with Chuck Clevenger
If you find it difficult to get to a good watercolor workshop, we can bring the workshop to you! Chuck Clevenger is available as a guest clinician for your art league or painting class. One, two, and three-day clinics are available; fees available on request. Click the "MAIL" button or call 937.766.5309 for details.
Click on any thumbnail picture for workshop details:
 January 21-23 |
Winter Watercolor Adventure Hearthstone Inn Cedarville, Ohio |
CONTACT |
 June 12-17 |
"About Face:" The Portrait in Watercolor Miami University of Ohio Craftsummer Program Oxford, Ohio |
CONTACT |
Join Chuck Clevenger for this five-day, mostly indoor painting workshop hosted by The Hearthstone Inn, Cedarville, Ohio. www.hearthstone-inn.com
This area, rich in history and natural beauty, is a great venue for painters. The unique culture and stunning midwest sunsets have inspired artists from all over the world. You'll be walking distance from quaint downtown Cedarville and Massie Creek Falls, and just a short drive from historic Yellow Springs, Glen Helen, covered bridges, Clifton Mill, and Clifton Gorge.
This is the way to learn winter scenic painting! Weather permitting, we might do a little outdoor painting, or at least get some source photos; there will also be opportunities for you to get photographs developed at the 1-hour lab. But most of our painting work will be indoors at the beautiful Hearthstone Inn, where the crackling fire and warm hospitality of innkeepers Stu and Ruth Zaharek provide a welcome counterpoint to the cold weather. For this workshop, we offer a special emphasis on painting from photographs: scenic subjects and character studies of people.
I believe in enough structure to keep us on task, with enough built-in flex to let each artist be him- or herself. You came here to paint, right? When I’m teaching, I want 100% of your attention; and 27 years of college experience have taught me when to shut up and let you work. I want you to go home saying you got your money’s worth of both types of experience. Our schedule is as follows:
Friday 3-7pm: The Fine Art of Seeing – we'll talk about the workshop's emphasis, and we’ll gain important insights to apply to watercolor.
Saturday 9:00 am: Denonstration and Instruction
9:30 Painting
12:00 Lunch break
1:30 Demonstration and Tip of the Day
2:00 Individualized Coaching
4:00 Free time
Saturday evening will be free after 4pm, but the studio will be open if you want to paint. I will be there -- I'll be using evenings to catch up non-lodgers on any class material they missed by being at work or in school during the day.
Sunday: 1-4: Painting and cleanup
Stu and Ruth have some value-added things planned, and a special workshop rate for their guests.
This beautiful, traditional university campus is a perfect location for painters. The college-town culture is a perfect backdrop for stimulating your creativity. We will divide our time between studio and location painting. We do have a good rain plan, and there will be plenty to do even if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.
Ohio in early June is ideal midwestern weather; summer is just around the corner, but the nights could still be cool. LAST YEAR'S STUDENTS will remember that it was blazing hot during the day! The basic rule for outdoor painters is to dress in layers, so you neither fry nor shiver. On any given day you may need a short-sleeved shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, or a rainproof jacket and a hat. Don’t forget your sunblock and bug repellent.
Arrive Sunday, June 12, 2005. Check-in begins at 4:00pm. Instruction begins Monday morning. Class wraps up on Friday, June 17. All meals are on your own.
For schedule, instruction fee, driving directions, etc.: Check the Craftsummer website: www.muohio.edu/craftsummer. Your contact people are Joyce Ponder or Ron Stevens.
For part of the workshop, we will work from a live model (clothed), and for part of the time we will use reference photographs. I love to paint pictures of my family, and you may be anticipating doing that also. But a WORD of CAUTION is important...be careful to bring photos that are SUITABLE for the workshop. Please bring high-contrast, vivid, colorful, close-up, action photos; cull out any Olan Mills or other studio pictures, or pictures made indoor with flash -- they flatten out the subject's face and make your task as a painter very frustrating. The BEST pictures for watercolor are usually the LEAST FLATTERING...strong light, deep shadows, and lots of lines, wrinkles, and hot highlights. Weird, yes? Click the gold button below to see some samples.
This materials list is good for either studio or plein air painters. I designed it to fit into a school-type backpack for ease of use in the field, but it's also very handy for using at seminars, where you have to keep your stuff from spilling over into your neighbor's painting space.
A number of people have asked what's in my palette, and how I have it arranged. Palette discipline is a very personal thing ... every artist seems to think his or her way is the ONLY way to do it. But for what it's worth, here goes...
An important concept in transparent watercolor is "palette chemistry." There are three distinct types of transparent pigments: true transparents, earth colors, and stainers. You can paint within any of these categories and get the whole spectrum of color. Or, like me, you can mix and match for interesting effects. (If you want to know more on theory, talk to me at the workshop over a cup of coffee.) Here's my palette scheme:
From the bottom left corner:
BLANK(it was Aureolin, but it's a fugitive color), New Gamboge, Cad. Yellow Medium, Cad. Yellow Deep, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna, burnt Umber, Sepia, Payne's Grey, BLANK, Cad. Orange, Cad. Red, Winsor Red, Alizarine Crimson, Permanent Rose, BLANK, Thioindigo Violet, Winsor Violet, French Ultramarine, Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean, Prussian Blue, Thalo Blue, Viridian, Winsor Green, Hooker's Green, Perm. Green Light, Sap Green, BLANK.
And here's a photo of how it really looks. Notice the large wells for pigments, and the generous mixing area in the middle of the palette. This palette is 12x15 inches, has a separate, tight-fitting cover that doubles as a mixing pan, and barely fits into a school backpack. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY on those tiny little palettes with little dimples for color! Notice also that I'm out of some pigments, and I seem to be doing fine. I bet you could be out of everything except Cad Yellow Medium, Burnt Sienna, Alizarine Crimson, and Thalo Blue and still function.
As much as I love my studio, there is no substitute for getting out there where the action is. The purpose of a field kit is to allow you to park your car and hike ONCE to your remote painting location, carrying everything with you. The goal is to have all the equipment you really need, but to keep it compact, light, and efficient, while keeping one hand free for safety negotiating the trail or the rocks. Don’t try to bring your entire studio … we are, after all, roughing it a bit. But you should have the following items, or something that performs the same functions:
If you prefer, like me, to sit in a chair when you paint, you may want to sling a folding camp chair over your shoulder…the kind that collapses into a tube and slides into a cover. But that’s a luxury item, and your ground cloth or jacket can always be folded to act as a cushion for a handy rock or whatever perch you choose.
Yes, this is all portable. The drawing board and paper goes in one hand, and everything else fits in the backpack. And now you’re not on such a short leash when you leave your car. SUGGESTION: Put this together a month ahead of time, and practice working out of your field kit, even if you stay in your studio. You'll get a feel for what's really essential, and what you can live without.
I have 27 years of collegiate teaching experience. Documentation of contact hours and a course syllabus will be provided to any professional educator (K-12) seeking Continuing Ed credit for the workshop. Check with your administrator or granting body in advance for their requirements, then contact the Office of Continuing Education and Summer Studies at Cedarville (937.766.7953) to let them know of your interest. If your school administrator requires documentation ahead of time, we will provide these to you by e-mail. For any questions regarding the process, contact me at my university e-mail address.
If you're seriously interested and have questions about any aspect of the workshop, please feel free to e-mail Chuck, or call me at home after 7pm, EDT. The number is: 937.766.5309