Making it Fine Art Workshops for 2025 with Ken Elliott

Complete information, registration, pricing an

recommendations on the Workshop page

Castle Rock, CO Denver Metro​

Fri.-Sun. October 3 - 5

Castle Rock, CO  (Denver Metro)​

3 immersive days / $590 per person.

To Register  Workshop flyer1 space left​

Fri - Sun, 9:30 - 4 pm

Sunday evening after break, Photoshop Tools 4:30 - 6 pm

Conversations will continue after hours with those that want to stay for dinner.

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Open to artists at all skill levels and media

An indoor, fully immersive, three-day workshop.

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Workshop questions? Contact Ken

303-995-1611

email

View the workshop video

Video: Ken reviews and comments on some of his works at the Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

In the studio with works in progress

Ken reviews and comments on some of his works at the Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

click to view

It's always an interesting exercise to look back on a body of work and take the time to remember the many paths that brought those works to completion. In the studio, there are times when everything falls away and the artist is left with the paints and artistic problems to solve.

Looking at this video, I'm happy to see that all the puzzles were resolved at last and that the paintings are now out in the world to enjoy. After this little break, there are more canvases to make.

Grateful Notices: Soft Forest Blues, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

Soft Forest Blues, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Exhibited: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

My thanks to the collector for purchasing my work and to Sorelle Gallery for gracefully making it all possible.

A bit about this oil:

The goal here was to do a forest with blues woven into the composition. I wanted something subtle without the blues being primary. It's easy to use blues to make trees but it's difficult to make them believable.

All of the colors are greyed down, even the darks and lights, allowing the different blues to gently glow in the background. The numerous trunks and branches create a lot of complexity, all to create a veil for the blue hues. The line of trees is bordered with that bit of sky and the muted orange below, a bit of reality to bring it all together.

Finally, the foreground was muted even more, allowing the other subtleties in the painting a chance to be noticed.

Grateful Notices: Lake Sunset, Color Dialog and Cloudswept in Blue, two oils on 24 x 24 panels

Lake Sunset, Color Dialog
Oil on panel, 24 x 24  Private collection
Exhibited: Saks Galleries, Denver

For this painting I wanted to do an evening scene without using the typical sunset colors. So rather than resorting to the use of bright, warmer colors, everything is shifted downward. The light is not intense and the palette is predominately blues and greens. A lot of color is in play here but in a subdued way.

In the last painting session I added the glowing highlights to the water in the foreground. The painting was doing well overall but the water was lacking something. Once the lighter accents were added the water began to glow and I was actually surprised at how much stronger it made the painting overall.… A very satisfying conclusion.

Cloudswept in Blue
Oil on panel, 24 x 24  Private collection
Exhibited: Saks Galleries, Denver

As it was the previous oil, I wanted to do another sunset effect without the usual warm tones. The colors here are severely limited to a number of blues and a couple of purple hues.

The upper part of the painting it is intentionally more opaque and dark. The snow field at the bottom is reflecting the light but it still has just enough density to allow the atmosphere in the center section to retreat backward and set up a glow the permeates the entire scene.

It’s a quiet piece, reminiscent of those silent, snow-covered fields, but if you look carefully, there’s always something a little unexpected and electric in the scene.

My sincere thanks to the collector who purchased these two oils.

New Work: Rain Moving Across, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches

Rain Moving Across, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches
Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT   $5400 unframed 

It is fascinating to observe the edges of rain coming to the ground. Once I began to sketch this out on the canvas, there were some gaps in the land patterns and it struck me to turn those gaps into reflective ponds or marsh areas.

The abundance of reflective surfaces opened up the center of the painting, created more depth and made the rain effect even more pronounced. The dark areas at the top and bottom of the oil help to carry the light into the far distance.

And for good measure, the strong diagonal, other cloud forms and the waterways all point to the falling rain. It's theatre - a stage is set for the rain to make an appearance.

Grateful Notices: Waters Edge in Blue, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches

Waters Edge in Blue
oil on canvas, 36 x 36   private collection   Exhibited: Arden's Gallery, Houston

My thanks to the purchaser of this oil.

I love these rocky, coastal views and for this painting, the blues after sunset caught my attention. Each of the cascading land forms has a color of its own. Some of the rocks are in an atmospheric glow and the darker rocks express a substantial mass. It's interesting how the reds add the illusion of weight.

All of the elements here, the haze on the land as well as the water and sky are indicating motion. The color combinations flow across the oil with the last light yielding to the encroaching blues. There is a feeling that time is quickly passing and all that is aglow now will soon be gone. It is that perfect, blue moment.

Grateful Notices: Water, Land and Sky in Flow Oil on canvas, 36 X 60

Water, Land and Sky in Flow
Oil on canvas, 36 X 60   Private collection, CT
Exhibited: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

The way light plays on the surface of lakes is a constant fascination to me. With this oil the lake is a factor but it is equally weighted with the bright, yellow trees in the distance.

This is likely the 5th or so version of this arrangement. As the painting progressed through the different trials, more glowing colors emerged and the overall look of the oil continued to get brighter. 

Each trial yielded a completed painting but after a few days of viewing what I had, those brighter shapes called out for more to be done. In this final version, there is movement everywhere, carried along by the changes in colors and in the way that the mass of the trees and cloud bank are surrounded by the atmosphere in the upper sky its reflection on the lakes surface. 

As it turns out, the painting titled itself. 

Video: Ken Elliott and Casey Kahn Teaching

This is a casual video with visual bits and phrases captured from our class. The video is not a tutorial, just a bit of fun. However, some good information is scattered in.

There are quotes from Picasso, Wolf Kahn and Jean Cocteau.

Many thanks for the artist and videographer, Natalie Raffield for putting this together.

Workshop: Ken Elliott and Casey Klahn 4-day intensive Art Workshop, April 25-28, 2019

Ken Elliott Summer Sunset, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches

Ken Elliott and Casey Klahn 4-day intensive Art Workshop

Castle Rock, CO (Denver metro)

Thurs-Sun, April 25-28, 2019
9:30 am - 4:30 pm daily

workshop flyer
Limited to 8 artists, $750 each, 2 spaces left
Contact Ken

Open to artists in all media. This is a two-instructor workshop for artists wanting to make advancements in their techniques and strategies.

Casey and Ken will have ample time to give very focused attention to individuals and offer a number of provoking ideas to the group and they will do demos in oil and pastel.

Also, Ken will present simple Photoshop techniques for taking your works to the next level and creating better pathways for finishing your artworks.

You will be given a Photoshop instruction guide and have access to Ken's personal photo file of over 1500 inspiring images by various artists.

These workshops typically sell out, so sign up soon!
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From a recent Casey Klahn / Ken Elliott Workshop

Casey Klahn  Long Remembered, New Vision Pastel, 13 x 21 inches

Ken Elliott  Evening Light, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 inches

Casey Klahn  The Rain, the Light & the River, pastel, 11 3/4 x 18 1/4 inches

Ken Elliott  Gathering Light II  oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches