Art Classes and Workshops with Mitchell Albala in 2012

This year I will be teaching a variety of drawing and painting classes at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, Pacific Northwest Art School on Whidbey island, Dakota Art Center in Mt Vernon, Wash., and Winslow Art Center on Bainbrdige Island.

"You got me to really start thinking about what I'm doing and why, and not to just charge into it, as I would usually do. You've helped me to break some bad habits and cultivate some new good ones. All of the preliminary sketches and value studies help eliminate countless hours in trying to 'fix' things later. So thank you, I feel like I got more than what I signed up for and will use it to continue forward." – Kelly Patterson

Winter 2012

Drawing FOR BEGINNERS

Gage Academy of Art
Begins Friday January 20th, 2012. For more information about class content, email Mitch Albala. For fees and registration information, contact Gage Academy.

This introductory class offers a fun and safe environment to in which you will learn to see more accurately with the "keys" to drawing: angles, measuring and proportion, negative space, gesture and value. Working from simple still lives and organic forms, you explore various drawing media, including charcoal, graphite, and ink as you progress from line drawing toward a nuanced understanding of tonal description. Homework required. Level: Beginner to intermediate. (Inset drawing by Cathy Bechtel)

Spring 2012

Landscape: Essential Theory and Process

Gage Academy of Art
Next 10-week class begins 2nd week of April 2012. For more information about class content, email Mitch Albala. For fees and registration information, contact Gage Academy.

This class takes a studio-based approach to explores the key foundations of landscape — simplification and massing, value, subject selection, composition, and color. Special attention is given to the correct way to reference photos and how image editing software can be used to an idea-generating tool. Working from your own photos and those provided by the instructor, you'll do structured exercises in the slower and more controlled environment of the studio, you will become better prepared to solve these problems when working outdoors. Ideal for those with previous experience who now want to explore landscape or seek a foundation for plein air work. With weekly critiques and lots of personalized instruction. Homework required. Level: Intermediate to advanced. (Inset painting by Maggie Sharkey)

Real World Composition

Pacific Northwest Art School
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 30 – April 1
For more information about class content, email Mitch Albala. For fees and registration information, contact Pacific Northwest Art School.

Composition is arguably the most challenging visual problem for the artist. Why? Because its energies are fundamentally abstract and hidden beneath the surface of our subject and narrative. The goal of this class is to make the invisible visible and gain access to those energies. Abstract design principles like balance, rhythm, unity, or variation are covered, but only as they apply to "real world" representational drawing and painting problems. Exercises will explore limited focus and the power of the "picture window," the 2-value structure and "notan," the organization of simplified shapes, and directional energy. Previous drawing experience required. Level: Intermediate. (Inset painting by Mitchell Albala)

KEYS TO LANDSCAPE - A GUIDED APPROACH

Dakota Art Center, Mt. Vernon, Wash.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 25, 26 and 27
For more information about class content, email Mitch Albala. For fees and registration information, contact Dakota Art Center.

This unique class uses a studio-based approach to lay the groundwork for the most essential skills required by the landscape painter — simplification, site selection, and color. By learning these challenging concepts through guided exercises, in the relaxed and more controlled environment of the studio, you will be better prepared to problem solve when working outdoors. Working from your own photos and those provided by the instructor, the class will focus on three main skills:

Simplification and massing. Through several limited value exercises, you will learn how to you translate disorganized and overly-detailed scenes into more coherent, readable compositions.
Site selection and composition. What types of scenes translate best and what types should be avoided? What are the visual cues necessary to create a an illusion of depth? And how can a "limited focus" move you toward stronger and more simplified compositions? Plus, learn the correct way to use reference photos.
Light and color will be examined as it specifically relates to landscape painting — not as a color matching exercise, but as a unique synthesis of nature's color and your own color strategies.

Enjoy in-class critiques and lots of personalized guidance from the instructor. This workshop is not appropriate for first time drawers or painters, but is ideal for those who have painted before and now want a strong foundation in landscape painting. Suitable for for oil, acrylic or pastel painters. A great primer for summer plein air painting. Level: Intermediate to advanced.

Summer 2012

essentials of plein air painting in skagit valley

Gage Academy of Art
Monday August 13 – Friday August 17. For more information about class content, email Mitch Albala. For fees and registration information, contact Gage Academy.

Located on Fir Island in the heart of Skagit Valley, this summer plein-air retreat provides a vast agricultural panorama dotted with farmhouses,barns and fields in rural Washington. Explore practical solutions to the special challenges faced by landscape painters, including simplification through massing, composition, strategies for depicting light, color mixing, and managing your outdoor studio. Learn the best strategies for starting a painting, through site selection and using an abbreviated underpainting to establish an effective design and value structure. Be part of a close knit "art colony" as you benefit from daily demonstrations and lectures, personal and group critiques, and lunch time chats. Paint in both early morning (8 – 11) and afternoon (3:30 – 6:30) sessions. Ideal for those with previous experience who now want to explore landscape or seek a foundation for plein air work. Level: Intermediate.

Foundations of Plein Air Painting on Whidbey Island

Pacific Northwest Art School
Friday July 27 – Sunday July 29
For more information about class content, email Mitch Albala. For fees and registration information, contact Pacific Northwest Art School.

With beautiful Whidbey as our backdrop, this workshop explores the landscape painter's most essentia skills: simplification and massing, site selection and composition, and color strategy. Rather than adopt a rapid fire and sometimes rushed approach to plein air, this workshop encourages problem-solving, with special attention given to strong starts — proper site selection, establishing a strong composition through value placement, and color strategy. With daily demonstrations and a combination of short exercises and free painting (in early morning and afternoon sessions). this is an ideal workshop for those with previous experience who now want to explore landscape and get a foundation in plein air. (Inset painting by Marian Morris)

Classes not currently scheduled

UNDERSTANDING SIMPLIFICATION AND MASSING FOR LANDSCAPE PAINTERS

The ability to to simplify — to covert nature’s complexity into fewer and more readable shapes and patterns — is the most important skill for the landscape painter. Working from your own photos and those supplied by the instructor, you will do several painting and drawing exercises designed to encourage your eye your eye and hand toward broad, simplified shapes. You will learn about the power of "limited focus," how limited values and “value zones” can be used as a means to simplify, and how to work with shapes of varying size and density. The workshop will conclude with a segment on preparing for painting outdoors, from materials to best practices. Note: This class will not work in color. Value-based studies are the most direct way to initially understand the shape requirements of simplification and massing. Please review the Guidelines for Choosing Photos and the Materials List. (Inset painting by Joan Ostendorff)

PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR ARTWORK

We would all love to have our artwork professionally photographed, but the reality is, because of cost or expediency, many of us want to shoot our own artwork. The results, however, can often be less than satisfactory. This workshop, designed for artists, will cover the four keysteps necessary to get better results with your photos. 

Aligning the camera to the artwork. If your painting comes out looking like a trapezoid, something is wrong! I'll demonstrate a straightforward, by-the-number method for aligning the camera to the artwork.

Lighting the artwork. I'll review the appropriate way to position the lights, and the best type of lights to use. I will also show you how to shoot outside, without lights, in natural daylight.

Camera settings. Learn the correct settings to use to produce the best results, including exposure, color temperature, and light sensitivity (ASA). Note: This class does not provide individual instruction on the use of your specific camera. You should be willing to read your instruction manual to find out how to adjust these settings are on your camera.  

Post processing. Even the best photograph requires some post-processing on the computer. I'll show you how to make basic tonal (value) adjustments to the photo, as well as how to straighten an image that is not completely square. Note: Image adjustments are done with Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements (an inexpensive, but very capable cousin to Photoshop). If you have this software on your laptop, you can bring it to class and follow along with the demonstration. But even if you don't have the software (or don't want to get it), you can still obtain greatly improved results just from steps 1–3.