Spent a fantastic day at Langs Beach yesterday with Lillian and Eddie - 2 avid beginners. They've been following the Bob Ross technique and decided it was time to up their game. They both did really well and we all learned a lot. Every time I teach I learn something new. The weather came right after a gray start and we all felt really lucky to be their painting in such a perfect spot. We decided early on to focus on a small area of the painting so that we learned a few things very well instead of rushing through the whole painting. This was a good decision and we're all looking forward to going back there next week sometime to do some more. Some of the things we covered were:

How to set up your brand new easil!
The importance of doing a small value sketch to begin with.
Measuring angles and distances with your pencil while drawing.
How your brain tries to trick you into making mistakes by drawing from 'symbols' rather than seeing.
How to replace old symbols with better ones by understanding the 'it-ness' of a thing.
When to use your artist's license.
How to accurately measure values using a black and white card.
How to transfer your sketch to the canvas using a grid.
Setting up a dark to light edge by painting a thin wash of the light value first.
Mixing colours - using Ultramarine + Burnt Sienna instead of black.
Making colours 'families' from the dark parent colour.
Adjusting colours one way or the other on the colour wheel - warming or cooling a colour.
How to subdue a colour using it's complimentary colour.
Being aware of value changes in a colour pile when adding darker or lighter colours to it.
The importance of the 'Fuzzy One Eye' - why it's better to look like a pirate than a ferret.
- (Closing one eye and losing focus so that your subject goes flat and blurry - understanding that what you see THEN, is what you should be painting - not all that annoying detail.)
The importance of seeing and simplifying form.
Thick over thin paint application.
How a select few small details can bring the painting to life.
How to pack up in record time to get the dog out of the pet motel before 6pm.

Thanks to Lillian and Eddie for a great day out.






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Comment by Richard Robinson on December 5, 2008 at 14:14
No, we'll hopefully go back next week and see how far we get then. It was lots of fun.
Comment by Gregory Becker on December 5, 2008 at 13:39
That looks like so much fun. Were the paintings completed that day?

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