Reflecting back on the five days, I see where Calvin began by doing the first demo with basic shapes but not a lot of detail. Each day he seemed to add more detail to his demos, and the day 5 demo had the most detail of all the paintings. It was also my favorite. His foundational painting principle is to paint the shape not the thing. For the first three days I painted things instead of shapes. On the fourth day I finally started painting shapes. He also explained that his plein aire process is a reverse of his studio process. In the studio he paints a layer and lets it dry, then paints another layer and while it is drying, he puts another layer on a different painting. So, his studio paintings have greater impact and detail. I recommend anyone interested in plein aire painting to take a workshop with Calvin Liang. He gives personal attention to each person in his class several times a day offering suggestions and at times dipping his brush into my paint and painting on my canvas a brief moment. He is a humble and kind teacher. Watching him paint is worth more than words can say.
Day 4 was rainy and cold and very windy. So Calvin was forced to paint inside the Oasis instead of the lovely view outside of the three story restaurant on a high cliff overlooking Lake Travis. Later, I found a place on the other side of the restaurant outdoors on the 2nd story inside courtyard deck in which I set up my easel under an overhang. It was quite cold outside painting, but it was worth it. When I get it finished, I will post it.
Calvin sometimes puts tape on the lower or upper or both parts of the canvas to paint on the part of the canvas he wants. Then he has the canvas cut where the tape begins and frames it.
