April 16-18, 2021
@Townsend Atelier
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
We are excited to add Peter Van Dyck to our roster of instructors for 2021. This workshop will focus on creative problem solving for the unique challenges of painting the city as a motif. Working out of doors and on-site, students will learn strategies for perceiving and depicting complex environments with an understanding of structure and illumination to create compositions with a compelling sense of space and light. The main topics will be linear perspective, volume, the dynamics of light and color as well as the relationship between description and pictorial design. We will also address various ways of managing the practical difficulties of working on site. There will be no shortage of interesting subject matter. Townsend Atelier is located in the heart of downtown with fantastic urban buildings, city streets, and warehouses as well as having access to a covered rooftop terrace for panoramic cityscape vistas. In the case of inclement weather, we will move indoors to paint either from window views or interior space.
There will be a one-hour lunch break each day. Lunch is on your own. Depending upon how things look in the spring, our 2020 COVID safety measures of daily temps, wearing masks, and distancing may be put into place.
For those traveling from out of town, please let us know if you need accommodation recommendations and we will be happy to help.
CLICK HERE for materials list
About the instructor:
Peter Van Dyck was born in Philadelphia in 1978. He studied painting and drawing at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy from 1998-2002. While studying he also taught in the program from 2000-2002. He returned to Philadelphia in 2002 to paint in his own studio and began exhibiting his work in numerous group shows in Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco.
He has had solo shows at John Pence Gallery, San Francisco in 2004; Eleanor Ettinger Gallery, New York, 2006; John Pence Gallery, 2008 and The Grenning Gallery, Sag Harbor, 2010. In 2003 he began teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where, in 2011 he became an Assistant Professor in the Certificate/BFA program.
In 2012 he was named one of 25 Important Artists of Tomorrow by American Artist Magazine. In 2013 his work was included in the book Painted Landscapes, Contemporary Views by Lauren P. della Monica. His work has also been reproduced in periodicals including, American Artist Magazine, American Arts Quarterly, Art News, American Art Collector, International Artist Magazine, and Art and Antiques.
“I am a painter, draftsman, and general life-enthusiast living part-time in Philadelphia, PA, and part-time in Elba, AL. My primary practice is the making of oil paintings but I also make drawings, do home improvement projects of dubious quality and contemplate the nature of existence to the irritation of my family and friends. I also devote a significant portion of my time to teaching painting and drawing. ” – Peter Van Dyck
