A spectacular event took place on Friday and Saturday, July 13 and 14

The Teaching Studios' 2nd Annual Plein Air Competition was held at Sagamore Hill Historic Preserve in Oyster Bay, NY. 35 selected artists competed for over $3000 in prizes supplied by Jerry's Artarama, as well as a $1000 grand prize supplied by Teaching Studios. The event culminated in an exhibition in the newly converted arts space in the Rodgers Building in downtown Oyster Bay.

This competition was open to public viewing and featured live plein air painting demonstrations from our juror Erik Koeppel, as well as the phenomenal landscape artist Lauren Sansaricq.

Winners

Steve Dolan - First place
Rick Piloco - Second Place
Charlie Churchill - Third Place

The exhibition is ongoing: July 16- August 14

The Arts Space in the Rodgers Building
120 Audrey Avenue
Oyster Bay, NY 11771

Gallery Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 1-4pm

Selected artists

Alexander Adell
Luis Alvarez
Alan Appel
Charles Basman
John Morra
Spenceer Brainard
Cathy Chiavaro
Charlie Churchill
Mike Conlon
Susan D'Alessio
Noel Darvie
Anthony Davis
Sebastian Deregibus
David Dibble
Steve Dolan
Mercedes Dorson
Dennis Foy
James Jahrsdoerfer
Philip Jordan
Robin Kappy
Maura Kelley
Steve Kovach
Emilie Lee
Eric March
Walter Mosley
David A. Paulsen
Juan Pena
Richard Piloco
Doug Reina
Kenneth Salaz
June Long-Schuman
Boris Tyomkin
Jessica Vandenburg
Loraine Volz
Patricia Watwood
Larry Wechsler

Juror

Erik Koeppel is one of the leading plein air landscape painters in the US today. He has had numerous solo exhibitions and has taught Plein Air workshops for the Hudson River Fellowship of the Grand Central Academy in NYC. He has been the subject of feature articles in American Artist Magazine and Plein Air Magazine.

Prizes

1st Prize

$1000 award given to the best overall painting, as decided by our juror.
$750 Plein Air Kit from Jerry’s ArtArama
Also, the Grand Prize winner will be profiled in American Artist Magazine in their coverage of the event.

2nd Prize

$550 Plein Air Kit from Jerry’s Artarama, which includes (for example):
Monet French Easel 57067
Charvin Plein Air Set
Vermeer Filbert Set of 5
Vermeer Flat Set of 5
Vermeer Round Set of 5
Creativo Artpak
Large Double Palette Cups
Petite Air-Tight Brush Washer
8"x10" Centurion OP Linen Panels (6 pack)
9"x12" Raphael Linen Panel

3rd Prize

$340 Plein Air Kit from Jerry’s Artarama

Sponsors

Instructor Bennett Vadnais in show at George Billis Gallery

Teaching Studios Instructor Bennett Vadnais is in a group show this month. His painting is the main image for the showcard. Way to go Bennett!

Please join us at the George Billis Gallery Thursday, July 19th, for the opening reception.

Patricia Watwood: Myths and Individuals - Solo Show

As part of our ongoing series of engaging Teaching Studios faculty about what is happening in their careers: Workshop and Visiting Instructor  Patricia Watwood has agreed to share some thoughts about and images of artwork from her solo show at the Forbes Galleries that opens this week.
	Patricia Watwood: Myths and Individuals Notes from the Artist Myths and narratives are important tools that humans use for sorting out our relationships to each other and to the world. In this body of work, I am seeking the individual and personal contained within our myths, and conversely, seeking the universal within the individual. I construct images that invite the viewer to contemplate, connect, and find relationships. I wish my paintings to be visual poems awaiting your interpretation.
	Tradition has nothing to do with the past. To follow a tradition is to embrace a manner of working in which the values and aspirations of the past are continuous with those of the future. I do not chase the past. I chase what artists in the past have also chased—a celebration of the human form, a passion for and humility before nature, a belief that metaphor and narrative can help us puzzle out the mysteries of our time here on earth, and a belief in the emotional power of the common visual language of representation.
	My figures and portraits are designed to convey the beauty and stillness of the visual world. My paintings travel through worlds of mythology, allegory, and contemporary human life. They reflect my search for meaning, and fulfill my desire for spiritual connection with my subjects and viewers. The exhibit shows over 30 paintings and six drawings, spanning over 10 years of time. Patricia Watwood: Myths and Individuals February 17 to June 9, 2012 The Forbes Galleries 60 Fifth Avenue at 12th St. Manhattan Free, open to the public 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tues-Sat. Thursdays open to groups by appt. 212-206-5548 Catalogues are available from her 2011 solo show at the St Louis Universtity Museum of Art, $20 each (plus tax and shipping). Please contact us at info@teachingstudios.com for more information.

The Urban Landscape with Bennett Vadnais

As part of our ongoing series of engaging Teaching Studios faculty on what they are working on in their studios, Bennett Vadnais has agreed to share some images and thoughts from one of his latest paintings. This one is still very much in-progress.

I began this painting by doing many studies of the subject outdoors. This included quick color studies to capture the light effect as well as several pencil drawings that explore the form and structure of the architecture.

After gathering this material I enlarged the composition to my canvas and painted it in monochrome. For landscape subjects I’ll often use Mars Violet with white. I work out drawing and value patterns in this monochrome before applying color in many layers that range from transparent to opaque.

The Living Portrait with Maria Kreyn

	The Living Portrait (in graphite) with Maria Kreyn A workshop at our Brooklyn location on December 17 and 18. The Living Portrait workshop consisted of two days of drawing from the live model with Maria Kreyn. It was designed for artists of all skill levels. This workshop focused on creating both the likeness of the model and also emotional expression, bringing the portrait to life using the special beauty and simplicity of the graphite medium. Pictured: Kreyn beginning her demonstration.
Kreyn placed emphasis on developing expression, elegant line quality, edges, atmosphere, and internal gesture. By working from general to specific, students learned a process of drawing that focuses on quickly laying down a large amount of information, and then honing and focusing it--like a lens--to a high finish of detail and clarity. Kreyn offered both critiques and an in-class demonstration.
	The instructor's demo Jason, by Maria Kreyn
	The work produced by the workshop artists was of a very high quality. The Bushwick Poet, by Kate Savage
	Portrait of Jason, by Rob Zeller
	Works in progress by Stephan Pokorny and Barbara Leonardi

A December to Remember

	A Christmas Party/ Open Studio/ Registration Drive kind of a thing... Thursday night, December 8th, 7-9pm Free and Open to the public* You are welcome to bring food and beverages, though, and that also includes baked goods! It's Christmas time, its Hanukkah, its time to register for new classes, and Adam Miller has an enormous 7 ft painting he is working on for his solo show this spring. Those are all reasons enough to open our doors to the public and have a party. You will certainly enjoy meeting some our faculty and touring the facilities. And Adam's painting is quite a spectacle, even at this early stage.
This 7 foot high work in progress by Adam Miller will be on display for our holiday party December 8th.
John Morra's Open Studio and Sale Saturday December 10, 3-8pm 56 Church St. Stuyvessant, NY come and see over 100 paintings and drawings by faculty member John Morra in his converted church studio Holiday Food and Drinks will be served.

A Baroque Portrait with Adam Miller

	In this post I will give a brief account of a Baroque approach to painting a portrait. This is a much shortened explanation of the method I will be teaching in my upcoming workshop at Teaching Studios of Art- Oyster Bay, in December 2011. The example used here is my painting, Self Portrait With a Cold. The first consideration when painting in a layered technique is your ground and the color you apply to it. This painting is primed and underpainted in a mixture of Raw umber and ultramarine blue. The monochrome underpainting was applyed thinly over a finished drawing, slightly thicker in the lights to give a sense of texture.
	Once the monchrome stage was dry color could be glazed over the under painting. Two considerations need to be remembered at this point. One: You have already created a unifying color in the under painting and the more it can be left, the more harmony will be introduced to the finished painting. Two: to take advantage of the layering technique of painting it is important to not add to much thick paint and hide your under layer completely. The beautiful contrast of transparent glazes and opaque lights is the particular beauty of this approach to painting .
	Another very important consideration for this technique is your ground and canvas. as you will be leaving much of the painting in the first wash application and finishing only key ares of interest.The canvas or board must have a non absorbent ground so your washes will look attractive and float on top of the surface. Of course, there is much more to this technique than I have posted here. If you are interested in learning more, please join us this December at Teaching Studios - Oyster Bay. Thursday, Friday and Saturday December 15, 16 and 17th. $375 Register here: http://www.teachingstudios.com/index.php/the-baroque-portrait