I'm Back! After taking some time off to: work on building my charity PaintingBrighterFutures, do a little traveling (Egypt, India, Kenya, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, oh my) and to do a LOT of painting; I am back to teaching again!
Last week I had the pleasure of teaching a workshop on the techniques of J.M.W.Turner at my old stomping ground in Great Falls, Virginia. Why Turner? you may ask. Well, the British artist Turner may just be one of the first Impressionist. Or, at least, his work did have an effect on the French artists - some lived in London during the Franco Prussian war.
Recently a new move titled Turner has sparked renewed interest in his life and works. Although there were some beautiful cinematic moments in the movie and I have a new found respect for the chances he took to achieve his desired atmospheric effects; the movie left me with an ugly impression of Turner the man. Therefore, I choose to focus on Turner, the artist during this workshop.
Recently a new move titled Turner has sparked renewed interest in his life and works. Although there were some beautiful cinematic moments in the movie and I have a new found respect for the chances he took to achieve his desired atmospheric effects; the movie left me with an ugly impression of Turner the man. Therefore, I choose to focus on Turner, the artist during this workshop.
 The artists first applied an absorbent ground to their canvases. In the interest of time, we used a commercially made version of the ground Turner and his father used to make by hand. We applied this ground to a medium grade linen canvas. I find it essential to paint on the same type of surface the original artist used if you are going to get the same effect. "So I have the tribute to Turner painting drying on a counter top at home. This morning a friend stopped by and when she saw it she exclaimed: "a Turner!" She loves Turner, her favorite. She is also a painter. High praise for student and teacher. Thanks again for a fun workshop." Tom Stack |
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| Each participating artist chose a reference image and primed the canvas with the final effect in mind. |
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| After the original monochromatic under-painting was allowed to dry, students added color and built up details. |
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| Tom final painting looks so much like the original that a fellow artist recognized it immediately as a Turner. |
