Eric Wiegardt Workshop

I just returned from a wonderful week of painting with Eric Wiegardt in Myrtle Beach, SC. I always enjoy the workshops that Springmaid Watermedia sponsors in the fall and spring at their ocean front resort/hotel (http://www.springmaidwatermedia.com/). Eric is a very analytical guy, yet his paintings exhibit a very loose feel. His approach is based on values and getting the big shapes in first. Once the light, mid, and dark shapes are set, he then puts in a darker light in the light, a darker mid in the mid, and a darker dark in the dark to spark interest. But he is careful to make sure that these in-between values only appear in their respective ranges.

At first I found the idea of imposing such a rigid structure a bit restrictive, but I decided to try it anyway since I already work in the three value format and what is the point of taking a workshop if unwilling to try new things. What I found was that these in-between values actually made it easier to keep track of the values and gave me more freedon in adjusting the warms and cool hues as well as the intense and dull chromas.

Eric also dips his "mop" brushes into several colors with very little mixing prior to hitting the paper, which may be wet or dry or both. Thus, he gets rich blending on the paper along with a variety of textures. It is fun to watch, and he genuinely seems to have fun doing it. It made me wish that I had my Chinese brushes (squirel, horsehair, rabbit, etc) with me. Eric did provide some of his brushes for participants to try, but I'll try it with my own Sumi tools this week.

Eric is a nice guy, a serious artist, and a very good teacher. I highly recommend him.