Design and Composition in Painting with John Taft
September 18 - 21, 2024
9 am - 4 pm
$665 + 6.88% NM Sales Tax
A note to our students: To ensure that the workshop will not be canceled, we kindly request that you sign up as early as possible. Please note that if the minimum number of students required is not met three (3) weeks before the first day of class, the workshop will be canceled. However, we offer a full refund in the event of a canceled workshop, so there is no monetary risk for you. Please take some time to review our cancellation policy.
About the Workshop
Skill level: All levels are welcome.
Materials used: while I plan to demonstrate in oil, all mediums are welcome.
Overview:
How about a focus on COMPOSITION? We know it is an essential part of painting. We won’t forget all the other good stuff like color and drawing, values and edges, etc., but composition will be our primary focus because a better understanding here will liberate us to better convey what we want to say in our paintings.
We’ll begin with the basics and gradually move beyond general formulas. You will receive an overview of dynamic symmetry, removing some of the mystery to this design approach as we look at how it has been applied by artists for centuries (like…what do Van Gogh and Poussin have in common?).
The workshop will include daily lessons, on-location painting, painting demonstrations, and of course, both individual and group critiques. The plan for day four is to develop a little larger work “in the studio” from one of our previous days’ paintings.
All levels are welcome, and while I plan to demonstrate in oil, all mediums are welcome as well. If you would like to strengthen your sense of composition for painting any subject, I encourage you to attend!
About John
Originally from western New York, John studied design and art at Rochester Institute of Technology, and then at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. His work took him from Los Angeles to Minneapolis and then to New York City where he worked as a Designer and Art Director for a number of design groups and television networks.
Whenever he and his wife would leave “the city” for a weekend, the landscape would have a strong impact on him, reminding him of his upbringing, when, if not playing baseball, he would spend many a summer day working the fields for his father on the family tree nursery, working in “wind and rain and weather”. Living in New York City provided opportunities for a different kind of culture, that of great art in museums and galleries. The Metropolitan Museum of Art became a favorite, as did the Frick Museum and MoMa. Retrospectives on Corot, Monet, Lucian Freud, and exhibits featuring the Hudson River School Painters, Van Gogh, Odd Nerdrum, and George Inness caused John to grow in his appreciation of great art. When he became a "hands-off" Design Director in 2001, he decided to get "hands-on" and began painting when he could find time between work and a growing family.
9/11 happened, and soon John was meeting weekly just blocks from ground zero, with former National Council of the Arts member, Mako Fujimura, who gathered artists of various disciplines together for coffee and bagels, to engage in discussions of art, faith and purpose. Englishman, Nigel Goodwin, was a guest at the group and became a catalyst for John to pursue this call in the arts, moving his family to Colorado to begin painting in earnest in 2004.
His work has since received a number of awards and honors, including having his piece, "Thunder Run" added in 2022 to the permanent collection of the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, TX. Additionally, "Worthy Ascent" was awarded the Gold Award at the 2021 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibit. In 2018 at the OPA's National show, his piece received the "Best Signature Award of Excellence". Other awards and honors include the Fine Art Connoisseur’s Award of Excellence at the National Western Club Show in Denver, two additional "Top Landscape Awards of Excellence" from the Oil Painters of America National Exhibit, plus exhibiting at the Coors Western Art show and the American Masters at the Salmagundi Club in New York City. John is a signature member of both the Oil Painters of American and Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA).
What’s Included
Bluebird Studios offers an array of complimentary food and beverages during our workshops. Attendees can enjoy an ice breaker the evening before the first day, complimentary continental breakfast served every morning, complimentary unlimited beverages, and afternoon treats each day. We also offer catered lunches brought to the studio or the plein air site (optional for $20), and lastly, our complimentary signature lunch of Frito Chili Pie on the final day. We will spoil you!
Supplies
Supply list coming soon.