Workshops

BETHANNE KINSELLA-COPLE Rockland Capturing the Coast!

Bethanne’s 2021 class, her first with us was one of those where no one wanted to leave when it was over!   

Bethanne’s plein air landscape paintings are known for their lush painterly quality. Loosely painted yet realistic.

 In Bethanne’s workshop, Capturing the Coast: Atmosphere, Moods and Methods,  you will gain the tools and techniques for developing your personal style while simplifying the complex elements found in nature, to build a solid composition. 

Bethanne will include daily demonstrations, critiques, and discussion of materials and techniques. We’ll paint plein air unless Maine’s weather is uncooperative; our studio’s view is a fine alternative if necessary, but do bring several photos to use as references should we need to paint indoors!

Bethanne loves to paint, juicy, expressive, passionate paintings, and to share everything she knows. You’ll paint like a boss! and learn to keep your paintings fresh by analyzing and expressing the atmospheric effects of the day, not by trying to create a literal rendering of the scene.  Prepare to have fun!

You will work extensively on composition and design and values. Bethanne believes the first step in any painting is a strong Notan (light and dark pattern). The Notan is the foundation of the composition. It is how your painting grabs the viewer from across the room…the rule of 3:3;3!

The Rule of 3:3:3: A strong design will draw the viewer first from 3 yards…then at 3 feet they will see interesting, bold brush and knife work, thick and thin passages, and finally, from 3 inches they’ll see all the wonderful moments, nuances of temperature, subtle brush and knife work.Bethanne’s criteria for a good painting: a strong compositional foundation, beautifully subtle & harmonious color, and juicy, deliciously interesting paint handling! **************************************************************************************************

 Bethanne Kinsella Cople: Over the course of her career Bethanne has received many honors. . Most recently, she received the “Award of Excellence” at the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters annual exhibit, Jackson Hole, Wyoming; the “Dick Bell Bookmaven” Award of Excellence, American Impressionist Society, Annual National Exhibit, Tennessee; “People’s Choice Award”, at the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, New York, New York exhibition; and twice won “Best Pastoral”, at the Plein Air-Easton Invitational Paintouts, Easton, Maryland. She also received “Honorable Mention” at the Eleventh and Fifteenth Annual Invitational Paintouts, Carmel, California; and “Best Traditional Painting,” 107th and 113thAnnual Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Open Exhibition, National Arts Club, New York City. She was also honored to have her painting “White Barn, Cool River” on the set of the USA TV series, “Necessary Roughness”, and in the major motion picture “Vice” as “an artist to watch” by Southwest Art Magazine landscape edition. Bethanne has served two terms as President of American Women Artists and Board member and is on the Board of The Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters.

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      1. Some General Class Information:

 

  • Do bring layers for 3 seasons and rain gear…Maine weather changes in a blink and we really never know with any certainty from day to day! We’re fairly informal most everywhere tho, depending on where you eat out…many times, students just clean up in the studio, then head straight to a restaurant…

  • We‘ll process your payment after we get your online Registration and will email you a receipt. A $300 deposit will hold your space. Cancellation and Refund info is at the bottom of the Registration Form…(please do read the Policies before you check that you have!)

  • We’ll send a Supply List and more detailed info after you Register, and again about 2 weeks before the class. Print and tuck into your painting kit…then you’ll know where to find it all! It has the answers to most of your questions!

  • If you will need mediums, let me know and I will have them here for you to buy when you get to class. You are also welcome to ship materials to arrive the week before…ask about details!

  • The first day, the Studio will open at 8:15 AM… Classes run M-F usually between 8:30-4:30, but the exact hours are at the Instructor’s discretion…always an average of 6 hours/day, but starting and ending times may vary according to your instructor.

  • We always have a 1 hr lunch break, to use or not, it’s up to you…and a lunch plan depending on where we are painting. We order in the AM and deliver to your location…you pay in cash on the last day before you leave!

  • We no longer provide bottled water: make sure you have at least one refillable water bottle! Tap water is fine to drink…

  • Our Studios are large, with good light, one with waterviews; you’ll have table space and you are welcome to leave equipment etc. there for the duration of the class. 

  • The Plein Air plan for the day is weather-dependent and decided at the end of the previous day if possible, or more likely, when we meet in the Studio each morning! Make sure your Class Monitors know where you have set up, and try to stay close to the demo area. Less running around for them, more time for feedback to you!

  • There is free parking at the Studio building, which is within a few blocks of downtown.

  • We usually carpool  (or sometimes walk if it’s close) to Plein Air painting sites, many of which have shade and at the least, a porta-potty or nearby facilities. You will get good directions. Please, do NOT depend on your GPS unless we say so!

  • Each class has an experienced Monitor (or two!) as your Go-To person for any problems or needs…please ask…we all will do our absolute best to see that you have a great class experience!

  • Downtown has great galleries, shops and food and the area is full of wonderful places to paint, many accessible to the single painter that a class can’t utilize…if you can, take a look around!

  • For Lodging (scroll down that page for Belfast) and Travel info, click on the buttons on the Home Page.

  • If you have any problems, tell us!! We can’t fix anything if we don’t hear till you get home. Be sure to contact us with any questions. Thanks!