Double Set 3 Hours, 45 Minutes

Burt says so many important things about what he is doing and how he works, that all of it is meaningful for the serious painter. First, Burt does a very precise drawing, spending a good fifteen minutes on developing it. He says this allows him time to decide what the model says to him and why he wants to paint her. Then Burt starts working in oil on a toned canvas about which he talks.  He lays in the simple figure, makes adjustments, and begins the process of creating this work of art.  Burt continually explains what he is doing and what he is thinking. He talks about the flow of the figure, the extreme difficulty of doing a adolescent’s portrait, the simplification of the background, and about his wonderful philosophy of painting. “There are already more paintings than people in the world,” he says, “so one better have a pretty good reason to paint the subject.”  Burt’s clear and distinctive teaching abilities shine throughout, and he has a gentle humor that also makes it fun. He admits his mistakes and explains how he is going to correct them. If you really want to know Silverman’s method of painting, here it is, complete and at its best.