a Painters Blog

Last week I taught a workshop in beautiful Leiper’s Fork in Franklin Tennessee. Wow! What a gorgeous place and a must see area if you are ever near Nashville.

The workshop could not have been better. The students were AMAZING! I can’t say enough about how I was treated and the energy they all brought to the class was inspiring.

If only I had the talent to express in words the amount of fun I had there.

I would like to thank “y’all” for a great time….

See ya in October!

The Bacon Cowboy

To read comments from the workshop click here.

Painting a Floral Demo	Creekside	Head Snipe Hunter

2007 22×28 Morning Light

Here is the demo from yesterdays class in Huddart Park.

The demo started around 9:00 am and there was a beautiful morning light and the fog was still lifting. The majority of the demo (one Hour) was spent trying to capture the effect and mood of the morning. I could have brought a smaller board and got a larger level of completion but I really wanted to get people away from thinking about details. I almost brought a 24×36, but I wasn’t feeling that brave. (Next week!) Details are easy once you have a great abstract design and beautiful color. For me the master painters whose works really move me are the ones that capture moments and moods. I was hoping by painting larger students would see how quickly you get you idea down and after that you are refining shapes and brush strokes till you get the level of completion you are striving for. A painting is good not because it looks like something but rather because it feels like something. (Phil Dike) I brought the painting home and finished the painting while still maintaining the first impression and mood that struck me that morning. The sky was changed very little, just cooled it off a bit and added some details in the foreground to help the composition. Nothing really caught my eye in the foreground that needed to be in the painting. So I left it very abstract and used it as a tool to lead peoples eye into the canyon. Nature is a tool to aid an artist in making beautiful art. I devour nature ceaselessly. I exaggerate, sometimes I make changes in the subject; but still I don’t invent the whole picture. On the contrary, I find it already there. It’s a question of picking out what one wants from nature. (Vincent Van Gogh) I also did two quick 8×10 demos to show students how important the angle of the brush stroke and edges are when trying to capture the vastness of the canyon. They will be shared as soon as they are dry enough to place on a scanner. I think I covered a lot of information and hopefully bits ands pieces will filter in. Overall the day was gorgeous and the people were fantastic.

I want to thank Ellen and Lindy for bringing coffee and pastries. It felt like we’ve been getting together Saturday mornings for the last 10 years. I could not have asked for a better start.

Thank You.
E