Lesson 6: Did somebody say trees?

Here is the homework I had after Lesson 5.  "Do trees with foliage, some rocks and hills, and a disappearing path." (She sure likes rocks!)   Done. 

This week we discussed the physics of color. Now, Pat did a lot of theatre work - scenery and such, so we talked about the color properties of light and how, with different colored lights or filters you can get different effect on painted backdrops.  For instance; if you use certain colored filters, you can make certain colors 'disappear.  If you add a red filter to a white spot light, what happens?  ...  Everything looks red.  So, now if you add a yellow filter to that what do you get?  Orange!  very good!  you are a smart crowd!  OK, now the tricky part... What happens if you add a blue filter to the red and yellow filters?  Now mind you these are transparent filters...  I answered "Brown?  Black?"  Well, no light at all can get through this filter combination!  Sure enough! when she had me hold up the three filters to the window red and yellow became orange and what I expected to look like the lens of dark sunglasses, when I added the blue filter,  was like holding up a sheet of black paper.  No light could get through at all.  It was kewl!  I won't bore you with the rest of my color science lesson but it was a fun class.  No lesson next week - Pat is having her hip replaced this Thursday, and depending on how quickly she heals I may not have my next lesson until after San Diego.  No way am I going the 3rd; I hope to be at the beach!

Just an old piece

Well this post is not about a lesson I just wanted to share an oil painting I did many years ago.  It is a painting I did of my friend's beach house, in 1987.  It was done as a gift to her and hangs in her cottage to this day.  It was funny, when I sat out in the sand doing the initial sketch (at around 8am!) a couple of people came up and watched over my shoulder.  I really felt like an artist that summer morning!

Lesson 5: Seeing The Forest For The Trees!

Wow! lesson 5 already!?!? Time does fly! She liked my rock landscape, that I did for homework! So we practiced trees! This week's homework: A tree and rock landscape! ROFL. She said next week we will discuss the physics of color. I feel like a kid getting the BIG box of crayons for Christmas! Although I think it will be more like the Crayola 8. Here is my rock homework, and a practice tree. Just remember these are basic, not Monet!

Lesson 4: More Perspective

Sorry for the delay. This past weekend we worked some more on perspective. My homework for this week is to create a landscape which includes distant mountains and a landscape focusing on the rules of perspective. Pat asked that I include rocks either in piles or in a rough stone wall, which displays how they would look running off toward a vanishing point. This is to be done using either diluted India ink, or black watercolor.

She gave me a bunch of pictures from magazines - both photographs and artwork - which show lots of walls and rocks, to give me ideas.

It is already Tuesday night and I haven't done a thing! I need to get to the store tomorrow and get some watercolor paper and start something!

I have decided not to take two lessons per week until at least after going to San Diego. I just can't focus enough these days, to have homework twice per week! Maybe I should start chanting: Craggy rocks -light and shadow -picture planes - now paint! Craggy rocks -light and shadow -picture planes - now paint! Craggy rocks....

Lesson 3: Working With Perspective

For Lesson 3, we worked with the concept of perspective, and we drew a primitive drawing of a stone path, a few silly trees and a wee hedge. My notes for the day were the following terms:

* Picture Plane - the boundaries of a picture - where the picture absolutely ends.

* Horizon Line - the line of view at Eye Level

*Vanishing Point - the point in the distance at which the lines of perspective disappear. This point is considered to be 21 mile in the distance.

* All lines of perspective above the Horizon Line converge DOWN while all lines of perspective below the Horizon Line converge UP to the Vanishing Point.

Now these terms may seem boring, but my typing them here, allows me to keep them in mind. I am posting the sketch we did, here, and I will try to post my homework on perspective when I get it done.

Pat asked if I would like to meet with her twice per week (I wonder if it is because she thinks I can move forward at a faster rate, or because she thinks I need the extra help!?)

I have to see how my schedule is for the next few weeks before I commit. With Shane graduation, baby's first Birthday and baby showers, this is a crazy month.

Lesson 2 - more light and shadow

I had my lesson today, and she liked my homework! She said I 'Got it'. Today we did a little with drawing things at a distance... How things lose contrast and tonal value is muted. Then we did a simple stone block wall in watercolor and discussed how light and shadow play on uneven surfaces. (felt like I was drawing the Wailing Wall!) We only used watery black watercolor - "We will discuss colors later". My homework for the week: Practice a stone block wall. Not very exciting but necessary practice! lol Craggy surfaces and fissures here I come!

Homework

Well I didn't have a class yesterday - I will be going tomorrow instead, so I thought I would post my homework. I had to copy the picture on the left as practice of shadows and highlights. I have never used watercolors before so this was a challenge.

I will let you all know what we do tomorrow.

I was thinking of Chan and although this blog is about my art lessons, I would not be taking them if not for Chan so ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcQFMxgNMF4

Lesson One: Back to Basics- Very Basic!

Well I had my first lesson! According to Pat it is alway and all about six basic rules:

1) Line Drawing

2) Local Tone

3) Fore Shadow - where light can not go

4) Cast Shadow

5) Cutting Line

6) High light

With these rules in hand we drew cubes, spheres, columns, retangles and cones with a pinch of basic trees.

It was fun, but I may have enjoyed it more if I was feeling bad. But there was no way I was going to miss my first lesson! so on the way home - homework in hand, I called the doctor. I spent two hours in after hours Urgent Care to find out that I likely have Kidney Stone(s).

So, tomorrow I will go get my supply of brushes and watercolors and then start on my homework - more practice with light and shadow.

I am officially an Art Student! My first lesson will be next week!

I met with Pat yesterday at her home, she is a muralist and does alot of commission work mainly Tromploi stuff - Really good!
She seems very sweet. She showed me some pictures of her work and told me she had lived and worked in Europe for sometime, as well as teaching at one of the universities here in Massachusetts.

In addition to having murals in common with Chan, she also did alot of theatre work doing scenery and back drops - the Chan similarites gave me goose bumps.

She will start me with the bare basics at first and then landscapes before people, So Vincent and Devin and Catherine may have to wait . lol She does not teach oils at all (A little disappointing) but we will work with charcoals pastels and acrylics and watercolor.

I am looking forward to it - even if it is an hour and 1/2 travel each way
bus - subway -bus but I don't mind it I like the solitude and people watching riding the "T".

She will start me out using her materials and later give me a shopping list
For our first lessons we will be working on light and shadow using charcoals; the beginning will be real elementary until she sees what I can do, and she will adjust the lessons from there I guess.

I need a refresher on all the rules lol I haven't done much of anything in over 20 years! (Except for one not-so-good Vincent I did as a thank you ;-) for someone)

I will let you all know how it goes!

My Art Lessons

I have decided to take painting lessons with an artist in Boston. After the loss of a childhood friend and a gifted artist and friend, who I had known far too briefly, I decided to rediscover the joy I once found in drawing and painting. Life is far too short to not do something that you love. So tomorrow I will meet this woman and see if we 'fit'. Wish me luck!