Recently I have been taking oil painting classes with Didier Nolet, a local landscape artist. I feel that I'm learning a great deal. In addition to technique, perhaps the most important thing I'm learning is how to see. I think that's the real difference between a professional and a beginner: the beginner still doesn't know what to focus in on. We so take for granted what our eyes see, and we don't know how to focus on the things that make a difference - the softness of a distant hillside, the coolness of the shaded lawn, the touch of pink in the reflected sky.

Technique is important, but it's only a part of the whole. I need to learn what to see.

Versailles II - Garden of Zeus
Oil on Canvas
18"x13 3/4"