Gulf Coast Art Alliance workshops start in January

Gulf Coast Art Alliance workshops start in January
The Gulf Coast Art Alliance, located at 225 East 24th Ave. in Gulf Shores, will host a series of art workshops beginning the first week of January. The workshops will feature award winning artists, most of whom are featured in the gallery. The workshops should appeal to winter guests and locals who want to explore their creative side as a new year’s resolution. To schedule a workshop or for more info, call 251-948-2627, stop by the gallery, visit gulfcoastartsalliance.com or email gulfcoastartsalliance@gmail. com. Supply lists for all classes are available at gulfcoastartsalliance.com under Adult Classes.
Craig Reynolds
Painting Atmosphere in Landscapes” Oil Workshop, Craig Reynolds, January 5 & 6, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., $225. Craig Reynolds was born and raised in Gadsden Al., where he lived and worked most of his life. His dad was an artist and taught him how to draw and paint at an early age. Reynolds did take a couple of years of art at the local junior college but didn’t see a future in it at the time so he got a real paying job at the local steel mill. During that time he always maintained his art business as a second job. After retirement, Reynolds and his wife moved to Gulf Shores where he continues his art career. One of his goals is to develop more interest in plein air painting in Coastal Alabama. He has traveled extensively with some of the best-known plein air artists in the country, painting en plein air from Eklutna Glazier Alaska to Pt. Clyde, Maine, up and down the East Coast and to all parts of the South. “I love the history, texture and patina of ‘vintage stuff’,” Reynolds said, “and I am a strong proponent of preserving it through my work as an artist. I believe every painting should tell a story with visual representation and emotion.”
Jane Sellier
Beginning Acrylic Painting, Jane Sellier, Jan. 11 through Feb. 15, 9:30 a.m. until Noon, $120. Jane Sellier is a teaching artist who believes in the freedom and fun art can provide. Her philosophy is to “have fun, be experimental, and share it with others”. Painting in soft pastels, watercolors, oils and acrylics, she enjoys switching mediums because each one stays new, fresh & exciting that way. She continues to take classes and workshops and says, “If I’m not teaching, I’m taking.’’ Sellier and her husband traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada where she found inspiration for painting around nearly every turn of every new road. Whether she was in the Northeast where the coast is craggy and the landscape is dotted with lighthouses or in the Southwest where adobe style architecture predominates, she never lacked for subjects to paint. Sellier’s paintings are in private and corporate collections both in the United States and Canada. Her work has been published in The Artist’s Magazine and the Artist’s Sketch-book Magazine. Sellier teaches at several locations along Coastal Alabama.
Rich Willows
Adventures in Watercolor, Rich Willows, Jan. 13 through Feb. 17, 10 a.m. until Noon, $130. Drawing and painting have always been enjoyable forms of recreation for Rich Willows, even while having a successful career in industrial management. He teaches many classes and workshops, encouraging his students to enjoy the process. Willows especially likes trying new techniques and materials as he believes experimenting is a continual part of the creative process. He works in a number of representative and abstract styles in all types of water media. “I enjoy working with the beginner student as well as the intermediate/advanced individuals,” Willows said. Willows received a BSE in Art Education from Kansas State Teachers College and worked two years at Washburn University toward his MFA in drawing and painting. During this time he taught high school art in the 70’s before going to work in industrial management for 24 years. In 1998 he decided there was more to life than the next promotion and retired on his sailboat. It was there he got back in touch with his creative side. The sketchbook was his companion when at anchor or port. The year 2000 found him back on land in Pensacola with time to get back into the art community. He became a docent at the Pensacola Art Museum and started taking classes at Pensacola Junior College where he eventually began to teach drawing and painting.
Tommy Vogel
Painting in Pastel, Tommy Vogel, Jan. 11 through Feb. 15, 9:30 a.m. until Noon, $120 (supplies included). The white sands and the beauty of the Gulf Coast brought Tommy and his wife, Judy, to the Gulf Coast. He is a self-taught artist and works in realist form using pastel. His subject matter covers a wide range, from tropical to still life. “Learning to do anything well is not an overnight accomplishment,” Vogel said. When people ask the key to creating fine art, Vogel always tells them it requires practice and more practice. His work hangs at the GCAA Art Gallery and other galleries in the Gulf Coast area. Vogel’s first love is giving lessons to both young and old, sharing with his students the joy of creating. Each student finishes a picture in his class. He currently teaches at the Gulf Coast Arts Alliance Art Gallery.
Photography by Dorie Parsons, $20 per person, bring your camera
Dorie Parsons
Dorie Parson will be teaching weekly digital photography classes through Feb. 18 starting with Tips and Tricks on Jan. 14 from 10-11 a.m. Classes include Editing Photos with Adobe, Capturing Light and Motion With Your Digital Camera, Composition-The Art of Photography, Photographing Birds an d Mardi Gras Beads Crafts. Parsons received her bachelor of fine arts and master of art education degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. She has taught art, photography and humanities to students in grades kindergarten through graduate school. After teaching in Virginia, Parsons joined the U. S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools and taught on U. S. overseas military bases for 30 years.  Her teaching assignments included Midway Island, Japan, Turkey and Italy.  She also worked at three DoDDS district offices visiting schools in Okinawa, Japan; Turkey; Spain; Portugal; Bahrain and Italy. Her artwork has been published and exhibited in several countries and she has published several books.  She currently resides in Orange Beach, Alabama, and offers adult education classes in art and photography at several locations on the Gulf Coast.As you might expect, Parsons’ work includes photographs from all over the world.  She has visited over 110 countries.  She especially enjoys wandering through the bogs and beaches of LA (Lower Alabama) in search of the beautiful animals and plants found here.
Greg Cartmell
Celebration of Art Workshop, Greg Cartmell, Jan. 23 and 24, 10:00 a.m. until Noon, $225. A professional artist for over 45 years, Greg Cartmell is nationally recognized as one of the country’s foremost landscape painters. Cartmell paints en plein air; the tradition of on-location painting, directly from nature. A true impressionist, Cartmell paints in broken color whereby engaging the viewer to mix the color with one’s own eye.  At times, the quality of light becomes the main focus of his work. Cartmell’s works are in private and corporate collections throughout the world.  The recipient of over three hundred awards, he has been published in numerous regional and national journals. Cartmell is also known for his portraits and has done many noteworthy commissions including Former First Lady Barbara Bush and Millie, Congressman G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, Senator John Stennis, Mike Wallace of CBS, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Mississippi State University Head Football Coach Dan Mullen. Cartmell currently resides in Meridian, MS., where he has a studio and teaches art to adults. He travels extensively, conducting workshops throughout the United States.  His teaching method is alla prima, which means at once.
Joanne Hall
Beginning Oil Painting, Joanne Hall, Feb. 2 through March 9, 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., $175. Joanne Hall, a resident of Gulf Shores, has been a painter for over 40 years. As with many other artists, her life has been filled with other responsibilities, including a career in medicine. After retirement, she began to pursue painting full time. Hall was awarded Signature Membership in Artists of Northwest Arkansas where she was a workshop instructor over a period of twenty-five years. The ANWA has approximately 200 members and sponsors a ten state annual exhibit and workshop. Hall also painted and taught out of her business, Highland Studio, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She is also a member of the Alabama Plein Air Artists. Hall has a special love for the Ozark Mountains, forests and creeks. She seeks out old homesteads still to be found off back roads. She loves painting beachscapes, fishing boats and harbor scenes around the Gulf of Mexico. From time to time, she makes a pilgrimage to New Mexico with painter friends to paint landscape in Taos and other cities.
Michael Davis
The Wonder of Watercolor Workshop, Michael Davis, February 6 and 7, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., $225. Michael Davis of Homewood is a watercolor realist inspired by the beauty and timelessness of the southern landscape. His passion for nature is reflected in his many paintings of the Southeast from the mountains of Tennessee and North Georgia to the Gulf Coast. Although he began painting in oils when he was young, he quickly developed a love for the beauty and detail he could capture with watercolor. While his current works in acrylic offer a new dimension to his artistic vision, Michael remains primarily a watercolor realist, teaching watercolor classes and workshops throughout the Southeast. His painting “Gulf Bound” was recently accepted into the Watercolor Society of Alabama’s Member Showcase and his watercolor painting “Old Cotton Field Back Home” was accepted into the 2016 WSA 75th National Exhibition.He was awarded Best of Show at the 2015 Alabama Wildlife Federation Fine Art Exhibition. Other awards include the People’s Choice Award at the 56th GAA Fine Art Exhibition at the Gadsden Museum of Art, Best in 2-Dimensional at the 2014 Fountain City Art Festival, and Best in Show at the 2012 Eufaula Art Show. His paintings are in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.