COURSE DESCRIPTION
In our efforts to understand painting as a visual language it is important to see what we will paint as an abstract form. To eliminate our preconceived assumptions of what we see and break them down into parts. These essential elements will give us the foundation to understand what we see and allows for a more intuitive paint application.
Karen will bring in some of her own costumes and staging backgrounds so as to create more of her own personal narrative to the workshop. She will discuss ideas on how you can incorporate these pieces and your own elements in order to create your own narratives with meaning.
Karen will divide up the workshop into 2 parts. First day, she will discuss her approach to setting up an environment for the model using her props and then from there she will demonstrate her alla prima portrait focusing on the fundamentals of direct painting. The goal is to achieve a 3-dimensional likeness with a simple block-in of the larger shapes and then to build on that by carving out the smaller shapes. Along the way she will discuss, in more detail, the use of value, color and temperature as well as how to adjust edges to create a sense of atmosphere within the painting.
There will be one model, with the same pose, for the first 2 days in which Karen will be painting a morning demo then the students will continue to paint in the afternoons. Then the 3rd day we will have a new model with a new pose and the students will paint the entire day with Karen assisting along the way.
SUPPLY LIST
2-3 canvas boards or gessoed panels approximately 11"x14" to 12"x16"
gamsol
silicoil or metal containers for the mineral spirits
Viva paper towels or rags
Some kind of palette holder or platform for palette. If you don't have one, you can use a Masterson Sta-Wet Handy Palette with glass palette inside.
Pocket mirror
Small container of linseed or poppy oil
Steel palette knife
Brushes - 5 - 6 filbert brushes ranging from size 0 - 8
Oil colors (Gamblin is an inexpensive brand with low toxic paints)
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Red
Alizarin Crimson
Transparent Oxide Red
Manganese Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Viridian
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Ivory Black
INSTRUCTOR BIO
Karen Offutt was born and raised in Dallas, Texas by a creative family who encouraged her to explore her artistic talent from an early age. Her father was an artist and her mother is a designer and owner of a needlepoint company. Throughout her formative years, Karen excelled in art classes and participated in several art exhibits. As a young adult she sought a more serious outlet for her talent. Not finding the ultimate education for the type of realism she sought, Karen found art related jobs to keep her motivated. Learning to paint with oils was her goal and found that opportunity Austin Fine Arts Classes where she learned a more classical approach.
From there, she attended workshops from nationally renowned artists and from there began to find her own path in her creative journey.
From her studio in Austin, Karen approaches her paintings with an atmospheric sensitivity combining shape, tone line, and color. The inspiration of her preferred subject matter comes ultimately from the figure. “I have always loved painting people whether in natural surroundings or in a more staged setting.” “As an artist, I am very aware of my environment which invites me to be a constant observer. I see potential in everything and my emotional reaction guides me to the specific inspiration. There are different aspects to my painting, for example technical skill, creative freedom and emotional truth. My goal is to create work that guides all these elements in a direction that moves me.”
