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One of my favorite still-life artists is G. Daniel Massad.
He plays with space in an incredible way. His pastel
paintings are stark, eerie, and lovely all at once. Above,
Three Plums and Rosehip, 2005, pastel, 11 x 10 7/8.
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What I love best about
still life painting is that I have
absolute control—over my "model," the lighting, the set-up, and the execution. I can paint what I want, how I want, and nothing impedes my vision. And the lessons I've learned through still life are many and varied—and crucial—which is why so many professional artists that I know never stop painting still lifes, no matter what else they are working on in the studio, and why absolute non-professionals like me find still life art so rewarding. After all, a believable still life oil painting of simple objects like a teacup and saucer offers me the same challenges as drawing the curves and forms of the human figure, which is where
Mastering the Dramatic Still Life comes in.
Mastering the Dramatic Still Life is our very first DVD on the subject, and it covers everything still life: what to equip my studio with; how to
arrange a still life; and artist C.W. Mundy teaches how to tell a compelling story with his chosen objects. And then he goes into practice: how to paint a still life, and how to use advanced painting methods to bring a still life painting to a virtuosic finish.
I learned Old Master strategies like lowering the horizon line gives more impact to my still life objects, and how to mix paints on my palette to get the metallic look and sheen of bronze (fyi: burnt sienna with ultramarine blue shadows and highlights made with more burnt sienna, cadmium yellow light, cadmium red medium, and titanium white). And that was only in my first viewing.
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Artist Martha Erlebacher gives
video lessons in Paint Works on oil
painting techniques like layering
and glazes. Above, Hide and Seek
(Camouflage), oil on canvas, 2006,
20 x 26.
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What's great is that wherever I go this summer, I can take
Mastering the Dramatic Still Life—essentially a still life library in itself!—with me. And it is here for you right now, too. You don't have to drive all the way to a bookstore to get your copy.
Download your copy and all the still life instruction and expertise you need is ready to zip across the wire to your computer. It will never be easier to master painting and drawing essentials than through this DVD. With it, you'll be ready to conquer any still life you want, and know that you have the experience to take those skills even further. At least that is how I feel. I can't wait to see what it inspires in you. Enjoy!
