Plein Air Workshop in the Museum Gardens

This workshop is designed for those who wish to learn how to draw outdoors with dry or wet media, and is appropriate for beginning through advanced students. Students will explore the beauty of nature and unexpected views. Plein Air drawing, even for short periods of time, stirs the emotion and trains the hand and eye. Students will learn to see and look for the beauty in unexpected places. They will also learn composition, value, perspective, and color. This class is limited to 12 students, so the instructor can continuously work with each student, one on one, giving assistance as needed. The instructor will give demos, welcome questions, enjoy answering, and give technical advice of media application. Students have the option of working with dry media, wet media, or both. The media you choose is of your personal preference. Students are responsible for all materials they will work with, so please bring the art materials that you are comfortable working in, or would like to try working with – see suggestions below. The workshop will begin with instruction in the classroom, and then move to the museum gardens.

Instructor will demonstrate with various media:

1. Dry media – pencil, colored pencil, conte, markers
2. Wet media – watercolor, water soluble colored pencil, ink, markers, washes
3. Mixed media

Suggested Supply List:

Anything is good! The supplies are your personal choice, with just a couple required items. You will be most comfortable keeping your supplies simple and easily portable. You may wish to use dry media, wet media, or both!

• Required – Drawing Board in a portable size to accommodate your papers or pad (can be a sturdy piece of cardboard, foam core, etc.)
• Required – Two spring clips to hold your paper on the board

Your choice of supplies if you use dry media:

1. Drawing pad or papers (portable sixe 9x12, 11x14 – suggestions Stonehenge, Strathmore, Canson) – the instructor will have some extras available for purchase at the workshop
2. Dry drawing medie (graphite pencils, colored pencils, conte, markers)
3. Hand held pencil sharpener
4. Factis Black 18 eraser (General Pencil Co.)

Your choice of supplies if you use wet media:

1. Watercolor pad or papers (portable sixe 9x12, 11x14)
2. Wet drawing media (watercolor pencils, watercolors, markers, inks, ink pens)
3. Hand held pencil sharpener
4. Synthetic inexpensive brushes (small & medium, flat & round)
5. Water container (small plastic, with lid)
6. Paper towel (a few sheets) or rag

About the Instructor:

Priscilla Humay exhibits nationally, is in private and corporate collections, and is featured in major publications. She is a Signature Member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and served on its National Governing Board. Priscilla was a co-director of ARC, Chicago art gallery. Through the U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service, she was awarded two Artist in Residencies at the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. She taught at the College of Lake County IL, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin TX. Her BFA is from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MS from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Post Graduate Study at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. In her own art, she loves to capture the essence of nature’s beauty and enjoys sharing this through teaching.