THE MARSHES OF THE LOXAHATCHEE

It was another beautiful day in Palm Beach County and the morning was just one of those days that you say, "God I am so lucky to live here!"  I think the part of plein air painting that I like the best is listening to the sounds of nature as all the creatures talk to you while you are painting.  The playfulness of the birds, the croaking of the frogs and the strange sounds that the alligators produce  all make for a wonderful musical treat to the ears.  But of course, you can't overlook the absolutely overwhelming beauty of nature that is in front of you and is your model for the days work.  There is nothing better for the soul and your spirit!  #plein air #Palm Beach #oil painting #Loxahatchee Wildlife Preserve

www.tedmatz.com

KEY WEST

I LOVE KEY WEST!  This was a location that I just had to paint one morning while on my morning walk.  I loved all of the fences, pilasters, verticals and horizontal lines in the one small area between a number of buildings.  I also loved all of the color that was happening,  the neutrals mixed with bright pinks and ochre colors and all of the greens of the foliage.  What a way to start the day!

WATERCOLOR LESSONS

These paintings below were all produced in Ted Hartley/Dina Merrill's weekly watercolor classes at their home in Palm Beach, Florida.  The classes are great to teach because the student ratio is low and it is in a relaxing atmosphere of drinks, food and great music.  Each photo shows a different  emphasis each week on a particular challenge and painting concept.

For the love of painting and friendship!!!!
in the bi-weekly classes.

 

LESSON 1: This exercise was to emphasis the development of aerial perspective. The idea that the visual elements lessen in size, value and color intensity as they recede into the back of the painting.  

LESSON 2: This was an exercise in perspective and understanding the concept of warm and cool and the  use of complimentary colors. 

LESSON 3: This was a lesson in perspective and composition.  The road takes you to the left of the painting and the challenge was how to balance the painting and take your eye to the right.  The addition of the hunters shack helped balance the work and bring your eye to the right side of the painting. Colors were also brighter and more intense in the front and more grayed and higher in value, all of this adding to the sense of depth and perspective.

LESSON 4: This exercise was on developing a high key value painting and giving the painting a sense of depth.  The wintery scene was perfect because while we were enjoying bright beautiful skies and warm weather here in Florida the rest of the country was knee deep in snow. 

LESSON 5: This lesson was to challenge the students to learn to simplify.  They had to take a picture of a very complicated urban scene and  edit and use only the essential elements to express the scene. 

LESSON 6: This takes aerial perspective to a new level.  The original picture was taken from an airplane  and is of a very industrial area, an environmental nightmare,  with very little color.  The challenge was getting that haze registered in the horizon and giving it a sense of depth while make an interesting painting with a message.