In this week’s class, my red barn finally took shape after Lee Hartman coached me to not over paint elements and to allow for different colors from my palette to add dimension.

I also added shadows and details to the barn. After using Lee’s advice, I went back to the hills and fields behind the barn and became a little more liberal with the application of the different tones I saw in the photo of this barn in Montana. I added more “moodiness” to the sky above as well since this was an element of the painting I had been critical of for some time.

I am pleased with this week’s progress.

Painting snapshot prior to this week's class. You can see the improvements made this week when you compare this painting to the one at the top of this post.

To add to this good fortune, my paintings were in fact found by another student after I left class and was placed on top of the Coke vending machine in the classroom. Although I had come to accept the loss, I was very excited to see the familiar shoe box with my two pear paintings. In this class, I promptly signed them “L STARK” and have decided they are finally complete.

Of course, it was not all good news this week as I had somehow missed the fact that I will not be part of the November 15 art show at University Art because I will be in Loreto, BCS at the time. If you are in the SF Bay Area on this Sunday, do make it down to University Art to check out the wonderful paintings by the other students.

Finally, I also learned of another use for toothpaste from Lee. For the nameplates for each student, Lee has found that toothpaste works well as an adhesive agent that can be later easily removed from the walls so no marks are left. She discovered this one year for an art show in a location where the venue would not allow any holes to be put into the walls.

Loni Kao Stark
Co-Founder StarkSilverCreek, Creative Director and Wine Collector

Loni is a self-professed foodie, adventure travel seeker and aspiring artist. It’s been said her laugh can be heard from San Jose all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. The former Ms. Global Petite runner-up is host of several SSC shows including WineTube TV, StarkSilverCreek Presents, Loreto Live, and the new series The Artist Diaries. Between busy travel schedules to Washington, Napa and global destinations such as Australia, the Baja and Europe, she expends the rest of her energy collecting wines, practicing “escape artist”-style cooking, and building what she hopes, one day, will be a real estate empire. She catches her breath by writing about her adventures.
Twitter: @lonikaostark More: articles bio

The Artist Diaries (in HD)

Starring:
Lee Hartman (as the Teacher), Loni Kao Stark (as the Student)
Description: Can a student become a master painter? Chasing the dream of a lifetime, one art class, one painting, and one headlock at a time.
Episode Guide:
The Artist Diaries
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