Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
On a bitter spring day, a painter’s thoughts turn to clouds and how to paint them. It beats going outside. Rainstorm over the Sea, c.1824-28, John Constable Yesterday, I asked Shary Cobb Fellows whether the Mary Day had hauled last year. “I think so,” she mused, “because these boats need their bottoms done every year.” …
In which I paint the schooner Mercantile and am reminded that in God’s eyes, all men are equal. Schooner Mercantile in drydock, by Carol L. Douglas I awoke this morning laughing heartily at a chemistry joke. It evaporated as soon as I remembered that what chemistry I know would fit in my wash cup. People …
Yesterday I went all digital on a schooner. Allowing for the learning curve, this has potential. Underpainting of American Eagle passing Owl’s Head, by Carol L Douglas I’ve toyed for a while with the idea of doing a large, Fitz Henry Lane-influenced scene of the American Eagle under sail. A large canvas of a boat …
Can objects acquire a vibe from the way they are used and treated? Boats have personality, and it comes from their pasts. Thaw, by Carol L. Douglas I woke at 3 AM redrafting the bow of the American Eagle in my sleep. I didn’t start her from a measured drawing, but after an internal fight …
Continue reading “The good, the bad, and the downright ugly”
Cheap, plentiful, environmentally-friendly, and you can create a masterpiece with it. We should all use more charcoal. Portrait of my friend Jane in charcoal, by Carol L. Douglas. Art supplies tend to be expensive, especially at the rarified corners of the business. Mother Nature, however, has given us a drawing material that is plentiful, dirt …
Painting composition is all about ruthless editing. It’s a creative process, and it’s based on seeing. Bill’s Yellow (with Admiration), 2005, Cornelia Foss, Houston Museum of Fine Art Sometimes I hand out little plastic viewfinders to my students. Mine are made of Plexiglas, roughly along the lines of this one. But they are for beginners, …
Painting by student Marilyn Feinberg Color, light, and composition for outdoor painters Carol L. Douglas 394 Commercial Street, Rockport Starting April 4, 2017 10-1 AM Tuesdays, six week session Fee: $200 Last month two friends took me to lunch at the Waterfront restaurant in Camden. As a bitter wind piled clouds high above the islands …
Continue reading “Weekly painting classes in Rockport, Maine”
Nocturne by Matthew Menzies, from Sea & Sky 2013. There’s something magical about painting a nocturne over water. It’s even better when there’s a full moon. My calendar tells me we’ll have that opportunity during our third annual Sea & Sky Workshop. Think of magnificent granite slopes at Schoodic Point, silhouettes of Jack Pines against …
The Blue Umbrella, by Carol L. Douglas. Even without detail, you should be able to see that there are three different species of palm in this painting. There are 629 living species of conifer in the world. In contrast, there are 2600 known species of palm trees, with the greatest diversity being on islands. They …
Karl’s Garden, oil on canvasboard, by Carol L. Douglas In towns like Camden, ME or Freeport, Grand Bahamas there are year-round residents, seasonal residents, and vacationers. Because painters sit or stand like great lumps of coral for long periods of time, people forget that we’re there. That means we often overhear conversation. Anywhere Americans gather …