Designing a Painting

(originally posted April 10, 2019)

Recently, I attended a 4-day painting workshop with Susan Abbott, a professional artist, at the Art League in Alexandria, VA.  I’ve taken several courses from her before and they were all courses that dealt with the fundamental elements of painting, i.e.: technique and use of mediums. The courses have improved my work tremendously and got me where I am today.
The day before the workshop started, Susan invited us to the National Gallery of Arts in Washington DC where she gave us an Art History lecture on the work of the great Master Painters relevant to the course.
The focus of this workshop was on designing a painting. We learned to create an imaginary scene using images from different sources to create a narrative, the way the old Master Painters have done in the past.
We were given the choice to use our favorite medium. There were some constraints though, i.e.: limited palette, size of canvas or paper 16×20, choice of watercolor, oil, or acrylics. I chose to work in acrylics.
The process was highly structured, with drawing and scaling exercises. We also learned about the temperature and values. My piece was about combining outside and inside scenes, using bridges to connect both into one cohesive image.
Susan’s classes have always been interesting and engaging, they are comprehensive and relevant. This class is the best one so far.
This is what I have created during that workshop. Enjoy!

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