Debbie Mueller: "Light-Filled Still Life Painting- A Simple Path"

Does your heart sing when you see a light-drenched still life painting?

Do you hit roadblocks when you paint, overwhelmed by all the considerations in creating a well-designed and executed painting?  Do you get stuck, not knowing what to do next?

Are you a painter who is familiar with some basic concepts and skills, such as understanding values, mixing color, and paint application?  Are you an intermediate or experienced painter who would like to advance your skills with composition, color, brushwork and edges?

Come join Debbie Mueller for a 4 day still life workshop where she will break down the creation of a painting into simple steps that allow the painter to focus their decision making and efforts on one thing at a time, leading to a successful piece of art.   

Day 1: A day to play and experiment without fear! After getting a chance to know each other, using a PowerPoint presentation, Debbie will introduce the steps of creating a painting- Idea, Design, Drawing, Value, Color Mixing, Brushwork and Edges.  After discussing each of these topics, she will do a brief demonstration and then students will do a series of exercises to build their skills in these areas.   There will be a 1 hour lunch break in the middle of the day.

Day 2: Students will use the skills they developed on Day 1 to create a still life painting. Debbie will first do a demo of a simple still life painting, reinforcing the ideas that have been presented and giving students a chance to see this process work in real time.   Students will then use the rest of the day to create a painting from a simple set up. Debbie will assist students at their easels.

Days  3 and 4:  Students will be creating a still life painting (or two, depending on their speed) starting from the design stage through completion, with the opportunity to set up objects as they choose, and use their composition skills. At the conclusion of the workshop, there will be a critique where students will choose one of their paintings to discuss. More advanced students can choose to bring objects from home they wish to include in their set up.  This can include objects that carry personal meaning, or even art books, to include a master copy in your composition.  Debbie will supply some basic still life objects that can be used by students.

Students can expect to create two or three paintings during the workshop.

The techniques taught during the workshop will be practiced using still life, but are completely appropriate and useful for any subject- landscape, portrait, interiors, etc.

This is primarily an oil painting workshop.  Acrylics  or Gouache may be used as well, though certain techniques may not work as well with these mediums.

Debbie Mueller picked up a paintbrush for the first time in 2016 and has become an award-winning artist with recognition for both her still life and landscape paintings.  She is a juried artist at the Rockport Art Association and is represented by a number of wonderful galleries in New England and Texas.   She has exhibited in numerous national juried exhibitions and was the first-place winner of the Art2Life National Exhibition in 2023. She lives in Durham, NH and practices medicine in Wolfeboro, NH.

You can learn more about the artist and see her work at www.debbiemuellerart.com

Registration Fee: $750

Student Capacity: 15

All Levels Welcome with some experience

Register now, book your stay and more on the Book A Workshop page.