Inspired by Negative Space

I was fortunate to attend five separate workshops with Robert Burridge"Notable Wow" artist from California, which were held in Colchester, Vermont, the week of July 29 to August 02, 2008. Accommodations and workshops were sponsored by The Holbein Company and held at the Hampton Inn.

My absolute favorite was:  "Abstract Florals from Colorful Loose Splatters"..this certainly was not your ordinary vase of flowers placed on a table.  Here the technique of negative painting came into play after you splished and splashed with the paint.  What fun!  Still and all, you needed to design your bouquet according to good basic design principles.  Not a boring class to say the least.

Here are some thoughts and ideas from Robert Burridge:

Paint meaningful and believe in yourself.

Try communicating an idea in your painting and take risks.

Kiss of Death is when you worked the painting too hard.

Tip for finishing.  Stop painting at 90%.

A painting is never finished, it stops in interesting places.

I definitely was inspired by Burridge, but, as usual my style seems to emerge, which is a good thing.  I painted over the originals which were done in the workshop, but then painted again with my oils.