Pages from my Moleskin

I've taken many bus and train rides lately...

Awards!

Algonquin Bride

oil on panel

60x46

Its been an amazing month for this painting! Algonquin Bride won Best in Show in the BoldBrush Competition for the month of February. If you are an artist, check out this online, monthly, competition.  It is very inexpensive to submit and the prizes are pretty great.

A few weeks later, Algonquin Bride was awarded a Certificate of Excellence from the Portrait Society of America, in their 2013 International Portrait Competition. This is a huge honour. This year there were nearly 2000 submissions. The top 20 portraits are finalists for the grand prize. 20 other paintings were awarded Certificates of Excellence. Although I am not a finalist, it is so exciting to be in the top 40 in a competition of this calibre.

Yey!!

Spring oil painting workshop!

I am excited for my next oil painting workshop, May 31st- June 2nd. I love teaching workshops and doing demos- there's just so much to say about painting! A description of my next 3 day workshop is below. If you are interested in registering or have any questions please email me at sara.sniderhan@gmail.com

OIL PAINTING WITH SARA SNIDERHAN

Friday May 31st, 5:30pm- 9pm: I will do a 3 hour demonstration on painting a head study from life. Participants are welcome to ask questions, take notes and photographs or video throughout the demo. The demo will take place at the beautiful Ralph Thornton Centre, 765 Queen Street East (Queen and Broadview)

Saturday June 1st, 10am-5pm: Participants will paint a portrait or clothed figure study from a model. I will begin the day by demonstrating how to mix flesh/portrait palette and a brief discussion on composition. Each participant will have ample one-on-one instruction. This session will also take place at the Ralph Thornton Centre.

Sunday June 2nd, 11am- 5:30pm: We will spent this day painting a model outdoors. The focus will be on composition, landscape colour, creating a solid oil sketch of an entire scene and dealing with changing light. I am still scouting the location- however, I will make sure it is TTC accessible, has ample parking and a covered space in the chance of rain.

The cost of the workshop is $325.00 if you bring your own paint or $350.00 if I supply your paint. You are responsible for brushes and panels. I have 4 spare easels that are available to the first 4 participants who ask me for one.

The Art School Project

Peter Mitchell and I are thrilled to be working with St.Stephen's Community House on a free of fee art school for kids and teens who have barriers to accessing extra curricular art classes. The first classes of our pilot project begin this week. Peter is teaching an illustration program and I am teaching drawing and painting. Both programs run after school, in Kensington Market. Registration for the program was incredible. We accepted far more students than we intended. Our registration is now closed and we have a waiting list.
The 14 week pilot project will inform and act as a foundation for a permanent not-for-profit, top notch art school at St.Stephen's. I have been working on this school for a couple of years now and am over the moon now that we are starting! We have an all star advisory committee, including the good folks at Ingram Gallery, that will help insure the sustainability and future of the school. If you have interested in donating to the school please send me an email at sara.sniderhan@gmail.com

Drawing David Leffel

Leffel watching Lipking

carbon on watercolour paper

14"x12"

Just finished this little drawing of the great David Leffel. I drew from a photo that I took of David while he was watching Jeremy Lipking paint during the Weekend with the Masters.

...get back home. Solo exhibition, November 2012

My second solo show at Ingram Gallery has come and gone (November 15th-30th, 2012) but its not too late to share some pictures right!?

Here are some pics and an interview from opening night, some of the work and a few installation shots. The interview explains my intention behind the work- so I won't bother repeating myself in type!

Here is a short Art Sync interview with me on opening night.

To see all of the works from ...get back home and titles and descriptions of the above paintings please visit my other blog- http://bestofsniderhan.blogspot.ca/

Weekend with the Masters, 2012, San Diego

I am catching up with some seriously overdue blog posts and am excited to share some pics and thoughts from my trip to San Diego this past September. My experiences at Weekend with the Masters were rich and undeniably life changing. I gained skills, confidence and amazing friends.

The first demo I attended was a half day portrait demo with Daniel E. Greene. I enjoyed watching him block the head in and learned some great colour techniques.

Daniel E. Greene and his massive palette (which he uses resting on a table)

On my second day I spent the day plein air painting with Kenn Backhaus. We were painting on the beach and it was SO FUN! He is just a delight to watch- he slaps on paint thickly and changes the scene before him to suit his aesthetic. He appears to have a blast painting and that is so refreshing. I learned a tonne about colour and plein air painting from Kenn.

Kenn Backhaus painting

My plein air painting

My 3rd day at WWM was a full day figure painting workshop with one of my favourite artists Michael Klein. He taught me some things about colour, anatomy and how to work the paint on the palette that undoubtedly changed how I paint. 

                                    

Michael Klein working from the model

Klein's demo

my alla prima painting from Klein's workshop

I spent my final day watching Jeremy Lipking paint from the model. I have seen Jeremy demo in New York and at his studio in L.A. From a technical standpoint he is my favourite living painter and it is always magic to watch him work. 

                                   

Jeremy's demo paintings

Even the amazing David Leffel enjoys watching Jeremy paint

So all of the workshops, demos, roundtable and panel discussions were mind-blowing, but the nights were supremely fantastic too! Lots of foods, drinks and sing-alongs. We were chased out of several parts of the hotel and I slept very little! I have to say those Americans have a thriving figurative arts community and they welcomed me into it without hesitation

                                    

Alexey Steele and Jeremy Lipking with Heather and Katie from Jerry's Artarama (who generously picked up the dinner tab for a large table of artists!)

I am giving Danielle Lipking some love on our last night at WWM

                        

 Here I am with Stephen Cefalo- the other WWM scholarship winner and one of the nicest guys ever!

David Kassan playing Jeremy Lipking's mandolin. Oh, and the pools weren't too bad either!