The Fabric of a Still Life Painting with Debra Keirce

Master artists have studied fabrics for centuries. When you learn to realistically draw and paint the folds in fabric, you are learning to turn form. That means you are learning magic. In this three day workshop, students will spend the first day exploring different fabric textures and folds in a still life. By the end of the workshop, students will have learned the essential steps to creating a realistic painting. Students will be working from photographs provided by the teacher in order to focus on painting techniques instead of drawing.

Originally from Detroit, Debra Keirce is an accomplished woman artist in contemporary realism. In her Northern Virginia studios, she paints in oils up to four feet tall, with a specialty in true miniature pieces as small as your palm. Debra has earned several honors in acclaimed art circles. She is proud to be a US coast guard artist, and winner of the 2022 George Gray award. She is the recipient of a rare artist residency at sea with crew on the U.S. National Security Cutter Stone. Also, eleven of her paintings were commissioned and are hanging prominently in the newly remodeled Boston Langham 5 star hotel. Debra is an Art Renewal Center Living Master, (ARCLM) and holds signature memberships in the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society, American Women Artists, Southwest Artists, and Miniature Artists of America. Learn more about Debra on her website.

Testimonials from past Debra Keirce workshop participants:
“Not enough words to tell you how much I enjoyed the workshop and your hospitality. It was the best in every way. Because you thought of everything I could enjoy the class without a lot of the dreads that usually accompany attending workshops. The atmosphere created a spirit of cooperation. And that, my dear, is the result of all your hard work. With deep appreciation”
-Linda
“Thank you for all your hard work. I feel like I’m getting my masters degree, delving deeply into art and filling in all the holes in my education.”
-Carol
“I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the workshop! Thank you so much for hosting…Frankly, I got into a little slump with my painting prior to the workshop. I feel like I am inspired now to take my paintings to the next level. It was also great to meet new friends!”
-Michael

Artist Statement: “My passion is to create beautiful art that puts a smile in your heart. When you view one of my paintings it whispers stories to you. Using oil colors, I paint realistic artwork from 2 inches to 4 feet tall. My still life, portrait, landscape, animal and miniature paintings are in private, government, corporate and museum collections across the world. Often, people see a piece that urges them to ask if I can paint it in a different size or color. The answer is always yes! I delight in painting commissions. I have worked hard to earn signature memberships and awards in many societies and art shows. Art is the way I communicate my love for America, for the beauty in things that are odd and vintage, for the legacy of the golden age artists. Please put a smile in MY heart and join me on this journey.” -Debra Keirce

SUPPLY LIST

Support: Gessobord by Ampersand approx size Flat, 1/8″ thick, approx size 11″x14″ Suggested LINK to purchase
***Please do not bring canvas. I prefer gessobord panels made by Ampersand. I don’t use canvas, and other panels can vary in how slick they are, or how much of the paint they absorb.

Medium: Solvent Free Gel medium by Gamblin

Brushes: A set of synthetic brushes – There are a lot of student grade brush sets available on Amazon dot com that work just fine. If you really want to spend more money on brushes, a brand I like are the Catalyst line by Princeton, and they are available online at Dick Blick Art supplies. Have several large to very small, very soft mop brushes. I actually often use makeup brushes. You can find very inexpensive sets on Amazon.

Cleanup: Gamsol for cleaning your brushes is optional. You can just use a mild soap like Dawn dishwashing detergent that I will have available. Please do not bring any solvents that have an odor, like lavender spike oil or maroger.

Paper towels for wiping your brushes. I like the blue shop towels.

A palette. A styrofoam plate works too.

Paints: For the oil paints, I like Gamblin artists colors.  You can create pretty much any color using these:
– Phthalo blue
– Quinocradone magenta
– Hansa yellow light
– Titanium white
– Burnt umber

There are also some supplies I will invite you to use, because it annoys me to go to workshops and buy things I may never use again. These are supplies I use in my process, but you can easily work on your own without them. I only list them in case you love them after using them, and want to buy them for yourself.

Acrylic paints for the initial underpainting: By using acrylic, I can be sure that your first underpainting layer is dry in time for our next session. You can use oil for the underpainting when you are at home and have a few days to wait for it to dry. I will provide high flow acrylic paint such as Matisse or Golden or Chroma Atelier.
– Quinocradone magenta or the brightest pink you can find
– Hansa Yellow, or the brightest you can find
– Phthalocaine blue or the brightest blue you can find
– Orange – such as cadmium orange medium
– Red – such as cadmium red medium
– Primary Green such as Emerald Green

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

June 26, 27 & 28 (Monday-Wednesday)

10:00am-4:00pm

$300 for all three days includes lunch. Or $120 for Monday only includes lunch.

Fabric of a Still Life Workshop

All 3 Days $300.00 USDFirst day only $120.00 USD