Ronnie Russell creates an atmosphere

Last Thursday's demonstration at the club was a pleasure for all who attended.  Ronnie Russell came to town and entertained us all with some wit, some banter, some stories . . . And an excellent lesson in painting.

Ronnie chose acrylic paint as his medium and the motif was a delightful little harbour scene from a photograph that he took himself.  The initial set up was very interesting.  His photograph had been transferred to a sheet of tracing paper on which he had drawn out a sixteen square grid.  The cotton canvas that he was using for the demo had been given a wash of Naples yellow mixed with white. The grid had been duplicated on here too, which served as an aid for his horizon line,  perspective and composition.

In no time at all the painting came to life under Ronnie's expert touch.  Acrylic paint is notorious for drying quickly, but Ronnie worked in all areas of the canvas, picking a colour and repeating it at various points.  This maintained the painting's balance nicely.  A dramatic cloudy sky took up one area of the canvas, clear skies occupied the other side.  A mixture of dark water showing the boats' reflections merged into a sparkling sunlit area.  All in all an excellent choice to demonstrate "A moment in time", as Ronnie put it.

I could go on, but please enjoy looking at the pictures from the night.  (saves me writing a thousand words! )

 

 

 

 

 

 

As it is nearing the festive period I would like to invite everyone to send in your Christmas type paintings.  Just send them to my email address and I will include them on the blog.  I have posted my Christmas painting here, along with Robert Clayton's Robin Redbreast painting.  Send them to morrisonb13@aol.com