Abby Ryan: The Poetics of Painting

“Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks.” – Plutarch

Painting is about paying attention and capturing a moment. Paying attention in a contemplative way allows you to have a fulfilling relationship with your painting subject. As painters, we get excited about the exchange of energy manifested through gesture, movement, weight, edges, texture, and color harmony.

Spending time pushing paint around is a lifelong journey. In this workshop, we will explore the poetics and magic of painting. How can a painting be simultaneously meditative and thrilling? The hope is that finding ones place in this inquiry can motivate you to paint often and deepen your purpose on your artistic path.

Drawing on her acclaimed career as a painter and teacher, Abbey begins by discussing topics such as selecting painting subjects, concepts and content in still life painting, poetic realism, and her strategies to begin and finish a painting in one sitting. Abbey also shares her thoughts on beauty, gesture, the Old Master’s concept of light as a subject, alla prima painting, celebrating the sensitivities of a brush, and the role of still life painting in 2019.

Through lectures, demonstrations, and one-on-one instruction, Abbey reveals all of the techniques and methods that have made her daily painting practice so successful and prolific. While working in the studio together, Abbey will address subtleties of color mixing, lighting, materials, blogging, galleries, social media, marketing, and more.

Abbey provides specific, actionable methods and inspiring tips tailored to you to help you move forward in painting. For all levels, beginner through advanced.