Painting with Carol Marine

Painting a day workshop in Jacksonville, Fl

with Carol Marine

I took Carol Marine's workshop at Corse Gallery in Jacksonville this past weekend. If you are unfamiliar with Carol Marine's painting a day, check her out. I have learned so much just by following her blog. Carol's workshop was an amazing experience and I learned some valuable information, not just about Carol's painting technique and process, but about the business of being an artist, particularly in selling art online.

Some of the most valuable things I learned from Carol Marine this weekend involve the process of Ala Prima painting, or wet into wet painting. Here is a list of some of the most valid points Carol makes about Ala Prima painting.

Paint what's vulnerable first (I quote Carol) - Have you ever gotten extremely frustrated with a painting that you thought was going well by accidentally making mud of your colors? Carol's idea of painting the "vulnerable" first is an amazing remedy for this problem. Put down your most saturated colors first and don't "fuss" over them! You could refer to this technique as "painting the island" first. It also helps you create interesting edges without creating MUD.

Why hues are bad, or so I have learned - Hues have white in them! I have never understood why I struggled so badly with certain colors, particularly Cadmium Red Hue (in oil paint.) I blamed myself and figured maybe I just can't paint reds very well.

Be deliberate in your brush stokes - Make the important decisions about a brush stroke BEFORE you make it. This is an interesting concept...planning to be unplanned is what I call it. Once you put down a brush stroke, leave it. Don't fuss.

There are many other great things I learned from Carol this weekend, and I can already see an improvement in my painting. I would recommend her workshops to anyone interested in painting every day or in painting ala prima. Painting on a small scale every day helps you enjoy the process and eliminates the agony of entering your painting realm with the huge commitment that painting large can cause.

I will soon post pictures of my work and exercises from the workshop.