Jim Richards Workshop - Pontotoc Mississippi - August 2018

My painting                                             

A lot of the people I paint with suggested that I find a way to get into a Jim Richards class/workshop/mentoring program, so I contacted his assistant and put my name on a waiting list. But, before you can get into his mentoring program, you have to take a workshop. And not too long after I got on his mentoring program waiting list, I got an email saying that Jim would be leading a workshop ... in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

Where in the heck is Pontotoc, Mississippi??? I googled and discovered it was ~ a 5 hour drive west, just on the other side of Tupelo. Then I contacted a lady named Jane about a room in her B&B. Next thing you know, it had all come together.

So I loaded up the car and headed west. Kinda crazy to go that far to take a workshop from an Atlanta-based artist, but I didn't have any other choice. It was Jim's last workshop for quite some time.

The lady who ran the workshop, Dot Courson, did a nice job of setting up various still lifes in her studio, and my fellow artists were all very nice.

My painting of cotton               

Jim has some unconventional methods for starting a painting, which I like and think are very effective.

He uses paper towels and little squeegees to compose his initial composition. These keeps things loose and fluid from the very beginning. Then he basically works from the back of the still life scene to the foreground, saving his lightest lights for last.

Below are photos of my setup and my painting ... I was pretty happy with the way my paintings turned out.

Overall, I was pleased with the way I painted. Dot Courson does a very nice job of setting up workshops, and I can highly recommend the Bodock Bed and Breakfast, should your travels take you to Pontotoc, Mississippi.

And I thought Jim did a nice job of helping students. I prefer to have an instructor who is a bit better at verbalizing his process - why he chooses a specific color, brush stroke, temperature, process - and I felt like things fell short in this area. It's always fun to watch a pro paint, but I also would like to hear some of what's going on in his head as he make choices and moves the paint around.

Nevertheless, it was a good experience, and I made some great new friends.