JOURNEY DETAILS

Media: Oil, watercolors and pastels

Level: All levels

Goals of Instructor:

• Understanding and simplifying shapes
• Laying down a foundation quickly and confidently
• Creating and developing a focal point
• Balancing cool and warm colors to create atmospheric perspective

Workshop includes:

• Day one: Welcome reception and informational gathering followed by dinner.
• Following days: Daily instructional sessions (morning and afternoon) will be scheduled with a 2 hour break for lunch. Participants are free to paint on their own or explore the region.

Each day begins with a lecture and demonstration on the fundamentals of painting. There will be plenty of painting time, personal instruction, and group critiques to promote your progress. Participants are welcome to bring images of past work for discussion. We’ll meet at designated locations with a break for lunch.  In case of inclement weather, we will work inside.

We will end the week with a farewell dinner.

(Excursion days on the program’s itinerary include tours of Fiesole and visits to museums in Florence.)

Sample daily painting schedule is as follows:

• 9:00am: Meet at designation point for a brief demonstration
• 12:00pm: Lunch
• 2-4:00pm: Students proceed to a market in Florence to paint
• 5:00pm: Free time
• 8:00pm: Dinner

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

"I've always been influenced by the power of images to express ideas and emotions. Painting is a process of discovery and decision making where disparate elements pull together until the image is clearly expressed."

Eli Cedrone has spent her lifetime creating. A graduate of the School of Art & Design in Boston, she studied art in Italy and at the School of the MFA, Boston. Her professional career began as an art director at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, Bermuda, followed by work as an illustrator and mixed-media artist in Laguna Beach, CA. Her work has been exhibited nationwide and she is a popular workshop instructor in the alla prima method. Contemporary Realism would best describe her style. Two powerful influences have been the Spanish impressionist, Joaquin Sorolla and Richard Diebenkorn. Others include Nicolai Fechin, Anders Zorn, John Singer Sargent.

THE ALLA PRIMA METHOD: PAINTING FROM LIFE

"Impressionism, which is essentially the effect of light on color, demands that the artist pay careful attention to how he perceives the natural world. Creating notes of color is much like playing scales on the piano. Seeing correctly is critical to understanding and expressing how light creates color and how color conveys light."