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Parallax Still Life (a painting made with both of my eyes)


(ink on paper)

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How to Paint a Landscape in Oil

This is a landscape painted with oil on paper. It was painted from a photograph and the subject is a pond in Central Park. The visual theme is "distance" and all of my choices were made in order to communicate and stress the illusion of space.  The painting was made in four layers, with a few days between each one to allow the paint to dry. I am going to describe the process of each layer. STEP 1 The first step is to block in the large shapes. This is a means of mapping out the composition, choosing which objects will be included and which omitted. The exact tones used at this stage are not absolutely critical but are an approximation of the target colors. Since they will serve as a substrate for subsequent layers, I mixed them lighter and duller than my target colors. That way they won't dominate subsequent layers by showing through and altering the color of those layers—at least no more than I want them to. STEP 2 The next layer of paint is ...
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Carolus Duran, John Singer Sargent and the "Indispensable" in Art

  Carolus Duran taught that, “In art, all that is not indispensable is unnecessary." Carolus Duran,  Mademoiselle de Lancey I agree with Carolus, but the word "indispensable" is hard to define in art, and basically amounts to: that which is important to the artist . As such, it is difficult to tell how strictly Carolus adhered to his own principle. Especially in portrait art, an artist is inundated with the particulars of his sitter's personality, and does not necessarily have free reign to paint only that which he cherishes. Nevertheless, Carolus Duran proved canvas after canvas that he was devoted to producing clear, essentialized images. Duran,  Spanish Woman His student, John Singer Sargent was equally devoted to this idea, particularly in regard to the depiction of tones, which was Duran’s special insight and concern in teaching. Duran taught that: “Objects in nature relieve one against each other by the relative values of light and shade which accompany and are...
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Edgar Alwin Payne's Landscape, Canyon de Chelly

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