Classes at the Vero Beach Museum of Art
Just finished up two separate 5-week courses at the Museum, and it's time for a little break. They were both fun and rewarding for me, and I hope very informative to my students. A lot of artsy learning was crammed into those 3-hour classes each week. One was "Photorealism" in multi-medias, and the other was Plein Air (painting outdoors).
The Hearst Corporation funded supplies for the classes, which made it so nice for the students. We ordered sketching kits, technical tools, drawing & painting paper and Derwent pastel pencils, all of which they got to keep. We also provided stools and easels. Most of the students continued using the pastels for all five weeks, although they were invited to use their medium of choice. I demonstrated a different medium each week: pastel pencils, watercolor, acrylic, oil paints, and pastel sticks, which covered whatever medium was in their comfort zone. All but one had never painted out of doors, and luckily the weather was perfect. Except for the last day on the boardwalk near the Museum when the skies opened up for just five minutes. I throw a tarp over my setup and the rest ran for cover under a lovely pavilion. The view was spectacular as you can see below.
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| Judy Burgarella painting at a Boardwalk over the Indian River Lagoon |
Artists set up within view of my composition and watched as they painted along with me. It's a great way to learn, as they see the instructor (me!) make mistakes and correct them, have happy accidents, make best use of the weather, changing light, inconvenience, etc. But they also witness the joy I project in my painting process ... especially the joy of painting out of doors. We saw many birds, porpoises rolling in the water, fish jumping and fishermen fishing as the beautiful puffy clouds rolled by. There were tall mangroves to the left of me shading where they all sat and sketched with their pastel pencils. We painted at five different locations, all very interesting, natural and beautiful.
I had hoped to finish at least one painting to bring to last class, but alas, life got in the way and I was too busy painting for several shows. It's a rich life here in Indian River county if you're in the arts! So many artsy things going on, and I try my best to do them all!
As for the Photorealism class, that one I also demonstrated different mediums each week, to cover the variety of mediums of my students. And I also did not finish one painting. However, I brought a couple of my finished realistic paintings for them to examine each week. This class's supplies were also funded by the Hearst Corporation, and subject matter was mostly also of nature.
Some Recent New Paintings
"EMERGENCE"
T\he painting below was exhibited in the Patten Gallery of the Vero Beach Museum of Art. The show was at the invitation of the Museum to members of the Cultural Council of Indian River County. The theme was "Abstract," and boy did everyone bring their "A" Game! It was a beautiful and exciting array of abstract work. Mine, of course, had to have a face in it. Just can't stop myself. Abstract was a stretch for me, but I ended up having such fun with it. Can't wait to do it again. There is even a secret message within the abstract background. Can you see it?
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| "Emergence" 24"x18" Acrylic by Judy Burgarella |
"STILL LIFE WITH GREEN ONIONS"
This sweet little pastel piece I had actually started years ago, but I recently came upon it in my flat file just waiting to be finished. I was probably having trouble with it at the time, but it is amazing how much better you get with each passing year. I had no trouble finishing it, other than dozing off and smudging it with my arm while painting too late into the night. Happened twice. Had to repair it twice. I finally went to bed and finished with fresh eyes the next morning.
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| "Still Life with Green Onions" Pastel 14"x17" by Judy Burgarella |
STILL LIFE WITH ORANGES
An oldie but a goodie. This poor pastel has been schlepped around to so many shows, and I wonder why it hasn't sold yet. So I reframed it and cut a nice fillet (small silver bar against the mat) for it, and I think it looks so much better. It actually was my first attempt at pastel many years ago. I have used this painting so many times as a staging piece, which my daughter Robin Burgarella offers as a service to her real estate clients. Another outlet for my creative side, like playing with doll houses it is. Redesigning rooms, adding lamps, runners, flowers, rugs, curtains, etc., which we shop for at our own storage unit. The "Befores" and "Afters" are amazing, and the houses tend to sell fast because of our "beautification" skills. It's an honor working with my daughter, and now with my daughter's daughter! At 11 years old, Salem is better at the computer work than I am, and is gaining on me with her staging skills!
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| "Still Life with Oranges" Pastel, 22"x26" by Judy Burgarella |
Well, that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed or were inspired by my postings, and maybe enough that you'll pick up the brush yourself!
Judy Burgarella
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