Traces of Memory with Yumiko Glover

Traces of Memory with Yumiko Glover

Workshop | Available

All Levels
8/10/2026-8/14/2026
6:30 PM-9:30 PM EDT on Mon Tue Wed Th Fri
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$350.00

Traces of Memory with Yumiko Glover

Workshop | Available

In this intensive five-day workshop, experienced painters will trace the journey of personal memory: moving through stages of realism, abstraction, and texture to create a series of four related paintings.

Beginning with a hyperrealistic study of a personally meaningful object, students will progressively transform their subject: first into objective abstraction, then through a structural shape exchange (organic & geometric), and finally into a richly textured final piece that draws on both visual memory and physical material. Each stage builds on the last, resulting in a cohesive body of work that documents the full arc of transformation.
Students will develop: a personal color palette built from their own mixing decisions; compositional thinking across representational and abstract modes; a working vocabulary of implied, actual, and invented textures; and a deeper understanding of how personal meaning can drive formal artistic choices.

Prerequisite: Intermediate or advanced painting experience.

Before the first session: Choose one or two personally meaningful objects and ask yourself: Does it have both organic AND geometric shapes? Varied textures? Enough complexity for five days? If too simple or lacking shape variety, pair it with a second object. Avoid plain forms; no figures or animals.
Photograph from at least three angles, distances, or lighting setups. Bring photos printed or on your phone/tablet on Day 1.

  • Yumiko Glover is a Japanese-born, Los Angeles–based painter whose work explores transience, memory, and renewal through layered abstraction and references to Japanese aesthetics. Her practice is informed by her upbringing in Hiroshima and twenty-five years spent in Honolulu, Hawai'i, before relocating to California, where she currently lives in the historic Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles.
     

    Her paintings are included in the permanent collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art and have been exhibited at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design, and the Torrance Art Museum. Glover has held recent solo exhibitions at the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego, the Washington Studio School in Washington, D.C.,  Bakersfield College, and Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles.

    She earned her BFA from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and her MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she currently teaches painting courses.

  • Please use the standard WSS Introduction to Painting supply list as your base reference for brushes, palette, and general supplies: https://www.dickblick.com/lists/blicku/H24UU8G6UTREU

    Paint:
    Acrylic paint is strongly recommended for this workshop. Due to faster drying time, acrylic works best for the multi-day layering process (Days 2–3) and is essential for the texture-building work in Days 4–5, where mixed materials are incorporated into the paint surface. Oil paint is not recommended as it will not bond reliably with texture materials and dries too slowly for the workshop's pace.

    Suggested colors (acrylic):
    Ultramarine Blue
    Cerulean Blue Hue
    Dioxazine Purple
    Phthalo Green OR Viridian
    Chromium Green OR Sap Green
    Lemon Yellow
    Cadmium Yellow Medium
    Naples Yellow
    Cadmium Red Light
    Alizarin Crimson
    Burnt Sienna
    Titanium White

    Optional/Recommended:
    Zinc White
    Cobalt Blue
    Burnt Umber

    Painting Surfaces:
    3 stretched canvases, canvas-boards or panels, 14"x18" (or similar size or larger), all the same size, gesso applied and ready to paint.

    Drawing Supplies (Day 1):
    Sketchbook or drawing paper pad, at least 9x12
    Pencils: 2B or softer
    Eraser

    Texture Materials (Days 4–5):
    Students should bring a personal selection of materials to build actual textures. Below are suggestions: feel free to bring anything that connects to your object's memory or material quality:

    Sand, fine gravel, or soil
    Thread, fabric scraps, or gauze
    Dried botanicals (leaves, flower petals, etc.)
    Beads, sequins, or other small personally meaningful objects
    Modeling paste or gel medium
    Unconventional tools for mark-making: combs, sticks, found objects, or anything that can press, carve, or drag through paint

    Photo References* (Day 1)

    Printed photos of your chosen object(s), or phone/tablet with photos accessible

    General Supplies:
    Palette (glass, paper pad, or disposable)
    Small containers with lids to keep paint mixtures (Optional)
    Palette knife (at least one; 2–3 recommended for texture work)
    Water container and paper towels
    Artist tape (Optional)
    Brush soap
    Palette scraper (Optional)
    Apron or old clothes
    Notebook (optional)

    *Before the first session: Choose one or two personally meaningful objects and ask yourself: Does it have both organic AND geometric shapes? Varied textures? Enough complexity for five days? If too simple or lacking shape variety, pair it with a second object. Avoid plain forms; no figures or animals.
    Photograph from at least three angles, distances, or lighting setups. Bring photos printed or on your phone/tablet on Day 1.