11am - 4pm
About this course
Painting the Impressionist Scene is a one-day masterclass that brings together historical tradition with hands-on guidance and outdoor practice. Martha Johnson brings an extensive amount of experience as a plein air painter and a profound personal link to the lineage of Tom Thomson to lead this intensive session through the Impressionist lens. Throughout the day, Martha will break down her personal approach to working on-site: how to interpret immediate light, capture movement, and translate nature’s energy into a dynamic, impressionistic painting. You will explore the technicalities of colour mixing, value mapping, and expressive mark-making while discovering how the great outdoor painters captured the spirit of the Canadian wilderness. With live demonstrations, historical insights, and direct one-on-one support, this workshop will open how you perceive light, colour, and subject matter when painting en plein air.
What you'll learn
- On-Site Efficiency: Learn practical strategies for setting up, simplifying a complex view, and painting quickly before the light shifts.
- Harness Impressionist Brushwork: Discover how to use bold, gestural strokes to create movement, texture, and energy on your panel.
- Understand High-Key Colour & Light: Learn to mix clean, luminous colours that accurately reflect natural daylight and shadow.
- Draw from Canadian Art History: Gain rare insight into the working methods and philosophy of Tom Thomson and early Canadian plein air tradition.
- Build Strong Value Maps: Practice establishing quick thumbnail sketches and tonal underpaintings to lock in your composition early.
- Develop Intuitive Decision-Making: Build the confidence to make bold, spontaneous choices that elevate a scene from a photo-like copy to an evocative work of art.
Your instructor
