Things I Learned in Workshops, Lesson 1

* Dabbing is not healthy

* Don't paint the inside of what's happening; paint the outside of what's happening. The character of an object is carried by the outside edge, not the inside.

* The area of dominance is the talking area. Bring the area of dominance up - the rest of the area comes up to support it.

* Use the biggest brush you can for as long as you can.

* When painting flowers, put the opposite color first.

* To catch the viewers eye at a distance you need good values and shapes. Then carry the eye through the painting, bringing the eye to the area of dominance, and hold it there as long as possible.

* We have been programmed by nature as to what is a landscape.

* In landscapes, values are lightest at the horizon; the sky becomes more intense in value as it gets higher in the painting, and the foreground gets more intense in value as it gets closer to you.

* When painting water, establish the water, then add the ripples.

* When painting fog, color range is closer in value.

* Most of the time, reflections are darker than the source. An exception is black objects; it can't be darker so the reflection is lighter

* When choosing between reality and design, ALWAYS PICK DESIGN!

* Parallel lines can be a discomfort

* Start with the easiest, biggest, simplest.

* When doing a thumbnail sketch, think three values; dark, medium, and light. Use the point and side of the pencil.

* Color lies in the mid-tones, not in the darks and lights.

* The nice thing about damp paper is the edges combine together.

* Most bad paintings are a violation of an elementary painting principle.

* When you don't know what to do, break the line.

* Good colors for caucasian skin: yellow ochre, scarlet lake, cobalt blue, olive green, cobalt violet.

* A cast shadow is always a darker shade of whatever it is cast upon, not grey.

* Overlap color of objects into surrounding shapes.

* When you have a soft edge underneath and a hard edge on top, it tends to look painterly or loose.

* The viewers eye can finish a shape; you don't need to finish it.

* If you have two objects of the same value, connect them.

* Photos are a good reference, but photos lie.