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By Stephanie Champion with thanks to all the workshop participants who so willingly shared what they had learnt.

Teresa and I were very fortunate to be able to attend a two-day workshop with Elisabeth Cummings - at the Workshop Arts Centre in Willoughby.

Elisabeth is a truly gifted artist and a master of contemporary art. It was a privilege to be able to listen to Elisabeth’s wisdom and feel her quiet and measured calmness as she approached and supported the wide range of participant’s painting styles and efforts.

Elisabeth set up a still life for those who needed a starting point, or didn’t have anything to work with. Elisabeth also provided a selection of books from Artists that she respected and pointed out their skill at colour mixing, using tonal qualities and composition eg Braque, Whisson, Vuillard and Bonnard.

At the end of the two days, Elisabeth looked at everyone’s work and gave a critique on what was working and what could be improved. The workshop participants also joined in this process and it was great to receive this feedback as we learnt a great deal from each other in this process.

In order to distil the knowledge that Elisabeth so liberally shared with us all, I asked the artists at the workshop – some who were well known artists in their own right – “What did they learn from Elisabeth?”

Here is a collection of the answers from the workshop participants:

The bold text has been added by me, as it is an area that I need to dedicate more time to and the amount of participants who mentioned the same thing made me realise the importance of this skill.

“Elisabeth gives good critiques of your work while you are progressing in your painting, and she continues to look at everyone’s work in this way.”

“As a person and a fantastic artist we are very fortunate to be influenced by Elisabeth. Technically, you will always learn something.”

“Paint with a limited palette and mix your colours.”

“Look at landscapes from multiple perspectives and incorporate those perspectives into your painting.”

“Don’t use repetitive shapes – think about different shapes and blocks of different tones.”

“Use different tones when bringing in a new colour. Think simple and monumental.”

“The elements to work with are wash -line - translucent paint – opaque paint.”

One of the artists worked in wood blocks and was there to work out compositions for future art works. A good tip from Elisabeth was to “put aside work you are stuck with and then you will find that they will work with your next work – don’t change what you are stuck on – continue on – don’t stop!”

“Elisabeth helped me to have confidence in myself and my strengths.”

Elisabeth emphasised the importance of mixing colours and suggested abstraction is about the tension between shapes in the composition. “Don’t use even shapes, do use a variety of shades of colours.” A way to start was to make flat shapes with areas of colour to start your composition.

“Let it go – let it lead you.”

A question to ask yourself: “What is it about this subject that you like? Build on that, focus on what you like – later let go of the original subject and follow the evolution of your painting.”

“I’ve learnt it’s better to put down big blocks of colour and then draw over it.”

“I like the idea that if you have one special event in your painting – that’s enough. Otherwise it detracts from it.”

“If you are using a colour – vary it – mix your colours to get different tones.”

“Limit your palette – then just throw in one exception.”

And some direct quotes from Elisabeth:

“Simplify and create unity. Create a strong composition from a distance and allow for more interesting detail when close up.”

“Mix colours more – don’t use colours straight out of the tube!”

“If it’s too repetitive – add a slab of something – frighten yourself!”

“If you have a colour on your brush you don’t have to put it everywhere.”

“When you’re lost – invent – take a risk.”

And to finish when Elisabeth was asked what was important to remember when painting:

“To just keep going – full of hope and endless possibilities”