by M. Stephen Doherty

Most of the participants in Larry Moore’s workshop were experienced enough to focus on advancing their work rather than learning basic technique.

“There are lots of workshops you can take to learn how to mix colors, paint a landscape, draw a model, or complete a painting before the paint dries; and although those classes can be very beneficial, they won’t necessarily help you operate as an individual,” Larry Moore said to the artists who assembled for one of his recent workshops at Gemini Springs, a park near his home in Winter Park, Florida. “What I hope to teach you is how to develop your own voice and establish a personal vision. That is, I want to offer you ways to look critically at your paintings and make your own determinations about how to use all the technical aspects of moving oil paint around on a canvas.”

Share information about workshops on our message board, Artists' Forum.

After that preliminary discussion, Moore spent three days demonstrating, leading group discussions, and interacting with each of the participants. Most of the students were experienced painters who attended one of Moore’s previous workshops but were still trying to gain the confidence and the critical skills necessary to reach a more professional level of accomplishment. “I didn’t require that everyone be an advanced painter, but I did recommend that they only sign up for this particular workshop if they had overcome the common stumbling blocks of color and form,” Moore explains. “I offer other classes in dealing with the typical problems of using too many bright, hot colors; failing to balance intense colors with grays or muted colors; and not achieving a balance and focus in the composition of values and shapes.”

Gemini Springs park, near Winter Park, Florida, proved to be an ideal setting for the workshop.

Moore is an exceptional workshop instructor not only because he is able to articulate each step of the drawing and painting process while he is in the act of painting but also because he has a motivating personality that encourages students to stretch beyond their comfort zones. “I talk about every decision I make from the moment I select a subject and sketch it out on the painting surface until I add the final highlights to the picture,” Moore says. “I start by determining what I hope to accomplish. Sometimes I just want to do studies to use in developing other paintings or to practice handling a specific aspect of the process, such as creating a sense of atmosphere, working with backlighting, or handling clouds. At other times I want to record as much information about a scene as I can in the time available.

“Establishing that intention sets me up for the scene selection because I know my goal for the day and can respond immediately when I see and listen for the ‘ping’ that hits when a scene presents itself,” Moore says. “Responding to a scene intuitively is a decidedly right-brain event, but quantifying what it is that I see engages the left brain and helps to keep me focused throughout the painting process.

Student Critiques After complimenting this student on how she painted the palm trees, the instructor suggested that she make one group more important than the other to avoid having them compete for the viewer’s attention. He also recommended warming the colors in the foreground and breaking the horizontal line established by the branch cutting across the center of the picture. “This painting has a wonderful abstract charm and a terrific sense of depth,” Moore told this student. “In such a simple composition, the shape and weight of each element become critical, so I would suggest making the distant ground plane lighter, adding more strokes of color in the water, breaking the horizon line, and perhaps adding a small tree to keep the viewer’s eyes from zipping straight across and off the canvas.” Moore praised the student for the composition, brushwork, and color balance in this painting and only suggested that she darken the water and add patterning to the surface of the water to break up the big shape.

“Although most of what I’ll be describing during the workshop relates to plein air painting,” Moore explained to the students, “the guiding principles are the same as in the studio, with the exception that the scale of the pictures and the amount of time available are different. I’ve worked as large as 30" x 60" in the field, going back to paint at the same location over several days; but my preference is to develop paintings larger than 16" x 20" in a controlled working environment.

Moore demonstrated to a student how she could isolate a segment of a landscape in order to better compose her painting.

“When I’ve found that perfect outdoor location, I ask myself ‘What is the dominant theme of the scene?’” Moore continued. “Is it the vista, pattern, narrative, lyrical shapes, simple bucolic beauty? Then I make two up-front decisions: What compositional devices will I employ, and What color palette will I use?”

During most of his demonstrations, Moore worked on a white or lightly toned panel with what he describes as a “semilimited palette” of colors that included a warm and cool version of the primaries and titanium white. He started each painting by drawing the basic shapes within his field of vision rather than the specific objects or landmarks. Looking through a rectangle formed by the thumb and forefinger of both his hands, Moore used a thin mixture of an earth color to draw the abstract shapes while he talked about the way each line directed the viewer’s attention toward the center of interest. “The focal point of a painting has to be as clear as the words used in advertising a product on a highway billboard,” he said to the students. “That is, it has to be immediately clear to the viewer what the central message is intended to be. To achieve that effect, you should ask yourself how the divisions of the rectangular surface, the hierarchy of shapes, the balance of values, and the rhythms and rest areas help to move the viewer’s attention from one place to another. I recommend verbalizing these decisions and the answers to every other question that has to be made through each stage of the painting process.

Evening at Lobos 2006, oil, 14 x 18. Private collection.

Moore has the rare ability to talk about his decision-making process while painting.

“This is not a process of executing a preconceived plan,” Moore explained. “It might seem that way as you follow my demonstrations, but that’s only because I have years of experience that allow me to know when a painting has problems and how I can fix them. My hope is that you will remember the questions I ask myself so you know how to challenge yourself. Remember some of the points I made during the slide show of paintings by John Singer Sargent, Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, Maynard Dixon, Georgia O’Keeffe, and others. I tried to show that there are other approaches than the ones I demonstrate. I’m willing to try any approach that will help you see that there are a number of methods available, including those that are not strictly realistic in style. My goal is to empower you with enough knowledge and confidence to help you figure things out for yourself and not rely on others for answers.”

“If I’m working with a student who is stuck and can’t figure out what the painting needs, I respond with the question, ‘What do you see?’” Moore explains. “I can be much more helpful if students identify the problems and possible solutions. In most cases, if they stop and really look, they can see the solution for themselves. If they can’t, I will take them step by step through the thought process others have followed.”

Steve at Lloyd’s Fish Market 2007, oil, 16 x 16. Private collection.

Waiting for Work 2006, oil, 12 x 18. Courtesy Anderson Fine Art Gallery, St. Simons Island, Georgia.

At the conclusion of Moore’s workshop, all the participants were asked to reflect on the experience, and every one of them praised the instructor for having helped them achieve the objectives that brought them to the class and acquire new skills and attitudes that would help them after they returned to their studios.

Most people offered high praise for Moore’s focus on critical thinking. “I learned that quite often I may be only a few brushstrokes away from a painting that reveals a level of maturity and familiarity with my own individual process,” explained Sally Cummings Shisler. “I learned not to be so hard on myself and to not give up on the journey,” said another participant.

One of the other students compared Moore’s suggestion about sticking to a plan of action to her routine in sports training. “Before heading out the door, I usually decide the purpose of that day’s workout,” she explained. “Larry recommended that I do the same thing when I select a painting location. That is, I describe what my purpose is in painting the scene and stick to that plan. He also pointed out the need to step back during the painting process to determine what aspects are bothersome to the eye and how they might be corrected.”

Run the Table 2007, oil, 11 x 14. Private collection.

The Race 2006, oil, 20 x 16. Courtesy South Street Art Gallery, Easton, Maryland.

Several of the workshop participants appreciated the fact that Moore was willing to provide specific instruction about the fundamental aspects of working with oil. Two students said that their primary objective in taking the class was to learn how to simplify their pictures, while another said she needed to work on color mixing. “No matter what the ability level of the students,” she stated, “Larry helped them address their specific needs.”

About the Artist
Larry Moore majored in graphic design at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, and worked as an illustrator and teacher before establishing himself as a successful fine artist and workshop leader. His paintings have been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators, in New York City and Los Angeles, in juried art shows and private galleries, and in corporate art collections. Moore regularly participates in organized plein air-painting events, including the Carmel Plein Air Festival, in California. He currently maintains a studio in Winter Park, Florida. For more information on Moore, visit his website at www.larrymoorestudios.com.

M. Stephen Doherty is the editor-in-chief of Workshop.

Like what you read? Become a Workshop subscriber today!