By Barbara Johnson Ross, Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art

Artist Geoff Mitchell, whose artwork was exhibited at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art June 12 – November 24, 2012, held a mixed media workshop at the Museum on November 10th and 11th.  The workshop focused on discovering exciting new ways to add texture and mystery to painterly compositions with image transfer techniques using personal snapshots, found images or old family photographs. Mitchell’s demonstrations combined with individualized instruction helped students become proficient with the technique.

Geoff Mitchell is a thriving artist and filmmaker. Painting commissions include for the  NBC television series “The Outlaw,” the  CBS television series “The Ghost Whisperer”  (Episode: “The Last Execution”) “The Ice Harvest,” starring Billy Bob Thornton, Harvest Films. Selected collections include Halle Berry, Los Angeles, CA, Columbia College, Chicago, IL, and Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN.  Mitchell was raised in Gulfport, Mississippi and received a BFA in Painting from Western Michigan University and an MFA in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. After living in Chicago for several years, he moved to California in 2005 where he founded White Apple Studios in Los Angeles.

The workshop included a personal tour by the artist of the exhibition Geoff Mitchell: Chaos at the Confessional.

The workshop was held for ten participants in the Community Room of the City of Biloxi Center for Ceramics.

Works created by the participants included paintings on watercolor paper and panel with image transfers incorporated in the paintings using several methods.

Artists Mary Hardy and Suzanne Weidie Findeisen show their appreciation for the Mitchell’s workshop.