A Study Method

I have reached a new place in my painting life with regard to study. For a lot of years I have religiously taken workshops with a variety of teachers. This has involved traveling to the workshop locations, hotels, meals, the cost of the workshop, supplies, etc. I have benefited from all of these experiences, but there is a cost associated with all that learning. A couple of weeks ago an artist friend told me that I should just work through some of the books in my extensive library and use those books as my teacher. Once I have learned the techniques and approaches that one "teacher" is using, move on to another book. You can also make use of some of the videos that are out in the world (and in my library as well). She recommended starting with the Helen van Wyk books that I already own.

Interestingly enough, the Robert Glen Twice Weekly Newsletter was written on the subject of having a personal coach. His recommendation was almost exactly the same as the advice my friend gave me. Use books and videos and paint for a couple of hours every day.

I don't necessarily need to be hit over the head with a bat to recognize that when you get the same advice from multiple unrelated sources in a short period of time, the advice is probably valid. So, I am working through my Helen van Wyk books. I may not do everything in the books, but I will pick and choose the things that most appeal to me. The objective is to learn how she did what she did and be able to apply the principles to my own work. At the same time I will be working on projects that are purely my own.

Here is a painting done in water mixable oils with an underpainting in Burnt Sienna acrylic. It is a study of silver. It is based on a painting from Helen van Wyk's Welcome to my Studio. Helen did not always use an underpainting and when she did, it was a grey scale rather than Burnt Sienna. Practicing using an underpainting makes you think about value placement without having to worry about the color. Once the underpainting is done, then applying the color on top is relatively quick and easy.