Painting the Italian Landscape, a 6 day-long workshop:

Painting on location, from life, is the best way to understand the relationship between value, color and shape.  This workshop will teach students how to quickly paint a scene, getting the basic information down on the canvas, rather than the enhanced detail of the studio.

A typical day: In the morning, workshop attendees will meet at a designated location where I will give a painting demonstration lasting for approximately 60 to 90 minutes. After the demonstration, the students may choose their painting location and set up to paint.  If it is near lunchtime, some may wait till after the lunch break to begin their painting.  Throughout the afternoon, I will provide instruction to each student individually as I walk from one to the next.  In the late afternoon, the class will meet for a critique.  (If the weather is bad, we will meet in the studio to paint and/or for the critique). 

Midweek, during the six-day workshop, there will be a “free paint” day wherein students are encouraged to paint anywhere they wish and/or to take a field trip.  Paintings from free paint day will be critiqued the next day.

Coordinator Biography: 

An award-winning artist from York, Maine, Stan Moeller excels in his ability to paint diverse subject matter: landscapes, cityscapes, interiors, and figurative works.  Less interested in technical reality than the mood of reality, he uses spontaneous brushwork and vibrant color to capture the way light moves around and affects a subject as much as the subject itself.  

Moeller’s journey as an artist began with a major in Fine Art and Life Drawing at Western Michigan University.  His interests have led him from the mountains and marshes of coastal New England to the ancient cities of Tuscany and back again to the figure.  His recent works focus on the inner journey of the figure: at work, in thought or in motion.  Moeller said, “I try to depict the interior landscape    the personality or intention   of the figure doing ordinary tasks.”

Moeller’s paintings are represented by galleries from Naples, Florida to Santa Barbara, California and have been recently featured in National Art magazines, such as the June 2009 issue of American Art Collector, as well as Southwest Artist and International Artist Magazine. He has won several awards, including the Marine Environment Wildlife Award for Best Depiction of Wildlife in its Natural Habitat, in the 25th Annual International Marine Art Show, at The Maritime Gallery at the Mystic Seaport.