Connect with your wild wonder

The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology is hosting this online workshop. I invite you to connect with your love of nature, to connect with the Sitka Center, and to connect with others as you learn painting and mixed media techniques. Using a flower, leaf, or other bit of nature that you have gathered before the workshop as your starting point, you will be guided step by step to create a layered painting. You will learn a bit about color mixing, composition, negative space, adding supporting details, and more. This beginner-friendly workshop will consist of a rhythm of live instructional time balanced with independent working time, with the ability to ask questions and interact with other participants throughout the day. The Sitka Center will be streaming nature for us as well throughout the workshop, so we can visit them virtually!

Please join us in this workshop, no matter what your experience is with painting! Registration is via the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology.

Once you sign up, here is what you can expect:

Prior to the workshop:

• Gather your materials

• Complete two optional assignments to begin the creative process.  You will receive videos & guided instructions to:

  • Take a nature walk to collect imagery for your painting

  • Mix color to create a Palette of Place.

During the workshop weekend:

• We will be working on one full painting start to finish. 

• You will receive an instructional handout with step-by-step instructions for the techniques that we will be doing together.

• During the live workshop, we will have several live interactive video calls each day where I will be demonstrating each technique in sequence and answering questions while you follow along at home.

• You will be able to ask questions and have them answered throughout the two days together.

• You can also visit with the other participants in the course and virtually visit the Sitka center while they live-stream nature from the coastal campus. 

• By the end of the workshop you will have a layered, mixed-media painting lush with imagery from your nature walk and the colors that you chose. 

• This process is suitable for beginners and experienced painters alike. This is going to be so much fun.  We look forward to CONNECTING with you!

More details about the online format of this workshop:

• This process is appropriate for all levels and is very satisfying.

• Each step of the process will be demonstrated and then you will implement what you just learned on your own piece

• No Zoom fatigue! You will be free to stay on Zoom during your working time or turn it off between live sessions.

• You will also have an instructional .pdf with photos and written instructions to guide your process.

• If you have questions or run into difficulty, I will be there to help, just as in an in-person workshop.

You will learn the following art techniques:

• You will learn how to create a palette of paint colors based on natural objects.

• They will learn about composition, and creating imagery with negative space in a method I like to call the “window” technique.

• You will use collage, paint pens, and other media to add rich layers of visual texture to your painting.

• You will learn how to make the focal point “pop” against the background and how the detail work serves to create variation and visual rhythm in the final painting.

About my teaching philosophy:

• My methodology is tried and true: In 2017, I created an online course covering these techniques, and since then I have taught this process to hundreds of artists. Participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. As a teacher (and generally upbeat person), my main goal with this workshop is that you feel connected with your ability as an artist and delighted with your painting. I respect each your choices and I help you solve your own dilemmas. I am patient and sensitive to the anxieties that many people bring to an art workshop. You can trust this process, and you can trust the artist within you!

A bit more about the format of the workshop:

• There will be three live, interactive video calls each day, approximately one hour long. There will an independent work session between each of the calls (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). During these sessions, participants can choose to either leave the Zoom room or stay there. If there are questions, they can be typed into the Zoom chat and Annamieka will address them as they arise.  If you choose to take a break from the screen and leave the Zoom room during the independent working session, you won’t miss anything crucial.  During the live calls, lessons learned and questions that came up during the independent working time that were asked and may be of interest to everyone will be shared. Then, the next step in the process will be demonstrated.

• You are welcome to be as social or as private as you wish: you can stay in the Zoom room during the independent working time with your computer camera facing your work, or you could do the entire workshop with your camera turned off for privacy, if that makes you comfortable. No pressure! Our only requirement is respect for other participants.

The class will take place on Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd, from 10am-4pm

Our estimated schedule will be:

Saturday August 1st:

10am-11am: Live session—Welcome, introductions, and demonstration of selecting which specimen to use for the subject. Demonstration of mixing colors based on the specimens.

11am-12pm: Independent work session 

12pm-1pm: Live session #2—Composition planning, creating a background, negative space “window” technique

1pm-2pm: Independent work session 

3pm-4pm: Live session #3—negative space “window” technique, wrap up for the day.

Sunday August 2nd:

10am-11am: Live session—Welcome and demonstration of outlines, lines, and dots; adding detail and working in the colors.

11am-12pm: Independent work session 

12pm-1pm: Live session #2—Unifying fine details 

1pm-2pm: Independent work session 

3pm-4pm: Live session #3—Finishing touches, answering any final questions, and celebration! 

Frequently Asked Questions

I don’t have Zoom. I use FaceTime and Skype. Do I need to have Zoom?

Yes, you will need to download the free Zoom software in order to participate. 

Will I be able to see what the teacher is doing on Zoom? My experience with Zoom is poor visuals.

Annamieka has lots of experience with teaching via Zoom, and she will be teaching from her studio, which is set up specifically for this. She has the lighting to ensure that you will see clearly.

What about all of the audio chaos during Zoom calls? Will that make for an overwhelming experience?

Annamieka will make judicious use of “mute all” while doing the demonstrations so that participants can hear her and not be distracted by other sounds. There will be other times when she will unmute everyone so people can speak questions or comments (in addition to typing these into the chat, which will always be an option). 

What do I do if I have to miss some of this workshop?

No problem. Each of the live Zoom calls will be recorded and posted on a password-protected page of Annamieka’s website. Participants in this Sitka workshop will have exclusive access to the recordings on this page. We will also post the instructional handout and the videos for the materials, nature walk, and palette of place videos on this page. 

What do I do if I have trouble with Zoom during the workshop?

We will help you troubleshoot as best we can.  Prior to the workshop, we will provide you with a Zoom link where you can join a test call and test out your audio and video.  During the workshop, if you have Zoom issues, first we encourage you to make sure you are connected to wifi. If that does not work, we ask that you log out of Zoom, re-start your computer, and re-open Zoom. If you need help, you can always call the Sitka office. Tamara of the Sitka Center will be assisting with the workshop and can help troubleshoot special cases. 

Can more than one person in my household take this class? Do we count as one participant or two?

This is on the honor system. We ask that you sign up as two participants if you are both participating in the course, making a painting, requesting support, asking questions, etc.  

Do you have questions about this workshop? Contact me and I will help you out!