Tyler Alpern, Art Instructor

Still Life

This is an exercise, not a finished painting. Part one, paint the still life exactly as you see it, match colors exactly, notice how the color of an object influences what is next to it. Don't worry about the drawing nad proportions, just focus on color.

Part two: after you get my approval, start to exaggerate the colors to make the painting richer and increase the range of value to make the objects as three dimensional as possble. Use atmospheric persepective for depth, and soften edge quality and lessen detail at overlaps to again to maximize depth.

Surface: Embrace the paint!

Use additive and subtractive techniques to emphasize the paint itself. The look of the painted surface should be as important if not more so than the subject. Use the thickest paint possibe, add things like sand, gel, molding paste. Also paint by removing, wiping, scartching, scraffito, sanding, etc. Use contrast to emphasize what is important in the composition. Constrasts could be in value, color, size, shape, placement, etc.

If you do 2 paintings, one subtractive, one addititive than the second painting will have a focal point created by placement and movement.

Flat Color and Text:

Use flat, unmodeled color for at least 80% of the painting. Flat color does not change in value, but can have texture. Use at least one word of text as a part of the design an d compostion.

Tight/Loose

Take 3 photos and use part of each one for your composition. You will project them onto the canvas, tracing the portion you plan to use. When you paint, you will paint fast, fresh and loosely to express the tight projected detailed drawing. You will keep clean edges and specfic detail so that the loose brushwork looks spot on and tidy. You may want to start on a toned canvas rather than white.

Rhythm: The movement of the eye is guided by a repetition of objects, brushstrokes and mark making or pattern that ties the elements of the composition together the way a beat holds a melody together in music.