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During our week-long workshop in Maine, the third-day lesson was on painting buildings. Most artists avoid structures involving perspective, so the video above is a lesson in "Perspective Made Easy." However, I would also like to discuss how brushes can help the process. First, you need a stiff, flat brush in multiple sizes. Thinly wash a shadow color over the entire building, and then use the brush to pick out the lights from the shadows. You can describe a clapboard building with long strokes or bricks with short stacked strokes. In the painting above, I initially hesitated to put the picket fence at the bottom of the painting. I was afraid a strong dark against a strong light would draw your eye down, so I painted the fence slightly darker and hit the light in the building with a warm yellow light and thick paint.

My classes in Houston have just started, so if you would like to learn how to paint, contact me here. Also, I am planning a week-long workshop in my Houston studio January 4-8, 2027. This will be an intensive 5-day dive into oil painting for beginners to advanced. Places are limited to 8.