5-Day Painting with a Concept with Sherrie McGraw May 14, 2007

At first, learning to paint must include painting things well. Most painters feel they have succeeded in this quest when they can paint the subject convincingly. However, though painting images can be captivating, any thinking person might ask if there is something more than this technical proficiency. When an image compels you to return again and again to examine it, the underlying reason is the concept. Rather than seeing each object as a separate entity, concept establishes a relationship between objects, making something that is greater than the individual parts. This underlying visual message creates a beauty beyond subject matter and is the real reason behind the painting. Abstract visual ideas are less personal and more universal creating a more compelling and sublime painting. The only requirement for this class is a desire to learn.

Instructor: Sherrie McGraw

McGraw received her training as a painter in New York at the Art Students League. Later, she taught both drawing and painting there until her move to Taos, a renowned artist’s community, in 1992. She continues to teach workshops nationwide, including a recent appearance with the Art Academy of San Francisco and the American Society of Portrait Artists in New York. As an officer of American Women Artists, she helped orchestrate a cultural exchange to a historic cloister in Sorrento, Italy in 2000. Her work has shown in major museums, among them the Gilcrease Museum, the Tucson Museum, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and the Lineberry-Van Vechten Museum. Her work is in prominent collections, including Senator John Warner, John Geraghty, George and Pam Carlson, John Mellencamp, Forest Fenn and Howard Terpning.

$795 per person

Official Website: http://www.laafa.org/sessions/calendar/info.php?id=111