key west artist residency

From November 16th-December 14th last year 2016, I was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of three artists in residency at the Studios of Key West, a "cultural center of the arts".  This is where I was able to teach my very first full day workshop, which sold out with twelve students. Also while there I had a lot of time to explore the island, taking photos every chance I got, especially in the "old town" section where all the beautiful architecture and landscaping make for some amazing pictures and paintings.  The rest of the time I spent on the beach, visiting Dry Tortugas Island, or plein air painting. Though I wasn't that happy with the paintings I produced during this trip, I did learn a lot and it has definitely influenced my color palette! While there I found it extremely difficult to get colors bright enough, the water is this gorgeous turquoise and bougainvillea is a striking hot pink, none of which could be found in my "Midwestern landscape" palette I was using at the time.  Since then I have added magenta, pthalo turquoise, pthalo blue, and other bright colors I was afraid to use before.  It was an incredible experience with amazing people from The Studios, and something I would definitely recommend if you can make it to Key West sometime, its an amazing place to see!