I mentioned in yesterday's post that I had just returned from doing a workshop with Nancy Franke in Nashville. It was so much fun and enlightening that I will share a few of the things I found helpful over the next few posts. I painted a total of four paintings over the two days and the one above is my first. It is painted on a 20 x 20 x 2" senso , clear acrylic primed canvas.
We talked a lot about capturing the essence of children by portraying their attitude and getting their proportions right. She reminded us that child figures are divided down into four, pretty equal sections. The head and neck taking up the top section. Look at some of your own photos and see if this rule does not hold true. It is a great tool.
She stresses the importance of using simple shapes, clear values, lively brushwork and surface paint texture. She preaches," saying a lot with as little as possible." Amen sister!
Nancy is an inspiration to me in many ways. I will gush on about her during the next few posts. Below is a picture of Nancy painting her first demo. One of the things she does that makes me laugh is that when she gets excited talking about things, she kicks her leg back. She still has a lot of cheer leader going on.