Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Artist/Instructor Gail McDaniel to Teach Watercolor Painting Course in Atlanta Area

            GRIFFIN, Ga. (June 2015) -- Gail McDaniel, an acclaimed watercolor artist/instructor who has served as an associate member of the prestigious Winsor & Newton Creative Artist Network in London, will teach an eight-week watercolor painting course this summer in the Atlanta area.

            The watercolor painting course will be offered to beginning, intermediate and advanced artists on Wednesday afternoons starting Aug. 5 at Griffin First United Methodist Church, 1401 Maple Drive in Griffin, Ga. Sessions will occur from 1-4 p.m. on Aug. 5, 12, 19 and 26; and Sept. 2, 9, 16 and 23. Tuition is $165 for all eight, three-hour sessions.  Griffin is located approximately 35 miles south of Atlanta.

            McDaniel will provide invaluable insights on composition, perspective, value, color theory and application. She also will demonstrate some of the techniques that have helped make her an award-winning artist, including abstract under paintings, disappearing purples, painting on Masa Paper, white on white, monotype paintings, let it flow, texturize your paintings, portraits, reflective surfaces, and wax-resist Batik. The course is structured to serve artists at all skill levels, from the very raw beginner to the most advanced. McDaniel will close each session with individual critiques.

            Because space is limited for the classes, reservations are required.  Both check and credit card payments are accepted. For more information or to register, contact the artist by phone at (678) 603-1502 or send an inquiry to gail@gailmcdanielart.com. Individuals can learn more about the artist/instructor and view her artwork at http://www.GailMcDanielArt.com.

            "Participants are encouraged to paint their own choice of subject matter, in their own style, at their own speed, all the while being challenged to work out of their comfort zone and having fun along the way," said McDaniel, who moved to the Sun City Peachtree community south of Atlanta in March to be closer to family. "My classes provide opportunities for watercolor artists to develop their skills and find success.

            Before moving to Georgia, McDaniel spent more than 20 years working as a professional watercolorist and art instructor in Franklin, Tenn. During that time, she taught more than 1,300 students in classes and workshops around the world while raising almost $90,000 for student arts supplies through the "Students and Friends of Gail McDaniel Awards".

            "The Atlanta area has an excellent arts community, so I'm really looking forward to resuming my teaching here," McDaniel added. "I'll be demonstrating the techniques, shortcuts and concepts that I have developed or learned by doing, reading or studying with others. I show my students everything I know, holding nothing back. My goal is to inspire them without making them feel overwhelmed."

            McDaniel has trained artists from 36 different states (including Alaska and Hawaii), the District of Columbia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and South Korea. She has taught 11 workshops at historic Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, a landmark where the late Georgia O’Keefe lived and painted.

            In 2002, she and her husband, Ken, launched the "Students and Friends of Gail McDaniel Awards", raising almost $90,000 for the arts in Middle Tennessee public schools. The fundraising effort earned Gail and Ken a nomination in the "volunteer innovator" category of the 2009 Mary Catherine Strobel Award. In 2012, the artist was named the PENCIL Foundation's "Volunteer of the Year".

            The couple also hosted fundraising events such as the "Chase Away The Blahs Party Artistically" benefiting school children in their Franklin, Tenn., home and the "Building Bridges Through Art" exhibition at CharacterEYES Boutique in Franklin benefiting Bridges Domestic Violence Center.

            Before leaving Tennessee, she received an award for "Excellence in Community Service" from the Travelers Rest Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was inducted into the Cave City, Ky., Hall of Fame and named (as an eighth generation Kentuckian) to the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels as one of  "Kentucky's ambassadors of good will and fellowship around the world."


Gail McDaniel (center) teaches watercolor painting classes (Photo by Chuck Whiting)

            McDaniel gained international notoriety in 2001 when she was named an associate member of the Winsor & Newton Creative Artist Network in London, England, and invited by directors of the "Art in Provence" program to conduct an eight-day watercolor workshop in Dieulefit, France. She studied under 38 noted art instructors to help build her reputation as one of the South's top artists/instructors. -- even accepting a commission to paint a family landmark for former Kentucky Gov. Louie B. Nunn.

            Other commissions have included painting the invitation cover for "A Little Night of Music" starring country superstar LeAnn Rimes; 13 pieces for the annual Nashville Scene N-Focus social calendar; and a promotional streetscape of four homes for Newmark Homes and five other paintings for the Nashville Home Builders Association/SunTrust Bank 2001 "Parade of Homes."

            The artist has showcased her original paintings at 55 solo exhibitions, including the Brentwood (Tenn.) Public Library, the Puffy Muffin in Brentwood, and "Artlightenment" in Nashville. She also has served as a member of the arts faculty of Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art in Nashville, teaching weekly art classes. She created and painted the design for the theme poster and t-shirt for the Nashville Symphony’s "Italian Street Fair" two years in a row.

            For more information about Gail McDaniel or to see her work, visit www.GailMcDanielArt.com.


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