“I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to not only attend a workshop sponsored by the Cowboy Artists of America, which was taught by Chad Poppleton and Charles Dayton, but to be a beneficiary of the Joe Beeler Scholarship.  It is difficult for younger professional artists to justify the cost of a workshop so the scholarship was very much appreciated.

This particular workshop was awesome because we got to paint a horse from life.  Painting from life is one of the most challenging things for me to do as an artist, especially something like a horse because it is always moving and is outside so the light is always changing. Chad and Charles taught us a process that made the challenge much less daunting.”

“We were also taught to look look how light interacted with the horse and how the camera would misrepresent the true colors in an image.  It was invaluable to me and I know it will make my paintings better.

Another amazing thing that added so much value was the photoshoot included in the workshop.  It is hard to get good reference photographs of period appropriate western scenes, and costs a lot of money and time to go to professional photoshoots.  Having a photoshoot at the workshop added so much bang to the buck, and plus we got instruction on what to look for when taking pictures, what lighting is best, etc.

Finally, this workshop afforded me the opportunity to have one on one instruction from artists I admire.  I maintain that this is the best way to learn traditional art.  I always longed for the days that artists took on apprentices, who were able to soak up knowledge from their mentors for years at a time.  I think these workshops enable this type of mentor/protege relationships, which facilitate the passing on of traditional art techniques I am convinced would otherwise be lost.” – Tobias Sauer