Backyard Tree, studio landscape painting

The image above is the result of  a three day studio landscape painting class that I took at The Atelier in Minneapolis.  It was taught by landscape artist and plein air enthusiast, Brian Stewart.  This painting began life as a plein air study that I did of the wonderful tree across the alley from our new St. Paul home.

I do love a good workshop.  I think it’s so fascinating to see another artist’s working process.  How do they start? What stages does a painting go through? Do they treat all subject matter the same?  Brian was an excellent teacher, and with a very small class, it really gave us an opportunity to ask a lot of questions and get some answers.