In this video, Buck will continue his work on his painting “Sunset Power.”

Key Points:

• The canvas is wet.
• He is using the Alexander 1″ Brush to create a porous appearance in the sky so there is room for the birds to fly through. The 1″Brush is a stiff, boar-bristle brush.
• Atmosphere circles the earth in an aspherical manner. The way Buck creates dimension from a flat canvas is to keep this in mind. He paints the darkest part of the sky on the top of the canvas and then paints lighter tones as he reaches towards the horizon.
• Notice he softens the corners.
• Deep Orange can be created using Cadmium Yellow and Permanent Red.
• Something that is easy to miss is that Buck wipes his brush on a paper towel before he touches the canvas. Many times he will load the brush and then go to the paper towel in his hand and squeeze the brush. This does two things, it removes some of the paint so he doesn’t add too much to the canvas AND it gives him the opportunity to feel the form of the brush before he paints.
• Buck loves the Fan Brush! Often he is using just the corner of the bristles to maintain control. When he wants to apply more paint or achieve a certain look, he will use the full brush.
• Originally the Alexander Hake Brush was called “Buck’s Bunny Brush.” Often we still refer to it as the Bunny Brush. (No, it is not made from Bunnies!
• The other two brushes Buck uses are The Alexander Mop Brush and The Alexander Round Brush.

One of the things we love about Buck is his desire to share his knowledge with others. In today’s video he talks about his teacher, Claude Buck”s teacher. When Claude was learning his teacher would write down what he was to do and then put the paper in his pocket so the secrets stayed with him. Considering we only retain a small portion of what we hear, that had to be frustrating. , Fortunately, Claude Buck didn’t continue the tradition of that teaching style. He was an open book and today we reap the benefit of Claude’s teaching style through Buck. It was easy for Buck to see the value in sharing knowledge. As Buck says, “when we share, we all grow!”

Happy Painting!

Laurie and Dawn

PLUS: So whenever you’re ready…here are a few ways we can help you become the artist you’ve always wanted to be.

1: Let us help you decide your next step on your art journey

Not sure how to move forward on your path to become a great artist?  Just hit reply to this message and put “Art Journey” in the subject line… tell me a little bit about your painting experience (even if you have none) and we will set up a private meeting to see if Alexander Art is a good fit for you.

2: Join Our Membership 

Quickly become a better artist by having access to hundreds of videos led by Master Artists. You also get self-guided, step-by-step courses. And of course discounts on all our special art supplies.

Watch this video to see inside our membership.

3:  Let US guide you in our Alexander Master Class 

Quickly learn the Alexander proven way to paint starting from where you are… and we’ll lead you from there. The best thing is our Master Class is a unique series of courses with live feedback taught by Master Artist, Master Teacher, Tom Anderson. It isn’t for people who have already “Mastered” painting techniques… It is for people with the passion and desire to learn everything the Old Masters and Bill Alexander knew one baby step at a time.

Watch this video to see if Master Class is right for you.