Cheap Joe's Goes Back To School

OK.  What if you woke up tomorrow morning and found you had to go back to school? When you reach a certain age, You shouldn’t have to worry about pop quizzes, last minute cramming for tests, and homework!  Well, what if it was an opportunity to learn something new about  a subject that you love like art? Let me tell you, I am all about learning. Give me a new instructional DVD or book, or better yet, invite me to a art workshop or seminar and I am happy as a clam at high tide!

Cheap Joe’s encourages its employees to continue to learn about the products we sell. Occasionally, this means visiting the classroom for a mini workshop or demo.  Professional artists from different vendors are scheduled, periodically, to demonstrate and introduce new products; and we are all, very much, encouraged to attend, if possible.

Recently, we were visited by Winsor & Newton’s Outreach artist, Larry Leach. The Artist Outreach program allows professional artists to travel around the US demonstrating all of the high quality products from Winsor & Newton to their distributors. This ensures them that their suppliers have excellent product information to pass on to their customers. Which, in turn, allows customers to select high quality materials with confidence.

 Today, the audience is predominately Cheap Joe’s employees, however, we are also visited by some of our area’s local artists. It is great when professional artists get involved, as they actually represent our customers, thus, we get a look from a completely different point of view.

Normally, a professional oil painter, Larry Leach did a wonderful job preparing an exciting and informative watercolor lesson for this event featuring the Winsor & Newton watercolor pigments. Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolors are one of the best and most popular brands of transparent watercolor paints with great quality that has been carried on for over 200 years.  During his demo, Larry points out the attributes of the different pigments, including granulation, transparency, and lightfastness. He also shows us how to use the compatible watercolor mediums to produce unique watercolor effects. Larry invites volunteers from the audience to participate in his demo. Wes Waugh, a local watercolor artist, gives Larry’s Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable brush a try.  Wow! What control!  I really think everyone, no matter their experience, learned something new. Along with all the great information, Winsor & Newton also provided us with full-sized samples of their products.

Larry allowed us time to go back to our tables and try them out! What fun! We were all very excited about getting our brushes wet. Like little kids, we made our attempts at producing a masterpiece. Everyone came away feeling like a pro!

The next morning, Larry returned to Cheap Joe’s for our employee meeting. This demo gave those, who could not attend the night before, a chance to get in on all of the fun.  Larry demonstrated Winsor & Newton Artists’ Oil Bars, a unique and convenient way to paint with oils. This solid form of oil paint is like drawing with a giant crayon or pastel but still works and blends like traditional oils.  They are completely compatible with all oil products, mediums and varnishes. A great medium to use, especially, for plein air painting!  No tubes to squeeze, no messy palettes, just pure color! Just grab your easel and get going!

Here, Larry shows us how easy they are to use.  Who knows? His masterpiece may find its way into our Cheap Joe’s Hallway Art Gallery! A Hall Wallery, if you will!

We really appreciated the time and information about Winsor & Newton products that Larry shared with us, and don’t forget all of the FREE samples! Cheap Joe’s believes it is very important for everyone in the company to know and understand the products we sell even if they never use them.  It makes us better at the job we do and that’s just what makes us Cheap Joe’s!

So you see, sometimes it’s O.K. to go back to school! You’ll never know how it will make a difference in your life. You might even discover a little DaVinci hidden deep down inside of you that you never imagined was there! So, when an opportunity arises to learn a new technique or try a different medium, don’t be afraid to get back into the classroom and “Paint” an apple for the teacher!

Have a Happy “Teacher’s Pet” Day!