Sundays with David Leffel/ The Painting Doctor- 2023 - The Artists Guild Fine Art

“Sundays With David Leffel/ The Painting Doctor” 2023

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Achieving Depth in Portraiture

After last weekend’s engaging workshop on this topic, David will further explore–with your input–what it means to have depth in a portrait. He’ll refer to painters from the past and answer any questions you have about this subject on superficiality or depth in one’s painting, no matter the subject. This will be a great wrap-up to a stimulating workshop on depth in the portrait.

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Development Goes On Two Different Paths–Technical or Aesthetic

Obviously, we all resonate with something artistically, and that determines which path we take. David will explain the two distinct paths and how everyone makes a choice at some point. Which one are you on? Knowing this can help you understand your development more fully, helping you become the artist you wish to be. This will be a fascinating topic!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Are You Tethered To Technique?

The most prevalent thing students expect to learn is technique. If they learn that magic way of applying paint or buy that perfect brush or special tube of paint, then they too can be counted among those who proudly call themselves ‘painters.’ But do you need really technique? And if you’ve learned a technique, do you feel constrained by the lack of understanding? David will talk about technique and its limitations and help you understand the things that will really help you progress as a painter. Don’t miss this clarification of a much-misunderstood conception.

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Technique: The Pros & Cons

As a continuation of last week’s topic, David will continue to take your questions regarding this hot topic: technique. It is hard to imagine anyone learning to paint feeling that there is anything else to learn BUT technique! David, as always, has a different understanding of technique, and welcomes your comments, arguments, questions…always. Don’t miss this pivotal program

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Is There Value In Copying Other Paintings?

This question is often asked and it is generally considered a time-honored tradition, but is there really value in copying existing work in a museum or in your studio? Since the implication is that you would learn the techniques the artist used, many feel copying has its place. David will delve into this subject using his painting of cantaloupe and the copy Sherrie did of it for a film in the BLFA library. This should be a stimulating program, so don’t miss it live this Sunday!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Is Painting As Difficult As You Think It Is?

Too often being really good at painting feels like something that is insurmountable or unattainable. Why do you feel this way? David will go into the many factors that contribute to making something that is learnable and logical seem beyond your reach. By the end of the program, you may shift to feeling that learning to paint is not only possible, but simpler than you thought. Don’t miss this essential lesson

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Painting As Difficult As You Think It Is?

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: What Does Color Harmony Mean?

By using his painting of peaches, a Mateus bottle and a sugar bowl, David will show you what color harmony is by changing the color relationship of this painting with an overlay where he has repainted the sugar bowl with an incongruous color. We will also have a couple of examples of different color worlds to make clearer the lesson. Don’t miss this class on color!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Getting The Color Of Highlights And Air

These aspects of painting are often confusing. Using several existing paintings, David will address highlights and air, the logic behind them and how to get them right in your work. Even if you think you know about these aspects of painting, this lesson will drill it home in a way that you will really understand how highlights and air work in a painting. Don’t miss our lively discussion on these essential topics!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Getting Clothing Over Form

In addition to continuing his last discussion about highlights and air, David will address the issue of navigating folds to get clothing to show the form underneath. This situation comes up often and can be confusing. As always, David will help you understand the basic principles involved in this visual-editing challenge. Don’t miss it!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: How To Internalize What You Are Learning

Although painting itself is relatively simple, we humans tend to complicate it in a variety of ways. David will address this phenomenon and how you can ‘own’ what you are learning and integrate it into how you think as a painter. This class will be a wonderful prelude to the following week’s workshop on Paint Quality. It will dovetail beautifully and allow for this conversation to continue. You only get this kind of in-depth discussion about painting here, so don’t miss it!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: What Keeps You From Getting Better?

All of you want to get better. You are no doubt on an endless quest for the magic bit of information or special brush or painting surface that will unlock your potential. And while these things might make a small shift, the most meaningful shift in your development is often being thwarted, but by what? David talks about making meaningful changes on your quest to become a better artist. You won’t want to miss this pivotal program

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: What Keeps You From Getting Better? Part 2

This is a big subject and last week David touched on some of the things that are holding you back in your own development. This Sunday David will go into this more deeply and try and help his audience figure out what has been keeping them where they are in their work. You won’t want to miss this program!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Which Describes Painting For You: The Agony Or The Ecstasy?

David uses a couple of his paintings to describe these two experiences when painting–one where he had a beautiful idea (ecstasy) and one where he didn’t (agony). He also does a drawing demonstration about convex forms in not only a vase and face but also in cast shadows from one round object to another round object. There are many questions about convexity and concavity in painting, and David makes a wonderful point about what people should be learning. People felt it was like having another workshop! David, as always, is entertaining and informative.

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Drawing Tutorial Continued

After doing a class on drawing in the Weekly Atelier on May 31st, David decided to continue the lesson for his Sunday program. Members learned about the mouth–both in drawing and painting–and explained the planes of the face for different ethnic groups. This program was like slipping into a nice warm bath; everyone was thoroughly comfortable and enjoying themselves! And David had the requisite story that delighted, as always. This is an incredibly informative and delightful program!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: What Is Good Design In Painting?

Using a variety of work, David addresses this necessary topic in your own work. There were great questions that David answered in depth, talking about everything from how you deal with the feeling that you can’t paint anymore, to the use of air in a painting, to the flaws and strengths of compositions of major artists. Sherrie ends up playing the part of devil’s advocate to challenge choices by artists like Rembrandt. This program will be satisfying in its thoroughness to address issues that members often have.

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: What Is The Single Most Important Quality Necessary To Your Development As An Artist?

While so many qualities are needed to develop as an artist, there is one quality rarely talked about that, if paid attention to, could radically change your work and allow you to find what you have to say artistically. Guessed it yet? If not, you’ll be intrigued to tune in this Sunday for the remarkably simple answer from our resident Painting Doctor. Don’t miss this extraordinary lesson!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: When It’s Time To Take Your Painting To The ‘Appellate Court’

David has often spoken of taking a painting to the Supreme Court, meaning, wiping it off. This Sunday David will show you a work-in-progress that, because of a little damage to the background, returned home from a show. He then decided to work on the painting by first slightly sanding some parts. You’ll get to see the original image and where it is now. He’ll describe what he did and why. This should be an unusual show that gives you insight into his working process and how he reworks ‘finished’ work. Don’t miss it!

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: How Intent Drives Composition

Often composition is discussed as a decision independent of your painting, almost as an option rather than something that is inextricably tied to your idea. After David’s lively discussion of his painting last week that was taken to the ‘appellate court’, composition has been at the forefront of his thoughts. He wants to clarify how, in fact, your idea or intent in your painting is driving the way in which you compose it. This is a program you can’t afford to miss! (2023-07-23)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: The Doctor Weighs In On Drawing

As a way to decompress from last weekend’s drawing workshop and answer any questions that may have come up since then as you’ve been practicing

…we thought we’d have a session where David answers any and all of your questions–especially about drawing–and he’ll have a newsprint pad nearby to explain by drawing for you as needed. This should be pure fun and a chance for David to draw in a carefree setting. Come prepared to have fun! (2023-08-06)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: David Weighs In On Drawing AGAIN!

Because this past week was such a big hit, and because now a lot of you are really getting it, David has extended his drawing tutorial for yet another week. He will be prepared to draw for you, explaining how drawing works. Don’t miss it! (2023-08-13)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: When You Pray for a Bad Demo

In this drawing demo, while David feels more verbal than visual, he nevertheless draws our beautiful model, Molly, in a Santa Fe workshop. Experience tells us that sometimes students learn much more from a bad drawing demo than from a good one. If the artist is sailing along, inspired and spot-on, it is almost impossible to follow. Here David instructs, entertains, and starts over. Then he gets more on track and continues to draw, but in his endearing way, tells us about drawing while ending with the honest statement, “This drawing looks more like me than Molly!” You’ll laugh and you’ll come away loving drawing even more than before. (2023-08-20 – rerun from 2019 Workshop)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: A Potpourri!

Occasionally, we like to have a program where our members can ask any and everything of David. Although there were various questions, varnishing a painting won the day in terms of amount of queries. David talks about how and when to varnish a painting, inspired by one listener’s travails with a recent judicial portrait. David then mentions Vermeer because of a recent talk Sherrie gave at their local community auditorium accompanying a film on a current exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the controversy that ensued. He also talks about his most recent self-portrait. This is a very informative show! (2023-08-27)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Finishing A Painting
You’ve asked us for years to show you how we finish a painting, and now we are coming as close to fulfilling your wish as is humanly possible. Because David is such a giving teacher, in this episode he shares the struggles he had on a current painting, using a print of the way it was before to contrast with its present state. He goes over what didn’t work and why he changed it, and how these decisions strengthened it and made it more visually compelling. This is a must-see program if you don’t quite know what to do with a painting that didn’t get what you really wanted, but you still feel the desire to push forward.

(2023-09-03)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Revisiting Vermeer

After Sherrie gave her controversial presentation about Vermeer’s current show at the Rijksmuseum to a local Taos audience, David’s interest was piqued. In fact, he was so interested that he now wants to weigh in on the differences between Vermeer & Rembrandt for all of you to experience. Sherrie had alluded to Rembrandt’s work in her PowerPoint, and now David wants to take what she was talking about and advance the argument even further. You know David loves an honest exchange of ideas, so come prepared to learn about these two painters in a way you never imagined. The discussion will be artistically stimulating!

(2023-09-10 )

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Paint Quality

Using various examples of differing paint quality in the history of painting, David will talk about the three major ways of applying paint on a canvas. He will cover the drawing-like surfaces of Leonardo da Vinci’s and Michelangelo’s paintings, to that of the thickly-painted images by Fechin and Mancini, to that of something in-between, say, Pushman and Rembrandt. There are so many ways of applying paint–fast and slow, thick and thin– and yet David will make sense of all them all to better help you find your own way of working. This should be a very helpful program in advance of our Critique Workshop coming up!

(2023-09-17)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Critique Continued

We will start this program with a few images that didn’t get into the CRITIQUE WORKSHOP to continue the theme with an added bonus–some images from great artists who had beautiful visual ideas. as well.

We’ll talk about why they were so good after watching some of Jackie’s famous annotations, a special short demo by Sherrie to explain what one painter might have done with her horse painting idea. Come ready to continue to explore how you can improve your own work with the guidance and inspiration from our own experts

(2023-10-22)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Painting a White Object

The problem of painting a white object has frequently baffled many artists. David will show how simply he does this sleight-of-hand in the world of painting with this special demonstration Sunday. So that you have the true effect of what it is like to sit behind David while he is painting in his studio, we have taped him unobtrusively by Sherrie so that you will see how he actually works when he’s alone. This footage is special and he’ll be able to comment and answer questions live as the painting unfolds. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity!

(2023-10-29)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Q&A

While Sherrie & David were away, John created a new program from never-before-seen film about “Concept” which was excerpted from an eCourse on painting currently under development by Bright Light Fine Art. This was so successful and the response was so engaging that Sherrie and David decided to answer all the questions you had from last week this Sunday as well as update everyone on the showing of his documentary at the Ojai Film Festival. This should be a wonderful and indulgent week where you get to ask anything you want! Don’t miss this vital part of your week with a true master.

(2023-11-12)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: What is a Good Painter?

You might have asked yourself, “Do I really know how to paint? I complete paintings, they look like my subject, people like them and they sell, but do I really KNOW how to paint?” David will talk about an often misunderstood issue–what it takes to be a good painter. He will go over exactly what makes a good painter GOOD. Tune in this coming Sunday to find out what all the ‘good’ painters have known about painting, guided by the loveable David Leffel, with his seemingly unending storytelling and clear art instruction. You won’t want to miss this important show!

(2023-11-19)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Painting an Eye with Understanding

Last week David referred to a Sargent self-portrait where he stated that it was done with observation and not understanding. In a rare short demo, David will paint the eye showing you what he meant by that statement. And since we didn’t finish the PowerPoint last week on what good painters know, we will finish that and take questions throughout the program. Needless to say, this will be an informative and exciting week to look forward to. Don’t miss it!

(2023-11-26)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Great Museums

As our last program was rich with a demonstration on the eye and the face and therefore we ran out of time, this week we are continuing our virtual trip through some of the great museums through the examination of paintings and their merits. These programs will increase your discernment when looking at paintings and will surely help in your own growth as an artist. Needless to say, being guided artistically by a living master is a priceless experience and one that you won’t want to miss!

(2023-12-03)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Thinking Topographically

A Recap of What You’ve Learned
In this unusual program, David clarifies what he means by thinking topographically and what it means to paint with understanding rather than just relying on reproducing what something looks like, which is usually the result of superficial observation. He also talks about different whites and some other material questions. As always, David manages to take the most mundane questions and answer them with such depth that you come away inspired! (2023-12-10)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Why Painting Solutions Are Simple

Most programs grow out of the previous ones, and this one was inspired by people who were asking complicated questions about painting. Both Sherrie and David felt such a discussion as happened today was warranted to steer everyone in a new direction. There was great appreciation for this talk, which unearthed the reality that we are not educated to be intelligent, but rather, compliant. David of course talks about the simplicity of good solutions and that also sparked some wonderful questions and comments, as well as the realization that by learning painting in this way, we are developing our own intelligence. It was an uplifting discussion all around.

(2023-12-17)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: If You Get The Idea In Your Start
Why Not Just Stop?

This question sparked an entire program, where David talked about going further with a painting or just leaving it in the ‘unfinished’ state. Using unfinished portraits as well as a still life contrasted with their finished counterparts, David was able to talk about why one would leave a painting at one point one time, and another point another time. That was the starting conversation but the interactions became deeper as the program went on. Perhaps this was a ‘perfect’ program, if one could be. Nearly every question was answered with feeling and depth and everyone felt inspired to do their own work. This program shows David’s teaching at its very best! (2023-12-24)

David Leffel – The Painting Doctor: Simplicity and Complexity

David will show you what he means by simplicity and complexity in an oil demonstration as a special gift to all of you! As a fitting ending to 2023, in his generosity, David will show you what he means by these two words where it applies to painting. This is a year-end treat definitely not to be missed! This will definitely make for a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(2023-12-31)