STILL LIFE WITH A TWIST
WITH AMY MAHNICK
March 6-10, 2017
Abstraction and representation go hand in hand. In order to create a convincing illusion, a painter has to find the right relationship of flat shapes of color. Similarly, abstract paintings that convey a sense of light, space, form and atmosphere, either one, or all of these traits found in representational painting, strike a deeper chord. In this workshop we will focus equally on each. First, we will build an unconventional set up using a variety of objects. I will share some of my own props constructed out of recycled plastic and packaging materials, in addition to Black Pond’s unique collection of props, and we will make one or two of our own out of collected detritus or nature. Then we will proceed as if painting a straightforward still life, but after a day and a half of painting we will intervene in our set ups, upsetting what has become familiar in order to break open our compositions. The second phase of our paintings will be a search to find the place where abstraction and representation balance harmoniously, creating canvases that are at once representational, abstract, ordered and energetic.
March 6-10, 2017
Abstraction and representation go hand in hand. In order to create a convincing illusion, a painter has to find the right relationship of flat shapes of color. Similarly, abstract paintings that convey a sense of light, space, form and atmosphere, either one, or all of these traits found in representational painting, strike a deeper chord. In this workshop we will focus equally on each. First, we will build an unconventional set up using a variety of objects. I will share some of my own props constructed out of recycled plastic and packaging materials, in addition to Black Pond’s unique collection of props, and we will make one or two of our own out of collected detritus or nature. Then we will proceed as if painting a straightforward still life, but after a day and a half of painting we will intervene in our set ups, upsetting what has become familiar in order to break open our compositions. The second phase of our paintings will be a search to find the place where abstraction and representation balance harmoniously, creating canvases that are at once representational, abstract, ordered and energetic.