Grapevine of David Gray's Life Painting Workshop, Manchester, July 2017

An intensive week of working on life portrait painting techniques with the American realist painter David Gray certainly goes very quickly.
And if you ask what would be the take-away from this experience? Or, could one use it for the next painting that is up the easel or the next time the palette is about to be set up? From me that's a big fat YES! 

Regardless which nuances a realist artist favors in his work, this workshop will help to approach problems from a new angle, more confident and surely refines your very own painting method to set yourself up for success. In addition to the deep insides David was giving during his entire painting process, I found it very valuable that the fast progression of the workshop revealed any weaknesses in producing a correct drawing as well as the student's ability to handle values and colour relationships in the right way. The mix of self-judgment and critiques while working alongside various painters with different styles and experiences adds a lot value to the workshop and was probably one of the highlights for me. Apart from developing a convincing painting methodically, David was able to create an atmosphere of great respect, attention and focus to the work. I enjoyed this fantastic week in Manchester, the valuable discussions with fellow artists and the of course the great fun we all had together.

Credits to David, Hena, Jane, Harry, Duggie, Mavis, Jayne, Sam, Virgil, Richard, Jenny, Louis and, of course, David Gray

Links:
www.davidgrayart.com
www.realistacademy.com