Who to Study With?

[Kimberly Dow]

Patricia - I think you did the right thing (just my 2-cents).

Chris - your workshop runs a month or so every Monday? So this is not something someone could go to who lives far away. This sounds like one I would be interested in, but it would have to be condensed into a week....keep me posted if something like that comes along.

[Marvin Mattelson]

Patricia, I think you made a good decision too. Who you study with ultimately depends on what your goals are. If you want to learn the technique of oil paintings and copy photos there are many people who would qualify as good teachers. If you want to learn to be a successful business person and self promoter you can also follow the lead of many.

If you want to learn how to interpret and recreate the illusion of three dimensionality on a flat surface you need to be taught to paint and draw from life. This is an all encompassing lifetime study which rewards those who succeed with incredible satisfaction each step along the way.

If you want to learn oil painting then go to someone who teaches that specifically.

You can certainly judge a teacher by the quality of the work of the students but seeing some students of lesser talent doesn't necessarily mean anything. More importantly you should judge the kind of progress that each of the students makes and continues to make even after they finish their study.

Because someone is a good artist doesn't mean they are necessarily a good teacher. In fact, this can sometimes be a liability. Many good artists create great paintings in spite of their approach based on intuition and natural talent. Those two things can't be taught. The best athletes don't usually make the best coaches. If you do find someone who is both you are in a very unique situation. Both teaching and the ability to perform are rare indeed.

Also be wary of teachers whose students' work lookvery much like their own. They are not teaching painting but merely technique. The test of a great teacher is that the students they teach develop as individuals and not clones.

Good luck.

[Chris Saper]

Pat and Kim,

I do teach a weekly class, but I am also conducting two one-week workshops, four students per class. To download the brochure from my website, you just have to click on the Acrobat pdf icon.

Information is also posted here:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=4525

[Sharon Knettell]

Who to study with?

Hmm..., it would seem in my often not too humble opinion, what your point of view in terms of art is and what it is you want to achieve.

Do you want to make art or use your concept of it as the quickest route to an imagined commercial success.

Do we want instant applause for the easy and from the easily charmed or do we want to go deeper and perhaps take risks and risk having your work disregarded.

Do what we want to add to the enormous pile of human effort, something of value or another trifle.

There are those teachers who demand a lot and those who are comforting and ready back patters.

Who indeed to pick.

[Michele Rushworth]

I think it just comes down to choosing someone whose work you really admire. I wouldn't be at all concerned at the quality of the work of the other students entering his program.

[Tony Pro]

Here's a concept not too many people hear or want to hear. Any good art teacher can only show you tools and methods of learning but the real way to get good at drawing and painting is home practice. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Don't touch a paintbrush until you have come to a good level of drawing. You should find a good atelier in your area or a respectable drawing instructor who can teach you the foundations of good drawing practice and then go home and draw, draw, draw. At the same time, ABOVE ALL, you need to learn to SEE as an artist. That is the goal of any art student. Learn to see. See shapes, see values, see edges. Learn to translate that from the 3-D to the 2-D surface.

Then once you feel comfortable at drawing, you should start in painting. Its hands on experience which is most necessary. Get some books on painting and read.... Richard Schmid's Alla Prima is a good start. Don't try to copy his techniques but use his knowledge of the tools to your advantage. He has 50+ years of painting experience that he poured into that book and that was the number 1 book that taught me to paint aside from long hours at the easel.

Hope this helps!

[Jen Reinstadler]

To follow up on Tony's comment, you should ask around about life drawing sessions. Everywhere I've lived, a local art musem sponsors weekly sessions, without instructors. The downside is, the artists who show up must control the pose and the lighting, and the squeekiest wheel gets the grease. So you really have to speak up if the poses are too short or the lighting doesn't work for you.

It really is helpful if you can take a class first and learn the fundamentals from a live instructor, but this is a great place to keep your pencils sharp.