May 15 & 16, 2021
10 am-5 pm EST @ Townsend Atelier
instructor: Dave Salerno
open to all levels
Please note that to ensure the safety of everyone, masks will be required to be worn by students, instructor, and staff. The class will be limited to 8 students so that we can be properly distanced from each other.
This two-day workshop is designed so that each student will paint at least 2 oil studies dealing with different manifestations of water. Participants can choose from digital images that the instructor will send out in advance, or they can use their own images.
Water is a very common element in landscape painting. It appears in about 25% to 50% of all landscape paintings, not even including paintings with snow, rain or fog. We are somehow strongly attracted to water. About 70% of the US population lives near the coastline. There is something intangible about being near water that causes many people to experience a feeling of relaxation, peace or joy. This is reflected in the popularity of landscape paintings that contain images of water.
Many artists find painting water to be a challenge, possibly because it appears in so many forms. For example, there are streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Quiet water, ripples, waterfalls, ocean waves, and more. Although actually colorless, water assumes a wide range of colors in the environment. Painting outside, the water seems to change its color, texture, and brightness constantly.
The most effective and efficient way to improve our painting skill for any element in the landscape is to isolate and focus on that element. (For example, to paint trees well, paint a lot of trees!) This workshop will focus on water. The instructor will discuss and demonstrate solutions to some of the common problems encountered when painting water, including getting the perspective right, dealing with reflections in water, color variations, turbulence in streams, and waterfalls.
There will be a one-hour lunch break each day. Lunch is on your own.
Click here for materials list
About the instructor:
David Michael Salerno is a representational oil painter with interest in landscape (including plein air), still-life, figurative and portrait painting. Noticing his interest in drawing as a young boy, his artist mother bought him an instructional drawing set. David painted throughout his life, even during his years as a practicing cardiologist. In Minneapolis, he attended the Atelier Lack, where he obtained a foundation in classical drawing and painting. Upon retiring from his medical career, David has focused on his passion for painting.
David has a keen interest in the technology of oil painting. He takes pride in utilizing proven techniques and products to ensure strong and stable paint layers that result in a quality archival painting. He is a member of several national oil painting organizations, including the Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, the Portrait Society, and the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society (NOAPS). He has achieved the designation of Signature Artist in NOAPS. David is an instructor at Townsend Atelier in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“There is something within that compels me to paint. The beauty that the world displays all around us calls me. We live in a stressful and complex society – I hope that my paintings can provide a source of serenity and simplification.”
