Double The Fun With Team Teaching?

"Rock Hopscotch" Pastel 11x14

Have you taken a class with two teachers sharing the teaching?

You don't want to miss this information I have for you. Karen Margulis and I will be team-teaching some workshops. Here is how it came about!

I received an e-mail about the 5th Plein Air Convention which will be held April 15-19, 2016, in Tucson, AZ. I went to the first PA Convention in Las Vegas and had a great time. I was intrigued this time because I have been through Tucson and have painted a few paintings from one of the Saguaro Parks. I decided I would try to get a friend or two to consider going also. I also love driving across our Country and stopping along the way to paint and see the sights.

I sent an e-mail to very good friend and previous student, Karen Margulis, to see if she might be interested in a road trip. We enjoy painting together and traveling and spending time learning more about our art. Karen has become quite a star in the pastel world with her paintings and her workshops. I am so proud of her! We will both be attending the International Association of Pastels Societies (IAPS) Convention this June and both of us will be receiving the Master Circle Gold Medallion, a three-inch medallion engraved with our name and the year the honor is bestowed engraved on the back.

How Did This Happen?

Karen was definitely interested, and had an intriguing idea and asked would I be interested in teaching along the way... teaching as a duo! I thought it was a fantastic idea and we are now planning the trip and the workshops.

"Where The Fairies Play" Pastel 18x24"
Karen Margulis

The Benefits of Two!

So you would have two award winning instructors for double the educational value and twice the fun! My expertise and what I am often told is "I want to learn color from you." My teaching style is more by individual thoughts as students ask questions. I have patience and am gentle... but, I ask the hard questions to get inside each student's head to see where they are going.

Karen's strength is organization and step-by-step instruction. Her biggest request and what she focuses on most is how to simplify and paint with more expression. She teaches you to loosen up and add spice to your paintings... one of her favorite topics.

We both like simplifying the plein air process making it less overwhelming and fun.

Where Will These Workshops Be Held?

We are working on details for possible Louisiana and Texas workshops, but would like to hear from you. If you have connections and/or resources to host an April 2016 workshop (from Georgia to Arizona) or would be interested in being added to our interest list, let us know.

You can e-mail me or Karen if you have information, or are interested in signing up. We will be deciding the dates very soon, but don't miss this opportunity to reserve your spot in our special workshop. 

Prints? Are they worth doing?

"Dune Shadows" Pastel 8"x10"
My Etsy Shop for Purchases 

Two big questions

1.  Have you ever considered purchasing a print of your favorite artist's painting? 

2.  Would you prefer there to be no prints of an original that you did purchase?

Some of my opinions -- and a few more questions

What do you think about prints of my fine art originals to supplement what I offer? At this time I do have "Fine Art America" as a site that produces "print-on-demand" offers for my originals along with the pricing for the original itself. I have made this a link so you can take a look there also!

One of my galleries was contacted by a company that saw my work on their site and liked what they saw. I was asked if I wanted to talk to this company about producing prints for me. 

I think it could hurt the sale of my originals. I have been of the opinion that there are a very few reasons an artist should produce prints. .... #1 if the artist takes a long time to do an original, which might mean the original is pricey. Making prints of these would make sense. #2 is if the artist is selling most of their originals, then making prints would be a smart thing to do also. So... that is kind of three things: (1) Price of originals is high; (2) long time to produce work / intricate originals; and (3) selling most of their originals! 

What do you think?

Teaching is Fun

Purchase Hot Rose
Acrylic 3"x3"

Having Fun

When I am teaching a student, many times we talk more than we paint... but this is a very good thing. It helps me get inside the head of the student and find out what they are all about! Most teachers don't want to create a student that paints like "the teacher!"

Work?

Do I consider this work ... definitely ... but fun also. My brain is constantly thinking, how do I help this student? What can I show them?

I paint with the student, working on something that might be along the lines of what the student is working on. I will set up a still life, or we might work from photographs... of course this is in the studio. If we are painting "plein air" which means "in the open air" ... or you can just call it "painting outdoors" ... we are usually looking at the landscape and choosing what to paint. Vista, or close-up, trees, grass, lakes or streams, etc.!

One Idea For You!

A recent student asked me how to make paint drips or runs on the canvas. So to show her, I created an 8x10 showing her to dip the brush in the paint, apply random strokes, "be happy strokes," onto the canvas. Next, I took the brush with paint still on the tip and lightly dipped it into my clean water. Applying the brush tip to the acrylic on the canvas, I added blobs of water that ran down the canvas. Now... the canvas was on a stand-up easel, but if you are painting flat, you just pick it up and tilt it different ways.

What did I see in these drips? I saw stems and leaves of flowers. The only thing to do was imagine I was looking at roses... this is what I saw in my "mind's eye." The above little "gem" was the next one I did after the original 8x10 showing the student. This one is a 3"x3" acrylic on a small stretched canvas and is offered along with several others, and more to come, in my Etsy shop.

I had about a dozen little 3x3 and 3.5x2.5 canvases taped to a foam core board ... boy was I having fun! And, the student was encouraged to do something a little different!

What is your reality?

The Reality in my mind!

The Mood in my mind!

Happiness, for most of us, is a choice. Reality is not. It seems, though, that choosing to be happy ends up changing the reality that we keep track of. (Seth Godin - his newsletter on 1/27/15)

Your mood vs. your reality 

The first image above was the reality I saw when looking at my reference photo! I had changed many elements ... their actual location, or size, or more sand, less sand, more low foliage, etc. So I was already changing the "reality" of the photo. And it was not going in the direction I wanted. So, I put it aside for another day.

The second image was a few months later, when I revisited the unfinished painting... and tried using a new process and creating the mood I felt! I'll talk about the process in another blog post.

It is not exactly what I want, and still rather unfinished. But, it is going in a direction I "feel" rather than sticking too close to the reference photo. I will be sure to show the finished painting ... or at least a finished experiment ... when I get there. There are many little things that are not up to my standard in the composition and design of this piece, but I do believe they are still evolving.

So... I would say, I am choosing to change the reality of this scene to my own view of what I felt when at this location ... my own happiness!

Special Workshop - Florida!

"Ocean View" Oil, 7"x5"
Purchase Painting

My Annual Florida Workshop - 2015!
Pastel, Oil or Acrylic -- Studio or Plein Air
Melbourne/Indialantic, Florida

Feb. 25 - March 1, 2015 -- Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat. and Sunday
$90 per day -- choose your own days! Take three or more, at $10 off per day.

Florida is a special workshop I do each year ---- And you can choose your own days, take one, two, three, four or all five! This is a relatively small class... because of students deciding to paint in the studio (with the doors open to the outside, or outside in the beautiful landscape on this property!

I have done this workshop for 11 years, this would be #12. There are many returning students each year, and several new ones each year! The intention for this workshop is to have each student plan the days they can come -- just one day, two, etc. ... or all five. You can paint in the studio or plein air on the grounds of my host for the workshop. This location is beautiful and is along the intercoastal waterway. I will discuss creating studies, working from photographs as if you were outdoors, doing thumbnails and notans .... among all the other theories you may need to create your own personal vision.... instead of thinking of creating a "painting." This thought process most times takes the pressure off trying too hard! Try it, you'll like it and it might just give you a boost to try more!  And, I do not teach you to paint like me ... we find your vision!

Three Key Benefits of Marsha Savage Workshops
The workshop engages the student to study the key elements of starting a painting in a controlled way. A plan is made, started and keeps the student on track, instead of just "flying by the seat of their pants."

Study with a teacher in a workshop allows students to ask their own questions, but more importantly to see and listen to other students' questions and processes.

Learning to enjoy the journey, not necessarily trying to finish a piece is a key element in my discussions during the whole of the workshop. This also means to follow their own path, taking what they need from the workshop and are capable of at their stage, not just learning to paint in the style of the instructor.

Registration is by e-mailing me for the workshop. I will give the address and a supply list if you need one. I am not a teacher that wants you to go out and buy new supplies if you don't need them! All the classes are kept between 10 - 16 students at most. Many times there are only about 5-6... which is how I am planning my workshops most of the time these days! Take advantage of this more relaxed atmosphere, no pressure, and small group!


For more information about me, my bio and my artist statement look through my web site, www.marshasavage.com , or you can call 770-926-3623 (Smyrna, GA), or e-mail me at marshasavageart @ yahoo.com.

How Do You Work Thru Difficult Times?

"Splish Splash" Oil 5"x5"
Purchase Painting

This is a quote from a newsletter I read this morning: "When You’ve Hit The Artistic Wall: Frustration and Creativity"...By: Lee Hammond, August 27, 2014.

"I know it’s difficult to not take bad outcomes personally, but that’s what we do. To truly succeed as an artist, you must move through it, and know that art isn’t easy. If it was, EVERYONE would be doing it! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: There is a reason they call it Art-WORK!"

This is something we, as artists, deal with many times. Not all our art comes easily! Many times we wonder ... as the successes come, and then we become a little dissatisfied with our progress... why?

What questions do you ask yourself?

Do you work through a painting that is giving you fits? Or ... do you say to yourself, I think I'll play today with my art and just see what comes out of it?

The painting above is one I did several months ago when I was feeling very frustrated... so I changed the medium (pastel) I was working in at that time, to this one (oil). And, I decided to work small and not feel the pressure of having a lot of art supplies tied up, or time, ... and I actually did three paintings... oooh, let's call them pieces of artwork, that morning.

Another thing I do, is take the pressure off by not calling them paintings! It sounds silly maybe, but it works. It frees me up to have loads of fun and not care quite as much about the outcome. This was not for a show, or a gallery, or to sell... but guess what? It worked, I loved the freshness of the pieces, and chose not to go into them and try to correct every little thing that "could" be considered wrong!

When I do pieces like this... they get relegated to my "Studies" group of artwork! You might be surprised at the price of this piece, unframed... have a look! And, enjoy!

We are Artists, right?

Interpret, Don't Copy!

"Sea Grape & Palm" Pastel 11"x14"
Purchase Painting

Art starts with a feeling and everything should support that feeling. The concept for a painting could maybe be boiled down to just one word. Write it down and refer to it throughout the painting. When you look at your reference, do you see intrigue, or mystery? Maybe it is about the feeling of calm, or just the opposite... excitement? Write the word down, and make a quick thumbnail.

Make some notes along with your thumbnail. Colors and direction of light are important words to write. Is the scene you envision high key (mostly lighter half of the value scale) or low key (mostly in the darker half of the value scale)?

Do you want to use specific colors ... maybe a limited palette? Favorite colors? Or maybe use colors that you usually shy away from. Is there a color that has an inherent property or feeling... like blue is soothing, red is energetic, etc. Start with those colors. You can add to them if there needs to be some adjustment. Don't feel constrained by choosing a specific palette... unless that is your intention and to push the boundaries!

Begin your painting with some kind of plan, and refer to your plan or notes during the painting process. Revisit the original intention for the artwork during the painting to make sure you are still with your plan. Or has it taken a different course? Of the course if the painting has shifted, sit and think about whether you need to go with it, or put it back on course by making changes that take it back to the plan.

Remember, above all... my motto is: "It's the journey, not the destination!" So, enjoy... and have fun!