Join me in Italy this Summer!

Work Small, Learn Big!

Explore and sketch Italy 

June 6-13, 2020

Join me for seven days of immersion into the art of the travel sketchbook. You will create your own visual journal while exploring silvery olive groves, scatterings of poppies and sunflowers, vineyards and farms, ancient churches, small villages and the Renaissance city of Florence.
Open to all skill levels and geared toward individual instruction, this workshop is the perfect combination of working small and portable and learning big skills to take home with you.
 

ITINERARY

Day 1: Saturday, June 6 – Arrival in Florence 4:00pm  We will pick you up at the Florence train station and transport you to our villa at the Petrolo Winery, where you will move into your rooms and explore the house and grounds. 8:00pm Welcome wine reception and typical Italian dinner at the villa.

Day 2: Sunday, June 7 Morning Session  Breakfast together. Review of supplies, drawing warmups and preview of the week's opportunities. Sketchbook demo and presentations on how to "move into" your sketchbook. Spend the afternoon drawing on the grounds of the villa.

Afternoon Session: A trip into Montevarchi to the grocery store to stock up on items you would like to have for snacks for the week. This is our opportunity to be delighted and amazed at the variety of things offered at the Italian grocery store. Evening Session: Dinner at local restaurant Lo Schicchero in Mercatale Valdarno

Day 3: Monday,June 8 –Art History, Sketching and Wine Tasting

Morning Session: Architecture Made Simple Spend the morning at a 13th century church on the grounds of the Petrolo Winery, drawing and painting with a discussion focused on how to easily draw architecture with attention to the correct use of interior and exterior perspective.  Lunchtime picnic on the church grounds

Afternoon Session: Art History - the Seeds of the Renaissance More sketching and a presentation by a local art historian on the artistic history of the Valdarno area and of the church we are visiting.

Evening Session: Wine tasting at the Petrolo Winery. Look at this link for a short history of Petrolo.  Italian dinner at the villa, sharing the day's work with good food and wine.

Day 4: Tuesday, June 9 – Trip to Florence: Art History and Sketching in the City

Morning Session:  Train to Florence. Practice "speed sketching" the Italian landscape from the train windows. Afternoon and Evening Session:  All day - explore Florence, the seat of the Renaissance, where you can visit Michelangleo's David, climb to the top of the Duomo, shop for jewelry on the ancient Ponte Vecchio and visit the Botticellis at the Uffizi Galleries all in one very compact city. Head to the Market at San Lorenzo to sketch the hustle and bustle or shop the stalls for leather goods, handmade papers and Italian gourmet items. Demonstration and practice drawing figures in an environment to create a sense of place.

Evening Session: Recap of the day in Florence Meet in the city for a light snack and to review the day. Board the train for the trip home Light dinner at the villa

Day 5: Wednesday, June 10 – A View from the Top and Shoe Factory Visit Morning Session: Atmospheric Perspective We will spend the morning at the top of the hill at the tower of Galatrona, overlooking sweeping vistas of  olive groves and vineyards. Our opportunity to discuss atmospheric perspective and how to achieve a sense of depth in our work  using of color, scale and value .

Afternoon Session: The Shoe Factory Visit the Pratesi Shoe Factory in nearby Ambra to shop, admire the amazing variety of leather goods and/or sketch shoes, cats and interiors.

Evening Session: Back to the villa to recap the day and have dinner together.

Day 6: Thursday, June 11 – A day at San Luciano Winery in Monte San Savino  We will join the proprietor, Stephano for a full day at San Luciano Winery to sketch the old church, the vineyards, the animals, the garden and ancient farm equipment. We’ll spend the afternoon painting and sketching at the vineyard with a lesson on composition and focal point. Picnic lunch in the afternoon and wine and olive oil tasting at the end of a lovely day. We will have dinner back at the villa.

Day 7: Friday, June 12 – Finishing up the week Morning follow ups, final touches to our sketchbooks. Time to pack for the trip home in the afternoon. Farewell dinner at Locanda Casariccio. Day 8: June 13 - Saying Arrivederchi Transport to the train station with your ticket back to Florence included.

Workshop Tuition For a single person sharing a room $2200 ($1950 if 50% is paid by March 15, 2020) For a single person with private room or non-participating guest $1200

Workshop Tuition Includes: Pickup from train station in Florence Accommodations (7 nights) Individualized workshop instruction All meals except lunch on day trips Transportation to/from local train station Wine tastings Art supplies *Maximum of 10 participates

Not Included: Airfare Transfers

**IMPORTANT** Please Note: Purchasing travel/medical insurance is highly recommended.

Participants should be in good physical condition and able to walk on uneven surfaces and up and down hills while carrying supplies and equipment in a backpack. Must also be able to sit for extended periods of time on folding stools while you paint.

About Jaime  Jaime Howard is a classically trained American oil and watercolor painter, and has instructed all levels of artists from beginners to advanced college students. A faculty member of Savannah College of Art and Design, she teaches drawing, painting and design and conducts workshops in the US and Europe. She is an avid member of International Urban Sketchers and Urban Sketchers of Jacksonville, Florida. Jaime combines her love of drawing, painting and teaching with a rich background in art history, bringing her students the stimulating presentation of a knowledgeable and inspiring teacher.

"Sketching and painting on location makes each day thrilling; sharing the adventure with my students makes life fulfilling."

Contact:Jaime Howard
 jaimehowardart@gmail.com
+1(904)662-2140

Details

Start:

June 6, 2020

End:

June 13, 2020

Cost:

$2200 ($1950)

Organizer

Jaime Howard

Phone:

+1 (904)662-2140

Email:

jaimehowardart@gmail.com

Inside the Process: an Interview with Lyn Asselta

Watercolor under-painting

Last week we discovered the expressive pastel paintings of 
Lyn Asselta.

Lyn is the president and founder of 
First Coast Pastel Society and was the featured artist of A Brush with Nature at the Jacksonville Arboretum.



                  

Arboretum Path, pastel on paper, ©2012 Lynn Asselta

Lyn's pastel painting workshop at the Jacksonville Arboretum was fun for all the participants. Lyn was so busy encouraging her students that her own painting waited to be completed until after the event. 

Today, we'll look at her finished painting and ask Lyn some questions about her motivations, her background, and her process.

Hello Lyn!
Since you are one of my favorite painters and a master of plein air painting in pastel, I'd love to find out more about you and your work. Thanks for answering some
questions for us.

What was the catalyst for becoming an artist and a teacher? 

Lyn: I think I've always wanted to be an artist, but I also wanted to share that with other people. So, I started out as an elementary school art teacher and then gradually transitioned into teaching workshops for adults.  I love being able to watch someone get excited about learning to paint or draw.

Has pastel always been your medium of choice? 

Lyn: I've worked with a lot of different mediums in the past.  I started out as a calligrapher, then did a little residential drafting, I created large, intricately-designed gourd vessels with pine-needle basketry for about 10 years, and then finally pulled my old pastel box out of the studio closet and discovered sanded paper...that was the beginning of it for me!

Why do you work outdoors?  

Lyn: Honestly, I work outdoors because I love it there.  There is nothing quite like standing next to my easel, hearing the birds and the wind in the trees or the water swooshing up against the shore.  It's peaceful, and I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be when I'm out there.

What location has been your favorite and why? 

Lyn: As for a favorite place, it's hard to say.  I recently took a trip to Zion National Park and fell in love with those enormous mountains, but every time I see a new place I tend to fall in love with it, so maybe the answer is wherever I happen to be!

What do you hope your students learn from you? 

Lyn: I hope my students learn to be excited about pastels and painting.  To me, it's the excitement that is the most important thing.  Whenever I teach, the very best thing for me is the look of excitement on a student's face when they've done something they thought they couldn't do, or when they love what they've painted.

Are you ever fully satisfied with your work? How do you know when you're finished? 

Lyn: Every so often I finish a painting and I'm totally happy with it.  But, more often than not, I continue to wonder if there is anything else I need to do to really make it special.  As a painter, I'm ridiculously critical of my own work. Sometimes I will go back and work on a painting after I think it's "finished". Other times I will stack it against the wall and hope that I feel differently about it a few months later.  I'm pretty particular about what I feel is good enough to go into a frame.

Knowing when to finish a painting is tricky.  With every single painting, there is a time that I realize I've begun to work more slowly and deliberately.  The marks aren't as spontaneous anymore and I realize I'm starting to evaluate every stroke.  I've learned to pay attention at this point.  When I start to slow down, I know that I'm quickly coming to the point where one more mark could disturb the integrity of the whole painting.  So, I try to stop before I make that one final mark.   

Thank you so much for this peek into the mind of an artist.

Note: In comparing the watercolor under-painting (done in complementary colors) with the finished painting, notice that Lyn allows the under-painting to show, not fully covering it. This makes the colors sparkle next to one another.
Using watercolors for the under-painting simplifies the process and dries almost immediately, so the pastel layer can be added.  

A Perfectly Pastel Kind of Day

The luscious colors of the day

I first encountered the sublime pastel paintings  of Lyn Asselta  last October at the Painting the Region paint out. Lyn was one of a handful of artists using the medium of pastel. Her work captured me - the incredible colors  and textures made me want to put down my oils and pick up pastels again.

One of many mediums I've dabbled with, pastel appeals to me because you essentially draw. I draw constantly, so it's a comfortable feeling to draw a painting.

Pastel painting is highly portable, doesn't need to dry and can be framed on the spot, all convenient attributes for plein air work. When I saw a workshop offered by Lyn at the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens, I jumped at the chance to participate and learn from one of the best.

Watercolor under-painting

Lyn starts her sketch

                                                                            

We learned so much from Lyn as we watched her demo. One particularly interesting step in her process is the watercolor under-painting in complementary colors - the step that makes the layers on top sparkle and sing.

Just as complementary colors bring out the best in each other, Lyn Asselta brought out the best in her students. If you have an opportunity to paint with Lyn, take it - you'll be painting with one of the best.

I don't have a photo of Lyn's finished painting. She may not have finished it - she was busy helping others. 
But here's my little effort on that lovely day in May.

Sunbathing 5x7 Pastel ©2012 Jaime Howard