Debbie Mueller, 2-Day Still Life Workshop
April 14, 2026 @ 9:00 am – April 15, 2026 @ 5:00 pm
Light-Filled Still Life Painting- A Simple Path
Join award-winning artist Debbie Mueller for a 2-Day workshop in still-life painting. Come join Debbie Mueller for a 2 day still life workshop where she will break down the creation of a painting into simple steps that allow the painter to focus their decision making and efforts on one thing at a time. Debbie will teach you how she creates her contemporary still life paintings. April 14-15, 2026, 9 am – 5 pm each day, in Centerville, TN.
Cost: $350
Painting Caption: “Tea with the Daughters of Edward Darley Boit,” 12 x 12, oil on panel by Debbie Mueller
Does your heart sing when you see a light-drenched still life painting?
Do you hit roadblocks when you paint, overwhelmed by all the considerations in creating a well-designed and executed painting? Do you get stuck, not knowing what to do next? Are you a painter who is familiar with some basic concepts and skills, such as understanding values, mixing color, and paint application?
Day 1: After getting a chance to know each other, Debbie will introduce the first steps of creating a still life painting- Idea, Design, Drawing and Value. Students will then begin work on their own paintings incorporating these concepts with support from Debbie. After lunch, the elements of Color mixing, Brushwork and Edges will be presented, and then students will apply these steps to their own paintings. Debbie will assist students at their easels.
Day 2: Debbie will do a demo of a simple still life painting, reinforcing the ideas that have been presented and giving students a chance to see this process work in real time. The remainder of the morning will be spent with students working on their own paintings. During lunch, we will get inspired with a brief presentation of work from other artists. Following that, students will continue to work on their own paintings. Students can expect to create two paintings during the workshop.
The techniques taught during the workshop will be practiced using still life, but are completely appropriate and useful for any subject- landscape, portrait, interiors, etc.
This is primarily an oil painting workshop. Acrylics or Gouache may be used as well, though certain techniques may not work as well with these mediums.
Debbie Mueller picked up a paintbrush for the first time in 2016 and has become an award-winning artist with recognition for both her still life and landscape paintings. She is a juried artist at the Rockport Art Association and is represented by a number of wonderful galleries in New England and Texas. She has exhibited in numerous national juried exhibitions and was the first-place winner of the Art2Life National Exhibition in 2023. She lives in Durham, NH and practices medicine in Wolfeboro, NH.
You can learn more about the artist and see her work at www.debbiemuellerart.com
Materials:
Please download the app Grid# for your phone. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grid-add-grid-on-image/id1033011034
Painting surface:
Please bring 2 panels or canvases. I like creating square still life paintings, but students may use any shape surface they prefer. Please keep the surface on the smaller size- 10 x 10” is great- 9 x 12 if you prefer a rectangle.
I like a variety of surfaces, but prefer panels to stretched canvas. I use the DaVinci Dual sided panels (I use the rougher side) available at a very reasonable price from Jerry’s Artarama.
I also like Centurion linen panels-the acrylic primed ones are quite reasonable and enjoyable to paint on .
Palette of your choice- you may use your own from home or bring palette paper
Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits (NO turpentine or lavender spike oil permitted)
Brushes- I use mostly long flat brushes, but you may use whatever brushes you like. You should have a couple of larger brushes, size 8-10 or ¾’-1’ wide, as well as a few #6 (about ½”) and perhaps a smaller liner brush for accents. I like the following brands- they have the right combination of flexibility and snap:
Princeton Aspen: https://www.jerrysartarama.com/princeton-aspen-series-6500-synthetic-brushes
Princeton Summit: https://www.dickblick.com/products/princeton-summit-series-6100-white-soft-synthetic-brushes/
Grey Matters Synthetic brushes (make sure you select synthetic, not natural bristle) https://www.jerrysartarama.com/grey-matters-oil-painting-natural-synthetic-brushes
Medium: Mediums allow greater flow for the paint. You may bring any medium you prefer. I like Liquin, Galkyd, and Gamblin’s Solvent Free Gel
Paints:
I use a fairly limited palette, basically a Split Primary palette using a warm and cool version of each of the primary colors, with a few “guest” colors for convenience. I like paint to be buttery, not stiff. The brands I really like are Michael Harding, Rembrandt, and M Graham. If you have paint already that you like, there is no need to purchase something new.
At minimum, please bring:
Transparent red oxide (any brand you choose) This will be used for the underpaintings.
Ultramarine Blue
A blue that leans toward green (Cobalt Teal, Cerulean, Manganese Blue, Sevres Blue, Prussian Blue) (This tends to be the color I use least)
Cadmium Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Medium or Deep (Should look like a school bus)
Cadmium Red Light or Vermillion
Alizarin Crimson
Titanium White
Convenience colors that are sometimes on my palette (You do not need to bring these colors)
Quinacridone Magenta (No other way to make a brilliant pink color- great for flowers)
Dioxizine Purple (Best way to get a super intense purple- great for flowers too)
Phthalo Green- Stronger tinting than Viridian, can be used to subdue reds, make a great black, and great for that color you see in the curl of waves.
Yellow Ochre- great for neutralizing purple shadow colors, a dark, neutral yellow.
Paper Towels (I’m a Viva girl!)
