A Behind the Scenes Look at Teaching Workshops

"Soothing Tides"
36" x 24"
Available here.

I am very fortunate to be in Ventura Beach this week teaching a four day palette knife abstract painting workshop. It's a great place to stay in the summer and while we will be painting a lot, we will also be taking long walks on the beach, hunting for sea glass and enjoying some great meals (and wine!). And then there is also the Ventura antique flea market on Wednesday morning ...

Preparing for a workshop entails a lot of work. Last week I updated my workshop daily teaching outline, put six notebooks together (with handouts), embroidered six aprons, determined each demo I am painting, found inspiration photos for my demos, packed the car and checked everything off my "four day workshop in Ventura teaching materials list". Had this been my first abstract workshop I would also need to create all of the curriculum, handouts, teaching outline, etc. So yes, teaching a workshop require a ton of prep!

But once the prep is done, the fun begins! Four amazing students arrived at the house this evening and we enjoyed a healthy dinner and spent time getting to know each other. Only four can stay here at the house with me but two more gals are coming in the morning to join us. The garage is all set up and we will begin painting tomorrow morning at 9:00 am. I cannot wait!

Join me here all week as I am excited to share how I plan and prepare for this week's workshop. I will also share highlights of each day and lots of new paintings!