I'm in summer school this year.

No travel, no movies, no meeting up for drinks or dinner... what to do? Turns out zoom works just fine for art classes, and I'm taking two this summer. One is a traditional oil painting class through UC Berkeley Extension with instructor Larry Robinson. Although I have painted with oil for many years, I never did learn the way of the old masters, of building a painting through a series of glazes over a period of weeks. In this class we set up a still life and work on an easel to create an old-school style representational painting.

In a completely different direction, I'm taking a class called 'Express Your Wild Creativity' with Suzanne Jacquot. In this class we create abstract works based on prompts provided by the teacher. Over a series of weeks, we have practiced many different ways to present a focal point in a painting.

Turns out both classes complement each other, and that it's always good to refresh your knowledge base. I'm preparing to begin a new series and a couple of commissions, and having these tips be top of mind will no doubt lead to good work.

An exercise from one of my summer workshops.