Saturday still life workshop with Eric Jacobsen

I attended Eric Jacobsen's still life workshop today. The class was located at one end of the courtyard at Art on the Boulevard in Vancouver. Eric began by by showing us some books and examples of "expressive" still life. He did a demo for us (that was great), talking throughout about a hierarchy of concerns that we should have... beginning first and foremost with composition. After the demonstration we selected our spot from several different still life set ups. I started with a landscape/horizontal orientation, but had trouble with float-y looking elements. Eric suggested I switch to a portrait/vertical format. Well, that made all the difference! I painted this fruit and vase and felt that I learned a LOT today (especially about integrating objects with other objects). An added bonus from the day was getting to visit Art on the Boulevard and Gallery manager, Kevin Weaver. I also ran into a favorite artist, Mike Rangner. He's having a solo show at Art on the Boulevard in November. There is a group that meets every Saturday for life drawing/painting in the center of the courtyard. Today was a day completely infused with art--and best of all, I get to repeat it in another Saturday workshop with Eric... same place, same station next week. If you get a chance to work with Eric...do not pass it up!