Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
A 28-page illustrated guide to the two decisions that make or break a painting. Instant download
Most paintings that fail are failing at one of two things: the light has no temperature, or the eye has nowhere to go.
This is a collected edition of two guides. The first, Warm Light, Cool Shadow, is about temperature as spatial language — how to build depth, air and distance without adding a single piece of detail. The second, Where the Eye Lands, is about composition as choreography — where the viewer enters, what they pass on the way, and what they're still looking at when they stop looking.
It is written the way I teach: plainly, in the order you'd actually use it, with the traps named out loud. There are worked diagrams on every principle, exercises you can do on cheap surfaces in twenty minutes, and four plates from my own paintings read the way I'm asking you to read yours.
Nearly forty years of standing in front of wet canvases went into this. It won't make you paint like me. It will make you see what your painting is doing before it's too late to change it.
What's inside
28 pages, print-ready PDF, formatted for US Letter
Part One: naming your light source, pigment temperature bias, staying out of mud, placing the warmest note
Part Two: thirds, the golden section used honestly, value structure, negative space, entry points and corner leaks, choosing your format
Eight composition traps I still fall into, and how I catch them
Fill-in worksheets for reading your own work
Four plates from my paintings, annotated
Who it's for
Painters past the beginner stage in any medium — oil, acrylic, gouache, pastel. No specific palette or brand required.
Delivery and terms
Digital download. Your link arrives by email immediately after checkout. For your personal use — paint whatever you like from it and sell it freely; please don't share or resell the file itself. Because it's delivered instantly, all sales are final, but if your link fails or the file won't open, email me and I'll fix it the same day.
A 28-page illustrated guide to the two decisions that make or break a painting. Instant download
Most paintings that fail are failing at one of two things: the light has no temperature, or the eye has nowhere to go.
This is a collected edition of two guides. The first, Warm Light, Cool Shadow, is about temperature as spatial language — how to build depth, air and distance without adding a single piece of detail. The second, Where the Eye Lands, is about composition as choreography — where the viewer enters, what they pass on the way, and what they're still looking at when they stop looking.
It is written the way I teach: plainly, in the order you'd actually use it, with the traps named out loud. There are worked diagrams on every principle, exercises you can do on cheap surfaces in twenty minutes, and four plates from my own paintings read the way I'm asking you to read yours.
Nearly forty years of standing in front of wet canvases went into this. It won't make you paint like me. It will make you see what your painting is doing before it's too late to change it.
What's inside
28 pages, print-ready PDF, formatted for US Letter
Part One: naming your light source, pigment temperature bias, staying out of mud, placing the warmest note
Part Two: thirds, the golden section used honestly, value structure, negative space, entry points and corner leaks, choosing your format
Eight composition traps I still fall into, and how I catch them
Fill-in worksheets for reading your own work
Four plates from my paintings, annotated
Who it's for
Painters past the beginner stage in any medium — oil, acrylic, gouache, pastel. No specific palette or brand required.
Delivery and terms
Digital download. Your link arrives by email immediately after checkout. For your personal use — paint whatever you like from it and sell it freely; please don't share or resell the file itself. Because it's delivered instantly, all sales are final, but if your link fails or the file won't open, email me and I'll fix it the same day.
