Description

Loosen Up! Painting Figures from Photos with Robin Cheers

Date:  June 5 – 7, 2026

Time:  9 am – 4 pm, bring a sack lunch

VAL Member Rate:  $$450

Non-Member Rate:  $475

Join Robin as she shares how to paint people so they look natural and integrated in your paintings even if you have never painted the figure before! Learn to see the figure as part of the whole scene, ensure accurate proportion and scale from the start, and work with multiple figures and background scenery.

Learn how to avoid copying every detail to create impressionistic paintings using the alla prima approach to organizing your painting and working wet on wet. Learn to choose the best photo references to turn your special moments into meaningful paintings.

This three-day workshop is designed for students of all skill levels. Robin will do a short presentation and demo each day and then spend the remainder working with students individually at their level. Students are welcome to work from Robin’s reference photos or bring their own.

SUPPLIES

Colors:  Students are welcome to use their usual palette.

Napthol Red*
Permanent Alizirin Crimson
Hansa Yellow
Permanent Orange
Ultramarine Blue
Manganese Violet
Kings Blue
Pthalo Green
Titanium White

Tools/Brushes:

Variety of long handled brushes #4 – #10 (filbert, round, egbert etc)

• Hog Bristle: will lay down lots of paint, take some abuse, and leave visible stroke marks.
• Synthetic or Sable/Mongoose: used for glazing, fine details and smooth soft strokes (better for acrylics).

Chip brushes 1-2”
Small to medium size spatula palette knife
Scraping tools – plastic cards, color scrapers, putty knife
Viva or Job Squad paper towels

Surfaces:
Gesso panels or canvas pad or stretched canvas, oil/acrylic paper, or heavy watercolor paper – 11×14 or so – plan at least to paint one painting each day

Mediums:
Gamblin Solvent Free Gel* or linseed or walnut/alkyd, cold wax
Gamsol or Turpenoid OMS

Sundries:
Wood, glass or paper palette
Jar for solvents/water
Sketchbook

* These are what I use for my palette to avoid heavy metals like cadmium, cobalt, etc. for a safer studio. Students may use whatever materials they are most comfortable and familiar with.

About the Instructor:

Robin Cheers is an artist working in the impressionist tradition with a contemporary style focused on representing the figure and everyday life. Robin’s oil paintings celebrate the overlooked or ordinary scenes of modern life. Whether working on site from direct observation or with sketches and photos, Robin’s painterly brushwork, impressionistic color and use of texture create paintings full of light and life.

Whether working from life or in the studio, my goal is to put the world on pause and celebrate the beauty of the ordinary. I love to capture fleeting moments of life and light. My early career in graphic design instilled in me a strong sense of design and composition. Recently, I have been experimenting more with color and texture to push myself to direct the mood and feeling in each painting.

Robin is an active member of her local art community, a founding member of Plein Air Austin and teaches online and local painting classes and workshops in the US and abroad. Her instructional video Brushwork Secrets Unleashed is available from Streamline Publishing. She is a signature member of the American Impressionist Society and the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, and artist member of the Oil Painters of America and Salmagundi Club and Artist in Residence at the Austin Visual Arts Association ArtSpace. Robin has won awards of excellence in both plein air competitions and juried art shows. Her work is collected worldwide.

Refund & Cancellation Policy:

• If VAL must cancel for any reason, payment will be refunded.
• Full refunds granted 30+ days before the Workshop Start Date.
• No refunds granted less than 30 days before the Workshop Start Date.