Flicker Street Studio

Painting From Photographs with Elizabeth Alley

nancycheairs — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:58:48 +0000

For the past six weeks I’ve been teaching a painting class at Flicker Street Studio on Tuesday nights. Though that is normally my Studio Night, I didn’t mind giving it up for a while to take advantage of the experience of teaching painting for the first time.

Prior to my first teaching experience just over a year ago, Nancy asked if I would like to teach an acrylic painting class and I thought, No, I could never do that. Instead I started with classes that focused on sketching techniques and getting to know your sketchbook, a subject I felt was more approachable. But it turns out that because I do know how to sketch, how to draw, how to paint, I also know how to teach. Teaching combines two of my favorite things: art, and telling people what to do. And to my amazement, they listen, they hunch over their work and consider it with serious faces, and they really do learn something.

This last class was Painting from Photographs in Acrylic and Oil. When I began preparing for it I realized, Hey, this is what I do! My work, which is typically oil or acrylic and oil on canvas, is influenced primarily by photographs. We started by talking about composition, and I told them they need to make the work their own, beyond just the standard-size snapshot they had in front of them. We spent the entire first class working on composition and sketching out what they would paint.

Class two started with a demonstration of painting with acrylics. I used the color wheel that I had made in Melissa Dunn’s acrylic painting class that I took in 2010 to talk about the limited palette we would use, and gave them tips on mixing colors and neutrals. They started by painting a value study, and made sure everything was in the right place. After that there was no stopping them. By the end of the third class several students had finished their acrylic paintings and were ready to tackle the next challenge: oils.

Getting the students started with oils made me a little nervous at first; it seems like oil paint, with its accompanying medium and mineral spirits, has the potential to quickly get out of hand. I explained to them how I use very little medium and very little mineral spirits, hoping that we could keep things under control, and of course it turned out fine.

Each student quickly picked up on using oils and adapted it to his or her own style. Looking at the paintings the students were making with oils, I could see how they related to the acrylic paintings each of them had made. I emphasized to them the importance of layering oil paint, so not everyone was able to finish their oil paintings. We all wished we had more time to complete them, but even in the few classes we had left, they turned out some really impressive work!

I can’t wait to teach my next painting class! – Elizabeth Alley

Note from Nancy:

Elizabeth is a natural for teaching this class because she uses the photograph as a starting point for her own work. She mines her images from personal snap shots of her life and family, crops them to make mysterious compositions, then paints with deft and assured color and stroke. In six weeks, Elizabeth managed to convey so much essential information about painting techniques, composition and color that she texted me one night ,

” These people are really painting!“

Expressive Drawing Class

nancycheairs — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:22:32 +0000

Melissa Dunn is a smart and creative teacher and her drawing classes are the best! On Monday morning, she sets up a couple of still lifes that are personal vignettes from her home. The objects are quirky, imaginative and illustrate the concept for the day in an unexpected way. At the beginning of each class, she explains the formal drawing concept both verbally and visually with lots of examples of great drawings from art history pinned to the wall.

Her passion for art and drawing fills the room with an energetic vibe that strengthens her students and encourages them to explore freely and without trepidation. If you loose a drawing, you learned a lot and with that kind of guidance one can’t help but be inspired and challenged to reach for something more. - Nancy Cheairs

Veda Reed

nancycheairs — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:43:01 +0000

Veda Reed is a provocative and influential artist and teacher. The clarity of her vision, her ability to translate that vision onto canvas, her knowledge of color and her stripped down sensibility with composition and form make for some powerful work.
Veda creates with a One-Two Punch: I know what I want to say and I know how to say it.

You can see her new paintings at David Lusk Gallery .

Veda’s passion in the classroom is the critique and we have been very fortunate to have her conduct several seminars at Flicker Street. As the workshops unfolded, Veda became aware that the students needed guidance with three very important elements of painting:

1. Composition: The students need to think about the underlying structure of their work.

2. Abstraction: The students need to loosen their hold on literal interpretations of conceptual ideas.

3. Intent: The students need to formulate a meaningful concept and direction for each work.

Last month, Veda taught an intense Composition Workshop and the results were really just amazing! We are so fortunate to have such a thoughtful and provocative teacher. Thank you Veda!

Concept: Last Man Standing

Veda shows us how to diagram a master painting

Anna and Molly work on The Golden Mean

Veda discusses Janet Smith's paintings

Beverly Doggrell

Drawing / Painting by Emma Kate Rose

Emma Kate Rose

Anna Wunderlich

All The Boys and Girls

nancycheairs — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:17:22 +0000

Our philosophy in teaching the children who come to Flicker Street Studio is to expose them to wide variety of materials, techniques and artists. They have explored painting on canvas with acrylic, watercolor resist, sculpture, clay, color mixing, printmaking, sewing quilts and collage. A typical session, starts with a snack and a story about an individual artist such as Calder, Georgia O’Keefe, Mark Chagall, Vincent VanGogh, Hundertwasser, and Matisse. After learning a bit about the artists life and times, the class gets down to work. The children find excitement and joy through self expression and their joy is contagious! One parent commented,” They aren’t just making mud pies in here… they are really learning!”

Erin Harris heads up the Children’s Department and does a wonderful job! She attended Rhodes College and University of Memphis, receiving a degree in Elementary Education and minor in Art Education. After graduation, she taught second grade in Memphis City Schools and at Christ Methodist Day School. Here are a few pictures from her class.

Making Mobiles after studying Calder

Margo rocks her patterns after looking at Hundertwasser

Watercolor Resist Technique

Van Gogh inspired sunflowers

Aboriginal Art from Australia

Japanese Print Day

German Expressionism and Complimentary Colors

You can see from this small group of work, the important ideas behind the classes at Flicker Street and the inspiring and creative work made by the children.

Flicker Street

nancycheairs — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:21:40 +0000

The past few months have been incredible! The quality of the work from the students, many of them artists, gets stronger and more thoughtful as they focus their full attention on their art. Because of their level of commitment, Flicker Street has added some advanced classes to the roster: Professional Practices with Maysey Craddock, Composition Workshop with Veda Reed, and Studio Practice with Nancy Cheairs. These new offerings were inspiring for everyone involved and I can’t wait to see how our curriculum evolves as the artists grow. – Nancy Cheairs

Students develop an articulate and compelling artists statement

Veda Reed demonstrates how to diagram a composition.

Molly and Anna tackle The Golden Mean for Veda's class

Erin Harris painted a fantastic watercolor in Nancy Cheairs Studio Practice.

Sandra Charlton puts her own spin on botanical prints.

Imagination and Memory

nancycheairs — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:45:42 +0000

I taught a new workshop this week called Imagination and Memory. The class was about the subjective aspects of making art, so I didn’t have a linear outline for how the workshop should go but I did have some ideas on how to guide. I shared some of my methods of constructing imagery and boy, the sparks started flying! Everyone worked with heart and mind and the images are strong and surprising. Check out the amazing work that happened in five hours of intense and magical focus. This was a wonderful day for everyone! Nancy Cheairs

Visual Round Up 2011

nancycheairs — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:03:04 +0000

Since we are a visual arts school, I thought that summing up 2011 with pictures would be a good way to end the year. We have been incredibly busy building our community program and I want to thank the teachers for their passion and commitment. The students who have taken our classes continue to surprise and inspire us. Flicker Street is an exciting place for Memphis and I am so proud to see the high quality of work coming out of the studio. See you in 2012! – Nancy Cheairs

Life Drawing: Open Studio

nancycheairs — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:43:19 +0000

We had our first Open Studio today and it was a fantastic session. There really is nothing like working from a live model with a group of people who are focused in the same way. The directness of graphite and charcoal on paper is immediate and gratifying for me and I believe that drawing in this way adds confidence and strength to my painting. We had several new faces and the group was a great mix of men and women. Spread the word and come to the studio and draw or paint with us on Friday mornings at 10am. Nancy Cheairs

Inside The Studio

nancycheairs — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:43:01 +0000

The studio is full of energy this Fall! Nancy Cheairs is teaching a Figure Drawing Class , Color Class and a new offering called Studio Practice. Kate Bradley is teaching a class called Essential Drawing that is geared toward the beginner but really and hopefully aren’t we all beginners at some level? Kurt Meer came on board this month to teach Expressive Acrylic Painting and we are so happy to have him. He will also be monitoring the Life Drawing Sessions on Friday mornings. Ed Rainey started his evening class called Mixed Media last night to a new group of students and Maysey Craddock starts her new class, Image and Story, Creating Meaningful Content this Wednesday. Erin Harris and her delightful young students got down to work on self – portraits, and Nancy Cheairs and Erin Wright worked with a group of children on a collaborative painting for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Elizabeth Alley had an incredibly successful exhibition in September at Flicker Street. Our classes are full with new and eager students, the teachers are excited about their classes and their personal work, and the vibe is energetic, thoughtful, and positive. Here are a few pictures from September!

Saturday Studios: Productive, Creative and Cool

Thomas Robinson — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:45:20 +0000

The number of students who have walked through the doors this summer at Flicker Street Studio is amazing. Children, teenagers, adults, beginners, experienced dabblers, and professional artists have worked side by side to create a stimulating and fun environment. Even though the instructors teach different subjects and have different approaches, we all seem to share one quality: Over Prepare then Go With The Flow.

We offered workshops taught by Maysey Craddock- Wire Sculpture, Elizabeth Alley-The Landscape, Nancy Cheairs – Watercolor, Melissa Dunn – Abstraction with Acrylic, Kate Bradley – The Portrait, Laurie Nye – Stencil Art, Erin Wright - Encaustic Painting and Colleen Couch – Smith - Creative Journaling.

Our last Summer Workshop, Creative Journaling, is happening on Saturday, July 30 and this class is going to be a solid end for the series because your journal / sketchbook is a bedrock for ideas.

Flicker Street”s Saturday Studios have been a great success! Thanks to everyone who made the summer productive, creative and cool!