The Joy of Artists Workshops, Painting with Robert Burridge

"Painting at Cheap Joe's" ©Olen Sikes

Every year I try to take an artist workshop away from home, often in another state. I have especially enjoyed those taught at Cheap Joe's in Boone NC. Not only are the workshops top notch, but being there is like having a child lost in a candy store. After all, the classroom door leads directly into the main Cheap Joe Art Store with almost every art supply imaginable  on display in a fascinating artful setting. It's like Christmas morning every time you push open the entryway.

Recently, the Robert Burridge Workshop I attended was completely full-25 students. Although the room was crowded with artists, we each had our own painting table and enough room to spread out work as we created it. Also, there was a seating area for everyone to gather at the front of the classroom for demonstrations and to watch Bob work via a large video monitor. At noon each day, lunch was served, and we could take it outside either to picnic tables or to the sprawling porch with its large, comfortable rocking chairs.

What could be more ideal? A week painting among other artists!

Robert Burridge is an amazing instructor. His demos are not only informative, but they are flavored with colorful stories that have happened to him along the way. A few years ago, he was the teacher in the first workshop I ever took at Cheap Joe's. I learned about creating an intense orange background over my gesso paint. I also discovered how to paint subjects more loosely. Eventually I created a popular series of work, "Monti, Just for Fun", using the techniques Bob taught.

"Classroom at Cheap Joe's" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Last week, I didn't anticipate learning much that was new. But I did. I learned more about making texture and about painting "carrot" figures. What I found will surely wind up somewhere deep inside a mysterious cold wax painting or even on a sheet of Yupo in midst of Robert Doak watercolors.

Besides all that, things I knew from long ago were reinforced. Thank you, Robert Burridge, for what you brought to us. Traveling all over the country to teach is really hard. Thank you, too, for all the miles you travel from your great California studio.

Loving Artist Workshops - Taking and Teaching Them

"Gloucester Arts on Main 2018" ©Mary Montague Sikes

More than two decades ago, I took my first artist workshop. Mary Alice Braukmann was the instructor. Traveling from Florida to Williamsburg, Virginia, she brought with her a wealth of knowledge and a lifetime of enthusiasm. Besides the excitement of painting in a week-long workshop, she opened a new world for me for interacting with other artists.

After I earned my MFA in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University, I retreated to my home studio and painted alone. Developing my ideas on canvas was rewarding, but something was missing. I needed to be around other artists. At VCU, I had my own large studio room in a big, deserted school building near the campus. There were 11 other artists, all MFA candidates, painting inside that massive structure. During those two years of intensive learning, visiting artists from New York and California also used the studio space there. We spent time together. I missed that.

The artist workshops filled the interaction void. I found more and more of them. Some, such as a watercolor workshop with Patricia Tobacco Forrester in the Washington DC area. I loved her large expressive paintings and was sad to see that she died in 2011. Creatives are especially missed when they are gone.

I've taken many workshops at Cheap Joe's in Boone NC. That's where I found my hero artist, Mary Ann Beckwith who brought Robert Doak watercolors and Yupo into my life. Janet Rogers is another exceptional watercolor artist I found there. And I will never forget the Robert Burridge workshops where I fell in love with using orange under-paintings on my acrylic canvasses.

Sedona AZ is filled with seduction and energy. Each year, Jan Sitts teaches her workshops there that are filled with color and texture.

Besides taking workshops, I enjoy teaching them. I've had the opportunity to give classes in San Diego CA, Denver CO, Hilton Head SC, Richmond VA, Williamsburg VA, Gloucester VA and more.
For me, art teaching is as much a learning experience for the instructor as it is for the student.

As artists we must continue to grow and make our lives meaningful. The "messy" minds of creatives are filled with all sorts of ideas that cry to evolve.

I love artist workshops. Thanks to all my teachers and to my students.

Your Studio is Wherever You Paint (or Write)

The artist Robert Burridge always seems to inspire me in some way. I look forward to his "Bob Blast" each week.

Artists in a Magic Studio (GAMi) ©Mary Montague Sikes

Yesterday I watched his short video and found him urging artists to "own" their studios no matter where they might be located. He pointed out that some might be a small section of a room, others could be on the kitchen table. One woman in assisted living claims a portion of her bed as her studio, he said.

"Wherever you paint is your studio." That's the Burridge message.

"Wherever you write is also your studio." That's my thought.

Burridge says he always writes down his goals before he starts a painting project. Then he chooses the brushes and the paint colors he intends to use, and, because he is right-handed, he puts them to the right of his paper or canvas.

I like the idea of writing down the goals for an art project. It's a little like making a synopsis for a book or  writing down the ideas for your day's project as an author.

Organizing your writing space before you begin the day is a great idea. I don't, but it would solve a lot of problems for me if I did. Although I am right-handed, I have items I use to the right and left of my computer space and also behind me.

Robert Burridge calls his painting space his "Magic Studio". What he creates from nothing is like magic. What writers develop from nothing is magic as well.

He has three important rules he follows in his life as an artist:

1. Paint what you know.
2. Teach what you've learned.
3. Love what you do.

The same rules can apply for a writer. Perhaps that's why memoirs have become so popular. Write what you know. In the end, if you love what you do, you are on the road to happiness.

Teaching Artist Workshops - Mixed Water Media

This autumn, I'm teaching mixed water media workshops in different locations. Getting my materials together is exciting because it reminds me of all the amazing possibilities that exist for artists like me who love to experiment.

A few years ago, I took a workshop in Williamsburg with artist Mary Alice Braukman. Her approach thrilled and inspired me. She also introduced me to Yupo, a synthetic "paper" that allows paints to shift and flow in many unusual ways. Mary Alice made me realize that although I held a MFA in painting, I still had lots to learn. Because of my enlightening experience with her, I decided to take a different workshop every year.

In 2006, I first met Mary Ann Beckwith, and she introduced me to the Robert Doak pigments. Through Mary Ann, I learned that Doak creates these intense colors in his Brooklyn studio and that they are the most amazing colors ever. Since then I have worked in awe of the unique effects that develop when I use his paints in combination with Yupo. Not only is Mary Ann a gifted artist but she is a dedicated and caring teacher. She introduced me to fractals and to the photo a day astronomy web site. Those pictures from NASA have greatly influenced my work.

"Peace Anywhere?" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Other workshops over the years have inspired me. Robert Burridge showed me the way to orange underpainting, and my work grew brighter. Jan Sitts demonstrated the use of a variety of materials and mediums to build up a more sculptural surface on canvas. With layering, she reignited my love of the three-dimension.

A bit of learning from all of my teachers, including Thomas Thorne and Carl Roseburg from the College of William and Mary, shows through in every piece of my work. I suspect it shows through in my teaching as well.

Anyone who is interested in taking one of my workshops can let me know in comments or e-mail, and I will contact you individually. I can promise excitement and new experiences with art. Like me, you will never paint in the same way again once you experience these materials and techniques.

--Mary Montague Sikes