Sketching Callaway Workshop- April 24 & 25, 2009

I will be leading another Sketching Callaway Workshop in beautiful Callaway Gardens this spring. This is the perfect time to come and enjoy drawing and painting in the Gardens. In this workshop, I will demonstrate techniques for drawing plants and flowers with water soluble pencils as well as graphite, charcoal, and ink. We will use our sketchbooks to record a nature journal as we explore the area with our horticulturist. No drawing experience is necessary. You can get all the supplies you need from me or you can bring your own. Class size is limited, so if you are interested, please register with education@callawaygardens.org. A supply list will be furnished upon registration. Included with your registration, will be entrance fees to the Gardens and a discount at the Gardens' inns. There are camping areas nearby too.

I am looking forward to being back at Callaway Gardens and sharing this experience with you!

Durinda

Durinda@Durinda.com

New Workshop! Architecture Drawing in the Landscape

I will be teaching a new workshop at Callaway Gardens, Saturday and Sunday, September 20 & 21, 2008 called "Architecture Drawing in the Landscape." This class is for anyone who would like to learn to include architecture such as houses, buildings, barns, fences, etc in your drawings or paintings. I will cover several techniques to represent three-dimensional objects on a flat two-dimensional plane. Also, I will demonstrate how to create atmospheric perspective to create depth in your work.



We will be using structures in the Gardens for drawing on site. No experience necessary! Come ready to learn and have a fun time!

Fee is $150.00 for the two days which includes your admission into the Gardens and a discount at Gardens' resorts. I will have all the supplies for you (to keep) for $25.00. If you already paint in watercolor or acrylic and want to bring your supplies for that, let me know. Enrollment is limited so you will get individual attention. Bring a campstool or chair if possible.

Registration: education@callawaygardens.org or call : 706-663-5153.
I will be glad to answer any questions: Durinda@Durinda.com

Perspective - Observation

If you've taken any basic visual art course, you've been exposed to perspective. Vanishing points, two-point perspective -- terms you most likely have heard and concepts you most likely have used along with all the other terms and concepts.

Perspective is just illusion, a product of how the lens of our eye projects light onto the "picture plane" of the retina and of how our brain interprets the resulting pattern. Railroad tracks don't really converge six miles away to a single point, do they? No, of course not, but we have to have some kind of rule or tool so we can make order in our drawing and painting and create a convincing work of art.

The rules of this "grand illusion" were first invented by goldsmith Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) and later codified in a treatise by humanist Leon Battista Alberti (1404 - 1472). (For more on the history of perspective, see http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/projects/perspective/theory.htm.) Artists have been using these rules ever since. If you want to get real technical you can study perspective and learn to produce technical drawings which is not a bad thing since many people make their living doing just that. But, you don’t always have to be so technical when you paint. Like almost everything else, getting your paintings to look real comes down to observation. Paint what you see. Look for shapes and paint them. Put the puzzle pieces together.

Callaway painter, Durinda Cheek reminded me the other day when we were talking about having confidence in brushwork that it’s the same thing with color. Paint what you see. “Mix your color to match what you see,” said Durinda. She explained further, “A fellow painter put it simply, "Is it too dark, too light, too bright, too dull?" In other words, don't just put paint on the surface if it isn't right. One thing you can do is load your brush and hold it up to compare it to your subject. Some artists even put a small stroke on the canvas, compare it, and if it isn't right, wipe it off! “ Good advice Durinda.



Sunlit
Watercolor
22 x 30
$1200.00 + shipping/ handling
White rag mat with gold carved wood frame

You can see more of Durinda's work at www.durinda.com

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Starting is Everything

Phyllis is right on target with the topic of getting a strong start when painting. Without a "map" of sorts, to structure your piece no amount of coloring, exploring or compensating can overcome weaknesses in a painting.

One student of mine is terrified to start a painting. I tell her that the canvas is inert, unfeeling and has nothing to say about your success or failure with what you are about to create. It cannot tell you where to put colors, make lines or anything at all.

YOU are the only agent who can control what goes on on that surface. So take charge. Yes, marks may be awkward with your first attempts, but with practice, the technical aspect of beginning will give way to well crafted-finished pieces of art.

In my experience, drawing is key. Whether you draw your subject first or go direct to painting, a good structural foundation is critical. And when you start well, the chances of ending well goes up exponentially. Many artists do thumbnail sketches prior to painting. This is an excellent way to work out issues of composition, value changes and depth prior to applying color. Still other artists feel this is a waste of time. Whatever side of this issue you come down on, I encourage you to draw as much as possible, particularly if you are a beginner to intermediate artist. Even the most advanced painters draw and draw and draw before executing a painting. The result, generally an exceptional piece of well-planned, well-executed artwork without overworking the end result.

So, ready to get started? It’s really easier than you might think. Everyone gets stuck at different points. I tend to get more stuck in the middle of creating a piece when it is going one way, perhaps in a different direction than I had intended. Whenever I get stuck, I remember what a master painter once told me to do: “Stop what you are doing, step back, re-evaluate, retrace your steps, re-draw, refine the original structure of a piece; then go on.” This sage advice has saved and even propelled me to greater painting successes.

Also, try different ways of starting. For some it’s ragging thin paint all over the canvas; then lifting out the compositional areas. For others, it’s tedious yet effective drawing prior to applying paint, some start by using the opposite temperature paint, some start with the focal point and work outwards; and on it goes. Give these and all other types of starting a chance to see what works best for YOU. And back to my original statement. If you start strong you will more likely end strong.