For information on future workshops, please scroll down.
For past workshop photos scroll to the bottom of page.

Painting workshops are an important part of life for me and many of my students. Our trips have been exciting, educational in the realm of art history, ancient history and thrilling when we stand where the famous artists of the past stood and painted.

We have learned how the Impressionists used that special light near the Mediterranean, and how difficult a life some people had in the middle ages. From the canals of Venice, the medieval towns of Tuscany and Provence, the museums of Paris, and the gardens that Monet loved to our own home soil and the rich heritage that we have in art in the USA, painting gives the artist a more intense understanding of the subject he chooses.

These impressions last longer than photographs that are put away in albums. When looking through my journals, I remember people that stopped to talk while I was painting. I remember the smells of the nearby bakeries, the music that might have been playing, and kind comments by admirers as they passed. The life of an artist is good.

If you wish to comment on my site or sign up for a class, please send an email to

art@maboysen.com

or call 440-564-1189 OR toll free: 888-875-9892

I am offering a four week class
Exploring Surface Options for Watercolor

These will be held Monday evenings from 7 - 9 p.m. beginning
April 14, 2008 through May 5, 2008

I will have Rtistx board for sale in class, and some watercolor canvas, as neither can be purchased locally at this time. They are available through several art supply catalogs, however. Check out my Painting Tips website and look for the link to the best sources.

Claybord may be purchased from Prizm Art in Lyndhurst.

Call the Valley Art Center to sign-up for this opportunity.

SPARROW VILLAGE, SOUTH AFRICA.....AND AIDS HOSPICE AND CHILDREN'S HOME

In March, 2006, I went South Africa to paint for children in Sparrow Village, a school and hospice for children who are HIV positive and were born with this disease.

Due to the recent availability of medicine, these children are now living longer and more productive lives, and will possibly reach an age, when they can support themselves in the community. It is my desire to give them every opportunity to grow in their interests, such as art, so that they may live productive lives on the outside when they become of age to leave the protected environment of Sparrow Village.

Sparrow Village, headed by Rev. Corine McClintock (the Mother Therasa of South Africa) is making strides to give these unfortunate children happy experiences of normal life. It was a life- altering experience for me. Visit their website: http://www.sparrowvillage.org I am now working on a new website for them dealing with their education and the fact that the children are living....and not dying at such an alarming rate. It will be available later this year. But you can get an idea of its history and how it came into being on the current site.

During the week I was there, and since my return from the second trip in 2007, I have done over 100 character studies of the children and nurses and aids at the request of one of the administrators. These have been given to the people whom I painted. I understand it is the first time they have seen their image, since mirrors are not a part of the village decor.

See the Sparrow Village page for some of the paintings.

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FRANCE! A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!!!

The lavender fields and sunflower fields were in full bloom at the end of June (2007)....and fragrant!

For the first few paintings, Click here