2 Day 6x6 Workshop in CA this June

I'm going to be teaching a very cool 2 day class in Costa Mesa, CA this June.
It will be all about painting the 6x6" size, working from photo reference.
The venue for my class will be at the Randy Higbee Gallery.

It is part of a big weekend of art, classes, demos and lectures and I'm excited to have been asked to be a part of it.
You can check out all of the other top notch events on The Fine Art Collaborative web site.

It's going to be a great weekend. Hope to see you there.

March 12-16 workshop in Mexico

I just had a pair of cancelations for my painting workshop here in San Miguel de Allende.
So now I have a few spots in this class again. I can offer a last minute discount of $250. off the price for painters who sign up with the lodging. It's an awesome historic home just a block and a half from the main square. Fantastic rooftop views and Spanish colonial interior courtyard.
This is for all levels of oil painters. Small group size. There are 9 signed up right now and the max is 12.
Read more about it in my original post about the class.



Rooftop view



One of the places we'll paint for the day and be treated to an authentic Mexican Meal.

"Terra Nova" - I'm back

Have not posted in a long time. I'm still around. Painting, and taking a break from just posting stuff as soon as I finish it here on the blog. I'll eventually get it all up here for you to see.

Some of what I have been painting is for a two person show that I will be in with Gladys Roldan de Moras. The show will be at the M Gallery of Fine Art in Sarasota, FL on Nov. 5th. I will also be teaching a 5 day plain air painting workshop in Sarasota Nov. 8th through 12th. The cost is $600. and you can now sign up by contacting Crystal at the M Gallery. cwagner@mgalleryoffineart.com

I am heading to Sarasota Florida at the end of this month to paint with Marc Hanson for a few days. He is going to teach me how to be gator bait. I have never painted in Florida before and I'm looking forward to the challenge of some new scenery.

This painting is a painting I just finished of a boat in Provincetown harbor.


"Terra Nova", 14x18" oil, Frank Gardner © 2010
$1,430. Framed. Available at Addison Art Gallery

"Into the Valley II"

This is a recent 24x30" that I had been working on for quite a while. I shot a few progress shots along the way, but those images are still on my crashed computer, so I'll just post this as is. I made a few major compositional changes along the way.
Below this one I've posted two small paintings that I did of the scene in 2008 and links to where they first appeared on my blog if you are interested in reading what I wrote about when I painted them.


"Into the Valley II", 24x30" oil, Frank Gardner © 2010
$3,600. Framed. Available at M Gallery of Fine Art, Charleston, SC


"Into the Valley II" is one of my pieces now available at M Gallery of Fine Art, in Charleston, SC. I'll be having a one person show there on November 5th.



"Into the Valley", 11" x 14" oil on linen , Frank Gardner © 2008
$1,050. Framed, Available at Galeria Gardner

"Into the Valley"



"Valley View", 8" x 16" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
$990. Framed, Available at Galeria Gardner

"Valley View"

Plein Air landscape Workshop, San Miguel de Allende. March 8-12, 2010

Dates are set for my 2010 plein air landscape painting workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
March 8-12 from 9:30-5:00 PM
The cost of the 5 day class is $550.USD and includes Painting Instruction, full gourmet lunches each day and transportation to and from the painting locations. A deposit of $200.USD is needed to hold your spot. Email me to see if there are available spots and I'll give you the mailing address to send the deposit.

In the workshop my emphasis is on helping everyone advance to their next level.







This year we will be spending our painting time at Rancho del Sol Dorado, a beautiful horse ranch 15 minutes from San Miguel. Holly and Mario Ortiz are great hosts and each day they will treat us to delicious meals in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere.










Some of the topics we will concentrate on are:

Values: A strong and simple value pattern is key to a successful painting, we will work on getting values correct from the start and keeping them clear throughout the painting process.

Color: We will work on seeing color and value then mixing color using a limited palette.
Premixing colors on your palette, and choosing the best design for your composition are a few of the things that we will focus on in this workshop.

Strong Starts/ Block In: An emphasis will be on getting a strong start to your painting so you don't need to waste time reworking the design later. Accurate color mixing is key to capturing the mood of a location. I feel that a strong start is the key a successful plein air painting and we will focus a lot on "starts" as well as how to bring a good start to the desired finish.

Finish: I will have you chose your strongest block in and use that as a start for a larger, more finished painting done on location.

Demos: I will do several demos, but the majority of the time will be for painting and individual guidance. There will be some quick painting exercises as well as time for longer painting sessions.





The painting day generally works out like this:
Meet for pick up around 9:30 A.M. for transportation to Rancho del Sol Dorado.
There is either a quick demonstration or talk about the days goals and then everyone gets painting while I give one on one attention.
Break for lunch is usually around 1:30 or 2:00 P.M. depending on our painting progress.
The break for lunch lasts about 1 hour.
Then everyone gets back to painting for the rest of the afternoon until around 5:00 P.M. when we will be transported back to town.



This workshop focuses on landscape painting. However there are lots of painting opportunities in town as well, and you might want to consider spending a few extra days in San Miguel to explore what the town has to offer.
San Miguel has many lodging possibilities. There are many fine hotels, B&B's, apartments or houses to rent. Everyone will be responsible for their own lodging and transportation to and from San Miguel de Allende. The closest airport is in Leon, (airport code BJX), about and hour and a half ride from town. I can recommend a transportation service to shuttle you to and from the airport. Mexico City is about four hours from San Miguel by bus.

This workshop is for oil painters only. All levels are welcome, but you SHOULD HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE PAINTING ON LOCATION.
If you are interested, email me at frank@frankgardner.com with any questions or to receive the materials list.

For info on San Miguel and lodging visit portalsanmiguel.com
Or TripAdvisor.com

If you would like other lodging options or have any questions, email me at frank@frankgardner.com.

Please do not finalize any travel plans or lodging until you have confirmed with me that there is space available in the class.
The deposit is fully refundable up to one month before the start of the workshop.