The Bottom Line
This DVD is like watching over the artist's shoulder as he paints, but without the flies, bugs, or heat bothering you. The viewpoint of the camera changes throughout so that you clearly see the landscape being used as the subject for the painting, the painting as it develops, the artist applying the paint and what he's doing on his palette, and then back to the landscape itself to remind you. I particularly enjoyed watching the skill with which the artists uses the few brushes he uses, such as a rigger for tree trunks.
Pros
- Watch over the shoulder as the artist paints on location.
- Scenes painted include wooded bushland, urban coastlines and industrial harbor.
Cons
- Don't see him finishing up the plein-air paintings back in his studio, only the final version.
- Two of the locations are quite similar bush scenes.
- Not cheap, but unlike an art class, you can repeat it "free".
Description
- Features Australian oil painter Herman Pekel painting at four different locations around Melbourne in an Impressionist style.
- Painting DVD produced by APV Films in 2009. Available in both PAL and NTSC formats.
- Distributed in USA/Canada by The Artist's Place.
- Length: 90 minutes. Watch trailer.
Guide Review - Painting DVD: "A Passion for Paint" by Herman Pekel
If you're interested watching over an experience artist's shoulder as he paints on location in a loose, Impressionist style, then you'll most probably enjoy watching Herman Pekel painting various scenes in this DVD. Although he uses oil paint, at times he uses it more like watercolor in thin, broad washes. Just the skill with which he wields his tools (including a fan brush, rigger brush, and edge of a credit card) makes the DVD worth watching, I think.
Throughout Pekel shows the enjoyment to be had in painting with enthusiasm and abandonment rather than worrying right from the outset what the result is going to be. I found myself surprised by the paintings he ended up with, especially as the scenes he was working from seemed less than exciting. He manipulates and uses elements from the landscape to create a successful painting, he doesn't let the scene dictate the painting.
You watch him painting in five different locations around Melbourne in Australia. Two are bush scenes, then the beachfront at St Kilda with a sweeping curve of the coastal road, the industrial dockland, and a view of Williamstown. The industrial dockland in particular appears to be an uninspiring location, yet the final painting proves otherwise.
