ON THE SPOT Landscape Drawing at Crown Point State Historic Site
Crown Point State Historic Site will host ON THE SPOT landscape drawing workshops with James McElhinney monthly July through October.
Workshops meet monthly 1-4pm on the following dates:
Sunday July 11, & Saturdays August 14, September 11, October 9th, 2021
Registration is $25 per workshop ($85 for all four sessions), participants limited to 12. To register or for further information, please email lisa.polay@parks.ny.gov.
Information:
The Format
Intended either as stand-alone or progressive a series of lessons will introduce participants to historic methods for viewing terrain and describing the landscape through drawing and painting. Classes will be in person, socially distanced. Each class will begin with an introductory video, followed by Q&A with the instructor and a live demo of his technique. Participants will then proceed outdoors to explore at each meeting a different aspect of Crown Point State Historic site, from its geology and military ruins to its sweeping vistas and architecture. Each class will conclude with participants gathering to share their discoveries.
The Materials
Recommended: Travel light. Any kind of bound sketchbook small enough to be carried in a pocket or bag, and a pencil or pen for drawing. Erasers are discouraged. Those wishing to use color may use ink, watercolor, colored pencils or pens. Basic methods will be described and demonstrated live. A complete supply-list will be distributed. One may wish to bring a portable camp-stool or personal seating device.
Program Leader Bio
James Lancel McElhinney is a visual artist, author, independent scholar, and art publisher. He holds an MFA in painting from Yale, and a BFA from the Tyler School of Art. McElhinney is the recipient of fellowships and grants, including a 2017 Pollock Krasner Grant and a prior Visual Artist fellowship from National Endowment for the Arts. McElhinney is the author of Sketchbook Traveler: Hudson Valley, the first in a series. His essay Explorers, Naturalists and Military Precursors to The Hudson River School recently appeared in the spring 2021 issue of Hudson River Valley Review. McElhinney’s sketchbook art was exhibited in Discover the Hudson Anew: James McElhinney and the Art of Seeing, on view between September 2019 and February 2020 at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York. His work may be found in numerous public collections including the Albany Institute of History and Art, Hudson River Museum, West Point Museum, New York Public Library and other public institutions. McElhinney is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. One of his ancestors served in the 3rd Connecticut Provincial Regiment under David Wooster at Crown Point in 1759, returning to the site in 1775 as an officer in Benjamin Hinman’s 4th Connecticut Regiment. McElhinney’s website is ,