Teacher
Richard is a talented full time artist, who loves painting and teaching.
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with Richard Robinson
I find this sort of nostalgic subject hard to pass by – call me sentimental. Follow me step by step as I show you the techniques I use to paint this classic scene of a 53 Chevy.
Painting a consistent light effect, simplifying a background, lost and found edges and building up to crisp details are all demonstrated in the video. Enjoy!
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Richard is a talented full time artist, who loves painting and teaching.
Hi I’m Richard. I’ve been painting my whole life and back in 2001 I traded my graphic design career for the humble life of a full time artist. I love painting, and as it turns out, I love teaching too.
Nowadays I balance my life between parenting, painting, surfing, travelling and teaching. My work is regularly featured in international art magazines, in galleries in New Zealand and America, on TV and in my Mum’s house.
I give outdoor painting workshops in interesting spots around this beautiful planet of ours and love encouraging people to paint. Two of my favourite artists are John Singer Sargent and Joaquín Sorolla.
My painting website: www.nzpainter.com
I’d love to be your new teacher.
Richard is a master artist with an exceptional skill in identifying and communicating key factors to making successful paintings. I have found his video workshops an excellent resource for improving my own work.
"Old Timers" 13 x 13" Oil on Canvas by Richard Robinson.
Painted en plein air. (Outdoors on site).
"Old Timers" 13 x 13" Oil on Canvas by Richard Robinson.
Simplifying the background with unified colour
Any of these background colour options could be used - it's a matter of preference, but the key is to keep the background simple by making its colours very similar. Let the foreground be the star of the show.
If you focus on the details too early it's all too easy to get lost. Much better to paint the big shapes first and then put the icing on the top.
"Just Married" 5x7" Oil on Canvas by Robert H. Smith
This painting I found interesting in two very distinct ways. The first is a negative and not really of Robert’s making – the canvas he has chosen to use is too small and really too grainy for the subject he is painting. Because of this, it has a distinctly soft edge over almost the whole area of the painting. Barely a sharp edge anywhere! If it was me, I would be switching over to a much finer grained canvas and working on a bigger scale. That way, I would then have far greater control over whether I achieve sharp detail or lost focus. However, having said that, I think the lighting and colour in Robert’s painting is amazing. It speaks so beautifully of the heat and brilliance of the sunshine, and the coolness in the shadows. Well done I feel.
"Old Blue Truck" Oil on Canvas by Stuart J. Gourlay
You've made a very nice job of this painting Stuart. Good tone and colour with a nice confident feeling in the brushwork. Although there are a few small drawing errors in the truck itself, you've managed to convey the character of the vehicle so that most people would recognise the model. One of the difficulties of picking a subject like this is that the drawing needs to be accurate - unless it's in poor, beaten up condition, which your truck obviously isn't! If you study the photo carefully, you'll see that the front bumper is too large and is falling off the left hand side, the left front wheel is too far forward, (it would be scraping the wheel arch), and the side of the tray is sloping down towards the back - the photo shows that it slopes slight up to the back if anything. I don't want to be 'overboard' about such detail - but I think it matters!! It's a bit like portrait or paintings of animals - accuracy is important. Lastly, I noticed your comment about the shed roof. I think you're quite right - it is too vivid - along with the other sheds behind the truck. Especially the roof above the truck's tailgate. They are all vying for attention.I can't look at your truck without being aware of the shadows on that roof. You can obviously paint well so it's easily fixed on the next one!
"1953 Chevy"12x12" Acrylic on Canvas by Walda Juhl
Hi Walda, Before I make a comment about your painting in particular, I should say to all of you folk who have contributed to this particular workshop, that painting this old truck and the sheds and yards behind is not an easy project – in fact, I would consider it quite a difficult subject. Having said that, I think you have all done very well. Your painting Walda has a number of nice features – (although the yellow in the foreground is a little strident), generally, the colour is good and your overall design has worked out well. However, there are one or two things that bother me. When we draw symmetrical mechanical devices like this truck, it is really important that we draw it accurately. If you look carefully at the bonnet of your truck, you will find that the far side is bigger it appears than the side that is closest to us. The same is true of the windscreen. I know that when you look at the photo, it does appear to be the case but as they say, it's "a trick of the light"and in this situation, I would compensate so that it would look correct in my painting. The other point I would make while we are talking about drawing is that if you look at the photo carefully, you will see that we do not see as much of the back of the truck as you have shown. This is a common error often seen when people draw things like cars and boats. It doesn't take much of an error when you're drawing to make the object look seriously wrong! I'm going on a bit here, but if you have a careful look it the roof of your building, you may notice that the striped roof is shouting for attention. Those stripes on the photo are old rust, not nice neat strips of new paint. A very good piece of work despite all that.
"Old Timers" 12x12" Oil on Canvas by Ana Murza
Ana has made a fine job of this painting with excellent drawing, good tone, and colour. There are two areas that I would suggest could be improved but I'm possibly being a little "picky!" The shadow cast by the truck could be darker ( compare with the photo ) and the shaded area under the shed roof to the left of and behind the truck could be cooled a little. These changes would increase the sense of depth in the painting as the truck would then come forward from the background. Never the less, a great effort.
"Ready for a Drive!" 25x30cm Oil on Canvas by Christophe Borrel Ducroz
Christophe, this is a very nice painting of the truck itself–good drawing skills and nicely placed in the painting although I might have been inclined to allow a little more space in the foreground– the bumper is almost sitting on the frame. However, I find the background a little less convincing. The detail and design on the left-hand side of the truck could have been almost lost into shadows. They are tending to crowd up on the vehicle and the shapes are confusing. There is a commonly used term when you get into areas like this– "fudging it" where you barely indicate the detail– Just enough to convince the viewer that it is not a black hole! That is basically what sharp detail and lost focus are about–losing focus on the lesser items in the painting ensures that the focal point draws the eye All i.s not lost though. The quality of your truck "saved the day!" - Many thanks to John Crump for his insightful critiques. You can see John's own paintings and teaching dvds at www.johncrump.co.nz
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