Randall David Tipton workshop

by Jo Reimer

Refuge
Watermedia on Yupo
20" x 13"

Refuge
matted

I participated in a workshop with Randall David Tipton over the weekend, making paintings on Yupo, a plastic "paper" from Japan. Randall shared his methods for using watercolor and acrylic paints and mediums on this interesting surface, but most importantly he talked to us about interacting with the landscape and remembering the emotion of the moment in order to make a painting without being photo-realistic. We mostly painted from memory.

In the past as I've moved through the landscape and been moved by the beauty of this earth, my thoughts have been rather useless for informing future work. I didn't think carefully about what I was seeing. I didn't ask questions of myself, like 'what is it about that patch of brush that I find beautiful?' or 'why does this particular sunset move me to tears?' 

I do take a lot of photographs and am careful about compositon which does help with memory, as does sketching. But being mindful about the emotions of the moment is necessary to making good paintings later.

Undersea
Watermedia on Yupo
20" x 13"

Undersea
matted
A mat makes a big difference in
the presentation of a finished piece.

Randall's website is here and his blog is here. His work is available at the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach and directly from him. His price list is on his blog.

My work is also available.