As a workshop instructor, you influence other artists.  What artists influence your work?  I look online at art every day and consistently get new ideas from those I follow on social media.  John Salminen.  Linda Baker.  Nico Lopez.  Carol Carter. Viktoria Prischedko.  Chien Chung Wei.  Of the old masters, Sargent and J.M.W. Turner are heavy influencers.

Subject matter?  Does it matter?  I like architecture.  It's what I focused my photography career on, and I am still painting from photographs shot almost 20 years ago.  I find that a photograph I didn’t like at the time will years later provide inspiration for something else (different technique, style, color choice, etc.).

Where do you find new subject matter?  I love traveling! New photographs inspire new paintings.

Do you take commissions? I take several commissions a year and swear I will never do it again!  I don’t feel creative when I'm painting a commission because they are so structured.  To me, a commission is just work.

What are your goals for students in your workshop?  The overarching goal is to have fun while learning something new. 

I talk a lot about color in my classes.  There are so many choices with color.  You can make a great painting with 20 different colors.  Or two.

I also talk a lot about simplification.   How can you make a cityscape look like a city with geometric shapes? How do you simplify people?

My techniques and lessons apply to any subject matter.

 

Ryan's Workshop at WAS-H is coming up in 30 days! Enroll HERE