Video Classes

I signed up for Paint Along 30 with Johannes Vloothuis. The classes are online and run 4-6 hours each Saturday, very inexpensive and the recordings may be downloaded after the class is over. This first one is oil paint, Half Dome from Yosemite. I have never been there. I think the taller mountain needs to be even taller than I'm showing in my painting. I was working from his photo.  I was able to watch this one as he was doing it and follow the "chat" from the students.

Second class (photo below) was from Yellowstone where I have been in the past and have painted from my own photo. I had to watch the recording on this one and he was working in pastels.  I used thin oil paints on oil painting paper.  I could not figure out how to make the mist rising up look like it was supposed to look. I like my old painting better that I had done from further back in that canyon. Link here:  Canyon Colors

I did not enjoy working on this one, but I learned more about composition.

Last class which I only watched half of the recording and did not download at all was a watercolor of Murano, Italy. I tried to finish it up from his finished painting.  I did not have the right pigments and paper so I used some acrylics on hot press paper along with some pen and ink (for the drawing).  The teacher changed several items in his drawing after I had already done my drawing from the original instructions.  That didn't help either.  I was frustrated with it and did not enjoy the process.

My conclusion is that I need to be emotionally invested in an image to really want to spend time on it to create it.  I do not relate to other people's photos even if I have been to the same place.

I started a new painting today that I had done a study of before and I am much happier working on my own.  This is from Glacier National Park.  The tourist caravans have canvas roofs that open up so the tourists can stand up and enjoy the views and take photos.  I will work on this for a while, but here is my start and I am happy with it (oil on canvas, 16" X 20").

Sorry it has taken so long between postings. I had knee surgery on Friday and I am already feeling better.  One doctor I saw said I didn't need surgery and he did conservative treatments including shots that did not work. It took me a while to get an appointment with another specialist and get an actual surgery date, but I'm glad I was persistent. I'm looking forward to hiking again. I really missed it this past year.

Happy New Year to all. May it be a better year for all of us, filled with peace and good health (and more art of course).