BACK TO BASICS

Jeffrey Watts 11x14

Every year I  need to get back to basics.  While I enjoy the impressionistic gallery landscapes I do -they are fun and experimental - but I regularly feel the need to test and improve my basic skills. This winter I am doing two things: making colour charts and taking the Watts Atelier on-line portrait drawing classes.

I never did colour charts , I should have, but they  always seemed laborious - but this year its happening. To make it easier I purchased premade charts from Colour Frontier.   I plan to do them using water mixable oils. For help I have the   RichardSchmidt text and a number of YouTube videos (just search under colour charts).  I will let you know how I do.

My best early training was at the Jeffrey Watts Atelier in California. I spent 6 months drawing and painting from life – portraiture, figurative, plein air and still life. I have returned twice for a refresher and taken a series of his recent on-line courses. Jeff and his colleagues are great teachers – but its serious stuff.

Jeff Watts - I was fortunate to purchase this 11x14 sketch  while there

This year the Jeffrey Watts Atelier is offering for the first time life streaming classes: one with Jeff for 20 minute fast layins and one with Eric Gist for a head drawing class. The intent is to bring you right into the regularly scheduled classes. I am just taking the basic $99 series - just auditing the classes starting next week and goes into March.  Again, I will let you know how its going.