Artist - Part 26 - My Workshop with Andrew Morrow

On the weekend of the 21st of July as my vacation started, I took a two day oil painting workshop with Andrew Morrow at the Art Gallery of Sudbury. This was the first art class I’ve taken since finishing at OCAD in ’90 and I was excited because the style he was teaching was the direct method. I was hoping to add to my knowledge of the technique and fill in some of the blanks.

I was not disappointed and it was well worth the $100.

The first day I learned that my brushes were wrong for this technique; I should have been using filberts, a typical oversight on my part. I also got some pointers on blending.

When I first met Andrew at his gallery opening, he gave me some pointers on how to approach my painting without over-blending, so I wasn’t surprised when I picked up so many new skills at the workshop.

Day two I learned a lot more! Brush stroke skill, medium and paint requirements, working with thicker paint… plus a lot of subtle ideas and skills that were contrary to the way I currently work.

At one point someone asked, why I wanted to change from my current technique. My answer was that I like the precision that the direct method requires…. making an exact brushstroke with the right colour/temperature, shape, direction while taking into account composition and other variables,… it’s like being a virtuoso musician.

I find that when you take away the guesswork… technical aspects become second nature, more doors open and you start concentrating on subject and ideas. With more knowledge, you’re less frustrated with your art.