Tara Sweeney
CMW is proud to offer a 3 day Portrait Workshop with Tara Sweeney scheduled for September 27-29, 2022 at the Paramount Art Center. The estimated cost is $350 for members. There is a limited number of seats available–more details will be posted at a later date–but CMW has started signing up members who wish to attend. If interested, contact CMW Treasurer Ralph Carpenter ASAP at ralphcarp@gmail.com to reserve your spot.
TARA WRITES:
With a watercolor brush in my hand I never grow tired of asking, ‘I wonder what would happen if?’” and then going for it. I make beautiful messes, glowing color, bravura brushwork and bold paintings by following watercolor’s strong lead. I paint familiar people, places and things to discover who I am, why I am here, and why that matters. After nearly forty years of dancing with this nuanced medium I know that my best work emerges from following watercolor’s unique character and flow.
My signature ‘split primary, four-value, three-layer, hold the whites’ approach to watercolor is central to the workshops I teach. Twenty-five years of full time undergraduate teaching makes content organization and delivery, and individualized mentoring second nature for me. My focus on integrated composition, technique and idea-based teaching helps participants discover what and how to paint while they explore why they want to. I specialize in workshop programming for studio watercolor painting, as well as plein air travel sketching.
Watercolor Portraits (studio-based) Watercolors are a lot like people—you have to accept their quirks along with their charms to understand them. That spontaneity makes watercolor the perfect medium to capture character. Create a three-layer value study to simplify the shapes and values of features and facial planes. Learn to apply the same principles to a three-layer/four-value approach to the color portrait. Build confidence as you explore pigment characteristics, wet-into-wet mingling, transparent layering, intentional lost and found edges, and lively brushwork with instructor demos, guided exercises and individualized feedback. All levels are welcome.
Samples of Tara’s work are displayed below or you may view her work and more information about her on her website: https://www.tarasweeneyart.com/
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