Terry Norris Workshop

Terry T Norris Workshop

Day One:
I found Terry a great teacher. She is a senior faculty member of Crealde
School of Art in Winter Park, FL. www.crealde.org. She received an award
of Excellence in the 2008 Eastern Regional Exhibition and is a signature
member in the Oil Painters of America. Her web site is www.terrytnorris.com
.

She started out talking about composition in relationship to:
Balance - between negative and positive space, lights and darks, varying
edge distances - she advised giving leaving enough space for the subject to
be in. She stated the more compelling the object - the more negative space
it can handle.
Unity - variety within unity i.e. contrast between colors, sizes, texture
Movement - into, around and out of the painting
Emphasis - focal point or center of interest
These need to be thought out during the set up and as you start to mass in
the forms.

STAGE ONE:
Terry uses a transparent color in this case a raw umber mixed with turpenoid
to mass in. and I learned how valuable a rag and not paper towels is in
wiping out mistakes.

STAGE TWO: start with the darkest value using solvent progressing to next
darkest. In all about four values from darkest to lightest. For the
lighter values can add a bit of lead white along with turpenoid. Once done
let it dry overnight.

Day 2
Initial stage of glazing of color using transparent color and liquin.
Shadows and background need to remain thin to keep them in the background.
Thicker paint brings the object forward whereas thin paint tends to recede
it.

Terry showed us example of other artist, Chardin etc. to warn us not to over
blend. She said if you can't tell where the color changes, you have
overblended. However it is important to keep edges soft especially when you
want an object to turn.

Day 3: Finishing touches
Terry will continue to work on this but time constraints plus her advice to
set it aside for a day or two and relook at it critically. At some point a
painting needs to be critiqued without reference to the setup. The painting
is not a photograph and need to be evaluated as a painting. What can be
done to enhance the painting!

I learned invaluable tips and enjoyed the camaraderie of the group. I will
take Terry's advice and put my painting aside for a few days and then
evaluate it before I post it. I learned to be patient with the process. It
was something I really needed to learn.