Tickets are now available for purchase for my upcoming May plein air workshop. This event will be held at the historic and beautiful, Hermitage Museum in Ho Ho Kus, N.J. Space is limited for this event so if you want to attend then please purchase your tickets early. Pricing is reasonable at $40 per person.
Buy Tickets here: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/plein-air-herm-2024
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I can feel a little hint of spring in the air lately and it's got me excited to start teaching again. I always enjoy my semesters at the Ridgewood Community School and I'm always happy to see new and familiar faces.
This time around: I'll be teaching Drawing for Beginners, Watercolor for Beginners, and Watercolor Level 2. Also, last semester I presented a lecture about my summer in Giverny; this was a very popular program so we're bringing it back around for this spring semester. I wasn't able to teach the drawing course last semester and it's filling up quickly so if you're interested in it then I suggest registering asap. Classes begin on Monday, March 4th and there's still time to register, which you can do online: https://rcs.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/brochure__registration or by calling 201-670-2777 Looking forward to another great semester! What a year 2023 was! I can't believe that I spent 1/4 of it in France, painting in Monet's garden and traveling around France. Those 3 months were magical and it gave me the confidence to travel internationally. To just realize that there's a whole world out there and so many things to see and people to meet.
Speaking of travel, I'm planning some workshops for 2024-2025. I'm excited to be a part of a German-based company called ARTISTRAVEL (See picture below) - We're even talking about possibly doing a Japan workshop at some point. I've been fascinated with Japan since I was a kid so I'd love to go there to experience it. I never thought I'd have the ability to travel around the world so I'm very grateful for all these opportunities Closer to home, there's a Sargent exhibit up in Boston that I'd like to go see. Last year my long-time friend, Asem Ahmed and I saw the Sargent and Spain exhibit in D.C., which was great. So I may see if he wants to go check out the Boston show. Last week, I finished up my semester at the Ridgewood Community School. Now, I'm looking at the spring semester which begins in March 2024. I'm planning to teach the same watercolor course and I may also teach a drawing course. During the summer 2024, I'll be spending 5 weeks in Florence to finish up my graduate degree. The MA program at the Florence Academy of Art has been a perfect fit with my career. My own skills have improved greatly and I highly recommend this program to other artist/educators. One of my main goals for 2024 is to network to find new opportunities for commissioned work. I've built up a large portfolio of commissions and I'm at a point where I'm really happy with my artistic abilities. I've always loved portraits and now I'm looking to take my professional career to the next level. Anyone interested in my commission information can check out my COMMISSIONS PAGE. Looking back on 2023, I'm feeling very proud of all that I accomplished. It's been a lot of work to improve as an artist and to find opportunities, but I love what I do and I wouldn't trade it for the world. As always, there were good times and bad times, good people and not-so-good people. There was also a lot of trial and error, but I learned a lot about myself through the process. Thank you for following a long and I wish you all a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year! I recently watched an interesting video by Mr. Paul Ingbretson about Painting Reproductions and it made me think about reproductions of my own art. I constantly struggle with photographing my art and I wonder how much I should share images of my work. A certain amount is necessary for the galleries that I show in or for posting things on my website. But I've really cut back on what I send and share. But why wouldn't I want to share images of my paintings? I've written about similar ideas many times and I'm very passionate about this topic. Mainly because I'm very aware of the ever-growing trend to only view paintings online and to not make a pilgrimage to see these works in person. This total domination of photographic reproductions worries me. There's a litany of reasons as to why all paintings showed be seen in person. The size/scale of the painting is ignored by viewing it on a screen, the color quality, surface texture (gloss/matte) is lost, the edges and contrasts are usually false, I could go on and on. I think one of the main issues is that a painting is not 2D; a painting has layers of paint built up and it actually creates a 3D image. This is more true of painters like Vermeer or Rembrandt who really take full advantage of the opportunities which oil paint has to offer through glazes to thicker areas. For me, I share my art in my site's portfolio section and I enjoy writing on my blog. But I think of my website as more of an information catalogue instead of an honest viewing experience. But isn't it absurd to think that everyone can see my paintings in person? Maybe, but I care very deeply about my paintings and I believe they deserve to be seen in the best possible manner. And you may also say: Isn't it great to be able to see so many paintings that we don't have access to? (private collections, far away museums, etc.) I understand, but I don't think it's an advantage. Have you ever met someone and been totally bowled over by their charm, beauty, intelligence, charisma, and general air? To me, that's what it's like to see a painting in person. Take that same person and take a single photo of him/her and try to extract that same depth from it. It's impossible. Many of my teaching lessons revolve around these ideas of genuine study and real individual experiences. Yesterday, I had a student tell me that he sees paintings now in a new way as a result; this touched me deeply and I was honored that he said that. I think these ideas of nature and art are timeless and my goal is to share that message through my teaching. Reproductions may reach a higher and higher level of exactitude, but I will always be an artist who wants the real deal. This video inspired me to write this post and I hope you will enjoy it as well. |
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