An Imaginary Trip to Jekyll Island!

In October, a group of artists and I will be exploring Jekyll Island and the surrounding area! If you are unable to join us on location, perhaps you’d like to join us for “An Imaginary Trip” instead!

About Jekyll Island

One of the four barrier islands along the coast of Georgia known as the Golden Isles, Jekyll Island has a long but quiet history. Guale and Muskogian Indian tribes once made their home on the island before it was discovered by Europeans in 1510. Eventually, the English gained occupation. The island was home to a number of plantations.

In the late 1800’s, a plan was created to turn the island into a winter playground for the wealthy. Members joined the Jekyll Island  Club of one hundred patrons and began building “cottages.” These mansion-sized residences were the homes of the Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Morgan, and Pulitzer families. They played and vacationed on the island up until World War II.

After the war, the island was eventually bought by the state and the Jekyll Island Resort Club was opened in 1985 as a luxury resort hotel. For more information on Jekyll Island, please click here. For more information on the club, please click here.

Whether you’re into kayaking, hiking, walking, birdwatching, or simply soaking up the warmth of the sun, there’s plenty to do on the island and in the nearby areas of St. Simons and Brunswick!

With seven beaches, a lovely old historic district filled with “cottages,” there is bound to be a little bit of something for just about everyone. I will be sharing my sketchbook in the class as well as creating new work.  I’ll share how I tidy up pages and give them a bit more polish. 

Class Schedule

This class will begin on Thursday, October 31st runs through Thursday, December 12th. There will be four assignments. One assignment will be posted each week during these dates. The last three weeks will be for catching up on any missed assignments!

In this class, we will be exploring:

• Working to distill and simplify complex scenes
• Textures and suggesting detail
• Taking pages sketched on location and adding “polish” to them
• Learn how to create “memory sketches” from photographs and sketch them in the same style we used on location
• Plus other surprises!

The classes are structured to help you build your skills for drawing on location as if we were actually on location. Imagine stepping off the bus and being told we’ll be moving to our next destination in 30 minutes. That means you have less than thirty minutes to get something down on the page—once you find what you want to sketch! This part of the class is strictly optional. If you just love to draw and paint, you can always ignore the suggested timeframes and create at your own pace. 

Video demos are provided for all of the assignments. All techniques are shown so that you can “see” when, where and how they are used. You have total flexibility as to when you watch the videos once they are posted. The demos are available for the duration of the class and you can watch them as many times as you would like. Some “travelers” find it helpful to paint along with the video, pausing as needed to learn the techniques Laure is demonstrating. Others watch the video and then apply the techniques to a photo reference of their choosing. 

Individual and gentle feedback is given by Laure for each piece of work posted to the private class blog. All feedback is provided in a secure environment along with encouragement from the other class “travelers.” Everyone will have email access for any questions or challenges that come up during our visit to the location. 

The recommended art supply list can be found here. 

Art Skills

Students enrolling in this class should have the following:

• Basic drawing skills including an understanding of shapes, shading, values and perspective
• Basic painting skills including an understanding of washes, values, shaping and shapes (While it is not necessary for you to use watercolor, all demos and techniques will focus on using watercolor as the main sketching medium)
• Computer (User) Skills
• Use of email (to receive assignment details)
• Participation in a blog environment (how to post images, make comments)

Computer Technology Requirements

Students enrolling in this class should have the following:

• Computer with high-speed internet connection**
• Email (to receive assignments)
• Scanner or digital camera (for posting images)
• Computer for posting to the private class blog**

**Please note: While you can access the assignments, private class blog and video demos from a tablet (iPad®), you will still need a computer to post your assignments to the class blog. It is rarely possible to do so with an iPad.

 Format And Options

There are four assignments for each class with video demos and pdf handouts provided so that you can see the techniques used. An assignment will be posted each week as noted at the dates above.

The Interactive Class ONLY is for those artists who are looking to receive feedback from Laure via a private class blog and encouragement from the other travelers. This class format also works well for those artists who enjoy a high level of interaction with other travelers and feedback from the instructor, and those who tend to procrastinate because it is deadline driven. The class has a cushion of two extra weeks should you fall behind or have other obligations during the class.

The Self-Study Class ONLY is a great learning style is for those artists who have a demanding schedule, for those not interested in participating in the private blog environment, or receiving feedback from Laure. It is also an excellent format for those artists who work slowly and have no desire to work faster or to work on location.

The artist will have access to the materials for one year from the date the class starts.* All handouts can be downloaded. Videos can be watched as many times as the artist wants, but are not downloadable.

*If the artist signs up for the class after the start date, but before the end date of the class, the class materials will come online in a weekly format and be posted according to the schedule above. Materials  will be available on their respective post date.  If the artist signs up for the class after the last assignment, all materials will be available upon enrolling.

The Interactive and Self-Study Class Bundle combines the Interactive Class with the Independent Learning format so that you can participate in the blog environment as well as hang on to the materials for a year!

Frequently Asked Questions