I took a Daniel Keys workshop in SF last week. I learned a ton of information. Daniel is such a super talented and hardworking artist. He is best known for his still life. He makes painting flowers look so easy. That is far from the truth. I had such a challenging time simplifying the still life. He taught the class how to observe closely. The key components to a successful painting are drawing, values, color/temperature, edges, and composition. The hardest part for me these days are color temperature. In this workshop Daniel mentioned that I painted my objects a lot more cooler in temperature than they really are. I was frustrated with my results because I couldn't see what he saw. I had to remind myself that I must slow down and really focus on observation. Sometimes as a plein air painter, I tend to feel rushed because of the moving light. But taking this workshop and focusing on an indoor still life, it reminded me that I don't have to rush. I learned that everything is relative. One color can be innately cool, but next to another color can be warm. Same goes for values. One value may seem dark, but next to another value is actually lighter.
I have a long journey ahead of me in terms of painting the way I want to paint, but I've been so fortunate to learn from people that I admire.
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