Stan Sperlak Workshop Report Day 2

'Open Skies'. 6x12. Pastel. Karen Margulis

It feels like it has been a week already and it has only been two days. I think that is because Stan has managed to pack a lot of information and fun into a short period of time. By today he has gotten to know us better and has figured out what the group needs most. So his talks and demos address these things. That means that every workshop is very fluid....I like this approach.

Today we started the day with a walk around the front part of the farm. Everything was so beautiful in the morning light. And there was so much to paint....a marsh, another marsh area with a little creek, a pond, fall foliage, paths and roads, beautiful textures in the grasses.....The light was so nice that Stan had us go paint and planned his demo for lunchtime.

I decided to paint up in the front and did 5 small paintings. It was so peaceful. I didn't get a good photo of my painting but here is a shot of them on my easel. You can see the tray I used to put my working pastels. This helped me keep a limited palette. I used the same sticks for both paintings but then made myself put them away and choose a new selection for the next paintings.

I am using an EasyL easel for oils but I bungee my Heilman backpack size box to the tripod. It works well.

After lunch Stan did a demo to show us how to handle water and reflections. Several of the artists had been painting the pond so the demo was very helpful. He also answered questions about what we felt challenged us during the morning paintings session.

I set up for the afternoon back at the marsh because I liked the clouds. I decided to paint a 6x12 to fit in a wider expanse of marsh. Here is my view and set up.

The day ended with pizza delivered to the farm so we could watch Stan do a magical hour long demo. He didn't speak but played music and painted a beautiful 24x36 twilight scene. Inspiring!

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