Oil paintings by Abbey Ryan

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(Note: 24-hour auction ends at 10 PM EST on Thursday, June 26)

There are only 2-3 spots remaining in each of my last two 2014 Workshops. Register today to spend time painting with me this fall!

If you're interested, here's another testimonial from my recent Sedona Arts Center workshop:

"I loved the workshop. It’s hard to describe how eye-opening it was. I’d seen Abbey's videos and could see that she was a terrific, caring instructor. But I LOVED being able to watch Abbey paint from start to finish, many times over until I really “got” it. I got so much more being right in the room with her and being able to ask a very specific question about what she was doing, and why, right when she was doing it. There have been SO many mysteries to me in oil painting, but Abbey thoroughly and patiently explained them so they made sense. The group of fellow learners was delightful and equally thrilled to be there, and I think that enthusiasm infused everything I did.

Since the workshop, I can’t wait to paint again tomorrow. I am much more confident in my ability to plan a good composition, draw well and accurately in oils, and have lost my fear of painting the “wrong” way.

Having Abbey articulate her thoughts while she was planning and painting was priceless. Her personal insights into the painting issues I was having led to genuine breakthroughs that brought great delight and satisfaction. There is no one on earth that is harder on me than me, but that cloud lifted with Abbey's encouragement and kind words.

I kept wishing we had another week!

Abbey's workshops give the aspiring painter information that they couldn’t get any other way. Her videos are terrific, but there’s nothing like watching, over and over, the decisions she made and understanding why she made them. Sometimes the choices Abbey made were aesthetic, sometimes they were to improve what she were seeing, and sometimes they were based on her personal instinct. Whatever the reasons, I learned that it’s up to me to make the final, best choices for what I want to accomplish. It was like getting permission to be a real artist!

I could tell Abbey had a personal peacefulness from her videos - something I’ve been striving for after a very driven life. In person, however, I could literally absorb Abbey's confidence and peace, along with her joy of sitting down and creating a painting. I cherish that I now have the peace and confidence to paint what I want, how I want."