HUDSON, NY – The Olana Partnership will host three summer Saturday art workshops in collaboration with Woodstock School of Art beginning June 15 at Olana State Historic Site. During each afternoon workshop, expert teaching artists will focus on different media to connect to Olana’s current exhibition, Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory. Participants are invited to explore memories, recollections, and reflections through artmaking.
The series of workshops begins on June 15th when Angela Gaffney-Smith will lead a drawing and sessions class about Painting from a Photo Memory. On August 24, Anne Crowley will lead a plein air oil painting workshop focused on Landscape Memories. The last session on September 28 will feature Chris Gamet who will lead a charcoal workshop on Drawing a Memorable Object. Each workshop meets from 1:00-4:00pm at Olana State Historic Site and is suitable for beginners and intermediate artists.
Registration is required and participants are encouraged to sign up for one or all three sessions. Each session is $74 per person. Supplies are not included but basic drawing and painting materials will be made available upon request. Refreshments will be provided during each program. To learn more and register, visit OLANA.org/programs or email education@olana.org.
See specific program details below:
Painting from a Photo Memory with Angela Gaffney-Smith: Drawing and Sketching
Saturday June 15th, 1:00-4:00pm
Memories of people and places can be sharp and edgy, filled with colorful crisp edges or dreamlike, floating soft and hazy in our minds. Explore this connection just as Frederic Church did by painting from memory. Participants will sketch from a photo or their recollections using watercolor to capture the feeling and color of memories. This three-hour workshop will include demonstration and discussion. REGISTER https://woodstockschoolofart.org/course/painting-from-a-photo-memory-at-frederic-churchs-olana/
Landscape Memories in Plein Air: Oil Painting
Saturday August 24th, 1:00-4:00pm
Anne Crowley’s recent series of paintings are in honor of her twin sister who died in 1979. Her memories were triggered by the reflections of the landscape mirrored into the Ashokan Reservoir. “I have walked around the reservoir in every season, during every kind of weather for over twenty years, one day I suddenly had the sense that I was looking at portraits of Ellen and me in the landscape. It was such a profound and unmistakable connection that I went home and started on a large canvas, the first of what turned into a series of memory reflections that I refer to as The Twinning Series.” Join Anne for the opportunity to express your connection to memories through landscape painting in a plein air workshop at Olana State Historic Site. The breathtaking views can help you share and reflect on an important memory of yours. Grab your French easel and oil painting supplies and enjoy this outdoor adventure in art.
Still Life: Drawing a Memorable Object with Charcoal Drawing
Saturday, September 28th, 1:00-4:00pm
Bring a family heirloom, gift from a loved one, special photo, or any memorable object to this workshop where students will prepare to express meaning through still-life drawing. Participants will use charcoal to draw on newsprint and Strathmore papers, participating in demos as they work from the objects.
To learn more about each workshop and upcoming events and programs visit, OLANA.org/programs or call 518-751-6938.
About Olana and The Olana Partnership: Olana is the greatest masterwork of Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), the most famous American landscape artist of the mid-19th century and the most important artist’s home, studio, and designed landscape in the United States. Church designed Olana as a holistic environment integrating his advanced ideas about art, architecture, landscape design, and environmental conservation. Olana’s 250-acre artist-designed landscape with five miles of carriage roads and a Persian-inspired house at its summit embraces unrivaled panoramic views of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains and welcomes more than 170,000 visitors annually. The landscape is open for guided touring, and reservations are highly recommended. The landscape is open daily 8 AM-sunset.
Olana State Historic Site, administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, is a designated National Historic Landmark and one of the most visited sites in the state. The Olana Partnership is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit cooperative partner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at Olana State Historic Site.