painting workshops in France, Mexico, Italy, Portugal and England

Everyone should plan on arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport on the 16th of May and departing for home on the 24th. This will have you leaving the states on the 15th. If your plans include coming early and/or staying longer just let me know and I'll help you book rooms for the extra nights. Most flights into Paris from the US arrive in the morning hours - between 6:00 and 10:00.

There are several ways to get to our hotel from the airport. You can take a taxi, take the train from the airport or take a bus to one of the hubs in Paris and a taxi to the hotel from there. The taxi will cost you around 40 euros but once I know your arrival times I will put you in contact with others from our group so that cost can be shared. Being that we arrive on a Saturday, you will not have to deal with the rush hour traffic heading into the city -and the will save you time and money. The train is less than 10 euros and will take you to a station where you can exit and pick up a taxi for the hotel. The bus is a little more than the train and is probably easier to negotiate. It will take you to the Montparnasse station where you can take a taxi to the hotel. More on this later.

When you arrive at the hotel your room will probably not be ready yet. But we can meet there, leave our luggage in their storage area and explore the neighborhood until the rooms are ready. Once everyone is checked in we can have our first round of introductions and talk about the days ahead. Our first round of picture taking will be the day we arrive.

You bring a digital or SLR film camera. the film camera will permit you to develop your pictures the same day we take them. If you bring a digital camera we will find a place to print out your images the same day. There are three methods we will use to make our paintings: 1) working from photos to start and finish our paintings, 2) working with models in street settings, and 3) working from life capturing the gestures of people sitting in cafes, etc. If it rains we will go to some protected areas with our easels to paint. Rain will never be a reason to not paint!

Method number 1: On the day of our arrival we will walk the neighborhood with our cameras and take the photos we will use to make our first paintings. We do not all have to paint the same scenes so it will be your judgment about what you would like to photograph, but people will be a prominent part of whatever scene you choose. I will discuss ideas of how to photograph people in settings to make the most believable compositions. We will get our photos developed the same day - Saturday, to have some reference material to work with immediately. We'll go over the photos and start blocking in compositions on our canvases the next day. I will do my first demonstration for you to show you how I do it, but I will keep the demo short enough so that you have the time to paint. I am there to help you each step of the way.

Method number 2: We will set up a model or models in a street scene setting in the morning and/or afternoon on some of our painting days and paint directly from life.

Method number 3: There are times we will set up our easels facing a cafe or park bench where people tend to stay in one position for a few minutes at a time. To prepare for this I will spend one morning with you setting up a model and having that model change positions every 10 minutes. You will start developing the ability to paint the figure with a minimum of brush strokes to capture the gesture. It's great fun!

We'll treat each painting as it's own project in the sense that every step in your painting process will be examined before moving on to the next step. I will be working with you suggesting things along the way that will get you to think more critically of your own process. Night scenes can be incredible fun and so much simpler than painting day scenes. There are less confusing details making it simpler to develop good compositions. Being that it gets dark pretty late in Paris that time of year we will go out after dinner and get our photo reference to use for the following day. If you have a SLR film camera with a setting that allows you to manually hold open the shutter for as long as 5 or 6 seconds you will have some great images to work with.

We will do group critiques that are always constructive in nature. They will be designed to help you move to the next level of your development as a painter. I'm sure that we'll have people of all ability levels and an atmosphere that is supportive and encouraging to your efforts. I will have a materials list for you later but really prefer that if you're comfortable with the palette of colors you are currently using - bring them! I will also send out information about easels, pochade boxes, methods of carrying wet paintings home, and much more.

A rewarding part of my workshops is group dinners out, but this is not required. You are free to make your own plans, but if you do prefer a group dinner I'll make reservations for us at restaurants in the neighborhood. Over the years I have discovered restaurants I return to year after year. They offer a variety of good cuisine at very reasonable cost.

night scene in Greenwich Village 30 x 30

click on image to see larger version	Since I began painting 20 years ago the city scene and the figure were always the subjects I was most drawn to. For me it can't just be any city but must have the vibrancy and excitement of cities like New York or Paris. In this workshop we will be taking the metro and/or walking to some of my favorite painting places in the City of Light - Paris. We will focus on learning what your own sense of composition is rather than dictating to you a set of rules. The rules are important to know but at some point it will be time to start trusting your own hunches and inclinations regarding composition, color, etc. If you would love to add figures to your compositions I will show you how you can do that on the spot or from the studio. The two examples on this page of paintings with more developed figures (left and below) were done from life and from photos - a combination. I will teach you how to do this right there in Paris with your camera using the streets as your studio!
The other two paintings on this page were finished on location. The one with the girls on the beach were our models in Brittany. The cafe scene was done in San Miguel de Allende just capturing the gestures of the couple without their knowledge. We will try both ways in Paris. I will have people pose and will teach how you can rapidly capture people in the settings you desire. We will lodge at the Hotel Manet in the 13th arrondissement near the Place d'Italie. I've been bringing painting groups there for 10 years and have come to appreciate the fact that there has been virtually no turnover in staff in all that time. Rooms are comfortable, breakfasts are great and the Left Bank is a short 10 - 15 minute walk from the hotel.	click on image to see larger version
click on image to see larger version	click on image to see larger version
Everyone should plan on arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport on the 16th of May and departing for home on the 24th. This will have you leaving the states on the 15th. If your plans include coming early and/or staying longer just let me know and I'll help you book rooms for the extra nights. Most flights into Paris from the US arrive in the morning hours - between 6:00 and 10:00. There are several ways to get to our hotel from the airport. You can take a taxi, take the train from the airport or take a bus to one of the hubs in Paris and a taxi to the hotel from there. The taxi will cost you around 40 euros but once I know your arrival times I will put you in contact with others from our group so that cost can be shared. Being that we arrive on a Saturday, you will not have to deal with the rush hour traffic heading into the city -and the will save you time and money. The train is less than 10 euros and will take you to a station where you can exit and pick up a taxi for the hotel. The bus is a little more than the train and is probably easier to negotiate. It will take you to the Montparnasse station where you can take a taxi to the hotel. More on this later. When you arrive at the hotel your room will probably not be ready yet. But we can meet there, leave our luggage in their storage area and explore the neighborhood until the rooms are ready. Once everyone is checked in we can have our first round of introductions and talk about the days ahead. Our first round of picture taking will be the day we arrive. You bring a digital or SLR film camera. the film camera will permit you to develop your pictures the same day we take them. If you bring a digital camera we will find a place to print out your images the same day. There are three methods we will use to make our paintings: 1) working from photos to start and finish our paintings, 2) working with models in street settings, and 3) working from life capturing the gestures of people sitting in cafes, etc. If it rains we will go to some protected areas with our easels to paint. Rain will never be a reason to not paint! Method number 1: On the day of our arrival we will walk the neighborhood with our cameras and take the photos we will use to make our first paintings. We do not all have to paint the same scenes so it will be your judgment about what you would like to photograph, but people will be a prominent part of whatever scene you choose. I will discuss ideas of how to photograph people in settings to make the most believable compositions. We will get our photos developed the same day - Saturday, to have some reference material to work with immediately. We'll go over the photos and start blocking in compositions on our canvases the next day. I will do my first demonstration for you to show you how I do it, but I will keep the demo short enough so that you have the time to paint. I am there to help you each step of the way. Method number 2: We will set up a model or models in a street scene setting in the morning and/or afternoon on some of our painting days and paint directly from life. Method number 3: There are times we will set up our easels facing a cafe or park bench where people tend to stay in one position for a few minutes at a time. To prepare for this I will spend one morning with you setting up a model and having that model change positions every 10 minutes. You will start developing the ability to paint the figure with a minimum of brush strokes to capture the gesture. It's great fun! We'll treat each painting as it's own project in the sense that every step in your painting process will be examined before moving on to the next step. I will be working with you suggesting things along the way that will get you to think more critically of your own process. Night scenes can be incredible fun and so much simpler than painting day scenes. There are less confusing details making it simpler to develop good compositions. Being that it gets dark pretty late in Paris that time of year we will go out after dinner and get our photo reference to use for the following day. If you have a SLR film camera with a setting that allows you to manually hold open the shutter for as long as 5 or 6 seconds you will have some great images to work with. We will do group critiques that are always constructive in nature. They will be designed to help you move to the next level of your development as a painter. I'm sure that we'll have people of all ability levels and an atmosphere that is supportive and encouraging to your efforts. I will have a materials list for you later but really prefer that if you're comfortable with the palette of colors you are currently using - bring them! I will also send out information about easels, pochade boxes, methods of carrying wet paintings home, and much more. A rewarding part of my workshops is group dinners out, but this is not required. You are free to make your own plans, but if you do prefer a group dinner I'll make reservations for us at restaurants in the neighborhood. Over the years I have discovered restaurants I return to year after year. They offer a variety of good cuisine at very reasonable cost. night scene in Greenwich Village 30 x 30
Here is the Manet Hotel dining room. Notice the great reproduction of the Manet painting: Dejeuner sur l'herbe!	A typical room at the Manet.
A room at the Manet with twin beds.	A map of the areas within Paris, called arrondissements. We are in the 13th.
Single occupancy/painter - $2700 including airfare! Double occupancy/painter - $2300 (airfare paid only for the first person). Second person (spouse, family or friend) in double occupancy pays 1/2 or $1150. Includes: instruction, lodging, metro transportation, airfare and all breakfasts. If you have miles with an airline or for other reasons would rather handle the airfare yourself I will make adjustments for that. I would deduct between $700 - $1000 (this could change either up or down but not by much) from the cost of the trip. How much I deduct will depend on the cost of your ticket. I would prefer to work in collaboration with you to get the best possible fare and the most favorable itinerary. Once we find the right itinerary you could pay the airline directly and I would deduct that amount from the cost of the workshop for you! If you would like me to pay for the reservation then I would require the $400 intitial deposit for the class and the $600 second payment before purchasing your ticket. I have reserved only 12 rooms at the Hotel Manet. This will limit the size of the class. If anyone wants to upgrade to a three star hotel there is a really nice one two blocks away. This will add at least $700 to the cost of the workshop.