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!

FAS Calvin Liang Workshop

Sauer Beckmann Farm
9" x 12"
oil on canvas board

Let me start by saying day one was TOTALLY AWESOME!!! For really and truly, if you ever get a chance to take a class from Calvin Liang, do it! I kicked myself all morning for not bringing my camera. I wish I had a photo of today's demo to show you. It was beautiful, and so simple, a lot of implied shapes and lines. Just amazing! I aim to paint with that kind of control and confidence.

Above is my painting for today- I took the photo after getting home. I have never tackled dappled sunlight before. It was a little daunting. The shadows kept moving and disappearing and reappearing and rearranging themselves into new patterns.

At one point, I was painting away and feeling a little frustrated and disappointed with my progress, and Calvin came by and said "don't touch this part anymore, and make this cool color warm." Wouldn't it be nice to have someone standing over our shoulders every time we paint telling us how to improve our work? Instead of a Shoulder Angel, it would be a Shoulder Artist. My problem came from trying to paint what I knew and not what I saw. The shadow colors were warm oranges and pale purples, not the blue and greenish-gray I had been using.



So here are some of the things I learned today:

There are 4 elements of painting.
1. Shape
2. Value
3. Color
4. Edges

Always start your painting with a preliminary thumbnail to work out the design. -And don't just copy what you see- create a good design.

Color Structure: Think of the color wheel, and paint with the full circle of colors within highlights, shadows, and mid-ranges. Everything goes in a circle.

Now keep in mind, these are Calvin's tips after being digested by my mind. When you take a workshop from him, I would love to hear what you get from it because we all gather different information.

I am now off to rearrange my plein air set-up... I made the mistake of taking my French easel instead of my Thumbox, because I thought it would be easier to paint on the 9 x 12 canvases. I have a clip for the Thumbox to keep anything larger than an 8 x 10. I'm going back to my beloved itty set-up. Someday I will have a larger pochade box for larger canvases.