The Bottom Line
- Get to watch a renowned wildlife artist as he works on a painting.
- Narrated by the artist himself.
- Gives insight into how Seerey-Lester develops a painting and his painting method.
- Far more affordable than one of Seerey-Lester's masterclasses!
- Don't see every stage of the development of the painting; it jumps abruptly at times.
- Don't learn much about painting fur (guess that's on another DVD).
- Feel cheated when painting gets abandoned and restarted after watching so much.
- Never see the artist mixing his colors on his palette.
- Occasional background noise, such as vehicles passing.
Description
- Multi-zone, two DVD set. Produced by Zoom Art Productions (ZAP).
- Duration of DVDs: No.1 52:08 minutes, No.2 34:09 minutes.
- Narrated by John Seerey-Lester.
Guide Review - Painting DVD: On the Easel with Seerey-Lester
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.
