2024
Monday evenings, 5:30- 8:30 pm EST
August 5,12,19,26 @ Townsend Atelier
Instructor: Mia Bergeron
Back by popular demand, this fun class is a great way to explore layering oils, using different tools (we will be using a big range of tools- not just a palette knife), working with color and values, and exploring edges. Students will be working from both still life and photo references to create layered images. We will explore the different challenges imposed by working from life versus photography, best techniques for layering a painting to create visual texture, and how to use values to help find color. Mia will demonstrate at the beginning of class, and any questions that may come up will be addressed throughout the workshop. Some knowledge of oil painting is recommended.
Click here for materials list
About the Instructor:
Mia Bergeron is a classically trained oil painter that uses modern techniques and concepts to create layered imaginative works. Imagery in her work often oscillates between the fictitious and the observed in equal parts.
Rooted in her upbringing in New York City with continuous exposure to modern art, her paintings also reveal her choice to study classical painting in Florence, Italy under Charles H. Cecil in her twenties. Heavily influenced by historical artists such as Diego Velázquez, Titian, Anthony van Dyck, and John Singer Sargent, her paintings are also shaped by contemporary artists such as Alex Kanevsky, Ann Gale, and Adrian Ghenie.
For Mia, the process of making paintings is similar to meditation. Each painting is the listening and contemplating of the surrounding world. The minutes at the easel are similar to focusing on the breath- there are times when the scrutiny is welcomed and quiet, and other times when the mind is loud and unintelligible. It is this dynamic contrast that is at the center of Mia’s paintings. This dualistic nature of life is what pushes and inspires her work.
Mia has been published numerous times in international magazines. Her painting “Tranquil Ghosts” was the cover image for the January 2022 Issue of American Art Collector Magazine. She continues to teach workshops at Townsend Atelier, Chattanooga. She and her husband, artist John McLeod, live in Red Bank.
