City Perspectives

posted in: Blog | 8

Ancient Roman artists painted cities with a three dimensional feeling of space. The allure of layered cities with geometric volume has captivated artists for thousands of years. In the Renaissance Giotto tried building convincing city spaces but, without a firm … Continued

Seasonal Transitions

posted in: Blog | 15

As a landscape painter I feel colors and textures rotate through the seasons.  My own appetite for silver, blue and lavender spikes as winter approaches.  My desire for pink and green jumps with the approach of spring. Tracking  the seasons … Continued

Bruegel’s Zig Zag

posted in: Blog | 11

The Renaissance art historian Bernard Berenson claimed that  Lorenzo Lotto’s “St. Nicholas in his Glory” contained his favorite Renaissance landscape (example 1). It occupies only about a quarter of the painting. I found it where Berenson remembers it, in a … Continued

Deepen, Brighten, Blend and Extend

posted in: Blog | 4

To create the feeling of deeper space consider “Deepen, Brighten, Blend and Extend.” Let’s begin with deepening color. Layered translucent colors work here. They generate darker darks and unify fields of patchy color which can fracture a painting’s unified feeling … Continued

Intimate to Infinite

posted in: Blog, Composition, New Lectures, Painting | 14

Over a thousand years ago Chinese painting scholars advised artists to follow some basic principles. They included presenting a landscape with an experience of the near, middle and far distance. Vertical arrangements should consider the earthly or worldly lower domain … Continued