"Back to Basics", and a New Class

"Back to Basics", 12x12", Oil on Gessoboard

Whenever I'm feeling a bit rusty, I like to go back to my art school days, and paint the basics.  Fruit, elipses, and cloth are wonderful subjects to sharpen my focus and observation skills.  And I never tire of painting a still life setup, no matter how simple.  Even though the cloth may be orange, I challenge myself to find other colors to describe the cloth without going too bright.  And pears almost always have cool colors (green, blue) and warm colors (red, orange, yellow) wandering around in them.  Even the bowls are painted with many underlying colors to make them appear more complex, and to give the painting some atmosphere.

I'll be teaching an all day class at the BCAC Studio in the Ice House Mall in Barrington on April 6th, and we'll be talking about brushes and brushwork.  Beginning, intermediate, and advanced students sometimes need to "brush up" on what brush to use when!  Filberts, flats, brights, rounds, and palette knives all have their jobs to do.  Let me know if you'd like to join us in April by sending me an email, and I'll supply you with the details.

"Cassidy", A Portrait From Life

 "Cassidy", oil on linen,  9.5" x 15"

I've been away from the easel for a few weeks, and was feeling rusty when I went to my friend Bill's studio to paint Cassidy last night.  I decided to make things as simple as possible for myself, spending time on carefully drawing the underlying shapes and finding my darks and lights with a neutral color before adding any color.

I used Burnt Umber, thinned with a bit of mineral spirits to lay down the drawing and find my darks and lights.

Gradually, I built up the color in thin layers, using the initial drawing as my guide. Approaching the portrait in this measured step by step approach kept me on track and in control.