Klaas Hart – Friday Night Guest – April 29, 2024

(Submitted by Elena Ott Opara)

“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music’. This is the place I want my paintings to take you.

Klaas is an Ontario College of Art and Design graduate. Then he moved to the Netherlands where he worked with Henk Helmantel. Klaas had private instruction from the studio of Glenn Priestley in Toronto. In 1998 he received the Mayor’s Purchase Award in Toronto.
He has taught at Sheridan College, Oakville, and in Toronto at Avenue Road Art School, Earl Haig Secondary School and Studio Academy; Artist 25. He also taught at the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo.

Klaas’ approach to a painting is to first look at the image you’d like to paint, then ask yourself:
What do i see?
No short cuts, you have to work, and make it work, no matter the brush, media or canvas type.

Klass started with a simple palette to determine the dark side and light side, putting tones and objects to catch colour, adding shapes to create relationship.
The first layer is a muted coat to paint the shadows.
Add liquin for Plein air painting and demonstrations.
Remember that when you add white you are adding grey.
Paint a generalized tone for objects that are behind, and know you will have to work with it later.
It is important how you work with light and dark.
If too much light at the beginning by mistake, just block something in and know you have to go back to work on it.
You do not need to match the reference, but it is important to get the right values and then everything will fall into place.