Beauty From the Beast

The soot filled beast

Quelling the beast

Beauty restored

I've been dealing with a 6 week disaster of epic proportions. My entire studio was the victim of a disastrous kerosene heater debacle. The space was completely filled with soot -- that is all 3 levels including my paintings in storage, not to mention hundreds of photos, books, supplies, photography equipment, computers and 28 years worth of illustration from my previous life. I have been dealing with the clean up ever since with the help of ServPro. Without them, this beast would live on. The clean up will continue deep into the future as we work our way through stacks of paintings. The end is insight and I'm looking forward to resuming painting. I remember I painted at one time.

Finalist

Rising Son, oil/panel, 36x36

"Rising Son" is a finalist in the Raymar Art 5th Annual Fine Art Competition. Judge Robert Lemler commented as follows, "I am knocked out by this painting. It has a clarity of atmosphere that is very appealing. The strong complimentary colors, sharp value contrasts, interesting brushwork and well suggested detail make this painting very striking! Don’t miss the beautiful variation in the color temperature of the snow..."

Painting Workshop

A clip from my painting workshop last fall

I am teaching a painting workshop near my home in Milford, PA this summer, August 2011. The details are now available on my website at www.peterfiore.com. This 5 day intensive studio workshop will focus on the essentials of painting: design, value structure, color and paint quality. Working from your own photo reference, you will learn how to control light, key your paintings and create good value structures so that you can achieve the specific feeling or mood you are after to fill your paintings with light and energy.

This workshop is open to all skill levels, styles and all media are welcome. There will be a welcome dinner on sunday evening and I hope to include a tour of my studio and share this area of Pennsylvania where I find so much inspiration. Space is limited, so if you would like to reserve a space, please let me know as soon as possible.

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Landscape Painting, Beyond the Photograph

August 7th-12th, 2011

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Painting White Pine Suite - 2

Painting White Pine Suite - 1

Happy Holiday!

Lesson in Close Values

Autumn Gold, October, oil/panel, 18"x36"

What attracted me to this scene was the spectacular play of light -- both in the sky and in the field. A certain amount of manipulation was necessary to strike this composition. For instance, the strip of light I extended all the way from the left to the golden maple. The light that is shining on the roof of the small outbuilding was created to accentuate the focal point. Also, I eliminated several silos and trees to simplify and heighten the effect.

Here is a detail of the focal point. In this area, I placed the strongest light and the darkest dark. The sharpest edge, the roof, and the most chromatic color, the tree. All guarantee where I want the viewer to look.

If you look at the roof, the play of warm and cool in close values ensures that the color in the roof lies as one shape. The edges are relatively sharp, but not the sharpest edges that could be made. I had to remember that they were in the distance and needed atmospheric softening, hence relatively sharp.

A detail of the field in shadow reveals a variety of rich colors with limited value change keeping variety and interest in an otherwise flat space. You can put any color you want in any given area, as long as the values are the same, the shape will hold together.