Scott Powers 5 Day Plein Air Workshop

Scott giving a short Lecture during day one in Bayonet Farm in Holmdel.

I am posting a few photos from the recently concluded 5 day Plein Air Workshop by Scott Powers. It was a lot of work to set it up but I learned a lot watching him teach all levels of painters vs. if I had just been one of the participants. I was also able to assist him in teaching one or two people , some were really beginners, and as I was teaching learned a lot too. Teaching enforces your methods and forces you to be aware of the fundamentals all the time. Anyway, we all had lots of fun and thanks to a lot of help from Judy Stach and so many different people, we had great locations and except for a day or two of hot and rainy weather an overall great experience.

Scott Doing a demo during the first day.

The first Day was a long Demo and lecture combination. Scott would show and tell you about his overall approach and show you his materials and how he has modified some of his materials over the years. Now he has resorted to making some of his own brushes so that it gives him a more organic and irregular look to his brushwork. His demo lasted for three hours and brings you from start to finish with mini lectures on proper ways of holding the brush to give you an easier time to control the minute details like tree limbs , windows , etc. After the demos he would ask the participants to do value drills working only in monochrome. At the end of the first day, Scott and I stayed and we painted till around 6 pm with a few people just hanging out either painting or watching.

Location of Day two at a private estate by the Navesink River

Day two started out rainy and wet but Scott was able to find a spot under a huge tree to show participants the lesson and drills for that day. In the afternoon everybody just painted spectacular views and we were happy to have Kathy Anderson of the Putney Painters visit us and Paint with us the entire afternoon.

Scott doing the second demo on day 3

Dinner Party at my home on day 3

(l to r: Nancy and Wayne , Soody (standing) , Lilli Anne , Scott , and Liron )

Day 3 was at a private Yacht club and ended at my home for a party for everyone.

It was nice to be able to relax and have some good food and good wine with a lot of great people.

My husband Mel was the one responsible for the food everyone kept talking about that night.

Thanks to him everyone went home with a new culinary experience.

One of Scotts bonus demos after the workshop day was over.

Day four was at Bayonet Farm again and this time Scott was letting everyone try to put together all they have learned and paint one or two paintings while he came around to everyone trying to help them individually. He actually made it a point to try to get to each individual at least twice a day since day one.

The Final Day was used for his slide show and critique of most paintings done by everyone during the week. We were hosted by the Middletown Art Center who let us use their state of the art theater facility for the slide show, morning painting and critique.

Overall I would have to say it was even better than last year. Here are a few testimonials:

• "The workshop with Scott Powers was inspiring, informative, and very well organized. Not a minute was wasted, as Scott spent quality time with each student. What I took away from the workshop was how to see colors in the landscape, the importance of composition, and how to position my panel/palette to use reflective light to maintain the most consistent light on my painting surface. At the end of the workshop, Scott holds a professional critic of each persons work which is so beneficial for an aspiring artist to learn, and finally a show of his fantastic masterpieces. I highly recommend this workshop with Scott. " - Roxanne Duke

• "The workshop experience was fabulous. Scott gave so much to all of us. We have all come away with knowledge to improve our work." - Leonia Mroczkowski

• " I enjoyed working with Scott - he's the best, by giving specific suggestions on how to see as well as how to proceed to the finished painting. He is the best for giving individual attention -- he expends a lot of energy seeing every student several times during the day. Again, I say he's the best. " - Bob Herbert

Thanks to Scott and everyone who helped me make this workshop a success, I hope to do it again next year and look for ways to make it even better.