At Long Last: Two Online Oil and Cold Wax Classes

It has been a long time in coming, but I am happy to announce that I was invited to teach an online oil and cold wax class and the platform aligns with how I envisioned I would like to teach if I ever chose to teach online. Classes are taught live through Zoom (with recordings available to watch for 60 days).

Martha at Winslow Art Center reached out to me about a month ago to see if I would be interested in teaching with their online art school. Here is a little about the Winslow Art Center:

Winslow Art Center, a young and innovative art school established in 2011, is the creation of its owner/director, Martha Jordan.  Originally founded as a brick-and-mortar art studio on Bainbridge Island, 5 miles across Puget Sound from Seattle, Martha’s vision was to offer small and intimate, live multi-day workshops and weekly art classes taught by world class professionals, and to supplement those classes in the Spring and Fall by offering overseas art tours to Italy led by the same instructors.  The school and tours were popular and expanding when the Covid pandemic brought the world, and the Center, to a halt.

Martha, with the help of her daughters Anne, Amy and Addie and web designer Kato D, visualized real-time online classes happening over Zoom, putting in long hours to learn the new technologies while convincing instructors and students that distance teaching online could be both viable and rewarding.  Martha’s dedication to helping others use the new online tools thrust upon us has been a major component of Winslow Art Center’s success.  The results have exceeded even Martha’s wildest expectations.  Today the Center offers nearly 80 online classes with instructors recognized as leaders in their chosen media.  Moreover, the Center has graduated from a regional to a truly international school with instructors and students participating from across the United States and around the world.

After digging into the website of the art center, I excitedly accepted the offer and we decided I would start by teaching an online version of my popular oil and cold wax class. My inaugural class is a teaser, An Intro to Oil and Cold Wax. This one is part of the art center’s popular Technique Takeaways, a 1-1/2 hour online class that offers a look at a particular art technique. My description of this intro class:

Painting with oil paint mixed with cold wax medium is like painting with whipped butter. It is soft and creamy, and when dry, it can be buffed to a beautiful sheen. In this 1-1/2 hour demo, Dayna will share about the many benefits of using cold wax medium with oil paint, share mixing ratios, methods for applying paint with putty and palette knives, how to speed up drying time, and offer a sampling of creative techniques. (There will be time for Q & A after the presentation.)

This mini class is scheduled for Friday, May 31, from 2-3:30 pm (Pacific time) with a cost of $40.

The main class I’m teaching, Wild and Free Abstracted Landscapes in Oil and Cold Wax, will be a complete class on all aspects of painting with oil and cold wax.  This class covers everything from mixing demonstrations, a variety of techniques, and discussions about color, value, composition, and design elements. In addition, there will be discussions and demos about how to make more powerful compositions, add interest to our pieces, and how know when a painting is done.

One of the great things about this platform besides my teaching live and being able to interact with students in real time, is a private message board within our online classroom where I can dialogue with students (and students with each other). Questions can be asked, work can be shared, and feed back can be requested. I am excited that I get to interact with students throughout the week.

This class is scheduled for Tuesdays, July 9-30, from 10:00 am -12:30 pm (Pacific time), with a cost of $295.

I may or may not show up in curlers!

To register, head to Winslow Art Center and choose one (or both) of my classes. Take time to browse the art center’s website; they have a FAQ page that is very helpful.

Colorful and Dynamic Abstracted Landscapes

 

It felt good to be back teaching at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. Last year my workshop was cancelled due to the pandemic and I hadn’t signed up to teach this year because of the uncertainty with Covid. As cases began falling earlier this summer, Sitka’s Program Manager, Tamara, reached out to see if I would be interested in teaching a workshop in September. I jumped at the opportunity. As the workshop date approached, I watched as Covid cases once again surged. I was a little nervous about teaching, but Sitka had worked hard to provide a safe place with lots of protocols already in place. A couple weeks before my workshop, I asked Sitka to cap the class at eight students, to ensure that there would be plenty of space between tables in the studio.

Ready for class to start on Monday morning.

I could write about the week of art-making, the learning, the techniques, the epiphanies, the experimentation, the fearlessness, the laughter, the great energy, the hard work . . . . but instead I’m going to do a photo essay, which I think captures the essence of preparation and our week together.

Howard helping clean up the studio.
The studio all set up and filled with so much promise.
Prepping for demos.
Waking up on Monday morning in my little cabin in the woods.
So good to be back.
A brand new gallon of Gamblin’s Cold Wax and a fresh pair of gloves. Yes, please.
Little scraps of paper as inspiration for colors, design, or just to jump start our imaginations.
Early morning in the studio!
The book of knowledge. haha
Tam brought me flowers to match my hair.
Warm up exercise on Arches Oil Paper.
First day demo.
Doing a demo using plaster (an added bonus).
Plaster demo was an added bonus, sharing how to seal the dried and sanded plaster.
Working, strolling, getting started for the day.
Karla creates beautiful palettes.
Working.
Loretta establishing her color palette for the day.
Loretta’s palette. I wonder why I love this so much.
It was a busy, active studio.
Margaret fell in love with this wonky old roller.
Karla at work.
Margaret’s beautiful workspace.
Heidi working fearlessly.
Tam and Louise working through ideas.
The evening glow at the end of a day of painting.
Heidi getting the hang of making beautiful marks.
A vibrant and inspiring palette!
Louise created two dynamic pieces.
Lynn sharing her work.
Tam is a “wicked” painter.
Work in progress by Loretta.
Work in progress by Karla.
Lunch table centerpiece.
Paintings drying outside in the fresh air.
So many works in progress and the beautiful hum of activity.
Early layers by Loretta. Yum.
One of Karla’s color studies.
Heidi playing with drips.
Working.
Work in progress by Lynn.
I love working in the studio after class . . . .
A working studio.
Work in progress by Louise.
Lynn experimenting with drips.
Lynn and Dayna!
Jenn working on Arches Oil Paper.
Tam playing with Transparent Orange glazes. Kapow.
Loretta spreading paint!
Louise scraping off sections of paint.
Getting ready for the day.
Doing a demo on mounting Arches Oil Paper to a cradled birch panel.
Group photo on a beautiful September afternoon.
Thank you to R&F Handmade Paints for donating pigment sticks and allowing everyone to go home with different colors.
Show and tell.
Karla discusses some of her work on our final afternoon.
Margaret discusses some of her completed work.
Lynn discusses her work on our final afternoon.
Nancy does whatever is necessary to get the good shot.
Heidi discusses her work.
Loretta discusses her work.
Tam discusses her work.
Show and tell walkabout.

Some of the work created during the week. . . . .

Art by Louise.
Work by Jenn.
Work by Heidi.
Works in progress by Louise.
Work by Karla.
Work by Margaret.
Section from larger work by Loretta.
Work by Tam.
Work by Lynn.
Work by Heidi.
Work by Louise.
Work by Margaret.
Work by Loretta.
Work by Heidi.
Work in progress by Lynn.
Work by Tam.
Work by Karla.
Work by Jenn.
Work by Lynn.
Work by Margaret.
Work by Tam.
Work by Loretta.
Work by Jenn.
Work by Karla.
Work by Louise.
Ahhhh . . . and they were delicious.

My heart is full and I am feeling grateful.