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Mike held a one day plein air workshop on May 26, 2015 in the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historical Park along the American River in Coloma, CA.

Mike conducted two demos for the students during the day.  The first demo in the morning was a 9" x 12" plein air painting along the American River using a color palette consisting of a warm and cool color of each of the three primaries plus black and white and burnt sienna.  The linen substrate was first covered with a thin layer of burnt sienna, then a line drawing of the scene followed by painting in the four or five largest masses from dark to light and finally more accurately depicting the scene through color, values, and edges enhancing the focal area of the scene.  The result is as follows:

The second demo in the early afternoon was an 8" x 10" plein air painting using one color followed by putting in a little color to conclude the demo.  The one color was a mixture of burnt sienna and black using turps, rags and q-tips to establish correct values.  After the one color set for ten minutes or so a small amount of Mikes full palette of colors was scrubbed into the image using the same values as previously established.  The result was a  soft and loose image that effectively showed the view Mike was after.   Mike personally liked this result better in that the painting appeared looser and more painterly to him.  The result is as follows: