Garden

Preparation lecture for the garden class. How to sort reference, what makes a good subject, compositions, and corrections. See Assignment tab for Zoom link to ALL Live Classes.

13 min

Recommended garden and floral artists to Google (Artist's name and the word garden works great to pull up images, you can also include media such as 'Sargent Garden Watercolor')

(Historical) John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, Childe Hassam, Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet (Current)  Caroline Anderson, Daniel Keys, Clyde Aspevig, Laura Robb


Gather any garden reference you would like to paint such as: formal gardens, cottage gardens, etc. My reference for demos is provided on this website in the Downloads tab, under the video. Gardens are unique.Your own reference is encouraged but not required, but do get outside and walk around to observe.

PITFALL ALERT... Don't assume all gardens are green with dots of color! Make time to have some knowledge first-hand of shapes, clusters, and colors you see outdoors. Move through a garden to have a 3-D sense of the space. This can be a simple neighborhood yard, or city park. See shadows on a sidewalk and greens with your artistic senses (can you see the warm/cool shifts?). This experience will work with our first demo lesson. Make notes of colors and shapes you see. What looks easy to paint? What causes you trouble or looks confusing to paint? Look at what plants are blooming and the shapes of the leaves. Gardeners know this information and wrong dots will have a lack of authenticity and undermine your work, don't be tempted to just go crazy with dots 'just because' it looks pretty. A garden has a story to tell with time of year and foliage. For example, I am a gardener and can name most of the plants in Monet's painting and tell what time of year it is by what is blooming despite the fact that it's very abstract and impressionistic.

Please refer to the warm-cool Core video if you need more information on color shift.

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