Karl Dempwolf December 1 demonstration

by Angela Alvarenga

Karl Dempwolf, a prestigious and accomplished oil painter, gave a stunning demonstration on his use with oil paints on luan board (a plywood panel 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick). Karl’s extraordinary talent, kind personality and natural teaching skills made his demonstration delightful and engaging to watch.

Dempwolf paints on luan board because he can cut it to size for the perfect frame to match his paintings. He applies gesso to both sides before starting a painting. As a plein air painter, he loves working small and wet on wet. He also paints thin to keep his colors from getting muddy. Dempwolf has mastered a 4-step process for his plein air paintings--he starts with a black and white sketch for values. Secondly, he paints in monochromatic to block in the masses. Thirdly, he adds color, and lastly, 8inalizes the painting with the 8inishing touches.

When painting in his studio, he will reference his photographs but still tries to leave a little mystery in his painting because he wants the viewer to question. “If you give all the answers, it’s boring.” His larger scale paintings are never the same as the original small plein air paintings but he tries to keep them similar. Dempwolf’s paintings seem flawless, so it was very interesting and comforting to hear him say that when he gets a painting back from a gallery he will sometimes want to make changes.​

Karl describing his painting Cypress Cove