American Artist: Morgan Samuel Price: Painting With a Positive Attitude

by M. Stephen Doherty

June Light in Carmel
2007, oil, 16 x 20. Collection the artist.

“Starting with the demonstration on the first morning, I let students know this will be more fun than they expect and less stressful than they anticipate,” Florida artist Morgan Samuel Price explains in talking about her workshops.

“I know they will accomplish more and will have a better experience if they relax and adopt a positive attitude.” The relaxed conversation that can be heard among participants in her classes is just one indication that people are enjoying themselves while they work hard at improving their skills. Another is that students walk around looking at one another’s pictures, sharing information, and offering words of support. Price encourages this kind of exchange, and her warm, open personality helps maintain that collegial atmosphere in the class.

After 28 years of teaching workshops around the world, Price recognizes that the biggest stumbling blocks for many students are the feelings that they aren’t as skilled as others in the class or that they have to pressure themselves into creating masterpieces. “Most of the participants in a workshop are very successful in their chosen careers and are willing to push themselves to enter a whole new field—they just need instruction and direction,” the instructor explains after a recent group class in Louisiana. “I try to convince them from the very beginning that no matter how experienced or inexperienced they may be, they will have fun and take home a lot of useful information. I don’t have to worry about them being serious and eager. Every one of them has made a commitment of time and money to be in the workshop, and I know they are ready to learn. I promise them I will do everything I can to help them realize their ambitions, including regular demonstrations, individual conferences, and group critiques.

Tom and the Girls
2007, oil, 24 x 30. Collection the artist.

“I can always hear a couple of students take a deep breath when I say the word ‘critique,’ so I quickly assure them they have nothing to fear,” Price says. “I’ve heard horror stories about instructors who deflate students’ enthusiasm with harsh criticism, so I make sure to point out that my approach is to help them identify their personal strengths as well as the challenges they are capable of handling. The workshop is not about showing off or feeling hopeless. It’s all about enjoying the extraordinary experience of painting.”

Price is widely recognized for her plein air landscapes, so most of the invitations she receives from workshop organizers and art groups is to present a three- or five-day course that combines both studio work from photographs and outdoor painting from nature. “I have experience teaching portrait, still-life, and landscape painting and love sharing information about developing those kinds of pictures in watercolor or oil; but most of my workshops are now a combination of outdoor and studio instruction in painting landscapes in oil,” the artist-instructor says. “The best circumstance is when the students and I have five days together in a location that completely removes us from our work and family obligations, but of course it is sometimes necessary to shorten the program to three days and to accept that people will be commuting from home. Whatever the circumstances, I try to prepare students in advance by sending them a list of recommended supplies, but I assure them they can bring whatever they want, and I’ll find time to help them.”

Zinc Café
2006, oil, 12 x 16. Private collection.

Price starts each day of her workshops with demonstrations of the fundamentals of oil painting, such as color mixing and composition. However, she is more than willing to tailor her approach to fit the group. “I try to read the expressions on the faces of the participants so I learn as much as I can about their needs,” she says. “That way each presentation can be focused on the issues of greatest concern to them. For example, if they don’t understand color temperature, center of interest, or relative value, I show them what those terms mean and how to use the concepts as they develop paintings. If, on the other hand, they are ready to introduce figures into their landscapes or want to capture the angular, warm light at the end of the day, then I demonstrate techniques for accomplishing those goals. I always point out what works and why it works so they understand how to apply the knowledge to their own work.”

Waterlilies in Bloom
2007, oil, 11 x 14. Collection the artist.

Price acknowledges that, as in any workshop, it is important to understand her participants’ backgrounds—not only in terms of art but also their personal and professional lives, which often determine their skill level and time available. While her workshops are often filled with artists of all levels, she finds it particularly enjoyable to teach beginners. “Although I have always enjoyed working with skilled artists because they are generally very driven, in some ways the most interesting groups to teach include students who have no background in art because they often work the hardest for every piece of knowledge they can acquire,” she says. “They are so excited by the magic of making swirls of paint look like trees, buildings, distant mountains, or reflections in water. It’s such a revelation to them, and it’s exciting for me to offer the skills needed to accomplish that visual communication.”

Regardless of skill level, Price has noted some similarities between groups of participants. “The biggest struggles for most students relate to the concept of color intensity and the specific ways they can vary the degrees of intensity to create better paintings,” she says. “Much of what they have been taught is inadequate or wrong; or else they look at parts of the subject in isolation and lose the ability to see shapes, values, and colors in context. For example, if students stare at distant mountains, they are likely to see intense green or brown shapes whereas those forms are much less intense and bluer than the foreground areas of the landscape. They have to judge intensity in relation to other areas of the scene.

Although Price teaches workshops in still life and figure painting, she is best known for the plein air classes she conducts in Florida.

“To help students understand exactly what I mean, I ask them to form a shape the size of a 2B eraser with their thumb and forefinger,” the instructor explains. “The shape looks something like an ‘OK’ sign. I ask students to extend their hand away from their faces and look through that ‘OK’ sign at the darkest dark shape they can find in the foreground. Once they have stared long enough to get an impression, I ask them to look at a dark shape in the distant plane through the same opening. That distant form will appear to be much lighter in value than the foreground object. That comparison helps them understand how the values shift depending on the distance from the viewer, and that value is a relative concept. This applies to both light and dark values.

“Design is another issue students need help understanding,” Price continues. “Their tendency is to arrange the elements of a still life, portrait, or landscape in the same way they would if taking a photograph of people at a wedding. The bride and groom are posed in the middle, and everyone else flanks them. When they paint the waterfall in front of them, the vase of flowers in a still life, or the person they are portraying, the center of interest is positioned just like the bride and groom: in the dead center of the composition. I explain that there are at least 17 to 18 pitfalls of design that can be avoided when one understands what doesn’t work. There are numerous ways to approach design, of course, and I can’t list them all, but I try to point out some of the common problems and how to avoid them. Furthermore, I explain that the benefit of good design is that viewers are more likely to discover and enjoy every part of the picture.

Morning Walk on 7th and McDonald
2006, oil, 16 x 20. Collection the artist.

“Finally, the issue of paint quality can be a problem for students who aren’t accustomed to working in oil,” the instructor continues. “For example, watercolorists have a tendency to thin oil colors with too much solvent and they wind up not being able to control the washes of paint. I demonstrate why it is advantageous to work from lean to fat colors without thinning the paints with so much solvent that it won’t accept subsequent layers. Solvent is used to break down paint whereas medium thins the paint without making it run,” she explained. “But just as there can be a problem with paint that is too thin, one can also struggle with thick paint. I also show students why it makes sense to sketch in the outline of the shapes in the composition with a thin layer of cerulean blue—the weakest pigment on their palette—so the subsequent layers of color won’t be distorted. I find that to be a much better technique than drawing with charcoal or a strong earth color such as burnt sienna.”

Unlike many workshop instructors, Price tries to find ways of explaining painting procedures without actually working directly on her students’ canvases. “I don’t display my paintings in the studio, and I try to avoid painting on other people’s canvases because I want them to find the solutions that are best for them,” she says. “I try to steer them in a direction that will allow them to feel they have achieved success on their own. That makes it easier for them to solve problems long after the workshop is over. If all they learn is how I resolved an issue for them, they are less likely to figure things out by themselves.”

Jewel Street
2007, oil, 11 x 14. Collection the artist.

As mentioned earlier, the daily critiques can provoke a sense of anxiety among many workshop participants, and Price tries to prepare them for what she promises will be a positive and helpful interchange with her and the other students. “I assure them the aim is to point out their strengths and opportunities, not to destroy their confidence by hammering them with negative criticisms,” she says. “We start out congratulating each other on having completed a great day of painting, and I enumerate suggestions for enhancing that experience during the remaining days of the workshop. The joy of the experience comes from everyone identifying their personal preferences and talents, and from setting goals that expand those abilities. Knowing our strengths will empower us.

“We also address topics that may not have been covered during the painting demonstrations,” the artist continues. “Another feature is the opportunity to see everyone’s work displayed together. That affords another view of the work and a fresh eye necessary for objectively judging our paintings. Furthermore, hearing a critique of someone else’s painting during the discussion may shed light on what others were struggling with that particular day.

Shopping on
Park Avenue
2007, oil, 10 x 14. Collection the artist.

“Most of the time, we paint alone in a spare bedroom, studio, or outdoors and we have to motivate ourselves to keep working,” Price concludes. “I try to give workshop participants as much information and self-confidence as I can because they will need a large measure of both to face the isolation and the self-criticism. I know I always leave workshops excited about the possibilities in front of me, and I do everything I can to help the students return home with the same sense of excitement.”

About the Artist
Morgan Samuel Price graduated from the Ringling School of Art, in Sarasota, Florida, and went on to work as an illustrator for Hallmark Cards, a creative director for a publishing firm, and a freelance architectural illustrator before establishing herself as a full-time fine artist. She has taught workshops since 1979, wrote a book on oil painting, and has produced more than 13 instructional DVDs. Price’s latest book, Turn on the Light, will be published in the spring of 2008. Her paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the country, and she is a member of Allied Artists of America, Pastel Society of America, and the Salmagundi Art Club, in New York City. She is also a fellow in the American Artists Professional League, an associate member of Oil Painters of America, and a signature member of Plein Air Painters of the Southeast. For more information on Price, visit her website at www.morgansamuelprice.com.

M. Stephen Doherty is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Workshop.

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