Hello!

I'm Ruth - Artist, Teacher, Juror

I’m glad you’re here. I offer original artwork, online classes, and (when possible) in-person workshops. I think you’ll like what you see. Take a look around my corner of the web, keep in touch, and let me know how I can make your life more beautiful.

– Artist Ruth

About MeBlog

“Ruth has so much to offer in many different aspects of creating artwork. She is approachable and respectful. She ranks well among the other excellent classes I have taken.  Ruth is decisive and thoughtful with her answers. Her ability to be personal and honest yet gentle are commendable. The class was worth my time and money and I have come away with many ideas, both theoretical and practical to work with.”

Lisa

La Romita, Italy October 15 - 22, 2023

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!

 

Newest Blog Posts

The inner critic and newly minted work

The inner critic and newly minted work

The inner critic can keep us from doing our best work if we let it. Successful creatives find a way to work around it. I had a conversation with a writer friend last night that reinforced my belief that writing and painting share many commonalities. He has been...

read more
Studying Notan

Studying Notan

Studying Notan will help you create better paintings. Whether you want to prepare for a painting workshop in Umbria or just for an afternoon painting in your local park, notan will help you simplify and test your composition or design.

What is notan?

read more
New Horizons

New Horizons

New Horizons and workshop registrations. You can see a mini-tour of my new space on my instagram page here on my instagram page.

read more