Morgan Weistling: Painting for the Impatient

In 2007, Morgan Weistling invited us back into his studio to film another program. Even though he said after his first marathon video of 10 hours that he would never do another, he reconsidered and believes that this program addresses a completely different approach to painting that he wanted to share with you. 

His first video was devoted to showing the viewer how he paints a gallery-bound painting--something the workshop student would never have a chance to see. He painted it over a period of six days and we edited it to 10 hours. It was a marathon effort and a priceless demonstration for serious students of the art form. 
 
Morgan realizes that the student in a workshop situation doesn't have the same amount of time with the model that he did with that first video, Homework. So he wanted to share with you two different approaches to painting the head that do work for the short format situation that workshops usually offer. 
 
The first of his three demonstrations is based on the concept of Painting the Head from the Outside In, a traditional approach which starts with a charcoal drawing and proceeds with a quick lay-in of the masses and finishes with detail and corrections. This approach yielded a fantastic portrait likeness of the model, John Simon, as you will see. 
 
The second demonstration is a less-used and understood concept which he describes as Painting the Head from the Inside Out. Rather than starting with a drawing, he begins with one feature on the face and finishes it as he moves steadily outward from that point, making every decision based on the preceding correct decisions. The painting reveals itself much like a sculptor reveals his creation from a block of stone. This is his favorite way to work, and he creates a powerful portrait and likeness of the model, Julio Pro. 
 
The third program on this video is a fantastic documentary of a workshop that Morgan taught in the past few years, where his critiques and corrections of students were filmed and captured for your benefit. Three and a half hours are included in this portion and it is tantamount of being able to audit his workshop as we follow him with the eye of the camera. 
 
All the concepts that he teaches in his first video, as well as the first two demonstrations on this title, are brought to the workshop classroom, and you see him employ every one of them on the actual paintings that are started by the students and improved and corrected by Morgan. There are 23 critique/demos included in this portion of the program, and every level of student is represented in the workshop, from novice to professional. For each, Morgan is able to provide instruction at his or her level of experience and give guidance on how to improve their painting skills. 
 
We believe this program is every bit as valuable as the first one he did, and it offers new advice on how to paint the model in a short-sitting situation. Morgan describes these two programs as companion pieces that will support each other and help the developing painter to reach new levels of skill, understanding, and artistry. 
 
Morgan is a consummate instructor, sharing and critiquing his own work constantly, and giving you instruction and guidance that will inform your painting in a way you may not have heard previously. .