John Pototschnik: Workshop: Value and Color

Just completed teaching my third workshop of the year...3-days of instruction in Wichita, KS.

One of the nicest compliments I received from this workshop was from one of the students who said she had attended the workshops of several "big name" artists...and my workshop put them all to shame.

Attending the workshop: L>R—Jan Butler, Jim Cruse, David Cass, Mary Binford Miller, Dena Griswold, Carole Ranney, Chuck Roach, Shari Bevan, Virginia Grass Simmons, Nancy Whitaker, Marty Ferguson, Sam Criss, Carol Davis, Jessica Vega, Becky Price, John Pototschnik. (Not pictured: Georgia Abbott)

What a wonderful class of fifteen students and credit goes to Mary Binford Miller for her hard organizational work.

The workshop began with a lecture in which I presented the six foundational principles necessary for the creation of a quality painting...clear concept, well designed composition, sound/accurate drawing, simple value structure, beautiful color harmony, and technical mastery.

Kissed by the Sun - 12"x 16"

Following the opening lecture, I created a monochromatic painting of Summer's End, using raw umber. It was similar in technique to the painting above, Kissed by the Sun.. It is important to realize that it is value that establishes the painting's mood. In the afternoon, the students followed my lead and produced their own value paintings.

Day 2 began with an intensive lecture on color. This was followed by application of color to the monochromatic painting done the day previous. Using titanium white, ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow medium, and lemon yellow, I produced the demonstration piece below.

Summer's End - 9"x 12"

Day 3 was all about the students applying the principles taught and creating their own inspired works. I am proud of what they were able to accomplish.

Mary Binford Miller's beautiful little painting is shown below.