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Originally Posted by Terri Ficenec
Hi Jeff--Sooooo you're finally taking the plunge into paint!  This video sounds really interesting, let us know what you think. . . |
Here's my first impression. I've only watched two discs so far, which took all evening. There are two to go.
I really must say that if they had stopped at disc two, it would still be worth the money they charge. The information in these videos is a real eye opener. Weistling stresses values and color temperature. He's not a colorist, and he doesn't like to dwell on the subject. This wins points with me, as I feel that people get too carried away with color. Most Rembrandts have very little color. It's the values and color temperature that do the real work.
Despite this, he has many colors on his palette, though they often get mixed into different grays. He admits that the initial value work could be done in monochrome, but the variety adds interest to the painting.
I don't want to give away too much of the information from the videos, but even if I did, nothing compares to actually watching him paint. Just watching it has given me confidence that I can do this. Weistling doesn't stand on ceremony. Mix, apply, and see if it works. If it doesn't, mix some more. He believes in observation over academics, and there's no fancy brushwork. If the right values are applied to the right places, you get a painting. I'm over-simplifying, of course, as there's a lot of valuable information on the videos, but he really does seem to be saying "Relax, people. It's only painting."
How well I apply these lessons remains to be seen. This morning I re-watched some of what I watched last night. I want to have a firm grasp of his lessons before I start to paint. I'm thinking I may not begin with portraits. At least, not people. Years ago I painted a portrait of our cats. It's the only painting of mine that still exists, as far as I know. We have a different crop of cats now, and they deserve to be immortalized as much as the others did, so I believe that's where I'll begin.
I'll keep you posted.
p.s. I was a little bothered that he repeatedly used a laser pointer to point to facial features on the model. The laser light, which can damage retinas, came dangerously close to the girl's eyes on occasion. I hope he doesn't make a regular practice of this.
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