Expressive Oil Painting: An Open Air Approach to Creative Landscapes

114 Pages·2009·6.59 MB·English

by  George Allen Durkee

expressive
oil painting
an Open Air Approach
to Creative Landscapes
GEORGE ALLEN DURKEE
NORTH LIGHT BOOKS
CINCINNATI, OHIO
www.artistsnetwork.com

EXPRESSIVE OIL PAINTING. COPYRIGHT © 2009 BY GEORGE ALLEN DURKEE. Manufactured
in China. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from
the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by North Light
Books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. (800) 289-
0963. First Edition.
Other fine North Light books are available from your local bookstore, art supply store, online
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Durkee, George Allen.
Expressive oil painting : an open air approach to creative landscapes /
George Allen Durkee. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-60061151-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) eISBN: 978-1-44031-727-9
1. Landscape painting--Technique. 2. Plein air painting--Technique.
I. Title. II. Title: Open air approach to creative landscapes.
ND1342.D88 2009
751.45’436--dc22 2009014678
EDITED BY SARAH LAICHAS
DESIGNED BY JENNIFER HOFFMAN
PRODUCTION COORDINATED BY MATT WAGNER
Metric Conversion Chart
To Multiply
To
Convert By
Inches Centimeters 2.54
Centimeters Inches 0.4
Feet Centimeters 30.5
Centimeters Feet 0.03
Yards Meters 0.9
Meters Yards 1.1
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When George Allen Durkee began painting in 1965, there were no art schools
nearby, so he enrolled in a correspondence course designed by some of the great
illustrators—Albert Dorne, Robert Fawcett and Norman Rockwell. Coached by
knowledgeable teachers, he worked a night job in order to study and practice
during daylight hours. Without the imposed structure of a classroom schedule,
he learned to work on his own. After completing the course, George quit the
night job, and with twelve days’ worth of vacation pay in his pocket he became a
full-time painter. For the next few years, he painted his way from town to town,
selling art to passersby. Trading a painting in San Francisco for a few hundred
dollars, he moved in. Within six months, his paintings appeared in a prominent
gallery—between the work of Picasso and Miró. Hundreds of George’s
cityscapes were dispersed worldwide. In 2001, ready for a quieter life, he moved
to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California to paint landscapes.
Durkee is a past contributor to The Artist’s Magazine and American Artist. A
knowledgeable teacher, he prefers to work one-on-one with a few select
students. He and his artist wife, Sharon Strong, are co-owners of an art gallery in
Murphys, California.
First Light oil on canvas | 24" × 30" (61cm × 76cm)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Very special thanks to my ruthless North Light editor, Sarah Laichas—what a
journey we have traveled together! Thank you Carolyn North, Nancy Roberts
and Hélène Cartier for your thoughtful and reasoned feedback. Tom Cole, your
nitpicking critiques have made this a more comprehensible book. Jane Boon
Brown, you are better than you know. Buzz Eggleston, thank you for generously
offering your expertise.