Silvermine School of Art will offer a special 2-day workshop with visiting plein-air artist Jill Steenhuis from Aix-en-Provence, France. Steenhuis will begin her workshop with a lecture on Oct. 6 entitled “Van Gogh Seen Through the Artist’s Eyes” and will lead a 2-day intensive oil-painting workshop from 9:30 am to 4 pm on Oct. 7 and 8.
The focus of the workshop will be on color: how to mix a harmonious palette in oil paint, then put it to use in the landscape or in still life and/or interiors if weather does not permit. She will guide students in the experience of taking in nature “through the senses to activate one's unique inner poetry.”
“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced,” said Vincent Van Gogh. Steenhuis uses Van Gogh’s words to inspire in her students a sense of freedom. In her classes, the creative process is taught in such a way that painting becomes the expression of the painter’s soul in nature. Her workshop is open to all levels.
Jill Steenhuis, an Atlanta native, has lived in Aix-en-Provence, France, since 1980, painting in the landscapes of Provence. After graduating from Sweet Briar College with a BFA in studio art, she attended The Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix. In the 1980s and 90s, Jill was one of the few artists to have a studio at the Château Noir, where Cézanne had his studio in the late 19th century.Jill has exhibited in solo shows in New York City, Greenwich, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC, Dallas, and San Francisco, among other major American cities, as well as in Aix-en-Provence and Paris. Her work is part of the permanent collections of several museums and private collections in America and in France. Jill appeared on “Good Morning America” and served as the Cézanne specialist for the Smithsonian Institute for the 100th anniversary of the painter’s death. Jill has served as a Cézanne and Van Gogh specialist for several institutions including the Oakland Museum (California), the Clarke Art Institute, the High Museum of Atlanta, and the Harvard University Museum. Her book, Art, Soul & Destiny, was published in 2012 and is currently in its second printing.