A Deep Dive into Rocks, Water & Dynamic Symmetry

Join us for this one OR two-day workshop with master painter Albert Handell and his student of many years, mathematician and artist, Karen Halbert.   Explore painting nature in pastels (oil accepted) with Albert on day 1, then transition into day 2 with Karen combining the concepts of left and right brain creativity through the exploration of intuitive composition and dynamic symmetry.

A Right-Brain Approach to Painting with Albert Handell

Saturday, November 9, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

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A Left-Brain Approach to Composition with Karen Halbert

Sunday, November 10, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

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A Deep Dive into Rocks, Water & Dynamic Symmetry (both instructors)

Sat. & Sun., Nov. 9 - 10, 2024, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Add to Cart:

What’s Included

A complimentary continental breakfast will be served each morning including bagels, pastries, cereal, fruit, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs and hot coffee or tea.

  • Optional:  Catered lunches for $20 each day.

    Day 1 lunch will be catered into the studio by Cowgirls of Santa Fe offering green chile enchiladas, butternut squash casserole, beans and rice and a green salad along with a dessert.

    Day 2 will be a casual lunch from Jersey Mike’s Subs along with chips, dips and cookies.

Rocks and Water

Day 1: Albert will lead this “How to Paint Rocks and Water in Pastel” workshop (oil and other mediums accepted) working from photographs of rocks, mountain streams and rock faces. Albert will demo in pastel with a watercolor underpainting doing a step-by-step painting of rocks and water from 9 a.m. to Noon. Students will have an afternoon painting time from 1 to 4:30 pm with plenty of individual help at each easel from Santa Fe’s own legendary artist. Albert will also offer career-building advice throughout the day with a question-and-answer period around the lunch hour.

Supplies: Bring all the supplies you usually use. Bring a plein air easel. If you are flying in we have a few to choose from.

Dynamic Symmetry

Day 2: Taking it a step further on Day 2, Karen will show the students photos of Albert’s paintings and apply symmetry grids or armatures over Albert’s work for an in-depth analysis of the merger of Intuitive Composition and the concept of dynamic symmetry. She will also take great master paintings of the past and visually explain how these concepts of symmetry have been used by artists through the ages. Karen will do a step-by-step demonstration where students will follow along and create a dynamic symmetry grid on their own canvas. Her workshop will be in lecture format with time for hands-on grid building for each student. New material will be presented which will be different from last years’ workshop with Karen and all new examples will be shown.

View Supply List Bring a plein air easel if you are not flying in. Bring a plein air easel. If you are flying in we have a few to choose from.

About Albert

Albert Handell was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1937. At an early age, a favorite activity of his was drawing with chalks on the city streets. He began formal studies of drawing and anatomy at the age of sixteen. In 1954, he enrolled at the Art Students League of New York City to study drawing and anatomy with the late Louis Princilla and the Late Robert Ward Johnson, and later studied painting for two years with Frank Mason. From 1961 to 1965, Mr. Handell lived and traveled in Europe. In Paris, he painted independently in his own studio, working from the model at L'Ecole de La Grande Chaumiere and at the Louvre, copying the old masters.

Visit Albert’s Website

About Karen

Karen Halbert, former college professor of Mathematics and current Landscape Painter, will present the armature systems from an artist's point of view, using examples from art history. Her background in Mathematics gives her a unique perspective though, shall we say following in the footsteps of artist-mathematicians such as Piero della Francesco and Leonardo da Vinci. In this workshop, you will get a glimpse of how a Mathematician perceives the underlying framework of paintings. However, as an experienced professor of introductory college mathematics, Halbert is able to explain the underlying Mathematics in simple, straightforward terms if necessary or desired. However, the main goal of the workshop is for the participants to construct armatures and apply them to their own paintings.

Visit Karen’s Website | Visit Karen’s Blog