Beginning the Wrap Up

Four days with Richard McKinley...life was good. I remember the first day as I watched him paint thinking, "Hey! That is looking like a Richard McKinley!" Um, it was a Richard McKinley. I was still pinching myself. Guess I still am.

Field Sketch with Underpainting Smudged with Paper Towel (Viva, of course)

I hope to have time to review the experience over the coming week. I will be studio sitting for Eileen Olson at the Workhouse a good bit over the next couple weeks, so swing by Studio 505 if you get the chance. She's graciously allowing her studio sitters wall space, too.

Besides painting, I plan to bring my computer and put all these McKinleyisms in my head to good use. Okay, allow me liberty with a pair and correct me if you can. He used a couple terms which describe how he paints, both of which have to do with the viewer's perspective. One was about ghostly qualities and mystery. The other was about a sense of form implied on a 2-D space, so that the eye goes around trees, over undulations, and tops hills. With my absolute lack of Italian education, one I heard as "penne pasta" and the other as "Asti Spumanti." They made me think of Italian dinner down at Vinnie's. Spell check just wouldn't pick this stuff up. At least I can conceptualize the concepts.

Okay, so I am still absorbing the whole experience.