Kathleen Elsey 2013 Plein Air & Studio Painting Workshops
in Santa Barbara, Calilfornia and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio!

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“I found Kathleen Elsey’s painting workshops with a Google search, loved her paintings and took a leap of faith to join her in Santa Barbara, California. It was well worth the time, travel and expense for this Fauve experience. Where do I sign up for the next one?”
Nancy Standlee, Texas Daily Painter and workshop instructor 

Mighty Memorable Paintings!

Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Acrylic, oil and pastel painters invited
September 3, 4, 5 & 6, 2013  $450 ($425 members) 
or 3-day option September 3, 4 & 5 $325 ($300 members)
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. with a generous hour for lunch
Register at Cuyahoga Valley Art Center (330) 928-8092.

This workshop will unleash your creativity while painting from still life and interior scenes in the comfort of our spacious studio. We will study composition, color and concept while learning to see what is before our eyes as shapes and colors. Beginners will work from simple objects while advanced painters will paint a more complex still life or interior scape. In addition, Kathleen will show you her step-by-step process of making a bright and bold beach or river painting and then you will do the same working from photos provided. There will be lively and fun warm-up painting exercises each morning, instructor how-and-why demonstrations and lots of individual encouragement at the easel. Kathleen will be painting with acrylic paint.
     
This workshop is appropriate for all levels of acrylic painters. Since instructor will be demonstrating and painting with acrylic paint, oil and pastel painters should have some previous experience in working their medium. Students, provide painting materials.

Beach Cake
     Beach Cake  16 x 20  by Kathleen Elsey

Cuyahoga Valley Art Center Workshop Painters
Cuyahoga Valley Painters 2012

“I have to tell you again how much I appreciated working with you and learning from you. I'm not always good at saying thank you soooooo much. But I really mean it. And you have truly been an inspiration for me and where I'm going with my art.”

Celebrate Earth Day
Paint the Colors of Spring     Sorry you missed it. We had fun!
Plein Air Painting, Santa Barbara, California
Oil, watercolor and pastel   
April 21, 22, & 23, 2013 
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. $350      

Let’s celebrate Earth Day (for  three days) plein air painting and touring the coastline, hidden creeks and bridges, historical missions and gardens of the “American Riviera,” Santa Barbara, California. The climate is described as Mediterranean with it’s sun-drenched beaches, Spanish architecture, palm trees and olive trees. We will study composition, light, color and value while painting Santa Barbara and the environs. Please provide your own transportation to get to a different painting location each day.  And bring a brown bag lunch. To enroll, please fill out the registration form here. Hotel ideas here.

We may vary the time of our six-hour day, depending on weather. For example, we may start an hour earlier or work later into the day if need be. There will be a one hour break around noon each day for a relaxing brown bag lunch, eating, chatting, sketching and thinking.

“Thanks for your encouraging words at the Cuyahoga Valley workshop. I have never made such a big painting before and I suprised myself. You have given me the courage to try some small studies done on location and work later in larger format in oils. Doing a small study, reflecting on it and remembering what was so beautiful in that location inspires me. Thanks for being such a patient and gracious teacher.” Cindy

Make Mighty & Memorable Paintings!

Studio Painting Santa Barbara, California
Oil, pastel and watercolor
April 16, 17, 18 & 19, 2013    We had fun!
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.    $475
  
Red rose everythinf

Join Kathleen Elsey in the bejeweled coastal town of Santa Barbara for a fun-filled painting workshop. We’ll work in the comfort of our spacious sunlit studio with panoramic views of the beach and paint from still life, interior scape, and the ocean scape out the windows. In addition to painting simple still life and more complex interior scenes, we will practice making a beach painting. Kathleen will show you her process step-by-step of making a bright and bold beach painting and then you will do the same working from photos provided.  Weather permitting, we will walk the beach to gather inspiration, then work from our sketches and photos in the studio.

Red Rose with Everything still life studio paintThere will be lively and fun warm-up painting exercises each morning, instructor how-and-why demonstrations and lots of individual encouragement at the easel. The first day we will work on mixing colors and keeping them bright and clean while making a “painterly” painting. The second day we will be capturing light and reflections and working with lost and found edges. We will have dinner out after our second day of painting. The third day we will work on “seeing” (not thinking) what is before our eyes and translating those shapes and colors into paint on canvas. And the Table red chairfourth day will be an in depth look at each of YOU individually, solving problems and finding your path. Paint with passion and the real YOU will shine. To enroll, fill out the registration form and send tuition to Kathleen. Students supply all painting materials and their hotel accommodations.

Since Kathleen will be teaching using acrylic paint this workshop is appropriate for all levels of acrylic painters–including beginners. Oil painters should have a little previous experience at working with oil paint since the instructor will not be demonstrating with that medium. In the studio environment, oil painters are requested to work with a medium such as walnut oil which is friendly to everyone’s lungs. Cezanne's Table Still Life

Our painting studio is in a two-story building (no elevator) on Cabrillo, the beach road in Santa Barbara. You need to be able to carry your paint gear up and down this one flight of steps. We will leave our painting supplies in the studio at the end of each day, locked up until the next day.

Get your registration form here. Hotel ideas here. Our painting studio is located at Veteran’s Memorial Building 112 W Cabrillo, Santa Barbara CA 93010. Learn more about Santa Barbara in The New York Times 36 hours in Santa Barbara.

Hendry's Beach Santa BarbaraHendry's Beach  18" x 24"

 

Materials List

Come prepared to loosen up, paint bold and create paintings full of your own spirit– and if you don’t have your own spirit, we’ll find it! You’ll learn more than you want to know about composition, light, color and value. There will be plenty of time for individual instruction, demos, group critiques and camaraderie. There are art stores in all workshop locations so no worries if you forget anything on your supply list. Santa Barbara has Art Essentials (805 965-5456). Taos has Artisan (505 751-0802). The town of Sonoma has Fine Line Art Supplies (707 935-3199).

Below are the acrylic painting supplies I suggest:

• Portable easel: I use a Soltec easel, and like the full Julian, both available at Dick Blick (1-800 828-4548). If you are joining me for studio painting, you are welcome to paint on the tables rather than an easel.

• For each day bring one small panel, canvas or boards (12 x 12 or 11 x 14 or smaller) for a quick study and two larger panels, canvases or canvas boards for a longer study (12 x 16, 16 x 20, 18 x 24 or bigger). I paint on Masterpiece and Winsor Newton stretched canvas or linen. While traveling, you might consider canvas boards since they pack together so efficiently. Another compact and inexpensive support is a pad of real canvas sheets. The 16 x 20 size would be a good size for our workshop especially if you are traveling. I paint on one piece of canvas, tear it off, then begin the next painting while the first canvas sheet dries. Or bring sheets of canvas or linen that you cut to the size on which you wish to paint. At some point, if you want to frame your work, these canvas sheets will need to be stretched or mounted to a rigid support. These are especially effective when painting with acrylic which dries fast. I like to add additional gesso to my canvases with Golden gesso or NovaColor gesso. This additional good quality gesso seems to make the paint really stick. If you’ve ever had a problem with your acrylic paint feeling too slippery on the canvas, try a coat of good quality gesso on top of the manufacturer’s gesso. The Nova Color gesso has lots of marble dust. I think that is why my paint lays down so nicely.

• Palette: My newest favorite for travel is the Mijello Atelier Airtight, peel off palette. It is very compact, easy to open and easy to hold in my hand while I paint. It only has a 5” x 9” mixing area so I use the palette’s lid as an additional palette to mix my colors. When using fast drying acrylics en plein air, I use the largest Masterson sta-wet palette (12 1/2” x 16 1/2”). I like this palette because it seals up after a painting session, and the paint stays moist for weeks.

acrylic palette studio painting studio painting Santa Barbarac

Masterson palette after a couple of days painting My painting after about 45 minutes of work, dividing the space on the canvas and making shapes.   Finished painting
 
Below is a photo of my favorite brushes for acrylic painting- Isabey Isacryl 6562 size number 4, 6 and 10.

Isaby brushes• Brushes for oil or acrylic: 3 or 4 ”brights” (short stiff bristles) size about 1" across, 3/4", 1/2", 1/4" depending on canvas sizes. I would use the 3 larger sizes above if I were painting an 18 x 24 canvas. If you choose bigger canvases, get the big brushes. If you chose 16 x 20 canvases or smaller, you could use the smaller 3 brushes above. Buy good brushes or you’ll regret it. My current favorite brand for my own acrylic painting is Isabey Isacryl 6562 synthetic bristles (#4, 6, 10). See photo to right. These brushes have performed well for me and have lasted longer than any other brand of brushes I have painted with while using acrylic. Of course, I clean them fanatically and will teach you this also. Another good choice (not quite as expensive) is Artisan with the silver handle, also very good for acrylic painting. It is this kind of “brights” that give my paintings somewhat of a palette knife effect. Brights make short, crisp strokes and place color and paint well. One student told me she found the Isacryl brushes at Jerry’s Artorama. I buy my brushes from my local art store rather than online so that I can feel the brush, check the ”spring” in the bristles, see the color of the bristles and choose the width of brushes that I need. In fact I buy almost all of my supplies from Art Essentials, my local art store. Great staff. Great supply!

• Sketch book, pencil, cotton rag (like an old t-shirt), water bucket or container

• Paints: I love Winsor Newton’s new Artists’ Acrylics in 2 oz. tubes. They are buttery, dry a bit slower than other acrylics and they have so much pigment in them that they dry the same color as they look when wet! What you see while painting is what you get when dry! I also like Golden for it’s viscosity, quality and brilliant colors. Liquitex is also very fine quality and has some beautiful colors not available in other brands. If you can afford it, pass on the student grade brands of paint and buy what the professionals use.

Acrylic Paints -- Beginners and minimalists need seven colors

• Titanium white
• Lemon Yellow
• Cad Yellow Medium or Azo Yellow Medium
• Cad Red Deep or Alizarin Crimson Hue
• Cadmium Red Medium or Permanent Rose
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cobalt or Cerulean Blue Deep
• If you can’t resist a couple more colors, add in Yellow Ochre and Cobalt Teal. And if the sky is the limit, go for Dioxazine Purple, Green Gold, Jenkins Green, and Red Oxide.
Oil Paints -- I suggest a basic palette of seven colors. I use Winsor Newton unless otherwise specified.
• Titanium White– large tube
• Gamlin Cadmium Yellow Light or Winsor Cadmium Lemon
• Cadmium Yellow Deep
• French Ultramarine
• Cobalt Blue or Cerulean Blue
• Alizarin Crimson
• Gamlin Cadmium Red Light
• Walnut Oil –not the cooking type. I like this medium. It is acceptable to most lungs.
• Two more of my favorites are Yellow Ochre Pale and Gamlin Radiant Turquoise. And if the sky is the limit, try Permanent Magenta, Venetian Red, Violet (Dioxazine), Viridian and Raw Umber Light.
Optional supplies to bring:
• Golden retarder in bottle to slow down the fast drying acrylic paints especially for plein air (optional)
• If using Golden “open” (slow drying) acrylics, be sure to get a bottle of “open” thinner.
• A paint tarp to put under your easel if you are extremely “drippy” when you paint in studio workshops.
You will learn to:
• Get started painting
• Have a reason for painting
• Think creatively
• See shapes, colors and value
• Be expressive
• Loosen up
• Paint thick and bold
• Make a bright painting
• Make interesting brushwork
• Create an exciting composition
• Simplify complicated compositions
• Solve problems in your paintings
• Stop trying to be perfect
• Use your eyes and not your brain
• Critique your work
New Mexico workshop
Kathleen Elsey at Taos, New Mexico painting workshop. Click on photo above to see the finished painting.

“I am understanding more about the process now after watching you paint-aloud. Your spirit and attitude toward painting is contagious. I caught some of it. Thank you so much for your constructive comments. You made me feel like an artist and made me want to keep my sketchbook and camera at hand.”
Shawn from Carlsbad, California

“Kathleen.....Your workshop was a wonderful experience, especially the demonstrations and your generous sharing of so much information.  All of this was really appreciated by ME,  a true novice painter.”
Susan from San Clemente, California

“I am a beginning (very beginning) artist who stumbled upon your website today. There is not one piece of your art that fails to fascinate or call for further study. You and Charles Sovek are an inspiration to anyone who enjoys art and color. Thanks for your website and your inspiring art.” Ted from Georgia

“Obviously, since I've taken four workshops and plan to do more, I LOVE your workshops and  the way you paint. You inspire me!” 
Jennifer from Santa Barbara, California  

“Thanks for the wonderful three-day workshop. I am taking a break today, but keep staring at my paintings and thinking of things to do to make them better. You are a wonderful teacher and it is always such a treat to spend the time with you and our fellow painters. We all learn so much not only from you but from one another in the creative environment that you provide for us.” Susan Whisenand, Santa Barbara

“I cannot tell you how many times I have reflected on this past weekend with such warm and positive thoughts. Your inspiration and instruction was superb. I feel like I really made so much progress in just 2 days! Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience.”
Marcia from New York

“Thanks for your encouraging words at the Cuyahoga Valley workshop. I have never made such a big painting before and I suprised myself. You have given me the courage to try some small studies on location and work later in larger format in oils. Thanks for being such a patient and gracious teacher.” Cindy

“As for the rougher stuff, aesthetically speaking, Kathleen Elsey’s painting exerts a bold, almost post-Fauvist-meets-funk touch in her work. “Sunlit Room,” for one, flirts with burly Van Gogh effects, with a vivified palette and brusque brushwork. It’s the mightiest and most memorable piece in the room, says this unavoidably subjective observer.”
Josef Woodard, Santa Barbara News Press Correspondent

“Elsey’s landscapes are marked by rich colors and dramatic brush strokes that recall both Impressionist and Fauvist traditions”
Daedalus Howell, San Francisco Chronicle Journalist

“Thanks so much for your April workshop. What a wonderful experience – I learned so much, and I’m committed to painting/experimenting with color at least a little every week. Your paintings, of course, are a great inspiration, and your coaching/teaching style was so instructive and encouraging. Thanks for making my life more colorful.”
Marsha Conners

“I participated in a show in Sausalito and included three paintings I did in your Sonoma workshop – a shot in the arm for me. The group was terrific, and your gentle guidance helped me make a leap in a direction I doubt I would’ve tried on my own. Those remain the brightest of my paintings, and 2 of them sold at my show. Many of my paintings show evidence of your “colorist” influence and that’s a wonderful thing to take from the class. I love the flexibility I now feel to work in either acrylics or oils.”
Elaine from Sausalito, California

“Thank you for an amazing workshop! Your choice of locations and your fabulous demonstrations will keep me coming back for more. The beauty and magic of Taos lingers on! Count me in for next year.”
Mary from Wisconsin

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