Florida artist Morgan Samuel Price and Maine artist Donald Demers are friends who both enjoy plein air painting, yet each has a distinctly different way of analyzing potential subjects, organizing pictorial compositions, and working with oil colors. Here’s a preview of the program they will offer at the Monterey, California, Conference Center in April 2013.
Even though Morgan Samuel Price and Donald Demers both started their careers as illustrators, their strong interest in painting took them in completely different directions. When they demonstrate during the Plein Air Convention & Expo in April, those differences, and the connections between the two master artists, will help people in the audience gain a better understanding of how to approach outdoor painting.
Morgan Samuel Price grew up in Ohio but moved to Florida to study at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. She then traveled to New Mexico to study with Robert Carl Cogar, who, she says, “pointed me in the right direction, clarified the necessary information which enabled me to develop into the artist I am today.” After working and maintaining art studios in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Ohio, Price settled in Altamonte Springs, Florida, where she now teaches workshop, produces instructional books and DVDs, and ventures off around the world to paint and teach.
One of the reasons Price is such a popular instructor is that she has the rare ability to explain everything she is doing while offering a demonstration. She carefully describes her materials, her Impressionist painting techniques, and the ways in which she captures the light, color, and beauty of the natural world. Students can watch her demonstration paintings develop from quick compositional sketches through the block-in of shapes and the refinement of details, all while the artist is explaining her procedures and answering questions. For more information, visit her website at www.morgansamuelprice.com.
Donald Demers’ body of work has expanded beyond illustration and marine art to the study and creation of landscape painting. He creates paintings from subjects across the country and beyond, often in consort with other artists of similar inspiration. His landscape work has garnered him two awards at the Laguna Plein Air Invitational in Laguna Beach, California, in 2001 and 2002. He has also received an award for his painting at the 2007 Crystal Cove Invitational sponsored by the Irvine Museum in Orange County, California.
Demers is a fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists, an elected member of the Guild of Boston Artists, an elected member of the California Art Club, and a signature member of Plein Air Painters of America. He has won a record 17 awards at the Mystic International Marine Art Exhibition in Mystic, Connecticut, including the Rudolph J. Schaefer Maritime Heritage Award in 2006. Demers’ illustrations have been recognized by the Museum of American Illustration four times in its national competition representing the finest examples of work in the field. Recognized for his communication skills, Demers conducts workshops for artists, as well as producing instructional DVDs. He also lectures on his landscape and marine art. His audiences include museums, art associations, yacht clubs, historical societies, and educational institutions. For more information, visit his website at www.donalddemers.com.
