Yesterday was the first day of a four day workshop with Gay Faulkenberry here in Houston. Gay is a colorist and the main objective for me is to learn more about color from this workshop.
Yesterday she spent the morning working on a demo, a still life painting. Her colors are bright and clear, it was informative to watch her lay down that juicy color. After lunch the class set up four still lifes in different corners of the classroom and we all painted a “study” of one of the still lifes. It’s harder than it looks.
Today in the workshop I painted from a photo, I painted the same painting I did last weekend: Paris rooftops. It was very educational for me to listen to Gay’s suggestions. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out and learning the correct colors for each problem. And painting is a lot like a set of problems, you have to figure out if something is warm or cool, what value it is, etc.
Gay had a wonderful suggestion for me today, she suggested I get some 6″x8″ panels and a small pochade box and paint outside every chance I get. I don’t have enough experience painting outside to really know what’s happening when I look at a photo, so I need to get that experience. I love the idea. Plus, it’s a good excuse to go online and search around for a cute little pochade box and order it. Who doesn’t love it when the UPS man delivers a box of art supplies. Or any package for that matter.