Semplificare: Simplifying the Italian Landscape in Watermedia with Ruth

Join me in Umbria and for a hybrid workshop incorporating both plein air and studio work. You’ll emerge with confidence and inspiration. Conquer one of the greatest challenges of plein air painting by learning to simplify.  Plein air sketching combined with studio work in mixed water media will give you the advantage of immediacy coupled with speed. You won’t have a chance to ‘overwork’.

Ruth will demonstrate her process for moving from representational to abstraction inspired by the rich and historic scenes near La Romita. Students will sketch from life en plein air, then translate those sketches and personal photos into meaningful abstraction in the studio of La Romita. The resulting paintings will begin with watercolor, and may also include collaged mementos, rubbings, journal snippets, and other artifacts of our journey.

You’ll relish the fluidity and portability of watercolor with the addition of a few opaque additions: Gouache, High Flow Acrylic and Collage. Design dominance will be your main guide as you learn to dissect what the true attraction and meaning that each scene holds for the individual artist. You’ll leave saying “Veni, Vidi, Simpliciores!” (I came, I saw, I simplified!)

 If you’re like me, when you plan a trip to a foreign country you would like to avoid following the masses of folks who get all their information from a guide book. You’d like to sample a taste of what residents of the area do for fun, get to know a bit of history, and dine in out-of-the-way bistros without having to struggle over a menu.

But language can be a barrier. And how were you to know that yesterday was a special music festival (antique fair, farmer’s market, etc.) in that little village? If only you’d had a bit of inside knowledge! And what is the best time to visit that can’t-miss-it attraction? Where might you stop to eat? What are the best plein-air painting locations? Click below to find out why this trip will have you pinching yourself!