Morro Bay Art Association presenting ‘Plein Air Painting Indoors’
–Morro Bay Art Association is proud to present renowned, local artist Ken Christensen, for a two-day workshop, Plein Air Painting Indoors, Feb. 8 and 9 from 1:30-5:30 p.m. The cost is $165 for members, $175 for non-members
Ken Christensen is a classic, on-site landscape painter with influenced by French Impressionists and Fauves. He paints with the vision, color, and verve of such painters as Van Gogh, Vlaminck, Marquet and Derain, and the American perspective of Hopper and Benton.
Christensen attended Michigan State University where he earned a B.A. in History. He participated in an overseas study program at Bedford College, London and attended the University of Manchester in England. He settled in Traverse City, Michigan, where he pursued a career as a freelance artist and writer for the local newspaper. He later returned to Europe and launched himself on a long bicycle trip, crossing Holland, Belgium and France. He settled in Sollies-Pont on the Cote d’ Azur and later moved to Paris. While in Paris, he attended life drawing classes at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and was also an official copyist at the Louvre Museum. While residing in Europe, he shifted from watercolor to oils and experimented in other techniques, primarily monoprints and block-prints.
In 1986 he moved to San Sebastian, Spain, where he continued to paint and taught English at a private academy. Ken eventually returned to the United States settling in Los Osos, CA where he currently resides.
Christensen has been represented by galleries in France and Italy. His book, St. Tropez, Notes et Croquis de Voyages, was published in 1984 and his paintings have been featured on the cover of the Daniel Smith catalogue, Artist’s Sketchbook Magazine and local publications. He is the founder of The New Fauves, committed to propagating the style of the great French Fauve painters.
During this workshop, Christensen will discuss the use of supplies, pallet color and the Impressionistic, Fauve style of painting. He will demonstrate brushwork and the use of strident colors, while discussing subject matter. This workshop is appropriate for beginner to advanced.
Pre-registration required www.artcentermorrobay.org or artcentermorrobay.org/index.php/shop/. For more information, call (805) 772-2504.
