February 2014

This one was done from a photo of an old derelict house. I changed the perspective to help the composition and added the figures for a human element.



The photo reference for this one showed the farm house centered in the frame. I moved it over and added some trees for interest. We spent some time discussing two point perspective.

Steve Kleier / Artist

February 2014

This is a copy of a Ferdinand Petrie painting done as a demonstration from his "how to book" written by Wendon Blake. The lesson was on painting with a tonal pallet. That is, just two colors, a warm and a cool. Be creative and try different combinations.




This one was made from a photo I took at Tulum, Mexico. I thoroughly enjoy touring ruins and so painting them requires a certain detachment. Really not much depth in this one. The castle stands out against a blue sky and all our attention is focused on that.




Steve Kleier / Artist

The reflective surface of the silver set was the motive for this one. I used some white gouche, too.





This is a copy of a David
Taylor painting from his how to book.





This is a value and edge study for a landscape.

This Parisian bridge was painted with orange, green and purple.



In this still life I try to see color.


This was painted from life under a single light.


I did this on the moraine near Cloud Cap on Mt Hoods northeast side.


These old trucks were painted with a secondary triad.



Steve Kleier / Artist

Steve Kleier / Artist




This simple still life is painted with a triad of primary colors.




Here I used a triad or earthy color that creates a mellow mood.

Steve Kleier / Artist

This is done with a two color tonal palette. Just a little extra red and a few darks for the lowlights.

Steve Kleier / Artist

I don't get a chance to paint this kind of subject from life very often. So this was fun.

These were painted with colors that show warm light.



This was a challenge to draw because of the foreshortened boat. The colors are contrast of warm and cool.




This time I concentrate on value. There is really no color statement.



Steve Kleier / Artist

Steve Kleier / Artist





This scene has very flat light. Typical of an overcast day.



This simple still life is an exercise in edge control.

Steve Kleier / Artist


The photo reference showed this as an overcast afternoon but as I painted it turned into a rainy evening.



The photo reference for this one was in black and white, so I had to create a cool color scheme.

Steve Kleier / Artist




In this classic subject we contrast the head of an adult with that of a child.




This one shows one point perspective in an interior scene.

Demos

Steve Kleier / Artist








Here is a portrait study done in charcoal on craft paper.




This charcoal drawing helps me see proportions and value before I do the painting.




Painting from the OSA Tuesday watercolor class.

demonstrations

Steve Kleier / Artist




This European plaza is a somewhat complicated scene to draw because of the variety in the positions of the buildings.




This drawing was done from photo on craft paper.




Here are some unposed figures in a landscape.




This demo uses point perspective and color to create mood.

Steve Kleier / Artist

This shows drawing in "reverse" chiaroscuro. instead of drawing shadow shapes I draw the shapes of light. It requires a shift in attitude but the observation is very much the same as the usual approach.

Steve Kleier / Artist

I have been to this spot many times and wanted to show the cool light with a silhouetted figure.

Steve Kleier / Artist

The idea I that motivated me on this one was to do two paintings of the same object , one in light and one in shadow.

Monday Drawing class. Today we talked about adding value to our compositions. Then I set up a still life and shined a light on it. The shadow shapes of these three amphora served as our composition. The goal was to describe the form and volume of the pots by accurately drawing the effect of light as it was cast across the surface.



Steve Kleier / Artist

Plein air paintings form summer of 2013

Steve Kleier / Artist
Here are a couple plein air paintings from last summer.


This one is near Starvation creek in the gorge.

This is at hole in the wall falls.

2012-2013 Lessons Archive

This post is from the 2012-2013 academic year. These are lessons and demonstrations from the Tuesday morning Watercolor and the Wednesday evening Drawing and Painting classes at the Oregon Society of Artists (2185 SW Park Place, Portland, Oregon). These are ongoing classes and open to all members.
They are not in order.
Tuesday Watercolor                         10am-1pm           $20 drop in fee
Wednesday Drawing and Painting       7-9pm                $15 drop in fee
 Check postings for material list

Click images to enlarge,


This is a plein aire painting done at the Brooklyn train yard in SE Portland.

This is the last demo for the season. Thank you all for coming on Tuesdays. Have a great summer and see you in September.

This one shows the technique of painting dark to light. The first things painted are the darkest values. This is not the usual sequence but it helps to us to see a full value range as the picture develops.

This demo shows how to paint rocks and dramatic wave action.

I was looking for an image that combined nature and architecture. This one also has a low viewpoint that adds drama. This was painted at the Wednesday night art class at OSA.

This demo from the Tuesday watercolor class shows how to paint this dramatic effect of a backlit sunset.

Students at the OSA Joy of drawing workshop.

This shows how to draw and paint a figure and car. OSA May 29.

I combined two photo references for this one

A horse painting done in a personal style.
this one was done after a couple practice drawings.
Here is drawing in 2point perspective done with pen and ink and wash.
This is a combination of two photo references.

This is the painting from the spot shown below. It is just above Horsetail Falls in the gorge. I have been an avid hiker for years. Adding painting is a bonus that allows me to enjoy it even more.

photo by Dan Sherwood

Standing figure. Watercolor

Dancer. watercolor

This was done on the spot in Hillsboro

This composition has a strong center of interest.

Two figures

This shows how a series could look,

Mountain landscape

Using pot shapes to motivate composition and shapes

Basic composition with pots

Value study for a rocky creek painting

Study for two figures.

Study for watercolor painting.

Charcoal drawing showing shadow pattern across a face.

Composition study

Beach scene.

Landscape done with tonal pallet.

 

I made copies of this ink drawing and then added watercolor to them

                                                    
                                                            Click on image to enlarge

I used liquid frisket to mask the foreground flowers.

I do a painting like this almost every autumn.

I rearranged elements from a photo to get this composition

This charcoal drawing works to simplify this complicated river scene.

Charcoal drawing breaks down these shapes by value.

I used graphite to practice drawing from Greek sculpture

A fall still life in watercolor

Elizabeth Loft reception announcement

This demonstrates a plein aire technique, but it was done from a photo.

Working from a photo I changed this from a stage situation to outdoors. I added some gesture to the figure for effect.

Drawing from a plaster head

I lit these pots, then draw the shapes of light with white chalk.

This was done on the spot in front of the OSA building.

I did this one afternoon under the Fremont Bridge, looking east.

A blue ribbon!

I used a photo of the Mandon Hotel in Powell River BC to motivate this picture. This is the first state, done in class.

This is the finished painting completed in my studio. Despite some ambiguous drawing this seems to be OK.

This lesson concentrates on fore, mid and background elements. This is the 1st state.

Bald Mt ridge, Mt Hood

Finished painting

This copy of the head of an ignudi done in charcoal on craft paper explores how this master depicts shadow on a human head.

This demo shows how to render a gables roof in two point perspective

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This was painted at the Rose Garden