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Update: This Sale has ended!

I'm in the process of restructuring my classes around the idea of The Total Landscape. By this I mean deemphasizing painting en plein air, and presenting a more historically grounded understanding of representing landscape subjects.

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Update: This Sale has ended!

I'm in the process of restructuring my classes around the idea of The Total Landscape. By this I mean deemphasizing painting en plein air, and presenting a more historically grounded understanding of representing landscape subjects.

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The end of this current plein air season will mark the 25th year that I've been offering private, ongoing plein air workshops in the Greater Seattle Area. 

Not many people today realize that in 1995 I initiated the first plein air classes at what is now called The Gage Academy, but was then called the Academy of Realist Art. I had been teaching there for at least a year prior to this, at which time I tried to introduce sight-size and other 19th century derived academic practices. This was met with much resistance. In 1997 I parted company with the academy, and at the request of my students, spearheaded by artist Sue Perry, I began teaching the plein air classes independently.

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The end of this current plein air season will mark the 25th year that I've been offering private, ongoing plein air workshops in the Greater Seattle Area. 

Not many people today realize that in 1995 I initiated the first plein air classes at what is now called The Gage Academy, but was then called the Academy of Realist Art. I had been teaching there for at least a year prior to this, at which time I tried to introduce sight-size and other 19th century derived academic practices. This was met with much resistance. In 1997 I parted company with the academy, and at the request of my students, spearheaded by artist Sue Perry, I began teaching the plein air classes independently.

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  • Snohomish Valley, Looking East, oil on canvas, 36 x 47 inches, copyright ©2015

Update: This sale has ended! I currently have a big Fall discount sale for Plein Air Classes, Online Group Critiques, Private Critiques, etc. Visit my home page for details, and use the shopping cart discount code FALLCOLORS.

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Update: This sale has ended! I currently have a big Fall discount sale for Plein Air Classes, Online Group Critiques, Private Critiques, etc. Visit my home page for details, and use the shopping cart discount code FALLCOLORS.

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  • Promo image for Plein Air Classes.

We've set a tentative date of June 10, 10am - 2:30pm for the resumption of Plein Air Class sessions in the Greater Seattle area. First session will meet at the home of one of the participants, featuring spacious decks with elevated views of Mt. Baker, the North Cascades and Lake Sammamish. More information can be found on the Classes page. #pleinairpainting,#greaterseattle,#outdoors,#landscapepainting,#oilpainting,#paintingclasses

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We've set a tentative date of June 10, 10am - 2:30pm for the resumption of Plein Air Class sessions in the Greater Seattle area. First session will meet at the home of one of the participants, featuring spacious decks with elevated views of Mt. Baker, the North Cascades and Lake Sammamish. More information can be found on the Classes page. #pleinairpainting,#greaterseattle,#outdoors,#landscapepainting,#oilpainting,#paintingclasses

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  • Power Struggle, oil on canvas, 32 x 42 inches, copyright ©2014

About 25 years ago I was teaching at what was then called The Academy for Realist Art, now called The Gage Academy. I initiated their plein air program, but for various reasons we parted company. Shortly after I left the academy Sue Perry called me and asked if I would consider teaching the plein air classes independently. That is how my plein air program began. Since that time, Sue has become a good friend, and I have continued to provide a "third eye" for her ongoing painting practice. She has become a serious and dedicated painter, and serves as an inspiration to others.

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About 25 years ago I was teaching at what was then called The Academy for Realist Art, now called The Gage Academy. I initiated their plein air program, but for various reasons we parted company. Shortly after I left the academy Sue Perry called me and asked if I would consider teaching the plein air classes independently. That is how my plein air program began. Since that time, Sue has become a good friend, and I have continued to provide a "third eye" for her ongoing painting practice. She has become a serious and dedicated painter, and serves as an inspiration to others.

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  • ARBORETUM ABSTRACTION oil on canvas, 22 x 28 in, copyright ©2004

From 1998 through 2005 Atsuko Lindley was my class monitor, for both plein air and studio sessions. Ako had been born in Tokyo, and moved to the United States in her late teens. She attended San Jose State University, majoring in art, and got her first job out of school at the Oakland Tribune as an illustrator.

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From 1998 through 2005 Atsuko Lindley was my class monitor, for both plein air and studio sessions. Ako had been born in Tokyo, and moved to the United States in her late teens. She attended San Jose State University, majoring in art, and got her first job out of school at the Oakland Tribune as an illustrator.

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  • POPPIES, oil on canvas, 14 x 10 inches, copyright ©2010

In the late 1990s I was offering plein air classes privately, after piloting a 1995 program through the Gage Academy, which was then called the Academy of Realist Art. I had gone through a succession of monitors, those student participants that helped the class run smoothly in exchange for a tuition waiver, eventually working with Ako Lindley, a Tokyo born and bred Japanese woman who had made the U. S. her home for many decades. Ako was well connected in Seattle's Japanese community, and during her tenure as monitor she induced several other Japanese to join the class. One of these was Ritsuko Taneda.

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In the late 1990s I was offering plein air classes privately, after piloting a 1995 program through the Gage Academy, which was then called the Academy of Realist Art. I had gone through a succession of monitors, those student participants that helped the class run smoothly in exchange for a tuition waiver, eventually working with Ako Lindley, a Tokyo born and bred Japanese woman who had made the U. S. her home for many decades. Ako was well connected in Seattle's Japanese community, and during her tenure as monitor she induced several other Japanese to join the class. One of these was Ritsuko Taneda.

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  • Zoom  session

Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, we've been having online group critiques, using the Zoom platform, every Tuesday at 4pm. These Have evolved to include either an extended discussion of aspects of painting technique or art history.

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Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, we've been having online group critiques, using the Zoom platform, every Tuesday at 4pm. These Have evolved to include either an extended discussion of aspects of painting technique or art history.

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At today's plein air session I did a demonstration using drone photography as an adjunct to landscape practice. The objective was to use photographs taken at higher elevation for composition while still using observation of the landscape subject for color, detail and spontaneous effect.

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At today's plein air session I did a demonstration using drone photography as an adjunct to landscape practice. The objective was to use photographs taken at higher elevation for composition while still using observation of the landscape subject for color, detail and spontaneous effect.

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  • My gear

The blueberry bushes at Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm are bright red, with hints of purple, grayish pink and other colors, all playing off a foil of bright yellow-green grass and a light ultramarine sky. It was a great day for painting, and a great day for spider watching in the current explosion of the arachnid population.

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The blueberry bushes at Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm are bright red, with hints of purple, grayish pink and other colors, all playing off a foil of bright yellow-green grass and a light ultramarine sky. It was a great day for painting, and a great day for spider watching in the current explosion of the arachnid population.

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