Marker Class Demos...the journey to a painting.

Currently,  I have an on-line class in....

.... Drawing with Valued Markers, one of the best ways I know to sketch in the field and obtain the most information while exploring compositional ideas.  Our course ends tomorrow and I'm interested in finding out if this group, like most of my class groups, thinks it has been helpful.  The online experience has been different from teaching this in person so I'm looking to hear their feedback and ideas.

Here is the still life setup:

You can see that the lighting changed a bit between the time I took the photo of the setup and actually doing the painting in gouache.  

Here are two class demos.  One is using 3 markers of differing values and a Sharpie pen, letting the white of the paper fill in another value, white or no value.  The other is done on toned paper using the same values as the drawing on white paper but adding white gouache in varying thicknesses for the lighter notes.

Both of these versions give helpful ideas about composition, limited values and detail that are very helpful in the creation of paintings.  The one I did is 11" square (image area) on paper that was toned like a kraft grocery bag. 

Thanks for stopping by.  If you keep coming I will likely start posting more often....and I have a studio of stuff that hasn't seen the light of day. 

Oh yeah.  My book is available again.  Check the Pages above.

Keep Drawing!!

Crepe Shack, 8x10

This place has the best crepes.  It also would be interesting to paint.  A couple weeks ago the markers pulled me to this spot to play around with some compositional ideas.   With twenty minutes on my hands I had time to put this together.  The zig-zags, from the curb to the tree were interesting but as a whole the drawing didn't do it for me.   The drawing did give me the idea for what I would like to do when I bring back my paints.

Cropped, the same drawing becomes much more compelling.  Those zig-zags are more visible and would be fun to work with.  They all converge on the doorway and the little wooden happy french chef.   How convenient.  Almost like it was planned.

 By the way,  I have a marker workshop coming up this next weekend.  Feedback from previous workshops has been very positive and it launches many folks into doing art or revitalizing their previous art practice.  Find out about it HERE.  (Winslow Art Center)

Two Day Plein Air Workshop!

OK, you brush swingers, here is your chance of the summer.  Two days of outdoor painting on a private property.  Still life set ups, farm implements, old buildings and home, lush landscape (and a park across the street.....all the charm of property that has been well loved for many years.

July 9th and 10th I will be teaching this plein air workshop for those working in oil, acrylic or gouache.  If you want to learn to see color, painting outdoors is the way to do it.  With lectures and demonstrations there will be much to learn from and enjoy.  This is the only two day outdoor workshop I will teach this year so if you can join us, please come.  Contact Oil and Water Art Supply for more details.  206-842-0477

Maine Workshop

Finally I can give you a little taste of the Colin Page workshop I attended.  I actually couldn't put in to words why I signed up but it was just the rejuvenating experience I hoped it would be.  During the two weeks we were in Maine I painted 27 pieces.....most, however, were small 5x7 studies, some I'm sharing today.  Quite a few I took photos of and then erased as I needed the painting boards.

Day One was value study so we did black and white landscape pieces.  The one above was about 6x10.  Monochromatic paintings are far more interesting, I think, than you would expect them to be.  There is a painter in Seattle that wanders the streets painting Burnt Umber scenes that are knockouts.  Sometimes he'll add just a note or two of color to add a bit of a zing.....it works.

Day Two, dodging the raindrops, we focused on quick broadly stated color studies with very limited detail as you see below.   

On the Third Day the task was to push color as far as we felt comfortable.....OK, now we're talking....this is where I live:

Four studies were done on one 11x14 board, like something I used to do.  When first learning about painting I would take 1/2 inch masking tape and section a 20x24 canvas into 12 smaller areas and commit to painting all twelve in one day.  The best part was taking off the tape at the end of the day and seeing all those vignettes of the previous few hours.  Like little simplified photos.

Tomorrow I'll post some paintings I did after the workshop ended.

Marker Workshop

Here are two demo drawings of the same subject I did for last Saturday's Marker Workshop. The one on white paper was done in an 'artistic brain' kind of drawing.....sort of a modified contour method. The second, on a toned paper, is the usual combination approach I talk about in my book.

It's amazing to me how quickly people learn to draw using markers. In just a few drawings they are already simplifying shapes and values and turning potential confusion into beautiful artistic pieces. It's gratifying to see their progress.