Ben Junta Workshops
Contemporary Landscape Painting
Developing Technique, Learning to See
This is a new course offering for 2022. While I love to teach outdoors as well, the pandemic has made that quite a challenge. I am offering this online class as a way for students to learn new skills, enhance already learned skills, and perhaps most of all to have a sense of online community in which to interact and keep communication alive with other artists, be they brand new or seasoned painters.
February 28 - April 4, 2022
Course will run for 6 consecutive weeks with new modules released each Monday beginning Feb 28
$600
Contemporary Landscape Painting
This course offers a fresh approach to landscape painting for the seasoned veteran and beginning painter alike. Students will explore freely within the structure of essential painting principles, yet with the intention of exploring ideas with an open mind, unfettered by unnecessary rigidity. Not all trees are green, and not all skies and oceans are blue. I will help you to keep your paintings feeling fresh, spontaneous, and lively. Each week we will build on ideas from the previous week and, by the end of week 6, you will have enough inspirational techniques and skills to develop/begin to develop landscapes on your own.
The course includes:
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Course Syllabus and materials list emailed upon registration
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In-depth video tutorials on prep work, materials, underpainting, composition, building color, texture, light & shadow, detail, and more
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Private Facebook Group
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Weekly Live Stream ZOOM Q&A
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Individual feedback on all your work from me over 6 weeks
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6 months of unlimited access to all course material
Curriculum
This six week course includes video tutorials and demonstrations on the following topics.
Week 1
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Class Introduction and overview
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Materials (paints, brushes, tools, mediums, backings)
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Painting with/for mood.
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How to choose subject matter: Landscapes, Seascapes, Combos
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Initial assignments
Week 2
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Subject and color choice
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Starting paintings (chiaroscuro, drawing, or simply diving right in on the canvas with color)
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How subject matter can affect your use of color
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How materials and mediums can effect paintings
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Composition
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The rule of thirds
Week 3
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Color as a language
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Value and Hue
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Harmony
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Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Colors
- Warm versus Cool colors and how to use them to your advantage
Week 4
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Why building up under layers (under painting) creates visual interest, and how this allows for more freedom to simply start a painting.
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To use surface texture or not, and why?
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How not to overthink a painting.
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The benefits of a series of paintings (and why this can keep you more relaxed and spontaneous)
Week 5
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Better understanding color relationships
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Developing your paintings
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How to keep paintings fresh.
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Further painting techniques
Week 6
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How to know when a painting is finished
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How to maintain a painting practice
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Do it yourself exercises to continue growing your skills
Course Details:
You will receive a syllabus via email upon registration and payment
Each week you will have access to a new video tutorial wherein I will discuss the ideas as well as demonstrate the methods, much like an in-person workshop.
You will complete each week’s assignments independently
The most important aspect of this course is that you develop or maintain a sense of enjoyment and wonder about the magic of painting. You will be able to complete each weeks' lessons on your own time schedule in a manner that feels right for you.
I will be available daily in a private Facebook group to respond to your posted work and to answer your questions. Questions will be answered in the order received.
We will be using ZOOM at the end of each week for a recorded LIVE Q&A session.
There will also be a recorded session available for you to watch or re-watch relative to the most common questions each week.
About Ben:
Among others, I was fortunate to study with the painters Wolf Kahn, at The Santa Fe Art Institute (in the Hans Hoffman tradition of "push-pull"), Bernard Chaet (once chairing the Yale Graduate Art Department), and the teachings of Charles Hawthorne and Henry Hensche as studied at the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, MA. I also studied at The Vermont Studio Center with the British painter John Walker, as well as with American still life painter William Bailey.
I have exhibited on the East Coast, Santa Fe, NM, Los Angeles, CA, Santa Barbara, CA, as well as at Stanford University, The Bryant Street Gallery, The Lucy Berman Gallery, The Sharon Park Gallery, and other locations in Northern California. My paintings have also been exhibited with Hale Arts Space in Santa Monica, CA, the Palos Verdes Art Center in Palos Verdes, CA, Siren 6500 in Hollywood, CA, SPACE Arts Center in South Pasadena, CA, Resin Art Space in Hermosa Beach, CA and with Serena and Lily in West Hollywood, CA, Del Mar, CA, East Hampton, NY, Atlanta, GA, Westport, CT, San Francisco, CA, and Pacific Palisades, CA. My work can be found in both private and corporate collections.
Painting at 10,000 feet in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite, CA
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Ben Junta's work as featured on both the Serena and Lily website landing page and in their Fall 2021 Catalogue