Showing posts with label Student Art Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Art Work. Show all posts

Friday, July 17, 2015

Another Art Student Winner, ACC Community Education Art Show

Congratulations to another one of my students, Rumi Engineer, also a winner in the Arapahoe Community College Community Education Art Show in May.  Rumi won 3rd place in the Painting Division with his lovely blue plate still life shown here.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Student Winner

Congratulations to my student, Brenda Bottini for winning the Second Place Award for Painting in the ACC Community Education Art Show in May.  Brenda writes:

"I enjoy Valorie's class and have taken it six times. Each session I feel more confident and have more fun. She is very helpful and we know to be patient with ourselves as it is a progression of learning and takes time. Well worth the investment to cultivate artistic skills and friends."

Note:  Many students attend my 6-week classes several times.  This allows them to continue from where they left off before, without repeating exercises already completed.  

Monday, April 20, 2015

Outdoor Oil Painting Workshop Dates

Outdoor one-day workshop dates are finalized!  
Dates are:
Saturday, May 16 
or
Saturday, May 30 
Find all the details on the "Oil Painting Workshops" tab at the top of this page. Students always have a great time in these comfortable classes and learn a lot.  Join us!

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Student Painting Critique

Hi, Students!
To encourage you to keep painting between classes, feel free to use this forum for help and suggestions. Simply email a photo of your work in progress along with your questions.  Let me know whether you prefer that I use your full name, first name, or just initials.  Feel free to comment on my comments!

If you aren't one of my students, I'm still happy to give you ideas as time allows, to help everyone to learn.


Dear Valorie,
I am working on this painting which finally makes me happy.  Any Suggestions?  I followed the old masters technique, re reading your notes and trying to apply them, instead of thinking I was applying them.  "D"

Your painting is looking good! The light on the buildings has a pleasing atmospheric quality, and the composition works well. The distant mountains recede back from the ones in front.  My eye moves from the building in front, up the road to the back buildings, then to the mountains.  Nice!  I also like your orange and blue complementary color scheme.  This painting has a lovely feel to it.

My suggestion would be to vary the background peaks.  They feel a bit too pointy and pretty similar to each other.  You could also change the angle of that background range.  If they really look that way, see if you can give them more variety in shape and size.  You might also gray down the blue in that range a bit to make it recede even more. Do the same for the sky - just tone it down a bit, and lighten it as it gets closer to the horizon.

The angle of the cloud shape behind the mountains resembles the angle of those mountains.  Can you break the cloud up and perhaps make it more horizontal?  Right now it looks like 3 almost parallel shapes - the clouds, background mountains and the right foreground mountains.  


You have some pretty intense blue right behind that front roof (I know you're not finished yet). You can keep it dark, just tone down the intensity to push it back. Lastly, don't forget to choose your focal point and give it more definition.

This may seem like a lot, but these are simple changes. You've done the hard part.  Let me know how it goes! Thank you for sharing your work!  Valorie

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Student Winner!


Congratulations to Mary Jo Wickstrom, who won an award in the Arapahoe Community College, Community Education Student Art Show!

Her butterfly picture, "Beauty in my Garden," won 3rd place in the painting category.

Mary Jo is a student in my Beginning/Intermediate Oil Painting Class.  Great job, Mary Jo!