On Day 2 of Realism Live this year, we saw full-length painting demonstrations from Angus McEwan, Juliette Aristides, Dawn Whitelaw, Steve Forster, and Kami Mendlik. It was incredible to watch each painting come to life. In addition to the workshops, we had a special presentation for Dawn Whitelaw, who received the Fine Art Connoisseur Lifetime Achievement Award.
There’s still some time to purchase art from the 5th Annual Realism Live Faculty Art Auction, where new paintings are added daily.
Keep scrolling to see what you may have missed from Day 2 …
Highlights from Day 2 of Realism Live
Angus McEwan gave a watercolor demo that focused on a Maltese door and lock with intricate details and timeless character. He noted that the final highlights should be made with thin lines because if they’re too thick, it will destroy the illusion you’re trying to create.
Juliette Aristides drew a human figure, starting by identifying the top and bottom of the figure and the “governing lines” to secure the angle of the model’s pose.
After receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Dawn Whitelaw’s demo focused on an architectural subject, but she advised that before you look away because you don’t paint buildings, note that “the procedures and materials are the same, no matter what subject you’re painting.” She had a photo reference but preferred to work from her color sketch because it was simplified and truer to what she wanted to paint.
Below: Dawn showed us how she mixed the colors to match her study, explaining each choice along the way.
“I love to tell a story with my paintings,” said Steve Forster in his portrait demo, in which he created an underdrawing and then painted over it to transition the work into a refined portrait where the goal is to create a realistic likeness.
Using an 11 x 14-inch canvas, Kami Mendlik demonstrated how she uses the color notes from a plein air landscape to create a refined studio piece, also using a photo reference and an image on her laptop to inform her decisions along the way.
Of course, we ended the evening with the popular Cocktail Hour and Paint Along to socialize and continue to grow together. There’s still a little time left to join us for Realism Live 2024, so visit RealismLive.com now and be a part of the moment-to-moment learning!
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