Workshop Woes
 

Here's another question for you pro's and used-to-be-newbies. How does one feel comfortable signing up for workshops by professional (and in my eyes exhalted) artists? At what point do you attend one of these events and actually admit you think you know enough to take up air space with other artists in such workshops? It may take me 4 hours to do somethig it takes someone else with the proper training 20 minutes, and yet I might actually be pretty good, but until I attend I'll never know. At what point is it appropriate to show yourself in the daylight?

My real fear is that now that I'm actually getting paid to paint portraits, I'll have some instructor who really knows what art is, tell me I'd be a better pancake flipper at IHOP!

If you're not sure, contact the instructor and ask him or her to review some of your work to see if you're ready.

Thanks Michele. Is this what is meant by jurying the students?

Mixed
 

Most classes contain a mix of students. The "intermediate" ones tend to gain the most knowledge. There's simply less for the pros to take in. It's indeed the harder type of info to get from books etc. but still it is the minor things those artists gain. The ones who have never painted struggle with the very basics throughout the week.

Julianne, I was having a cyber dialogue with William Whitaker and he mentioned that he was teaching and I should sign up. I know I am miles behind the other "students" attending since I read their books, but Bill has been very good to me and so helpful.

I had to start working in oils to prepare for his class, since I just used pastel, but I really respect his work and more importantly, his "teaching" nature. This was major for me because it is so far from my home and leaving 3 kids behind with a working husband, but that was one of my incentives! ;)

Tim is teaching near my home so I will be attending his workshop, too, with a lady I met on this site. It will not only be educational and great practice it will be lots of fun.

I think it is intimidating, especially because of the caliber of students in Bill

Julianne,

You wrote: It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that your teacher knows more than you do.

And I agree with the posts above. If you feel you may not be ready for a class, check with the instructor. I have been in portrait classes over the years where some students just didn't have good drawing skills, and they ended up frustrated, unhappy, and feeling they had wasted a lot of time and money, which they had, in fact, done.

Don't worry about the other students. Serious painters are there to learn. There will always be someone who thinks they know better than the teacher, and can't resist letting everyone else know. Just ignore them.

Julianne and Chris, this is certainly not what I was implying when referencing the other students above. I was just trying to make the point that I know I am not a Chris Saper, and she will be a student, so why should I think I could take this class? I certainly didn

Bettina
 

I think Bettina's last workshop in Scottsdale was attended by some pretty well established artists (one I believe posts here, humm humm) along with some other pros like Wilson Hurley. They wanted her personal hints.

Julianne,

I think workshops are a tremendous resource. I am quite proud of the fact that I give credit to workshops for 100% of my training as an artist. I started on this path at the age of 33, with three children 3 to 7, and a husband, living in the middle of middle America. I would take two workshops a year, one every six months, and paint like crazy in between.

I still take workshops. I have recently studied with Richard Whitney, and will be in Sarasota this weekend studying with Allan Banks. I think we must always be students.

On your question of feeling ready to be in certain workshops, if the teacher feels he wants to teach only advanced students, he will state this in the informational class packet, or will jury...ask to see students' work before acceptance. If the teacher is willing to take all levels of students, and you think you want to learn from him/her, pack your paints and go!

When I set up my workshops, I pointedly did not want to limit the ability level of the student. When I was starting out, I found that the top teachers did tend to teach to the artist that was already accomplished. I was also fortunate to be accepted into workshops given by exceptional teachers when I was just a novice.

I determined that I would welcome all levels into my workshops. This is what I have found. The beginners/novices have the easiest time. They do what I say. They get along famously. The pros have the hardest time, usually because they have developed some bad habits and have to undo prior thinking.

Finally, my best teachers taught me how to perceive, how to think, how to see. Not just how to paint. They gave me the tools to go back to my studio and make every painting that I did after the workshop better than those done previously. I hope I can give as much to my students.

(I would have loved to have studied with Bettina Steinke.)

Peggy

Sarasota workshop
 

Peggy,

You mentioned a workshop here in Florida. Could you send me additional info?

Thank you.

Renae,

It's in Sarasota and sponsored by the Sarasota Society of Portrait Artists. The workshop is being given by Allan Banks, one of the greats. You can see his work on my site. You can contact Cynthia Brooks at Sarasota Society of Portrait Artists. I didn't see anyting on their site about the workshop, but I think it's coming up soon.

Julianne,

I can feel your fears from my own experience. It took me years to be able to accept that the image on my canvas/watercolor paper was not equal to the imagination I had of myself. I dreaded another artist looking at my work.

I imagined people with a knowing glance thinking "this guy's a beginner." It took years of this torture before I could finally allow myself to be seen and embarassed. I can tell you truthfully, I grew more during the past few years with this realization than in all of my art school years, and my years producing art after art school, 18 years all together.

Walt Whitman has a very valuable poem called "Beginners." The poem can be found in Leaves of Grass. I cannot quote it now because it is in my studio. However, the poem teaches of the good fortune that beginners have. The world offers so much to them.

Then I look at myself. I look at Leonardo Da Vinci, and realize that we're all beginners compared to a great one like him. That one realization makes it easier to be a beginner, and I feel more like a member of a group of people working to gain something valuable, than a single man in a world in which people are better or worse than me. I hope this post can help you.

Good luck,
Anthony :)

Renae,

The Allan Banks workshop is currently going on. We had the first day today, and it was fantastic! It's a three-day workshop.

I will be giving a 7-day workshop here in Sarasota, most probably March 1-7, 2003. We are currently working out the details as far as cost and venue. The Sarasota Society of Portrait Artists is sponsoring the workshop.

Peggy

Beginners...aren't we all?
 

Anthony, thank you for the poem reference. I looked it up and printed it out! Your feelings definitely echo my own and I sincerely appreciate all artists who have responded with kindness and encouragement.

I realize my weaknesses and know that, as much as I'd like to start out at the top with workshops from artists I wish to emulate (but may be WAY over my head), I will buy their books and use as reference (if I don't have them already in my library). Until then, I will attend any and all workshops offered to "all levels" and work on the fundamentals: drawing, theory and other basics essential to the trade.

I know I can achieve the level I desire, because I desire it to be so.

You are all inspirations to me. Thank you!

Yes, there's never a shortage of any of us finding heroes, who are better painters than we are. I have many, many of them, and it is such a thrill to study with someone whose work you admire. And, when, on top of it, they're a great teacher - well, it doesn't get any beter.

One of the things I learned in the first days of workshop experiences is that I had to throw away my preconceived notions about what I would learn. Sometimes it is the unexpected that is the most valuable.

So, Beth, ditch the Ritalin! Personally I am going for a nice burka, maybe something in a lovely indigo (one of my best colors).

Chris: That is so very true. In the workshops I have done with Frank Covino, I see people fighting the training that they paid a lot of money to get. I guess it is human nature. The first rule about workshops is that you are going to have to step outside your comfortable boundaries a bit and stretch your mind and your comfort level to learn new things.

My first workshop with Covino I fought the training for the first two days. Then I watched him paint an eye and part of a cheek and I was so blown away I threw my pride out the window and got to work learning what he was teaching.

I think the best way we can benefit from workshops is to set our pride and egos aside and try to really see what the instructor is teaching, absorb it by really trying it out, and then evaluate it for ourselves, our goals, and our working style. Decide after the workshop what you will adopt and what you will discard, but while you are there, surrender yourself and get the information.

I posted this in a different section, but because I miss some of the sections in my reading, and this is pertinent to this thread, I thought I would post it here as well.

I use "studied under" to denote those teachers who have deeply influenced the way I think and paint. It is not a matter of time. I spent years studying to be a medical illustrator but the learning work was done by me, not by an instructor.

I have attended two short workshops with Richard Whitney, and several long lectures, but he has challenged me and influenced me greatly. I am proud to say I studied under him. I've also studied under Daniel Greene, John Sanden, our own Karin Wells, currently with Allan Banks, at Atelier Lack and the Cape School in Provincetown, and most significantly, with Cedric Egeli, who has been my chief teacher/mentor. I studied with Cedric in one and two week workshops, and one 4 week workshop over ten years.

It is not necessary to move to New York, or Minneapolis or elsewhere to study for 4 years at an Atelier or Art Students League, although that would be a tremendous opportunity if one could work it out. But many of us are older, have families, responsibilities, and it is impossible to make that four year commitment.

But this does not mean that one can't get the training. You just must be committed to making the sacrifice to get to a top teacher a few times a year, and be disciplined to paint and learn the rest of the year. As I said earlier, I am proud to say that I have been trained within the workshop arena.

We are lucky to live in a time when most of us can expect to live into our 80's. Gail Sheehy calls this the "Age of Mastery". We are living long enough to have two careers, or a family and then a career. We can live two lives. Unlike our predecessors, who had to commit at an early age to become artists so they could put in the years to become masters before dying at a relatively early age, we have a little more "slush time" to realize that this is our passion, and still reach our potential.

Peggy

First-time workshop students
 

Elizabeth Schott had inquired in another thread what workshop newcomers might expect. Workshops are as different as the personalities and philosophies of the instructor, but there are some things that should be expected, both from the student's viewpoint and the instructor's.

First, come to class the first day prepared. That means, come with all the materials on the materials list. It sounds basic, but you would be surprised how often students do not. They then spend wasted hours and energy fighting their materials, and excusing their not learning due to their own choice of supplies.

Second,pay attention. Think how much you are investing in the time and expense to learn from someone who is better than you. (If your teacher does not paint better than you, don't sign up.)That means, don't argue, don't be defensive about your work or your approach.

Third, abandon any idea that the work you do in class will become the showcase piece for your portfolio, or that it will represent the best you can do. (It might end up that way, but assume it won't going in.) At least try everything you are taught, and worry in the following weeks or months what you will adopt as your own, and what doesn't work for you. And expect to get frustrated. For me it's always the Tuesday blues, but I recently saw lots of folk with the Wednesday or Thursday blues. Just keep going.

From your instructor, you should expect direct courteous help. You should expect the instructor/monitor keep an on-time schedule, especially when working from a live model. You should expect that the students will get all get their fair share of instruction at the easel. Some instructors will teach by marking right on your canvas; some will not. Let them know if you feel strongly about this point; I always ask first if someone would rather I not touch their work.

You'll find that some teachers are organized with a program, some are less so. Some are warm and fuzzy, some are more formal. If you're open to it, you can learn anyway. Not all instructor demonstrations are done with the speed and showmanship that painters like Michael del Priore or Harley Brown bring to bear. Some can talk and paint at the same time, and some talk when they're not painting (or maybe it's paint when they're not talking). Be flexible and expect to work like a dog. That means DOG!

Teaching woes
 

Overcoming anxiety is one of the first things I try to do in class. Firstly, I must overcome my own. Students sometimes forget that to walk into a new place and be confronted by 15 talented artists, all expecting you to impart substantial help, is a bit daunting for the instructor. The really advanced students may get the rarified/personal stuff but the beginners get the most new information.

I always want to attend fun events and see no reason workshops can't be just that, too. Relax and enjoy.