Efren Gonzalez oil painting class, Day 1 of 4, Landscapes

On this year's "To Do" list was to take a live art class. My Mom gave me some money for Christmas and Efren's class was listed at Galeria Amiga in CENAC. Quite a few of the Saturday en plein air artists were taking the class and highly recommended it. The timing was perfect!
I wish I took a photo of the set up. Each artist had a chair, easel, palette on a low plastic table, 2 or 3 small brushes, Liquin, thinner and 4 colours of oil paint - cadmium yellow, red, Prussian blue, ultramarine blue plus white, everything was supplied. On a table were landscape photos of which we were to choose one, everyone was different. Efren did a demo of how to draw with paint on the canvas and block in the darks. We were handed terra cotta coloured canvases, 18" x 14"!!!! The largest brush given was a 1/2"!
His family helped and walked around refilling anything we were getting low of, usually before we asked, leaving all the time to paint, paint, and paint. Next he showed how he covers the canvas with the first layer, again we are painting our own. Lunch and back to painting until around 3pm. He walked around, commented, explained or showed on the artist's canvas. At 3pm we all handed over our canvases and then he put them up, critiqued and added what was needed, certainly a huge learning tool. While he critiqued, we were offered a shot of tequila to sip on or a glass of wine. We went home exhilarated and exhausted. I had never attended a workshop where that level of work was produced!

Top right: Efren with his painting set up. He sat on a very short chair and lifted his easel up and down. He painted it up so we could see, then lowered it to have a look himself. His palette was also up high so everyone could see his colour mixing.  Top middle: blocked in and starting with colour. Top right: everything with colour. Middle left: Efren's finished demo painting. Middle: My painting before he shortened the fence post shadows and added tire marks in the road. Middle right and bottom: the class' work after Efren's critique.
https://www.artinmexico.com/artists/   https://sic.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=galeria&table_id=56   ​https://www.facebook.com/artefrengonzalez/?locale=es_LA

"The Scenic Route"
18" x 14" Oil on canvas, #20021204