The Coliseum In Rome Watercolor Painting

First, welcome to the students in my new Introduction To Painting In Watercolor Class at the Art Students League of Denver. You are embarking on a journey that can enrich your lives with new challenges and great rewards.

Before anyone sends me a message and tells me how much they love this painting I must confess that I copied if from a Trevor Chamberlin Watercolor Book. I tell my students all the time that one of the best ways to learn about painting is to copy a painting by an artist that they admire. In this case I learned a lot about how Trevor Chamberlin applies washes, his choice of colors, and how he decided what to include in his composition. After I finished this painting I visited the Coliseum in Rome and was able to see first hand what Trevor Chamberlin decided to ignore and what he included. Copying paintings is a traditional lesson at the art school in Paris and the Louver Museum provides easels and drop cloths for the art students. The last time I was there, I had a great time watching the students copy the masterpieces of their choice and I was envious because the museums in the U.S. often don’t allow this practice.