My horoscope told me yesterday that I should be more communicative, that to attract more people to my business I need to broadcast more. Since I and my accountant want me to teach more and sell more, I may as well take advantage of this “sign” and use the horoscope’s advice. Who knows? It may work out.

This is a new, one month old, as-of-yet untitled painting that was commissioned from an older painting seen on my website: michaelbwilson.com 

untitled oil on linen, 40”x32” 2019

If you’d like to commission a painting please leave a comment, or send me an email: wilson7945@gmail.com or contact me through my website. Thank you.

Right now I’m planning several weekend painting workshops for the spring. I don’t have the details finalized yet, but the costs will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $135 for each workshop, discounted for multiple workshops. Dates will be April 27, May 4, 11, 18, and June 1. I will make a formal announcement soon. If you’re interested please let me know. Replies to this blog post will receive a 10% discount on the cost of the workshops.

The weekend workshops will be set up so you can choose both days or just one, if you prefer. Saturday will be 4-6 hours of demos, practice lessons, and critique, with a break for a snack or lunch. Sunday would be a 3-hour day to finish any projects you began the day before, or to bring in a project you’re working on that relates to the subject of the workshop. 

Workshop 1:

Shapes into Forms: Learning to see shapes (2D) and develop them into forms (3D). Blending and Shading how the light hits a form and describes it. The essentials of painting are recognizing and describing simple shapes, as they not only describe objects but also move the viewer’s eye through the painting- that is composition. Solid forms are made from simple shapes by adding a light source and shading. Complex forms are made by combining simple forms, and overlapping forms creates palpable space.

The essentials of painting are recognizing and describing simple shapes, as they not only describe objects but also move the viewer’s eye through the painting- that is composition. Solid forms are made from simple shapes by adding a light source and shading. Complex forms are made by combining simple forms, and overlapping forms creates palpable space. Learning how to simplify what you’re looking at is crucial. From there you can organize the elements that make up the image.

Detail of new oil painting currently In-process

Workshop 2:

Composition (The art of manipulation): How to get people to stop, look, and stay a little longer. Using examples from art history, posters and cartoons, we’ll look into how large directional lines and variety in the intersections of shapes can direct the viewer’s eye through your painting.

Workshop 3:

Fabrics and Drapery: Using lessons from Shapes into Forms, we’ll learn about a specific case on how to use cylinders, mostly, to create a soft flowing form and how it bends and changes direction. In order to further describe different fabrics, we’ll touch upon painting textures, which is all about which brushes to use, how to handle the brush, and the viscosity of the paint.

Detail of in-process oil painting (area shown 18”x22”)

Workshop 4:

Reflections: Glass, water and chrome are the most obvious examples of reflections, which are defined by, in a word: fluidity. Most of the lines we draw signify edges in the physical world, with the exception of reflections (and shadows), which remain 2D. The shapes in reflections exist side by side rather than overlapping. Lessons learned: wet into wet brush technique, seeing shapes,

Workshop 5:

The Art of Copying (Forgery 101):

Evert artist in every discipline learns by copying (Google John Cleese on stealing), so we may as well do it right. When we copy a painting we’re also copying the painter, in that we try to paint not just what the painting looks like, and not just how they painted it. Of course, the intention is to learn to paint by emulating their brushstrokes and style, but a secondary intention is to unlock secrets about how the artist made the choices they did: What did they emphasize, how, and perhaps why?