Toscana Americana

Rich’s workshops are designed to teach the beginning plein aire painter to create impactful compositions by selecting dynamic shapes that work well together.  The student will learn to accurately identify value and color, to guide the viewer’s eye through a painting with the use of temperature shifts, textural variety, and effective edge treatment, as well as proper paint application.  Rich’s enthusiastic but patient teaching style is just right for those with little experience venturing outside to paint.  For the more advanced student, Rich will help raise the level of their work by introducing them to new ideas about color use, shape containment, the psychology involved in viewing a painting, and the effective use the these principles.  Workshops include as many demos as participants may need, abundant one on one instruction with Rich, daily critique sessions for those who wish to participate, and a take home instructional guide which covers all information offered during the workshop.  And just to make sure the student has everything he or she needs to succeed in making better paintings, you’ll have the beauty of the Tuscan landscape to inspire you!   Come and learn how to better express your artistic vision in a place that has inspired some of history’s giants, with an artist who genuinely loves to teach. 

Meet Rich Gallego...

Born in 1962, Rich Gallego was raised in Los Angeles. Though he grew up in the city, he knew from the time of his first camping trip at age ten that the open spaces of the mountains and deserts would lure him back again and again. And so they did. As an adult, a part-time job reconditioning sculptures sparked an interest in drawing, then painting. Before long, what started as a creative diversion had evolved into a passion. Rich began taking classes at Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design in 1998, drawing and painting with instructor Mark Strickland. Next, desiring to combine his love of the outdoors with his passion for painting, he sought out California Art Club Signature Member, Karl Dempwolf and took weekly plein aire classes with him for the next year. In 2006, with a group from the Taos Art School and instructor George Strickland, Rich spent a week painting at Canyon deChelly, Arizona. In addition to continuous study of the art of painting, Rich has participated in numerous local and national plein aire painting competitions and shows, winning several awards for his interpretations of the landscape. Rich also teaches weekly workshops at various locations around Southern California and a week long plein aire painting workshop for the Taos Art School each summer. In addition to the artists noted above, he lists Clyde Aspevig, Matt Smith, Scott Christensen, and Donald Hildreth as some of the artists who have influenced him most. Rich lives in Palmdale, CA with his wife and two children.

All-inclusive* workshop includes:
--Escorted group travel Florence

to Cortona May 30, 2018****

--Cortona to Florence June 6, 2018****

--Instruction in the classroom and on location
--Seven nights accommodations in
historic Cortona** (Private room & bath)

--Local Etruscan Museum& Museo Diocesano
--All meals***

(Italian breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Daily wine tasting opportunities

--Day trip to Pienza & Montepulciano

--Day trip to Lake Trasimeno

--A farewell wine tasting dinner 
 
**Included with "Hotel" plans only. See details.
***Included with "Group Meal Plan" only. See details.  
****Specific departure time from Florence airport only on May 30, 2018
and from Cortona on June 6, 2018; times to be announced.

  *All-inclusive plans are Hotel only.
Air travel to/from Cortona is not included and is the responsibility of each participant.

Advanced, intermediate & beginners!

Rich’s painting workshops are designed to teach the beginning plein aire painter to create impactful compositions by selecting dynamic shapes that work well together.  The student will learn to accurately identify value and color, to guide the viewer’s eye through a painting with the use of temperature shifts, textural variety, and effective edge treatment, as well as proper paint application.  Rich’s enthusiastic but patient teaching style is just right for those with little experience venturing outside to paint. 

For the more advanced students, Rich will help raise the level of their work by introducing them to new ideas about color use, shape containment, the psychology involved in viewing a painting, and the effective use the these principles.  Workshops include as many demos as participants may need, abundant one on one instruction with Rich, daily critique sessions for those who wish to participate, and a take home instructional guide which covers all information offered during the workshop.  And just to make sure the student has everything he or she needs to succeed in making better paintings, you’ll have the beauty of the Tuscan landscape to inspire you!   Come and learn how to better express your artistic vision in a place that has inspired some of history’s giants, with an artist who genuinely loves to teach.