La Niña Guna 5″ x 7″
Paintings, a lesson and upcoming workshops with George Scribner
Shanghai Disneyland
I wrote an article for a painting magazine about the experience I had painting the construction of Shanghai Disneyland between 2013 and 2016. It was an amazing journey. Here’s the article:
https://www.outdoorpainter.com/plein-air-painting-shanghai-disneyland/
“Big Man on Campus” – Chickens in Panama! 9” X 12” — SOLD
Antillana con bandana roja.
I did a Painting from Photographs workshop in Westlake Village a few weeks ago. A fun class with some very talented students! My thanks to Wendy Gordin for setting this up.
And speaking of painting from photographs…
MINI LESSON TIME:
A few tips on painting from photos …
1. Try to paint from a computer screen vs a printed image. The problem with most printed images is the darks go very dark and the lights flare out eliminating all detail and washing out the color. Another advantage of working from a computer screen (or tablet or cell phone) is you can tweak the image, adding more light and color particularly in the shadow areas. The colors in a printed image tend to disappear.
2. These are the three steps I take in a computer before I paint from a photo.
A. CROP
We generally try and paint too much. Make the painting about something – crop in on a center of interest. If you have to work from a printed image use inexpensive mats to crop. These are from Michael’s.
Don’t forget, the photo is just for reference. not to be taken literally. Edit out what isn’t important.
B. LIGHTEN
Lightening your image will reveal more color in the shadow areas and more closely reflect what your eye sees. Shadows have a lot more light and color in them because other objects and colors are being reflected into them. It’s easier to see this using a computer.
You also don’t need a humongo desk top system to prep your photo. The editing software on both the iPhone and Android phones (or tablets) make this pretty easy.
C. SATURATE
Use your editing program to add more color to your image (don’t overdo it, a little bit goes a long way). I try to create emotion in my work and color is probably your most powerful tool. I always warm my photographs in my computer (yellows and orange) before I paint them, it always adds more appeal to your work – my personal preference.
I cropped in on the shot below to what I thought was important, eliminating detail in the background and adding more color and emotion. Note how much warmer the overall painting is.
“Dead Slow II” – A ship in the Panama Canal during rainy season. A very rainy season… 9” X 12” — My thanks to Mark Goodrich for the title.
“The Miraflores Approach” 12” x 16” Painted on Commission
A southbound ship prepares to enter the last set of locks before entering the Pacific. The Panama Canal is roughly 50 miles long with locks on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The locks raise ships 85 feet above sea level to a man made lake in the middle of the isthmus. I go to Panama at least once a year and try and paint on location. I’m still blown away by this extraordinary engineering feat built over 100 years ago.
WORKSHOPS
SONOMA
I’ll be doing a two day Beginner to Intermediate Oil Painting workshop at the Sonoma Community Center, April 27th and 28th. If you’d like to enroll, please contact Liz Treacy at liz@sonomacommunitycenter.org. Look forward to seeing you!
I’ll be doing another oil painting workshop in Montrose in June. If you have any interest let me know.
~ ~ ~
These announcements are interactive. Click on them for more information.
