It was a major discovery for me to find out how little you need to do to make a form look three dimensional whether you are using oil paints, acrylic paints, or watercolor paints. To create an illusion of form quickly, simply look for a light shape and a shade shape and draw the two shapes, being careful to make a clear distinction between them. You will need to arrange the lighting and your viewpoint so you can see the two shapes clearly, just as in the gondolier I painted here. The secret to making your painting work is to get the two shapes very accurate – a question of good drawing skills. When you get the shapes accurate the viewer’s eye fills in the rest of the details, and your subject magically looks three-dimensional. You need to spend very little time modeling the form.

I painted “The Boating Trip” in my studio from slides, since it is very difficult to paint moving figures outdoors. I carefully selected the angle of view in my photo to create a clear two-value statement.