradually appeared.

Robert did these two.  I won the lottery for them, so I was able to purchase them. It will be great help when studying brushwork and value relationships.

A Still Life Class with Jack Keledjian

On Saturday, October 18, I drove up to Putney, Vermont to take another class with Jack Kelejian. We painted a still life of apples and a white dish. There were seven other students, most of them regular followers of Jack’s. It was a chilly fall day, so we all elected to stay inside to paint.
I decided to watch Jack paint for a while instead of painting along with him. It was interesting to watch his approach, which was to put down a mix of Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Oxide Red with a large brush, in a criss-cross motion. Then, he wiped out the area for the white dish and the apples. He laid down color in solid long strokes, keeping the warm tones in the shadows and putting some juicy reds in the apples. I will continue to work on this, as my leaves need some work and maybe some more items to add to the composition. It seems empty right now. Still, I’m pleased with the progress on this painting so far.

Stickney Falls

Here's the final painting that I started in Jack's class. This was of the falls coming over a group of large, flat rocks. The colors were earth colors, mostly, in warm tones. It was a fun exercise and I learned a lot about applying color, working with values, and painting water.

Oil on Canvas over panel, 9"x12", $250.
To purchase, go to my Website, www.pattymegliostudio.com