Below is a description posted by one of my students on tawa-nj.blogspot.com/ about a workshop that I taught at the Ellarslie Art Museum in Trenton NJ. She was a great student, and really seemed to get a lot out of the class. I’m planning on teaching this workshop again in the fall, winter, and hopefully next summer. I will post the dates on this blog and my website, http://www.dcrartcommissions.com when I figure out the schedule. This class has produced some inspired work from beginner and intermediate artists. I’m excited to continue meeting other artists who are interested in learning and practicing these traditional techniques in their own work.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed the workshop with David Rivera teaching the Secrets of the Old Masters. Their grissaile method is an exciting way to prepare an image. The 15th and 16th century artists produced radiant pieces of work using limited number of pigments. The underpainting executed in shade of one color, usually gray, molds the form and its tonal values give an illusion of sculptural relief. Given countless examples of grissaile painters - from van Eyck's brothers to Vermeer to Ingres, we were to choose an artist to study and learn his technique. I have found Andrea del Sarto's small piece especially graceful and was eager to see how much I can learn from him. This new method that stresses good drawing and tonal values was in direct contrast to my older 'all prima', direct method of painting. Subsequent color glazes over the underpainting created luminosity never experienced before. Guided patiently by Mr. Rivera, we were discovering the genius of oil paints - their potential to create really brilliant detail in jewel like colors. Old Masters have secrets to share for patient and devoted students. It was really a pleasure to participate in this inspiring gem of a workshop. Many thanks to Mr.Rivera and TAWA." Jadwiga Wroblewska-Jedrzejczyk
Riveradavid's Blog 