More about teaching art online

Carla and Steve Sonheim, creative gurus

It was a fun weekend here in Joshua Tree. My friends from Seattle, Carla and Steve Sonheim, came to film the video portion of my upcoming online class. Carla and Steve are both talented artists. Carla paints, draws and basically blows me away with everything she does. Steve is an amazing photographer, full of creative, innovative ideas. He is also doing the filming and editing for all of the online art classes Carla offers on her website. Wizards!

My studio was turned into a film set for a few days, and I discovered how strange it feels to draw and paint surrounded by cameras.

Lots of laughing and catching up makes for what I hope will be a fun class. If you are interested, just leave a comment or email me and I will do my best to keep you informed. We hope to have the class sign up ready by the end of the week.

The class is called "Finding your voice through abstraction." It is a painting class, geared towards helping you free yourself from recognizable imagery in order to discover your own way of painting. It is recommended for people who have painted before, but I think you will have fun even if it's been awhile. There is a lot of risk taking and exploration built into the exercises, and I will demonstrate some of my painting techniques. The class starts March 17th and continues until March 28th, 2014. There are six lessons in all, and the cost is $85. Even if you don't plan to paint abstractly, I think you will enjoy this class, since the things you discover about yourself will translate into any kind of art you end up creating.

"Privacy." Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches.

Online Class

 I don't like photos of myself, but Pono is so photogenic!

Hey everyone! I am excited because tomorrow I have friends arriving from Seattle to film the video portion of an online class I will be teaching in March. This is the first time for me to teach online, but my friends, Carla and Steve Sonheim, are pros. You can see some of the other classes as well as Carla's art here. The class I will be teaching is called "Finding your voice through abstraction: a painting class." The class will last for two weeks. If you sign up, you will get an email lesson with video in your email inbox three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) for two weeks. There will be an opportunity for feedback either by posting your work online, or if you prefer, you can send me photos via email and I can give you feedback privately. I will have more details for you soon! Some of you have already expressed an interest in the class, but if you think you are interested, please let me know and I will try to send you emails when I have all the details. Just think - an art class you can take from the comfort of your home!!!!

The focus of this class is to use the freedom of non-representational art to explore and discover your own way of making marks, composing space, and developing your own style. Even if you don't want to paint abstract art, I think you will find this class valuable. I have planned exercises that you can use to try new things. It is recommended that you have some painting experience prior to taking this class, but I do think this class is for everyone.

In other studio news, I will be participating in the 22nd Annual Art in the Park Art Festival in Twentynine Palms, CA. The dates are April 4, 5, and 6th, 2014. For more information, click here. New paintings for this event will be forthcoming!

It has been unusually hot and dry for February. Even in the desert, this is exceptional. My garden is just starting to show colors.

Forgot something?

I have. I forgot to tell you that if you aren't local, you can still find a few of my new reproductions (the ones I mentioned in my last post) in my etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/JackrabbitJunction

"The Trickster." Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

Next year is going to bring about some interesting changes for me. The first one I am going to tell you about is that I am going to teach an online class!!! I have taught a few classes before, but I have never taught an online class. Fortunately, I will be helped greatly by my friend, Carla Sonheim and her husband Steve Sonheim. The class will probably take place in the spring. If you think you might be interested, you can email me. I will be writing more about it in the new year, so stay tuned for more details!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for reading, commenting, and all!