“Still Life Composition & Painting”

June 2 – 5, 2025
9:00 am to 4:00 pm each day

In this 4-day workshop, we will work together on still life composition, brush painting, and knife painting. Any skill level in painting is good, I enjoy adjusting my advice for each person’s level. However, more advanced students will find it easier to focus on the subtleties of composition. A solid drawing background is highly recommended.

Registration is $ 750.
Payment can be sent via check to our studio at:
GACA, 4814 Washington Blvd, Suite 322, St. Louis, MO. 63108
or you can use Zelle with our email: gacastudio.info@gmail.com

Workshops take place in the GACA’s studio, located in the Pierce Arrow Building,
4814 Washington Blvd, Suite 322, St. Louis, MO. 63108

REGISTRATION for this workshop
For more information on David Cheifetz, please visit his website at:
https://www.davidcheifetz.com

David Cheifetz BIOGRAPHY

David is an internationally acclaimed and collected artist who continues to push the limits of contemporary realist oil painting.

"Reflecting the language of dreams, these dark, hyperrealistic tableaux suggest bizarre and intriguing narratives. Cheifetz paints alla prima, an oil painting technique in which wet paint is applied to previous layers of wet paint. He works without detailed underpainting or studies, creating atmosphere through prominent, expressive brushstrokes and strong chiaroscuro." -Artsy.net
David and his family live in Olympia, WA.

 Materials List
-Several generous size black cloths AND white cloths (Unless explicitly provided by venue)

To use as your still life background/surface cloth (and to provide extra shade for your setup if necessary). This is an important step in the composition process. Any normal cotton cloth is great.

• Palette Knife –– Holbein MX no 1 painting knife or Holbein 1066S-303 painting knife. Both are excellent options. 303 is more affordable and just as good (a little smaller and more delicate). Another fantastic option is a hand-crafted Oakblade knife--he offers many shapes and varying flexibility.

https://www.artxpress.com/ccp10196-holbein-mx-series-painting-knife-mx1---flexible-2-hkmx1-hkmx1.htm

https://www.artxpress.com/ccp10501-holbein-painting-knife-1066-s-303-hk1066s-303-hk1066s-303.htm

https://oakblade.com (look for the DMD shapes–similar to holbein 1066S-303 and MX 1 but pointier)
If you have no intention of knife painting, you can stick with brushes. But I will be teaching both. I love both.

• Filbert Natural Bristle Brushes, a variety of sizes.

Good brands are Robert Simmons Signet filbert, Trekell Hog bristle filbert, Jack Richeson Signature. When painting with brushes I use
the whole range, but my workhorse is usually size 4. To make things simple, you can just get some even numbers: 2,4,6,8....

• Solvent: Gamsol.

• Medium: Gamblin Neo-Megilp

• Paint list:

Be sure to avoid student grade brands (like winton etc): the oily/loose handling properties and weak pigmentation will hinder your ability to paint wet-into-wet. I like Winsor Newton Artist's Oils and Gamblin Artist Oil Colors and there are plenty of decent brands in that price range. If you'd like to experiment with a fast drying paint, I also enjoy W&N Griffin Alkyds.

• ivory black
• phthalo blue
• ultramarine blue
• alizarin crimson
• cadmium red
• cadmium orange
• burnt umber
• raw umber
• yellow ochre
• cadmium yellow
• cadmium lemon
• a quality white (I mostly use titanium white)

• A variety of toned panels to paint on. Some different sizes: 8x10, 9x12, 11x14, bigger if you like, maybe a square if you want. It is nice to have a choice while composing. I’ll do my demonstration on 9x12.

Good options are Ampersand Gessobord, Jack Richeson Premium Gessoed Hardboard, Raymar or Trekell linen panels, Artefex acm panels (allinpanel or oleopanels, my current favorite). Tone the panels in advance of the workshop to make sure they are totally dry. Can't go wrong with an umber color. Often I like to prep a few in different tones (one cooler, one warmer) and then make a game-time decision.

• Paper towels. I like Viva or those blue shop towels, both are thick and cloth-like.

• Your other basics...palette, container for gamsol, gloves, whatever else you need.