February 29, 2008


(124) Yellow Delicious
6 x 8, oil
In my opinion, Kevin Macpherson is one of those rare artists who not only paints exceedingly well, but also teaches with equal skill and excellence. I have found that one of his more helpful suggestions is to observe the object or scene and identify the contrasts: that is, ask yourself what are the sharpest/softest edges, highest chroma/most neutral colors, darkest dark/lightest lights? Once you have identified those, it is easier to organize everything else accordingly because all else must fall within those two extremes. With the apples above, the contrasts are quite subtle, which can be even more of a challenge than extreme contrasts, so I am especially grateful to discover a way to simplify the process.

"Making the simple complex is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity"...Charles Mingus

2 comments:

Frank Gardner said...

Well painted. Great colors and you seem to have pegged each of those suggestions.
Great advice from Kevin. You are gonna have so much fun in that workshop and learn so much from him.
Wish I was going:(

FCP said...

Thanks, Frank. I still have so much to learn, but I'm really enjoying the process. You will have to study with Kevin when you get the opportunity. I'm sure the two of you would be great friends.