Catalina Afternoon, by Kathryn Willis

Catalina Afternoon, 16x20" oil on canvas, by Kathryn Willis

Last Monday I did a painting demonstration at the Sedona Arts Center. This painting is one of two done during the demo. The demo was done indoors, so the reference that I used was the image of a previously sold plein air piece. The original piece was done in Tuscon with views to the Catalina Mountains.

I'm new to demonstrating, so I'm still figuring out how to paint with people watching what I'm doing--while also trying to talk about what I'm doing at least a little. It's great practice to work more quickly. However, I learned from the experience that I seem to need a lot of time in my process to think about what comes next, and that is hard for me to do in a demonstration. Although I completed the painting during the demo, I wasn't satisfied with it when I got it to my studio. So, if you happened to be there doing the demo you might notice the changes. I hope it was an improvement.

Painting Available for Purchase

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For information about this painting and to view my work:

My website site: http://www.kathrynwillisart.com
My blog: http://www.kathrynwillisart.com/blog
email: kathy@kathrynwillisart.com

desert plein air workshops by Becky Joy

8x10 oil on canvas panel $450. Click here to purchase.

This is a demo painting from the workshop at the Superstition Mountains from yesterday. The class went very well and I think everyone was pleased with what they learned in one day. I gave out a lot of information and handouts to help digest all of it. The biggest thing, of course, will be to practice and paint, paint, paint.

The three days before this one day workshop, I held a workshop in Casa Grande, AZ to a full class. It was a great group of excited students that were eager to learn. I really enjoyed them and will be back again next year. Below are some of the workshop photos. I didn't have time to photograph the demos. I have one of three left. Each of the three days I did a different demo. This was a studio workshop, so I painted a still life, a landscape and a sunset, showing how I would approach each subject. Each person selected their own subject matter and we also set up a still life.

I'm getting ready to take off this next week for Gadsden, AL where I will be participating in their plein air event. I'm really excited about it and seeing a different part of the country.

Setting up for the workshop.

We were beating the Arizona heat in the afternoon by setting up under the ramada.

I'm planning on setting up another three day plein air workshop for this summer in Northern Arizona where we can escape the heat. If you are interested in Prescott or Sedona email me and let me know. beckyjoy@beckyjoy.com