Due to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, Suma, La Romita and USK have taken their responsibilities and decided to cancel this workshop.
Want to come back from your travels with a sketchbook full of memories? In this dynamic 4-day workshop co-hosted by La Romita School of Art, you’ll learn techniques for quickly capturing scenes in ink & watercolor as you explore Umbria, Italy. You’ll use gestural line to sketch the essence of fleeting moments, whether it’s people at a cafe in the piazza or clouds over a sweeping landscape. Then you’ll add vibrant color to bring your drawings to life.
Each day will bring new places and subjects to inspire and challenge you: markets, ruins, even vineyards. There will be a mix of demos, exercises, and individual instruction in each location. You’ll come away energized and excited to draw!
Participants will learn to:
- Choose and frame a subject, using compositional principles
- Simplify architecture and people using gestural, dynamic line
- Use appropriate marks for both close-up as well as wide-angle scenes
- Tailor their sketches to the place, using a localized palette of colors and textures
- Add color to their sketches with loose washes, not bound by the lines drawn
- Selectively “break the rules” of color, tools, and paper to get a fresh perspective
- Create a visual narrative of their travels
Workshop details
Day 1
Arrival and orientation- Transfer from Rome to workshop location
- Showcase and intro to the workshop
- Survey of sketchbooking styles - words, pictures, collage, textures
Day 2
Outdoor Sketching BasicsMorning [San Gemini or nearby]
- Warm up, getting loose
- Choosing a subject
- Principles of composition
- Close ups, wide angles
- Techniques for proportion, angles, and perspective
- Measuring and capturing proportional elements and angles
Day 3
Gesture, Place, and ValuesMorning [Todi or nearby]
- Using gesture for suggestion: buildings, people
- Localizing your sketch - textures, unique features
- Simplified scenes, a sense of place
Afternoon [Studio]
- Simplifying values
- Focus on light and shadow
- Ink & wash value sketches; coloring sketches
Day 4
Paint the rainbowMorning: [Montefalco or nearby]
- What color is that? Seeing color in a beige world
- Pushing colors to extremes
- Complementary colors and how to use them for vibrant scenes
- Compositions using contrast and vibrant colors
Afternoon: [Studio]
- Explore options for limited color schemes
- Using different 3- or 4-color palettes
Day 5
Day trip [Assisi or nearby]- Putting all the elements together
- Creating a narrative and adding notes
- Series of sketches to tell a story of a place
- Use a sketch as template for “breaking rules”
- Sketching scavenger hunt
Day 6
Departure - Transfer to Rome for travel homePractical info
When: May 22-27, 2020
Where: Italy (Rome to Umbria and back)
Minimum 10 participants. Beginners welcome. Scholarships available; please inquire when you register.
Fee: $2100. Includes all instruction, airport transfers from/to Rome, dining & accommodations. Pay in full by 30 November 2019 to get 10% off the workshop price.
Register for the workshop by clicking here, or send an e-mail to washington@laromita.org