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Payments: if you would like to pay for your class spot via etransfer, please still register online through our website, and send your etransfer payment to lacombealbertaartguild@gmail.com to complete your registration.
Supplies list:
I will work in oils - but acrylics can be used
I will start with a whimsical dog portrait
Then a Market scene
I will demonstrate how to paint a loose impressionistic approach for those who wish to loosen up.
I will go over each of these references step by step- as a paint along
All levels welcome.
Supplies
Paints
warm and cool yellow
Orange
Warm and cool Red - Quinacridone for a Cool Red is preferred
Purple
Ultramarine Blue
Cerulean or Manganese blue
Pthalo Green
Palette knife
number 4 and 6 filbert brushes
Mineral spirits
two -9 x 12 canvas sheets
Bio:
Michael Downs is an award-winning artist whose canvases beautifully capture the fleeting, transformative quality of light across portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. With over 40 years of experience in the visual arts, his work reflects a lifelong dedication to understanding and conveying the poetry of light.
Michael began his career in applied design and illustration, later transitioning into fine art, where he quickly gained recognition in galleries for his evocative and technically masterful paintings. His subjects range widely—street scenes, portraits, still lifes, and natural landscapes—but the true focus of his work is always light. As Monet once said, “The subject is not the object, but what is between me and the object.”
His paintings have appeared in numerous publications and on the covers of The Artist’s Magazine and Southwest Art, and are held in collections throughout North America and Europe.
Twenty years ago, Michael expanded his practice to include teaching, driven by a deep desire to share both the skills and the deeper understanding that underpin visual art. He has taught a wide range of students—from absolute beginners to seasoned professionals—focusing on the foundational habits and disciplines that help artists truly see and translate the world around them.
As Michael often says, “Painting is visual music.” Influenced by the teachings of Henry Hensche and the tradition of perceptual painting, he believes that anyone, through dedicated practice, can learn to see and appreciate the visual language of art.