Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
Autumn is the best time of the year to paint en plein air in Rochester. The light is beautiful, the foliage is an ever-changing kaleidoscope, and the weather is usually more stable than in summer. If you’re a new painting student, we’ll start by experimenting with different kinds of media, learning the fundamentals of drawing, …
Along the Bridle Path, by little ol’ me. Early spring in a place I used to ride, a long time ago. We tend to see trees as silhouettes instead of three-dimensional objects. This is because the branches that move toward us in space become smaller as they get closer, obviating the primary visual clue of …
My painting (left), my student’s painting (right). I had the opportunity this week to paint side-by-side with a student. He has painted exactly three observational pieces in his life, all under my tutelage. However, as a lifelong builder, he actually has pretty decent drawing chops; he just hasn’t dignified his sketching by calling it art. …
Continue reading “Painting side by side with a beginner, you learn things”
Street in Saintes-Maries, ca. July 17, 1888, by Vincent van Gogh–done as a mature artist. The good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise (which is, sadly, not wholly rhetorical right now) I will have a new drawing student this week. My friend has internalized the message that she can’t learn to draw; in fact …
Highlights and core shadows are easy enough to spot. What is more difficult is fitting the mid-tones in, in a consistent series of steps from dark to light.
There are lots of reasons needy people don’t accept help, including the fear of stigma and loss of pride.
Painting is hard, but anyone can learn it. Here are some answers to common questions beginning painters ask me.
I don’t begrudge people painting for fun, but I assume you read this blog because you’re interested in being the best painter you can be. Beach Erosion, 8X10, Carol L. Douglas, available through Ocean Park Association. I had finished writing a lecture I’d mentally subtitled “why am I torturing you like this?” That’s hard work, …
Continue reading “A marsh painting and why they can be truly terrible”
It’s a paradox: we achieve looseness by mastering the small, precise details of our craft. Tom Sawyer’s Fence, oil on canvas, Carol L. Douglas Painting students often express the desire to paint more loosely. That’s not easy to attain. Painter Tom Root described it best when he called it “hard-earned ease,” likening it to a …
The person for whom drawing comes easily may not end up being the best draftsman. Shoes, by Carol L. Douglas. Oil on canvasboard, available. One of my students is a retired violinist. We were musing on the question of technique last week. “Practice doesn’t make perfect,” she said. “Perfect practice makes perfect.” An aspiring violinist …