July 11, 2024 10 - 4 pm CST
July 12, 2024 10 - 4 pm CST
July 13, 2024 10 - 4 pm CST
July 14, 2024 10 - 2 pm CST
Bridgeport Art Center, Jeffrey Hirst Studio, Chicago, IL
*price includes some materials not listed.
$500 deposit holds you spot and the balance is due June 1.
You may pay for the class in the following ways:
Online Payment. Click on the payment buttons above.
Call Jeff with a credit card (612-414-3030)
Send a check to Jeff Hirst at: 1200 W 35th Street 3A3120, Chicago, IL 60609
QUIETLY UPSCALE - ABSTRACTION by DESIGN WORKSHOP
Join me and let’s work together as we learn and practice the AbD techniques on large scale panels while focusing on quieting our work. ~Shem
The Abstraction by Design Method is the process of applying layers of paper and paint to build up a surface that enables one to sand, scrape, wet, collage, paint, peel and repeat to create textural designed surfaces thru both controlled and incidental actions (happy accidents).
Upscale
In this workshop we expand our surface dimensions as we upscale to multiple large and mid size panels 3- 30”x30” panels
4- 18”x18”
Quietly
As the cliche suggests “Less is More”.. So, Let’s keep it simple.
To accomplish this concept and keep our work quiet (not busy) requires discipline in our creative process from start to finish.
At the start, we focus on this discipline by pre- designing, pre mixing and pre- selecting our materials and colors. We then segue to view and discuss at length visual triggers, inspiring images, personal notions and ideas of color and composition.
Referencing these visual triggers and pre-editing concepts at the very beginning of our project act as a kind guide or regulator. Encouraging one to keep it simple by guiding us to selectively (limited palette) add and subtract color, lines, forms and shapes incrementally and with purpose to create our abstract compositions.
In other words, we simplify by setting a quiet tone before we even pick up a paint brush.
ReDIRECT
We now redirect and begin applying these materials and (limited) selections to our 3- 30”x 30”large scale panels and 4 -18”x18” mid size panels, employing the AbD method of (layering) paint/collage to establish a working surface for our abstract compositions.
Class Requirements:
Visual references photos Visual trigger images. Inspirational, Compositional/ Graphic images
Favorite collage papers you desire to work with.
Option: Favorite paint colors you desire to work with. (We will mix some paint colors in class)
Materials List:
White latex house paint. (Flat) supplied
Black latex house paint. (Flat) supplied
Acrylic urethane/varnish.(gloss) supplied
Acrylic/latex color paints See blick 00711-1049 or bring your own latex/acrylic color paints.
2- cradled 30” x 30” x 7/8” See Blick 07043-3030
4- cradled 18”x18” x 7/8”. See Blick 07044-1818
Liquid pigment or acrylic paint 2-3 oz raw umber & raw sienna.
20+ sheets 20”x30” black tissue See Papermart
16+sheets 18”x22” newsprint.
Variety of collage papers ( color, pattern, graphics, re-purposed) and color tissue.
1-6”wide flexible broad knife
1-2” putty knife.
1- atomizer (spray bottle)
1- scrubber sponge.
2-3 sheet 80grit sandpaper and 1- sanding block. ( wood block 2.5”x3.5”x.75” works well)
8+ 2” chip brushes.
8+ pint/quart plastic mixing containers with covers
2- plastic gallon bucket (for water).
Scissors, utility knife, wiping rags, paint stir sticks, white cards, artist brushes
Optional: hair dryer or heat gun.
Optional: Additional cradled panels.
About Michael Shemchuk
Michael Shemchuk is an abstract artist living and working in Northern California.
Born in the blue-collar mill town of Lowell Massachusetts in 1954, Shemchuk realized at an early age that his keen eye for color and form, burning curiosity, and love of adventure would necessitate a departure from the culturally spare town of Lowell.
Making a choice that was unpopular, Shem saw service in the military as his ticket out of the surroundings he found so limiting. Shem dove headlong into a world he had never imagined.
Largely self-taught, Shem did not emerge on the art scene in a conventional fashion.
Following his native skills and sensitivities as an artist, his career has criss-crossed the world of applied arts and visual expression. Influenced by studies at the Academy of Art
College and California State University, SF, Shem combined his love for photography, color, and abstraction. The result was an unusual amalgamation of interest and influences. Leveraging his practical skills, Shem supplemented his nascent career as a mixed media artist by practicing the craft of faux finish from the late eighties until 2000.
His work from this period is evident in some of the most noteworthy homes and buildings in the Bay Area. With a keen eye for hue and value, Shem served as a color consultant to numerous architects and interior designers in and around Northern California. His day of reckoning came at the turn of the millennium, when he resolved to focus his efforts on painting and abstraction full time. With the support of his wife, noted interior designer Kathy Farley, he was all in.
Shem’s work has evolved over the last two decades, shaped directly by a close engagement with material and process. From the onset, Shem’s focus has been on
abstraction and design. Influenced by his earlier faux finish work, Shem’s Meridian series, begun in the late nineties, used paint and plaster as primary media. In 2014,
Shem became interested in the changes in art-making stemming from shifts in technology. His response was to re-evaluate traditional materials such as paper and
paint, thus simplifying his approach to abstraction with the Tags series. In 2017, Shem was inspired to further his pursuit of abstraction and design by streamlining his materials and employing process as integral to his work. The result is his Surface Tension series, which is based on an organic process involving water, paper, pressure, friction, and time.
In addition to his art-making, Shem teaches the principles of Abstraction by Design (AbD) to students and fellow artists via workshops and private mentoring. His experiences as a teaching artist over the last four years have inspired and deepened his appreciation for creative community and collaboration.
Artist Statement
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” -Leonard Cohen
In my journey, I have visited this quote many times. As a self-taught artist these words have provided me with a launching pad and a landing site in pursuit of my work. Awareness of the light has assisted me in recognizing my aesthetic and teaching skills. Sensitivity to the light has guided me in choosing the paths presented before me.
Michael Shemchuk QUIETLY UPSCALE - ABSTRACTION by DESIGN WORKSHOP
Payments, cancellations, transfers, and refunds:
Registration for this particular class requires a $500 deposit to reserve your space. With the full balance to be processed 21 days prior to the first day of the workshop.
If YOU have to cancel: Refunds are not available unless we can rebook your place. Please note that the closer we get to the event, the less likely we will be able to find someone to replace you.
If YOU cancel, but we can refill your spot: You will be refunded everything you have paid minus a $100 administrative fee.
If WE have to cancel: We will refund everything you have paid.
How do I know if this painting workshop is going to run?
Jeff will contact registered participants 30 days prior to the start of class to confirm. We caution against making non-refundable travel arrangements until you receive our confirmation email.
If you have any questions regarding any workshop, call 612-414-3030 or email Jeff at jeff@jeffreyhirst.com.