At the 4th Annual Realism Live, held online last week, we saw painting demonstrations from today’s leading realism artists, including a handful of top plein air painters who also practice and work in the studio.
In addition to back-to-back lessons, we enjoyed breakout sessions to network and make friends; special moments with the Realism Live Sponsors, Sennelier & Fabriano and Blick Art Materials; nightly paint-alongs; and even a faculty artwork auction.
See some of the highlights here, and be inspired.
Highlights from Realism Live
Cindy Baron demonstrated a landscaping painting of coastal California. She said it was important to pay attention to the colors she was using along the way, which she explained. One of her favorite colors is transparent red oxide because it gives her “the best rendition of the earth ground cover.” She added that it “plays well” with the rest of her palette colors.
C.W. Mundy gave us a lesson on painting “3-D realism,” a process that begins with taking a photograph of a highly dimensional scene, creating depth perception by having the camera pull the main subject into focus while softening the background elements. Using this type of photo reference, C.W. then walked us through his painting process in great depth.
“So much of painting is trying to take complicated things and reducing them to the simplest of elements,” said Gavin Glakas. While he often paints en plein air, in this session he addressed how to create an architectural landscape in a studio setting.
Mark Shasha painted a coastal scene, demonstrating how to paint light realistically as it moves across the landscape. His session also included guidance on creating texture (hint: He uses a sea sponge in some areas for this), values, and color.
Plein air painter Paul Kratter joined us from his studio in northern California to give a landscape painting lesson, stressing the importance of the plein air sketch.
We enjoyed additional demonstrations and sessions with greats such as Max Ginsburg, who was awarded the Fine Art Connoisseur Lifetime Achievement Award, Wende Greene-Caporale, Burt Silverman, and more.
The next online art conference is Watercolor Live, January 24-26, 2023. Join us there for a new round of expert guidance and a warm community!
