Plein Air Figure Painting from the Model in Harwich with Heather Blume

Located half way between the seaside town of Harwichport and the historic village of Harwich, this artist’s studio workshop offers participants the opportunity to paint an arranged model amid a rural Cape Cod setting. Initially, the class will convene in the artist’s studio barn for an introductory talk and demonstration on the fundamentals of painting. Next, class members will convene at a predetermined site adjacent to the studio to begin work. Even though most of the class time will be spent painting the figure ‘en plein air’, preliminary sketches will made before beginning each new painting. Drawing is an essential building block when commencing to execute the effect of light on form. In case of rain, it is just a short step to the studio barn where the class will reconvene for an interior painting experience with the model.

Throughout the week Heather will take time to listen to and work with each student equally, thus adapting to various levels and visions while allowing for a fair measure of high spirits each afternoon presents the participants. All levels are welcome.

Heather Blume graduated from the University of Florida with a BFA summa cum laude in painting, from the Graduate School of Figurative Art of the New York Academy of Art with an MFA cum laude in sculpture and completed the Advanced Art Appraisal Certificate Program at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Currently she exhibits her artwork on a regular basis. Several of her sculptures have been added to the permanent collections of the Cape Cod Museum of Art, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and the Cahoon Museum of American Art. She is also featured in the book, Cape Cod Contemporary Artists, People and Places by Deborah Foreman. Internationally, her works are included in the permanent collections of the British Museum, and the Royal Coin Cabinet of Sweden in Stockholm.

Blume is the recipient of several art awards and grants, including the State of Florida, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. She is a member of the National Association of Women Artists and her work is listed in the registry of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

In tandem with her studio practice, Blume has been professionally teaching art and giving workshops for over 20 years. Her teaching philosophy is based on combining the fundamentals of western art with intuitive creative processes and her practice focuses on the current import of nature in relation to the human condition.