Plein-air session number 3
I headed to Kleinburg, Ontario, to do a plein-air session this morning. I was hoping to find an interesting perspective on the construction of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, which was just recently closed for renovations. My goal for the session was to communicate that I was there at an early stage of upgrading this […]
Mastering composition with value and saturation
To practice the lessons learned from reading books last Wednesday, I walked around the corner to sketch a new value study plein-air for a new composition. The pathway from the schoolyard to the adjacent street is adorned with canopies of many large trees, which are rich at this time of year. I liked the sense […]
Sunny afternoon in Toledo Spain
It was almost 5 PM in Spain when we arrived in Toledo with the local day tour guide. As we walked the streets of the old city, we came into this exquisite Plazza called ‘de Ayuntamiento‘ The building faces the large Cathedral in Toledo. One visiting the old town cannot miss it. It was designed […]
Notan or value study
The use of Notan by painters and graphic designers dates back a long time. It was popularized by Arthur Wesley Dow as an effective way to prepare a painting composition. His book Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure has been a priced educational material for generations of fine artists and illustrators. Notan is […]
The practice of thumbnails
Thumbnails are about compositional intelligence, not about anatomy, rendering or refinement. This is the first step in creating a successful painting. The goals of the exercise The first goal is to train the eye to see structure, not objects such as trees, boats, faces, details, or buildings. Rather, it is about seeing value masses, directional […]