The Teacher is the Student

Back from a lovely vacation in the Keys, and jumping right into an art workshop with the amazing Lynn Ferris (check her out at www.lynnferris.com).  The progression above is day one of a three day workshop on infusing your art with light sources.  After five days soaking up the biggest light source of all, it seemed the perfect time to tackle this workshop!  Also, it is another reason to play in the paint. :)

This is a great example of building a painting, beginning with painting out the light (by painting the shadows) and then pushing and pulling the other pieces until they are in balance.  Now this isn't normally a big consideration in my art, given it tends to be either more whimsical, primitive or abstract.  However every artist needs a toolbox full of the basics, and this workshop provides that in spades!  I am super excited to see how this will influence my art going forward, and can't wait to see what's in store for us in tomorrow's class.

One of the things I enjoy greatly about taking a class is the excuse to upgrade my art supplies.  I picked up some amazing, pigment-saturated new watercolors and luxurious brushes for this workshop, and will be trying them out on some new creatures in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned!