Tag: Armand Cabrera Workshops

2009 Workshops

Armand Cabrera

Workshops, Demos and E-Classes

 

Yes, I have to pay bills too.
This is a list of upcoming Armand Cabrera events for 2009.

E-CLASSES

 

Study Studio Painting
Intense, pesonal instruction by Armand Cabrera

 

2009 FREE PAINTING DEMONSTRATION SERIES

 

~ FEBRUARY 2009 ~
Saturday, February 7th

 

Our first demonstration of the year will be held at
Ayr Hill Gallery in Vienna, Virginia.
The demonstration is free, but you must register in advance
for the gallery to hold a place for you.
Limited space12:30 – 2:30ish

This is a BYOC event—-bring your own chair!

Please contact Gail Roberts to register.
Email Gail

Telephone: (703) 938-3880141
Church Street NWVienna, Virginia 22180

 

Thursday, February 12th

 

This demonstration will be sponsored by
The Vienna Arts Society
115 Pleasant Street N. W. Vienna, Virginia

 

This is an indoor demonstration – so come, rain or shine
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
We’ll begin right after their monthly meeting

Armand Cabrera Workshops

 

~ APRIL 2009 ~
STUDIO AND OUTDOOR PAINTING ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND
Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
April 26 – May 1
Evening Orientation * 3 days painting in studio * 2 days painting outdoors
~ SEPTEMBER 2009 ~
STUDIO AND OUTDOOR PAINTING IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
Brazier Studio Workshops
September 24 – 27
If there is any trouble with the links above please visit the workshop page on my site
http://www.armandcabrera.com/workshops.html

 

Hilton Head Workshop

Armand Cabrera

Armand Cabrera Workshop

STUDIO AND OUTDOOR PAINTING ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND

 

Arts Center of Coastal Carolina April 26 – May 1
Evening Orientation * 3 days painting in studio * 2 days painting outdoors

 

9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

 

This Armand Cabrera workshop is designed for all levels of students…including professionals who wish to take their painting skills to the next stage. This informative workshop will feature daily demos and students will paint at their easels.(Armand will demo in oils only)Armand will focus on all aspects of successful painting: concept, drawing, form, composition, color and harmony.

 

 

The Monday demo is open to the public, even though it is part of the class, this demo is free to anyone.

 

Hilton Head Workshop Demo

Armand Cabrera


by
Armand Cabrera

This demo was completed on Thursday during my week long workshop in Hilton Head. I would like to thank Barbara and Judy for sharing their pictures for use in this article.
For this scene I chose a 16×20 canvas. I painted in full sunlight because the filtered shade under the trees kept changing causing me to constantly shift my easel.

My palette colors for this painting were Cobalt blue, Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Permanent, Cad Red light, Cad Yellow Light, Cad Lemon, and Utrecht White

I start with a simple line to establish the shadow color of the trees on the opposite shore of the marsh. Once this color is laid down I go ahead and put in the general tone and color of the marsh.

I design some color patterns in the marsh grasses with a green that is the same value as my initial marsh color. Once that is done I start on the sky. I block in the sky color and the shadow tone of the clouds. The clouds are moving and changing constantly so I don’t try to copy their forms, instead I use what I see to design them in the painting.

While working on the clouds I see the incoming tide is changing my fore ground so I switch to the marsh and design the water patterns in the marsh starting with the sky color.

The trees have beautiful patterns of light and shadow as the clouds pass overhead and I design these shadow areas in my painting.

I finish by adjusting edges and small accents all over the painting and I put in the reflections from the clouds


The finished painting ‘High Tide’ 16×20 oil on canvas
The complete time for the painting from start to finish was one hour. During my workshops I demo every day, I always limit my demo time to maximize students painting time in class; usually spending no more than an hour and a half on a workshop demo.

Richmond Workshop Demo

Armand Cabrera

by Armand Cabrera

I’m down with the flu, so this week’s post is a demo from my Richmond Workshop. I want to thank Cathy Ellis for taking and sending me these photos for use in the blog.

On the last day of the workshop we painted in Hollywood Cemetery which is located on a hilltop overlooking the James River in Richmond. It was a beautiful day with the leaves just starting to turn on some of the trees.


Because I was painting complex architecture and I would only have an hour for the demo, I did a small 10×8 canvas. I started with my drawing and realized I had gotten my proportions wrong so I had to wipe it off and start again even though I had 12 students watching me. I wanted to make sure they see the process and how important it is to get things right from the start.
The second take got me to be more careful and I got through the careful placement of my elements.

I was painting Major Lewis Ginter‘s mausoleum, a prominent historical figure of Richmond; I wanted the composition centered giving it a formal reverent feel.


Because the trees off to the left were beginning to cast shadows into the scene I painted the foliage and background first getting the big masses of color and shadows down and locked in.


When those elements were done I began painting the mausoleum itself. I focused on the shifts in color and value and ignored details.
I finish up by adjusting edges and completing the background elements.

Here is the finished painting. Although there were sweeping views overlooking the city of Richmond, I was drawn to this intimate scene of a part of life often ignored in paintings. I think it is important to always paint what moves you not necessarily a postcard scene of a place. The painting was purchased by one of my students who is with the Historical Society of Richmond on its completion.

A Proactive Approach to Gallery Representation

Armand Cabrera

by
Armand Cabrera

I am always shocked at how lackadaisical most professional artists are when it comes to their representation in galleries. In these economic times, it is more important than ever to have a proactive, professional approach to representation.

Most galleries are as ineffectual as the artists they represent. As some of you know, I have an Agent, Diane Burket, who deals with a lot of my gallery issues. Please keep in mind, I pay for this service. If you find you can’t manage all the details, perhaps you should hire someone, too.

For this article, I will refer to “paintings”. However, these tips apply to any type of art you may create and wish to sell. Here are 3 things you can do to help your painting career and give yourself an edge in the marketplace.

1. Always Provide An Updated Consignment Sheet To Your Galleries
It doesn’t matter if the gallery provides a Consignment Form or you generate your own— never leave your artwork at a gallery without getting a signed Consignment Sheet proving what you have delivered to the gallery. The form should include 1) Name of Painting, 2) Size of Painting, 3) Retail Price, and 4) Amount Due To The Artist. I include an updated Consignment Sheet every time I send or drop off artwork at a gallery. With galleries going out of business at record rates, this little piece of paper might be the only thing that helps you retrieve your art from a failed gallery. Make sure you have two copies– one signed by you to leave with the gallery and one signed by the gallery for your records. If the gallery will not sign the form, don’t give them any work.
2. Keep A Photographic Record Of Your Work
Provide the gallery with digital images of your work for their website; don’t wait for them to shoot your paintings. You know what your paintings look like. You shouldn’t rely on your galleries to capture an accurate image of your painting after it has been varnished. I want my galleries contacting customers and selling paintings—not spending their day shooting images for artists too lazy (sorry) to do it themselves. My best selling galleries charge a fee to artists if they fail to provide professional quality images of their work. Don’t know how to shoot your paintings? Take a class, pay someone to do it or figure out how to do it yourself (like I did).

Keep a high resolution JPEG of all your paintings. If the gallery calls you about press opportunities, you’ll be prepared to provide them with the images they need in just minutes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been included in national and local press because I had a usable image ready to go. Other artists were ill-prepared and missed the opportunity.

3. Provide Your Galleries New Work
Make sure you maintain a schedule with your galleries to provide them with sellable paintings on a regular basis. One of the biggest complaints I hear from galleries is that artists dump a lot of old and inferior work on them. Why the galleries accept this substandard work is beyond me. But if you want to be represented and sell paintings, you have to provide good work for sale. I recommend swapping paintings out once a year—sooner if you are selling well or if your work is improving rapidly and there is a noticeable change in its quality.