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Episode 8: Tom and the Kohlrabies

was shopping Dubuque's Farmers' Market on a recent Saturday morning when I came upon the most beautiful kohlrabies I think I've ever seen. I grow kohlrabies in my own garden, but I never saw any like these. They were quite large,, perfect and my favorite shade of green. And then I spotted Tom. He was a friend of the owner of the slot on 13th and Iowa Street. He was casually leaning against a truck when I asked him if he would help me with my project which would, of course, require him to pose for me. The result is " Tom and the Kohlrabies. It is the third panel in my Farmers' Market Triptych.

In this video I demonstrate how I can obtain detail in a painting without really depicting detail. I try to avoid heavily detailed drawings. Rather than color inside the lines of a drawing, I prefer "free-style" painting where I obtain my ""details" with my brush. The point of this lesson is to explain just how impressionism works. Rather than paint an object, I try to paint how light falls upon and illuminates an object. That's what impressionism is all about. I don't render detail but rather the impression of detail. Make sense?

By the way, I'm getting a lot of compliments about my music choices for these shows. These are musicians, most of whom I know personally, and among them is Eric Faramus who sings with his now defunct band, We're Late and Smell Like Beer, a New Orleans Zydeco-style band. In the 1990s I worked with Eric in a technology company and he graciously allowed me to use his tracks for these painting demonstrations. Eric is also an artist, and I think he's the most creative person on the planet. Of course he's so interesting and talented, he may not be from this planet. He's from France, actually. Seriously he is and I'm not making a reference to Saturday Night Live's The Coneheads. Eric studied art in Paris, and he came to this country speaking no English. Now, of course, he speaks perfect English. I actually hired Eric as a graphic designer back in the day, and I still say he was the best hire I ever made. I theorize he was a good multimedia programmer and designer because he was also a musician. This skill more than any other is valuable if you want to become a programmer. This is because programming and designing interactivbe multimedia is like scoring a symphony..