Best birthday ever! Painting with Terry Isaac

Last week I had a wonderful experience! I gave myself a PRESENT for my birthday this year and I took a 4 day workshop in Mississauga with Terry Isaac who is a wildlife painter from Penticton B.C. I learned SO much. He taught 11 of us a lot about composition, what makes a good painting and his own method of getting the paint on the board. He has a very different way of approaching the initial painting stages that helps the artist avoid the dreaded ugly-stage of a painting. If you ever get a chance to paint with him - take it! He also has DVDs that show his process which are very good too.

Terry has been painting for 25 years. His career took off when Robert Bateman "discovered" him at a workshop and suggested that Mill Pond press should promote his work. Terry Isaac is a very well known wildlife artist. Here's Terry's website so you can see the quality of his work! I was SO excited to get to study with him!

I won this original Terry Isaac demo of a Red winged blackbird :-)

Terry is such a friendly, down-to-earth, generous person - it was a joy to listen to him teach, watch him demonstrate his painting method and I just SOAKED in everything I could. He critiqued paintings that some of the students brought, he did several "mini-demos" to show how he paints various things -like eyes, fur, water, rocks and reflections etc. I won the Red Winged Blackbird demo :-)  He was showing how he scumbles the background in this demo.

The best thing about the four day workshop I must say was the delicious dessert that Terry "helped" put together at the BBQ on Thursday night! A fruit custard flan -The fruit was Expertly arranged by a Professional Artist!

After one of the classes we went on a photo shoot with Terry to the Rattray Conservation Area - a marshland area on Lake Ontario. I got some good photos of a Trumpeter Swan family. My camera was MUCH smaller than his. Still got some good photos with my little point and shoot.

Terry Isaac and me! :-)

(what a great birthday present this year!)