Blog

There is nothing more fun as a teacher than seeing a student fight through a tough painting situation and see real success at the end.  Suzanne,, a private student, and I went out to Wolcott Mill for a plein air painting session.  This was no ordinary day because the civil war reenactment was going on and the park was filled with tents, soliders, horses, campfires.  It was a perfect October day with and intense blue sky and the trees just begining to pop.

We settled on the Rebel camp where we would be in shade.  The view inclueded tents, horses, a cannon, a campfire, lots of people and bright orange maple trees.  Suzanne wanted to paint the tent and cannon and horses and quickly became frustrated when the horses left and the people kept coming around and asking questions.  After a discusson and a little help with values and perspective she began to paint the scenery as shapes and not things.  Bits of blue and tan became a figure sitting on a cannon and two dark half cicles became the cannons axel in the sunlight.

The public ohhhed and ahhed and one of the soldiers sitting on the cannon purchased the painting  That was a good lesson and a good day of painting.