We recently chatted with artist Jennifer McChristian about her work, teaching philosophy, and 2024 workshop in Venice with Il Chiostro. Jennifer is a good friend and wonderful artist who has shared the Il Chiostro experience with her students many times over the years. We can’t wait to welcome her back to Italy next fall.
How did you start teaching, Jennifer?
I started teaching after a friend of mine who worked as muralist talked me into hosting a still life class for a small group of friends who had been coming to our uninstructed figure drawing workshops.
I wasn’t super eager to teach at the time, I felt unprepared, unqualified and had some major insecurities about speaking in public.
Once I got over the fear of teaching I quickly found it was a fun way to spend time with like-minded creatives whilst I shared my knowledge and expertise about plein air painting.
Everyone appreciated the guidance so much that I went outside my comfort zone and accepted an invitation to teach my very first plein air painting workshop in Grants New Mexico.
What is your teaching philosophy?
My teaching philosophy is that I put the students first, share as much workshop information as possible and focus on the fundamentals of value, composition and color theory.
To make sure the students leave the workshop feeling inspired, motivated and excited to forge ahead on their artists’ journeys with the knowledge they garnered from my workshops.
What do you love about teaching?
What I love about teaching is seeing the students’ excitement when they reach an epiphany (or an ‘aha’ moment) in their learning process which completely alters their paradigm of how they see their subject matter when painting en plein air.
I also love interacting with the students (while being in the beautiful outdoors) and making lasting friendships with them.
I’m a very social person and love people so teaching has become a very natural thing for me to do.
Why are you excited about working with Il Chiostro?
I’m excited about working with Il Chiostro because of their breathtaking locations, exquisite dining and experienced tour guides.
I’ve taught several workshops with them and their professionalism and understanding of the requirements behind a successful plein air painting workshop is exceptional.
What do you hope students get out of the class?
I hope that students walk away from my workshops with a new set of helpful tools they can use to approach the daunting adventure of capturing a scene in a painting.
I want them to know that learning and growing as an artist is a never-ending process and to keep an open mind when learning new skills.
What are you looking forward to most during the trip to Italy?
What I’m looking forward to most during this trip to Italy is meeting my awesome students, immersing myself in the beauty, opulence and splendor of Venice and feasting on fine Italian food!
This workshop has now passed. We look forward to working with Jennifer again on new and inspiring writing workshops in Italy.
About Jennifer McChristian
Award winning artist, Jennifer McChristian, was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be an artist. Upon completing high school, McChristian began her art education at Dawson’s College in Montreal, Canada. In 1986, she and her family took permanent residency in California, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Art Degree with Honors from Otis Art Institute in 1990.
Since 2000, McChristian has devoted herself to painting full-time and actively participates in art events and community building programs. She conducts an ongoing, uninstructed figure drawing workshop three times a week out of her spacious studio (that she refers to as her ‘sanctuary’) located in the heart of Los Feliz Village, CA. In addition, McChristian teaches plein air painting workshops in various locations throughout the United States and abroad.
Jennifer recently received ‘Best Signature Award of Excellence’ from the Oil Painters of America 29th National Juried Exhibition and 3rd Place Award in the 9th and 10th Annual PleinAir Salon competition. She is also featured in the December 2020 Southwest Art magazine, American Art Collector’s September 2020 issue and PleinAir magazine’s April / May 2021 issue.
A proud member of the Canadian and United States army reserves from 1985 through 1994, Jennifer currently resides in Glendale, CA with her husband Ben Fried and two magically inclined cats named Sesame and Cinnamon.