My new year is all about creating opportunities for learning art skills.
An impassioned plea for learning to make things with your hands
In the first week of January the sun came out, I put the finishing touches on the mural, and I’ve been able to turn my attention to new things.
I quickly realized that my new year is all about creating opportunities for learning art skills. I have a two day gouache workshop coming up in March that I am co-teaching with the fantastic Kate Rado, produced by Sketchboard. I am one of the organizers of The Spooky Haus’s flagship event, Art Jam, coming up at the end of February into the first days March. And, in a much more long term commitment, I have recently taken over workshop programming at ARCH Art Supplies.
All year I look forward to the liminal week between Christmas and New Years when nothing gets done. This year, I was unable to take advantage of the reprieve. Thanks to the rain and my schedule, I was working on the parklet mural at House of Tadu all the way up to the finish line of 2024 (and just past it!).
Over the past few years, I have taught my own workshop, Cityscapes in Gouache, three times at ARCH, and have been a loyal customer.
Back in the fall, I was hired there and began the process of taking over the workshop programming at the store.
As I jump into my new role, I have found myself thinking about why adults in our modern world should learn new skills, particularly creative and hands-on skills. Personally, I am a reluctant member of a digital generation and I have sought to create a life for myself that contains more making things with my hands than looking at screens. Here in San Francisco this year, we lost our beloved Fabric Outlet, a huge blow to makers in the city.
All of this has reinforced my conviction that what we are doing at ARCH, Sketchboard, and Art Jam is incredibly important. In a world that tells us that our value is only in the things we do to make money, we must do things that are silly, fun, and messy. In a world that wants us to buy everything pre-made and pre-packaged, we must learn to do things for ourselves. Everyone deserves space for play and discovery in their lives. We must look up from our algorithmically determined feeds and make something with our hands, together and in person.
So, come and learn something from a real person. Something that won’t earn you a raise, commission, or award, but will enrich your life. Embrace the embarrassment of being a beginner, and do something for its own sake. Show yourself that life is about more than measurable success and the bottom line, that it can be about discovery and community and novel experiences.
To get back into specifics, I want to tell you more about my class with Kate Rado. Kate and I have admired each other's work for years, and we’ve been brought together by Sketchboard to teach this workshop.
In this 2 day workshop, Kate and Nathaniel teach participants to paint still life and cityscapes in gouache with a focus on simplification, value, and abstraction. Attendees benefit from both artists’ experience and perspective, and develop observational skills, which will help them to create compelling paintings in gouache from life and from reference. On day one, we meet indoors and get comfortable with gouache and image making fundamentals. We use still lifes to develop the skill of observation from life. Homework is assigned for the week between the two days of the class. On day two, we take our gouache skills on the road and meet at Washington Square Park for a guided plein air session. Together we dive into the potential of gouache as a versatile medium, and practice taking a painting from start to finish on site.
Kate and I have been working hard to combine our knowledge and artistic approaches into an excellent curriculum. Recently, we went painting together in Washington Square Park to prepare for the class.
I was pleasantly surprised and excited by how this piece turned out! Washington Square Park is such a perfect spot for plein air painting.
Kate is an avid plein air painter, Artist in Residence for Google’s Quantum Labs, a studio artist at Firehouse Art Collective, and has shown her gouache paintings in multiple gallery shows. She has recently taught a workshop on Dynamic Shapes in Gouache for Warrior Art Camp. Kate believes that art is about connection; she is passionate about unifying teams, cultivating creative community, and building up and encouraging future generations of artists to find their unique voice.
Make sure to check out their work!
Coming up even sooner is Art Jam!
Art Jam is a multi-day transgender run-and-focused festival and art making extravaganza!! Attendees share knowledge, try new things, build community and get silly in an environment that uplifts and affirms all gender identities, presentations and experiences. The weekend will also provide abundant opportunities for creative collaboration and connection.
I am proud to be one of the organizers of Art Jam. Each year it is a special time of learning and sharing and queer community. If you are trans or gender nonconforming, consider joining us this year! If not, you can contribute by donating, which allows us to offer discounts and full scholarships for participants for whom cost would be a barrier to attending.
On top of all that, I am in the process of curating a great year of single day workshops at ARCH. Next up on the schedule is Intro to Analog Planners and Life Logs with Shasta Garcia, on February 2nd. Every month we have Urban Sketching with Cathy Raingarden on the second Saturday. In the works we have lino printing, collage, and drawing expressive heads! Keep an eye out on ARCH’s website and sign up for their newsletter to see these classes and more announced in the coming months.
This may typically be the slow season for the arts, but Fancypants Productions isn’t taking it slow with shows and events. Crooners this month is on January 26 and the theme will be “Crooners Makes a Resolution: songs about wishes, dreams, goals, and aspirations.” The next main Fancypants show is coming hot on its heels on February 9th at Oasis with V is for Variety; a 70’s style variety show.
Thank you for joining me for another month! While you await the next newsletter, you can check out my website to see my portfolio of plein air paintings, still lifes, block prints, figure drawings, tiny scale model houses, murals, and you can also find information on commissions! Commissions are full until February, but please feel welcome to email me and ask about any ideas you have that aren’t covered on my commission page, I’m always willing to discuss.
Stay tuned for next month, and let me know what you’d like to hear about in the newsletter in the future.
Lastly, as always, here's Ruby!
Thank you!
-Nathaniel J. Bice
he/him