About the workshop

Media: acrylics

Levels: beginner to intermediate

This class is designed to capture the feeling of your animal or landscape, in a less realistic style, using  expressive strokes and bold colour. We will work on some of the core techniques I use in my own painting, such as a technique for the underpainting focused on creating your darks and building the painting forward. We build on traditional painting techniques and then let our creative license take over to focus on expression rather than realism. We are working loose, and mixing color on color, exploring brush strokes. Let  the creative take over!

Challenge yourself to experiment with colour, have fun and think in creative ways. We will complete 3 or four paintings during this workshop

Supplies list

Download the supplies list for the workshop.

About the artist

Originally from Westminster, Maryland, USA, I attended art school in Richmond, Virginia, at Virginia Commonwealth University. I moved to Quebec, Canada in the early 1990's and worked in purchasing and product development by day and painted at night. My early work was inspired by many Quebec artists, and to this day I am very much influenced by painter Henri Masson, who created interesting landscapes that were in many ways ahead of their time, leaning towards more abstracted renderings.

A move to Western Canada in 2008 firmly established my love of both the natural landscapes and the wildlife that inhabit them. I draw strong influences from Canada's group of seven, but with my own twist. I have created an abstracted impressionistic style that I use to speak of the land and its wild creatures, particularly the grizzly bears and black bears. My paintings speak of reflective moments, the feeling of the subject being caught in a moment of thoughtful reflection. I play with the visual plane, creating breaks in the spaces so that my subjects appear to be moving in and between other objects or broken bits. This speaks to the fragility of these animals and their habitats, a subject that is of great concern to me.

I am a signature member of The Federation of Canadian Artists (AFCA), a signature member of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) and a Signature member of Artists for Conservation (AFC). My work can be found in numerous galleries across Canada from British Columbia to Quebec.  I often participate in national art shows for my national art groups as well as competitions in the U.S. and have been juried into numerous shows.

I am a Golden Artist Educator, workshop instructor, and participate in fund raising activities through my art.

For more information, please visit my website.

On the web

Visit the artist’s website at: www.anitamccomas.com