Starrpoint

New Equipment

2012-01-06T18:00:00.001-05:00

New Equipment

I hate this new keyboard. My old familiar keyboard finally gave up the ghost this month. I have had that through 4 CPU’s. It was a sturdy, white dell that took a pounding day in and day out.

And it was more typically a keyboard made for those of us old-timers who learned to touch type. The indentions on J And F were grounding.

This new, lighter, and darker keyboard is hard to use if you don’t look at the keyboard. The indentions, or rather little raised nubs are quite small, and don’t keep you oriented well.

It makes working on this blog, or anything else difficult.

What has this to do with art? Well, not a lot really, but it does make the point that not all improvements in equipment are improvements.

The lighter and black keyboard for all it fancy new features is not as comfortable to use, and adds to the stress in the wrists when using. I am sure it is cheaper, and easier to produce, however.

The same can be said for some “improvements” in paintbrushes.

I have noticed the tendency to shorter handles. Now the lighter, and cushioning might be a help, but even the larger brushes are coming with rather short handles.

Now what use is a long handle you might ask.

And indeed, many people wonder why paint brushes have long handles.

Most painters use them almost like pencils, and choke up on them. But paint brushes have long handles for a reason, they add to the balance of them, and if used properly, back you up, away from the canvas and helps you keep a balanced view of what you are painting.

Try it.

Hold your brushes back on the handles, and use the full length of the brush.

For that matter, back away from the canvas and use your entire arm with your strokes. Paint from your shoulder. You can make longer bolder and surer strokes if you just back up.

Creative Play

2011-12-24T00:00:00.002-05:00

This week we did come creative play in the art classes of The Renaissance Art Gallery. Without warning or preparation, the classes were invited to simply play with media.

Using the December 2011 creative project of mixed media-line on about.com/paintings site Marion's Painting Blog, each person was to choose at least 2 mediums to use, one wet, one dry. Mixed Media Project

Among the wet medium to choose from was watercolor, acrylics and coffee. Mixing in some dark coffee added a lot to the experience.

Loading the table with papers, pens, paints, charcoal, etc. each student was able to pick and choose things, to simply play with media.

Interesting, none of my students did anything like what I expected.

The resulting pieces were extremely interesting.

One student took me at my word to explore the paper itself.

After using watercolor pencils to draw a tree, she then took textured pastel paper, tearing it to bits to cover the tree trunk with texture.

Unhappy with the over color, she used coffee on a cotton swap to add shading and character to the drawing. Then used the cotton swap to add bushes and distant hills. Watercolor and ink added twigs to the branches as well as a few brown leaves, and grasses.

Another sketched out a classic nude, then used watercolor to suggest background, adding texture and shading to the figure with conte’.

Even crayons were used, as both color and a resist for watercolor washes.

Why We Make Art

2011-12-20T18:21:00.000-05:00

This is something we artists often talk about. We can talk about it for hours and hours. I have my own thoughts on it.

Helen South, About.com/drawing&Sketching guide has written a long and thoughtful article this week for her weekly newsletter/blog that I thought was worth reading.

Why We Make Art

For me, making art is simply a part of being human. All cultures, all peoples have the "arts" in some form. Even the most "primative" (and I use that word loosely) create art. If they have nothing else to be creative on, they decorate and create what is to their eyes, beauty on themselves.

It is as if being able to create and appreciate art is one of the definitions of Human.

Miniature Show is Over

2011-12-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

It seems like I was planning forever. But the 11th Annual National Miniature Show ends Monday. After that it is time to take down, make sure those paintings that sold, and there were a lot of them this year, get to their rightful owners, and the rest returned to the artists.

For the last 6 weeks I have done little but teach my classes and take people through the show.

But all the work was worth it. Now I can relax, at least for a month!

then come January, the planning starts on next years shows!

But until then I have time to work on my own art. And decide what direction it will take.

I want to take the time to do a few of the painting project on about.com/painting, especially this month’s mixed media project.

I had not been very interested in mixed media in the past, but now that I have gained experience and insight into more media, the thought of combining them is more welcoming.

I also want to explore supports more, like film, velum and parchment.

Now is the right time to stop and reflect on where I have been to see where I have to go.

Renaissance Gallery Art: Debbie Shirley

2011-12-07T08:40:00.000-05:00

Renaissance Gallery Art: Debbie Shirley: Boxford, MA Debbie is an accomplished miniaturist. The detail shown in “ Bountiful ” certainly shows mastery of her medium. The fruit of ...

Renaissance Gallery Art: Lenore Long Lancaster-Miniature Entrant

2011-12-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

Here is a great example of an expert with colored pencil!

Renaissance Gallery Art: Lenore Long Lancaster-Miniature Entrant: Lenore Long Lancaster, Lenore is from Ridgeley, WV Lenore is working in colored pencil, a medium I have come to adore. It takes wor...

Renaissance Gallery Art: Debi Davis

2011-12-02T08:08:00.000-05:00

Renaissance Gallery Art: Debi Davis: Take-off in graphite by Debi M. Davis Raleigh, NC To so may people, artists included, pencil drawings are just for preliminary art....

Renaissance Gallery Art: Judith E Bayes and Pears

2011-12-02T08:07:00.000-05:00

Renaissance Gallery Art: Judith E Bayes and Pears: Judith E Bayes Treasure Island, FL What is it about a pear that intrigues artists? We all seem to be drawn to them. They are the funda...

Building A Believable Red in Colored Pencil

2011-11-25T00:00:00.002-05:00

Building A Believable Red -

Commanding Cardinal

Cardinals are such vivid and iconic birds that it is inevitable that many find there way into art. And many a cardinal has ruined rather than enhanced a landscape. Being the perfect foils for deep evergreen and snow, putting them in is a strong temptation. Which is how they come to ruin the scene.

So often they are painted in red. One bright and vivid red; one uniform red. And black, static, tube black. Now I have seen many a cardinal and I can tell you they are most certainly not red—or rather not simply one red.

Cardinals are a live and vibrant but also 3-dimensional. Think of them as columns with wings. From the viewers eye the red has values in it, from warm orange red to deep maroon. So to have a believable red you need to have the full range of red.

Real, believable Red

Simple colors are always wrong. Life just isn’t that way. Our vision does not work that way. We see the variations in color, values as depth. This is important, you need a full range of values from light to dark if your work is not to appear flat. This is where a tonal study of anything comes in handy. If you are working from a photo making a black and white, or more accurately, a grayscale model, will help you with this.

Opps, see what happens with red? When I used to shoot black and white film, if I photographed anything that was red, I would use a red filter, to protect its value, tone. Otherwise, red tends to come out almost black. This gives you a clue to why works that contain red barns and cardinals so often go wrong. Too dark, not enough value!

So we need to build that believable red! Starting with the underpainting

Starting to build red

If I were painting this in oils, I would start by mixing up my own reds, but these are colored pencils and I needed to review just what reads I had. When I did the underpainting, I used vermilion red, true red and Tuscan red with a touch of yellow, white and terra cotta. This was done pale. The point here was to set the stage for the following layers. With Prismacolors, the Vermilion is more orange than red. For the cardinal, this is correct.

It is important to build a really substantial red. It is not only that cardinals are a bright red, they are a dense red. So I needed to make sure that the red was both vibrant and saturated. Once I established just where the colors go, I did an overall layer of vermilion. Then I used scarlet lake. This is a more bluish red. These two layers were blended together. Using a paper stump, I rubbed lightly and quickly over the colored pencil. The friction of the stump helps to slightly melt the wax, helping the two pigments to blend. Over that I used poppy red.

I also underpainted the black mask with Tuscan red. Yes, red. Even around the eyes, the black is not absolute so building the black around the eyes and mask requires the building of color. First the Tuscan red blended that in, and over it a layer of indigo blue. Only then was I ready to lay on the black. Around the eyes, a lighter, cerulean blue as also used. It is especially important not to completely cover the blues, as these will be the highlights. You might think these colors too dark to be highlights, but color is relative. It changes by what surrounds it. In this case, both the indigo and cerulean stand out enough surrounded by black.

This build up of darks also helps define and create an intensity in the red.

Creating Depth with Colored Pencil

2011-11-21T00:00:00.001-05:00

From now on there are no overall-even layers of color. To build believable images you need to add values to the colors, and this means being aware of light and shadow.

The body of a bird is basically a cylinder or column. It has depth, and you need to be aware of this. You also have to know where your light source is, and how this affects the color and shading of the bird. What parts of the bird are in full sun? which are in shadow, what is closest to the view and what is receding? All this affects color, changing its apparent value. Applying colors that remember this help to contour the birds.

At this point I am adding light fast Prismacolor pencils to my pallet. These pencils have high ASTM ratings and resist fading. I take hours, even days to weeks creating these, and go to a lot of trouble creating my drawings. I am concerned about their longevity. I want them to last—as in “am I dead yet?” I want them to be around when I am not.

There have been performance issues with these pencils, and I find their leads even more prone to crumble than with regular pencils. I never use an electric or battery powered sharpener with them. I use a hand held sharpener made for colored pencils, and I always turn the sharpener, never the pencil. You also need to be careful not to over sharpen them. Finish the point with a sandpaper pad or emery board. They are very rich in pigment.

Layers upon layers

To really get rich colors in colored pencil you have to be prepared to lay it on. This takes many layers of pigment. You also have to watch how you put the layers on. With birds, I switch back and forth between a small, circular stroke and short directional strokes. The directional strokes go in the direction that the feather lye, while the circular strokes are the between layers, where I need to build up variation in tones.

To help the body appear rounded, I put slightly darker layers at the outside of the figure, keeping the middle tones light and a bit orangeier. I also add a little indigo blue and nior black to the back where a cardinal is naturally darker. The indigo, applied lightly with the bloom takes on a more light grayish appearance, which is natural for a cardinal, with the Nior black lending itself to the receding areas of the back. This helps to shape the bird. These same techniques and principles apply to the singer.

Each bird took about 10 layers of pencil and blending to achieve this contouring.

Working in Yellow with Colored Pencil

2011-11-18T00:00:00.003-05:00

Working on my drawing of the Meadowlark, I am going on to the focus of the drawing, and leaving the background.

Working in Yellow

For the singer, I treated the railing as more on the level with the bird itself. The background sky was done in cloud blue and slate blue, with tonings in white. Again, I did use a solvent to blend these colors together, creating that blue-gray sky I so vividly remember.

But on to the main event

The railing is very dark. It is an aged stained warped railing on one of those raised walkways over protected prairie land. So I started with a layer of white pencil. It might seem silly to put a layer of white on white paper, but it works. This creates a milky base for the darker colors I will work in on top. Then I started to grain it with light lavender. I am building color and texture here as carefully as I would in an oil painting. Maybe more carefully. Working back and forth between browns, I layer on Sienna, raw umber and more lavender. I use a paper stump to blend these together. I don’t want these melted together like the background, but to remain distinct colors as you would have naturally in aging wood.

Then I am ready to start on the bird. This is a western meadowlark. I had to post a photo on http://birding.about.com/ to make the identification; a very helpful site for nature artists.

As with the cardinal, building the correct colors and intensity of colors takes time and the use of several different colors.

Now this bird looks to be simply yellow, white and black. Again, there is nothing simple about it. The yellow is a complete yellow, very saturated, but also because of lighting and the fact that it is a real, living bird in a natural environment, there is variation is color value. The breast in the sun is bright, while that which is shaded or receding tends to be a bit cooler. So I started with lemon yellow, followed with sunburst, and slightly cooler, although not dark like an ochre. These were also blended into each other, so there are no hard edges between values.

As for the black banding, this also needs to vary from dark intense black, through raw umber and even some sienna. The black on the throat was built up with indigo blue and black, but this time without the Tuscan red underpainting. I needed to pick up other undertones on this one.

The shading on the belly presented another problem. Working on another sheet, I experimented with various ways of creating this shading. Simply using black or gray did not, of course work out well. Neither did using lavender. It just did not look real. A combination of raw umber and sage green gave the best results, after carefully blending it in. This layer was laid on very lightly and worked in as I went. By now, there were sufficient layers to allow me to do so.

As you build up colored pencil, you will tend to get a wax “bloom”. This is an almost chalky layer of wax that will separate a little when you use multiple layers of pigment. It is natural, and all artists learn to deal with it. Simply buffing it out does not harm to the artwork.

I actually used the wax bloom the next day to work in the shading, so I was able to make it look very natural, as if it is just the natural shading of a bird in the sun. You can often use what appears to be a drawback of a medium to your advantage.

Colored Pencil Drawings-The first true Layers

2011-11-11T13:32:00.000-05:00

First True Layers

For the actual colored pencil paintings I switched from watercolor pencils to professional quality fully pigmented pencils. These are wax based, and predominately Prismacolor. I really like the quality of pigments used. Even the white pencils have coverage, which if you have used colored pencils you know is not always the case.

The Singer

For the singing bird, I set out Cloud Blue, True Slate and True Blue. I want the blue-gray sky I remember. The first layer was cloud blue, followed by a layer over the top half of the painting of true slate. After blending these two together, I decided to leave off the true blue. It just was not the color I wanted.

My mat board is mounting on my drawing board, not my drawing table. Yes this allows it to be portable, but it also allows me to rotate the board as I go. This avoids any directional ness in the background, very important when you are working with more or less solid colors in the background. Using short circular strokes and rotating the board is the best way to get this that I have found.

Commanding Cardinal

I want all the focus on this close-up of the cardinal. I am afraid if I add too much background detail it will distract from the bird, and the artwork would loose its focus. Sometimes you can put too much in a work of art.

So I am simply going to put in a yellow-green moddled background. The color will support the cardinal, but there will be nothing to distract from him. I used several different greens and two yellows. Unlike oil paints, I find it is a good idea to have as many colored pencils as possible for depth of color. These are put in random swirls and carefully blended together.

I concentrated at this point on the backgrounds not the subjects. Once I had color where I wanted it, I did use solvent and a cotton swap to “melt” the background colors together. Do this carefully, as this become totally permanent and cannot be lifted after it dries.

Drawing Reference - Commanding Cardinal

2011-11-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

Commanding Cardinal

Background – Reference Photo

The cardinal, on the other hand is a frequent visitor to the bird feeder outside my living room window. He has been known to let us know when the feeder is empty. The background in the photo is out of focus leaves and lawn. I do have many pictures of said leaves and lawn and could easily add these details. But I am not going to.

So I am simply going to put in a yellow-green moddled background. The color will support the cardinal, but there will be nothing to distract from him.

Drawing Reference Photos

2011-11-05T14:38:00.000-04:00

The Singer

Background – Reference photo

The reference photos show the bird perched on a street sign, a rather bright orange yield sign. Not the most attractive setting. But the bird is a real showstopper. Not so much the setting. I also have numerous shots of a rustic railing on a nature trail. Just the railing. I had tried for hours to get a shot this bird (or its cohorts) singing with no luck, much to my frustration and hubby’s amusement. The only good thing, is that it is digital, not film.

Finally, I gave up and we drove away. Coming to the yield sign, we stopped to look at a map and decide where to go. Our windows were down, but we are quiet people. This guy lands on the sign, just outside my window and starts to sing, really sing! I don’t know if he was trying for a mate or laughing at me!

But I took the shot. I can always put him on the railing. I took enough photos of it.

The photos were taken in South Dakota, in May in the Badlands. It was absolutely gorgeous that day. The sky was incredible, a deep blue-gray, without a cloud.

Commanding Cardinal

Background – Reference Photo

So I am simply going to put in a yellow-green moddled background. The color will support the cardinal, but there will be nothing to distract from him.

Doing a Background in Colored Pencil

2011-10-29T00:38:00.000-04:00

Doing A Background In Colored Pencil

One of the problems with colored pencil is getting good coverage and saturation without creating craters and dents in the support. If you don’t get a good base cover, there is the real possibility of small white flecks ruining the overall effect of your work. These flecks are the result of the texture of the papers used for colored pencil.

All paper consists of matted fibers. For colored pencil you do need a support with enough tooth to hold many layers of colored pencil, but this tooth also is the problem: All those nooks and crannies. Working with very sharp pencils is necessary. Most CP artists sharpen their pencils every 5 to 10 minutes, with brush ups with sandpaper in between. Also holding your pencil more upright than when you write helps get into the crannies of the paper. But usually this is still not enough. So many artists spend lot of time burnished the colors to push them into the paper.

If you use enough pressure to fill these nooks and crannies on one pass, chances are you have crushed the very textures you need to hold the next layers. So creating a good background takes work. Layers and layers of pigment and hours of blending and burnishing.

Of course there are options.

Options

One is using watercolor pencils. These are water-soluble pencils with pigments similar to watercolor in a nice, neat pencil format. The advantage is, that after the first layer is laid down, a light application of water will “melt” the binder and the pigment can flow into the lower nooks and crannies. I am going to talk about using watercolor pencils in two of my recent works, "the Singer" and "Cardinal" both done with colored pencil on mat board.

Doing the Background

Using short circular strokes, to avoid any linear definitions, the background can be covered in a single color, or several colors that can be “floated” together.

When covering the background or in fact whenever I use any pencil, as I work I keep giving the pencil a small, 1/4 inch turn every few stokes. It becomes habit after a while and you don’t even think about it, but it does keep the pencil point longer than if you don’t turn it.

Once the first layer is on, it is time to use some water. I did try a new product to me, a waterpen. You fill it up like an old fashioned fountain pen, then squeeze to release a few drops of water. The tip is a long nylon brush. I thought it would be perfect for this, but to work I will need to practice. I bought a rather small one, with a medium tip at .12mm. This is fine for small detail, but not really good to float the background. I can see it being good for watercolor sketching, but not for this. I had trouble avoiding splotches and hard edges in the sky for the singing bird, not at all what I wanted.

I quickly went back to my watercolor flat brush. It did a great job with the yellow background of the cardinal. There the background was smooth. It quickly dried so I could apply another layer of watercolor pencil, adding splotches of green. With a filbert brush, I was able to work the green in smoothly with the background.

[Caution: when you use watercolor pencil, or any water-soluble medium, you have to remember you will be adding water]

Water + Paper = warping and buckling.

So use caution

Apply only as much water as you really need. Let dry completely between layers. Make sure you are using a support that can handle this. #140 watercolor paper, or thicker pastel boards, etc. also consider mounting the paper as you would for watercolor]

I am using heavy white mat board so I did not tape it down, but simply clamped it to my drawing board. I was very careful in the amount of water used to minimize and buckling. I did float some of the color, but only in a very controlled area. And I did the background in two layers. Since I did not mean to retain any white, masking was not necessary. But if you do need to retain white, consider different types of masking.

These layers are to establish the background and fill in the blanks only. They are not meant to be the final layer, so absolute saturation is not necessary. I will build up the background as I go.

Note: watercolor pencils are not the only way to cover the background. You can also use Inktense pencils by Derwent. These have great coverage, but as the name implies, they are ink and once dried they are permanent. One advantage of the watercolor pencils is that they are not permanent. If you should happen to get some color where you don’t want it, it is a bit easier to “float” the color off. Like all watercolors, the more water you use, the less saturation. So you can wet and blot up mistakes, even after they have dried. You cannot do this with Inktense. You can also do the underpainting with standard, wax-based based pencils and then use a solvent to melt the wax and float the color. You will get much more saturation this way than with watercolor pencils, but again, mistakes are really hard to correct. So you can use the disadvantage of watercolor pencils, that they are not permanent to your advantage.

{Know your products. Know the pros and cons and use them to your advantage. Sometimes you choose your tools because of the cons rather than the pros.}

Solid backgrounds are the hardest to do and solid backgrounds in colored pencil are especially hard. The simple wear on the tips of the pencils make setting down a solid uniform layer of color difficult. While you can blend to a certain extent, taking the time to lay down the color as evenly as possible is a time consuming process. If your application is hurried and not careful your background will make all your hard work look amateurish and a waste of time.

Erasable Colored Pencils –

2011-10-24T00:17:00.000-04:00

Erasable Colored Pencils –

These are really good for getting down your basic shapes and ideas without using graphite pencils, carbon or other transfer papers. These pencils allow you to draw with colored pencil. To think with them. Because they are actually erasable you can improve your composition and true shapes without extensive lifting and scraping, or contaminating your surface with graphite.

They tend to be a bit harder than Professional Colored Pencils, more like what you were given as a child, but became frustrated with. But unlike those, you can erase these. They take a point very well, which does improve on the drawing, but you also have to be a bit careful. A little too much pressure, and you can dent the paper/support surface. They are also a bit lighter in saturation when you use light pressure, but you would expect this.

Drawing in Pencil of
the Singer

I draw a lot of wild life, most of it rather small, so I find the light gray, more a taupe-y color, very useful in defining basic outlines.

Doing the underpainting in the erasable is also a plus, you can block in the basic shapes and see if the design is really working. If it needs adjustment, you can erase rather than having to abandon it and start again. Once the objects are lightly blocked in it is much easier to check your drawing.

Drawing and Underpainting of The Cardinal

Colored Pencils

2011-10-17T12:03:00.000-04:00

I love colored pencils. Lets be honest, I love pencils, colored or otherwise.

Colored pencils have changed over the years. They have gone beyond those hard, lightly colored things we used as children. What has been happening with colored pencils thought is not short of being amazing. Pencil manufacturers have worked diligently to create pencils that are quality art tools.

Still there is a stigma to using them. Because colored pencils, like crayons are art supplies given to children, many artist and art critics dismiss them as child’s play. This is unfair, because many artists are missing some fantastic artistic experiences. This in general is how many view anything drawn. It is seen as preliminary, not serious artwork. This is prep work for serious art, not artwork in and of itself.

Both artists and art organizations are working to overcome this perception. Colored Pencil Society of America

American Artist Drawing

Colored Pencils

How have they changed?

There are now many, many options for colored pencils. Each year a new brand comes out, new colors or a new format. One of the drawbacks of color pencil is that they are hard to make corrections. To get around this, a lot of CP artists do their layout drawings in graphite, then use transfer paper to get the basic outlines on the paper. Or they draw directly on the paper with graphite. Problem with this is that graphite and wax-based colored pencils don’t really like each other. You have to lighten the graphite lines a lot, and then hope you are not left with remnants that contaminate the colored pencil later.

Last year, with the recommendation of other artists in CPSA, I tried erasable colored pencils. Yes, erasable. Prismacolor has this great product, Col-Erase. I got a set of 24 to try out.

prismacolor

These are erasable colored pencils. Really. So erasable they come with erasers on the tips, like our familiar #2 pencils. Now you can do the initial drawing with colored pencil, eliminating any need to use graphite.

So how do they work?

Well, I am doing a couple of miniature drawings for the 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition. I will use my Col-Erase for the layout and first underpainting of two of them. Come along and see what you think.

Preliminary Sketches And True Shapes

2011-10-06T23:39:00.000-04:00

Preliminary sketches are just that, preliminary. You can concentrate on the overview, locating the major lights and darks, or you can isolate the objects/subjects you are interest in drawing. Preliminary sketches let you explore the details and analysis what you are really seeing. They can and should do a lot of things. Any really good work of art should have several preliminary sketches.

It is ok when you are out to do sketches of single objects. It is ok to do general landscapes. Sketches should be the way you explore the world around you, so be free with them. By sketching often, you can quickly come to understand how things really work.

Concentrate On That Object

When you have a subject that really interests you, concentrate on that. Draw it from many angles. Simplify it. Take it apart. Look for the basic shapes that make up that object.

Using A Photo Reference

This is true, even when using a photo reference. Or especially when using a photo reference. Photos can be misleading. Take the time to really explore what you are looking at. Don’t just jump into drawing it. Think. Art happens in the head, not on the paper. The paper just shows the results.

When using a photo reference, make a black and white copy of it. In fact, make several. Use a copy machine or print it from your computer on common paper, not good photo paper. These are working copies, not art. When you make your copies, lighten and darken the copy. Lighten the copy and even enlarging it will reveal details in the shadows that might be hard to see.

I tend to use my own digital photography for reference, so I have the files to play around with. Also I don't have to worry about copyright.

[note: never, ever work on the original file. Always do a “save as” and rename the file. Me, I put work at the beginning so I know this is the file to play with.]

With my software, I have several options to convert a photo to grayscale. (this is what you are actually doing, converting to true black and white is not what you want to do!)Usually I use the desaturate option, as this allows me to play with contrast. You will need to learn what is best with the software you have.

True Shapes

With these b&w copies, you are ready to work out construction problems. Here I am not talking about layout and composition, but how you are going to draw individual objects. One reason I like to make the copies of my references is that I can draw right on them. This is helpful in finding the true shape of something.

“I can see the shape” you say, but do you really? How many times have you drawn a vase, then look back at your still life and find you have not drawn that vase? Not so easy, is it?

Ok now stop and think about drawing a bird or a squirrel. Looks can be deceiving! Try it, get a photo of a common bird or squirrel, then try and find the edges. Most photos tend to lose the details in shadows.

So we have the black and whites. Here the lighter versions will be helpful. Draw the true shape of things. I like to use tracing paper for this. Lightly draw around the actual edges. Now look. Surprised? They are fatter/leaner than you thought. Using tracing paper isolates the shape from the rest of the context in the photo. It isolates it from distracting patterns and shadows. You will find this especially true with wildlife. Nature plans it this way. Remember their patterns are supposed to make it difficult to see their true outlines. It is a survival thing. Once you have the true shapes, it is easier to transfer this to your drawing.

Workshop Final

2011-09-30T14:05:00.000-04:00

Workshop, was it worth it?

Now a week after the last day of my workshop, I think about the experience. Was it worth it?

Dollar wise, probably not. I doubt very much that I will sell that much more artwork to make up for the cost. Not just of the workshop, but of travel expenses, lodging, meal, etc.

But was it worth it?

I gained a lot of knowledge I would not have gotten any other way. Yes, I could have simply read Jane Jones's book. But would I have gotten it? I don't think so. While Jane does write a good book, and I did eventually buy it, (loads of technical info there) I don't think if I had simply gotten the book and tried it on my own I would have gotten the essence of Jane's methods.

See Jane's Book Here

You get something special communicating face to face that you don't get by reading in isolation. It is the give and take of vocal communication that stimulates learning. And there is the ability to ask questions that you have at a workshop along with demonstrations that go beyond pictures in a book. You also get to know them. You cannot over emphasis the importance of getting to know another artist.

One of the really great learning tools you get at a workshop is other people. They might ask the questions you have, but they ask in another way. Of course, they do think of things you haven’t. This give and take between human beings is what makes workshops so rewarding. You find you are not the only one interested in something, or who have made that mistake! You can learn the error of logic. While something might seem like a good idea, it just doesn’t work. These stories are often funny, but oh they do tell it like it is!

There is comradely at workshops. Making friends of fellow artists who either share you views or give you another way of looking at something.

Instructor

A good instructor is vital to the success of a good workshop. If you are going to learn something, make progress and accomplish anything at a workshop you need an instructor who has something to say, and knows how to say it. You need an instructor who knows how to set realistic goals for the allotted time frame. Someone who is interesting in more than selling their book and or supplies. But of equal importance are other participants.

“ By iron, iron itself is sharpened. So one man sharpens the face of another”.~ Proverbs 27:17

Don’t worry, I am not going to get preachy, but it is true. We sharpen one another when we work together, show each other how we get along and try each other’s techniques. Even if we don’t adopt them, we sharpen our own skill and more importantly, sharpen our minds. Artists need one another. We need this exchange of encouragement. Yes we get accolades from non-artist, but it does not mean the same as when we get praise or even criticism from other artists. Just by being there and being an active participant, we each enriched the experience for all who came.

So, was it worth it?

Was the workshop that I traveled to so far for, spent so much time and money at worth it? To me,

Yes.

Day Five: Last day of the Workshop

2011-09-24T17:41:00.000-04:00

Friday

And more rain. My paintings, of course, are still wet. Turned the lamps on as soon as I got in, but I don’t know if will get anything done.

This is the last day of the workshop. We will review what we have learned, show each other our paintings, and wind things up. My first painting is still to wet to work on, but I can bring my other two up a stage.

Today we are learning how to put those final touches that raise the level of a painting from good to great. Today we learn to blush.

Just a little something about my fellow workshop attendees. We came from all across the country, Florida to California, a mixed bag of ladies. Young, old and in between. We had one thing in common, a love of art and the desire to do it better. Now we have another bond, this wonderful workshop that pushed all of us, made us grow (a painful process) but also taughts us we can do it.

Fourth Day of Cheap Joe's Glazing Workshop

2011-09-23T22:56:00.000-04:00

I am learning so much stuff my head might explode.

Again the day is overcast, and rain is in the forecast, but just about all of us came in as early as we could. Today is the first day any of us feel that we are not just following directions, but getting it.

I look at my 3 paintings and see many, many problems. But more importantly, I can see where I went wrong. Not just that they are wrong, but where they went wrong.

I am still not giving the underpainting enough emphasis. I have always done basic underpainting. At least to tone the canvas, and frequently block in the major features of a painting, but for glazing to really work, the underpainting is very important.

Tomorrow is the last day, and itis only half a day, so we all knew that we needed to get as much out of today as we could. When I left today, I had 3 wet paintings, and only one lamp to leave them under!

It should be ok. The glazing layers are drying faster than the underpaintings did. I got several layers of glazing on today. I have to work on the backgrounds of two of them, but that I can do at home. It is the glazing process that is important that I learn.

Workshop Day Three

2011-09-22T18:58:00.000-04:00

Today dawned bright and early. Well, it dawned, but not bright. I woke up to rain, lots and lots of rain! Good thing I had brought an umbrella, unfortunately, I left it in the car. Oh well, I won’t melt.

It has been one of those weeks, though. Sunday we all had trouble getting her with the dense fog, Monday was damp and overcast. Tuesday so far was the best day. At least there were occasionally patches of sunshine; small, put patches.

Today we watched paint dry. Only artists would do that! We are running into a problem with getting the paint to dry. Even with the lamps and using a drying agent, paintings are slow to dry. It is the humidity.

But we did get to at least start glazing, which is amazing! I have now realized that the key to this is using very small amounts of paint. At least 1/2 what you think you will need, but often much less. You need to almost drybrush the underpainting. And each glaze layer is equally light.

Workshops at Cheap Joe's

While we used white liberally in the underpaint, once you start glazing it is verboten!

This is what gives such Luminosity to the works of the great northern masters.

One thing I haven’t mentioned is how nice it is to take a workshop at Cheap Joes’s. They have a purpose built room. If anyone has ever taken a workshop in a non-art room, you can appreciate how nice it is to be in a real studio. Each person has a table with easel. There is good lighting, sinks, and an area for demonstrations.

The staff here also treats you nicely. Monday morning staff as on hand to welcome each person to the workshop, and HELP you carry your stuff in. boy, is that nice. Since it is a purpose built area, used only for workshops, you can leave your stuff overnight in the room. It is locked up at night and in the morning you can simply go to your table and start working. Also there is coffee.

Day Two of my Workshop at Cheap Joe’s

2011-09-21T20:01:00.000-04:00

Well today did not go too badly. Although we had put our work under lamps to speed drying, with all the humidity, many were still tacking, including mine. I think I used a bit too much paint for the underpainting. The underpainting should be a thin layer. We used a drying agent, Japan drier simply because it is a workshop, and we need to speed things up. It is not necessary to do this ordinarily.

But we did make progress with a second painting, doing the underpainting. Hopefully, tomorrow we can start the actually glazing.

Boone Inn, Boone, NC

I have learned a lot about transparent paint today. My head is whirling with all the stuff Mrs. Jones is trying to stuff into it. It is a tight fit, however and I don’t know how much will actually stick.

Today Cheap Joe’s arranged a group dinner at a local restaurant, The Boone Inn, I went and had a great time getting to know some of the staff of Cheap Joe’s and fellow artists. We are an interesting bunch of people!

But I really have to rest up for tomorrow. This workshop stuff is a lot of work!

Workshop Day One

2011-09-19T23:16:00.011-04:00

Monday Morning.

This morning the fog was gone, mostly, so bright and early I traveled down to Cheap Joe’s for the first day of my workshop. It was interesting to see who all came. There are 12 people in the workshop, all women! There was one man signed up, but never showed. Outnumbered?

Jane Jones is the woman who is leading it. She is a floral artist who specializes in realism and glazing techniques. I for one felt uncertain about this workshop. Even though this is something I have always wanted to learn more about, I am totally inexperienced with this, and unsure of myself. Jane's Website

Jane runs a tight ship. She knows what she wants to teach, and have enough experience to know what to focus on and what shortcuts she needs to take to get things done in the short time we have.

The major problem we need to overcome is the slow drying time of oils. To deal with this we used a drying agent, and lamps to speed curing of the paint.

We did start by toning the work surface. Basically we took the white off (something I am used to) with a thin coating of burnt sienna on two small supports and payne’s gray. Then while those were drying up, we traced the basic layouts for 3 works.

One interesting thing, during the opening orientation, we had to read a copyright statement and sign an agreement not to use the images given out in this workshop to make money, or use the work for shows. It was simple, straightforward and she was right. Also, no photos, so no photos of the workshop itself.

There could be no misunderstanding; she explained it simply and completely.

There was minor confusion about the lamps we were to bring. They are to help cure the paintings, to speed things up, but most new lamps do not take the needed 100 watt bulbs. I ended up buying a trouble lamp at the hardware store. A few people have older lamps or did find some on the internet. So between us and the staff of Cheap Joe’s we came up with enough lamps to speed the setting up of all supports.

We actually started the underpainting of one of the works in the afternoon. We painted until 5:30. when we left, I think we all were tired!

Fogged In- Workshop 2011

2011-09-18T20:58:00.000-04:00

Painting Workshop +1 Day

I am taking a workshop in Oil Painting at Cheap Joe's in Boone, NC. This is an anniversary present from my hubby. We had a rough year this year, and he thought I deserved it as well as needed it. I have been working hard and feel simply wore to the bone artistically. So I did not argue with him! Now Boone is a really pretty place. It is high in the mountain of western North Carolina. I have been here before and am looking forward to the workshop tomorrow. I was also looking forward to the drive through the mountains.

Sunday dawned bright and clear? Well, Sunday dawned, sort of. There was a definite ting of pink in the early sky, which should have warned me. I got up real early, intending to take my time heading south and enjoy the scenery. Stopped to top up the tank and get a coffee and hit the highway.

First 2 hours were mostly pleasant and mostly clear. Although the sky was overcast it was clear driving.

By the time I stopped for breakfast, it was getting misty. I planned to take the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of the express highway, but started to wonder if that it was going to be clear enough. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs north and south along the top ridge of the Allegany Mountains. It is one of the most unique National Parks, being a highway with some of the best views in the eastern US.

When I got to the turnoff for it, it seemed to brighten so I entered. Then I hit the fog. It seemed each time I came out of the woods and came up to a scenic overlook I drove into increasingly dense fog. So much for beautiful views and great photography! There were times I drove well below the speed limit for the Parkway, which is 45 mph. I had my lights on and flashers going. Coming up upon bikers was actually a little scary. Fortunately most of the bikers had lights and flashers on their bikes. I really did miss the spectacular views to be seen there. Hopefully, by Friday the sky will have cleared and I can take advantage of the views on the way home.

I stopped at the country store, got some hot coffee, (it had also gotten very cold) and drove straight but slowly to the turn off for Boone and the hotel.

Well, I checked in early. The people at the Best Western, Blue Ridge were very welcoming. I have a lovely room. As the afternoon progress, the weather got worse. Made me glad I had gotten in early. By 3:00 we were completely fogged in. the grocery tore across the street has a great deli, and I got a salad for dinner. I think I will go and use the pool and get an early night.

I will be keeping in touch. the hotel has a great work space and good internet connections, so I will be able to log on after each day.

Packing Art

2011-09-16T18:05:00.000-04:00

Packing Paintings

Whether for a show or to private person, from time to time we need to entrust our artwork to others. It is even worse when we need to ship it. For most of us, it is scary and confusing.

So how do we do it?

Well that depends on what it is. How you prepare a painted canvas might not be the same for a photograph. Also, it matters why you are shipping the piece.

Works on Paper

For works on paper, drawings and such, you might consider shipping it unmounted and unframed. If it is a non-ridged paper, it could ship quite well in a mailing tube. These are actually for mailing drawings. Most are large enough to allow you to soft-roll the pages up, and insert into the tube without damaging the artwork. This would work for many mediums as long as the paper was flexible enough. For the really heavy weight papers, however, rolling is not an option.

In that case, your best bet is to dry-mount and ship in a protective envelope. This would be placed in a rigid packing envelope. These are available from shipping companies and art supply houses. Many office supply stores will also have them. Most are for shipping large photographs. These envelopes will be clearly marked, “Do not bend”. I would make sure any company I was shipping with would clearly honor this. Make sure the mat is acid free, and expect the recipient to use this mat in the final mounting and framing.

For a large piece even on paper, I prefer a shallow box to the shipping envelopes, but this is a matter for each person to decide.

If this is a gift, most major art supply chains will allow you go include a gift certificate for framing at the destination. This is much easier and cheaper than having it framed and then shipping it.

For Shows

When you are shipping to a show, you will be expected to ship work fully mounted and ready to hang, and this would include glazing if needed. Please avoid shipping even framed work under glass. Glass is fragile and can break, even if the package is not dropped. severe temperature swings can cause cracking. So there is always a danger when shipping work under glass of it breaking. Not only is it dangerous to the person unpacking the artwork, it can also damage the artwork itself. Nothing would be more disheartening than to have your artwork unavailable for the show because a piece of glass punctured it. Instead, when mounting work that needs to be protected by glazing opt for acrylic glazing. It is not only safer; it weights less and so will save you money in the shipping. Most of the good professional framers offer an affordable range of acrylic glazing for this. Many prospectuses now specify acrylic glazing for all submitted artwork instead of glass.

Of course, acrylic glazing is more prone to glare when photographed, but that is the show’s problem, not yours. In any case, you have already photographed it prior to mounting and framing, haven't you? and previously submitted a slide or digital file for juroring, which would cover any problem.

For open entry shows, such as our Miniature Exhibition, we do ask for the artwork to be shipped instead of files, but again, photographing the work is our problem not yours, but if you wanted to send a digital file along, well I would not object!

Back to Packing

Paintings that do not require glazing, such as acrylic and oil paintings can also be safely shipped. I always use protective cardboard corners for this, similar to those you see on ready-made frames. These are simple to make, using one of these corners for a template. They can be made from any cardboard, even cereal boxes, although I prefer a thicker cardboard than tag board. I like to make mine from the flaps of boxes. While they are bendable enough, they offer real protection to the corners of canvases and frames. You just have to remember to make them wide enough for the canvas and frame, if any.

Shipping framed work is a little simpler than shipping unmounted canvas panels. The frame itself offers some protection. The corners should be protected with cardboard corners. These can be recycled from frame purchases, or home made. But sturdy cardboard corners are a must. They also provide a platform from which to protect the rest of the artwork. You can tape pieces of cardboard to cover both the front and the back to these corners, not touching the actual artwork, creating an air pocket around it. Then en envelope of bubble wrap will protect the artwork when it is slipped into the shipping crate. Use several layers of bubble wrap instead of packing peanuts when shipping to a show. Most shows have outlawed packing peanuts anyway, as they create a mess, are actually hard to keep track of, and make return shipping difficult. So no packing peanuts to exhibitions.

If you are shipping to family, friends or clients, that is a different matter. But still, don’t let the peanuts touch the art! They will tend to stick to oil paintings that have not fully cured, and anything younger than 2 years is not fully cured!

When shipping more than one painting/artwork, you will want to put them all in the same box. Try getting panels of protective foam board for this. How thick will depend on the size of the artwork, but for most pieces, between 1 and 2 inches will be enough. Check with your shipper for this.

We see a lot of boxes at The Renaissance Art Gallery. The best one was last year. This box had a lot of thought put into it and was very well designed. It offered great protection for the artwork, was easy to use and made the return shipping easy. The box was lined with foam sheeting. This foam comes in sheets, and the kind used was similar to the oasis used in floral arrangements. It is easy to cut to size and shape. A piece was cut to the size of the bottom. Then sides were cut, with notches to hold dividing panels for each piece of art. These panels slide securely into the sides. Then the artwork was tucked into bubble wrap envelops, and slipped into slots. Paperwork also fit into a lot, then a top piece slipped securely on top. Box could be closed and everything was secure.

Before you seal that box, make sure all the needed paper work is there. Entry fees, entry registration, return label, etc. Also include a packing list, listing what art is in the box, etc. Yes your artwork is labeled, but a second list helps. Also, double check, no triple check the shipping address. Do not assume it is the same as the organization sponsoring the show, it often is not. All shows go to great lengths to make sure the shipping location is a secure location and that someone will be available to receive it. So read the prospectus and make sure you have the right address.

Mark your Calendar

Ship early enough to make sure the work will arrive is there is some delay. Nothing is more disheartening than to receive work the day after judging, and this has happened. Allow a reasonable amount of time for any unsold work to be returned after the show ends before calling to check up on it. Keep a duplicate of any paperwork and the packing list just in case and include the show dates so you will know when to expect it.

Insurance

Insurance is typically the reasonability of the artist both coming and going. This should be included in the shipping costs, and noted on the return label. And do insure you artwork. It is worth it.

Calendars

2011-09-08T20:56:00.000-04:00

Its that time of year again. Time for the new calendar for the new year. This always coincides with the new school year, which I am sure in not a coincidence. So most of us will be in the market for calendars. Yes, a lot of us now keep thing on our I-pads and smart phones, but not everyone and we still like to have wall calendars or calendars on our desktops.

So why so many calendars? It seems that every store will have them. Not just the stationary and office supply stores, but grocery stores, craft stores, discount and hardware stores. Racks and racks of calendars, and many businesses still send out promotional calendars, it’s a great good-will building gift, a free calendar. But really, why so many? Do they have different date? No, all of them will have the same 12 months, in the same order and with the same spelling. So why so many?

Art

Yes the artwork. People will choose which ones have for them the most pleasing pictures. Whether they are kitties or lions, waves crashing into shores or birds flying in serene skies, it is the artwork that makes them different. And this is how we chose them, by the artwork.

We are all art lovers. Yes, each and every one of us. And we all like to collect art. Most people don’t collect original art because they don’t know they are art lovers and art collectors.

Yes, it is true! Most people are unknowing art collectors.

Everyone is influenced by art by what they see as art. We select things to buy not only by our needs but also by how it looks, its aesthetics. When we shop for toasters, yes we want something to brown bread, but often the final selection is not on quality of the toast but by how it looks, which toaster will look better sitting on our counter. At that point, we are buying a piece of sculpture as much as a toaster. All things being equal, we will buy the “pretty” one. Of course, our definition of pretty will vary. Some like the nice shining sleek model. Some will choose another simply because it is red. But we will make our final decision on looks, not performance.

Design

Things are designed. Yes, everything; and a lot of thought and effort go into these designs. Packaging is a multi-million dollar business and hundreds of designers spend their lives designing packages and packaging. Strength and durability will be married with desirability. They will be designed to make you want to take them off the shelf.

Everything is designed to make it better than it has to be. To make it more pleasing to the eye, or touch or smell. To enhance our lives. We as humans have a need for this. Simply providing bleak shelter is not enough, that shelter must be attractive to us as well. We have entire industries devoted to making our homes better, more appealing.

And while we all know that while looks do not necessarily make something perform better, it makes no difference. We still make selection based on how things look. Stainless steel appliances cost more than plan white, but they sure look cool!

Free Art Supplies

2011-08-26T15:36:00.000-04:00

I love free art supplies. Art is expensive. Getting stuff free from favorite art material companies is great! You get to try new products without going to the store or shopping on line and buying blind.

So the idea of getting a free sample from a top art material company sounds appealing.

Inktense Block

When it comes to Derwent products, I am a repeat offender, so I had seen ads and lead-ins for this product. I have used Inktense water-soluble pencils successfully on a number of projects. The concept of a block of intense color is appealing to anyone who has had to cover a large area with an even, saturated coating of pigment.

Wasn’t long before a nice big square of blue came in the mail

Now To Try It

As I said, I do have Inktense pencils. You can use them dry, you can use them wet, you can use them dry on wet, wet on wet. Very versatile pencils. I enjoy drawing, and an Inktense pencil dipped in water is a fine drawing tool. And wet, these are very blendable. When dry, however they are permanent, so working over them even with another damp layer will not move the ink. This is different from using traditional watercolors in an underlayer.

But as with all pencils, covering large swatches can be tedious, and often less than satisfactory. You want to get good coverage, even in the nooks and crannies of fine art paper, but you want to avoid denting the paper, and losing that fine texture. How many times have you tried to cover the background only to end up with small white “flakes” all over the background? The water-soluble pencils does make this easier, as you can dampen the background and scrub in the color, but you still have to contend with the finer lines made with a pencil.

I have used pencils, but they are still pencils and not the ideal solution.

Using the Intense Block

Using the block.

Using the square block is similar in feeling to using a conte’ crayon. It handles much the same. You can use the broad side to cover large areas. For this trial I used watercolor paper instead of pastel or charcoal paper.

I used the blue block to color large areas of background in a tint. I did try to color everything except what I wanted to remain white. I did not use a frisket, as this is just a trail and I mostly wanted to see how the block performed.

After covering the large areas I used a stiff, damp brush to work the Inktense colors into the paper. I used both the block and my pencils to see how the block performed verses the pencils. I went in small circles to work the pigment into the paper.

I wet the background and “floated the color on to get just a tint on the area behind the floral arrangement I was going to draw. Here, I had to use more pencil than block, and can see how the broad edge of the block would make a much more satisfactory background. I had trouble scrubbing out the enviable lines of the pencils. Mostly at this point I wanted to get the “white” off the background of the picture.

Since the paper was wet, I had to let it dry at this point. While it was wet, I did work in some more pigment on the hydrangeas.

Working with the single ink block let me see just how different a medium this can be. I tend to think of the Inktense pencils as another colored pencil, one that makes saturating a drawing easier, but essentially a pencil. These blocks are sticks of color, water-soluble, but of concentrated pigments that allows a heavier hand in application. You do have to work quickly when wet and with concentration. I got a phone call during the background wash, and I did not get it entirety scrubbed out as I would have wished. Unlike watercolors, once it is set, it is set. Think INK this can be a bad thing at times, but overall, it gives a versatility to working that you don’t get with a watercolor pencil or stick. It does make it easier to work over with standard colored pencils. You can even work over it “wet” and the underlayer stays put.

Putting on your first Show part 4: the Reception

2011-08-09T14:37:00.006-04:00

All the pieces should now be in place!

You have worked hard and now the show is coming together. All the pieces should be fitting together. Last step, is the opening reception or the meet and greet!

Having an Opening

Depending on where and when you are displaying your work, you might want to have a little meet-and-greet with the public. The most successful shows do have a reception. For art galleries this is standard. So depending on your venue, you should plan on a reception near the opening date of your show.

Reporter interviewing guess at reception.

Even offices often have a lobby reception when they have artists in. This can be co-coordinated with the public relations department, or owner in a small office for an after-hours party. Coffee houses will often have a small party for new artists, but restaurants can be a little difficult for this. But you will find that your show will be more successful if there is a way for you to interact with people viewing it. For restaurants, having a night that they can say the artist will be present will make it more successful for both of you.

Eat Drink And Be Merry

The refreshment table should be neat and clean

What exactly should be involved? Something simple is called for. The emphasis is on the art, not the refreshments, but that does not mean the refreshments are unimportant. Keep it simple keep it relatively mess free and have lots of it. Finger foods that are easy to eat and hold are what is called for. Crackers and cheese are good stand bys, as are chips and dips, but with any dip, be a bit cautious. You don’t want something really drippy. While salsas are popular, most are drippy. So go easy on them. Cake is fine, but make sure you have time to cut it before hand. Cup cakes and mini muffins usually work better, the smaller the better. Bit size is the way to go. Finger sandwiches are really good, but unless you really enjoy making these, they can be a bit tedious. Cocktail rye is perfect along with easily spread-able spreads. Easy spread-ables! If they are too chunky and awkward people become uncomfortable with it, and that can have a negative reflection on the show. Sounds silly, but it is true. Easy things. Have many drinks; Coffee, tea, cold things in a chest of ice. Small serving drinks are usually easier on everyone than large 2 litter bottles that must be poured. And there is not waste later if all are not drunk up. If possible, ask a friend to be in charge of this. Receptions can easily become overwhelming and crowded. Having someone in charge is really necessary. Have paper plates, napkins, drink cups, etc. and have a good-sized waste can. And the table should be neat and presentable. A nice table cloth, neatly stacked plates, etc.

If you are having an opening in a coffee house or restaurant, you want to be a little backwards on what is served free. Coffee houses and restaurants are in the business to sell food, and usually they are having you in for little or no pay. So do not backhand them. I know one artist who brought in several carafes of coffee so his guests would not have to buy coffee from the shop owner. This is not good! She was very disgruntled to have a full restaurant and not sell but cups of coffee for the entire night! Yes, you can have a small tray of finger foods, but this was a slam on the owner who allowed the artist to display his work for nothing, she did not even take a commission from sales. So openly telling his family and friends not to patronize that coffee house was insulting.

People come to see the art.

Extend the Invitation

Go over what to expect at the reception with the venue. Each place has its own “rules” and expectations.

If the venue is a gallery, they will have established customs for this, and can guide you. Make sure you add to the reception by having your own list of people to invite. And invite everyone! This is a case where the more the merrier!

All For Sale and Sale for All

You art is most likely for sale. So prices should be either on the tags for each piece for in a catalog. Where this is displayed will depend on the policies of the venue. But there should be clear information on this. Most states require that you collect sales tax, and many towns or counties now have their own sales tax. Make sure you understand this and are prepared. Many states have sales tax charts you can download.

Handling Sales

At the reception, you should not handle the sales. There should be a helper whose job this is. Make sure you have a 3 sheet sales book. And make sure the sales person understand just how to handle this. Sales receipts are important documents. Receptions can get quite hectic, so make sure everyone knows what to do.

Have a 3-sheet book. You can get these at office supply stores. Top sheet stays in the book. Yellow or second copy is for the patron. Third or pink sheet is for the venue. The sales receipt should be filled out completely, with name, address, etc. This information will pay off in the long run. You really want to know who is buying your work. And make sure the person who is supposed to handle this understands it. My first show, my husband was to do this, but he had a great time with everyone and simply used the first sheet for the first sale, the next sheet for the next, etc, and did not use the 3 pages right. It did not matter to him, and afterwards, I had no records of what was sold or for how much. The only written copy was giving to each person as a receipt. It was very discouraging. It was not important to him, it was only my hobby, and he had a great time when he did not expect to enjoy himself. Grudging help is no help. This is where having someone who understands business and how important this is to you is really important. It is really hard to reconstruct afterwards!

Receptions can get quite busy!

Tagging Sales

If the venue requires that artwork remain on the walls for the length of the show, make sure you have sold tags. Nothing encourages sales like other people buying it. When that first sold tag goes up, it can start a feeding frenzy. People seem to suddenly realize that they can buy this stuff. You would think the presence of prices would clue them in, but such is not the case. It is like a light bulb goes off! I have see this happen time after time. When the first sale goes thought, people start thinking seriously of buying. In the art world most people are sheep and like to follow others. So have those tags ready. And sold should be in bright read letters. Nothing subtle here!

If people are going to be taking the artwork home as they buy, so much the better! Nothing encourages sales like things coming down from the walls. Know if the place wants you to replace art as you go, but do not replace it at the reception. empty spaces speak for themselves! wait a week before restocking!

Dress the Part

Press Comes to visit too!

This might sound silly, but please, dress the part. This is a reception highlighting your work and your art and you should be presentable. I don’t care what the stereotype of the mad artist is, but respect yourself and your guests. Dress the part. You are an important player here and neat clean dress is appropriate. Shower and if you are male, shave. You don’t have to dress fancy, but please be clean! No need to go the route of black tie and tails, but you should be able to put together a nice outfit. Make sure it fits. Too tight and too sexy detracts from the artwork. Expect the press and expect to have your photo taken. This is your first show, and how you present yourself will live forever in those pictures! Remember that publicity you worked so hard for, Now it pays off!

Relax

Relax and enjoy the reception. If you have done your homework, it should be an enjoyable experience. Smooze with everyone. They want to like your work.

Putting on Your First Show Part 3 Publicity

2011-08-01T12:42:00.000-04:00

Build a better mouse trap and the world will bet a path to your door……..

…………………………………..not if they don’t know about it.

Which brings us to another painful topic,

Publicity

Publicity is not a four-letter word! And it is not only necessary for a successful show it is vital!

Getting the word out

Your artwork is unique but you have to tell people just what it is that makes you unique and why they should care. So you need to get some publicity.

There are a not of way to do this. One of the most effective is still print. People relate to art and artists they see in local newspapers. These are their neighbors. It feels friendly.

Newspapers

Local Papers cover local people

Depending on where you live, it can be easy-difficult to get. If you are in a major market, submit the press release to the big papers, but also, to any local papers. Local papers will bring out local people; just who you want.

But don’t dismiss the big guys. They might surprise you, especially if you are home-grown. People love to read about people in their communities who are doing things. To try and contact the feature-writers and editors of all local papers. If you are not sure how, go to your library and talk to the Liberians. Also, ask other artist for their contacts. They might be able to pass along some information about you and your show, which will mean more to the reporters. Do this enough in advance that they can do a story on you and your show.

And think of it this way, they have to write about something, it might as well be you!

Most of
Us are shy

Shy

Yes, most of us tend to be shy. But grit your teeth and do it. I was shocked when the first reporter I tentatively contacted responded. Not only responded, but met me for an interview, came over and photographed me working, and gave me advice on photographing my work! A nice feature article on the show and me really helped to make my first show a success!

It took me a while before I got up enough nerve to contact TV and radio, and I am sorry I waited so long! Most TV stations have news desks, and often need short feel-good stories for the weekend. A nice 2-minute spot on the local guy who makes art out of tin cans, etc is often just what they need. So supply that need! These contacts can lead to more.

After a few years and meeting a number of reporters, when an art show came to town and a local feature writer was told to do a story on it, she contacted me to find out just who this guy was and why he was important. So I got a nice quote about that artist and mention for me and for my gallery. Let them begin to think of you as their go to guy for art.

Don’t underestimate yourself

You are interesting, or at least your art is. Supply the press with your bio, artist statement and good clear photos of your work. If you have a good camera, and can create a cd with digital files of selected work, this is a good thing. I will include a doc with the bio, statement and high-resolution photos of my work. This can work to your advantage because conditions might not be good to photography the work in the gallery or shop. They will most likely want a photo of you with your work, but clear photos they can use in print help.

Press Release

Press Release

You will need to write a press release. Scary? Yes, but you can do it. A simple letter stating that you will be opening an art show at…… on….. Cover the who, what, when and how. Include contact information, phone number, e-mail, etc. You can include examples of your work, but they should be very good photos! Not snapshot with your cell phone. The advantages of a gallery show is that the gallery generally knows how to do this. A shop, office or coffee house will not.

So Learn. This is not hard, it just takes time and determination. And Humility. For some help, you can see what other artists have done.

Marion, from about.com/painting writes

Press Kit

All those documents you have already worked on can now to put to good use!

Have a handy little Bio

Have the bio and artist statement ready for them. The easier you make their job the more they will like you and the better coverage you will get. You can also have a list of the artwork in this show. Name, theme, etc. Give them something to write about, and maybe help them get a handle on how to interview you. Give them all the help you can to give you good coverage. In the press kit you can include a Bio, Artist Statement, Inventory/catalog of show and even photos of your artwork. I know several artists who print up small brochures of their shows. These are limited printings and not expensive, but go a long way to making your show look professional and helping the press to give the right slant on your show. They are not mind-readers, help them!

A few words about photos for Press Release and Press Kit

Just some notes that I think you will find helpful when including artwork or graphics with a press release. I have found that newspapers and TV stations are much more likely to pay attention to press releases that include art. This can mean photos of paintings or people doing things.

But they will not print this artwork unless it is identified. If it is a painting, clearly identify the artwork and artist. I usually name the file with the artist last name and a hyphen title.

In the press release, below the -30- I will name the file attached, identify it and anyone in it. Then include the credit, ea. Who took the picture. By including the photo you are giving permission for the media to use this in either print or broadcast. If there are people in the photo, these must be identified also. Standard is left to right back to front. First initial and last name is enough. After all this is done, I will include a line, such as Photo by name of photographer.

Press will by default use their own photos from their morgue if possible. But they are much more likely to even think of it if we include something.

Photos should be a good quality, in focus. It is better to not include a photo than to include a poor one. Always take the photo at the highest resolution settings of your camera. You can always downsize for the Internet, but print does require a larger file than the Internet or a website.

Next: Opening Reception, the meet and greet, a necessary Evil!

Found Art

2011-07-28T23:39:00.000-04:00

Busy Wednesday Junior Art Class

As most of you know, I lead a Wednesday Junior Art Class. I say lead because I don't know how much actual teaching I do. Mostly I try to mentor and guide them into doing what they want to do anyway, rather than imposing what I want to do. I try to give them the skills and confidence to achieve what they need to do.

The set up, R. Poore

To this end, I have been looking into having other artists give demonstrations in their own art, and how they approach the creative process. How they work, what they work with, what are their goals, that sort of thing. To this end, I ~~bludgeoned~~, ah, asked by friend and fellow Renaissance Art Gallery artist, Robbie Poore to give the class some insight into his unique approach to art.

R Poore, a self-portrait?

Robbie is an assemblage artist at The Renaissance Art Gallery. This means that he creates works of art out of things that everyone else would through out. His demonstration was simple. You take a surface, in this case canvas; you use glue and start building. Robbie seldom has the complete design in mind when he starts. Oh he has an idea, even a goal, but he follows obediently to where the art leads him. It is not unusual for him to change directions in mid-stream. He gets inspiration from the objects themselves and the music he listens to.

So he presented the idea of found art, and assemblage. He brought in 12x12 canvases, glue and bags of different items including bottle caps, old CD’s (shattered) broken records (literally) cut up gift cards, string, lugs, eye hooks, crushed shells, and tubes of kitty litter (unused, thankfully!) All kinds of things! Others brought in miscellaneous items also.

Its a beginning!

Several items proved to be rather popular and flexible items, such as the kitty litter. Now, I did think some of those nice decorative polished stones you get in floral craft shops would be good, but kitty litter? It works. As well as the wooden keys you often get when you buy stretched canvas, but seldom use? Very well received, both as a tool for spreading glue and for parts of the artwork. Things with a lot of texture worked really well, but unusual things also were used well. All of them mixed and matched things with abandon, but with their own unique aesthetic eye.

Here's Looking at You!

A very strong point of view

We do have paint for the kids, both tempura and craft acrylics, but they actually preferred working with the natural colors of the items. Quite a few used random puzzle pieces, sometimes the print side, and sometimes the backs. They were really innovative in how they used these items, working with texture and design. Things I would not have thought would make good art found their way into some rather nice pieces. The work they did give me a fresh look at art. It also gave them a different point of view on just what art is. We had done standard collage and torn paper projects but this was totally different for them and me.

The success of today makes me realize just how important it is to expose these young artists to other points of views, to other ways of approaching art. In the coming months I will be having other artists and other media in the Junior Art Class at The Renaissance Art Gallery. I do enjoy working with them and giving them my point of view on art. Teaching them to look at the work as an artist does. But what I can give them is simply one point of view, and that is in itself limiting. I am not looking to turn out clones of me but help them access their own unique artistic gifts. Being exposed to other artists, with different aesthetics will help them focus on their own views without stifling them. And by having each of you in, they will be exposed to multiple mediums. So keep it in mind.

This is art?

Putting On Your First Show Part 2 Doing The Paperwork

2011-07-18T16:53:00.003-04:00

Doing The Paperwork

Now that you have selected the work that you will be showing comes the real tedious part. Yes, I know you hate paper work, but for the show to be successful, you really must do it.

Another piec to the puzzle

*The Written Part

Your show is going to require certain documents. Believe me, they will prove very, very helpful! And yes, they are necessary.

*Make a List, Check it Twice

You need to do the paperwork

The first piece you need is a list of the works you are going to show, an inventory. This is more than a simple list of names. It should list, in display order, the works you are showing. This can be done by hand or by spreadsheet, whatever makes you more comfortable. And yes, double check it!

But is should contain more than just that list. By numbering the work, you let others know the order in which they should be displayed, helpful if you are not hanging your own show, or you have help. These numbers should match the tags (more on that later)

In addition to the numbers and names of works, you should also list size, medium, price, date sold and who to and any other relevant information that would be of help to people behind the scenes. Date this for the start of the show. Also, you might record the ending date and pick up date. You keep a copy and leave one copy with the host company for this show. This can be kept as a back up if any tags are lost or if there is come discussion as to price, etc. You should go over this inventory with the place you have having this show. This inventory should accompany the contract for the show.

This inventory list might be related to your general inventory of what art you have of artwork you have done. Keeping a list of works, as well as information on them is helpful in the long wrong. When you first start you think you will keep track, and how many paintings will you do, after all. But inventory of any working artist quickly gets out of hand. On your master inventory, list name, date, medium, size, description, maybe shows you have entered it in, date first displayed, date sold and who it was sold to.

From this list will descend the catalog for the show. While you do want to list number, name, medium and price, there might be other information on the general inventory you don’t wish to share with the public, things like commission, etc.

*What in a Name?

This brings us naturally to naming the works. Each work should have a name. I know artists who constantly rename pieces depending on which show they have entered them in. I don’t. I like to keep this consistent, then I know, not only what is being displayed, but where it is displayed at and when. It is fine to simply number your works. Many artists do. Like “Still Life 47” or “Landscape on the Hudson 23”. I do recommend you keep it rather short. Long descriptive names are easily forgotten and the last thing you as an artist wants is to be forgotten! If you wish to annotate the piece, giving more information such as location, etc, this is fine. You can have a place for this on the master inventory, and this can be added to the tag, but the name itself should be under 35 characters. Many shows now restrict the length of names, you getting into that habit is good.

*Price-A Weighty Subject

I won’t go into pricing. There are scores of formulas and such for this, but you need to price them realistically for your area. Other local artists and galleries are the best source for this information. Before you settle on a price, you need to know just what is coming out of it. Yes, your basic expenses, plus time but also any commission the venue will be taking. Usually the place the show is held will handle any sales, and they earn their commission! Also they are responsible for collecting any sales taxes, etc. But your pricing must be clear. If you and your venue agree that the price includes sales tax the tag should clearly state this. If not, both of you need to be aware of this. Today the majority of art sales is by credit/debit card. These services are not free. Understand if the venue is to absorb this charge or if it will come out of your portion. The larger the commission rate, the more the venue will pay. By the same token, if the venue is a friend who is allowing you to display your work in their place of business, you cannot expect them to collect sales tax and pay the credit companies fees. So be prepared for this.

Also, most galleries take some kind of commission. They earn this. This fee covers their expenses, which can be considerable. Never fool with your gallery! Sometimes people will take the artist aside, especially when it is someone they know, and offer to buy the piece after the show, less the commission. They wrongly feel they can save themselves money and Help you. Not so! This is unethical. And wrong. Many galleries, The Renaissance Art Gallery included have in their contracts and by-laws that any sales of any work displayed in their galleries sold within (and they varies by gallery) 90 days is still considered as a result of that galleries contacts and the artist still owes the gallery its commission.

Also, do not ever discuss commission rate with a patron. This is business and is none of theirs.

Brochures and Tags are simply
part of the package

*Tag it

All works should have tags, little pieces of paper or card that identifies each piece. Most galleries will have a standard tag that they use, but businesses will not, and you will be responsible for making them. They should be neat and legible. If you are doing them yourself, you can use templates for business cards and print them on those perforated card stock sheets. These are the easiest to use. Check with the place and find out how to mount them. Some don’t like scotch tape because it will pull of some of the wall paint. You can use masking take, etc. But they should be consistent. Meaning first should be the number of the work, which will go along with the inventory, name, your name as artist, medium and price.

Now for the really fun part, --the dreaded

**Artist Statement!

Do I really need this, you ask. Sadly, yes. This tells people about your views as an artist. People really read these things, especially if they are short and straightforward. So keep it simple, keep it true. And don’t sweat it. It can be written in the third person, awkward I know, but there is nothing wrong with simply doing it in a letter format, you writing to the people viewing this show. Dump the high-fluting big mega high-brow words. You are talking to real people here. Do you talk like that in real life? Why do so here? It can and should be a simple statement. You views on art and creating it. You can briefly go into how you work, how you feel, etc. but it is not necessary to go into details that reveal all of your secrets. Keep the mystery in your art. Non-artist think its magic anyway, so why spoil it for them. The artist statement should help them relate to your work. Helps make it personal. People want to know you!

Along with the artist statement should be a biography of you

Bio should be neat and short

*Yes, a Bio

It is really hard to think of needing a biography of ourselves. These things are for people in history. Czars and other public persons, not us. But yes, when we put our art out there for the public to see, they want to know us. So tell them.

This need not be a long document going back to distant ancestors, unless of course these said ancestors are relevant to you art. Keep it simple and keep it on art. Sure, go ahead and say you are married with 9 kids, but don’t dwell on it, unless you are doing children’s illustrations. Have someone else (non-relative preferably) read it. Relatives seem to think you need to mention all of them. Believe me, few in the art viewing public really want to know your great-aunts name. People like to know how you got started. Where you studied, what medium(s) you use. How long you have been doing this. This is where you mention any art associations, major awards, etc. Here a little editing might be in order. While an artist association will want a complete list of shows and awards, the general public does not. 3 pages listing shows and awards back 25 years, will simply seem overwhelming and off-putting. Highlight the major or local awards, summarize if you have been about it for a long time.

All you really need is a paragraph or two. Artist bios are generally written in the third person. Susan studied with Lynn McNeal at the ……..Hard and awkward, but that is how it is generally done.

But the earth will not come to an end if you write it in the first person. I studied commercial art with Lynn McNeal at the……

Put this in a nice document frame so it can hang nicely but not compete with the artwork.

*Ask For Help

Don’t be afraid of asking for help from people who have done this before. Most experienced artists are happy to help. If you belong to any artist group or association ask them for help in what goes on in your area. In may areas, the Bios must be in the third person. It is expected. And some galleries are more formal than others.

*Focus On The Focal Point

When you were sorting your artwork, did one piece stand out? Do you have a signature piece? Maybe the largest, the newest for the best example of your new style? Pick a piece. This should be a piece that represents you as an artist.

A photo of this piece along with the basic inventory list and your brief bio and artist statement should be combined into a show brochure. This can also contain contact information or website address. This need not be large or expensive. This is a handout along with your business card (more about that in a bit) these handouts are printed on standard 8 1/2 x11 inch paper. They can be like a flyer or a tri-fold brochure or even a half-fold. These are for people to pick up and read while they are looking at the show, so you will need a bunch of them. And if your work is in color, it helps if the show brochure is also in color, but not absolutely necessary. If you are having the show in a mainstream gallery, they usually handle this, one of the many ways they earn their commissions. For a co-op or other venue you will need to supply these yourself. Ask for help. You will be surprised how many people do know how to do this! Even many print shops can put together a simple brochure. But you will be reasonable for proofreading and any actual writing that has to be done. They will generally have simple template available and usually these can be fine. But remember, these come at a price!

* Be Inviting

You will also need to have a contact list. This is a list of people to invite to the opening of the show. Invite everyone. Do decide for them if they are interested. People will surprise you. Invite relative, dentist, doctor, etc.

You can make up a simple, elegant invitations to either send by mail or e-mail to people you know. These should go out about 2 weeks before the show. The gallery might also have a standard contact list. But snail mail invites do generate more attendees.

Which brings me to another little piece of paper-

*The Business Card

It is helpful to have an artist business card and they are not that expensive any more. It does not have to be fancy, a simple white card with your name and contact information and maybe the type of art you specialize in is enough. I put one on the back of each piece. It can also be handed out at the show.

Putting on a Your First Show, Part 1: The Work

2011-07-15T22:24:00.002-04:00

Putting The Puzzle Pieces Together: The Work

Putting on a successful show is like
working a puzzle

To put on a successful show, you have to present your work in a way that leads people through it. It needs to encourage people to move from piece to piece.

Rule number One: Only show your best work.

Rule number Two: Only your best work is good enough

Rule number Three: Separate your best work from the mediocre work.

Rule number Four: See Rule Number One.

As you can see, the only rule that really matters is 1. Only show your best work. Having less than stellar work included in the show to take up space at best really only does that-take up space. At worse, it detracts from the good, well-planned and well-executed pieces. It can also discourage buying. People want to buy from accomplished, and if possible established artists. Getting established is the point of your first exhibition, and being well received really depends on the view of yourself that only displaying your best work brings.

So step one is to gather all your work, and I mean all and do a first cut.

Separate the best from the floss.

Put in one pile work that is incomplete. These pieces can be worked on.

Put in one pile that has good parts, but seems to lack focus, these pieces might be able to be cropped.

Put in one pile work that does not work. These are learning pieces but not for show even if they are your favorites.

Put in one pile works that seem complete. These are the bases, the foundation pieces of the show. Better too few than too many of indifferent quality.

Take the last pile, the best of the best and lay them out.

Do they have anything in common? A common theme, subject, color or texture? What do they say about you and how you work?

Lay out pieces that seem to go together. See how many such groups you can arrange. How can you tie the work together? These should be hung together. It is fine to have several such grouping. Put all your tropical island paintings/drawings together, all your puppies and kittens, etc. But look closely. Is there something else that can tie them together in an unusual way? [friends]

To put on a successful show, you have to present your work in a way that leads people through it. It needs to encourage people to move from piece to piece. Hopefully, there will be a theme or subject or style that will hold the work together.

Contour VS Gesture Drawing

2011-06-27T18:22:00.001-04:00

Just what is it?

There is a lot of confusion on what is meant by gesture drawing. The word gesture implies movement, a waving of the hands. How does this apply to drawing? There is also as much lack of understanding when contour drawing is discussed. These are two different approaches to drawing. Both are valid, but give totally different results.

Both deal with drawing what is actually see, not what you think you see. Both exercises teach you something about the real world and how you, as an artist interpret that world.

Contour Drawing

Contour drawing is simply put drawing the outline of the object or subject. Sound simple enough. But it requires a great deal of concentration. You are looking for edges, edges that might not actually exist in the real world. You are looking for the visual edges. But you are going to apply a sense of touch to your drawing.

When I was taking my first drawing class, we all struggled with this. The teacher had set up a complicated still life, and tried to get us to do a continuous lines contour of what was there. Frankly, the exercise was a failure because none of us understood just what the teacher was trying to have us do. Now, years later, I look back at that class and realize just how hard explaining this can be. You are trying to say in words what is happening in the head. Contour drawing is much more than simply looking at something. You need to see it, feel it almost taste it.

Concentration

Contour drawing is all about concentrating on an object. Also, it is about drawing from life, not a photograph. You need a real life object or subject. Something solid. You want to experience this object totally. Immerse yourself in it.

The Set Up

Draw the outline
one contineous line

First, relax. Set up a simple still life, or find an interesting object. Have a 2B or 3B pencil, very sharp! Use a fairly large piece of paper, either a larger pad or a large piece of paper attached to your drawing board.

Completed contour drawing

What you are going to do is draw this object without looking at the paper in one contineous line. Yes, keep your eyes on the object, not on your paper. Look at the object and decide on where the line will start. Pick a point that you decide is the beginning. Stare at that point until you convince yourself you are touching that point, thus your pencil becomes an extension of you. Wait until you believe that your pencil is touching the contour of this object. Yes, you can do this! You want your eye and your pencil to move at the same speed, and in union with each other. So your eye, and pencil are in concert. Without taking your eyes off the object, trace around the contours of it. When you complete one section, briefly look down and move your pencil to a new starting point, wait until you can feel the object in your mind, your pencil is on that object, then continue. This is the contour of the object. And the contours change if you shift position, so keep your head still.

Gesture Drawing

Gesture Drawing of Bow

The exact opposite is gesture drawing. It is not about edges, but volume, movement; the fullness of the whole. This is a favorite method of mine when I can see people or animals move. It is about catching the action! Seizing the moment. Gesture drawings should be rapid, fluid and very expressive. Sometimes it just might be hard to see the object/subject in the activity! Let your pencil roam the paper, fill it with the action you see happening. Draw rapidly and continuously, in one fluid line what you see happening before your eyes.

Summary

Contour drawing puts you in touch with the edges of a form, in gesture drawing you feel the movement of the whole. Remember that contour drawing is about edges, and gesture drawing is about movement.

Gesture Drawings of Squirrels
at the Bird Feeder

Renaissance Gallery Art: Additions to the Renaissance Art Gallery

2011-06-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

Renaissance Gallery Art: Additions to the Renaissance Art Gallery

When An Artist Packs

2011-05-30T00:21:00.014-04:00

Traveling with an artist is not like traveling with a normal person.

Priority is given not to clothing, jewelry or sporting equipment, but to art supplies. Sketching pad, pencils, erasers, camera, lenses, —these have become standards, but we must add to the list. With new technologies, new things are added to the pack.

This brings up the question, what do you Pack when you travel?

Real essentials, sketchpad, drawing pencils, watercolors, are still basic but now many of us add Now memory cards, laptops, CD’s and DVD’s.

“I Told You To Pack Light”

On my recent trip to visit family, the watch word was “Pack Light”. We were traveling by car, and with family, including a dog, space was tight. Add to this were gifts for distant family members. I have a small overnight case for those non-essentials like underwear and cosmetic, and a duffle bag for what I truly can’t live without.

My packing List

· 1 sketchpad, 9x12 medium weight

· Pencil case containing drawing pencils, HB, 2B, 4B & 8B

· 3 erasers, white vinyl, pink pearl and kneaded

· Fine tip drawing pens

· Blending tools

· Eraser shield

· Pencil sharpener

· Small set of CP

· Small palm sized sketchpad

· Journal

· DSLR camera, lens, memory cards, in case

· Laptop with CD and DVDs. In case with cords

That’s all. A rather modest list if I do say so myself. Still, I get those looks from family when we are loading up.

So I think more about pencils than toothpaste. Heck, I can buy toothpaste everywhere, but you can’t always locate a really good pencil!

PS. Leave a comment with your packing list!

Spring, and a Young Artist's Fancy Turns to Plein Air

2011-05-12T09:00:00.005-04:00

Spring

And a young artists fancy turns to…

....…plein air!

Actually, even not so young artists get the itch to get out of the studio and out into the warm air and paint, draw, photograph anything that is not inside!

So it was with pencil in hand I left home early this Wednesday planning to spend a little time wandering Ritter Park.

Ok, so the day was a little gray. Well, a lot gray, but it is early May, after all. But I was optimistic. The park would be green, and the dogwoods would be blooming.

Rainy Day in Ritter Park

Alas – by the time I had run a few errands, it had started to sprinkle. Just a fine mist, but water was leaking from the sky.

As I rounded to corner onto Ritter Park, the deluge began. Not just a light sprinkle. This was what the faucet salesman call “rainforest” when trying to sell a fancy showerhead! But cold, very cold.

I did take comfort in the fact that I was not alone in my disappointment. There was a line of cars, each filled with persons (human and canine) dismally eyeing the skies, looking longingly at the paths surrounding Ritter Park.

Sketch from Ritter Park
S. Tschantz

Now Ritter Park is a favorite of artist and joggers alike. It runs for blocks along a creek, and into the hills of Huntington WV. It has jogging/walking paths, playgrounds, tennis courts and picnic shelters. It also contains a rose garden. One of the best rose gardens in the country, and May is usually when it starts to come to life. But that will have to wait for a let up in the monsoon like rains we are getting this year!

From Day spent at Ritter Park
S. Tschantz

Perhaps later I will get in my day of plein aire!

Sketchbook Project 2012

2011-05-02T16:34:00.022-04:00

It’s Arrived!

My sketchbook for the “2012 Sketchbook World Tour Project”.

For me, its just in time. Monday I am taking off with my Mom and older sister to Northern Illinois for a visit with my other three siblings. We have not gotten together for years. Last time we were all together was when my Father became seriously ill, just before his death. That meeting was so overpowering sad, that it almost does not count. This get together is long overdue! We need to get together in a happy sense.

Long Trips and Short Phone Calls

Each person who signed up for the project got to choose a theme for his or her sketchbook. I chose “Long Trips and Short Phone Calls. Seemed like a theme I could relate to, since I am the worst person for phone calls!

It’s a 2 day trip to my younger sister’s house. I guess that does qualify for a long trip. And I seldom make phone calls of more than 15 minutes. I am like my dad in this, as I really don’t like to talk on the phone. I can never think of anything to say until after I hang up.

The Price Of Gas

The price of gas will certainly affect this trip and any future trips I might contemplate. Today it hit $4.29, soon to be $4.50. At these prices the car that once took $20 to fill up now takes $50 or more. How far can you afford to travel when your money is eaten up like this? Like artists are so over paid as it is!

I find I have second or even third thoughts about running up to the store, much less taking an actual trip. I think if my younger brother didn’t already have his tickets, we all might re-consider this!

But I am glad we are not. Yes, it is going to cost more than we thought when we set this up months ago, but we need to see each other. Phone calls and web cam visits just don’t satisfy my growing need to actually see people I am related to. But I need to get what I can from this trip, as it is likely the only one I can afford to make this year.

Plans on Hold

I had planned on attending an oil painting workshop next month at Cheap Joes. I went to one last year, and found it really both fun and educational. Yes, I learned a lot from the teacher, but I got as much from other attendees. Simply being with 20 other people who shared my passion for oil paintings was stimulating artistically. But I don’t know if I can swing it this year.

Another trip in jeopardy is our autumn sojourn to New England. I have been over much of this country, but never to New England. We (hubby and I) had planned on taking two weeks this fall and driving to straight to Maine, then taking our time to drive back. But now, two weeks of driving? That is going to cost a small fortune. A fortune I just don’t have.

My Sketchbook

Trips and Phone Calls

So it looks like my trips will transform into phone calls, and how do you draw a phone call?

*~*

For those interested in joining me in this project, here is the link to Art House and the project page:Art House & the Sketchbook Project

Entering Shows, Part 6 - Pricing and Sales

2011-04-29T16:36:00.001-04:00

Sales

Most shows do offer the works on display for sale. For private shows where the object is fund raising, selling the art is a major part of fund raising. Contrary to popular belief, most shows do not make major money off entry fees. So the sponsoring organization maybe be depending on sales to push them over the top. Expect this. Most shows will allow you to enter if your work is not for sale, but some will not. This will be explained in the prospectus. Read this carefully.

Pricing
Most events will expect you to place a value on your work. If you are a first time entrant, you can ask for advice on this. But do be aware that you are responsible for pricing. Also, you will be expected to figure in their commission into your price. This is usually a percentage of the sale price, which varies from show to show. I have seen this as high as 65% to as low as 10%. How dependent the group is on sales for funding will be reflected in this percentage. But be aware of how this effects the overall pricing of the show. You have to judge for yourself if you can live with less per piece if the work sells.

Realistically, can you reasonably expect sales? Different areas vary on this. Some shows have a rather high rate of sales per entry, while others do not. Location is a major factor in this, but don’t count out any venue. You might be surprised who does and who does not buy art. Also, time of year can and does effect sales. While sales might be brisk in late fall and early winter, January through tax time can be very dead. Then there are the spring art shows, when the weather begins to break. This can have a positive effect on people’s willingness to buy art.

Preparing your artwork

Most shows require that you present your work ready to hang. What does this mean? It means the artwork should be clean, finished (dry!) mounted and framed with wire on the back to be hung. Almost every show I have entered does not allow saw tooth hangers. They are difficult for the show to work with and do not hang the work securely. If the work is not ready, the group will not get it ready for you. It will not hang. It is that simple.

Most organizations will tell you exactly what is acceptable and what is not acceptable for that show. While most shows do accept gallery-wrapped canvas unframed, a few still will not. You need to be aware of this.

More and more galleries and shows are requesting that works on paper be under acrylic glazing rather than glass today. This is both a weight and safety issue. If you are shipping your work, acrylic glazing makes much more sense than glass.

Mark your work

Clearly mark your work in accordance with the directions in the prospectus. Each piece should be clearly labeled with your name, title, price, etc. Most groups will have a printed label/template for this. If not, ask. This is necessary for hanging and judging the show, but also to make sure any unsold work is returned to you.

People Are Sight Hounds

2011-04-19T17:30:00.000-04:00

We rely on our sight for hunting. That is the way we developed and this ability to see and compare quickly, is one key to our species success. What we see has power for us and over us.

It is our bases for reality. This is not the case for all species. Dogs, for instance get 80% of their environmental information from their sense of smell. For them, smell is more real than even sight. While they do know what we look like, it is our smell that does the final identification of us. We rely on what we see.

Visual cues and clues are extremely important to us from infancy onward.

First emphasis is on facial recognition, eye to eye contact. Eyes draw our eyes from the first and what we cannot see disappears.

Peek-a-boo

This link between sight and reality is what makes peek-a-boo such an exciting game. When something is out of sight it does indeed disappear for the baby. And why what we see has so much power over us. There is some truth to the saying “out of sight out of mind”.

Things we see are real to us, even when they are not. How often have we exclaimed about how realistic something looks, how a painting almost looks as if we could walk into it. Been fooled by some Faux finish into thinking an object was one thing rather than another? No dog was ever fooled by a painting. Now, an odor?

But to us, seeing is believing.

We use drawings to communicate information and to clarify things all the time.

“I see” said the blind man, as he picked up his hammer and saw.

This dependence on sight is reflected in our language. Seeing is equated with truth, knowledge and understanding. “I see” we say when we understand. The word see and understand are synonyms. Most often when we use the word see, we are referring to knowledge rather than sight.

The light bulb goes off, the idea is illuminated, bringing it into the “light” and making it understandable.

This dependence on sight is what makes visual art so powerful and at times so controversial. We see it, we need to understand it. We are uncomfortable with art we don’t understand. It is subliminally threatening to us. So photo-realistic art can be comforting, reassuring to many viewers.

He Never took a Lesson in his Life

2011-03-28T16:16:00.000-04:00

He never took a lesson in his life. We are told this over and over by his (or her) proud relatives, co-worker or parents. This person who simply can draw anything with no effort at all (no effort they have seen anyways). At every show or opening or even when I simply mention I am an artist, out comes the relative who “never took a lesson in his life”. Now, there is a real artist! And that should show you!

Why are we so in love with the self-taught artist? And so suspicious of the art student/ art graduate? As if somehow the very fact that they studied art nullifies their talent? Some how, the person who studied art is a the dilettante? And not a serious artist? We do not expect even the most precious or precocious musical prodigy to be able to play the piano without lessons or some kind of guidance and lots and lots of practice, but for some reason, visual artists are not according the same respect and allowances.

We should just be able to draw, paint, sculpt, with nary a misstep. Each work should be the perfect culmination of artistic genius, and if it is not, well, we must be fakes.

And this is often they way it is taught. Middle school students are taught that they all ready know what they need to know to be artists by “instinct”. Heaven forbid that any art teacher should “inhibit” them with drawing lessons! Or instruct them in craftsmanship. More and more students come out of college with their fine art degrees, expressing themselves all over the place, but the quality of work is poor. The ideas are undeveloped and raw, and they are clueless. Most of their instruction is in the peer critique. So their ideas and beliefs far from being challenges are simply reinforced by people as inexperienced as they are. They come out of school shouting at the top of their lungs before they have anything to say.

Well, it ain’t so babe. Art is hard work! It takes years of painting, sculpting and drawing etc. to master any medium. Yes, art is about self-expression, but there is a place for manners too. So stop, and listen. Learn to develop those ideas before regurgitating all over that canvas.

Self Portrait

2011-03-14T20:33:00.000-04:00

Self-Portrait

I need an illustration for my next blog post. Since I am talking about how art can make you happy, I need a happy face. Or at least a pleasant one. Only trouble is, I don’t have one. Oh I could use clip art, but hey, this is a blog about art. Somehow seems a bit cheesy to use clip art for an art blog, especially when I teach drawing.

But I don’t have a happy little drawing. Hubby is out of town, so I cannot bludgeon him into posing for me. I am all alone. Feeling blue. What am I going to do?

The only face available is…horrors, Mine!

Trying to take my picture

I say horrors, because there is a reason I am always on the other side of the camera. I hate the way I photograph. Some people are beloved of the camera, I am not one of them. Pictures always come out looking like me. But I need that shot, that expression. So I give in.

Trudging off to the bathroom with my small point and shoot, I accept the necessity of taking a picture of myself, worse yet, smiling. (Shutter!) So I am going to take a picture of me in the mirror.

Taking a picture of yourself is not as easy as you might think. When you put the camera to your eye, well, that is what you get! So I have to hold the camera near my face, try to get the face and not all camera. Hold it up, hold it down, turn to the right, Take and take and take. Seven shots should give me something.

After I uploaded all the takes to the computer I remembered why I have so many photos of daffodils and so few of me. I hate my face. I hate the red-roundness of it. I hate the small mouth, the wispy brows, eyes that don’t match the long nose and the flyaway hair.

But I need that illustration and I will just have to work with what I have. I looked closely at the shape of my face. Kind of weird, actually, kind of squishy and bottom heavy, like the rest of me. I have a dent in my chin. And gravity has been no kinder to my face than to the rest of my body. My face is spreading too.

Eyebrows are disappearing. Now you can barely see them without my glasses. Actually, I look better with my glasses, they define my eyes, let you know they are actually there. My glasses are crooked. They are getting old too. I had not noticed that before. Located the top of my head, Boy is that a long way up there! When I started adding my hair, I stopped to take another look. That space looks a little slight, oh. The only thing getting thinner on me is my hair!

How to Say Thank You

2011-03-07T16:19:00.001-05:00

Might sound like a strange title for an art blog. But bear with me. As many of you know, I am host for an on-line painting site, about.com/painting.

One thing that I hear over and over again is how can I value my own work? One of the most recent messages posted to me on About.com was this lament:

"Starr, what's the cure for hating everything I paint? :-) I wish I could stop...sigh..j

Thanks,"

Boy, this is more common than you think. So often I hear this, and to be honest, have felt this myself. What is it about our artwork that makes us feel to guilty to liking it? While it is good to be able to look at our work and honestly see what is wrong, what needs improvement, where we went wrong, for a lot of us, it is total. Everything we do is junk! Why do we waste our time with it?

Wasting Time

This might be a clue, right there, Art work is a time waster. Something for children and something serious adults outgrow. Real men and responsible woman do not waste their time painting little pictures. It is or should be a hobby at best, and unless we can see "profit" from it, a drain on ourselves and our families. We could be spending our time more profitably. Like cooking and cleaning for them!

Roots in childhood

Art is for children. Over and over we are taught this. We have art in school, more as play time than serious learning. Something to occupy time and keep kids out of adult hair, in other words, a big time waster.

And what art kids get in school today only reinforces this view. For most it is simply make-work. Do a craft to give mom or dad a home-made gift, that under other circumstances no one would want. There is no training, no building appreciation for craftsmanship, quality or creativity. And so often art is shoehorned into an already bursting schedule. “We have 15 minutes, you can take out your pencils and draw,” For those few students that still have art in school, it is often reduced to 45 minutes once a week for 6 weeks. Not to criticize those beleaguered art teachers, but how can they do anything but baby-sit with that schedule? With schools and communities giving only lip-service to the importance of the arts if that, is it any wonder we ourselves tend to undervalue what we do?

Well, then, how do we learn to give up the guilt and learn to love our work?

My advice? Walk away from the canvas, have a cup of tea (good stuff, not cheap) then come back and pretend you did not paint it. Pretend that you are encountering it for the first time. It is not your work, but the work of someone you admire.

Look At It Through Different Eyes.

Notice what is good about the painting. Does it draw the eye? Are the colors vivid and inviting? Does it tell a story? Look at it as if you were in a gallery or museum. See, its not so bad, is it? Still having trouble? Just can’t choke the words out?

A lot of us have this problem because we are conditioned from childhood not to blow our own horn, to not praise ourselves. We must be modest. “Ah Shucks, Mama am, It t’wernt nuthin” We hang our heads down and don’t know where to look. I, like most of you simply do not know how to take praise. When I do get a compliment, I tend to look for some “error” or “mistake” to point out. Another comment that hit a resounding chord with me was this:

"When I look at my work, I can only see the flaws. I have to bite my tongue to keep from pointing them out to everyone. I'm learning to just say, thank you, when someone compliments my artwork. But it's hard.

~Susan"

Sound familiar?

And when it comes to art, most of us have been conditioned to be to be super critical of ourselves. This is not something we are supposed to take pride in, because it is not important.

It is really; really hard to say "I am good."

Someplace along the line we all learned that we are garbage, what we create cannot possibly have value. That we cannot simply say we did a good job. Something about making art makes us crazy!

You don't hear carpenters telling people they hate the houses they build do you? Or plumbers saying, "boy I am a dunce when it comes to putting pipes together" They are proud of what they do, and rightly so, but we cannot be proud of what we do.

I am not saying we should not be aware of our faults as artists; just give yourself permission to say:

" I am good".

And when you are complimented, say “Thank You”

Art and the Head

2011-02-19T22:57:00.002-05:00

Or Something is up up There!

The thought processes behind creating and living with your art.

Art happens in the head, not the hands. Anyone with enough manual dexterity to sign their own name has enough muscle control to draw, if sufficiently motivated.

Painting can be even easier. The basic skills of handling a pencil or paint brush, learning about color and color families, composition, etc. can be taught, even to a certain extent, creativity can be taught, or rather techniques for unlocking your own creativity can be discovered. These “keys” to creativity can and will be different for everyone.

But the main one is the same for all. The more you create, the more experience you get with the basic act of creating, the more in tune you will be with your own, unique creative process. And that happens inside your own head, not on a piece of paper or canvas.

Skill, don’t knock it.

Skill is required to successfully create any work of art. It just doesn’t “just happen”. Yes, there is serendipity in art. What other artists have called, “happy accidents” but you are more likely to have these happy accidents if you have mastered basic skills in whatever medium you have chosen.

This leads to:

Practice makes perfect in art as in everything else. The more you paint, draw, crave, mold, staple and manipulate any media, the more mastery you will have over it, and the more inventive you can get with it.

Guilt by Association

Another strange thing about creativity, the more you are around creative people, the more creative you become. This is the reality behind things like artist’s colonies. Creative people have found that by associating with other creative people the more creative they become.

Such is the reality of many of our art movements. The impressionists had their own little impressionistic “club” same with the Fauvists. Picasso did not create in a vacuum, he surrounded himself with an invisible and sometimes visible support to his creativity.

Which brings up to the art league, art association, artists group, etc. Many of us feel the need to join such groups. They can be a large influence on us or a drag, depending on how good they are at inspiring creativity. Some are great, other can drag you down. So you have to investigate and decide just how stimulating they will be to you, the artist.

Find a Mentor

Ask yourself how will this group help you further your own artist ambitions? Do they encourage the work? Supply you with information or access to learning experiences? Do they sponsor the kind of shows that accept creativity or do they simply sponsor the same clickish work?

Select carefully when it comes to learning experiences. Many “classes” are more social clubs. You do a selected, pre-thought out complete painting in an afternoon. These are fine for what they are, but they will not stimulate your own creative direction. Find a mentor.

The First Time

2011-02-12T13:47:00.001-05:00

The first time I sold a piece of art; I could not believe it. I was prepared to have a quiet little show, have the pieces on the walls of the local coffee shop and then fade away

Field of Daisys
S. Tschantz

When the owner called me after I had hung the works, but before the meet & greet that one of the pieces had sold already I was flabbergasted.

Someone forked over money for something I put together? What is this? Ordinary everyday people buying art?

But it happens.

I don’t sell art to big time collectors. Don’t know any. They would not be interested in my work anyways. I am not avante guarte. I don’t understand reactionary art. I take photos of things that interest me. I paint happy little realistic paintings of things that interest me.

But from time to time I do sell things.

And that is and will always be special to me. It means I have connected, even for a little while with someone else.

Still Life with Blue
S. Tschantz

One painting that sold was a little painting of gumballs. (Still life with blue) the person who bought it loves it. He hung it in his modest home in the entry so that when he comes in that bright painting is the first thing he sees.

Another person, a doctor bought a scene of a frozen creek, Icy with green slushy snow. That now hangs in his den. When life gets hectic and the pressures mount, that scene is there to as he put it “get lost in”.

These people are special to me.

Drawing the Winter Landscape Part 4- Value and Light

2011-02-05T18:29:00.001-05:00

Reference Photo

Value and Light

There are several challenges in doing a winter landscape. You have to making the show look real, dealing with the subtle and necessary value shifts and working for the soft texture you need to make the snow look nice and fluffy. So often it is not a mater of drawing the shapes, but shading in everything around it. Dealing with the negative shapes, which in this case are white or near white. One of the biggest challenges is finding your darks, and not being afraid of them. Shadows and shading are all important.

Light source

It was a snowy day in early March, one of those deep spring snowfalls that bring such a soft blanket of snow to the area. We had had a real storm, with thunder and lightning thrown in with the heavy snow cover. But the day these photos where taken had been a rather bright, sunny day so there are nice shadows and contrasts.

When this photo was taken, the sun was beginning to lower in the west, but the shadows were not yet very long. Keeping this in mind, I know the sun would be to the right on this drawing, so things sloping away from there would be in shadow.

Shadows and Shading are all important in any drawing, but they become obvious in a snow scene. There is value to white. Angle of sight changes things. sometimes in large ways, but more often in small ways. How well our drawings turn our depends in large measure on how well we deal with both types of shadows.

Cast Shadows and Contour

There are two types of shadow or shading going on here, the cast shadows from the sun and the contour shading you get with any 3-dimentional object, like the columns of the trees. Both are necessary to work this drawing. Since in this photo reference the trees now become the focal point, handling both shadows is very important.

Working the shadows

There are two ways to deal with these shadows. You can use softer pencils and rework these shapes, and you can use blending tools, like a stump or tortillion. Many blending tools are possible for any drawing. I tend to favor the judicious use of kneaded erasers. This seems to work especially well on snow scenes. Sometimes it is just as important to remove graphite, as it is to apply it

Winter Drawing
3 Trees

You as the artist must be sure of your light source. This is especially important if the photo reference you are using is unclear or confusing on this subject. You must be sure. If the artist is confused, the work will be confused. Now, on this project I have a slight advantage, as these are my photographs, and I remember the conditions when I took these pictures. But you might have to simply pick or study the photo for clues as to the time of day and where and how strong the light source is. I have been known to draw myself a little sun on the paper, outside the margin to remind me where the light is coming from!

Drawing the Winter Landscape Part 3 - A Departure

2011-01-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

--First I must apology for the lateness of this post. The work was done, but illness prevented me from posting sooner. I will leave this post up a bit longer and give you a chance to view and comment--

Being inspired by a reference photo does not mean you are locked into what is in the photo or even its presentation. The reference photograph is for inspiration only. Nothing in it is sacred. In all you are going to do is repeat another artist’s work, why bother?

For this rendition of the 3 trees reference photo, I am putting away the pencils. What really intrigues me about this winter photo is the strong contrast between the white snow, dark water and virtually black trees.

I am going to depart from the standard grayscale graphite drawings. For this drawing I am trying to achieve a different feel. I am going to depart from the reference but one thing I do wish to retain is the narrow presentation, the aspect ratio. Aspect ratio is simply the relationship of length vs. width. How the height compares to the width. So in laying out the drawing space, I will make sure the length vs. the width ratio stays the same, although I am going to increase the overall size. In this way the narrow presentation of the work will remain while the drawing will be a bit more substantial.

Increasing the size, but keeping the proportion is possible. You could simply double the measurement, but that might not give you the size you want. But there is a rather easy way of doing this.

Drawing paper with guidelines

First, I decide where on my paper I want the bottom of my drawing to me. I like to leave myself a bit of a margin all around the area I am going to do the actual drawing. This gives me a margin to tape the paper to my drawing board, fasten it down and keep it stable. For this I use drafting tape, not masking tape. With my t-square (but you can use any straight edge) I will draw myself (lightly) a horizontal level. Also with the t-square (and this is important) I will find the left edge of my drawing, and draw a line perpendicular to the level base line. This line really needs to be at a right angle to the first level base line. This gives me the lower, left hand corner.

I then take my reference photo, and fold back the white margins. With a drafting dot or a small piece of drafting tape, I put the lower left-hand corner of the reference photo on the lower-left hand corner of the drawing area. Then with a straight edge I will take a light pencil and draw a diagonal line from the lower-left hand corner to the upper right hand corner of the reference photo. Also with a light line (one that is highly erasable) I will extend that line onto my drawing area.

Reference photo on drawing paper

Vertical Line

Having decided the width I want for this drawing. I will draw a border vertical line with my t-square up until it meets the diagonal line. Where the two lines cross I will (with the t-square) draw the top-level line for my drawing area. Wa-la, we have an enlarged drawing area, which is in the same proportions as the reference all without a calculator!

Add top guideline

Now, on to the drawing. You might have noticed in the photographs that the paper seems rather dark. No, the picture is not reversed or turn out too dark, it really is black. And the guidelines are white.

Black paper might seem like a strange choice for a drawing that is essentially white, but it can be very dramatic. Don’t’ be afraid of color paper! Use the paper as a part of the creation of the drawing.

The logical choice for a winter scene would be white, and white paper is the standard for drawing (or anything else for that matter) the choice of black paper necessitates a change of media. There are many media that would work well on dark paper, colored pencils, metallic ink, conte’ pastels, markers, charcoal. While you might not think black charcoal would work on black paper, it does, beautifully.

Choices

Compressed Charcoal Sticks

I want to maintain the sharp contrast of the reference, even emphasis it. So I have chosen to work with sticks of compressed black and white charcoal, relying on blending tools and overdrawing to give me a range of grays.

Working with a stick of compressed black, I lay out the major divisions, re-enforcing with the compressed white charcoal. Starting with the background and building by layers, the drawing is slowly built.

Layout the drawing

Blending the sky

Building up the snow

White charcoal is applied to the sky using the blunt side of the block. Then a cotton swap is used to blend and even out the sky. It also removes most of the white, allowing the black of the paper to change it to a soft gray. Major snow backs are built up this way—apply—blend & wipe. Water is built with careful horizontal strokes—white underscored with black then using a tortillion to blend and push the charcoal around. Various vertical strokes fill in eh background alternating between white and black. Blended together we get soft gray shapes that resemble trees in a snowstorm.

The foreground calls for bolder, stronger strokes for the 3 major trees. White over-lays the snow. Here the contrast makes the drawing.

Finished Drawing on Black Paper

So, this is the completed drawing. Any comments?

Drawing Snow in The Winter Landscape, Part 2

2011-01-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

On to the drawing

Quick review: I am working on a winter landscape, based on a reference photo located at:
on the about.com - drawing/sketching site

now, back to the drawing.

Once the paper selection is made, you also have to decide on scale. Are you going to draw this size for size, increase or decrease the size? For this drawing, I am simply going to draw it about the same size as the reference photo, in the same long, narrow portrait mode.

Tick Marks as guides

Have you ever drawn someone, but on nearing completion, realized you don't have enough room for the top of the head? First thing I do is simply lay out the area on the paper I wish to put the drawing in. A little forethought avoids running out of room for your drawing.

I generally use faint guidelines or tick marks, as they are called to simply indicate the outside dimensions of the piece I am doing. These are most easily set by using your harder pencils very sharp and a straight edge. This helps to keep the artwork within the lines. There is a lot of talk about "drawing outside of the box", but you should leave yourself a margin in your drawings and other artwork. Gives you something to tape the mat to! All in all, guidelines help you keep the work on track.

Back to the actual drawing.

There are several challenges in doing a winter landscape. You have to making the show look real, dealing with the subtle and necessary value shifts and working for the soft texture you need to make the snow look nice and fluffy. So often it is not a mater of drawing the shapes, but shading in everything around it. Dealing with the negative shapes, which in this case are white or near white. One of the biggest challenges is finding your darks, and not being afraid of them. Shadows and shading are all important.

adding graphite

Light Source

The brighter the day, the darker the darks, even on snow. Keep this in mind. As the artist, you must be sure of the light source, where it is from and how strong it is. You can take this form the photo, or add it yourself. It is up to you, but it must be clear in your mind.

Snow Day,

It was a snowy day in early March, one of those deep spring snowfalls that bring such a soft blanket of snow to the area. We had had a real storm, with thunder and lightning thrown in with the heavy snow cover. But the day these photos where taken had been a rather bright, sunny day so there are nice shadows and contrasts.

When this photo was taken, the sun was beginning to lower in the west, but the shadows were not yet very long. Keeping this in mind, I know the sun would be to the right on this drawing, so things sloping away from there would be in shadow.

lightening the lines

Cast Shadows and Contour

There are two types of shadow or shading going on here, the cast shadows from the sun and the contour shading you get with any 3-dimensional object, like the columns of the trees. Both are necessary to work this drawing. Since in this photo reference the trees now become the focal point, handling both shadows is very important.

first view

Working the shadows

There are two ways to deal with these shadows. You can use softer pencils and rework these shapes, and you can use blending tools, like a stump or tortillion. Many blending tools are possible for any drawing. I tend to favor the judicious use of kneaded erasers. This seems to work especially well on snow scenes. Sometimes it is just as important to remove graphite, as it is to apply it.

Switching back and forth with my B pencils, I block in the major shapes, then start working details, lighting backgrounds to get the overall gray scale of the Black and White photo. I find working on the whole picture easier than doing any one area completely, then moving on. By working with the entire drawing, I am able to adjust the level of detail and maintain overall values. I do not end up with a drawing that is a monotone of a single value, or overly detailed in all areas. I also use the kneaded eraser to modify my drawings.

Stepping back, I make an overall evaluation of the drawing to see if it gives off the feeling I want.

I can then make any adjustments needed to bring out the focus of the drawing. I make use of all my drawing tools. Pencils, stumps, paper towels, chamois. I also use my 100% graphite pencils. These lay down wide swatches of graphite very well.

Drawing of 3 trees.

But I also use the stump to draw. Laying down a circle of graphite on a piece of scrap paper, I rub the stump across it until I get enough graphite on the stump to transfer to the white paper. This way I can get very faint amounts of shading that allow me to build up the character of the snow and bank of this frozen creek.

This was a very satifiing drawing, but not the only way to handle this subject.

While this is almost a copy of the photograph, blind copying should not be your ultimate goal, but producing creative artwork should. But feel free to tell me what you think.

I am going to do another version of this scene. Something a bit different and hopefully more creative. It is and should be your goal to go beyond the reference photo.

Drawing Snow in the Winter Landscape, part 1

2011-01-04T15:17:00.001-05:00

I am going to talk about doing winter landscapes from black and white photos. Most of the time, we do draw from photographs. Too often they are not our own. This leads to certain problems. We are not really familiar with the settings. This does not happen when you draw from life or even your own reference photos. Here, I am going to do several sketches from the reference gallery on about.coms/ drawing/sketching site, in their snow scenes folder. On the forum, there is a bunch of us using these photographs for winter landscape drawings.

Often we tend to draw single objects but seldom give thought to doing a complete work of art.

If you would like to join in, the reference photos are here:Snow Scenes These photos are here precisely for artists. Most photographs on the web are not available for artwork, which is called derivative works. Read the small print! But these have been posted just for artists to use to create new works of art. Nice.

Choices

In art, the artist, creator, ea. You are always making choices. This is what makes it art. This is what makes it unique. This is what makes it original. You. Your choices.

This is why simply coping a photo or following the directions of an instruction disqualifies artwork from most competitions. They are trying to judge your originally, your understanding of art and art principles, your uniqueness. Simply reproducing the photograph slavishly does not do this.

First choice in this case, is simply which photo to use for inspiration. When you begin drawing, the simple goal is to try and reproduce as closely and accurately as possible the reference drawing. This is a fine goal. It is a step in the learning process and an admiral goal. This will help you learn to get exactly what you are going for.

So, for this, we will deal with two different goals.

1. to closely reproduce the photo reference, and

2. to do a creative drawing inspired by the photo, but diverging from it.

In both cases you will be able to see the original photo in the resulting work. For this, I am not going to do a completely diverging piece, but it would be fun!

First choice, which photo do I choose.

The photographs for this project are located on the main drawing/sketching site in the reference gallery:

http://drawsketch.about.com/od/naturedrawing/ig/Winter-Snow-Scene-References/Winter-Creek-1.htm

All are good choices.

The one I am going to be using is this one:

http://drawsketch.about.com/od/naturedrawing/ig/Winter-Snow-Scene-References/Winter-Creek---3-Trees.htm

The 3 trees details cropped from the larger photo. I like the way the cropping of this photo appears to simplify it. It doesn’t, it simply changes the configuration of the photo. Changing it from landscape to portrait. It narrow the focus of the parent photo and zooms in on the 3 upright trees, removing the importance of the creek, which is a major element in the parent photo. It also makes the resulting photo less “busy”. It eliminates so much of the information that much of the simplification necessary to translate the photo into art.

Now other major decisions need to be made. What surface will you use for this work of art? Ea, what paper, support or otherwise will you use. Since we are talking about drawing, white paper is assumed. While most drawing will take place on relatively white paper, this is not necessarily so. There are many other perfectly good things to draw on that the assumption of regular paper is not always to be made. A walk through any art supply store will open your eyes to the wide range of papers now available to artists. The come in a wide range of whites, along with colored, tinted and filled papers. There are hot press, cold press, rough, medium and smooth textured, hand-made and mass-produced papers. Everything from thin, fragile mulberry and rice papers so thin you can see the veins of your hands through it to thick, stiff watercolor papers almost like thin boards. There are also a number of actual boards you can use. Masonnite surfaces are increasing in popularity for artwork, and take both graphite and inks well. Thin plywood, with a ground of gesso can also be used for graphite, charcoal and colored pencils and inks.

Drawing Paper

Which bring up another subject, what will you draw with? For this project, I will be sticking to graphite for one, but using charcoal of a sort for the other. As for the papers, I will be doing both on paper, not board.

I, personally, like working on the slightly thicker drawing papers and charcoal paper, rather than on sketchbook paper, which is thinner. I always carry a sketchbook with me for drawing on the spot, but for something I am going to devote a considerable effort to, and will most likely keep around or mat and frame. I like something a bit thicker, more durable. Also, for work you intend to have hanging around for a while, a good archival, acid free paper is a must. While copy paper is fine for learning and other exercises, it is not for work you devote a great deal of effort to. For regular drawing, I find the texture of many inexpensive watercolor papers a bit too patterned for my taste. But that is only personal taste, not some kind of rule or law. I like a surface that is a bit smoother than most watercolor papers.

I find charcoal or pastel papers have enough tooth to work with, without having a dominant pattern I have to deal with. Finding good charcoal paper has been more of a problem than using it. So much of the paper I find has a definite ridge paper from the rollers that it interferes with the development of the artwork.

On to the drawing

After selecting the paper to use, I generally layout the drawing area for the scene I am doing. I will talk about this next week, in part 2 of Drawing Snow in the Winter Landscape.

My French Easel: 6 ways your image manipulation software can help you judge your work

2010-12-31T09:15:00.000-05:00

My French Easel: 6 ways your image manipulation software can help you judge your work

Another hint to improve your work. I think this is very valid.

The Price Of Selling Art

2010-12-28T00:40:00.000-05:00

Sold a painting.

Should be good news, and it is, but hey, I was not ready to part with that one. Why didn’t they want the other old thing? That was my favorite! I just finished it! I wanted to grab it back? I thought selling my work would be great! Why isn’t it?

When you stop being emotional about your work it is time to stop painting.

Period.

S. Tschantz
Sold

Of course you have mixed feelings about it! While I was relieved to have sold 3 pieces, I was also sad. I loved those pieces; that is why I put them up in the show!

Never, ever show work you are not 100% proud of. NEVER.

Always show only your best, that which will tear at you to part with. Only then can you be sure what you are offering is really art and not simply decoration. Artwork to be true art must speak to the both the artist and the patron. There should be a give and take in this relationship even if you have never meet and will never meet.

After Vincent

This is why van Gogh still claims such attention over the distance of time, because his work speaks to us. More to us today than in his own time. We all live in a turmoil and that is conveyed in his work, We understand him as his contemporaries did not.

So while you mature enough to let go of your artwork, it is and should always be a bit hard, almost painful.

We all know the painter who paints and who loves to shoves his or her stuff off on everyone. They copy crafts and decorative stuff and love to give it away, but there is no emotional connection there. While they often view themselves as artistic peers (actually I know one near by who talks down to me) their work is imitative. They follow a pattern. Copying other artists. Following the directions of their “teacher” faithfully (and to my mind fatally) one such person’s latest, a copy of a Kincaid card, is their current crowning achievement. Said “artist” then proceeded to photograph it and make "prints" of it on their computer. Then it was fostered off on all of us as a priceless “gift”. This work is dull. Oh, the image is there. They copy very well, but the work is static, lifeless and to a real art lover, well.......boring. Seen it before, better done. There is no emotion in that painting other than smugness at how well they did. And it shows.

Always hurt just a little, my friend.

The Lament of a Messy Painter-

2010-12-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

I have all these great ideas for art, for paintings, and drawings and even some crafty stuff, but:

The Dungeon!

I can’t paint because I can’t find my pallet!

The dungeon is a mess, a super-duper mess.

Filled with empty boxes, half-full boxes, suitcases, several ice chests, easels in various states of assemblage, several plastic shoe boxes of paints, one for standard oils, one for water mixable, a box with my pallet knives in it, and some containers of brushes, one broken brush holder, but my mom made it for me, so it is taped together, a drawing board that needs cleaning and aligning, frames, mats, but most of the mess is not my art supplies, there is a sort of organized chaos to them. Most of it has migrated from upstairs. My old bedroom linens, ea, queen sized comforter, sheets, pillowcases and an assortment of pillows, some decorator baskets, …are you bored yet?

I have been trying to clean it up!

We have been fixing the house up, and while construction is going on overhead, all the fallout seems to have fallen in the dungeon.

It is going to take me a month to clean all of this up!

People's Choice Awards

2010-12-14T00:02:00.000-05:00

Last Wednsday was a busy day for me.

Fern Counting the Vote

In addition to my normal classes, Fern Christian (Renaissance Art Gallery Director) and I had to count the ballots for the People's choice awards. we do this at the conclusion of each year's Miniature Exhibition.

People attending the Miniature Exhibition are handed ballots when they came into the gallery so that they can select what they felt were the best entries in the Miniature Exhitition. There were to select works in two catagories: Most Elegant Entry and Most Creative Entry.

There arealways tons of worthy choices so it was hard to narrow it down to two.. But choices had to be made.

Counting the ballots was a much bigger job this year, due to the record number of people gracing our gallery with their visits.The stuffed to overflowing ballot box was empited a couple of times before counting, so I know there were lots of votes!

The voting was close, but choices were made.The final tally did reveal clear winners however.

Linda Rossin’s “Elegance in Motion”. The beauty of the rising flamingo captured the attention of the most guests for the Most Elegant Entry Award, while Sandi Worthington’s 1inch by 11 inch “Going To Water” won the Most Creative Entry Award.

I think congratulations are in order for both artists, Sandi Worthington and Linda Rossin on their selection by the guest of The Renaissance Art Gallery for this year’s People’s Choice Awards.

Linda Rossin's "Elegance in Motion"

Sandi Worthington's "Go To Water"

We are Visual People

2010-12-06T16:18:00.001-05:00

Our powers of observation are great.

People see in a unique way in the animal kingdom.

While other animals may have greater visual acuity, it is not linked to our flexible brains. We see better than our dogs. More important, we perceive better than most animals. Many animals and insects have greater range but they do not always understand what they see. We are geared to question our sight and to act on it.

When an animal is still, it is virtually invisible to many animals, indeed, sometimes to us, but if we move our heads, or look at it out of the sides of our eyes, it may well pop into view.

S. Tschantz

The visual arts, ea painting, sculpture and drawing were for a long time considered more common than the higher arts such as poetry and writing. Visual art is non-verbal, so the verbal arts were free to call it names. One reason it was denigrated was because drawing was a demonstratively teachable skill, which is ridiculous, as music and dancing are also teachable skills and no one would argue that they are not true arts. But visual art is non-verbal and vulnerable to name-calling by the more verbal arts. Also, the visual arts have long history of high visibility and usefulness, and that very usefulness was argued against them. Their art was considered lowly, a mere craft.

So there is a separation in the arts between the visual and the verbal.

My New Easel

2010-11-29T10:48:00.003-05:00

New Easel next to old one

Most of us can’t afford to outfit our studios with top of the line materials and furniture.. What we can scrounge is what we have to live with.

Even a space to paint or draw is a luxury for most. Calling the space we carve out for ourselves a studio is giving grandiose important to that corner of the dining room or closet in the spare bedroom. For some this means a simple tabletop easel or the ubequdeous “student easel”, that cheap pine stick easel. You know the one, the folding tri-pod with the wing nuts.

That is what I have for years and years. Still have two in the dungeon. They hold a canvas at least as large as I usually paint. But these easels--for all that they are called “student” are hard to move around, and not particularly sturdy.

Much better is my aluminum field easel I invested in a couple of years ago when I start to teach and paint plein aire. It is collapsible and comes with a nice carrying case. This easel is ideal for moving around and has separately adjustable legs. And it holds the smaller boards I use plein aire easily. It is also handy for figure drawing class.

But back home in the studio, it was the pine-stick easel or nothing. Oh for a real studio easel. Something sturdy and that gives firm support to really large canvases or even boards!

This past year I got my wish in a surprising way; as a gift from my older sister. Now getting a gift from her is not in itself unusual. I don’t want you to think she is mean or anything. But she is a non-artist and freely admits to knowing nothing about art and art materials. Nothing at all. She did not even know the word easel, it is that stand-thingy.

My sister (with my mother) is a committed (or should be committed!) garage-saler. They approach garage sales with almost religious devotion. But as I said, she admits she has no idea what constitutes a good art supply or materials. She also have no idea about prices or values of such things.

But she is not one to let a little thing like lack of knowledge stand between her and a good deal! When coming upon a garage sale of a woman moving to smaller quarters she spied a number of things that kind of looked like they might be used for fine art? She fearlessly negotiated a fabulous deal!

Not only am I now the proud owner of a large aluminum studio easel, but a zippered, rolling craft cart/tote to hall things back and forth to the gallery for my classes, and a craft case designed for scrape booking, but perfect for holding a nice stash of art papers.

A Work of Art

2010-11-22T15:40:00.002-05:00

We all have works of art we don’t want to part with. Maybe it was that first piece where it came together. Or that represents some past connection. Whatever it is, there is a strong emotional attachment or it can be simple shock and awe.

I DID THAT?!?!

Approaching art

Boat At Kanawha Falls
S. Tschantz

When we create that first piece that says we are finally accomplishing something—that everything is not a waste of time. These pieces mark significant changes within ourselves as artists. It is hard to relinquish these. And I am not sure we should. Keeping a connection to where we were helps us see where we are going.

These are the special pieces with that indefinable something that transforms it from a painting to a work of art.

Pony
S. Tschantz

Successful Paintings?

2010-11-15T14:40:00.000-05:00

Failed Fall Painting

Without failure you cannot succeed.
So don’t be afraid of failure and of creating “interesting” paintings.

None of us likes everything we do. Not if we are honest and not a complete egoist, that is.

If we don't fail from time to time we don't make progress and out art becomes repetitious and stale. So don't be afraid of failure or of painting "interesting" paintings. These contain the germ of genius.

Seeing What Good Is

2010-11-11T09:57:00.001-05:00

Geraniums in Terra Cotta
Larry Bragg

Working in our isolation—as most artists do, it is easy for to look at your own work and think” Hey, that’s pretty good! And pat yourselves on the back. Self-satisfaction is possible. But is it justified? How do we know if it is any good?

I work on my paintings and drawings and really think how much I have improved! And those miniatures are not bad at all if I do say so myself! My friends are impressed. So what more do I want?

We tend to look at things myopically, only what is right in front of us. This show has knocked me down to earth. It is a real eye-opener. The artists who entered the 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition shows you just what GOOD is!

Now this could have been crushing. Really. Seen next to the rest of the artwork, my work is well….midland. Not really terrible, but not so great that it warrants a second look. It would be easy to say, “Oh, I can’t do this!” and give up. The stuff in this show is really, really good! But this does not have to be your reaction when you are confronted with genius.

Let me tell you what one artist said to me at the reception for the 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition. Larry Bragg—a first time exhibitor in miniature said the scope of work was inspiring and showed him just what was possible. Already he is anxious to start on next year’s work. Looking at the excellent work hanging in the gallery, all he could say was: "Wow! This shows me what can be done!". Far from being discourage, he is inspired! His excitement when he saw the wealth of fine art was amazing. He can't wait to try his hand at something new. To explore his new found knowledge of what is possible.

French Table
Larry Bragg

And this is a good thing. To be inspired by others, have your mental horizons expanded. Art happens in the head first, only then with the hands.

In all things, we need to have high standards to do our best,

Note: Normally I decorate my blog with my own “artwork”. Not sure right now I can even call it artwork. But this week, I would like you to see the work of another artist, the brave Larry Bragg.

PS. I promised last week to post the link to the Renaissance Gallery's 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition so you can all see the photos of the reception.The Renaissance Art Gallery

My Miniatures

2010-11-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

I have talked a lot about The Renaissance Art Gallery’s 10th Annual National Miniature show. What I have not talked about is my entries.

Waterfall
1:x2"
oil painting

Yes, I entered. Not that I will win any prizes. I am simply not that good with miniatures—yet.

But I am working on it.

I did 3 colored pencil drawings that I entered along with an oil painting and two mixed media works.

Conte on Acrylic

The mixed media works have coatings of acrylic as a background base, and then on the larger I drew with acrylic and conte’, and did a final glazing with oil paints.

The other one has a background of acrylics with the drawing done in conte’.

I do like the larger butterfly. That is also a mix of watercolor pencil and regular colored pencils. While the larger one is done actual size (this is allowed for things naturally small) the other is quite a bit smaller than the original butterfly.

I will be posting more photos from the miniature show on both the gallery website and the galleries facebook page.

Galleries website

Facebook Page

Nude in mixed Media

Fellow Artist, Lillianne Bowersock

2010-10-25T10:04:00.001-04:00

Lillianne

I was going to write on a different subject this week, but something I think you will find interesting has come up.

My friend and fellow Renaissance Artist, Lillianne Bowersock took a trip to London this week. Now I was a little peeved at her for deserting me during the building up for the 10th annual national miniature exhibition. 2 weeks before the show, when she and her husband, Bruce (also an artist) were to hang the show, she comes in with a ticket to London!

Now, to be fair, Lillianne has not seen the grandchildren in London for at least 3 years. And the ticket was a gift from her daughter-in-law, so I guess I should not be too put out.

Actually, we were all excited and happy for her. But hey, I am not going to loose the chance to grouse!

Back to the story, Lillanne was of course really excited! She came into the meeting for The Renaissance Art Gallery all bubbling and waving the ticket around etc. Of course, she apologized for going at this time, but hey, family counts.

Lillianne has sleep apnea, and must use a breathing device to sleep. And she had to make special arrangements with the air lines to use this device on the over night flight.

But hey, let me let her seat mate tell the story!

720-saturdays-and-a-silver dollar

Size Matters, Working in Miniature

2010-10-18T15:00:00.001-04:00

Size Matters

Monarch, Colored Pencil
S. Tschantz

Art schools tend to emphasize painting large. Large is good. Large is important. Large is impressive. For those of us who are self-taught, the tendency is for sizes we are comfortable and familiar, ea. we tend towards sizes that photos come in, 8x10, 5x7 etc. Or whatever is on sale at the local craft store.

But choosing the size is also a part of composition. So go small!

Small works can be surprisingly intimidating.

How Do I Paint So Small?

Once you try a couple, you find it really isn’t that hard. With the correct tools and lighting it can be very relaxing. After the stress of painting large, there is a certain freedom in going small.

4x6 seems to be the most popular size, both with artists and with collectors. This seems to be small enough to be intriguing, and still allows the viewer to interact with the scene. Another plus-it is a standard size and relatively easy and inexpensive to frame.

The Photographer - graphite
S. Tschantz

Second Figure Drawing Class

2010-10-11T11:19:00.002-04:00

3 poses-gesture drawing

This week I was able to attend the figure drawing class again. Last Saturday was the 2nd session, but it was my turn to “sit” the gallery, so I had to man the desk in the main gallery room while the class was held in the exhibition hall.

It was lonely. And I kept thinking, “I want to draw-I want to draw!” Yes, I had people come into the gallery to see art, and talk etc. But I wanted to draw!

But someone has to run the gallery!

This week it was Gary L’s turn. I got to draw!

Class started with 5 quick gesture poses, each lasting only one minute. You have to be quick to capture the essence of the pose. Details are not possible. This really helps you focus on what defines the pose, and the form.

For gesture poses I like to use conte’. It is expressive, and although it does smear, it is not as loose as charcoal, but more gestural than pencil. I also like the lighter burnt sienna tones.

Before class I had toned several sheets of drawing paper with charcoal. I thought I would try “sketching” with my charcoal erasers. I have two black erasers designed for charcoal. One is rectangular, and one has an odd triangular shape. These are used to remove some of the toned charcoal, subtracting to reveal the white of the paper. In practice, depending on the pressure and face of the eraser you use, it is possible to get a gradation of value from the toned paper. That along with some really soft vine charcoal makes for a different approach to drawing.

Toned Paper Charcoal Sketch

What Class Is Like

Figure drawing class can have some really intense moments, when you are concentrating on capturing the gesture, or struggling with foreshortening, but mostly, it is a relaxed fun studio experience. We all know each other, including our models. While during a pose the class can be remarkably quiet, between poses, conversation is rather mundane. We talk about our families, the work week, etc.

Model's View

This week I handed my camera to our model so she could take pictures of people drawing her. I thought these would be a different point of view of class!

Snacking

We all bring things to drink and share these. The gallery has a small refrigerator, so we always have at least cold water. We need this figure drawing can be thirsty work! This week we all brought stuff to snack on. This is fairly normal. Although not required, someone usually brings something. Cookies, candy, fruit, nuts, at some point it will show up.

We tend to be rather adventuresome in our snacks. I think that is because we are a fairly well traveled bunch. Gary T and Dave have both lived in China in the 90’s. Lynn, our model once lived and worked in Nepal. While I hail from the Chicago area, I have travels all over northern Europe in my youth, and try to see as much of North America as I can. Linda has lived in many, many places in her life. So we have seen and tried a whole lot of stuff!

This week Lynn, our model brought in dried cantaloupe. I brought in strawberries and honey-roasted peanuts; we had cookies, lemonade, pop, and our usual assortment of hot teas. The Gallery stocks several herbal and exotic teas. This might be a funny topic for an art blog, but it just goes to show you how mundane the class can be.

graphite wash

When non-art people realize I am going to a figure drawing class and there will be (gasp!) a naked model I can’t help but see in their eyes a rather shocked “deer in the headlights” look.

What do they think? I am a older woman. So they find it shocking that yes, I am drawing naked people, and yes this week the model is female (we do employ male models too) Most of the class is at least middle aged. It is a mixed bag of men and women. We come in all sizes, shapes and backgrounds. We are brought together by our love of art, and the need to be creative. Nothing brings out that creativity like a figure drawing class. It is the association with other artists as much as having a live model that does this. I don’t think a private session with a model would be half as productive. A lot of it is the simple acceptance that comes with being part of such a group. We care about the lighting, the pose, the lights, darks and shapes.

Final pose

And it is fun to see the different approaches. Some people are intense, other more relaxed, but each approach is unique.

Buying Produce

2010-10-04T05:00:00.001-04:00

Went shopping today. Bought bread, cheese and produce.

Produce seduces me. I hear its siren call. The shapes and colors screams – ME - ME - ME, BUY ME!!!!!
I find peppers a joy. They entice me with their colors and shapes. Large, small round and crooked. Purples so dark as to be almost black, yellows to rival the sun add in tomatoes and you have the making sof a great salsa or a wicked still life.

You see—I am an artist. Everything I see suggests a painting or some other work of art.

This week I succumbed to squash. Heavy bodied winter squash. Butternut, acorn, spaghetti and turban. The hard shelled winter squash come in such a range of shapes. Have you really looked at a Hubbard? I just love the warts! And don’t get me started on gourds. I look for the perfect size for my small family, but also for its looks. Even though they lack the bright colors of summer fruit, their shapes do make up for it. Add a pumpkin and you have it made!

At home, they get stacked on the counter. I can’t simply let them be. Before they are eaten they must be painted.

Still LIfe with Bear

What about you? Every been reluctant to use something up before you could get it down on paper?