Painting DVD: On the Easel with Seerey-Lester

This DVD follows renowned wildlife artist John Seerey-Lester as he works on an oil painting called "Sonora Majesty" from start to finish. You watch over his shoulder from when he blocks in the first composition onwards. Unfortunately the full development of the painting isn't shown, but rather it jumps, too abruptly in places. If you're after a DVD that shows you how to paint fur, this isn't it. Rather it shows you how Seerey-Lester develops and reworks a painting.

Pros

Cons

As the title 'On the Easel' suggests, this DVD shows renowned wildlife artist John Seerey-Lester at work at his easel, creating a large oil painting called "Sonora Majesty". You're watching over his shoulder as he paints, from when he first blocks in the composition to the finishing touches.

It's interesting to watch how the artist works, to see that he doesn't draw out a detailed composition first, but block in colors and draws back into this using mineral spirits. How he works wet-on-wet, finishing one piece before moving on to another.

What was frustrating is that you don't see the artist's palette when he picks up color on his brush (though he does talk about the colors he uses), nor the sketch he keeps referring to as he paints. And in several places the painting jumps too abruptly in its development; it needed more time-elapse shots showing the painting evolve.

It's not a DVD for picking up loads of tips -- not even how to paint fur -- but rather one that shows you how an artist works on a painting. What sequence things are done in, his thoughts as he works, that sort of thing.

At one point Seerey-Lester decides he doesn't like the composition and starts again. I found this intensely irritating. I felt cheated and annoyed as I'd invested time watching and now he abandoned it? The DVD should rather have started with the revised composition.