Matt Smith advice.....

This week I had the opportunity to study with Matt Smith, a painter that I have admired for many years.  A long time ago I was told by a top painter that it's a good idea to study with another artist once a year to kick up your artistic game.  Matt has been on my wish list ever since I saw his original work in Scottsdale at Trailside Galleries.  One of the many gems that Matt told the group was to spend a month painting in the field, 6" X 8" panels.  I photographed the little painting with the easel so you can see how tiny the panel is, yet the scene is huge.  Here are the main nuggets that Matt passed along:

• Use the best equipment and materials you can
• Always work large to small shapes, dark to light and thin paint to thick paint
• If there is a warm light source, the shadows will be cool
• Earth colors are only used as modifiers
• Save the painting of the sky for the end, otherwise it may be too rich/dark
• Value does all the work and color gets all the credit
• Rules can be broken / laws cannot
• Balance the painting front to back, not just left to right
• Always, always establish your horizon line, even if does not show in the painting
• Study the masters / look at and learn from great art
• It's easier to rich a gray color then gray a rich color

Here is a list of the artists that we showed take a look at on Google images he mentioned:

                                                              Frederick H. Waugh

Michael Karas

James Reynolds

Odgen Pleissner

Alan Bean

Frank Tenney Johnson

Remington

Sir Alfred Munnings

Carl Rungis

Stanislaw Zoladz

Eugene Bracht

Scott Burdick

William Herbert Dunton Frederick H. Waugh

Michael Karas

James Reynolds

 

"Road to Dusk" ©

A year and a half ago I painted this spot and found myself drawn back to the subject of the desert dusk. I find comfort in painting the same locations.  It is as if the spot becomes an old friend due to the intimacy developed while standing and painting for hours.  

Oil on Canvas, 14" X 18"

"Colors of Sedona" © Sedona, AZ

Taking a quick break from cooking for tomorrow I painted this little sketch, to practice the beautiful colors that cover the land before the sun sets on Sedona.  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  

Oil on panel,   8" X 10"

"Desert Dusk" ©

The Rabbitbush are just ending their show of yellow blooms for the season, here in Southern California. Some naked now are a lovely lavender, blending with the copper Buckwheat and other desert scrub.

Oil on Canvas, 11" X 14"

"Desert Flowers" ©

This small painting was the plein air piece that I finished before packing up my gear and seeing the evening scene of the Rabbitbush that I just posted. This valley that the town of Onyx is nestled into must be the perfect condition for Rabbitbush to thrive in. It was a different subject for me and I struggled to pull it together but working it out helped pull off the studio piece "Radiant Rabbitbush".

Oil on linen panel, 8" X 10"

(available for purchase @ $450.)

"Desert Sentries" ©

Years ago a seasoned painter was explaining with excitement about painting trees, the different personalities, varied greens and the body language of the limbs. I just didn't understand at that time and now years later, I get it. Experience was needed to appreciate nature. These desert palms sway in the wind, house birds within the fronds and critters find safe haven in their skirts.

sold

Oil on Panel, 10" X 8"

"Desert Sky" ©

The "Friends Of Hart Park" asked me to paint a little painting for an upcoming auction to raise funds for the park. I am happily donating a "Desert Sky".

Oil on Panel, 9" X 12"

"Desert Evening" ©

It's amazing how different a mountain looks throughout the day. In the morning they are pale and distant, midday flushed in sunlight all of the ribs and gulley's are washed out and finally in the evening they glow with the last of the sunlight.

Oil on Canvas, 18" X 24"