Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
Composition VII, 1913, by Wassily Kandinsky. Three artists arrived at the idea of pure abstraction at roughly the same time: Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Kazimir Malevich. This was not coincidence; all three believed in the spiritual properties of abstraction, an idea they got from the rich stew of spiritualism swirling around turn-of-the-century Europe. One of …
Continue reading “Color and meaning (color temperature, part 2)”
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, …
Reed beds at the Irondequoit Inn didn’t thrill me that much when I painted it, but it turns out to have been predictive of where I’m going as a painter. Recently, I was listening to some fellow painters talking about how to reuse canvas-boards on which they’d done unsuccessful paintings. I remarked that I almost …
Front Porch View, 5X7, oil on canvasboard. The residents of the asylum all got up at 6 AM yesterday to paint our 5X7 donation paintings. Four of us painted from the same location—our porch, because it was raining. My painting was finished and handed in by 8 AM. Sadly, that was the high point of …
Mountain Farm in Evening, 8X6, oil on canvas Yesterday, I spent several hours hiking at the 3,000-acre Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC). We’re expected to paint there tomorrow, and I’ve never been there. Toting up the various trails I followed, I figure I hiked about five miles, which is my normal daily walk …
Before we even started, Crista plucked a dead dragonfly out of her radiator. “How long have you been working on that” is a common question asked of all painters. Of course that doesn’t include the time spent on prep, which includes ordering supplies, setting up one’s palette, building frames and equipment, and, above all, reconnoitering …
This is Janith’s second-ever painting, of tugboat reflections. Lynn managed to find a place to paint where her feet could be in the water. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Coghill. My favorite places to paint are harbors. I love boats of all kinds, I love the rise and fall of the tide, I love the work …
“Bluebell Hopyard,” by Carol L. Douglas, framed and ready to head out the the VB Brewery, where it will be for sale. $300. Yesterday I wrote about buildingan ultra-light pochade box. When it was finished, I immediately took it out and field-tested it. My pal and student Catherine Bullinger has wanted to paint at Bluebell …
Barnyard at G and S Orchards, by Carol L. Douglas. 9X12, oil on canvas, $450, framed. During Saturday’s class at G and S Orchards, my goal was to solidify the lesson from the prior week about painting into a monochromatic grisaille. This was something I used to do but had abandoned until I painted with …
Highland Park by Brad VanAuken For a few years now, I’ve had an ace-in-the-hole view at Highland Park—a long view through which the spire at Colgate Divinity is just visible. I took my class there this week only to find that the trees have grown so much that we were left with only a shrubby …