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the dandenongs, victoria, Australia
an artist and it solution architect living in the temperate rainforest of southeastern australia

Thursday, February 25, 2010

sketches post-Alvaro

you say "al-VAR-o". he says "AL-var-o". one thing we all say is that he can sure paint a mean watercolor.

for three torrid days in the company of this master painter i found myself challenged. i soon realized that no one painter can copy another painter's techniques successfully. but, by golly, one can learn a heap of stuff.
for weeks after the class i tried to incorporate what Alvaro taught into my paintings. what i have learned is and will be very valuable to me going forward. here are a coule of sketches that lean heavily on some of Alvaro's favorite subjects. they are really quite abstract and atmospheric. but i am pleased with how they have taken me in a new direction and expandeed my horizons...

2 comments:

Nick said...

Like that comment you made, and it goes to one of my main complaints about photo real work: it can be copied. Paintings like Alvaro's cannot be copied. I think the best I've seen of his is in the shanghai show, it's a barnburner!

joel said...

thanks Nick!

i saw about 20 pieces that Alvaro did at the show he had last December in Melbourne. they were ALL barn burners.

Alvaro tends to work darker and warmer than i like. that is one main difference.

but i did learn from him some very key lessons about creating excitement, figures and some techniques that i will use more and more.

i don't want to paint like Alvaro. i do not want to copy him. but i LOVE the way he develops a scene. he also has a terrific attitude, is extremely funny and laid back.

i want to do a trip with him to paint in France - but with my new job (etc) that may not happen this year!