Piqua Arts Council to host oil painting workshop

Piqua Arts Council has invited nationally and internationally awarded artist, Dave Santillanes, to Piqua to instruct an oil painting workshop beginning this Wednesday, Oct. 13 and running through Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. The workshop will be held at the Apple Tree Gallery, 405 N. Main St, Piqua, OH 45356, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Santillanes has received various awards, including 2020 Grand Prize Winner in the 9th Annual Plein Air Salon Competition, 2020 Artists Choice Award in Quest for the West Show, 2020 First Place Signature Division in Oil Painters of America, and more. Santillanes’ work has been publicized in numerous magazines, including the Cover Page of Plein Air Magazine in January of 2021.

“As my painting style continues to evolve, my goal with each piece is not a literal rendering of the scene. Instead, it is to capture and convey its essence,” said Santillanes. “In terms of composition, I look for simplicity. I’ve found that there are many opportunities to simplify a scene without compromising its sense of ‘place’. Therefore, I’ll seek out the big abstract shapes in the landscape and use them for the underlying design concept. And because I’ve departed from a literal interpretation, I’m free to rearrange elements to fit this concept. In this way I am able to describe the scene in my own ‘words.’”

“Finally, capturing the essence of a landscape involves a realistic rendering of color, light and atmosphere. This requires direct observation and is why most of my paintings begin in the field with a plein air study. But studying the physical aspects of nature isn’t the only reason I paint outdoors; for me, the sensory experience of being there is equally important. There’s no better way to get to know a place on earth than to sit for a couple of hours and contemplate it while painting. This intense observation brings a spiritual intimacy with the scene that can’t be achieved in mere passing and allows me to ‘speak’ with complete sincerity in each painting.” For more about Dave Santillanes and his artwork, visit his website at Dasanti.com.

Please note: Dave’s Oil Painting Workshop has reached max capacity. Stay tuned for 2022 Workshop info, found on our webpage at PiquaArtsCouncil.org/ workshops.