How to put figures into an urban landscape painting

Behind the New York Public Library  12x12", Oil

   

New York Public Library  12x12", Oil

Lawn Loungers  8x8", Oil

The New York Public Library Lion ("Patience")   12x12," Oil

Blue Shirts  12x12," Acrylic

That is perhaps one of the more challenging aspects of urban landscapes. Especially when working "en plein air" in NYC. FYI, no one poses for you unless they are asleep. And if you can spot someone who hasn't had 5 cups of coffee and actually stays put for more than a minute or two, consider yourself lucky. Gotta capture that pose quickly!  I learned this last year when I was hired to stand outside on the busiest intersection of Manhattan, 42nd street and Fifth Avenue/Bryant Park, and paint the city sights - en plein air. No safety nets - such as photos, pre-location scouting, protection from the elements (or the crowds). Just stand there and paint whatever. Often I did 2 paintings per day, in oil or acrylic.  It was a wonderful opportunity to take those moving, grooving, hustling New Yorkers and quickly incorporate them into a painting. The trick is getting the gesture and "shorthand" right.

Luckily, in my upcoming "Paint NYC" workshop, we will be painting "en plein studio", in the comfort of the National Academy of Design which is directly across the Street from the Guggenheim Museum and Central Park. The participants will work from photos - theirs or mine - so no need for rushing to capture those moving figures. We will work on gesture, composition and design, simplifying buildings, perspective and... cars! Yes, what is a city without cars? (Hint: if you don't get the cars right, they look like something out of a cartoon book.) The shorthand I will teach about painting figures and cars will help you add them to your paintings with ease.

So, if you want to learn how to capture the energy of New York City, register today for this workshop from May 19-23, 2014. But don't wait - registration ends very soon! If you are considering it, better call today and let your intentions be known. Hope you can join us for this unique city experience.

Click here for more info at Sedona Art Center or call 928.282.3809.

PS - btw, when I say no protection from the crowds, I'm not joking...

"Paint Fast, Loose and Bold" Workshop in Cary, NC

Fruit Gang 8x8" Acrylic on Gessoboard  (SOLD)

Pink Rose 8x6"  Acrylic on Canvas  Click to Bid

Just returned from Cary, NC where I taught a 3 day "How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold" workshop. We covered a lot of ground! Here is a quick summary...

I spent the first day teaching and drilling in, the value of values, and how to be a designer of shapes, rather than a transcriber of what is there. In fact, I spent so much time on this topic that I was worried everyone was going to get bored. But the feedback I got from everyone afterwards was overwhelmingly a big 'thank you' for taking so much time to demonstrate over and over, how to create and "design" a strong value foundation. I loved hearing "I finally get it!!"

Next we did exercises in translating values to colors, interpreting greytones into wild and beautiful colors - departing completely from reality.

Then we practiced how to work with very large brushes. The fruit and flower demos were done using 2" brushes on small canvases - 8x8" and 6x8". I showed what to look for when buying a large brush and how to hold and maneuver it to get smaller shapes and fine lines. I often use just one large brush to do an entire painting.

After a 1 hour rose demo, in which I stated upfront that my goal was to edit out everything but the most important detail, I did a 25-stroke rose painting, using the 2" brush, and then had everyone do the same. The purpose of that exercise is learning brushwork and editing skills. Later in the day I did a quick demo on edges and transitioning from one color/value to the next - geared especially to the acrylic painters. Oil painters can easily blend by dragging their paint from one value to the next. Because acrylics dry so fast, transitioning methods are important to learn. 

We also worked FAST -- 15 minute paintings!  As is usually the case, the paintings whipped out in 15 minutes were actually better and bolder than the "longer" 45 minute paintings.  It's always fun to see the look on everyone's faces when they realize just how much they can accomplish in so short a time, once they have the important fundamentals in place.

One of the best parts of the workshop was the lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant, planned by my awesome hostess-with-the-mostest, Monica Linares. Getting to know everyone better, in a social setting is the icing on the cake, and always makes me wish the workshop were a few days longer. Just as we are all becoming friends, we are then saying goodbyes. I pointed out that its not too early to start thinking about re-connecting in Italy for my "Let's paint Tuscany Fast, Loose and Bold".  

Here's a picture of the group, at work and at play.  I sure hope our paths cross again, as hanging out with painters is always, in my book, the best!