New Ways To Paint

To paint loose expressive watercolors, confident strokes are needed and who better to study than John Singer Sargent. The man was a wizard with his brush. With just a few flicks of the brush, he could create stunning interpretations of light and shadow. Sargent's watercolors have strong value designs using extremes of light and dark with the dark shapes full of color. When painting his watercolors, the first part often looked chaotic but, as it developed, Sargent orchestrated his own vision. Painting loose can appear effortless, but it actually develops over time with instruction and practice. Don't miss this opportunity starting in January to learn from the watercolors of John Singer Sargent. Join me on Tuesday nights in my new class, Expressive Brushwork for Watercolor, at the Art Students League of Denver.

Have you ever finished a painting and had that nagging feeling it just wasn't special. If you are at a loss as to what to do, there are solutions to common painting problems. For example, dividing the space between objects is key because some visual arrangements are more interesting that others. Irregular spaces create visual interest. This is just one of many artistic choices to be covered in my new class, Simple Solutions for Making Better Watercolor Paintings. Another example is learning how to adjust visual weight and visual energy. Unbalanced compositions make the viewer feel uncomfortable. Join me starting in January on Tuesday afternoon at the Art Students League of Denver.

Happy Painting! Dennis Pendleton