More Color Studies

Block Study #2

Here's another study done at the Mastering Color workshop I attended this past week led by artist Thomas Nash.  All week we were working on both improving our observational skills to see color and  our understanding of paint and color so that we could then mix the color we observed. The point of these block studies is to simplify the forms we are working with and focus  our attention on color relationships.

Thomas is best known as a portrait artist.  In his 40+ years of painting, he has amassed a wealth of knowledge. One of the things I really appreciate about him is that he has "done the work" necessary to achieve a level of excellence in art.  He has intensively studied color by experimenting. He is like an Olympic athlete when it comes to art- he has put in the hours and practice so that when it comes time to perform,  he can do something amazing and make it look easy.  And he generously shares his expertise and approaches to learning with his students. He is in demand for his portraits so only teaches on a limited basis so I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn and be inspired by him this week.

The experience really reinforced the fact that there are no shortcuts. There is no express lane to excellence. It requires discipline, work, curiosity, being willing to fail, not settling for close enough all in the name of reaching for your best. Thank you Thomas for being a great example of this to inspire us all.