No. 586 Zimin Workshop Study #5

 

 

Zimin Workshop Study #5

Oil on Stretched Canvas

11" x 14"

 

Last day of the workshop, last study. We discovered, after trying to add a red apple to this still life for some color and Mr. Zimin calmly removing it again, that this still life is supposed to be light and airy. The apple, he told us, would have just weighed it down. He often commented that we are trying to paint the air around the objects not just the objects themselves. Something to ponder.

 

 

 

On the right is Alexander Zimin. On the left is our translator Olga. In the middle is the woman that made this workshop possible and a fine painter herself, Jan Jewell. A huge thank you to all three for a wonderful workshop.



No. 585 Zimin Workshop Study #4

 

 

Zimin Workshop Study #4

Oil on Stretched Canvas

12" x 16"

 

I struggled long and hard with this one. I had this lovely textured background which was what I thought it was all about. Then, Mr. Zimin came by and scraped it all off to make the roses stand out more. Okay, maybe thick beautiful texture isn't always what it's about. Sigh. Back to the drawing board.

 

 

 

Zimin Workshop Study #4b

Oil on Gessobord

7" x 5"

 

After making all kinds of mistakes on the first study, I did this small version pretty quickly.

 

 

Okay, here is the master painting his version. It was exquisite.

 

Mr. Zimin doesn't speak fluent English and so had a translator. This made the workshop interesting and a bit challenging. The translator was a lovely lady, eager to help you understand. I couldn't help but feel, though, that I may have missed out on some great information. I will say the language barrier would not keep me from taking the workshop again if I had the chance.

No. 584 Zimin Workshop Study #3

 

 

Zimin Workshop Study #3

Oil on Stretched Canvas

11" x 14"

 

This lively, loose, colorful study is from the third day of the workshop. The weather was beautiful so we went outside to paint. I was really excited because I hope to paint still lifes in my own backyard and was very interested in how Mr. Zimin approached this situation. You can see some of his palette knife work on my painting. It was an interesting combination of scraping paint off to simply and unify while adding thick, variegated strokes for interest. I know one thing for sure. I need to use a lot more paint.

 

 

 

Alexander Zimin in the middle of painting an outdoor still life. It turned out beautifully.

No. 583 Alexander Zimin Workshop Studies

 

Zimin Workshop Study #2

Oil on Stretched Canvas

11" x 14"

 

A couple of weeks ago I had the great good fortune to attend a workshop taught by Russian, master-impressionist, painter, Alexander Zimin. It was a week long workshop running from 10:00am until 5:00pm each day. Every morning started with Mr. Zimin painting a demo with great enthusiasm. After lunch it was our turn to paint one of his beautifully designed still lifes. I would've attended the workshop just to have the opportunity to paint one of his still lifes.

 

 

 

Zimin Workshop Study #1

Oil on Stretched Canvas.

12" x 16"

 

 

New friends Maria and Steve and old friend, Margaret participating in the workshop.

No. 512 Duane Keiser Workshop

 

 

 

DK Workshop Exercise #3

Oil on linen board

7" x 5"

 

In September I had the terrific opportunity to take a workshop from the man who initiated the daily painting movement, Duane Keiser. Yes, this is the fellow who came up with idea of creating small daily paintings and successfully selling them without the help of a gallery through Ebay. What an amazing concept this has been for hundreds, possibly thousands of artists including myself. The still life above is very Duane Keiser in it's subject matter. My favorite part is the extension cord. If you would like to check out more of his work click here.

 

DK Workshop Exercise #2

Oil on Canvas Panel

8" x 8"

Duane tried very hard to get us to loosen up and see the big picture by focusing on large shapes and color relationships. The painting above is about 65% mine and 35% Duane. If you are interested in his philosophy click here for a great interview.