Plein Air Workshop with Priscilla Humay

Thursday, March 21, 2024 | 12:00 - 3:00pm

This workshop is designed for those who wish to learn to draw outdoors. Plein Air drawing, even for short periods of time, stirs the emotion and trains the hand and eye. It also keeps one’s hand in practice and one’s eyes in tune. Our eyes search to record what we want to create. This image registers in our brain. Our brain tells our hand how to represent our vision on a surface. At the same time our eyes are continuously evaluating and sending signals to our brain and our brain to our hand. We continuously measure, register, and translate from 3D to 2D surface. The instructor works one on one giving guidance and assistance as needed. Handouts, demonstrations and applications are given. You will draw outdoors in the garden and learn composition, perspective, color, value, form, line, and texture in nature. Through observing and drawing, you will develop your own style. You will choose the medium of dry, wet, or both. You may take note of: direction of light source, colors, values, textures, perspective, plant identification, plant measurements, date, weather conditions. You may participate in an open critique and discussion of the finished drawings. These can be later used as reference to create more refined drawings or paintings. Students are responsible for supplies; please see list below.

SUPPLIES:

Anything is good! Supplies are your personal choice. You may already have supplies to use. Use any medium you wish. Keep supplies easily portable and simple. You may wish to use only dry media, only wet media or both dry & wet media.

Students should bring:

• Drawing board (sturdy cardboard, foam core, etc.) a size to accommodate your paper.
• Two spring clips or tape to hold your paper on the board.
• PLUS:

Your choice of supplies if you will use DRY Medium:

1. Drawing Pad or Papers (portable size ~ suggestions: Stonehenge, Strathmore, Canson, etc.)
2. Dry Drawing Media: (graphite drawing pencils, colored pencils, conte, markers)
3. Hand-held pencil sharpener
4. Factis Black 18 eraser (General Pencil Co.)

Your choice of supplies if you will use WET Medium:

1. Watercolor Pad or Papers (portable size)
2. Wet Drawing Media: (watercolor pencils, watercolor, markers, inks, ink pens)
3. Hand-held Pencil Sharpener
4. Brushes – synthetic, inexpensive, any (small & medium, flat & round)
5. Water container (small plastic with lid)
6. Paper Towel (a few sheets) or Rag

Your choice of supplies if you use BOTH Dry & Wet Medium:

1. Any of the above

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.

Registration will close when program is full.