David Jon Kassan.  Wow. I have just watched the most amazing trailer for artist David Kassan’s latest DVD “Painting a Life: Documenting an Approach to Painting“. Absolutely stunning how he can paint a portrait so realistic, capturing every nuance, I mean so completely it looks as if his models will walk off of the canvas. This ability to paint in such a detailed way is amazing to watch. When have I ever watched a painting DVD that resulted in goosebumps? Exactly. Not until I watched David’s trailer. It’s a hit already, and has made it to IMDB (Internet Movie Database) – is THE online database for all things movie related, trailers, reviews, etc.) – this guy is highly respected, just look at comments on various sites. Impressive!

Details below from David’s wonderful website – clicking THIS LINK will take you to his site, where you can click on the trailer, and i’m telling you… goosebumps! If you’re interested in portraits even in the slightest THIS is the DVD for you!

In this 7-hour, two disc, instructional documentary, I really wanted to weave together my philosophies on painting as well as how I paint technically. In “Painting A Life”, we get to know the subject, Jaece Lutrec. intimately — her thoughts, feelings and her life as I paint her.

Painting, for me, is my way of understanding the world around me; a way of slowing things down to carefully observe life. It was really important to me that this film illustrates not just the step-by-step process of how I paint, but also depicts my patient search to understand my subject.

To encourage a full understanding of the process, I completely vocalize my thoughts on how I use broken color to develop lifelike skintone and how I use color temperature, value, texture and brushstroke to turn form. I also discuss how to train your eye to see these subtle color shifts and transitions.

In my approach to direct painting (an integration of academic and organic techniques) I strive to demonstrate how we never lose sight of the model’s emotional character.

Included is a full discussion of my materials (brushes, mediums, paints, etc), how I prepare my painting surfaces, my studio setup and lighting, how I transfer my drawing to my painting surface, a brief introduction to my drawing process, and a field trip to Vasari Classic Oils Colors to discuss of all of the paints on my palette and their properties and history with Gail Spiegel, Vasari’s color expert.

The essence of this DVD is how I develop a full understanding and interpretation of what I see and synthesize that into a painting that captures the subtle character, emotion and life of the sitter.

F L A S H B A C K   

O n e  Y e a r  A g o:             The Ferry Building – San Francisco, CA

T w o  Y e a r s  A g o:         2012 SEWE Artist Dustin Van Wechell!

T h r e e  Y e a r s  A g o:   Lemon Squares recipe by Cooking Light – To good to be true!

Catch you back here tomorrow!