Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Workshop Wayfarers

This is one of the demos from my five day plein air painting workshops in Ojai, CA

'Entrance to Library'......oil on canvas panel......7x9 inches (SOLD)

Hello all you Bloggitts down in Bloggittville, it is time for my blog-monthly bloggella, filled with horror, tears, and laughter. Halloween and the Day of the Dead may be behind us now, but my tale reaches further back in time, past such jovial occasions, far back to the third week of September, of the year 2009.

It was during this halcyon time of gaiety and youth that I boldly lead an adventurous team of students into the yellow fields of far off Ojai, beneath an unusually cruel and hot sun. Oh, how we laughed and jested, skipping merrily amongst the charming yurts of sequestered environmentalists and left-leaning elves. I shudder to think of what might had happened, had we by chance met a lurking troll, or some evil gnome with a head full of specially clever magic riddles, or even a banjo-plucking inbred hillbilly. But we didn't. Everyone was fine, and they all learned how to paint outdoors. No one even lost their keys, or general sense of purpose!
Here are some pics from my 5 day Plein Air Painting workshop in Ojai. Enjoy!
For more info regarding my upcoming workshops please visit my web site's 'workshops' page (or see right side bar of this blog for complete schedule).
~


Here is a brief time-lapse video of my demo at the Krotona Institute Library:













...adding finishing touches to demo










Monday morning's orientation (all caffeined-up and ready to go)









giving student Ann Carlock a few pointers during an afternoon painting session










....still teaching











demo'ing by the Krotona Library fountain










critiquing student Claire Hill during morning session











finishing up another demo








trying to maintain my composure while conducting a demo in the brutal and unforgiving heat (98 Fahrenheit with humidity!!)




My awesome and wonderful students!
front row (left to right):
Luisa, Diane, Laurie
back row (left to right):
Ann, Andrew, Gwen, Brian, Cary, Marilyn, Jung, Jennifer, Ben, Claire (not pictured)





'Krotona Gardens'.......oil on canvas panel.......9x7 inches (SOLD)

....and finally, here's the demo painting that I raffled off the last day of the workshop! The lucky winning student was the talented Gwen Ballantyne, whose name was plucked from my husband's straw hat!


~
A BIG thanks to Ben (our own personal GPS) who kept us hydrated, entertained and on schedule throughout the workshop.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jennifer,
that was a great recap and video~ almost like being there :-) Thanks for sharing!

Diane said...

You are a fabulous.....

David Lobenberg said...

Great time lapse! Your comment on my blog made my day!! A big thank you!

rob ijbema said...

thanks so much for the demo jennifer
always a pleasure seeing you attack a scene with your wonderful strokes and colors!

Robin Weiss said...

Wow! Love the demo video and the light drenched amazing paintings!...=]

http://www.onpainting.wordpress.com said...

I'm so envious, wish I could have taken this workshop also. Really like that top demo!

Paula Ilha said...

Hi Jennifer,
Very nice work!

Jennifer McChristian said...

Thanks Terry! Glad you enjoyed the video!

Jennifer McChristian said...

Thanks Diane! 'preciate the visit :)

Jennifer McChristian said...

Thanks David! You made my day too!

Jennifer McChristian said...

Thanks Rob and Robin! Always enjoy hearing from you.

Jennifer McChristian said...

Bill,
...you could always join me at the next workshop...
(hopefully with favorable weather this time around ;-)

Jennifer McChristian said...

Thanks Paula!

Pam Holnback said...

This is like a mini-workshop! Appreciate your sharing!
Beautiful highlights on the demo building.

Phong Nguyen said...

very nice Jen! What pochade box are you using if you don't mind me asking.

Jennifer McChristian said...

Hi Pam,

Thanks for your warm comment! I'm delighted that you enjoyed the 'mini workshop' :)

Jennifer McChristian said...

Hi Phong,

The pochade box I am using is the EASyL-Pro from 'Artwork Essentials'.
Comes in sizes between 8x10 and 11x14 inches. You can get more info here:

http://www.artworkessentials.com/products/index.htm

Thanks for visiting :)

Sheila said...

The video was very revealing - the confidence in the brush movement was wonderful to watch. I don't paint in oils so it's interesting to see how it behaves in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, not in the end, but in process. And the sense of light is spectacular.

Jennifer McChristian said...

Mairi,
Thanks for visiting! I appreciate your generous and insightful comment!

Alexandre Reider said...

Hello Jennifer.
You are a great plein air artist. The highlights are amazing and profissinal. Thanks for sharing the demos.

Alexandre Reider said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jennifer McChristian said...

You're welcome Alexandre and thanks for stopping by.
I appreciate your warm comments! :)

Mike said...

Jen . . .as always, you leave me in absolute AWE! I would kill to be in one of your workshops!

And, BTW, thanks for your great comments on my blog . . .I was honored to have you come by and leave a few words.

workhard said...

Hi.. i really like your demo paintings,especially the first one.. 7 x 9 is really tiny paintng but it looks real good.. The art workshop seems real fun. I attended a couple of art classes on figur drawing and color theory and it was real fun as well as helpful. These pictures came out real nice.

Stephen Magsig said...

Jennifer, that was an awesome demo, thank you for sharing!

Jennifer McChristian said...

Hi Mike,

You are most welcome! I enjoy visiting your blog :)
Thanks for the comment.

Jennifer McChristian said...

Workhard,

Yes, the workshops are quite a blast. I tend to keep the demo paintings small (usually 7x9 and 8x10 inches) so I can have it completed within an hour and half.
Glad you enjoyed the pictures and
thanks for stopping by! :)

Jennifer McChristian said...

Your welcome Stephen! Glad you enjoyed it.

Anonymous said...

This is great. You're among the best plein air painters I see on the web. I hope I get to attend one of your workshops sometime.

Theresa Rankin said...

Hi Jennifer...what a wonderful workshop!! I wish I had been there...simply beautiful work. Just love your brushwork. Hope to make it to one of your workshops and also thank you for the great comments you leave!

PEREZ FINE ART GALLERIES said...

Excellent artist!

Jennifer McChristian said...

Thanks A.Decker!
Would love to have you attend my workshop (got a handful scheduled for next year! :)
Let me know.

Cheers!

Jennifer McChristian said...

Hi Theresa,

Thanks for your awesome comments! Hope you make it out to one of my workshops too. They're a lot of fun :)

Jennifer McChristian said...

Thank you Perez Fine Art Gallery!
I appreciate the visit :)

Fernando Pena said...

Hi Jennifer, thank you for sharing your demo in video, I enjoyed it. I will follow your blog,it's great.
I paint watercolor, and in this video you went the watercolor way light to dark mainly.

Saara said...

WOW.. i really enjoyed watching your video of the painting. You paint with so much ease.. Your plein air art workshop that you have described seems like a lot of fun. I intend to take some plein air classes too...

Jennifer McChristian said...

Fernando, Taa,

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the demo :)