We did a live Q&A with Peter Fiore last week and dozens of awesome questions poured in from attending artists. I thought I would share a few treasures from the hour-long session that cover shadows/highlights, favorite art books, composition, and what Peter’s painting palette looks like.

Just in case you’re not already familiar with Peter, here’s the interview we did with him last year so that you can get to know him before seeing his Q&A session: www.masteroilpainting.com/blank-canvas-an-interview-with-peter-fiore/

One thing I’ve noticed about artists throughout the years is that they tend to be generous people, and the ‘secrets’ of being a master artist are quickly shared when asked. If we can help someone else move forward in this incredible art journey, we are all in.

The Q&A session was supposed to be ½ an hour, but Peter said to just keep going since so many artists had questions for him. In fact, there were enough questions asked to fill several hour-long sessions, but our energy levels didn’t let us go any longer than an hour. Peter and I hope to do another session again soon though, so keep an eye out for that announcement sometime in the future.

Here’s how we got started:

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Questions and Answers with Peter Fiore

Here are a few of the awesome questions artists asked during the Q&A.

Q. Erika asked, “Any tips on determining the color and placement of shadows and highlights when trying to capture the feel and spirit of landscape?”

A. The landscape that I’m painting is not so much what I’m looking at, it’s what I want it to be. Meaning, I don’t just paint what I see, I want to interpret what I’m seeing. So, a lot of it comes down to concept and the mood and feeling that I want.

Now, once I understand what that is, I can go ahead and structure the values and the color to best communicate what I’m feeling.

Whether you paint from life or from a photograph, your obligation is to the painting, not to the scene. The scene is something you are to interpret!

Q. Fay asked, “Do you recommend any books for materials or methods?”

A. Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting – it’s the art bible in learning how to interpret nature; Alla Prima II by Richard Schmid

Q. Terri followed up asking if Peter used Edgar Payne’s Composition of Outdoor Painting.

A. Peter described his process of designing a painting. When he was 10 years old his dad gave him a camera that “became glued to my face for the next six years.” Looking through the viewfinder to discover interesting scenes, composition became very intuitive. He cautioned to beware painting only to rules like the rule of thirds.

Why?

Because “pretty soon you’re gonna bore yourself and then you’ll find that your audience knew it long before you were aware of it.”

Q. And then Erika asked if Peter could talk about what his painting palette looks like (what’s on it).

A. Peter said that he works with a “very basic palette”, and has used the same one since he was in school. He works with dual primary colors so that he can get the widest range of colors when mixing. Peter went on to detail some of the specific colors he uses outside of his primary colors, like orange which he said he uses to often that it’s easier to have ready on his palette instead of mixing it each time it’s needed.

“I only have like 12 colors on my palette” said Peter. He said that very rarely he adds another color, unless “something spectacular has to be done.”

Using a very simple palette helps you learn your colors and how to make the colors you want.

Paint Winter Tangle with Peter Fiore

Don’t miss out on your chance to paint along with Peter in his upcoming Winter Tangle training video.

You can request your free invitation below.

What questions would you want to ask Peter when we do our next Q&A session?

And are there any other artists you would love to hear from sometime in the future?

Tons of Free Art Training to Enjoy Today

At Master Oil Painting we know how passionate artists are about growing and bettering their craft, which is why we create and sell the world’s best art training and lessons. To help even more artists accelerate their growth we’ve taken a selection of our paid training and created a completely FREE art training library for everyone to enjoy!

Visit our free art training library here: https://www.masteroilpainting.com/free-art-training/

Find out why over 11,000 artists visit our free art training library every week, and why over 5,000 artists have shared it with their friends: https://www.masteroilpainting.com/free-art-training/