Jean Chambers Workshop
Still Life from Life
DATE: Cancelled
COST: $690
SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
This workshop will concentrate on all the rules of art. You will learn to make important decisions before starting a painting, such as establishing the value range, the placement and size of objects on the canvas and the size of the overall painting. How to light and set up a still life.
We’ll be setting up still lifes with fruit, pottery or china and drapery, no flowers in this workshop.
The first part of the workshop will concentrate on “starts”. Instruction will be given on values, edges, color, composition, and palette knife painting, when, where and why to use the palette knife. Painting shapes and not licking. How to start using a fan brush and why. You will learn what it takes to make your painting a more professional work of art. You will be instructed to paint directly with your brush and or knife and finish quickly. Don’t plan on spending a lot of time on a painting, you’ll be surprised how fast you can work if you start correctly. You’ll do several studies. You’ll block in loosely and have a strong finish.
The last part of the class will be on how to finish and clean up a painting. How, where, and why to place sharp edges, loose edges, and simplify values.
I will give demonstrations as necessary/needed or wanted, individual attention and critiques. My workshops are intense and interesting full of information. I want serious “want to learn and get better” students. In a week, you may not have mastered the technique. but you’ll have the knowledge to work toward that.
Jean Chamber's Bio
Jean Chambers grew up on a farm in Alabama and showed a strong interest in drawing and painting as a child, but she took a circuitous route, via the architectural field, to find her career in fine art. On business trips, she began visiting museums and art galleries, which was the roadmap toward her artistic journey. She developed an innate ability to visually dissect a painting, study the integral parts that make up the whole, and gain a sound understanding of the techniques used to build the work. She is an avid student of her craft and enjoys finding differences and similarities in various works of art. She says, “I love the work of Rembrandt, Sargent and Richard Schmid and even though each has his own style, I find strong similarities in their handling of light, color, values and edges.” After leaving what she calls her day job, she traveled for 5 years. She visited major museums and art collections here and abroad. Traveling, staying in motels and B&B’s, she learned to set up small still lifes and work quickly. In those days I rarely missed one day of painting and happily I managed to pay for my travels with quick small paintings that were picked up by galleries and other tourists. It was a magical time but finally time and I learned a lot.
Chambers has now been a professional artist for 20 years. She is represented by some of the best galleries in the nation, Legacy gallery, Whistle Pik gallery, Settlerswest gallery and Ponderosa. She was awarded signature membership of OPA years ago by winning awards in 3 consecutive shows. In 2007, Jean was asked to do videos with the distinguished Liliedahl Video Production company and now has three very successful videos on the market. Her work has been showcased in major magazines such as Art of the West and Southwest Art. She’s in many private and corporate collections including the McCloy collection and is included in the book, Patron Without Peers. She is invited and participates in many national and museum shows including the Small Works Great Wonders show at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the Huntsville Museum of Art, and The Greenhouse Salon show.
Chambers relocated in 2001 from her home/studio on a farm in northern Alabama, ending an 8-year period of rigid self-training, to a ranch near Hereford, Arizona where she became actively involved in instructing aspiring artists in the local area. She is now a sought-after instructor at The Scottsdale Artists’ School, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Fredericksburg Artists’ School in Fredericksburg, Texas, as well as venues in other locations. Her reputation as an outstanding instructor fills her workshops to the point that Scottsdale Artists’ School has her teach two workshops a year on a standing schedule. There is nothing so fulfilling as giving a student the knowledge to create art.
Respected for her luminous still life painting, as well as her figurative and landscape work, Jean Chambers is the recipient of many awards and holds Signature Membership in Oil Painters of America. She spent five years traveling extensively after leaving the architectural field to begin her fine arts career. During that time she studied the Masters in the major museums in this country and abroad. In addition, she has attended workshops given by her contemporaries and amassed and studied a large collection of art books, videos and maintains them for reference. Recognizing the importance of continuous artistic growth for any artist, she sets aside time each day from painting to study and draw. She is represented by Whistle Pik Gallery-Fredericksburg, Tx; Ponderosa Art Gallery-Hamilton, Mt; Trailside Galleries-Scottsdale, Az; and Germanton Gallery-Germanton, N.C.
