Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Nationally-acclaimed Watercolor artist Dale Laitinen opens up Abstract Painting world in Mokelumne Hill in Sept and Oct

(Calaveras, Sept 7 2014) – Dale Laitinen, a nationally-acclaimed watercolor artist, will teach "Basic Design Strategies for Abstract Painting" from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m, and "Expanding Watermedia Boundaries: Painting and Collage", October 17-19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Petroglyphe Gallery, 8317 Main St., Mokelumne Hill.

During the Abstract Painting workshop students will learn how to use shapes to create simple abstract compositions and create an abstract painting using the cruciform composition (a cross as its base design). “This strong design scaffolding has unlimited potential in painting, and we’ll uncover its potential in watercolor,” explained Laitinen. Students should bring their own watercolors and materials, as well as a sack lunch.

Cost for the one-day workshop is $85 and advance reservations are required. Seating is limited. Expanding Watermedia Boundaries: Painting and Collage will use watercolor, gesso and collage materials to experiment with abstraction. “This three-day workshop will expand your way of thinking about watermedia,” explained Laitinen. “We’ll broaden our creative thinking and explore the use of materials in entirely new ways. We’ll start with transparent watercolor and build surfaces and space relationships to create exciting paintings. Gesso is used to create opaque layers and surface texture, while collage is added to dramatically change design and create interesting painting surfaces.”

Cost for the three-day workshop is $295. For reservations or more information, call 286-1387. Laitinen has been painting for more than forty years, thirty five of which have been in watercolor. He is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society and Watercolor West. He is a graduate of San Jose State University with a BA in Art and has been a juror of many national and regional exhibitions. He recently was the sole judge at a prestigious national show at Haggin Museum in Stockton.

A native of northern Minnesota, Laitinen has lived and traveled across the American West and this figures prominently in his work. After college he spent eight years as an independent trucker hauling freight across country. In 1985 he turned to painting full-time.

His work has been featured in The Artist’s Magazine, Watercolor Magic, Watercolor Magazine and Drawingboard Magazine and in several books including The Splash Series, Painting with the White of Your Paper and The Transparent Watercolor Wheel. An active workshop instructor, Laitinen teaches workshops around the United States and in Europe, and enjoys teaching his classes at Petroglyphe Gallery every year.



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