Art Colony Registration
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STORY BY BETSY ILER
Alabama Art Colony will take on a retreat format this fall when its signature painting event returns to Children’s Harbor on Lake Martin after COVID19 restrictions canceled last year’s main event, said board member Barbara Grimes. “The artists’ retreat offers a time to retreat into creativity in art and to get away from everyday stress,” Grimes said. Now in its 29th year, Alabama Art Colony last month opened registration for the five-day painting retreat and workshop that began in 1992 when Sarah Carlisle Towery’s children hosted a birthday party painting event for their mother. Since then, artists have gathered annually at the lake for studio classes, one-on-one instruction and camaraderie with other artists. The event has grown to include as many as 50 artists, as well as an art walk, a trading card event, an awards ceremony and opening and closing receptions. Room, board and instruction are included in the registration fee, which varies according to accommodation preferences. Registration details are available at alabamaartcolony.org. Registered artists will choose an instructor from this year’s instruction team and will study with that instructor for the entire event. This year’s instruction team includes artists Trish McKinney, Jean Pederson and Aline Ordman. McKinney will guide artists to connect with the creator within them through negative painting, lost and found edges and color theory. Artists will learn to create colorful and patterned gel printed papers that will become the surface of their paintings. The fast-paced workshop will explore how to connect colors, patterns and textures to create wonderful paintings. Pederson will encourage artists to use all forms of acrylic products and collage in painting referential subjects and shifting to stylizing and transitioning to non-referential imagery. The emphasis on Pederson’s workshop will be on mixed media, largely focused on water-soluble medium. Ordman will focus on dynamic painting and using abstract thinking to create illustrative paintings. “Painting is learning to see,” Ordman said. “Often, we paint what we think we see because we all have preconceived notions of what something looks like.”
Along with daily painting demonstrations, Ordman will emphasize the understanding of color in terms of temperature, intensity and value in both oils and pastels. Artists in her workshop will experiment with exciting color while maintaining value and intensity. “Let’s say goodbye to overworked tight paintings and learn to create loose, bold but still illustrative work,” she said. The event will begin on Friday, Oct. 1, with a meet-and-greet session and dinner. Studio time with optional lecture instruction will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday through Tuesday and conclude at 5 p.m. each day, with dinner and evening activities to follow. Evening activities include an art walk in which registered artists and instructors will display completed works that they have brought with them to the colony event. Hors d’oeurves will be served, and artists will be allowed to sell their displayed works if they choose to do so. A favorite activity among returning artists, the trading card exchange event is another evening activity. Artists will create 12 business-card sized paintings to exchange for those of other artists. “Everyone goes home with 12 small, quick samples,” Grimes said. At the awards ceremony, the instructors will judge works by registered artists and present two merit awards. A peer award also is presented. Stonehenge Art Gallery in Montgomery donates a meal for artists at each year’s event, and Red Hill Kitchen will donate a meal this year as well. Nutritionist and chef Betty White in Alexander City prepares meals for the event at Children’s Harbor. Those artists who are unable to attend the October retreat could sign up for one or more quarterly uno events – one day with one artist – one-day workshops with a well-known professional artist. These events most recently have been held at Opelika Art Haus and at Emporium Wine in Alexander City from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost for uno events is $95, which includes lunch and some materials or paints. CDC guidelines are followed at Alabama Art Colony events. For details, visit the colony’s website at alabamaartcolony.org or call Grimes at 334-546-2233.
JUNE 2021
LAKE 21
