A One Brush Wonder by Gretchen Lopez

“Before the Dance” 18×24 oil Gretchen Lopez

I rarely include figurative subjects in my demonstrations for my advanced painting class.  They really are a challenge, especially when there is a time element involved. But upon rethinking where I am taking them, I thought that a good demo, should focus on a figurative subject. So for my painting demonstration, I selected photo reference of my Husband’s Grand Niece, Paloma….for a couple of reasons; It would serve to demonstrate my “one-brush wonder” exercise, by showing the student how to paint shapes instead of things.  Then by utilizing a larger brush throughout the course of their painting, they can learn to maintain some vitality in their paintings.

A long shot?  for a demo yes…but for my students, no…

Gretchen Lopez teaches Beginning Painting and Going Further with your Painting on an ongoing basis on Fridays at the Sedona Arts Center. Her next series of classes start September 21. Registration and more information available HERE.