Sunday, September 20, 2009

Better late than never....

I have been trying to process all the information I gathered from Calvin Liang's workshop.

Day 2 at Becker Vineyards

Here is what I have been mulling over:

Block in the big shapes, but do not close off the shapes by butting your colors directly against each other- at first. This gives you some leeway on the shapes.

Work from the foreground to the background.

Demo: Lovely


Always have warm colors next to cool colors- within highlights AND shadows.

Be careful when laying paint. Each layer should allow any under layers to shine through.

Architecture is tight at the top and loose at the bottom.

Day 3 at Luckenbach

Shadows in trees are up high in the canopy, and the lower part (trunk) is lighter.

You can see his grays are full of color.


Use liquin mixed with color to soften edges.

The bottom edges of everything should be soft.

Always test a color before laying it down.

Day 4 back at FAS, it rained shortly after this. Completely obliterated the scene.
Oh to see all the colors in that wonderful sky! This is my favorite.

Now get this- I asked him if he had to drive around a lot to find his painting spots. (That is what I have been doing.) He paints wherever he is. That is the kind of plein air painter I want to be! Imagine... every spot is a good spot! I'll add that to my list of goals.

I am still learning from that workshop. Money well spent!

9 comments:

Karen Hargett said...

Sounds like it was a really great workshop - thanks for sharing.

Marian Fortunati said...

You've inspired me to take another workshop from him.

You know you always learn new things even if the teaching is exactly the same (even though it never is) because YOU are never exactly the same.

I love Calvin's work and so enjoyed the first workshop I took from him.

Glad you did too. Love this post... I'm going to print it out to remind me....

Sara Winters said...

Karen, next time I will gather and deliver the information as I go. I feel like the wait has helped me digest the info for myself, but I know that I have not imparted half the info I was given. I think the processing shrunk the info down to what I was needing at the time. If you ever get a chance, Calvin is a wonderful teacher!

Sara Winters said...

Marian- Go for it! I am planning on taking another one from him when he comes back next year. You are so right- you get what you need out of it at the time, so every workshop will be different. Even masters grow, so I am looking forward to seeing how his techniques have changed, or not..

Sharon Weaver said...

Thanks for the post of the workshop. I have admired his work and maybe will take his workshop. Maybe Marian and I will do it together. She told me he has an extensive palette even for his plein air.

Sara Winters said...

Sharon, He had us using a seven color pallet (plus white). He said he uses more like thirty in studio. I am a three color (plus white) person myself, so seven felt a little overwhelming. It was good to try new colors and techniques.

Erin said...

That sounds like a great workshop. His work is lovely! Hey, I learned lots just reading this post:) Off to paint now! Good luck!

Sara Winters said...

I am happy to hear that Erin, and I look forward to seeing what you have painted!

Perry Brown said...

Great commentary Sara!