Mitchell Albala
MASTER ARTIST
Unlock Your Artistic Potential
Mentorship is the fastest way to go from where you are today, to where you want to be!
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Mentoring Accomplished Artists
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MEDIUM: Oil Paint | Pastel Art
SPECIALTY: ✔ Artist Process & Mindset ✔ Composition ✔ Color
I aim to build a warm, supportive, and fun environment in my groups. Guidance is practical and tuned to the areas where you need the most support. My groups generally focus on the “big three” of landscape painting: shape interpretation, composition, and color. Feedback is specific: I tell you exactly why something works or why it doesn’t, and back that up with examples. I often open images up in Photoshop and make adjustments there — altering value, changing color, or modifying the composition. We also cover related topics such as color mixing, paint handling, palettes, drawing, and the proper way to reference photos. I also provide a lot of support material, directing you to portfolios of other artists or styles, related articles from my blog, YouTube videos, and books. Each session begins with a critique of everyone’s work, followed by a demonstration or lecture. Exercises or assignments are given on an as-needed basis. These may be directed to you individually or to the group.
I always tell students that those who make progress have trained themselves to ask the right questions. Solutions to painting problems are much more difficult to come by if we don’t know what questions to ask. In large part, what my sessions do is teach painters what to look for in their paintings, and what questions to ask about their own work in terms of shape interpretation, composition, and color.
New Group Focus: Abstracting from Life: Entering the Aesthetic Dimension, starting in September (see details below).
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to abstract or semi-abstract painting is the misconception that abstraction is an “anything goes” proposition. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Abstraction requires a command of the formal elements of painting — composition, value, color, form, depth, movement, and so on — just as much as good representational painting does. However, with abstraction, these aesthetic considerations become the raison d’être, the very purpose of the painting.
Even though an abstract or semi-abstract painting may retain a foothold in representation, it must have a clear visual and/or conceptual idea. How are these aesthetic elements engaged, and what are you trying to say with them? This group will not focus on pure abstraction, which breaks all ties to a recognizable subject. Instead, we play in the semi-abstract arena, starting with observation, and extrapolating from there.
A typical session includes the critique portion, slide presentations, analysis of various painters working in the aesthetic dimension, and demonstrations. Specific exercises and projects are assigned on an as-needed basis to help guide you into the aesthetic dimension.
Level: Accomplished. Because abstraction requires a command of foundational principles and practices, the group is not suitable for beginners or intermediate painters.
Medium: Your mentor is a landscape painter working in oil and pastel, but the group is open to painters working in any medium.
Pacing: At Mastrius, participants join and leave groups according to their needs. Mitchell will be spending the first four to five months covering foundational ideas related to abstract composition and vision-making. So participants are strongly encouraged to join the group at the September start, and stay with the group for at least those first months.
Mitchell’s EXPERTISE
Listed below are this Mentor’s specialty skills. Join this group if you want to grow in these areas.
Specialty: ✔ Artist Process & Mindset ✔ Composition ✔ Color
Technical:
Colour and Composition
Technique Demos
Teaching How to Self Critique
Providing Art Critiques
Supplies and Tools – what to use, where to save, and where to spend
Studio Setup for Art Production
MARKETING:
Website Design
Artist Statement & CV
“Mitchell’s experience as painter and his knowledge as an artist were invaluable. His sessions were impeccably planned and we reaped the benefit of hearing from everyone’s critiques. I always came away with new artists to explore and something to ponder about the why behind my work. And the how to push it to be better. As an aside this group has been fabulous too 😍”
~ Pam, Accomplished Artist
READ MORE TESTIMONIALS
Mitchell’s critiques are very thoughtful and informative and it’s apparent that he prepares for each session to provide relevant content and insight. I am grateful for his expanse of knowledge and expertise in helping our group to learn so much!
~ Jennifer, Accomplished Artist
I really enjoyed learning as a group and found Mitchell very knowledgeable. I learned not only when he was critiquing my work, but as he made his way through the whole group!
~ Jodi, Accomplished Artist
I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work with Mitchell. His sessions were organized, content rich and tailored to address specific areas of interest in our group. I appreciated the time he took to get to know us as individuals and the insights he shared help us gain a better understanding of our personal strengths and growth areas. I found Mitchell to be very generous and honest when sharing his experience, knowledge and advice and I highly recommend his class! P.S. I “second” Pams comment on the lovely group! I felt very much welcome and supported from day one!
~ Roberta, Accomplished Artist
My paintings changed for the better. Mitchell’s suggestions and guidance improved my work. Without a doubt. I highly recommend him as mentor and teacher.
~ Teresa, Accomplished Artist
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If the group you’re interested in has a waitlist, you have the option to join another group to get started. When your group opens we can transfer you over.
Accomplished
Mentorship MembershipNext session: December 03, 2024
On the 1st Tuesday of every month
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM MST Tue
Not your timezone? Click below
3-hour Sessions
PLEASE NOTE: The homework submission deadline is 3 business days before the next session. If you register within 3 business days of the next session you are encouraged to join the session but the mentor won’t be able to provide feedback on your artwork until the following session.
MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mitchell Albala is a highly respected painter, workshop instructor, and author. His semi-abstract and atmospheric landscapes have been exhibited nationally and are represented in corporate and private collections.
He is the author of two best-selling books on landscape painting: “Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice” (Watson-Guptill, 2009), with over 60,000 copies in print; and “The Landscape Painter’s Workbook: Essential Studies in Shape, Composition, and Color” (Rockport Publishers, 2022), which is currently the #1 selling book on landscape in the nation. Mitchell has led plein air workshops in Italy and teaches workshops throughout the Pacific Northwest. He has lectured on Impressionism and landscape painting at the Seattle Art Museum and has written for International Artist and Artists & Illustrators magazines.
Mitchell also hosts a popular painting blog, which is among feedspot.com‘s “Top 100 Painting Blogs for Artists.” See more of his artwork at his website: mitchalbala.com
Artist Statement
My work is driven by several closely related aesthetics: the inherent abstraction within nature, simplified shapes, and light.
A painting can reach a viewer in different parts of their mind. One part responds to things we can name like “houses,” “trees,” “clouds,” or the narrative itself. Another part responds to aesthetics such as color, shape, or movement. This is the part of the mind I want to reach. I consider a painting most successful when the viewer is struck by these aesthetics before they can identify the actual subject.
Color harmony is also a core instinct for me. The landscape, with its atmosphere and unified light, is an ideal subject with which to pursue this interest. If I cannot make all the colors in the painting feel as if they are bound together through a unifying color of light, then I will not consider the painting entirely successful. Each of my paintings has a distinct color chord, which is meant to convey a particular color of light or time of day. When a viewer says that the painting “glows,” I consider it the highest compliment.
In my two current series, Azure and Asphalt and Rooftops, I bring my interest in unified light and pattern to the urban landscape. These works explore the abstract patterns formed by reflected light on the streets and rooftops at sunset. In these works I strike a delicate balance between simplification and detail: I have to include enough visual cues to make it clear to the viewer that it is an urban landscape, but few enough that it doesn’t distract from my primary interest, which are the abstract patterns and the light.
Buy Mitchell’s Books
With over 60,000 copies in print, Landscape Painting has been one of the best selling landscape painting books in the U.S. since its publication in 2009.
The book has been called “a new classic of landscape art” and has graced the bookshelves at art museums in both the U.S. and Europe. A Chinese language edition was published in 2017.
“Absolutely the finest book I’ve ever read on landscape painting! That list includes Edgar Payne, Andrew Loomis, John Carlson and Birge Harrison. Yours is better than all of them.” ~ Don Demers
The Landscape Painter’s Workbook is the long-awaited second book in Mitchell Albala’s landscape painting series. In “Workbook” Mitchell drills down more deeply into topics of shape interpretation, composition, and color. The book includes exercises instead of demonstrations, and lessons not included in the first book.
“Mitchell’s new book is like opening a beautiful travel guide to exotic destinations — there’s so much to explore: shapes, composition, color, and more. ‘The Landscape Painter’s Workbook’ will no doubt become my comfortably worn and dog-eared ‘road-atlas’ as I explore the wondrous world of landscape painting.” – Carl Olson, host of The Artful Painter Podcast
