Nathan Fowkes Class

Back from my recent L.A. trip. Nathan Fowkes is an amazing painter and put on such a great workshop. It was fantastic to learn from him and chat with some very talented classmates.

First half of the 7 hour class was lectures about color theory, including many stunning examples of said theories. Second half was Nathan giving a painting demo from a costumed model where he applied some of the theories we discussed and then our turn to do the same. Here are some shots from the class, sorry for the grainy ones... had to go without flash. The colors will obviously be a bit off.

Enjoy!

Examples of creating color harmony.

Nathan setting up.

Nathan's materials. Winsor Newton watercolors and white gouache, plus various brushes, rags, tape, water reservoirs, etc.

First abstract color study from the model.

Second abstract. Purposely very different from the first.

In progress.

Thumbnail rough from model, using the first color scheme.

Final studies.

My attempts with Liquitex soft body acrylics (first time using these).

It was a really fun and challenging exercise! The big challenge was in editing the colors from what we saw in reality... tons of garish colors side by side. The model was dressed in purple on a blue chair, with a lime green and vivid red scarf draped across each shoulder. Various colored scarves were draped around her against a black velvet backdrop that picked up both red and white raked lighting. And she had orange hair to boot! It was a cornucopia of color.

The goal was to pair the colors down and establish a harmony, focus and use unexpected accents.

For more of Nathan's work, visit:

http://nathanfowkes.blogspot.com/ http://nathanfowkes-sketch.blogspot.com/