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Dear Subscribers,
Greetings. First newsletter of 2020. Lots to share with you.
My first workshop of the year was at Winslow Art Center on Bainbridge
Island, WA. Here is my demonstration. First, my setup:
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My approach on this painting demonstration is fundamentally simple. My
focus is the green apple. The dark background serves the high value of
the light side of the apple. The supporting objects serve to
maintain/increase focus on the green apple while adding depth and
interest.
Nutshell:
Focus: Greens (expanding to yellow) and high value (light), minority of
space in the composition. Most refined/detailed portion of painting.
Background and supporting objects: Reds (expanding to purple) and low
value (dark), majority of space in the painting. Less refined/detailed
than focal area.
Result: A composition with dramatic focus. (Hopefully ;) )
Now the tricky part...Making it happen.
First stage: Shape of shadow (in umber). Then I start painting in full
color, starting with the focal area.
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Next stage. Painting radially outwards from the focus. I start with the
focus first (lightest light, darkest dark, most saturated color) so
that I have the information necessary to start making decisions about
the surrounding areas which are there to SERVE THE FOCUS.
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Next stage. I'm alternating back and forth between knife and brush for
the benefit of the class. When using both, I just need to be mindful
that the thickest paint needs to be at the focus.
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And the finished demonstration, "Green Apple" (9x12 oil on panel):
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I'll be returning to teach at this venue on the same weekend next year!
MLK JR. Day Weekend 2021
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_____
A new still life painting. This one was experimentation-heavy.
Sometimes that happens. The shifts in this process were sort of extreme.
The Setup:
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Shape of shadow:
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Planned focal area is the green glass and adjacent orange:
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Dark background to compliment the lighter green coming through the
glass and the bright adjacent orange. BUT: in order to justify that
light green coming through the glass, there needs to be sufficient
light in the background behind it. ALSO: the dark makes the forward
orange and highlights on the picture pop in a distracting way.
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Starting to lighten the background on the left side in order to calm
down the value range on that side. Starting to refine focal area:
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Punching green light in translucent glass:
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Now trying the reverse arrangement: Darker/lower key on left side,
lighter background behind focus which accentuates the dark shapes of
the green glass. BUT: this starts to de-emphasize the light green and
the brightness of the orange. Left side has improved as I've shrunk
value range towards the middle for both background AND pitcher/front
orange, which helps to make them more subtle in comparison to the focal
right.
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Back to dark background on right side. BUT: now the light green coming
through the glass doesn't make any rational sense, unless we're dealing
with magic. In retrospect, this doesn't bother me, but at the time it
did.
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Cool light behind objects to start to justify the light green in the
glass, extending the purple cloth to tie it all together and add depth:
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At this point I feel that the light green and bright orange are
competing too much, and I decide to elevate the orange as the primary
focal light, while the green glass can be a bold dark shape against the
mid-value background. Adding some atmospheric fog:
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Finally, I refine the objects and fix the gradient of color and value
along the strip of purple cloth.
And the finished painting, "Passage and Haze" (9x12 oil on panel):
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This painting will be available and on view at:
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San Francisco
STUDIO GALLERY
Wish You Were Here: work from artists who've left the Bay Area
March 19 - April 13, 2020
Opening reception: Sunday, March 22nd, 3-6 pm
_____
New cityscape. After I finished, I realized that this was my first
cityscape since mid-2017. How time flies....
I don't like to accept specific commissions very often. Half because of
my stubborn ideas about artistic integrity (the need to experiment on
the fly without constraint), and half because of photo reference issues
(in the case of landscapes and portraits). However, this time it worked
out. I was excited to do this one.
Here is the client's original photo:
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I saw the potential in the reference. I had a mental image and made a
simple diagram of my intended color/value scheme on an overlay so that
I wouldn't lose track of my goal. No digital tools for mock-up this
time. I'm always looking to simplify my process. In fact, I'm planning
to film a new cityscape painting tutorial with NOH/WAVE Academy
this coming summer. I'll let you
know.
Starting loose and organic with the knife, focal area first. The light
of the middle-distance headlights and the dark of the foreground truck.
Using a linen-on-aluminum-composite panel from Trekell. I love this
surface:
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Next stage. This is always my favorite part of painting. Something
emerging out of the blank canvas.
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Establishing the basic colors and proportions without getting too
specific:
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I begin to refine, focal area first.
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I want to keep the rich reds/oranges/yellows isolated to one area, so
for the red lights that are not aligned with the focal middle distance
(those headlights), I make them pink/purple instead:
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Gradually more and more specific. Bit by bit. As the details are added,
the illusion and feeling of a real city scene starts to materialize. I
feel that when I'm painting my cityscapes, the whole seems to be more
than the sum of its simple/abstract parts. It is a gratifying process.
In the stage below, I resolve a major issue in the foreground. Since
the primary reference doesn't include this lower portion of the street
surface, I needed extrapolate/create with a convincing effect of
perspective:
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And the finished painting, "Homeward Bound, Rochester" (12x9 oil on
linen/aluminum panel):
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_____
On View in Texas
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I recently sent these two paintings to RS Hanna Gallery in
Fredericksburg, Texas:
Vulcan
Vulcan
Eclipse
Eclipse
If you go check out the new arrivals, this big monster is still there:
LiwyÄṯÄn
LiwyÄṯÄn
_____
Upcoming Workshops
May 1-3: Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale Artists' School
Still Life Composition & Painting
3-Day Workshop, $525
May Registration
October 9-11: Ashburn, VA
DebK Art Home Studios
Still Life Composition & Painting
3-Day Workshop, $595
October Registration
November 9-13: Florence, Italy
Art Escape Italy
Still Life Composition & Painting
5-Day Workshop, €970
November (in Italy) Registration
_____
JUST SOLD:
Green Apple (Demonstration)
Green Apple (Demonstration)
Homeward Bound, Rochester
Homeward Bound, Rochester
_____
Thank you for reading. Until next time, Best wishes -David
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