Another Demo

Another Demo, 6x6" oil, ©Diane Mannion

Classroom Study

I admit I don't do my best work while teaching, but I like this demo better than the last.  Doing a demo means losing focus because I'm busy running around the room helping students.  

 My value study which I finished later from iPhone photo.

Went from thumbnail sketches to working on final surface.  We painted from life, everyone had their own set up.  Challenge today was for students to paint with blue only, a value study focusing on the dark, light, and composition.  

Painting under neon classroom light is the worst situation, but if something can be accomplished under this condition, the rest will be easy. 

One student, an absolute beginner, had never sketched from life.  She said, "It's like I never saw this before."  She jumped up and began looking at the paintings hanging in the room.  "Never noticed this before... how the darks and lights work," she said, pointing to an ear on a portrait.  (This is what makes teaching worth while!  Opening someone's eyes!)

I like to tell my class... "If I can show you how to see... I can teach you to paint."