Synthesizing the Landscape with Charles Weed

Introduction

Synthesizing the Landscape is a unique masterclass/workshop that combines drawing on site and painting in the studio.

For the first two mornings of the five-day workshop we will meet in the gardens of Rome’s beautiful Villa Borghese and make drawings with guidance from Charles regarding concept and composition.

For the remaining three days we will convene in the afternoon in the PADASOR studio to create a painting based on the drawings.  (The mornings are free for those wanting to go back to Villa Borghese to make additional drawings.)

  • Recommended Level: Intermediate, Advanced
  • Total Learning Hours: 20

Setting Expectations

“Essentially, the objective of the course is to examine, both theoretically and through studies done outdoors, the elements that might go into making a landscape painting not done ‘en plein air’.

Although this naturally involves much of the subjective, we will be pondering the question of how to integrate ‘objective’, ‘seen’ information with the process of picture-making, and the elusive role of memory.

The focus, in our short time together, will not be on producing a resolved product, of course, but  rather on  how one might continue to develop an aesthetic, based on the natural world, without recourse to photography.”

—Charles Weed

Schedule

Monday – April 15Tuesday – April 16Wednesday – April 17Thursday – April 18Friday – April 19
9:00- 13:00
Discussion and drawing in Villa Borghese		9:00 – 13:00
Discussion and drawing in Villa Borghese		16:00 – 19:00
Painting in the PADASOR Studio		16:00 – 19:00
Painting in the PADASOR Studio		16:00 – 20:00
Painting in the PADASOR Studio

20:30 – 22:00
Farewell Dinner

Please note: the meeting point for the first day in the gardens of Villa Borghese will be communicated via email two weeks before the workshop begins.

Materials

For Drawing
Drawing materials are recommended; something capable of quickly establishing large areas of value, and something more linear to explore precise forms.

Charcoal, ink, or a combination of the two would suffice. This will also be easier to transport to the site.

For Painting

Oil paint will be the medium used for the studio work; this can be full color or more mono-chromatic.

Size: 40×50 cm or smaller, and a fairly even surface, gesso or OIL primed canvas.

If you aren’t sure what colors to bring, here is the palette Charles recommends:

  • Lead White (If you want to avoid the lead, Warm White by Michael Harding or Titanium White)
  • Cadmium Yellow Medium
  • Naples Yellow
  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Cobalt Blue
  • Burnt Sienna or Trans Oxide Red
  • English Red
  • Oxide of Chromium

Food & Accommodations

Each participant is responsible for his or her own food and accommodations.  If you are coming from outside of Rome, we recommend you stay in the Trastevere area relatively close to the PADASOR studio at Via Cardinale Merry del Val 19b.

Accommodation Tips

AirBnB is great resource, else, there is a nice hotel right next to the studio:

Food Tips

Delicious restaurants and pizza places are very close to the studio.  Some of our favorites:

Cost

  • €850
  • A non-refundable Deposit of €400.
  • The remaining €450 is due in cash at the start of the first lesson.
  • Materials not included.  The cost of the the Farewell Dinner is included.

Terms & Conditions

  1. A minimum number of 7 students is needed to run the workshop.
  2. The maximum number of students is 14.
  3. The workshop will be confirmed by March 30th, 2023.
    UPDATE: on February 3rd, 2023, the workshop was officially confirmed.
  4. The Deposit is non-refundable, unless the workshop is canceled on March 30th, 2023.  If that happens, the Deposit will be reimbursed in full.

Questions before registering?  Please contact us.

Register