Natural Object Still Life Painting | instructor: Alia El Bermani

June 8, 9 & 10
9-5 p.m.

and a special demonstration gallery talk at the Hunter Museum of American Art
Thursday, June 7

This course will cover the essentials of oil painting from proper surface preparation to  color mixing, with a primarily earth tone palette.  Using direct observation, students will learn about composition, color theory and paint application as well as gain skills and confidence in representing what they see.   Students will be encouraged to select their own items that will enable them to develop personal narratives or meanings within a still life painting.  This three day oil painting class will start with an optional walk  to experience and connect with nature, as well as to collect the natural found objects that the student will bring back to the studio to paint.   Students who choose to skip the morning walk will be encouraged to bring their own natural form discoveries such as various botanical items, seed pods, skulls, feathers, bugs – whatever it is from nature that you are inspired by!  The teacher will also bring such items from her own collection to share.

Click here for a materials list.

Demonstration & Special Gallery Talk | open to the public
Thursday, June 7 @ Hunter Museum of American Art
5:00-5:45 | Gallery talk and tour of select works in the collection by museum staff
6:00-8:00 p.m.  | Drawing demonstration by Alia El-Bermani

As part of this workshop, we are thrilled to be co-producing a special public event with the Hunter Museum of American Art.  All workshop participants as well as the general public are invited to the museum  for a guided tour and talk given by museum staff on selected works in the museum’s collection.  Afterward, El Bermani will conduct a fascinating  demonstration in the galleries.  Cost:  general admission to the museum.  Free to museum members.

Instructor Bio
Alia E. El-Bermani was raised in a small town just south of Boston, where she spent most of her childhood enjoying the outdoors and discovering the natural history of the south shore of Massachusetts.   Alia El-Bermani started her art training as a young child at the North River Arts Society, which is a small community run association for people, of all ages, interested in the visual arts.  As a high school student, she showed early promise earning a Silver Key in the national Scholastic Art competition held at the World Trade Center in Boston.  In 1994, she briefly attended Roger Williams University in Bristol Rhode Island, a large liberal arts college that just didn’t quite have the clear focus that Ms. El-Bermani was seeking.  So, in 1996 she transferred to Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach California which is known for its strong emphasis on classical figurative training.

While studying at Laguna College of Art and Design Alia El-Bermani received the Plotkin Award for Excellence in Fine Arts.   Then, in 2000 she received her BFA from LCAD, summa com laude.  Ever since, she has enjoyed continued success as a fine artist.  She is currently represented by two premier galleries, Sullivan Goss Gallery in Santa Barbara California, and The Loft Galeria in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.  She is an Artspace Associated Artist, a member of the Portrait Society of America as well as a co-founder of the important blog Women Painting Women.  This talented young painter has had six Solo Exhibitions.  Her figurative and still life paintings and drawings have been included in several group shows across the country as well as showcased in Museums such as the Palm Springs Desert Museum in California, the Anchorage Museum of History and Art in Alaska, the West Valley Art Museum in Arizona, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto and most recently at the Greenville Museum of Art in North Carolina.  Ms. El-Bermani was a recent Finalist in the Figurative Category of the prestigious Art Renewal Center’s 2010-2011 International ARC Salon. Several articles have been written on her work in such prestigious periodicals as ArtSee, Art Week, The Independent and LA Weekly.  She currently lives and works in Cary, NC.  For more visit www.alia-fineart.com