An exploration of dynamic layers and exuberant color through mixed media painting and printmaking

with Caroline Coolidge Brown and Staci Swider 

and in collaboration with The Delaware Art Museum and Winterthur Museum

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 5-7, 2021

With inspiration from antique textiles, Pre-Raphaelite paintings and Arts and Craft movement motifs, Caroline and Staci will lead you through an intense (and joyful!) exploration of printed and painted patterns. Caroline’s printmaking prowess will guide original work with monotypes and carved stamps to make collage papers. Staci’s mixed media mastery will turn those papers into playful compositions. We will move back and forth between painting and printing while working on multiple pieces, building rich layers and experimenting with color. Any skill level welcome.

Day 1  

After gathering in our DAM home-base, the big printmaking/painting studio that houses a large Charles Brand etching press, we will start the morning with a specially curated tour at Winterthur, the historic home and collection of Henry Francis du Pont. Our group will focus on finding favorite decorative patterns throughout the extraordinary collection and making reference sketches to use during the week. 

After lunch we’ll head back to the studio to talk about our sketches, color choices and begin underpainting layers. We will carve a rubber stamp in a repeating pattern to use on collage paper, painted panels or fabric.

Day 2 

Today we enjoy a special tour of the newly installed Pre-Raphaelite collection at the Delaware Art Museum, with particular interest in color and the Arts and Crafts movement’s nature-inspired aesthetic. After sketching, we will return to the studio for more layers: collage, prints, paint, go!

Day 3

Pull it all together! Staci and Caroline will facilitate group discussion of next steps and making sure those colors and compositions pop. Students can make more prints and/or focus on painting.

Supplies to Bring

• Sketchbook

• Favorite pencils and pens

• Scissors

• Gluestick

• Water container

• Old tee-shirt, rag or towel for hands

• Apron

• Acrylic gel medium and heavy molding paste (we love Golden brand)

• Favorite brushes, small, medium and large, plus a cheap one for paste  

• Your preferred painting surface: canvas, wood or canvas panels, heavyweight (200-300lb) hot or cold press watercolor paper; minimum size 16”x16”, max 36”x36”; any uncoated canvases need to be coated with gesso before class, no need to gesso paper

• White and assorted colors of acrylic paint: see note below

• Paint palette 

• Pad of lightweight drawing paper for collage

• Pad of hot press (smooth) 140 lb. watercolor paper for printmaking (I like the Fabriano by DickBlick)

Instructors will provide

• Stamp blocks and carving tools

• Printmaking ink, brayers and monoprinting plates 

• Use of our large Charles Brand etching press 

• Gelatin plates

• Tissue, book pages and deli paper for collage paper printing

• Decorative stencils (bring your favorites if you already have some)

Staci’s favorite Golden Brand paint colors:

• Quinacridone Magenta  

• Benzimidazolone Yellow Medium 

• Benzimidazolone Yellow light 

• Titanium White (bring more than you think you’ll need) 

• Naphthol Red LIght 

• Phthalo Blue (green shade) 

• Phthalo Green (blue shade) 

• Indigo (Anthraquinone blue) 

Questions?   mail@CarolineCBrown.com or staci@staciswider.com