Abstracting The Landscape With Ann Templeton

Reviewer: Susan F.

Ann Templeton is a clear thinking and speaking down home gal of a teacher. These two DVDs discuss abstraction of the landscape in a comprehensible manner. Although they are geared for a specific media, if you are interested in abstracting the landscape in any media, I highly recommend either DVD.

Reviewer: Elizabeth B.

I thought it was very well done. I enjoyed the short informational parts as she explained in more detail what she was doing. Well worth the rental.

Reviewer: Karen W.

I thought Abstracting the Landscape was terrific. Ann seemed less comfortable with the video process than some other artists, but she clearly explained how and why she makes her choices as she paints. Her style and approach is unique and it was very helpful to see how she plans and completes a painting. I wish she had more videos available!

Reviewer: Priscilla W.

Just watched the oil version of Ann's dvd. Very good. I learned several things that I hadn't heard before -and they are important and make sense. The dvd has good photography of her palette and the canvas and her explanations are very clear and to the point. Her emphasis is value, shapes, edges, and color.

Reviewer: Michael K.

Sorry Ann... the pastel DVD had to be one of the least informative for me out of all my rentals here. It moves so slow and there is no real continuity to the dialog. Jumping from one topic to the next with no real thought. you can tell there was no planning in this DVD, IMO. Might be good for a beginner but not good if you are interesting in painting landscapes in abstract. in fact she doesn't touch on the abstract aspect at all. Very disappointing in that regards.

Reviewer: carol l.

this was a fabulous dvd and excellent instruction by the artist. I highly recommend for any pastel painter. She takes you through the incredible under painting which is what gives the picture the intensity and punch of color. She takes you step by step and it's clear to watch every motion and stroke she makes. The painting is gorgeous and her commentary is very good... not too chatty or lengthy...but good information and the focus is kept on her work. Definitely rent this one! even if you do not work in pastel...it lends itself to oils and acrylics as well!

Reviewer: Birger J.

The video was interesting and Templeton's technique is very good. I would prefer a little more enthusiasm for the project and more explanation of why she does the various steps and why she chooses appropriate colors for different parts of the project.

Reviewer: Susan N.

I selected this as I admire Templeton's work and was not disappointed in that regard, I still like her work greatly. Although I learned more about her painting style and thought processes, I came away with less than I hoped for regarding techniques I could actually incorporate. I would consider this more of an artist's personal introspective and not so much of a tutorial.

Reviewer: Jeanne B.

I found this video and Ann’s artwork to be very engaging— so much so that I just ordered her latest book. For the intermediate pastelist, this video is a great demonstration of using the medium more as paint than as a drawing tool. Ann doesn’t go into much detail about the abstraction process but there’s enough inspiration here to take into the studio and put some of her principles to work.

Reviewer: Burns G.

I have several DVD's by top artists and I think this is one of the very best, Ann is a great artist and teacher.