GIZMO BY THE LAKE
I absolutely loved your class Claudia! I learned so much. Going thru the daily steps really helped and after completing, it really boost my confidence to try other landscape paintings. You introduced me to so many new ideas that I know will be so helpful going forward. You are a great teacher and you’re teaching style is so enjoyable!
So, I’m sharing with you my whole process, I tried to extract as much as I could from each lesson, though I’m sure I missed some parts. Your download really helped to use it as a quick reference, so I didn’t have to go back and find it in the video.
Day 1: Landscape & Style Analysis
I decided to create my sweet little dog Gizmo, out on our daily walk by the lake. This place is called Mojave Narrows, it’s a beautiful park with dramatic scenic fields and landscapes.

Art Analysis:
I’m attracted to color, organic shapes, marks and the overall simplicity yet dramatic compositions.


Sketch & Stylize Shapes
I had trouble staying loose and got a bit frustrated, my hand wasn’t following my directions. But eventually I got the shapes with a few practices.

Test Colors & Define Palette
This was a fun exercise but at first attempts in creating a color palate I would end up using way too many colors! I ended up using colored pencils as I didn’t like the way my pastels were working.

Thumb nailing the Composition

Topography and Mark Making

Finished Project: Yay!!

I had a REALLY hard time with the dog. It just wasn’t right, I went over it several times until I just gave up before I completely ruined the painting. I’m still getting used to Gauche and brush techniques. It feels a little flat, I would like to see more brush strokes. I hope that will come in time with more practice.
Thanks again Claudia, I’ll be attending more of you classes soon!