Working Hard on Portraits

My students at the Renaissance Art Gallery have been working very hard on their portraits and other projects.

All are showing such promise.

This week I was able to draw the correlation between standard anatomy and cartoon characters. For us to relate to these invented people, they have to strike a cord with us, and with thoughtful creation, even a robot can have a more human or humane connection.

Worked also on how we change as we age, not so much inside but outside.

A lot for them to absorb.   I often think when their parents send them to art class they have no idea how much thinking, planning and soul searching is involved in art.

Because it is a visual art, so many simply dismiss it as thoughtless. As we all know, that is simply not true. Which is why students that are exposed to the arts early do better in math and science.

We need more art. We also need more appreciation that art is necessary.

Art happens in the head, only then can it come out the hands.

Gallery Opening: 12th Annual National Miniature Exhibition

In an interruption in what I was talking about, Sunday saw the opening of the 12th Annual National Miniature Exhibition at the Renaissance Art Gallery in Huntington, WV. The show will hang through December 9, 2012.

 

That is a funny phrase, the show will hang. It was a lot of work hanging most of the entries, but not all were paintings or drawings. Quite a few were dimensional art and a place to safely display these 3-d works was important. We wanted to show them off, but keep them safe and sound. Being on older building we have very deep window ledges, which are really ideal for this. We are a ground level room, and the window ledges are at waist height, for easy viewing.

 

 

 

The reception went off well. We were very crowded, almost as crowded as our walls! There is this mass of absolutely fabulous work, and mine.

 

 

Painting and Pizza boxes

What is going on at the Renaissance Art Gallery? How come people coming into the Gallery on Wednesday s are carrying pizza boxes? It is a pizza Party at the gallery?

No, it is simply the easiest way to carry wet canvases for the Wednesday evening class. Advanced students can work on still life oil painting, learning to glaze paintings like the old masters.





Studying the old masters is a time-honored way to learn.

You can see the demonstration painting, Growing Orchids, develop each week at the Renaissance Art Gallery in Huntington, WV.





Each week the painting will develop as layer after layer of oil pigment is glazed over the previous weeks dried layer. It is a slow process, this build up of color, but a rewarding one.
 

Drawing

Drawing start in your head. Drawing is the result of what you see. Seeing is not simple. Yes you see with your eyes, in the light goes in, stimulates the cells at the back of the eye and send a message to the brain, but it is the brain that does the actually “seeing”. Turning these impulses into a mission and is responsible of our understanding of what we see.

Play

Play has a bad reputation. It is seen as a waste of time. It is not. Play is a vital and necessary part of any intelligent creature’s life. The higher the intelligence the more important play is.

Pumpkin in Coffee

For most intelligent creatures play is an essential part of learning. It is a way of exploring both the limits of our environment and ourselves.

Play is an essential part of art. We need to explore both our media (materials) and our own creativity. Play is how we do it. We need to understand just what the art material can and cannot do, and how to combine them to get the results we want. Most people call this experimentation. And it is. But it does not have to be dull.

Bags of Candy

Take the color chart.



Red



Work, right? Well yes, but that does not mean it cannot be fun. And should be. Doing both color charts and value charts should engage us. They should not be simple chores assigned by an evil task-master (art teacher). These charts should be how we come to understand and love our material.



Yes they are serious learning exercises, but more than that. We need to come to an understanding of just what is color, hue, tone. We need to play with the paints/materials to learn this.

Home Made Color Wheel

Why We Make Art

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

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.

Fogged In- Workshop 2011

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.

Calendars

 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!

He Never took a Lesson in his Life

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.

Art and the Head

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 Price Of Selling Art

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.

We are Visual People

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 Miniatures

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

How To Get Feedback On Your Artwork

The first time you open your sketchbook and willing share what you have struggled with for maybe hours with someone else can be the most traumatic time in your artistic life! It is bad enough if you are sitting, sketching in public, maybe simply doodling while waiting for something and a stranger comment on your work.

But when you hang yourself out there to someone whose opinion matters, well, that is stress! So even more terrifying can be to deliberately show your work to an uncaring public, via the ART SHOW.

But sooner or later, you will be compelled to show why you cannot get any clothes in the closet! You will drag all those canvases, sketchpads and boxes of papers out into the bright light of the world and decide to exhibit.

Many start by simply entering a local art show or exhibition. Some go the arts and craft fair routine. But either way, putting it up in public is a normal right of passage for most artists.

Today, there is another option available to the beginner and professional like, the on-line forum or gallery.

A lot of artists are content to set up a small website for their work, and never seem compelled to do more. Others regularly enter on-line contests and shows, while many are active in a forum, both showing their work and critiquing others. This can be a good way to learn and develop a more critical eye if you can get constructive criticism by people who will take the time to really look. This is not impossible on line, and there are many forums for this purpose. My own favorite forums are the Painting and Drawing/sketching sites on about.com,

But I am a frequent visitor to wet-canvas also. Recently, I have joined the primsa color site,

posting the work I am doing in colored pencil, and I have long been a member of Corel’s forums. Each of these groups offers support and practical advice when you face the inevitable problems with any medium.

Sites to show your artwork

http://drawsketch.about.com/

http://painting.about.com/

http://www.prismacolor.com/home

Of course, there are tons of artists on Facebook, and I meet many of my art friends there, but most of them, I met elsewhere, and we meet up again on facebook. Facebook is good for connecting with those you already know, and there are galleries available, but remember, these do have limits. While the average person might not reach those limits, this is easy to do for an artist! Also, while facebook helps you keep connected, it is not the best place for critique and feedback. Forums provide a better intereaction between artists.

What are your favorite art sites? where do you go for Critique

Learning to Draw

It Takes As Long As It Takes

Draw yourself. How long did it take? Were you the first one done? It seems only natural to try and do things quickly, in a timely fashion. In most cases we like to be the first one done. It seems important. Speed matters. It means survival.

It is not uncommon to take five minutes or less to do a self-portrait. We did it. It is done, lets move on to the next thing. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Get on with it, get down to work.

Why? What is happening here?

When you do it quickly you use symbolism. The left, dominate side of the brain, the verbal side, quickly jots down the learned symbolism for “You”. This quick sketch is how that part of the brain “sees” you. It has identified and stored a “You”. It has stored this “image” these symbols to identify you. This is necessary for it to make sense of the idea of “you”. This ability to make sense quickly is necessary for us to understand speech and to read.

Speed is necessary for understanding. If we slow way down, sounding out each letter, the words do not make sense. They become random mouth sounds. Not words and not communication. For them to have meaning, they need to be “spoken” at speed, put together to become words and sentences not just individual sounds.

Drawing, however, has it own speed and needs. Too fast, and the “letters” of drawing do not make sense, and it is like playing a song at the wrong speed, it zips by and does not make sense. We need to slow down to understand it, to make the connection between what we envision and what we put down on paper.

In art, speed can be the enemy of success. It takes as long as it takes.

The left side of the brain drew this picture, and frankly it isn’t any good at it. It is good at making quick judgments, cataloging things and making them orderly. It is usually the dominant side and it is, frankly, a bit of a bully. It is the speed demon and the part that reads and writes but it is not creative. The left side of the brain never invented anything, not even speech. But it is very good at appropriating that which the right side invents and call it its own.

Now, look at your drawing of you. Look at the elements, the symbols for face, eye, nose and other parts of the face. These are recognizable symbols, but really only represent what a face any face is. These are a form of writing, and we want to draw.

So lets step back and rethink this. Let us let the right side of the brain in here, the analytical side, the inventive, creative side.

First lets look at the shape of the head. Is your head really shaped this way? Is any head? Or is it the symbol for head? How is a real head shaped, or more importantly, how is your head shaped? Look at the elements of the face. Where are they placed? Where should they be placed? This kind of reasoning takes time and observation, something the left side of the brain does not think it has, and it will try to push the right side around and force its way on it.

So we must find ways to stop this.
Relaxation is very important to drawing well. To totally realign our thinking so we can draw.

It takes as long as it takes

Artistic Struggle Part 2

I talk a big talk about every painting being important, and in its own way a success.
I do believe this. Even paintings that fail miserably, teach us something. Sometimes we learn more from the failure than from the successes. Without the failures, there would be no successes.

Well, one of my goals this year was to try different mediums. I have done so with definitely mixed results!

I have also tried to mix things up a bit and go for less than more, Fewer colors and fewer details.
That is also mixed success. I have written about these paintings and that has lead me think about what went right with them and what went wrong.

Struggling with these two, I think I have the “Rocks in the Stream” improved, and I have worked on the “Park Path”.

The “River Rocks” I am considering done as well as I am able to now. While it is not a complete, stand-alone painting, it was a learning experience, and in that sense, a successful painting.

As for the “Park Path”, that too will be put aside. I am not happy with it, but I do like the overall layout. I will consider this one completed as far as I am going to go with this particular painting. I will use this small painting as a "sketch" for a larger, more complete painting, incorporating what I have learned into a better painting.

Artistic Struggle

Trying new mediums is one of my artistic goals this year. I am comfortable with oils, love the rich colors and butter feel of working with high-grade professional oils. I love them! I have no intentions of abandoning them.

But I have never really painted with anything else. Oh I have toyed with watercolor. Who hasn't today? But they are a bit unforgiving, and in my early days of painting, I needed a lot of forgiving!

Still do for that matter, but that is another story.

With this spring’s Fine Arts Exhibition, and my own earlier sickness, I really did not have time to fully develop 3 oil paintings, so necessity has forced me to actually keep my goal for this year. I hate to admit it, but although I have always wanted to try other things, I am a bit of a coward, and was reluctant to strike out. Especially I did not want to show anyone my struggles!


So, as usual, I have reverse order over most artists. Instead of starting with watercolor and acrylics, I started with oils, and will work my way backwards!



Acrylics

As it would happens, the local hobby shop had a sale on artist quality acrylics this week. The dye was cast.

Acrylics are texturally very different from oils. While I knew, intellectually, this would be true, I don’t think you are every ready for it in practice.

But I digress.

I needed 2 more paintings and I needed them fast, at least to dry fast to give me maximum time to dry. I also wanted to change things up a bit, try for something different. Acrylics was as close to an answer as I was going to find.

For the first painting I decided to try something a bit more graphic, less detailed and flatter. Usually, I work hard at creating depth in my landscapes, but this time I was going to use non-local color and a more abstract style. I worked out my thumbnail, and sketches, and with vine charcoal placed just the basic shapes. This is all I intended to paint, block in the basic shapes.

I used a limited pallet of Violet, Yellow Ochre and White. To achieve any distinction between objects I had to manipulate the values of these pigments, darkening some and lightening some. Mixing them together would give me the grays to add some shading.

Mixing Paint

These paints were much softer than I was used to, and a bit tricky to mix. For the first time I had to worry about drying times, not in hours and days, but in minutes. Usually I spread my paints widely, into rather thin strips. but if you do this with acrylics they dry before you can use them. Also, keeping a spray bottle at hand is a good idea. There are medium you can use to delay this drying time, but naturally, I had none of these! In addition, my standard pallet knife seemed awkward with them. I persevered, I did find a small plastic spoon was a better mixing tool.

The resulting painting is a 12 x 12 square, another departure for me. I tend to stick with what I am comfortable with, and work either in standard landscapes sizes of 18 x 24 or with miniature sizes of about 4x5. So even the format is outside my comfort zone.

The second painting is again a modified landscape, again in acrylics. This is a waterfall of sorts. Large graphic rocks splashed with rapids of an active stream, but with found colors dominating. Emphasizing the blue of the water and the red-orange rock colors, the painting does not try to convey a realism that is more typical of my artwork, but a warmer, more whimsical interpretation of rocks in a stream. Again, this has a limited pallet. Here I worked with a mid-blue and its complementary orange with white. The sky blends into to the river and flows over the rocks whipping up the spray onto the bank.

Even the first trial and error blocking in did let me work with the medium. While I would not call the painting a roaring success, even our failures teach us something. I strongly believe that without the failures you cannot achieve real success. Well, I have the failures now!

While there is a certain amount of success in these paintings, they are far from masterpieces. These paintings are not really very good, from a purely artistic standpoint. But they represent the struggle, the attempt to mastery of a medium and of artwork. They are simply steps along the way. Some of the many hundreds need to complete the journey from painter to artist.

Red-Green Composition

This spring the show theme or challenge however you want to look at it is color complements. So the painting has to be predominately done in a primary color and its complement. For this paintings I chose the red-green color complements, and will use Cadmium red and sap green plus titanium white. These, I think will give me the range of colors and shades I need to do this work.

As you can see, even this limited pallet gives a full range of values. Red-green giving a really rich brown, which can be darked with more of either color or lightened by adding white.

After blocking in the major areas of the painting with paint thinned with mineral spirits, I began adding the gross details, locating and starting to shade in the background trees and vegetation and laying in some of the rough shapes of the rocks that will bracket the falls. I like to work in a impressionistic way at this point, simply laying in colors and letting them blend on the canvas itself. For this I use larger brushes, 1" flats, and 1/2" filbert. Once the basic shapes are in, and I am getting a range of values, I used a script brush to simply flick through the paint to give an impression of tree branches. With some large thin blocks of color I can give the idea that there are building beyond the park, but I don't have to give them any details, this will all be covered by the trees.

With a small painting knife I began building up some of the values that will make the rocks have depth and texture. This is one of the biggest challenges of this painting, as the sandstone of the park has a real rich range of color tones, and for this painting to work both the colors of the rocks and the warmth of the day will need to come through.

I laid in the seated man in red, but will as the painting progesses I will add more and more green to him. After the rapid waters of the falls are added, the darker values of the green will give him a sharper contrast to the foaming water and tie him into the foreground vegetation. I have added the painting as it is after the first painting session. Tomorrow I will beginning to define and finish the background and move onto perfecting the rocks and adding the spray and foam of the falls themselves.

The background is pretty much done, I like the way it looks very wild and unkempt. And I thing the rocks work. Now I just have to get the water to have both depth and foam. A real challenge. But over all I think it is coming along very well.

What is missing so far? Depth to the water, details to the foreground and shading and shadows to the man. This will show the light souce and help the painting hang together. I also think the river looks uninteresting like this. It needs to look more active, containing more life, as it truly does. Although it very rocky in this place, there is a great deal of vegetation cropping up all around.

Now I feel the falls looks more active and real.

The Fiction Project

The Art House Sketchbook Fiction Project

My new sketchbook project has arrived from Art House. The Fiction project, a sketchbook library, is to marry artwork with fiction. It is a sister project to the previous sketchbook library project, where we did sketchbooks for addition into a library of artist sketchbooks. This project is to be an illustrated narrative. Each artist/writer is given a topic, or theme to use and develop into a work of fiction, with illustrations. The theme can be as closely or loosely followed as desired, but each sketchbook should be 51% literature.

These books are to be part of a permanent collection of sketchbooks, creating a library of them. The public will be able to come and look through them free. What a good resource for new artists and simply people interested in art and literature!

http://arthousecoop.com/projects/fictionproject

These are not really aimed at children, but they can be. Any prose or poetry is acceptable or any combination there of. But quality is what I am aiming at.

I received my sketchbook yesterday, and with it my theme: This is Where We Start.

Now, this is where I start!