First Two Painting Classes

      The class I am taking at MassArt runs from 6:30-10:00 pm on Wednesday nights. A student can work in whatever medium s/he desires, and on whatever subject. For students who are beginning and need to work from observation, the instructor sets up still life. I work in oils, and from observation.  Each painting I do in class is produced during that class period, so about 3 to 31/2 hours total per painting. Here are the first two I completed in class 1 and class 2 respectively:

     

        I appreciate the fact that the instructor chooses fabricated objects for us to paint.  I find the straight, decisive lines more difficult to achieve than the arbitrary lines of organic subjects.  With man-made objects, it is important to observe thoroughly and try to exceute the lines correctly, especially for me at this point in my development.  I also have fun with the color arrangements in each still life my instructor arranges.  

       Since I work at tortoise like pace, I found it difficult to "finish" a painting in such a short time period.  Yet, I am becoming accustomed to working more quickly, and this is helping me accomplish more, to  observe my subject in depth, and to discover a mark that is unique to me.  
       The painting from the first class includes some good brush work and dimension in the red drapery.  The purple drapery is not realized, and the box on which it rests looks conclaved, even though it was not in actuality. 

       In the painting from the second class, it took me a very long time to obtain the correct proportion of the pink boxes; hence it is only the foundation of a painting.