Our demonstrator for January was Randy Knowles. He presented a cityscape demonstration in pastel.
The meeting was held in the Guild Hall, First Congregational Church (middle side door), Sanborn Street, Reading, Wednesday January 9th, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Randy did a demonstration for RAA in January of 2008. You can see some photos of that demonstration at http://www.readingart.org/jan2008demo.shtml
You can see more of Randy's work at his web site, http://www.rknowles.com/Index.htm/
We have some photographs of the event in case you could not make it there in person. You can click on any of the images on this page to view a larger version of it. Then, use the Back button on your browser to return to this page.
Randy discussed his philosophy of painting and showed us some tricks about how to do a cityscape. For example, don't paint objects. Look for the shapes of color in the painting. It is not about reproducing the facts of the scene, but the general idea of what is going on.
Randy used a photographic reference for the demo.
He put in the large shapes of the building.
It is about the shapes, not about the objects.
Line up the window sills on the perspective line to make it look right.
The figures went in next. One trick to remember
is that the tops of all the heads are at the horizon line.
More figures are in the painting.
In this photo, he is working on the foreground.
Next he began working on the car.
He finished the painting by putting highlights on the car.
This is the finished painting.
Randy Knowles, an award-winning artist, works both en plein air and in his studio to create paintings capturing the New England Countryside, coastal settings and the urban landscape. Randy's own words present an exciting picture of his art:
"My intent is to evoke an emotional response from the viewer and not simply to create a historical depiction or illustration. Working both in oil and pastel, I focus on the use of light, color, atmosphere and perspective to create works that capture a brief moment on the busy city street or holds forever a moment of nature's magnificence. Be it a window washer, hotdog vendor or colorful pedestrian, my 'urban landscapes' highlight everyday life that we may otherwise pass by."