River Bend Sold at Auction

Jason showing his new painting River Bend with buyers Jim & Barbara Whitton

On Saturday night (August 8th), Holly and I were guests of the Hound Ears Club and the wonderful organizers of the 14th Annual Benefit to support the regional healthcare system. Libba Gaither, Alma Greene and their associates have successfully raised a tremendous amount of money for local healthcare each year. On this beautiful night, overlooking the golf course, a lively group of residents gathered for an auction that turned out to be better than expected.

Earlier this year I had visited the Hound Ears property to gather material for a composition that I believed would be appealing to these residents, one that characterized their tranquil mountain setting. I produced a composition with a view of the tremendous boulders shaping the Watauga River as it winds through the mountains next to the 2nd green, a well-known location of serene beauty that epitomizes the quiet, natural surroundings of this community

My painting, called River Bend, a 24 x 36 inch oil painting on mounted Belgian linen, was auctioned for the benefit of the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System. For 5 decades, Hound Ears Club has raised support for the regional healthcare system and this year’s event was part of a goal to contribute to the new post-acute care facility that will provide rehabilitation services, memory support care, extended care, palliative care and primary care in an on-site outpatient clinic. 

The auction featured items such as PGA golf tournament packages, gourmet dinners, furniture, and art. 

As the last item on the block, the bidding for the painting was competitive and engaging. The final bid of $9,000 was offered by winners Jim and Barbara Whitton of Blowing Rock. 

Are Painting Workshops Worth It?

Roger Dale Brown begins a studio painting demo

Artists of all experience and skill level admire the abilities of more successful painters and want to learn from them, even if its only through an instructional video. If a great artist is offering a workshop near them, there is an even better incentive to go and learn face-to-face. But after its over, and you are making the drive home, you will inevitably face the question, was it worth it?

Last Saturday I drove a few hours to Nashville, TN to attend the one-day workshop offered by artist and instructor, Roger Dale Brown. The emphasis of this short class was to learn how to develop a large studio painting from references acquired in the field including painted field sketches, videos, photos, and written notes. Roger is a very successful painter who knows what he is doing, and knows how to explain it. I believe that is a key characteristic of a good workshop teacher and Roger fills the bill. As the student watches the experienced teacher deftly mix paint then spread it on the canvas with confidence, their minds are reverberating with a continual question “why?” Why did you choose that brush, that color, that value? Why did you wait to add that color? Why did you start the block in with that color only to add its compliment later with broad brush strokes? The instructor who can answer those questions (and many more) in a way that students can understand, is the one who is transferring his skill as well as his enthusiasm. 

Location

A good location is essential for a learning environment to be cultivated. Roger’s workshop was hosted at an artist’s studio designed for classes in a renovated warehouse. There was plenty of space for students to spread out comfortably, good lighting (not natural, unfortunately, but very adequate), accessible food and lavatory facilities, and comfortable furniture for breaks. This facility had the additional benefit of extra studio easels, side tables, chairs, and moveable lighting, all of which the students took advantage of. 

Objective

I really appreciated that Roger’s workshop had a well defined objective. The students knew what they could walk away with before the first session started. Roger’s demo also had a step-by-step approach that was sharply focused on the workshop objective which made the student painting session in the afternoon much more productive. 

Coaching

Always explaining, always answering questions...

The attendance at this workshop was not as high as his usual sessions and I appreciated that Roger was available often for help and discussion of the student work. He didn’t just leave you alone or show up only once or twice during your painting time. He was right there moving from easel to easel with questions, answers, and encouragement. After all, isn’t that what you are paying for?

Take Home

Always squinting...

What did you learn from the workshop that you can apply the next time you paint? I’ve been to some sessions where you ask yourself after 3 days of watching a very mediocre instructor ramble on about his ambitions, did I really learn anything new? Did I just pick up a few neat tips or did I learn something fundamental to good art that I can apply right away? If the instructor wowed you with his demo skills, you might ask yourself, was this worth it just to watch a great artist paint, or did he help me become better with a brush? 

Now I won’t ignore the fact that many artists have other objectives for attending workshops than those I have offered here. Maybe you merely want to network, build art relationships, or just meet the instructor and develop a better relationship with them. You could be attending to learn more about good materials or just to practice with other like-minded people. No matter what your motive, your expectations will determine what you get out of the event and you need to have a clear view before you go of how to measure success. 

Lets not forget that having a good time can be a worthwhile reason to go and that can be easily experienced with a great group of friends, both old and new. Happy painting.

Grandfather Mountain Reverie a Finalist in the ARC 2013-2014 Salon

The painting Grandfather Mountain Reverie was judged a finalist in the Art Renewal Center (ARC) 2013-2014 Salon in the Figurative Category. The ARC's goal is to create the largest on-line Museum on the internet, with hundreds of thousands of oversized high quality images of all the known works of the greatest painters and sculptors in human history, cross referenced to the largest encyclopedic online art reference library of historical texts, essays, biographies and articles. In addition, the site promotes a return of training, standards and excellence in the visual arts.

This was the 10th annual competition in which some of the best contemporary realist artists in the world competed for recognition, cash prizes, and a chance to have their work seen by some of the more than 5,000,000 annual visitors to the ARC website, as well as in other reputable venues.

With an approximate 2200 entries by over 1,000 artists, the 2013/2014 ARC Salon competition was more competitive than ever. This year there were only 685 finalists, which were the top 31% of works submitted.

I am honored to be included in this prestigious art competition.