He taught us to see the subtle changes in color as the light changes. The most obvious difference being between a sunny day and a grey day or between the early morning and the late afternoon. Henry taught each student individually
“He explained that the light is constantly changing the color.” - Hilda Neily
because he said everyone had different strengths and weaknesses. He would tell us how to determine each color by comparing it to the color next to it. The color blue in the light, for example, is lighter than the color white in the shade. He explained that the light is constantly changing the color. Sometimes he enjoyed just talking about color and its importance in the history of painting and other times he would simply let us be to try to see and paint on our own. He would say “You don’t learn how to play the piano the first time you sit down to play. You have to learn the scales first. ” I teach the same way. I try to make the students understand that instead of the objects or landscape we are looking at
Left: A recent photo of Hilda Neily plein air painting in Provincetown’s West End. Photo courtesy Hilda Neily.