Well now, what in the world are those blue shapes off in the distance? i think they call them mountains up here in the shenandoah valley in virginia. a small charming town called lexington. home of Va. Military Institute (VMI) and Washington and Lee University.
coming here sunday, i was driving the old toyota straight up a couple thousand foot mountain and i had to drop it down a gear or two just to go 4o mph. i wasnt paying attention and i thought i was having truck problems until i realized what was going on! shows you how many mountain ranges i've driven through lately.
today was the first day of our three day class. heres what i covered:
how to boil down a complex scene into no more than 7 shapes and 5 values.
how to keep from mixing white into colors which makes the color very chalky
how to make dark colorful colors without using black
how to tone down shapes of color without adding that colors complement
what gear to take when painting plein air
and how to simplify and mass in color shapes instead of seeing a branch, or an ear, or other objects.
there are nearly a dozen very stoked painters here, that didnt mutter complaint one on their first day of plein air boot camp. they were exhausted but stoked at the end of the day, where we painted from a mountaintop vista, looking into several mountain ranges. breathtaking for this beach-billy!
more tomorrow, with hopefully some shots of the class at work!
2 comments:
Mike
We are proud of them for not grumbling or complaining. Tell them
" A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle." [Robert Henri] Y'all have fun.
Another flat-lander
Eleanor
eleanor
i'll tell them that quote tomorrow! its so true. the whole painting process is a mini struggle of decisions.
these mountain girls are real troopers (even tho most of them are transplants from all over). most of them (or their husbands) teach or, they are associated in some way with all the colleges around here.
they do love to paint, i know that!
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