Earlier work (prior to John's classes - 16 X 20 - Oil on Canvas
On site painting done with John- 11 X 14 - Oil on Panel
Created in class - 30 X 20 - Oil on Canvas
I came to John as an intermediate painter
looking to improve my skills. Trained as an
illustrator, and having a penchant for detail,
I needed to learn to paint looser and with
more instinct. John really helped me achieve
this (though I am always striving to improve
further). John gives suggestions, thoughts,
and ideas in a non-judgmental, easygoing
way. Sometimes I'd start to bog down in detail
and he'd ask me - "do you need to paint that?
Simplify!"
With small class sizes, John was able to catch
my mistakes in value, proportion or perspective
before they became too developed. The most
valuable part of John's classes for me, was
painting on-site. This really taught me to
simplify what I was looking at, and learn to
"let go" of copying what I saw, because when
painting on-site, the light is constantly moving
and changing: so as quickly as you might paint,
it is still a record of movement through time
rather than a snapshot. The skills I learned from
painting on-site with John really helped my studio
work and opened my eyes to more expression
in my work.
Mary Sims-Morey
Mary is a very strong, dedicated and passionate
painter who I am sure is destined for great things.
It was a joy working and discovering things
along with her during her lessons.
If you would like to see more of her work, you
can visit her web site at
www.simsmoreyart.ca