Level: all

Sept 22 - Oct 20, 2022

Thursdays

1:30-4pm

5 weeks

Instructor: Susan Fehlinger

Instructor's website

Fee: $195

THE ART OF THE KNIFE

Matisse, Cezanne, VanGogh—many of the great artists used the palette knife to create  more dynamic paintings.  Learn to add texture and highlights and a little edge; to mix colors right on your canvas and enjoy the spontaneity and the accidents.  Roll with the joys and challenges of using the palette knife to unlock your creative freedom. Watch instructive demos, practice making marks with the knife and you’ll begin creating fresher,  looser paintings. We’ll be covering a variety of subject matter to show how versatile this tool can be. We’ll also be experimenting with mediums to achieve transparent glazes and layering effects. Students may work in oils or acrylics.

Supply List

TOOLS  One or two palette knives – Dick Blick has a starter set of 3 for $18. that are good sizes. Or you can get them individually for $5-$8 each.  I use a  4” knife with rounded edges. (Blick’s #96 or Jerry’s #49T)

You may want a shorter one also for detail.

PAINT  You can use oils or acrylics. Some suggested colors below. Feel free to bring your favorites.

  • Lemon Yellow
  • Cadmium Yellow
  • Indian Yellow or Yellow Ochre
  • Cadmium Orange
  • Cadmium Red
  • Quinacridone Rose or Alizarin Crimson
  • Dioxazine Purple
  • Cerulean or Manganese Blue
  • UltraMarine or Cobalt Blue
  • Prussian or Indigo Blue
  • Olive Green
  • Van Dyke Brown or Asphaltum
  • White–whichever one you like (Titanium, Flake, Zinc, etc.)

MEDIUMS:

  • For oils: Gamblin Solvent Free Gel (tube) or Solvent Free Fluid
  • For acrylics: Winsor & Newton Galleria Acrylic Gel Medium or Liquitex Gel Medium

PALETTE FOR MIXING – Paper, wood, plastic, whatever you use in your studio.

CANVAS:   16 x 20, or 20 x 20

plus an extra inexpensive canvas or two for practicing.

About Susan Fehlinger

Susan Fehlinger had to be content to be an occasional painter during her 30+-year career as a Television Producer in New York City. She attended art classes at The School of Visual Arts at night, and painting workshops in the summers but for the most part she is a self-taught artist.

In 2003 she quit her job in NYC, bought a bed and breakfast on Cape Cod and began painting more seriously. She joined the Chatham Art Gallery on the Cape in 2007, and was represented by Sheldon Fine Arts in Newport RI, as well as True North Gallery in Kennebunkport ME and She had solo shows at The Cultural Center of Cape Cod and The Cahoon Museum of American Art.

In 2014 she relocated to Black Rock CT in order to be closer to NY city, and branched out to other themes such as coastal architecture and cityscapes. Fehlinger’s paintings depict familiar, yet abstracted scenes. Her painting style emphasizes her interest in texture, color and light; and she applies her paint thickly with a palette knife to highlight structure, form and shadow. Her compositions play with scale, placement, and negative/positive spaces, creating visual interest and an individual style.

She is an active member of the Artists Collective of Westport and an exhibiting member of the Rowayton Art Center, Silvermine, and the Ridgefield Guild of Artists.

For a treat, watch this video of Susan Fehlinger being interviewed by artist Miggs Burroughs for the Westport Library:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLZx9KIhYU0&list=PLRvmQu76JuJZV_7E9nhxS6-dOpC86Ulcc&index=6

A note about Covid compliance:  You can be assured that RAC is doing everything possible to keep its customers and staff safe from the Corona Virus.  Our studio is spacious and airy with excellent air circulation and plenty of room for people to stay safely distanced from one another.  Every student will have a 5′-6′ foot table of their own on which to work and will have their own set of supplies.

As always, please do not come to the studio if you are feeling sick or have the following symptoms:  cough, fever, shortness of breath (other than the excitement of seeing us), sudden loss of smell or taste, chills, body aches, or sore throat.