Kathleen Elsey Workshop 2, Day 2 ~ Sonoma CA ~ Plein Air ~ by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"Lavender Fields"

11x14 acrylic on board, plein air

Day 2, Plein air workshop with Kathleen Elsey, Sonoma CA.

 To see more of Kathleen's work and workshop dates click HERE.

 

I don't think I've ever been to a lavender field before besides trying to paint the plants. Some of these plants had already been harvested and they were more shaped like our Texas tumbleweeds but with color. This painting will probably have some additional touches later. Our location on day 2 was the Matanzas Creek Winery in Santa Rosa, about 16 miles from Sonoma. The view was fantastic.

Each morning at 9:00 a.m. we met at the La Haye Art Center in the sculptor's studio to discuss the previous day's work and to give the day's location. The day ended at 3:00 with a short meeting back at the studio. In the morning we'd leave our gear in the car and bring a sketch pad for notes and directions. Kathleen would give us our little pep talk about how to be expressive, loosen up, and use interesting brushwork with us in agreement until we got to the site and wonder, "Now what did Kathleen say?" By then she'll call us over for a short demo and then we'd have another shot of enthusiasm for the day's painting. On the way out of town stops were made at the Sonoma Market for a sandwich to go or a quick visit to the well stocked Fine Line Art Store for a needed art supply. 

 The Group photo was taken on Day 3. Fifteen students were from Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, Texas and California.

 Kathleen with her Lavender Field painting. The painting started as a demo and she finished it after class.

Even the bath room walls at the La Haye art center were painted.

Materials:

Paints: I brought Winsor Newton acrylics with Golden Retarder to use in a Masterson Sta-Wet Palette with a sponge. I filled the palette in the motel room and left the tubes in the car just in case I needed a refill. Kathleen recommended we squeeze a "worm" of retarder on the top of each paint mound in the palette and since Sonoma was in the 70's and 80's that worked very well. The colors remained workable for 3 days. On another post I'll discuss other supplies and gear.

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