Catching a Glimpse: The Power of Shapes, Lights and Darks

Traffic Cop in Shanghai

Let's be honest. This is a pretty terrible painting. But that is not the point. The process of learning to paint is about trying things, perfecting those things and then pushing past the comfort of a "good" painting towards the next challenge. I'm no great artists, but I have been getting much better at pen drawings and watercolour washes. I call it illustrated journaling. 

But then I see the work of artists like Joseph Zbukvic, Herman Pekel and particularly Alvaro Castagnet and I wonder how the heck they paint like they do. I came across their absolutely crazy YouTube video, with all three of these guys painting on a huge piece of paper at the same time. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_udWJtZ-yY#t=19) Seeing that made me want to try their fast and loose style for myself. More honesty. These guys are brilliant and have really paid their dues. They have mastered their chops and can paint like the devil. That said, I thought I'd have a go.

In spite of the shortcomings, I got really excited about the car and the traffic cop in my painting. I caught a glimpse of how to capture the essence of shapes without trying to actually paint the details. And I can see the punch of leaving white spaces. So back to the painting desk for more experiments.