McCreery Jordan
Bio
McCreery Jordan is an award-winning artist who has spent the last 25 years painting and teaching painting methods in Ohio and New Mexico. She attended the University of Toledo and studied with many notable painters over the years.
For the last several years, she has been combining her painting skills with other media to create truly remarkable and unique mixed media works. No matter what media she uses or combines, it is her painting expertise that shines through.
For the Andreeva Academy, McCreery will be teaching Still Life Painting in Water Soluble Oils. She switched to these oils years ago because of the adverse health effects of using solvents for thinning paint and cleaning brushes. She has agreed to teach the methods of using this media for the Academy as she is committed to promoting healthier studio habits, and because of the wonderful qualities of these oil paints.
In addition to being a talented artist McCreery is a keen fly fisher. She credits the meditative nature of fly fishing with sharpening her concentration while painting.
Classes taught by McCreery Jordan
Still Life Painting in Oil
This class has no available sessions. Please email us if you are interested.
McCreery’s still lives are, above all, studies in beauty. Whether or not a particular still life has a narrative attached to it, all of the elements in her still lives are in conversation. Using both brush and palette knife and working with a sense of playfulness and spontaneity, she uses layers of paint to create luminous, dynamic compositions.
McCreery will demonstrate her technique to the class, who will then set up their own still lives to paint. While students are working, McCreery will offer individualized advice throughout the stages of the still life, from suggestions on set-up and lighting to finishing touches. In this class students can expect to learn about deciding on a composition, finding focal points, losing and defining edges, working fat-over-lean, using transparency, maintaining chroma, and wielding a palette knife.
This class invites both traditional oil paint users and water-soluble oil paint users. McCreery’s extensive experience with water-soluble oils makes her an ideal teacher for those who want an introduction to this medium. Water Soluble paint and medium samples will be provided for the class courtesy of Holbein, allowing students to experiment with water soluble oils without investing in a new set of materials. Students with traditional oils are welcome to bring them to class, as they may be mixed with water soluble oils. However, no solvent will be allowed. McCreery’s commitment to healthier studio habits and more environmentally-friendly art materials led her to water soluble oils. The paints that are provided in class have been formulated without the use of heavy metals, and the use of water as a medium eliminates the use of toxic solvents. McCreery has found that some brands of water-soluble oils behave more like traditional oils than others, and she will share this information with the class.
Students of all skill levels are welcome to attend this class.
McCreery on painting a still life: “This way of painting, for me, is the most enjoyable. I love the process, the gradual emergence of form and light that takes place on the canvas.”