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Hang on there Pat. As Mighty Mouse used to say, "Here I come to save the day! " Seriously, I would advise you to just concentrate on drawing. Set up still life's with one strong light source and focus on getting the right shapes and values. These are the two most important things in painting. I would suggest charcoal as a medium since it handles closely to paint in many ways.
I would highly recommend getting the book of Charles Bargue's Drawing Course which is available from the Dahesh Museum, located in New York City. This book reproduces the plates designed by Jean Leon Gerome to teach drawing principles to students at the French Academy. These are the very principles I champion in my teaching. This will help prepare your drawing for painting purposes immensely.
I also recommend reading Harold Speed's books on drawing and painting (available from Dover Books.) These will get you up to speed and thinking in the basic right direction.
I made the non-painting participant status available as an option because I felt that half a loaf is better than no loaf at all, but I would suggest you consider upgrading, if at all possible, to get the very most out of the workshop and me. Being able to paint with me there, to answer questions and offer advice, would make a big difference. I understand when you factor in the cost of the supplies this basically doubles your costs but I think if you can swing it, it would pay off in the long run. Either way, I'm confident you'll find the experience to be far more satisfying than the class you're taking now. You will be juiced!
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