Introducing Loosen Up Your Paintings By Ryan Jensen
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced master, Ryan’s expert guidance will help you break free from rigid techniques and give you a whole new lens to see the world.
He’ll give you step-by-step instructions about brushwork, embracing imperfection, and creating paintings that are full of life and energy.
In this video:
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Introduction–learn to think of the figure not as a figure, but as shapes
- Materials & Tools:
- Ryan puts a focus on “Principles over Process” and does not spend more than a couple of minutes talking about supplies
- Design & Composition
- “This is your scene, your movie, your painting!”
- 3 important pieces of a sketch: Point, Line, Mass
- Simple strokes for graceful shapes
- “It's the awkward elephant in the room if you can't draw.”
- Block In
- Wash on color, anything goes
- Add dark shapes with paint
- Wipe out light shapes with paper towel
- Quick measurement tips to check or adjust placement of shapes
- Viola, a figure appears!
- Develop the Painting: Color, Value, Edges
- Watch Ryan build up the painting then break it down
- When you get stuck, do something to the painting so you can react to it
- Mess it up to fix it
- Use a palette knife for added boldness
- Step back and look at it in reverse often
- Keep brushwork moving in all directions for interest
- Pay attention to Negative Shapes
- Observation & Adjustment
- Ryan sits down and slows down to tackle the painting with Fresh Eyes
- 2 ways to shake it up if you don’t know what to do next or don’t like what you did–palette knife scrape thru or fling mineral spirits to give some drips
- How CONTRAST can make all the difference
- PLUS–learn a few dance moves from Ryan–getting excited about your painting puts you in a positive mood to continue
- Brushwork tips
- How to tell a story with background shapes as characters– figures or seagull
- Refine the Painting
- This is the time to make the Money Strokes–those graceful gestural strokes that you lay down and let tell the story
- Adjust with Negative Shapes and Spaces–carving into the positive as you need
- How to avoid those DANGEROUS lines
- Why working all over the painting is more important than finishing one spot at a time
- Say your color and value out loud–tell a story about it–will help you achieve it
- Call upon the masters to guide you
- Use “go for broke” strokes
EXTRAS
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High Speed View of the Demonstration Painting set to music–fun to watch it develop
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Exhibit of Works a slide show of Ryan’s paintings set to music
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Insights from Ryan on painting and learning how to “see”
Meet your instructor Ryan Jensen
Ryan has an infectious personality, and his delivery will keep your attention glued to the screen. He is funny, lighthearted, expressive, and even dances a little! Ryan will keep you entertained while teaching you how to paint loosely with heart, emotion, and real connection.
Ryan’s Military Service
He served in the United States Marine Corps for eight years, including three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. These experiences allowed him to view the world through a “different lens.” After his honorable discharge, he returned to school, where he majored in Fine Arts. Now, he’ll share this “different lens” with you, and it just might change the way you see your subjects forever.
Inspired
Ryan’s fundamental inspiration stems from his father’s influence. His dad was an illustrator and often told Ryan about the importance of warm and cool light and broad brushwork. After his father’s passing, these words still inspire Ryan’s style, and today, those are the first things people notice about Ryan’s paintings. In this video, he will show you exactly how he does it so you can bring this same energy to your own paintings.
Awards
With his entire focus on painting, Ryan has captured the attention, hearts, and minds of plein air painters across the country and around the world. Here are just some of the awards Ryan has won:
- Mendocino Open Paint Out (Best in Show)
- Borrego Springs Plein Air Invitational (Best in Show)
- 1st Annual Oceanside Plein Air Festival (First Place Quick Draw)
- Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational (First Place Quick Draw)
- Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational (PleinAir Magazine Award)
- And many more
