Thursday, September 17, 2015

Get the most out of your paintings

Techniques class 1 Recap
By taking the time to work out your design and values before hitting the canvas can make the experience more enjoyable and result in a better painting. If you haven't decided where you are going with the painting or what are the most important elements, you can spend most of your painting time trying to work through all that and it will show.


Here is a recap of what we covered in class today. Working from a photo, create as many gesture sketches as needed until you are happy with the design. These need to be fast and are meant to help you work through your ideas about the composition. Make as many adjustments as you need. Next step, create a value painting using black, gray, and, white. By taking away the color in a study, it's much easier to see what is going on in the painting. Again, make any adjustments to make a stronger painting.

In this example, I am working from several different photos.

Below are my initial gesture sketches.  The wagon is the focal point and the house is just the back drop. But in my first sketch the wagon is a minor player. I switched to oil pastel and tried agin. It wasn't until the 4th one, I came up with something I liked. I finally made the wagon the major part of the painting. I was able to work through this in about 30 mins. That's the beauty of a rough drawing, just keep tossing them out until you get a good one.
Gesture sketches for wagon painting
Next week  - block in the painting with color. I often will do this step in acrylic so that I can make quick adjustments before starting with the oils. When you"re happy with the overall design and color palette,  it's time to paint!
Blocking in color for wagon painting
All of this took under and hour, and the time and struggle it will save for the rest of the painting will be well worth it. We will work on blocking in the color in next weeks class.

Second week making color notes.
Below you can see  the next steps. Making color and value decisions. 

 


Until then - have a great week!

Dawn

Fall class schedule
Oct 3 Sat 10:00 - 3:00 Intro to Plein Air 
Oct 9-11, Fri - Sun Painting Retreat at the Parker Ranch Clayton, GA
Holiday Classes**
Nov 11 - Dec 9, Wed 10am - 1 pm Painting Techniques
November 14 - 15, Sat & Sun 10 - 3  2 Day Color Confidence  Workshop
Dec 1 - Dec 15,  6:15 pm - 9:30pm Tues Painting Studio 
**classes held at DawnArt Studios, 180 A 11th St NE, Atlanta GA 30309, unless noted.

Check out all classes available online click Classes and Workshops and choose the Classes and Workshop heading. 

Hope to see you out there.
Happy fall, Dawn

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