"Forever Spring" (oil on linen, 12" x 12") sold

sold

To the last session of the oil still life workshop with Robert A. Johnson last weekend, I brought a glass cup and some daffodils from my garden, determined to learn how to paint a glass filled with water.  I was torn between the desire to work on my own painting and the temptation to watch the teacher paint tulips, grapes, Chinese ginger jars, etc.  Somehow I managed to focus on my problem solving, which is what painting a picture is all about, instead of joining in the conviviality of the class watching Robert's masterly mini demos.

He didn't get to my easel until the end of the day, busy helping other students.  To the nearly completed painting of mine, he added his finishing touches.  One vertical stroke on the right side of the glass, it already looked like a glass!  After a bit of simplification, blurring, some palette knife work, the glass was done.  I joked that the painting now needed two signatures.

Among many things I learned in three days, two stand out.  Robert emphasized the importance of figure and portrait painting as the fundamental part of artistic growth.  It doesn't matter whether you are a still life painter or a landscapist.  Another is my own conclusion: find the best teacher you can and learn from him or her--that will save you from a lot of frustrations and bad habits.  So I decided to take a workshop with Robert Liberace soon, a star in today's figure painting, who happens to teach at The Art League in Alexandria, VA.  Step aside.  I am unstoppable!

"Sunflowers and Daffodils" (oil on linen, 12" x 14") sold

sold

Robert's demo painting

The second day of the oil still life workshop with Robert A. Johnson was all painting and no relaxing by watching the teacher do a long demo.  I was better prepared than the previous day with my own vase and fabric.  I wanted to paint something different from Friday so that I could learn as much as I could in three days, so I chose sunflowers, balancing them with a couple of daffodils and purple flowers whose name I can't remember.

Can you tell which flowers I had the most trouble with?  It was the sunflowers.  Robert said politely that they looked too "petally."  Compare my sunflowers on top with his at the bottom.  A careful observation of shapes, then decisive brushstrokes.  No dubious handling of values, either.  Look at how dark the center of his flower and shadows between petals are.  Not that I am unhappy or upset with my painting.  I am actually proud because I tried hard and did my best.

What pleases him the most about his painting career, Robert said, is that he can honestly say he is painting better than six months ago, that he is not so self-satisfied with his artwork that he will stop growing as a painter.  This is from a master who has been painting for decades!  I have a long way to go and am eager for my artistic journey.

"Three Roses and Copper" (oil on linen, 9" x 12") sold

sold

I thought I would try my hand at still life in oil and signed up for a three-day workshop with Robert A. Johnson at the Art League School in Alexandria, VA this weekend.  Still life painting has been a well-trodden path by many renowned and talented artists for several centuries.  I have no intention of hunting for antique Ming vases, silver vessels and oriental rugs for elaborate and luxurious still life setups.  All I want to achieve is to be able to paint a few stems of garden flowers in a humble glass jar. 

Have you ever seen the French impressionist Edouard Manet's still lifes he painted in the last weeks of his life as he was dying of the untreated syphilis?   His friends would bring bouquets of flowers to cheer him up and he would plop a few sprigs in a simple jar to paint quickly before he ran out of energy.  These small, unassuming still lifes of Manet's touch my heart as no other paintings do.

After Robert's admirable demo in the morning, the students were left to their own devices to set up their own still lifes and paint in the afternoon.  I reminded myself of my goal--simplicity, and nothing fancy.  With the gentle help of Robert, a true southern gentleman, I was able to paint "Three Roses and Copper."  I admit that I have a long way to go, but am, nevertheless, pleased with the result on the first day of the workshop.