Enrollment open until September 4, 2010.... so join us! Last-minute enrollment accepted!
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Travel with fellow artists, family & friends! In addition to Non-participating guest options, did you know that other workshops are offered this same week! Enjoy the experience together while immersed in different topics! View calendar for details!
Cortona "Island in the Sky"
Meet Sandy Delehanty
Painting Watercolor Memories of Tuscany Sandy Delehanty September 4-11, 2010 Cortona, Italy
In this workshop you will learn how to capture your memories of Tuscany in lovely small format paintings, or in a Watercolor Travel Journal. The paintings pictured here are part of my “Little Gems” series created on previous trips. They are 6” x 6” and were painted on 300 lb paper on a clipboard on my lap. Imagine returning home from a trip with a series of these lovely little impressions of Tuscany that can be framed creatively and hung in your home. Now imagine not having to haul around an easel, and a large board with paper taped to it, along with your painting supplies. Now you see why I paint “Little Gems”! Of course if you want to paint larger watercolors you may, but working small has its advantages. I will also share with you how to create a Watercolor Travel Journal of your trip. More personal than a scrapbook of photos, these journals show your impression of Tuscany captured in ink and watercolor paintings with narrations written in the margins of each page. To see some pages from my Watercolor Travel Journals visit my website at www.sandydelehanty.com. I believe in working with each painter individually at their level, encouraging the development of their personal style. I want to help you gain confidence in your drawing and painting skills and have a lot of fun while doing it. After all, fun and Italy just go together!For a day-by-day description of lessons planned for this trip see below... Picture Yourself... painting among the sights and sounds of beautiful and romantic Tuscany: olive groves, vineyards, centuries-old buildings, winding streets, texture and vibrant sunlight. Feel Yourself... in the warm ambiance of Cortona, overlooking Lake Trasimeno and the Val di Chiana, originally fortified by the Umbrians, claimed by the Etruscans, touched by the Renaissance, almost unchanged for centuries, one of Tuscany's jewels. Experience... the joy of painting en plein air in a relaxed and inspiring atmosphere with the expert instruction of a nationally know artist and instructor and the camaraderie of a small group of learners.
Enjoy... great Italian food, delightful wines, new friends, breath-taking vistas, history and the hospitality of the people of Cortona.
All-inclusive* plans include: Instruction in the classroom and on location Escorted group travel from Rome to Cortona September 4, 2010**** Seven nights accommodations in historic Cortona** Local Etruscan Museum & Museo Diocesano All meals*** (Italian breakfast, lunch and dinner) Daily wine tasting opportunities Tuscan Cooking Class & Dinner Day trip to Assisi A farewell wine tasting dinner
**Included with "Casa Santa Margherita" plans only, see details ***Included with "Group Meal Plans" only, see details *All-inclusive plans are Casa Santa Margherita plans only. ****Escorted Group Travel departs Rome's Termini Station by train at 12:57pm. Early morning arrival in Rome on September 4, 2010 or at least one day earlier. Air travel is the responsibility of each participant. Florence (FLR) and Rome (FCO) the suggested arrival and departure airports in Italy.
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Newly re-opened after a two and a half year remodeling and restoration! Wonderful location, ambience and all-new amenities, including Wi-Fi!
About Cortona...
Cortona is one of the true jewels of the Tuscan “hill towns.” Cortona, which is often called the “City of Art,” has its origin as an Etruscan city that pre-dates Roman times with sections of its walls dating back some 2500 years. As is typical of Tuscan hill-towns, Cortona is a walled city that, for purposes of defense, was built atop a prominent geographical point. The stone buildings and streets not only have the romance, style, and charm that are particular to Tuscany, but also speak of the lives and times Cortona has witnessed. An encounter with Cortona is an encounter with music & art, with history and with spirituality. Getting to know this timeless city is a real rediscovery of our past. Cortona offers testimony to its history as well as an enchanting view of the landscape enclosed by Lake Trasimeno and the Apennine mountains.
About this workshop... Saturday: Arrival day in Cortona
Sunday: Sandy will welcome you to Cortona with an inspiring look at her Watercolor Travel Journal and examples of “little gem” ink and watercolor sketches that she does while traveling. She will demonstrate the ink and watercolor techniques she uses to create these “little gems”. To help you feel confident about painting plein air in watercolor, she will include techniques for fixing mistakes, tips for organizing your materials, and pointers on capturing changing light and shadows. If you wish to work in watercolor without the ink, or in a larger format of course you are welcome to do that. However, Sandy says when you work small, drawing in fine ink, then adding color, you gain confidence quickly. The first day of painting on location always feels a bit overwhelming. That is because we are not yet use to our surroundings. Sandy will be right there to help you comprehend what you are seeing, and give you tips, suggestions, and mini-demos to help you capture it. The last hour we will all gather for a critique of our days work. Sandy will share tips for finishing your paintings and suggestions of what you might want to concentrate on tomorrow.
Monday: Day two is always easier than the first day as we are becoming familiar with our surroundings and excited about what we want to paint next. Tuscany Textures will be the subject of Sandy’s demo today. After the demo we will each choose a scene in Cortona and Sandy will be there to remind you how to create the textures she demonstrated that morning, and answer all your questions. Critique will be held at the end of our painting session.
Tuesday: We are taking a daytrip to Assisi. Bring your camera and your tiny pocket sketchbook to capture scenes on the fly.
Wednesday: Our area of concentration today will be Composition. Sandy will demonstrate how to place the focal point, and explain the Elements and Principles of Design (handout provided). You will be challenged to use at least 3 Design Principles in creating your composition today. Sandy will again be there to assist you as you create another painting of a favorite spot in Cortona. During critique we will discover the 3 Design Principles each of us incorporated into our paintings.
Thursday: Day trip to Val di Chiana & Lucignano: This is a day to remember, so Sandy will demonstrate creating a page in her Watercolor Travel Journal. Tips on photographing scenes for use as source photos will also be demonstrated.
Friday: Your last day to paint in Cortona with Sandy so we know you will want to get started on your paintings right away. Sandy would like to visit with each of you individually that day and talk about the direction you might want to take your painting when you return home. Critique the last hour of the day should be fun, as we will pull out all our paintings we have done during the week and celebrate our accomplishments!
Saturday: Departure day. Please keep in touch, and email photos of paintings you do of Tuscany to me when you return home, Sandy. ________________________________________
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Participant Supply List
“Packing Watercolors for Plein Aire Painting in Comfort” Pack in a shoulder bag, back pack or bag with wheels Due to the new security restrictions on Carry-on luggage I suggest you check through all your painting supplies. If you are worried about losing a favorite brush, pack it in your carry-on, but the paint should definitely not be in the carry-on. I do not use an easel, as I prefer to travel light. I sit on my campstool, paint on my lap, and put my supplies on the ground beside me. I do not carry a purse. I put necessary cash, id, credit cards etc. in a money belt that I ware around my waist under my clothes. My camera hangs from a metal cord around my neck always at the ready. If you must use an easel, check out the lightweight aluminum folding watercolor easels with carry bag. Folding Camp Stool If you don’t already have one you like, go to REI or similar outdoors store and sit on a variety of stools. Lift them to see how heavy they will be to carry, and measure them to see how small they fold up. Or go on eBay and type in “folding camp stool” and check out all the varieties available, and choose the one that best suits you. Mine is: “SMOKEY BRANCH CAMOUFLAGE FOLDING CAMP STOOL” from Patriot Surplus $9.95 EBay item number 8755516383 It folds up so small it fits in a book bag or large purse. Palette My favorite is Cheap Joes 9” x 12” palette with lid and deep wells filled with your favorite colors. Cheap Joes Catalog item # ID 400 $9.19 I using tube paints, load your palette with paint 3 days before you leave, leave the lid of the palette and let the paints “cure”. That way you won’t open your palette to gooey paint the first day you arrive. Or you may purchase one of the tiny travel palettes pre-filled with half-pan paints. Prices range from $35. or so to around $80. depending on the quality of the paint. Winsor Newton and Holbien have the best paint. Cotman paint has filler, not the best quality. Paint I prefer transparent colors, so here is a list of some of my favorites, but you may bring any colors you like to work with. We do best with our favorite colors because that is that we are most comfortable with. I prefer Winsor and Newton, Daniel Smith or Holbien brands. Some colors listed here are only available from Daniel Smith and I have labeled those.
Buff Titanium (Daniel Smith) the only opaque color in my palette, good stone color Winsor Yellow New Gamboge Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith) Burnt Sienna Brown Madder Quinacridone Corral (Daniel Smith) Alizarin Crimson Permanent Rose Quinacridone Violet (Daniel Smith) Ultramarine Blue Cobalt Blue Winsor Blue Red Shade or Thalo Blue Winsor Green Blue Shade or Thalo Green Sap Green Water Container: I like the TriBrush Washer Cheap Joes Catalog item # H1024T $5.39 Brushes in a brush holder Everyone has their favorite brushes; I wrap mine in a canvas brush holder I got as a gift. Be sure to include a stiff lifting brush like the da Vinci Top Acryl #2 item # 7185K . Available in Catalogs or in Sacramento at Art Ellis Art Supplies $9.50 My brushes go in my carry-on! Small terry towel I lay it on my lap and use it to clean extra water from my brush and keep small things from falling off my lap. Leather or plastic bag for holding loose stuff listed below: (little stuff like this falls off your lap into the grass and gets lost easy) HB pencil for drawing on watercolor paper permanent ink pens if you wish to do ink and watercolor paintings, I like the .005 size kneaded eraser pencil sharpener Kleenex Tissue pocket size (4” x 6”) sketch book for practice sketches and taking notes 10 step value chart also called a grey scalesmall (2” x 4” or so) piece of red plastic or red cellophane small spray bottle Masquepen in zip lock bag masking fluid pick-up, “also called a rubber cement pick-up” watercolor paper your choice: a bound travel book of watercolor paper, and/orsheets of 300lb paper cut to fit on a clip board or lightweight board, or 140 lb paper stretched over stretcher bars or lightweight board, or a watercolor block in a size that fits in your bag A few words on paper: I love to create watercolor journals of my trip. Arches has just come out with a new hardbound watercolor journal containing 15 pages of 140 lb watercolor paper in sizes of 10” x 7”, or 14” x 10”. Canson also has a hardbound journal of watercolor paper (be sure to buy the one that says “watercolor” paper as they also have a multi-media one, but you do not want that one.) Dick Blick’s Catalog has the largest variety of Watercolor Journals; you can also find them in good art stores. Watercolor blocks are handy as they contain 20 sheets of stretched paper but are heavy and the paper is heated to high temperatures to seal the edges and so the surface does not accept paint as well as the normal watercolor paper does. 300 lb paper does not need to be stretched. Consider cutting sheets into 8” x 10” or 8 ½” x 11” Pieces and clipping several sheets to a clipboard to serve as your hard surface. Works great! My “Little Gems Series” are 300 lb paper cut 6” x 6” with deckle edge scissors (available from scrapbooking suppliers). The deckle edges look great floated in a frame. bottle of water for drinking and painting If thunderstorms predicted, an umbrella or light weight rain jacket with hood. hat “Comfort bag” a plastic ziplock bag filled with the following items: handi-wipes sunscreen Chapstick or lip moisturizer glasses cleaner if you wear glasses allergy tablet aspirin energy bar, or other snack business cards (You never know who you may meet while painting.)
Questions can be directed to me using the contact page on my website www.sandydelehanty.com. Safe journey and Happy Painting, Sandy Delehanty
