Thursday, December 12, 2013

A Workshop with Scott Waddell



This photo is a close up of Scott's demo piece. It shows the first pass of the contour drawing done from life, transfered onto the canvas....... the first pass of underpainting and the beginning of his form method of painting.

This is Scott working on the small color poster study of the model at the Gemini School of Art and Communication.

Scott is getting ready to release a new DVD instructional video the week before Christmas .........
Go to his website for more information  .....  http://scottwaddellfinearts.com/

This past September I attended a portrait drawing/painting from life workshop with Scott Waddell.  It was held at the Gemini School of Art and Communication in Austin, Texas. The only thing I knew when I signed up was I loved Scott's work and that I needed to do whatever I could to get there.  I was just hoping that he was a good communicator.  I was NOT disappointed.

 Scott's energy was non stop and he gave his all to make sure that each student ( about 15 all together) received attention and individual help along the way. He left you feeling that you understood what it was that was holding your own progress back and a clear understanding of what to do about it !  I was so inspired by his ability to articulate what he was trying to teach us about drawing/ painting and capturing a likeness in the portrait.

I admire many styles of painting the portrait...but I was searching for what resonated with how I am naturally drawn to draw and paint.  This was it.  It brought me literally to tears to have the light bulb come on for me and the way I needed to approach painting the portrait.  My general understanding was made so much more clear with Scott's approach.  Is it a "faster" approach?....no.  Is it an "easier" approach?...no. Is it an approach full of gimmicks and tricks?....NO.  Is it an approach that gives you the hope to paint portraits from life that could literally take your breath away?....Yes!  I highly recommend his workshops if you have the chance to attend.