Presents
Pamme Turner
“Ponte/Venezia”
Watercolor on Arches rag paper. 12 “ x 16”.
This painting was so much fun to paint—and as I sat by the canal bridge—which was a gondola tourist route—I heard the gondoliers tell their stories about the famous bridges and canals of Venice. Not one gondolier had the same story! I love to paint the iron railings of Venice--a great detail for any painting of the famous city. The lady in pink crossed the bridge for a moment and then was gone—but the Italian flag is the star of the painting!
“Selfie at the Venice Fish Market”
Watercolor on Arches rag paper. 12” x 16”.
Figures posing with their cell phone is an ever-present image these days—and even in my painting! I was intrigued by this very retro 1940’s - looking tourist taking her cell phone selfie and also shooting some Instagram photos at the vegetable and fruit market outside the famous Rialto Fish Market—once again, in Venice. With its trademark red and green curtains to block the afternoon sun, it is a landmark to paint plein air, in all seasons. Beautiful antique columns, architecture, and light and shadow, too.
“Mission /San Juan Capistrano, California”
Watercolor on Hahnemuhle rag paper, 12” x 16”.
One of my favorite places to paint in California—with a sense of time-gone-by beautiful fountains, and some people in the painting for scale! The trees and flowers here are a joy to paint—this is a tree with wonderful twisty bark, which makes for a great painting subject. I love framing special imagery with foreground interest, as if the viewer here is truly in a secret garden
“Sunlight/Mission San Juan Capistrano”
Watercolor and gouache on cardboard, 12” x 16”.
The Mission courtyard is a great motif here with the bright PINK gouache flowering tree—so lovely in the morning sunlight with shadows. There are two images here--one smaller sketch and the larger painting on smooth, tan cardboard. I’ve let the cardboard be one of the integral colors in the painting, for drama and effect. With a watercolor base of shadows ,the gouache is painted over for drama and “color pop”. My favorite part is the old wooden washtub in the sunlight.
Course dates
Course Completed
Plein Air Essentials workshop (for watercolor and gouache)
In this week-long painting workshop, students will learn how to:
- Paint with both transparent and/or opaque art mediums “en plein air”, with an emphasis on beautiful watercolor techniques!
- Create successful COMPOSITIONS for both plein air and studio painting
- Create successful B+W VALUE studies which translate into strong watercolor/gouache paintings
- Evaluate LIGHT, SHADOW and time of day as it applies to outdoor painting
- Practice specialized watercolor or beginning gouache techniques with a variety of applications and approaches
- Adapt the “Gingerbread” process for creating stronger details and easy figures in your watercolor and/or gouache paintings
- Create Pamme’s Essential ”Watercolor Art Notebook” with specialized art-note taking techniques (you will use these learned techniques for many future projects!)
This workshop is designed for beginners through to professional painters! We will be painting outdoors at the Watermill and on location during the week, weather permitting. In inclement weather, painting days will be held in the studio or indoor locations.
All artists/levels are welcome!
Profile
As a professional artist with BFA/MFA degrees in Fine Arts and technical expertise in multiple and diverse art mediums, Pamme Turner is currently a full-time professor and former EI Department Chair of Fine and Liberal Arts at Saddleback College in Southern California. She teaches Beginning through Advanced Watercolor and Oil/Acrylic Painting, Plein Air Painting, Intermediate/Advanced Studio Painting, Life Drawing, Ceramics and Art History.
She has lived and taught fine arts classes and art workshops all over the world-- including in art schools, colleges, and universities on the East and West coasts (US), at Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) in Laguna Beach, California; in Mexico (Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende); in Spain, Italy and Greece and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as teaching numerous study abroad/ plein air painting workshops worldwide, most recently in Cuba.
She lived and worked for over four years on the island of Paros at the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, teaching Painting, Drawing, Sculpture/Ceramics, Art History and Greek Folkloric Dance. Her watercolors, gouache and egg tempera paintings, drawings and ceramics are included in museum collections and numerous exhibitions and private collections worldwide.
Her work has been exhibited in national and international venues, including in NYC, Los Angeles and Athens, Greece.
She says: “Every day, my changing environment, either on location or in the studio, teaches me a unique artist’s lesson…to observe and react, not to preconceive the medium, method or outcome, to evaluate, interpret, focus and respond and…ultimately, to stay out of my own creative way.”
For more information visit Pamme’s “traveling artist” blog and her artist website:
Philosophy
Pamme’s philosophy: “I live my life as an artist and there is no art medium which is off-limits - I am fascinated by the creative art-making process and encourage my students to experience that same joy in all of their works.”
“I have always seen my own art as an organic process—riding the concept of creation as if it were a wave, never knowing exactly where it will crash, break or eventually flow. Whether working with watercolor, egg tempera, gouache, oil paint, watercolor pencils, mixed media, ink, or clay, my reaction to art mediums remains enthusiastically the same.”
And on her teaching, Pamme says: “My teaching methods are all about making art connections and achieving personal growth for my students —and having each student leave a class or workshop with much more information about how to make their art better and more satisfying than they had before!
“All my teaching is about that “important takeaway”—what is the one thing that you can learn to do in a workshop or class to change and improve your art today--and I make sure that in each session, my students understand and practice and implement the teaching topic of the day. I want my students to have personal success in all their painting sessions and leave with a feeling of accomplishment and time well-spent.”
Comments from previous students
“Thanks so much for incredible workshop; it was inspiring, educational and more educational than a whole college semester! And so much more fun!” MS
“What a great time with you and painting again. Many thanks! You are so vivid as an artist and teacher, teaching what you love!” CS
“Your workshop rocked. I can hardly wait until the next one.” SS
“Thanks so much Pamme. I’m so enjoying learning about the history of paints, etc. Your painting classes and workshops are the best !!” NN
“I love your watercolor classes. You are a notch (or two or three) above most of the other teachers. I am very interested in your workshops as well as travel adventures/workshops, so please let me know once you have some offerings. Thanks so much!” LT
“You know how much we love your art and your teaching!” MF
