Last Class

Blue bottles and Bowl   Acrylic 9x9"  SOLD

Today was the last (local) class I will be teaching for a couple months. It was actually a complementary make-up session for all those who missed a class or two during the 8 week period. About 1/2 the class  showed up -  so I had time to paint too. Then we all went to the diner for lunch. I couldn't ask for a nicer group of gals to work with. Some of them are coming to my workshop in Italy  this September.  Register now if you want to join us, class size is limited.

Blue Bottle

A pretty setup from my Rye class, simple but colorful...an old blue bottle that had a beautiful glow about it, and a juicy red apple. The pistachio green cloth really provided a nice complementary contrast with the red hues of the apple.

The challenge when trying to capture a beautiful light effect is less about recording exactly what you see - once you learn certain painting skills any "technician" can do that - and much more about creating the effect of the light, the magic. This involves a whole host of other considerations - pushing, pulling and manipulating warms against cools, lights against darks, neutrals against saturated hues, soft edges, hard edges, simplification vs detail, etc etc. Its a game of pulling out your bag of tricks and using everything in that bag in the right proportions to coax out the magic of the light. And when you finally achieve that glow - what a treat ... just in time for halloween!

Blue Bottle SOLD

Acrylic on Canvas 8x10