Dare Arts Council Hosting Watercolor Workshop

Posted By Matt Artz on April 12, 2015

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Dare County Arts Council is pleased to present a watercolor workshop with artist Jesi Pace-Berkeley, entitled “Faces and Figures”. This three day workshop will focus on figurative painting, and how to capture emotion and convey the human spirit. The workshop will take place at Dare County Arts Council on April 28-30, from 10am – 4pm each day, and is designed especially for intermediate to advanced students.

Jesi Pace-Berkeley is an award-winning artist from Virginia, who was most recently the Artist-in-Residence here on the Outer Banks with the Don and Katharine Bryan Cultural Series. Born in 1953 in Radford VA, she currently resides in Blacksburg where she moved after living many years in Tidewater. Jesi’s paintings are a blend of portraits, figures, landscapes/stilllifes and non-objective abstracts. About her work, she says, “These works are a blend of force and passion that command, dominate and hold your gaze hostage.”

Jesi has a unique and distinctive style, and her powerful watercolors evolved from self instruction. Captivated by the scale and intensity of her watercolors and acrylic paintings, the viewer quickly understands why Jesi’s work is included in many prestigious collections such as the Chrysler Museum, Southland Corporation, Norfolk and Southern Railroad, Landmark Communications, and The Omni Hotel.

The cost for this workshop is $300 for DCAC members, or $345 for nonmembers, and is ideal for intermediate to experienced artists. The workshop is limited to 16 participants, and preregistration is required. Artists will receive detailed instruction, hands-on daily painting, and lots of individual instruction. A full supply list is available online at www.darearts.org/workshop.

About the workshop, Jesi says, “Faces that convey an emotion and omit a message have always fascinated me. If I am working with a human form, images with heightened beauty, unique ugliness, asymmetry, strength of character or horrible fragility/vulnerability become the focus of my large-scale contemporary compositions. I see and try to capture a depth of expression as I attempt to use watercolor’s powerful range of transparency to slowly and concisely build the glazed imagery until the painting speaks on its own.

Faces / figures are the common denominator and I use this recognizable platform to try to bring attention to our universal selves. Each successful painting takes on a power of its own, and I try to find solutions for myself as I paint. I use big, bold, layered brushstrokes to glaze transparent layer upon layer as I attempt to capture emotion. I use my entire body and soul in an effort to create. Without deliberate thought or intent, I seem to have the ability to feel and express what others are feeling… sometimes far more than I ever wanted.”

Please call Dare County Arts Council for more information or to register for this workshop at (252) 473-5558 or visit darearts.org.