Peggi taught us a couple more tools for painting. This was an interesting idea: paint a study with as few brushstrokes as possible. You design and then draw a composition that allows you to paint with as few big shapes as possible. This is a great exercise for a couple reasons: first, it’s always a good design practice to divide your space in as few big shapes as possible, no more than 5-7. This forces you to do that. Second, because each stroke must be continuous, you learn to really load your brush so the single stroke will cover as much area as possible. For the large background, for example, I loaded the brush (with marbeled color, to make it interesting) and sculpted around objects and covered the space in one go. I think I painted this in about 13 strokes.
I was very happy with this study as well, although it doesn’t seem to photograph well. I’ll try scanning it when I get home.
And finally, this quick figure study
These are fabulous! Not only is your color sense amazing but each image is way more than a color study/painting exercise. Each study is very evocative of a mood and seems to tell a story about the subject. I realized that my mind went from viewing the image to having a whole life story for each of these women. The first, a mom, with her kids on the beach trying to keep all her kids behaving. The second a sad matronly just past middle aged woman wondering where her life had gone. The third, a glamorous young society lady at the country club watching a tennis game with a cocktail. How did so many feelings come from such simple paintings.
This is something I so needed to learn and am so grateful for this incredible example: that simplifying and omitting detail doesn’t make a painting boring — by allowing the viewer’s mind to play and be creative when looking at the work the viewer has an exciting rewarding experience. When I compare that to looking at a perfectly painted, highly detailed painting where it’s all spelled out for me, it’s not half the fun!
What a brilliant exercise and an even more brilliant painter!
Thank you, Jana, for your kind comment! I’m really enjoying the various techniques that Peggi is teaching. She’s not from the “Hensche” school–which is where I typically spend my time learning–so it’s nice to learn new perspectives.
Thanks for sharing these clips and info. This is great info.
Are these images available for use.
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