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George Carlson and Boy with Eagle
by David A. Leffel, 1991, oil, 42 x 34. |
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I’ve always prided myself on learning good technique when faced with any new skill, and doing this has definitely made a difference. That goes for when I was learning to dance, swim, draw, or paint in oil. Art techniques were always especially rewarding to tackle this way, because once you grasp the basics of how to see as a painter or draftsman, the entire “life of the mind” seems to open up. You observe space and objects differently and evaluate what is in front of you with an artistic sensibility. Then you can accelerate in your abilities and learn more complex techniques more easily.
Artist David A. Leffel strongly believes that the best oil-painting instruction lies in responding to the abstract qualities of a fine-art oil-painting composition—light, shadow, values, edges, color, texture, and space. In a way, this emphasis connects Leffel to a long line of artists such as Rembrandt and Van Dyck, all of whom shared a similar preoccupation with the fundamentals of painting.
But learning these time-honored oil-painting lessons is not a matter of reading through some dusty tome or secret scroll. Instead, it is a matter of doing and painting. To that end, Leffel shares the concepts he believes are behind every beautiful fine-art oil painting in our newest free eBook, Oil Painting Techniques From Artist Daily: 8 Expert Oil Painting Tips to Enhance Your Oil Painting Art. Among other subjects, the artist discusses the pitfalls of being overly concerned with detail and emotional content, how to hold a brush, the important of massing, and how to start an oil painting.
I’ll admit that I love learning new things, because every occasion is a chance to test myself and I find that kind of challenge spurs me on. When I started to learn oil painting techniques like those discussed by Leffel in Oil Painting Techniques From Artist Daily: 8 Expert Oil Painting Tips to Enhance Your Oil Painting Art, it was enlightening, because Leffel speaks the language of the Old Masters but offers practical solutions to oil painting that artists and beginners alike will respond to. Enjoy your free copy of Oil Painting Techniques by downloading now!
