Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
Now you, too, can sound like an artist! Here’s my glossary of art terms—highly subjective and relevant mainly to painters. Fallow field, Carol L. Douglas, 12X16, $1449 framed. Abstraction: non-representational art in which meaning is expressed through a formal pattern of shapes, lines and colors. Sometimes called “non-objective.” There are degrees of abstraction. Alkyd: an oil-based …
I’m confident this approach will prepare confident, competent painting students ready to tackle higher-level observational painting, composition, color theory and mark-making. Breaking storm, 48X30, oil on canvas, Carol L. Douglas, available through Folly Cove Gallery, Rockport, MA After this session of painting classes, which ends on November 2, I will no longer take beginning painters. …
It’s not what you paint, it’s how you paint it. Asters by Björn Runquist, 12X24. Courtesy of the artist. Last week, I got a text from Björn Runquist that read “Asters!” and included a photo of the roadside along Maine 131 in Thomaston. I was out on American Eagle teaching, so I couldn’t rush over there. On …
There’s a world of difference between copying a photo and creating a painting using photos for reference. Skylarking 2, 18×24, $1855 unframed. It’s difficult to paint boats under sail en plein air, so mostly we use photographs for that. It is not true that I never paint from photos; I just prefer painting from life. …
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The color of white is the color of light. Mastering that will make all your paintings more exciting. Girl Arranging Her Hair, 1886, Mary Cassatt, courtesy National Gallery of Art Do you remember learning that “white is not a color; it’s the combination of all the colors”? That’s malarkey, although it’s based on a truth. …
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Being technically accurate frees up your subconscious mind to analyze and interpret what you see. Main Street, Owls Head, 16X20, oil on gessoboard, $1623 unframed. Observation I once took an artist on a long loop to see all my favorite painting sites here in midcoast Maine. “But there’s nothing to paint,” she wailed. She was …
A good painting requires a good plan. What does that mean? View this post on Instagram This last weekend I was painting in the 14thannual Paint for Preservation for the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust. This always involves a big canvas, and this year was no exception: I painted 30×40. I always start with a drawing …
Fog has color, movement, and attitude, and is a great tool to understand atmospheric perspective. Fog Bank, 14X18, oil on canvasboard, by Carol L. Douglas, $1275 unframed. I appreciate the care with which the National Weather Service makes hour-by-hour graphical forecasts. They’re the plein air painter’s best friend, since they predict not only the chance of …
Why do teachers harp on value? Because it drives everything else in the painting. Belfast harbor, 11X14, oil on canvas, Carol L. Douglas. Available framed $1087. You cannot overstate the importance of value in visual art. It drives our perception and guides us through the painting. There are various ways to focus on value: notans, value sketches, …
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Yes, painting (like music) is about personal expression—but it’s also a finely-honed craft. Owl’s Head fishing shacks, oil on canvasboard, Carol L. Douglas, 11X14, $1087 framed or $869 unframed. My little granddaughter, age five, recently got her first guitar. Being a smart little nipper, she’s going to shortly become bored with strumming the open, untuned …