Mastering the Poetic Figure or Portrait

Description - Students routinely complain, “My work looks hard and tight. I wish I could loosen up!” This workshop could be the answer to your prayers. We want our paintings to have the emotional impact of great poetry, but too often they “read like a police report!” Artists like Howard Terpning, C. W. Mundy, Kevin Macpherson, and Morgan Weistling all started out as illustrators. How did that experience lead directly to the powerful images they create? Have you ever looked at a photo reference or the live model’s pose and thought “This image is almost perfect” but didn’t know how to make it better…or, more importantly, your own? Beginning artists are frozen by trying to “get it right”, i.e. make sure the drawing, values, colors and edges are accurate. When our skills improve we want to make the leap…but how? My mentor at the American Academy, Bill Parks, used to say “You’re the artist; you’re in charge of quality control!” -I initially thought that he just meant to paint it more accurately. Only later did I realize that I could modify what I saw to make a better painting. In this workshop we will focus on how to think like a poet…or a master film-maker! You will learn techniques to imbue your images with greater emotional resonance! This three-day oil and pastel workshop is for advanced beginners or higher. You will learn: Power through suggestion One simple technique to create sparkling color How to avoid “unpleasant detail” Masterful edge control How to free yourself from the “tyranny of the literal” Three “hacks” to enhance the mood How to use “the internal movie” Metaphoric truth! I will demonstrate in both oil and pastel (a complete head study as well as several “mini-demos” – painting eyes, painting the mouth etc.) All the great painters learned by copying masterworks; on one of the days, you will too. This workshop will turbo-charge your understanding of drawing, value, color temperature, edge control and above all else – how to make your painting more poetic.