Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter is a nationally recognized painter of the post-pastoral American landscape. His distinctive, low-chroma work and superb draftsmanship, heavily reliant on a mastery of values, edges and composition, utilizes a variety of unorthodox techniques and tools that reference both photographic and painterly traditions.
Hunter has won first and grand prizes at top plein air events around the country, including Easton, Laguna, and Door County, and has served as judge or juror at many more. With painter Larry Moore, Hunter created the En Train Air painting train, and Hunter’s REASONABLY FINE ART TALK livestream maintains a fervent following.
Hunter’s work centers upon rural and small town America and how the past is evidenced in the present-day. Initially a graphic designer of tour posters for musicians such as the Jerry Garcia Band, Bob Dylan, and The Clash, Hunter became a music manager and event producer before turning to painting full time. Hunter’s 2025 activities included solo shows at McLarry Fine Art in Santa Fe and William Baczek Fine Arts in Northampton, MA, winner of the Architectural award at Art in the Open in Wexford, Ireland, and residency at the Tides Institute in Eastport, Maine.
Description
From Bellows Falls, VT, prominent American plein air artist and 2026 Teche Plein Air judge, Charlie Hunter, will be in Baton Rouge for a one-day workshop opportunity! Twelve lucky participants will spend the day observing and painting with Charlie en plein air. Charlie will perform a morning demonstration en plein air with participants painting in the early afternoon (1p-4p). Charlie will give individual counsel as needed and finish the day with an informative group critique.
Award-winning Putney Painter Charlie Hunter strives to paint beautifully that which is not traditionally considered beautiful. His stunning work transforms ordinary objects into powerful and dynamic works of art that speak to the viewer. Using a limited palette, we will learn to use values, edges and composition to build bold paintings. Be prepared to step outside of your comfort zone as you strengthen your painting skills.
We will gather at 10:00 am, and get to know one another a bit, talking a little about who we are, and where we are on our creative journey. From around 11:00 am until 12:30 or so, I’ll do a demonstration painting, and then each participant will set up and work on their own.
Lunch break is at participant’s discretion. As I have compromised mobility on my right side, I will not come around and hover in the background – I will sit myself down somewhere, and folks will come to me if they have questions or seek my counsel.
At 3:00 pm, everyone will gather, setting up their easels in a half-circle, with their painting on display. We will do a positive group critique and discussion of each work until 4 pm.
Supplies
It is expected that you already know at least the rudiments of painting, that you are familiar with the challenges of painting outdoors, that you know how to set up and take down your easels, etc.
I am not here to dictate how one “should” paint, nor am I here to instruct on basic drawing or painting fundamentals. There is no one “correct” way to approach the creative process; each of us reacts to shadows, forms and light differently; each of us has our own way of telling a story.
Metaphorically, I view this much like a one-day creative writing workshop: we trust you already know what the parts of speech are and that you know how to write a grammatical sentence. In the short amount of time we have together, using the same visual prompt, as it were, we will all strive to write a couple of terrific paragraphs, and then we will talk about how it went, the triumphs and challenges; the great sentences and the ones that could use a little work.
Therefore, it should be clear that I do not have a required materials list. If you have a set-up you regularly use for outdoor painting, that’s wonderful – just use it. Pastel, acrylic, gouache, oil – I don’t care what your medium is – I want to see how you tell your story.
That said, I do understand that some folks are interested in seeing how I paint in a live context, and may be interested in trying on the “Charlie Hunter outfit” for a day. That is understandable; when I was developing my “voice” and participating in many workshops, I was very interested in absorbing everything I could from the visiting instructors. Even today, I will take two or three workshops a year to expand my own vocabulary.
Again, thanks so much for choosing to spend a day exploring beauty. In a world filled with ugliness and pain, we are lucky bugs to get to do this.
~ Charlie
The following is a list of the rudiments of my plein air rig. For a really deep dive into all my materials, here is a link on my webpage that should satisfy even the most obsessive. These are not requirements – you probably know what works for you.
Surfaces:
I like a rigid panel with a slight tooth. Blick Belgian Linen Panels or Centurion Linen Panels (both with acrylic “all purpose” gesso) are commercial products with qualities most similar to my home-made panels. In terms of size, for an outdoor painting workshop, something easily transportable – like 6×12, 9×12, 8×16 or 11×14 – makes sense.
I make my own surfaces with inexpensive muslin from the local fabric store glued (with Amsterdam Acrylic Binder) to 1/4” gatorboard, sized with Golden Matte Medium, then three coats Amsterdam Acrylic Gesso. (There is a special feature about making these surfaces in EDGES, Hunter’s new video for Streamline).
If attempting my approach, please do not use inexpensive canvas boards, as the divots of fabric are too deep and will leave way too much paint in them. We also do not recommend the use of Gessoboard panels as you learn, for though they are a magnificent surface, the techniques used for paintings on Gessoboard differ somewhat from those used on the toothed surface.
Brushes:
Any decent-quality synthetic flats will work fine. My go-to plein air brushes are: Black Silver by Dynasty 1” synthetic flat, ⅝” synthetic flat, ½” synthetic flat, ¼” synthetic flat and a rigger/liner. Also a (preferably well broken-in) 2” (or larger) chip brush.
Paint Manipulators:
Flexible palette knife
6” Ettore squeegee
Q-Tips
Stim-U-Dent (mint flavor)
Miscellany:
Plein air easel (Hunter uses a Soltek)
Portable/foldable chair (for critique session)
Water bowl (or solvent cup)
Palette cup (for safflower oil)
Paper towels (Hunter likes Bounty or Kirkland)
Other stuff I carry in my plein air rig:
Toothbrush (for spattering)
Plant sprayer
Rosemary Sword Brush, Rosemary #37 Badger Blender
1” paint scraper with squeegee blade in place of razor blade, and/or 3” mini-squeegee
Stretcher-bar keys (come with some pre-stretched canvases)
Many of these items may be ordered from the “Store” tab at www.hunter-studio.com
If you are taking the “How can I be as Charlie as possible for a day” approach, we offer a “Starter Set” of mark-making tools we use (brushes, squeegees, etc) – here is the link to order.
Paints:
I use water-mixables, but that doesn’t mean you have to:
Cobra water-mixable Van Dyke Brown
Cobra water-mixable Titanium White
Cobra water-mixable Raw Umber
Cobra water-mixable Payne’s Grey
Cobra water-mixable Safflower Oil
I use water-mixable oils. Conventional oils (and OMS instead of water) would also probably work just fine for my technique, with the caveat that the two media do not behave exactly alike, so those using conventional oils would need to be ready to be slightly flexible when the unexpected occurs.
I recommend any conventional-oil-painters-trying-to-paint-like-Charlie use Rembrandt oil colors, as they and Cobra are both manufactured by Royal Talens and thus the pigment formulations should be near identical. Since I don’t use conventional oils anymore, I’m unable to troubleshoot what might or might not happen with conventional oil use. My process will not work – as far as I can figure out – with acrylic, gouache or watercolor. Artists who are following their own path and don’t care about Charlie’s techniques should use whatever materials they want.
Sketchbook:
Not specifically needed for this workshop, but should be part of everyone’s plein air practice:
I advocate artists develop a regular sketching practice, carrying a bound sketchbook in the car with them, and sketching 20-45 minutes at least two or three times a week. I like a hard pencil (like a Staedler 3H, but that’s really a matter of preference).
Registration
