Learning From the Best

The recent Chien Chung Wei workshop held at ArtEscapes YVR in North Vancouver attended by several professional artists from across Canada and the United States was a gold-mine of learning from masterful experience and good teaching. The design principles taught in this watercolor workshop apply to any medium – drawing, oils, etc. California painter Stephen Berry has blessed us even further by summarizing the workshop teachings and experience, and it is well worth your time to head over to Stephen’s well written blog and read his three part “My Chien Chung Wei Workshop” series. As artists we “convey” – evince, express, make known or cause to appear – the synonyms seem endless. We have at our fingertips a tool or medium by which we can do this, and it can be as simple as a stroke or splash of color or as involved as an abstraction or further into a completely developed image. Somewhere between the simple stroke and the highly developed drawing or painting lies a place of intrigue – a place where many experienced artists understand that “less is more” – where what we’re trying to say is best said with fewer words and invites the viewer to become a part of interacting with the image, where their impressions complete the exchange.
Whether we’re new at this or have spent many years at our craft, it is an ongoing and never-ending place of learning. Drawing ateliers and painting schools throughout history were the only places to learn however we are now truly in the days of the “Information Highway” where knowledge is accessible through socially networking “real time” life as well as the internet. When artists come together in workshop environments it is a rewarding and valuable experience, and when they are willing to share their experiences it is a true gift. Thank you Stephen!