Deborah Elmquist Fine Art

Busy Husband

2012-02-06T17:57:00.001-05:00

Some of you may know that my husband, David, is the business side of my art and takes care of all the computer work (other than blogging and tweeting). He also enters my work into the various shows, competitions, and sends off the images to various sources. Being married to a photographer/ journalists/ Motorola techy has its benefits. SO when I opened my e-mail Saturday and found a notice from Old Masters Maroger saying I was the Artist of the Month, I was totally caught off guard. He had entered me into this competition without telling me. I appreciate this honor and want to thank all who had a part in this decision. Check their website out and learn from their videos about how to use Flemish Maroger, Black Oil, Mastic Varnish, and Italian Wax medium.

Be sure to check out my Painting of the Week that was posted Monday. It glows with luminosity and is a true jewel.

Painting of the Week

2012-02-05T19:10:00.000-05:00

Each Sunday I will be posting a mini painting for sale that you may purchase with just one click. As an indirect painting, my mini paintings require 5 to 7 days to complete unlike an alla prima painting. Subscribe to my blog so as not to miss one of these little gems. This week I've painted tangerines from our backyard tree. It includes one of my gold frames custom made for these small gems. Also, on my mini paintings--FREE SHIPPING.


Florida Tangerines

5 X 7 oil on a primed birchwood panel

Actual size in a gold frame 8.5 X 10.5

How lovely it is to live in the sunny South

With sun rays enveloping each day

Fingers of gold and warm air abounds

And golden orange jewels

pepper the trees

Sweet necture of the tangerine.

The Real Face of Leonardo DaVinci

2012-02-04T19:47:00.001-05:00

After teaching all day, I took a break from the canvas but not from blogging. Found this short four minute video from Ted Talks about the real face of Leonardo DaVinci. Interesting.

Hope you enjoyed it. Have you done a self portrait? If so, e-mail me at dbelmquist-artist@cfl.rr.com with an attached image. I will put all the images into a blog on Feb. 13th. I will even add mine although when I did it my hair was a different color (lots of gray) and most people thought it was my mother. I've improved since then.

Fun with Fringe cont.

2012-02-03T20:26:00.000-05:00

The fun continues and here is the evidence. Not only fun with the fringe but also color.

I have the most fabulous brush that is thick, soft, and provides soft yummy edges. Here is a close up of the brush work for the fringe. The light and shadow shapes of the whites are subtle.

The head and ears are made of muslin fabric and edges are crisper in some places. Again you can see the dark mass around the neck made of mostly dark blue fringe. There are pops of color but that is part of the details that I will save for later.

The spools of thread, mug, and pin cushion are hard edge objects that I play against the softness of the fringe. At this stage I have just blocked in light and shadow shapes. This will be the focal point area. You can see the soft yellow of the book that was reduced in its intensity so as not to draw your eye to that area.

More work on the head and ears while the edges are still wet and I can work the edges into their environment. The eyes are very small dots but create a slight indention and value change. I'm loving it so far.

And finally a larger look at the entire painting. After looking at the antique quilt and the boring arrangement of it, I created a triangular drape that is more interesting. I am modifying the colors to repeat what will be in the book, spools of thread, book, and the colors that will be in the neck fringe. This is just a block in at this point. I feel the design of the quilt will need to be softened and treated with less intensity.

Stay tuned to see more stages of this painting. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for the newsletter. And I want to thank all of you who have purchased the demo book "Italian Repast." I appreciate everyone's support and following.

Fun with Fringe

2012-02-02T18:48:00.000-05:00

Today was the most fun I've had in a long time as I painted my fringed rabbit. Instead of a challenge as I previously thought, it was a breeze. I just had to remember light shape, shadow shape. I began with a charcoal drawing on the linen canvas. Once I was pleased with the rendering, I sprayed it with fixative.

I can hear the critics saying that my drawing is too tight and it leads to filling in between the lines--like a coloring book. Not in my case. This gives me the freedom of pushing the paint into its environment knowing that my placement is spot on. Remember--connect your edges to its environment.

Next, I toned my white canvas with a mixture of cobalt blue and burnt umber. Then I pulled the lights wiping them out and then squinted down to locate the darks. The fabric fringe around the rabbit's neck is a flurry of multi-colored dark fringe. It's all dark to me and that's the way I handled it.

Now for the background that I call AIR. Just like in a landscape, as you recede into the distance, color becomes more grayed. I am painting with a north light and so the cool light makes me think cool greenish blue. The gray-green will play nicely off the spots of red that are peppered throughout the objects. Wet edges need to be worked into wet edges so I persevered and began painting in everything that touched the background. Check back in tomorrow to see the fun I had with my big brush.

Thanks to all of you that signed up today for my newsletter. I appreciate your support which helps all of us to believe in our chosen path.

Fun in the Classroom

2012-02-01T19:20:00.002-05:00

Today was a teaching day with my students so I wasn't able to get back to my own work. I am grateful for each student that comes into my studio. They teach me as much as I teach them.

Today Rahna brought her iPhone with the app-- Accu View. She took a photo of the still life, made a grisaille, and then gridded it. Finally cropped it with great negative shapes. Unfortunately, it only works on iPhones. If any knows of an app for the Droid that does the same thing, let me know.

Pam is finishing her still life of cherries in a bowl and it looks like it's a keeper. She is an professional photographer by trade and shared today about lighting at different times of the day. Sweet light is a magical time and we talked about the colors that reflect off the creek at this time of the day. Living on this waterway is pure magic at sunset.

Remember to sign up for the bimonthly newsletter that will come out at the end of February.

New Painting--New Website

2012-01-31T19:37:00.001-05:00

This past week was difficult, mostly because of a head cold that has been hanging on for now three weeks. But as we must, we push on. My husband, David, has been working daily to update my blog, new website, and my Facebook. By next week I will post the new address and talk more about the changes. For now, please sign up for the newsletter which will come out at the end of February. The newsletter will contain artist's tips, collector's advice, a fun video or two, and a painting that can be purchased. All newsletter subscriber's names will be put in a hat for a drawing to win a print of one of my piece of art.

I have painted a few small images this week that I will post as soon as David can photograph them--more work for David. But for now, I am tackling another piece that offers a challenge. I don't know about most of you but one of the reasons I paint is to try new, more difficult subject matter. Doing the same thing over and over just isn't for me. I wish it were. It would make life so much easier for me and everyone around me. The image below is made up of some of "My Favorite Things." This painting is for me. All the objects speak directly to my childhood.

Some of you may remember the primer "Fun With Dick and Jane." We learned how to read with these simple sentences and fun pictures of seeing Spot run. The music box mug is a mystery. I don't remember where it came from but I do remember drinking out of it when I was about four-years-old. The shoe on the left belonged to my father. Back in the day, mothers had their baby's shoes bronzed. The big rabbit is the challenge. It's made up of a mop-like fiber with cascading fringe.

Of course I have needles, spools of thread, and my tomato pin cushion. All of this is sitting on an antique quilt.

I will keep you posted as I go along. Tomorrow I will start with some preliminary sketches and probably some notans to check out value patterns. I will post all this week on my progress.

Road Trip to Ashville, NC

2012-01-26T20:19:00.000-05:00

The last two weeks have been not only busy but both David and I caught a cold. Needless to say I haven't shared everything I wanted to. Getting the demo out took most of my efforts and I forgot to share a marvelous trip we took to North Carolina.
If you get a chance to visit Ashville, be sure to stop by the Southern Highland Craft Guild at the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Upon entering you are met with a spacious two story building filled with light streaming in and the feel of the arts and crafts of the Carolinas all around. On the ground floor are all kinds of handmade crafts including clothing, pottery, jewelry, and blown glass. As you ascend the ramp leading to the second story you see full size hand sewn quilts hanging on the walls. When we were there the second floor featured an exhibit on the history of quilting with samples from each decade till now. At the far end were looms that were magnificent.

Another one seems to be much older but just as beautiful.

All in all, the trip was enjoyable and on the way back we stopped in and dropped one of my paintings off at the M Gallery SE in Charleston, SC. Check out their website.

Painting Demo-cont.

2012-01-23T18:22:00.000-05:00

I want to thank all of you who have commented both privately and publicly about this painting and the decisions I made to make drastic changes mid-stream. Knowing that all paintings are not "winners" was comforting for some. Any artist that can knock it out of the box on each and every painting is few and far between. I'm done (stick a fork in me). Whether I like it or not is still up for debate. I think when I struggle it somehow affects my feelings toward it in the end. I'll put it away for a few weeks and then look at it again.

Today I took the back portion of the quilt and darkened it with the air color of the background. It needed to be sent back into more shadow. I tweaked the coffee grinder with a glaze of red oxide and then added very small white highlights on the drawer and edge of the wood on the top.
I glazed a warm red oxide and cad.yellow deep on the onion and checked my cast shadows from the garlics and onion. When light hits the surface of wood, there is sometimes a cool blueish haze on the warm wood color. Did that. Again I added specular highlights on the edge of the wood on the drop-leaf part of the table.What bothers me the most is the lack of freshness of the paint strokes. In person, it looks overworked. The other issue that I need to consider is how much detail should be put into the quilt as far as the stitching and puckering of the fabric (in the area in front of the coffee grinder). I would love to hear from you and any input good or bad. As one of my students always says "it's all good."

Still Life Demo-continued

2012-01-21T19:05:00.001-05:00

For those of you following me for awhile, you probably noticed some major changes taking place on my blog. With the help of Artists Helping Artists and their marketing consultation services, we are moving into the 21st. century. Hope you like the changes.

Now for some shocking news on the demonstration. Last night after posting I went into the studio and took another look at the painting. I HATED IT! I know when my work is not up to par and this painting belonged in the "something is wrong" category. Years ago, Greg Kruetz told me. . ."when something is wrong with your painting, diddling with it isn't going to help. Be brave and make major changes." This is a paraphrase. So I took my palette knife and scraped back the area that was bothering me which was the jug on the left side. Then I wiped it off and repainted it with a fast drying white. This morning I took another look and felt better. The next decision was what was I going to put in its place. Nothing! I liked the space it created and so just added the fabric of the quilt that was already there. I think what was bothering me was it was too crowded. See what you think.

Because the white fabric paint was wet, I will have to wait to add the red squares. My next focus was on the coffee grinder. To give the wood an old weathered look, I dry brushed grayish browns and blues onto its surface.

Demo Still Life-Day 2

2012-01-20T17:34:00.000-05:00

The title for today's blog should have been--What Was I Thinking? Note to self: when attempting a painting with lots of folds in the fabric and a strong geometrical design, draw it out first on tracing paper and solve all the problems there. Drawing first is usually my preference for starting a painting, but no I just jumped right in and did a rough sketch in oil. And to answer my question from yesterday, I should have saved the red squares for later. So today was spent correcting the block in mistakes. By the way, that doesn't count as a step.

The area with the red squares (to the left of the coffee grinder) has been repainted more accurately. I don't want the pattern to take center stage but it does draw your eye there instead of on the front objects. I'm going to keep at it before giving up on it. Remember not all paintings are keepers but all paintings are learning experiences.

After this I corrected other areas of the quilt to make sure the general form and values were reading correctly. Next came the jug. I've painted this before and know I can get the right color and temperature with burnt umber and ultramarine blue with white added. It comes out as a grayish purple. Some highlights have been added but that's enough for now. The coffee grinder is an interesting color. The wood is well worn and has a beautiful patina that will take several passes of color to get it just right.

Glazing later will give the wood more character. The top was a dark red metal but is well worn.
I'm still not sure if this is going to be a keeper. It's in its ugly stage so it's still too early to tell. I appreciate any comments even helpful hints. Just be nice!

Step 2 -Continuing the Still Life

2012-01-19T18:21:00.002-05:00

Now while the underpainting is drying, it's time to lay out my palette. Clockwise starting in the lower left corner is yellow ochre pale, transparent red oxide, cadmium red light, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, burnt umber, raw umber, and olive green. At the bottom is Maroger (my medium), titanium white, and my special color that I can't live without--Neutral 3 from John Sanden's Pro Mix Colors. More about this wonderful color later.

I always lay out my white in a linear fashion so I can cut off what I need without contaminating the rest of the pile. After I took this image, I realized I need my cadmium yellow light.

Step 2- After mixing my colors to get the values I see on the major objects, I paint small areas to check my color notes to see how they resonate together.

Step 3- This is easy. Block in your darks using thin paint. Then block in the lights. Here is where I use the Maroger as a thinner. It will be dry to the touch by tomorrow. Step back about ten feet and check the overall pattern. Does it have a strong design that holds together from a distance? After much deliberation, I decided to put in the red squares at this stage. I hope I won't regret this move down the road.

Still Life Demo in 10 Easy Steps

2012-01-19T15:37:00.002-05:00

I'm stretching "truth in advertising" a bit when I claim I can do it in 10 easy steps but I am going to try . . . maybe 11 just in case. Fair enough? Let's start with the idea. As you know if you have followed my blog that I love anything to do with textiles. And just so happens I got a new student who is a quilter and a collector of antique quilts. There is a god. I was running out of linens from my own collection. She loaned me two of her prize possessions to paint and I jumped right in. This sentence should be followed by "where fools fear to tread." When you see the quilt, you'll know what I mean.

You can't see it but between the red squares are pale yellow squares. Otherwise it is a field of white. Add a coffee grinder, jug, onion, and a few cloves of garlic and I'm set. The lighting is high to give it a more ethereal feeling. I know that the red squares are details and I know to save details till last, you know the old saying . . . dog before the fleas, forest before the trees. But the pattern is so big and bold that I think I may need to block it in with the massing in of the fabric.

First Step: Working on a 16"x20" toned canvas, I began sketching in with raw umber and turpenoid. I blocked in the dark areas with very thin transparent paint and lifted a few lights. I will be posting everyday as I continue with this painting so following along and be sure to ask questions.

Welcoming A New Year

2012-01-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

My silence has been noticed by a few people and with no excuses by me!

I would like to share some reflections. New Year's resolutions are common and are filled with good intentions. I'm over making them. Instead they are going to take a different form. Not sure what yet, and that is why I have not posted. I also had house guests before the holidays and had an Open Studio to display my body of work created over this past year. That meant a week of cleaning house. In doing so I came upon an old notebook filled with pictures and writings that had meaning to me over twenty years ago. These thoughts expressed in this piece of writing resonates with me more now than it ever has. As a Crone (over 55ish and feeling I have wisdom to share) I'm walking in the moment forgetting my failures of the past and looking toward being as real as possible for now in the future. I don't know who wrote this--I apologize for not being able to give credit---so form now we can attribute it to 'anonymous.'

The Dance
                         "What if it truly doesn't matter what you do but how you do
   whatever you do?
                                           How would this change what you choose to do with your
                               life?
                                           What if there is no need to change, no need to try and transform
                               yourself into someone who is more compassionate, more present, more
                               loving or wise?
                                            How would this affect all the places in your life where you
                               are endlessly trying to be better?
                                            What if the question is not why am I so infrequently the person
                               I really want to be, but why do I so infrequently want to be the person
                               I really am?
                                            How would this change what you think you have to learn? . . .
                                            What if you knew that the impulse to move in a way that
                               creates beauty in the world will arise deep within and guide you every
                               time you simply pay attention and wait?
                                            How would this shape your stillness, your movement, your
                                willingness to follow this impulse, to let go and dance?"

Nuturing Creativity

2011-12-16T21:56:00.002-05:00

After being away from the easel for more than a week, I know I need to get back or some how I will loose my "muse." Serendipitously at this time I was told about TED talks and found this great video that spoke to me. Have you every created a painting that when finished you wondered if your hand was governed by someone other than yourself? Maybe this could explain what is really happening when we create. Elizabeth Gilbert of the book, Eat, Pray, Love, gives one possibility of this idea of genius and creativity. Weigh in on your thoughts.

Season's Greetings

2011-11-25T09:45:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is over, the dishes are washed, and there are lots of leftovers in the fridge. The studio has been left abandoned for almost a week and I am looking forward to getting back at the easel. As I reflect on this year, I want to thank all of you who took the time to read my blog and especially those of you who made comments. It lets me know that I am contributing in some small way. Although this year has not been a stellar year as far as sales, my productivity has been great and I am grateful. For all of my readers, I wish you a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.

Demo Booklet

2011-11-19T16:52:00.001-05:00

Just finished publishing my first booklet demonstrating the process of painting my last painting, "Italian Repast." Documenting the process with images and writing about each major step was enlightening for me and I hope for those of you who want to see my process. I share many techniques, products, and tips, as well as, color recipes for this 16 X 32 inch painting. Check it out on the right side of the blog. I would love to have any comments or feedback on it if you decide to purchase it.

Painter's Tip

2011-11-16T18:48:00.000-05:00

I have had specific questions from Twitter fans over the last few months prompting the idea that I would post a painting tip on my blog in addition to my regular blog posts. It's easy to think that most people know this or that but not necessarily so I will give it a try.

Painting tip: One of the first lessons I ever learned that has served me well over the many years is the colors black and umbers are substitute blues. Black mixed with white will look blue especially against orange and warm colors. Burnt and raw umber mixed with yellow will give you some great greens. Why is this good to know. Blue is a strong color and can overpower your painting. Use a substitute blue in place of a pure blue for sky and water and other blues.

Threads of My Life

2011-11-11T20:51:00.001-05:00

My last few weeks have been filled with the other side of art in order to be ready for last week's Halifax Outdoor Art Festival. For all of my friends, students, and collectors I thank you for coming down and giving me such wonderful feedback on my new series--"Threads of My Life." I'm still working on still life paintings that incorporate fabric and handmade textiles from family heirlooms. My grandmother crocheted her entire life and I have inherited doilies, tablecloths, and runners with hand crocheted edge work. The more I paint these beautiful fabrics and lace, the more I'm drawn to their individual beauty. This piece is entitled Pomegranate and Crocheted Lace and was not as much of a challenge as I originally thought. Squinting and massing in the light shapes and shadow shapes made it fairly simple. Once the overall shape has been established then I painted in the negative shapes. Can't wait to try a bigger piece!

Voice - A Journey Worth Taking-Cont.

2011-10-31T10:51:00.002-04:00

Back from a road trip to North Carolina and the changing of the leaves. Road trips always foster interesting conversations with my husband. It's great; he's a captive listener! After a quick stop in Charleston, SC, we headed toward Asheville. Somewhere on I-26 I brought up the topic of Voice and asked David. . . Was voice something that could be identified by the viewer or did the viewer need the artist to provide words of explanation? This was prompted after seeing a collection of work by an artist at the Robert Lange Studio in Charleston. We both agreed we could identify some artists because of their brushwork, color palette, subject matter, and unique elements such as backgrounds. Is this voice? Or is voice something deeper in the concept or meaning the artists is trying to convey? The more we talked, the more I wasn't sure I could describe voice or would even know it if I saw it. As a reader of literature, I can usually tell who an author is after a few chapters without looking at his or her name as long as I have read three or four of their works. So maybe voice is just that , a definable style. Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with a message you are trying to convey?

The above image is a closeup of a painting I just finished called Italian Repast. Below is the full 32"X16" canvas. People always tell me they can tell my work without seeing the signature. Is that style or voice? Your thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

VOICE - A Journey Worth Taking con't.

2011-10-16T12:41:00.002-04:00

     As I prepared for a pilgrimage back to my early roots in North Carolina, I checked out my favorite galleries in the area to see who is showing their work. One of my favorites in Asheville is 16 Patton Fine Art Gallery. What does this have to do with voice? In reading artists statements of work that I am drawn to, I found an artists who describes what I am alluding to when it comes to emotions and connections. The artist is Mase Lucas and I have taken an excerpt from her artists statement to show what I am trying to describe.

   "Notwithstanding an occasional portrayal of horses in
        action, most of the paintings are quiet and reflective …
        herbivores at peace … as they are here in my fields.
       The thing about horses that makes them compelling
       art subjects is the same thing that makes them
       compelling to me in their own right. My heart melts
       at their beauty and kindness and my adrenalin rises
       at their power … a power so often restrained to
       accommodate us humans."

When your subject matter can cause a welling up of these kinds of emotions then you know you have to share them in some artistic form; now you are beginning to speak in VOICE. Is communication through subject matter all there is to artistic voice? Not necessarily so, but you are coming closer to the meaning of your art and your voice. More to say about voice in the near future as I continue this series. How do you speak your artistic voice? Have you found it yet? Your comments are welcomed!

VOICE - A Journey Worth Taking

2011-10-14T16:49:00.001-04:00

Something magical and mysterious has recently happened in the creation of the last few paintings that have come off my easel. So magical and so mysterious that it has caused me to step back and ask . . . have I found my “voice?” In asking comes the decision to explore the journey that has led up to this eureka. My logical brain has known for years that finding your voice is the key to an artist's expression. It's what distinguishes your art from the rest of the herd. I also know that it comes from somewhere deep inside and is not easily reached. And last I know that when I see this type of expression be it the written word, dance, music, or art, it can bring tears to your eyes or make a lump in your throat. Words like emotion, spirit, connections, and even no words will be on the map for this journey. My road map begins with an inner journey.

Accessing it requires a personal decision to do the work. It requires time set aside away from distractions on a regular basis. My suggestion would be to set aside about 10 to 15 minutes each day and revisits old memories. Write memories of events that have given you the greatest highs or the lowest lows. Feel the moments and write down your thoughts about what you felt back then. These moments will well up and drive the need to put them somehow and in some special way on canvas. This solitary exploration will allow you to pull it apart and make sense of it. It will drive the artistic expression. This is VOICE. Also pay attention to those objects, place, and people that make you not only take notice but resonates with your emotions. Keep a discovery journal either in written or visual form or both. Add pictures from various sources.

Voice for me is an emotion that is aligned with my life experiences that are remembered. It reflects my story; the good and the bad. It is told with the utmost desire to tell it truthfully without ego putting in its two cents worth. It requires detaching from the outcome and just go where it leads you. Now that I am older and in my crone stage of life, I am free to tell it like it is or was. Painting with voice must somehow connect to this inner journey. I will add more about my journey in the next blog. In the meantime, please share with my readers how you discovered your VOICE.

Butt Pain from Sitting on the Learning Curve

2011-10-09T20:09:00.006-04:00

Is it just me or is this technology explosion causing you to ask . . . WHY? This past week Robert Genn's s newsletter broached the subject of the lack of sales in this weak economy. He stated that in a conversation with five artist, one being a technology guru (my words not his) sales were almost non existent. Obviously if their work is not up to par all the advertising in the world won't help. And during this same week I pulled up a site that I had bookmarked some months ago called ARTIST HELPING ARTIST. This particular radio broadcast was about blogging effectively and all the strategies to have a bigger following. I was overwhelmed with all the techno information. I've tried staying current but new information and marketing information to promote my art has overwhelmed me. I know that if you do the work you will increase your community of readers but is that enough? Do you have to have a store with books and prints of your work to make it pay? Why do a few artists (daily painters) seem to sell everything they paint on ebay. What is the real goal for putting all this information out there? I would love to hear your personal experience with being internet savvy. I have included the broadcast at the bottom for those interested. This broadcast is only one of many that are great and I recommend checking this site out. Just be sure to have a pencil and lots of paper to make notes. Looking forward to all comments on this topic.

Listen to internet radio with Artists Helping Artists on Blog Talk Radio

I'm wild for White

2011-09-28T18:05:00.002-04:00

Carolina Blue 20X28, oil on linen

Though I am a native born Floridian, North Carolina near Chapel Hill is a major part of my life and family history. So painting with themes related to my NC roots is major for me. "Carolina Blue", the fourth painting in my new series of paintings featuring my favorite NC pots and old white fabric family heirlooms is my latest testimony to my heritage. But, something is happening here that I didn't expect when I began. The nuances of color and temperature changes with white fabric have made me understand grays in a way I have never thought possible. Now, when I lay out my palette at the beginning of each day, I can mix puddles of white with ease and understanding of what I am seeing. The "air" of the background colors becomes part of the shadows of the whites of the fabric. Now when someone asks me what colors you mix to make white, my answer is . . . "depends on what you are seeing." The teaching advise of "... if the light shapes are cool, then the shadow colors will be warm and visa-versa" isn't necessarily so. Judging value gradations is the other skill that painting white fabric promotes. The folds, turns, hills, and valleys are much like painting a landscape. Learning to "see" takes time and painting white can really move that process along--just a suggestion. I love painting white to the point that I think I am addicted.

Business Planning for Artists - Part 2

2011-09-20T18:48:00.001-04:00

Business Planning for Artists – Part 2
In my previous Blog Post on the subject of business planning we reviewed some basic per-planning elements that should be answered by all of us. These elements included your Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and answering the ultimate question of what business you are in. I suggest that you revisit the basic elements reviewed before moving on. That said, here is a basic outline for a general business plan beginning with the Executive Statement (which, by the way, should be written last as it summarizes the whole of you business plan).

Executive Summery
What business am I in?
My Vision
My Mission
Keys to my success
Business Summary
My Strengths and Weaknesses
My Experience
My Education
My Business History --- an on-going business or start-up
My Location and Facilities
Products and Services (or both)
What do I create (e.g. Custom Fine Art)
What services to I provide (e.g. Commissioned Work)
Competitive Comparison
Source Materials Used
Technologies Used
Promotional Materials/Literature
Future Products possible
Market Analysis Summary
My Market Segment
Target Market Strategy
Market Needs
Market Trends
Market Growth
External Opportunities and Threats
Market Participants
Distribution Patterns
Competitive Factors
Main Competitors
Strategy and Implementation summary
Value Position
Competitive Edge
Marketing Strategy
Pricing Strategy
Promotional Strategy
Marketing Programs
Financial Plan (there is a whole list of items that can go here, but I need to start making this post a little shorter!)
Personal Plan

Okay, this looks pretty daunting and is why most artists do little if any real business planning. I should also say that this outline is not chiseled in stone, so it is a starting point/suggestion not an absolute! The purpose of a business plan is to focus your attention to the grunt work of business. So if you were to work through even half of the elements of a general business plan outline, you would be in a better position business wise than the average artist. In addition, there are many business planning programs available for both the Mac and PC that will walk you through the planning process. None are all that easy to use in my opinion, but are still worth the effort to learn to use or master. I personally use Business Plan Pro and QuickBooks Pro to help me to better understand my art business and where I stand financially. I will have more to say about art business planning as others ask questions. Until then, please feel free to make comments, or ask your art related question using the comments area. I welcome and appreciate questions and input.

Business Planning for Artists - Part 1

2011-09-19T17:40:00.001-04:00

As artists we do not normally think of ourselves as business people. However, if we plan to make a living as artists we are indeed also business people. Recently, through direct E-mail and Twitter, I have been asked about business planning for artists. Business planning in general is a topic that could fill a completely independent blog or website. Here, I will attempt to be brief but still provide some basic information and direction so that you can begin to think about writing your own artist’s business plan. Sorry, no pictures on this one.

For starters, there are a few fundamental elements that you must think about in order to begin to develop your written business plan for your art businesses. Carefully consider the following points; in a brief paragraph or two you should be able to describe for yourself and have a good basic feel for each of these basic elements:

What business are you in? Describe in seven words or less
Your Basic Values & Beliefs --- who are you really
Vision --- where do you see yourself in two, five or more years
Mission --- why do you paint (sculpt or draw) in the first place
Internal Strengths and Weaknesses --- what makes you different; make you less competitive
External Opportunities and Threats --- gallery or museum invitations; the economy
Competition (like it or not we all have competitors!) --- who are you compared to
Your Products and Services, Customers, and Markets --- quality matters; who are your clients/collectors; what markets do you play in---sidewalk art shows, galleries

Let me say this right from the get-go: I know as artists that it is difficult to think of our works of art as products, but to the art show art buyer or the gallery owner/dealer that is what our art represents. If you or the gallery can’t sell your work, you are out of business plain and simple! Take a good look at your work or have an unbiased person take a hard look for you. Is the quality of your work equal to or better than others already in the market place you want to play in? Are your artistic skills and standards as high as or higher than those you compete against? Your work represents and speaks for you and you are judged as an artist accordingly. So what does your work say about you?

I will have more to say about art business planning in Business Planning for Artists - Part 2, or as others ask questions. Until then, please feel free to make comments, or ask your art related question using the comments area. I welcome and appreciate questions and input.

Painting White-cont.

2011-09-14T17:56:00.003-04:00

It's been weeks since I began "French Lace." The challenge was painting the white cloth with a focus on value, edges and temperature. The only way to paint the antique tablecloth was to squint and squint often. The first go round of squinting was to determine the light shapes and dark shapes. Light shapes were in the value range from 1 to 4 (some value charts have 10 as white but not mine). Darks were 5 to 9. I forced myself to ignore any of the details. Once the form of the cloth was established and the clay pot blocked in, then and only then, did I focus on the small areas with an eye to color/temperature. Details were still ignored.

When working this large-36X48 inches, I had to add clove oil to keep the paint wet for a long period of time. Because the tablecloth was bought in Paris around 1912, the white had a yellowish warm cast. The only cool blue white was in the area where the light burned out the color and details.

If you have any specific questions about any part of this process, please contact me or ask in the comment section.

M Gallery-Charleston SC

2011-09-05T20:56:00.001-04:00

I am so pleased to know that the M Gallery in Charleston did not experience bad weather from hurricane Irene last week. In fact, they had a well attended opening for Michelle Dunaway with over 200 attending. There was a lot of interest in the OPA Petite Salon and now you can view it on Facebook. Check out these images of the Salon.

Beauty in Art

2011-08-29T15:59:00.012-04:00

Oil Painters of America (OPA) is one of my favorite organizations to blog about because OPA promotes traditional representational oil painting. Why do we need a group like this? Simple; to defend ourselves as traditional artist from the cult of ugliness and to restore the value, purpose, and need for traditional art and artists!

With the onset of the 20th Century, art took a turn away from beauty and the spiritual, toward what some historians call the period of "What is Truth?" Truth being raw, ugly, and its subjects objects of utilitarian purpose or minimalists images of a single shape or color. If you were "creative" with something that hadn't been done before you were singled out as brilliant---example, a bottle of urine with an inverted crucifix in it! I could go on and name countless "masterpieces" but you know them when you see them. If what the artist created assaulted the viewer it was considered great art and the creator of the assaulting piece a master artist. Never mind words of explanation, or a printed message had to accompany a piece of art in order to appreciate it or even understand it. For more information about this, read Thomas Wolfe's, "The Painted Word."

Currently, there is a movement on the West Coast of the U.S. attempting to bring back the romantic, classical style of art where academic training counts for something. As I read about this small band of artists calling themselves Novorealists, I came across a blog by Alexey Steele , one of these novorealists, where he posted a fantastic one hour video entitled Why Beauty Matters., It is worth the time to watch and it encapsulates all that I believe.

Year after year while I participated in the sidewalk art show circuit I encounter judges who would choose images that were anything but classical or beautiful. They seemed to go out of their way to choose work that was anything but accomplished, and if the art was traditional and representational they would even just pass by and ignore the work all together. I've been told that judges don't want to be labeled old fashioned in their preferences and believe that they must keep up an appearance of being contemporary and avaunt guard. As one judge told me privately, "If I choose something on the fringe, who is going to argue with me, and who am I to assume that I know better then other good judges who have acknowledged so called fringe artists. So judges frequently choose what is safe and not buck the trends."

So what is my point? It is simply this: I don't know that Novorealism is or will become a real modern art movement perhaps similar to the Pre Raphaelites Brotherhood of the mid 19th century ( John Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Hunt)---I really don't care!

Ophelia, by John Millais

I do appreciate and defend what the Novorealists are attempting to do, and I applaud them for their efforts! Point number two: Judges, pull your collective arrogant heads out of the sands dunes. You may think that you are intellectually elite with your fringe choices, but instead I think you display your collective ignorance at best, or your bigotry at worst!

About Shapes

2011-08-27T17:01:00.001-04:00

From time to time I Twitter what I call Artist Tips. Twitter, as you may know, limits a Tweet to 140 characters, so the necessary brevity can cause confusion! Sometimes, from these little notes I receive questions from Followers and requests for additional information and explanation. Recently, I received a question from one of my Twitter faithful followers regarding shapes and lightness and darkness of shapes in a painting. I offer the following explanation with the hope that a more detailed explanation will help. However, should I fall short, please feel free to ask additional questions to clarify your understanding this or any of the subjects I discuss here in my Blog or Twitter about.

In reference to "a dominate shape being determined by its lightness or darkness," here is a more detailed explanation: All paintings are made up of shapes, large and small, representing the objects, or subject matter of the painting. For a shape to have an identity, it must have contrast in value or hue, or an outline (edges, soft and/or hard), to distinguish it from its background. Otherwise, we can't see it. A large shape does not necessarily make that shape dominant; dominance is determined by the qualities mentioned earlier with lightness and darkness being two of them. For any shape to stand out from its surroundings it has to be darker, lighter, more colorful, or difference in texture (example, use of brush strokes or palette knife) otherwise the intended shape is just part of the mass of all that is around it. Keep in mind that I am talking about representational art here, not abstract art. Things are very different in the world of abstract art.

Take a look at some of the images I have posted of my paintings; Simply Ming for example (to find it, scroll down to the Aug. 11, 2011 blog post entitled “Announcing a New Gallery”), is a good example of what I am trying to describe. Simply Ming has a variety of shapes, sizes, color, and textures, all working together to create a complete idea and image.

Your questions are always welcome! The only “dumb” question is the question never asked. How else do we learn if not by doing and asking questions!

Painting White

2011-08-22T18:42:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I wonder about my sanity when it comes to what motivates me to pick up the paint brush. I know I get bored easily with simple set ups so I look for challenges that capture light, fabric, and objects of white. Last week a friend loaned me this antique white tablecloth that had been in her family for years and she's 85, so it has all that I love. It also has a lot of hand-made lace, cutouts, and embroidery. It brings back long ago memories of my grandmother crocheting beautiful tablecloths and bedspreads. Did I mention that I chose a 36 X 48 inch canvas to add to the challenge? Here is a partial picture of the set up with a clay pot. Sorry for the fuzziness.

Although I am not finished, I have it all blocked in and some of the lace partially finished. Besides rendering the lace which in of itself is a major challenge, determining all the values of white both warm (in the light side) and cool (in the shadow side) are causing me to loose what sanity I have left. At one point I went back to a book on Sargent and looked at his beautiful whites in shadow. It did the trick. I think I will make a T shirt that says . . . . What would Sargent do? After the initial block-in of what I thought was correct, I have had to adjust and readjust the values. Keeping edges soft is a must for it to look lacy and soft. I'm doing a lot of talking to myself in the form of pep talks. I work on a section a day for three or four hours at a time so I don't get too tired and start making mistakes. It's important not to try to render every stitch and every detail of the lace. Constantly squinting keeps out extraneous information but does cause wrinkles.

I see another week or two of daily work to finish this piece. If I pull it off, it will be a painting that I don't think I will be able to part with unless the price is right. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Below is a close up of some of the lace work I have laid in. I'll post a picture of the finished piece in a couple of weeks

Painting Workshop Oct. 17-21, 2011

2011-08-21T13:03:00.005-04:00

Through The Glass, 16X20, oil on linen

There is still a few spaces available for my workshop "Painting Like a Master" beginning Oct. 17th through Oct. 21st, 2011. If you are a budding Classical-Realist or Novorealist painter, this is the workshop for you! You will learn the techniques of the new and Old Master's using the indirect painting method creating a painting with multiple layers of paint, and the use of various mediums and glazes to achieve the deep and rich luminosity of the painted surface as experienced in the works of Titian, Rembrandt and Rubens.

Each workshop day will focus on a technique used by the Masters. Day one will focus on how to create strong compositions including value studies, lighting, and color harmony. During following days, you will come to a better understanding of your color wheel to achieve color hues, tints, and shades and how to achieve beautiful grays for use in your art works.

A demonstration of the skills needed for that day's work begins at 9. Shapes, edges and values will be emphasized, as well as the creation of a middle layer painting made from opaque colors to establish the lightest and darkest values of your paining. Finally, you will practice various glazing and scumbling techniques used by New and Old Masters including a final glaze layer that modifies the opaque colors to finish your art peace making the surface very rich and luminous. And there will be ample time for discussion, questions and answers during and after workshop hours.

Don't miss this opportunity to become an active artist community member of the Resurgence of Beauty and Excellence in Art movement and oil painting in particular. Call the studio today (386-756-3068), or E-mail the artist and master teacher today (artist@dbelmquist.com) to reserve your workshop place! A complete Information Packet will be mailed to you by Express Mail. For detail information check out the July 11, 2011 blog or just scroll down.

Oil Painters of America-Addison Gallery

2011-08-13T20:00:00.001-04:00

Just a short note to all about the Eastern Exhibition of the Oil Painters of America. Check out the website for Addison Art Gallery, Orleans, MA and all the beautiful paintings being exhibited this September. Scroll down on the home page to the bottom and click on the painting labeled OPA. I was surprised when I saw my painting used for the link.

Announcing a New Gallery

2011-08-11T20:07:00.001-04:00

I am so very pleased to tell you that I will be represented by M Gallery of Fine Art, SE in Charleston, SC beginning Aug. 16th, 2011! Maggie Kruger, the gallery owner, has created a Petite Salon of OPA artists; I am blessed to be part of this prestigious group. Check out the M Gallery website for more information and take a look at some of the fantastic works of art at the gallery and on line too. Make a point to visit the gallery while in this great city; the gallery is a charming space right in the heart of Gallery Row there on Broad Street. And the gallery staff is the very best; I can't say enough positives about Maggie and her staff, particularly the gallery manager, Carlen. Be sure to make an opportunity to meet her; you will be impressed!

I continue to be hard at work every day (except for my teaching days; that's a different type of hard work indeed!) creating new works to fill my "pipeline." Here is an example of what I am working on and just finished; I call this one "Simply Ming.". This painting is about textures and how light plays off of the surfaces of these different objects. The 24 X 30 size presented its own challenge and gave me quite a workout! I love working in a larger format for they give me lots of space to arrange my objects. As always, shapes---both positive and negative---are the underlying name of the game along with light shapes and shadow shapes, color, and brush strokes. While I appreciate artists who paint with in-your-face social messages in mind, there is still a place in the art world for quality and beauty (e.g. Art Renewal Center); the message may be less obvious, but it is just as real and just as important. And while I am thinking about it, I might add that I strongly believe artists who paint representational art have to understand the abstract structure that underlines each arrangement. As mature artists working in the representational genre, our art is not a "photograph" of our setup! Our art is heavily edited as we interpret the artistic scene we create, not just paint what is there. I will now step down off my soapbox and go back to my easel.

How to Paint Silver

2011-08-09T19:35:00.001-04:00

I love painting metal, especially pieces that are highly reflective and polished. This small silver cup reflected everything around it including me. To paint silver you have to remember to look at the colors. Usually you will see grays, blacks, and whites. Anything around it will also be present in the metal. Paint what you see and forget what you think silver looks like. On one of the days, my shirt was a dark pink and that reflected right down the middle so I put it in. The next day I wore a black shirt and the pink wasn't there. Lesson learned: wear black if you don't want to put your reflection in the metal. Look closely at the long striations of color and determine if the edges are soft or hard. Blend according to how diffused the edges appear. Reflected objects are never as clear and bright as the real objects. The reflected lemon was bright and very clear in the metal but I took down the intensity to make it read correctly.

If you have painted silver before please share your experience and any words of wisdom for my readers.

Oil Painters of America

2011-07-26T21:07:00.001-04:00

More exciting news. Apple Harvest was accepted into the Eastern Regional Oil Painters of America Exhibition being held in Orleans, Mass. Sept.17. I will be posting four or five new paintings that I have in the pipeline as soon as I put on the finishing touches. Hard work everyday is paying off.

5 Day Workshop

2011-07-11T11:39:00.017-04:00

I am pleased to announce a 5-day workshop to be held at my studio in Port Orange, Florida, October 17-21, 2011. Mark your calendars and make your plans now!

Port Orange is a small community just a few miles south of Daytona Beach and about 5 miles from white, sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. The workshop opens with a meet-and-greet Sunday evening for early arrivals. Q&A's and open discussions scheduled workshop evenings for those wanting a little more info. Lunch is provided each workshop day, with coffee and tea available anytime during the workshop hours.

The focus of the workshop is painting the still life incorporating the indirect method and techniques of the old masters. Demonstrations and lectures will be given each morning focusing on a skill(s) needed for each day's work. My workshop features a small group setting of no more than eight students so that I can give one-on-one instruction to better meet your individual needs. Some painting experience is required. You will be provided with a printed manual with information to cut down on note taking during class. More information on the curriculum is forthcoming.

Please join me for this great opportunity learning to paint in the indirect method and spend time in a unique and historic area of Florida. One evening will be spent at Cracker Creek on a wine cruise down the waters of Spruce Creek. Check out their website here.

Lodging is available within three miles of my studio, as well as, ample motels on the beach which is approximately five miles away. The Daytona International Airport is just ten mile from the studio. Contact me for information at artist@dbelmquist.com .

Workshop Fee: $500
A deposit of $150 holds your place; remainder of fee due by Oct 1. No refunds after Oct. 12, 2011.

Early Bird Special!
Register before August 31, 2011 and pay only $450 (a 10% discount)!

Travel and Lodging: Workshop participants are responsible for their own travel and lodging arrangements. Port Orange is located about 10 miles south of Daytona Beach, so the Daytona airport is the closest. Lots of lodging alternatives from B&Bs to reasonably priced chain hotels are available within the greater Halifax area and just a few miles from the studio. Lodging suggestions are provided in your registration packet. Limited transportation assistance is also available upon request; call the studio for details.

Oil Painters of America

2011-07-05T18:50:00.002-04:00

It's been a few weeks since my last post. My only excuse is that I have been behind the easel painting, painting, painting. My goal is to increase my portfolio which means painting daily up to eight hours a day. Almost forgot to share information about the National Oil Painters of America's exhibition at the Devon Gallery in Couer' d Alene, Idaho. Check out all the great paintings being shown this month.

Hard At Work

2011-06-17T20:23:00.004-04:00

These last few weeks have been extremely productive. After a trip to N. and S. Carolina to visit family and friends, we stopped in our favorite cities of Charleston and Beaufort South Carolina. My heart skips a beat in the presents of these southern beauties and I marinate in charm and history of the old south. If you haven't been to Beaufort and taken a carriage ride through this storied town, put it on your bucket list. Our carriage horse and guide were a show stopper and worth the ride.

Now back to the art scene. I just discovered a great little book that I believe all professional artists need to have in their quiver of informational gems. Deborah Paris has written a straight forward, no holds barred book on how to grow in the profession of being a self sustaining painter. It's entitled Studio & Business Practices for Successful Artists. My experiences confirm that she knows what she is suggesting in every chapter. Some of the topics include: Studio Practices, Pricing Your Work, Approaching Galleries, and Self Promotion. Check it out on her website, it's well worth the nominal price.

As my title suggests, I have been hard at work with a daily routine of six to eight hours a day in the studio. With classes canceled for the summer, I am using this time to put brush to canvas.

Four Stages of Learning

2011-06-03T07:47:00.004-04:00

As a teacher and painter for more than thirty-five years, I have come to know many things. The process of learning any and everything holds great interest to me. More than ever before, I have focused on the learning process for myself and others in the area of painting. Because of my experience as teacher and painter, my adult students have said that they have learned more about how to paint from me than any other teacher they have had.

Now mind you, I'm aware that there are many people who are good painters, are masters of their craft BUT can't get it across to others. Having taught children and adults from the elementary to the college level my entire adult life, I can say that teaching is one of the most difficult things to do well. Just the other day, I was in the studio with one of my adult ladies working on painting light shapes and shadow shapes. We were both failing miserably using just a limited amount of colors on the palette. After she left, I felt like I had failed (sorry, good teachers have a tendency to internalize the failure of their students taking it personally). As they say, back to the drawing board. What exercise could I give her to help her see what I was talking about? What step(s) did I not give her? Was it not enough practice in the early stages, or something else? All questions a good teacher asks when a student doesn't "get it." Remember those days in school when you said, " I just don't get it."

Remembering some of the basics I had practiced as a student using plaster casts, I went to the local hardware store and bought a couple of wooden finials that go on top of fence posts. After a little sanding, I painted them with a coat of white paint. One finial had an egg shaped top (the halftones were a slow wide turn before going into shadow. The other was an obelisk that tapered toward the top but the sides were somewhat of a right angle (no halftones with light shape touching the dark shape). For her next class session, we set up both shapes and painted them in tones of gray. This exercise did the trick; she got it! She now understands the concepts, but may not be able to fully operationalize the concepts learned; that will take more practice.

The last statement reminded me of something I learned years ago in an education course and has served me well over the years. I would like to pass it on to you. There are four stages of learning:

Unconsciously unaware
You're unaware that there is a skill to be learned, and that you don't have mastery of it.
Consciously unaware
You're aware that there is a skill to be learned, and that you currently don't have mastery of it. You know just how bad you are and have some idea of how far you've got to go.
Consciously aware
Through practice, you've become competent at the skill, but you have to think about it to make it happen.
Unconsciously aware
You've practiced so much that your competence has become unconscious, you can do it automatically without having to think about it. You've completely internalized said skill.

With so many skills needed in painting for mastery (if there every is a time you have really gained mastery), you can be in more than one stage during the painting process. That's why I love the indirect method of painting because you break down, or separate the major steps, to lessen the challenges they present.

Those steps look something like this:
1. Draw the image out first on paper.
2. Paint quick color poster studies, as well as, a couple of notan value studies
3. Transfer complete drawing to the canvas
4. With tones of gray, block in light shapes and shadow shapes
5. Complete your grasaille with halftones--keep the values to a minimum of 3 or 4.
6. Add color with thin transparent glazes.
7. Adjust colors and continue with more opaque colors on top.

Painters like Richard Schmid are masters and for a good reason. They go right to color and can see everything together-value, hue, and intensity . Mr. Schmid truly exemplifies a person who is "unconsciously aware." Here is an example of his work.

Warm vs. Cool Palette

2011-05-31T08:47:00.004-04:00

My still life 'Pears and Peach' is for me another labor of love. As simple as it looks, the painting took probably about thirty plus hours to bring it to this point. And for me the joy in creating the painting comes from the fact that it was painted in layers of glazes. I used Liquin as the medium so each layer dried in less than twenty-four hours so the painting was ready for a new next layer the next day instead of weeks.

I also experimented with color. Usually my palette is warm (as in the previous post), but I realized that I had gotten into a rut so I tried using a cooler palette. Here my underpainting is created with raw umber and terre verte. I also lightened my background to a medium (5) value moving away from my usual near black backgrounds. I really like the feel and mood of the painting since the values are closer together and much lighter. What was really fun for me was using a semi opaque white in a soupy, milky consistency to scumble over the white fabric. The photo doesn't do it justice but the white glows with light.

I know that many painters avoid the layering technique because of the time it takes, and I understand that reasoning. But, (there is always a "but") it is nearly impossible to get the "look" and "depth" of layered glazes without using this technique. As always, your comments are welcome.

Painting a Grisaille/Underpainting

2011-05-24T19:19:00.005-04:00

When teaching my weekly classes, I am again focusing a great deal on having my students work on blocking in light shapes and shadow shapes first. This is not an easy thing for students with their yet "untrained eye" when looking at a still life setup. So, I have returned to the basics--having each student paint in a five value gray scale. For a novice painter, removing color helps them focus on value first and foremost, and this method is also consistent with the traditional method. I even have them put a piece of tape down the center of their palette and mix their grays with the light values on one side of the line and the shadow values on the other. I am pleased to say, I am seeing real progress and so are they. Here is an image of an under-painting I did using raw umber and white creating a five value gray scale. I began with only two values, 2 and 7, and blended to create the halftones. When the under-painting dries, I will be working on the "dead" layer and adding the milky glaze of white to the objects. Later the color glazes will be added to bring the image back to life, followed by thicker impasto paint in the highlights as part of a finishing layer before varnishing. Did I say that this method is a tried and true one used by the Old Masters? I love it! It does take time and patience though, but it's worth the wait time (drying time, that is). I've played a little fast and loose here with terminology, but will tighten up here so that my process can more easily be followed. Questions . . . please comment and I will reply with hopefully good answers.

Portrait of Larry

2011-05-09T18:37:00.002-04:00

Although I'm not totally finished with my portrait "Larry," I'm posting images of what I have completed so far to share with you my efforts of last weekend while at the ACA retreat. One issue yet to be resolved is the railing that Larry is leaning on. The railing is white, but I didn't want the railing color to compete with Larry's white shirt. The background is also a bit of a problem since it is composed of a lot of trees and foliage with light peaking through. I'm thinking that just an indication of the background should be enough, but the "jury" is still out on this one. More to come!

Workshop at the Atlantic Center for the Arts

2011-05-08T21:00:00.002-04:00

Friday and Saturday I ventured out of my comfort zone. I was invited to join a group of accomplished women artists for a weekend retreat at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, FL. So why was that a comfort zone issue? I am a Classical-Realism still-life and portrait painter. So picture this---Classical-Realism and abstract taking residence in the same room; two different worlds coming together side by side.

These lovely ladies create images so big they required an entire wall to paint on. And there I was with my little 12 x 16 inch canvas and my little easel in the midst of huge canvases as the abstract ladies made sweeping strokes of vibrant colors all around me. At the end of the "work" day before having dinner together we critiqued each other's work and found that we had more in common that I at first thought. Note to self. Good design and composition are universal.

As the adage says, "A good time was had by all" as well as a greater appreciation for abstract art created!

Here are a few of the images of Saturday's efforts.

My sincere thanks to Beau Wild for organizing this fantastic experience, and to the Abstract ladies, Sarah, Carol, Diana, Betty, Jean, and Gretchen for making me feel so welcome and one of the girls.

I will be posting my retreat portrait in a few days when it's finished.

Getting Ready for Northlight Gallery

2011-05-01T21:21:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again! Getting work together for the Northlight Gallery of Kennebunkport, Maine. I can finally stop and take a look at nearly a year's work after framing and reframing, installing hanger wires and creating an inventory sheet for each of my "babies." My living room looks strangely like organized chaos. With all pieces finished and ready for shipping, I must start the process all over again! Like another blogger said, "What am I going to do next?" Should I break away from my comfort zone? Should I venture out into totally new territory? Questions like these circle around my mind like leaves in the wind . . . . I'm a storyteller by nature; the narrative is my comfort zone. But, putting stories to canvas is not necessarily an easy thing, or appreciated by critics for that matter---all that kind of "stuff" is but passe they frequently tell me. For me though the narrative is the "stuff" of life, the "it" that draws us into a picture, but in the language of form, value, and color. What is at the root of your picture making?

Portrait Demo by Louis Smith

2011-04-18T19:34:00.007-04:00

As I checked out the blog posts that I belong to, I came across a teacher and portrait painter, Louis Smith, that was noteworthy. Painting in a gray scale is difficult but a valuable exercise in learning about values. I have been on a quest these past couple of weeks to understand the word halftone and understand how to use it with skill. After much reading and a reference about John Singer Sargent's paintings having basically two values, I plowed into anything to do with halftones. I can't say that I totally understand but I know more now than I did before. I do know that too many values in a painting is, as C.W. Mundy said, like fingernails on a chalkboard. More than that, too many values make for a weaker painting. Value studies and notans help in preplanning a painting and to control the values. Looking at Smith's demonstration, I see at least five different values in the face and hair. My struggle is in understanding this concept---how should I collapse these values into two or three stronger values? I am tempted to use all five! Your comments are welcome.

Rose Frantzen's Amazing Video

2011-04-12T19:53:00.001-04:00

Even though Making a Mark Blog has done an amazing job of presenting this talented artist to her viewers, I wanted to make sure that those that read my blog see it. A comment made on the blog by Bill hit home with me. To loosely quote him, "Creating a body of work that is truly your own is far more difficult that painting well." Rose Frantzen's presentation will pull you in and give you insight into her thinking and experience of creating over 70 portraits of people in her community. This presentation is at the opening at the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian Museum. It is well worth the 57 minutes of viewing. I would love to know what you think after watching it and the idea of your art being about giving back to the community.

Teaching, Showing, and Painting

2011-04-02T19:15:00.001-04:00

The last two months have been very busy including two outdoor art shows--which is always exciting--in addition to my own work and weekly art classes too. Outdoor art shows are not only great for showing my work and meeting possible clients, but also to promote my art classes. The two shows did exactly that plus an added bonus---winning an award at each of the two shows! It's always nice to get the extra recognition and the money goes along with the award.

Last weekend at the DeLand Outdoor Festival I met a lovely lady who makes quilts. After talking with her about using one of her pieces in a painting, I found a small table runner with beautiful cool colors of blue teal and lavenders and arrange to purchase the quilt. To my surprise at the end of the show, she brought it over to me as a gift and asked only that I send her a picture of the painting (which will include her quilt) when finished. Her quilting business is called Unique Design by Linda K. I love getting something new and with it the challenge of seeing what I can do with it in a painting. So here is the still life arrangement I am currently working with. The multifaceted pitcher along with the luscious colors of the quilt is going to be a challenge but well worth it.

Teaching is going very well and my classes are growing with new students. Now I am trying to make room for everybody in the studio so we are not tripping over each other. The Saturday class is full and the Tuesday class is filling too; I am thinking of adding another class day. In addition, I would like to add a couple of workshops to my teaching schedule during the fall of this year. So, if your art league or art group would like to schedule me for a workshop please contact me for more information.

OPA National Exhibition

2011-03-24T16:44:00.003-04:00

I am pleased to announce that my painting, Country Morning, was accepted into the 20th Annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils for Oil Painters of America. The exhibit will be held at the Devin Galleries in Coeurd d' Alene, Idaho, June 10 - July 9, 2011. I'm not sure that I will be able to attend the opening but for anybody who can attend, it is worth the trip. In the past approximately 2,000 entries are viewed and juried for a national show and this year only about 170 were accepted. I am deeply honored to be one of the few. For all my local friends, please come to the DeLand Art Fesitival and enjoy not only the art but the beautiful 80's weather.

Beginnings

2011-03-06T19:55:00.001-05:00

After transferring the initial drawing onto canvas, I decided to execute the image of a white porcelain vase and a deep ruby red strawberry into values of gray--a grisaille. The white vase was fairly straight forward but the strawberry was a different matter. The bright green translucent leaves made me really compare the different areas to a gray scale that I borrowed from my husband's photography paraphernalia. The shape of the vase looks off but it's because I shot the image on an angle to reduce the glare. The exercise was powerful and I will use it with my students. Try creating your own complete gray scale under-painting. Then tell me all about YOUR experience. I would really like to know what you found. If you E-mail me a photo of your grisaille, I will post it here with your credit line. Comments are open and welcomed!

More Beginnings

2011-03-01T18:33:00.003-05:00

I feel like I dropped the topic of the different techniques that artists use to begin a painting without writing about the indirect method. It takes many forms but has one thing in common. It is done in layers and stages so as to deal with each challenge separately. Most indirect painters begin with a drawing, either directly on the canvas or on a sheet of paper then transferred onto canvas. After fixing the image, thin layers are applied and allowed to dry before another layer is applied. This is a simplified explanation. If you would like more details, there are many sites that demo this type of beginning. I am attaching a sample from Sadie Valeri' s blog of a painting done in this method. Her work is magnificent and she is truly a talented artist.

Eye Path part 2

2011-02-16T19:11:00.002-05:00

James Gurney's, Marketplace of Ideas, and the computer research performed on his image. From the book Dinotopia: Journey to Chandra.

The first comment posted by Mary Byrom took me to some interesting research on eye tracking. The information was posted on the blog of James Gurney.
The research is found under the index of composition and is extremely revealing about how we look at images. I have attached below the six conclusions drawn from the research. We know the brain is a pattern seeking organ and wants to make recognizable sense out of what it sees. The more obscure the image is the harder the brain works to detect something recognizable. When painting a still life, having a "mystery" that makes the viewer's eye linger to understand what something is, is a great technique.

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS
These experiments force us to question a few of our cherished notions about composition and picture-gazing.

1. The eye does not flow in smooth curves or circles, nor does it follow contours. It leaps from one point of interest to another. Curving lines or other devices may be "felt" in some way peripherally, but the eye doesn't move along them.

2. Placing an element on a golden section grid line doesn’t automatically attract attention. If an attention-getting element such as a face is placed in the scene, it will gather attention wherever you place it.

3. Two people don’t scan the same picture along the same route. But they do behave according to an overall strategy that alternates between establishing context and studying detail.

4. The viewer is not a passive player continuously controlled by a composition. Each person confronts an image actively, driven by a combination of conscious and unconscious impulses, which are influenced, but not determined, by the design of the picture.

5. The unconscious impulses seem to include the establishment of hierarchies of interest based on normal expectations or schema of a scene. For example, highly contrasting patterns of foliage or branches will not directly draw the gaze unless they are perceived as anomalous in the peripheral vision.

6. As pictorial designers we shouldn’t think in abstract terms alone. Abstract design elements do play a role in influencing where viewers look in a picture, but in pictures that include people or animals or a suggestion of a story, the human and narrative elements are what direct our exploration of a picture.

As Dr. Edwards succinctly puts it, “abstract design gets trumped by human stories.” The job of the artist, then, in composing pictures about people is to use abstract tools to reinforce the viewer’s natural desire to seek out a face and a story.

Because a still life doesn't usually have a face in it (some do have photos, etc.), we have to think differently about what draws the eye in. If you are a still life painter, how do you plan your compositions? Once again my thanks to Mary Byrom who brought this research to my attention.

Eye Path

2011-02-15T13:58:00.002-05:00

Memories of Key West 11"X14"
Blogging about beginnings provided much needed insight on the process of starting. Was there one right way? From all of you who gave me insight into your beginnings coupled with what the master artists said, the answer is a resounding No. I do know that the beginning you choose plays a large part on how it will look in the end. Consequently, have the end in mind before you begin.
Now I have another issue that has plagued me for a long time. The idea of composition and the placement of the elements that create an eye path for the viewer. Countless books demonstrate how your eye moves throughout a painting. Arrows are drawn showing the movement around the elements. Although academically it makes sense, my eye doesn't move around the way the arrows show. Usually it goes directly to the most interesting aspect of the work and it stays there. Only then do I look around at the other elements. Then last week I read in an excerpt from a book on composition that said, "One enters a painting from neither the left nor right, but from the front, going straight to that element of greatest contrast nearest the center." BINGO! That's what happens to me. Someone had finally described my experience. So my question to you is--am I not understanding eye path? Are these eye path arrows more about good composition and not so much about how the viewer looks at a painting? Or is this movement so quick that our brain only registers the final stopping point (focal point) in the painting? Memories of Key West (above and with the top cut off) seems to have an eye path but it's the shell where my eye goes to first and lingers. It's only after going to the shell that I look at the glass lantern and crinkled paper. Another thought might be that painters look at paintings differently than the general public. In your experience, do you compose your composition with eye movement in mind? How do you view a painting?

Beginnings-More of Richard Schmid

2011-02-07T16:55:00.004-05:00

Richard Schmid's beginning

After a short “sick” break, I continue now with two more ‘beginnings.’ These are from Richard Schmid’s book Alla Prima.

The first three methods I blogged about earlier provides much more support for the novice painter. These two methods below require a greater skill in judging correct value, color, and shape. I would not recommend them for the beginner. The Full Color Accurate Block-In begins with a tonal wash applied over the entire canvas. Pick a large mass/shape and lay it in with correct colors and values. Schmid reminds the reader to paint it as correctly and as completely as possible with its true value, color, and edges. The adjoining shape is done next in the same way, and continues connecting each shape that borders the previous one. He cautions that excessive modeling with value changes in the lights and shadows will undermine the design structure. Use color changes instead. I also find temperature changes work as well.

The last method is called Selective Start. This is Schmid’s favorite way of beginning. Although it sounds like the previous method, the difference is he begins with a point, not the largest mass. Begin by painting each little shape as carefully as you can from the start. Do it in as finished a way as possible, and use each correct color shape to guide you in painting all adjoining shapes. Build your picture in this way from a single accurate point, painting outward from that center, until you have the painting you want before you. He calls the final stage “mopping up.” Here Schmid checks for drawing errors, eliminates any unnecessary value changes and checks the overall design for simplicity.

As you can see, this is not for a beginner but it does sound like a goal to move toward. I’ve seen him demo portraits this way and he begins with the eye and works out from that point. Looking at all the previous methods for starting a painting, do you have a different method that you find to be as valid as the ones featured here? Please let me know so I can share with my readers.

Beginnings-More Richard Schmid

2011-01-23T19:26:00.001-05:00

by Richard Schmid

The second of Richard Schmid's "beginning" methods (he has six in total) is similar to his first and is called a Transparent (oil) Monochrome Block-In ( I'll call it TMBn to shorten it a bit). The TMBn is basically a value study done in one color on a white support. This method is a good one because you work out all the problems of values, drawing, and edges without worrying about color. Schmid suggests using a warm red, a mixture of transparent oxide red, burnt sienna, and with a touch of ultramarine blue. Other colors can be substituted to create a warm paint color such as red brown and terra rosa with a little of the ultramarine blue. However, stay away from Vandyke brown or burnt umber because of their cracking potential. Brush on the block-in paint for dark values and wipe away paint to get light values.

Schmid's third "beginning" method is similar to but just a little different than methods one and two. Schmid calls method three The Transparent Monochrome As a Finished Painting. Method three is like method two but carries the process further by adding transparent color and/or add opaque whites in the last stages. Texture may be added too by a light rubbing of sandpaper, or steel wool, or palet knife scraping.

There are three more ways to begin a painting according to Schmid. I will review these in future blog posts. I must say, however, that I love the monochromatic studies—they stand alone very well. Try these methods for yourself and let me know what you experienced. What did you like about each? Which beginnings method do you use most of the time?

Beginnings-Richard Schmid

2011-01-19T18:37:00.005-05:00

In my reading, I came across a wealth of information on beginnings in Richard Schmid's book--"Alla Prima-Everything I Know About Painting." He lists six different beginnings, starting with the most supportive, where elements of drawing shape and color are rendered separately, and ending with the the most difficult method, where you begin with the correct shape and color. I love what he says about starting methods. "It is hard to exaggerate the advantages of having a variety of starting techniques at your disposal. Unquestionably, a flexible response to the demands of subject matter and conditions
is better than having a single individualistic style of working ."

Schmid calls the first method "Line and Mass Block-In." This method is good for organizing complex compositions, or large paintings with numerous figures or object. First the canvas is toned, then draw and mass in tones by scumbling, or using an oil wash. Finally, cover with opaque pigment. Lines should define borders between shapes without adding volume. Two drawbacks to this method is that is that it is time consuming and the quality of edges may suffer when finishing paint is applied because of a tendency to paint up to the "lines" but not into them. If you are interested in learning from this master artist, check out the monthly on-line lessons called Learning From Richard Schmid presented by Katie Swatland. She has created a marvelous opportunity to watch and learn to paint as if you were right there in Schmid's class. In my next blog post, I will share more of Schmid's starting methods. Until then ... Peace & Love

Beginnings-No Toner Results

2011-01-16T18:42:00.002-05:00

After doing the charcoal oil sketch on an oil primed white canvas with no toner, painting on the white canvas had some surprising results for me. First, painting on a white primed canvas without a toner seems ideal for high key portraits---especially for portraits of children. Why? It's easier to keep it in a high key. Kendal, who is extremely fair haired with almost ivory white skin lent itself to a high key image process. Having said that, I'm thinking that value relationships are keyed to the white easier than with a canvas toned with a darker value because I'm making a lighter dark side of the image. Does that make sense?

As I looked for support for my developing opinion, I observed that artists like Jeremy Lipking demonstrate on a white/light canvas . At the Weekend with the Masters (2009) for example, Lipking demonstrated on a white canvas whereas David Leffel began his demonstration using a darker pretoned canvas. Second thought; knowing what you want to achieve in the finished work is essential to how you begin the work.

In my next blog post I will focus on "beginnings" using the alla prima method on a pretoned canvas. Again, thanks to all who have taken the time to give me input on your method. Your comments, pro or con, are welcomed and encouraged!

Beginnings-No Toner

2011-01-12T18:06:00.003-05:00

UNTONED CANVAS
As the saying goes--"different strokes for different folks." One beginning method used by a few artist is to begin painting on a white, untoned canvas. I read in John Howard Sanden's book, Portraits from Life in 29 Steps, that he begins with a white canvas. "I paint on a white, untoned canvas, since this seems to reflect the colors in the truest and clearest fashion. Another reason I rarely tone the canvas is because I use a white palette. . . . I also enjoy the feel of the bare canvas texture against my brush." He also goes on to write that "for the premier coup method, which calls for a single layer of paint laid in as swiftly as possible, toning the canvas in advance is a contradiction in terms and is useless. It is contradictory because toning the canvas implies judgment prior to observation. It is useless because the subsequent paint should be a correct and final statement, without support from preliminary toning."

I am reserving judgment on this beginning method since this was not how I was taught. Curiosity got the better of me and I thought I would try painting a portrait on a white canvas. Here is my beginning. I prefer to do a charcoal sketch first and fix it with a fixative (shown here). When I finish, I will post the results. Who knows, I might like it. If any one uses this beginning method, drop me a comment and tell me why you like it. Or if you totally disagree, tell me that also and why.

Beginnings-A First Look

2011-01-10T18:17:00.002-05:00

I love research and this subject of how to begin a painting has me combing through my art books and other resources with gusto. First and foremost, I need to put beginnings into the biggest categories of practice- alla prima (from the Italian) or premier coup (from the French) also called the direct method. The words come from a loosely translation meaning direct or spontaneous attack. The other practice is the indirect method. In its true form, colors and values of the painting are tweaked through subsequent layers. Previous layers show through by scumbling, washes, and glazing.
What does this have to do with how to begin? Everything. I fine it difficult to add pictures for the purpose of demonstration because there are several different "beginnings" within each of the major oil painting categories. What category do you fit within? Do you paint using the direct or indirect method? Why do you prefer the one method over the other? Do you think a certain process in the beginning makes a difference in the end product? Hmmm? For those of you who have responded to some of the questions, I thank you for your input. This issue has plagued me for a long time.

How to Begin A Painting

2011-01-08T21:12:00.002-05:00

Have you ever been confused about the "right way" to begin a painting? Do you read different experts, or take workshops only to come away confused because you are told/shown a different way to begin a painting with each new workshop? One workshop presenter says not to tone a canvas and keep it white (they give support why they believe this to be better). Another says to tone it to a value scale of 5. Some say the toner should be warm while others use a color that is neutral. These are just a few of the issues of "beginning" a painting on panel or canvas. After much reading myself it has dawned on me that there is NO ONE RIGHT WAY! So how do you choose? My blog for the next few months is going to deal with this issue and hopefully I can shed some light on this question. My husband says it's kind of like choosing your faith or religion. It's a matter of what you believe. I want to explore as many ways to start a painting as practical and explore the strengths or weakness of one method over another? How do you begin a painting on panel or canvas? Let me know your method, okay? I will post as many different practices as possible.

New Painting

2010-12-24T12:37:00.002-05:00

12" X 24" Making Applesausce
As 2010 comes to a close and goals are being made for the new year, I am taking the time to inventory this year's progress. As most of us feel that we could have been more ______ fill in the blank, I do an actual inventory of what I have painted. This week I drove up to the Gainesville area to pick up the remaining paintings that came back from the summer gallery in Kennebunkport, Maine. It was like seeing old friends again. There's something special about seeing your work after a long absence because the good and the bad jump out at you. So as I close this year, I am somewhat satisfied with my work. This piece is the last of this year's work, and as always, I go back to subjects of home and memories of North Carolina living. I love painting Mason jars and translucent or transparent objects.

I sincerely thank all of you that have followed along with me this year on the blog and I promise I will do a better job of posting more regularly (one of my goals for next year). My second goal is to conduct at least four workshops along with my regular teaching at home. The last big goal is to put together information and images for at least one national publication. Best wishes and have a wonderful holiday season.

Words of Wisdom

2010-11-17T13:17:00.003-05:00

I just read a thought from a clinical psychologist--Terri Melgar on Scott Burdick's Facebook wall. It is important enough to share with my teaching friends and others.

"To learn we must be open to the idea of needing information and/or so frustrated with what we are doing/or what is happening to us, that we are willing to let go of the way we are use to doing "it" and risk!!! Trying something new. (this isn't for the faint of heart).
Children can learn so easily, not a lot of expectations, self corrections and fear to block the intake of new information.
Those get built in from family and other primary care givers which is where that teacher good/bad shows up.
Hopefully in life we are both student and teacher, being open to new ideas and approaches and willing to share our knowledge. To make ones self available to the possibilities of learning about the things that interest us is a wonder . . . filled experience. Often times a gift is given from an unexpected source."
This statement reminds me of the old story of the man who was walking down a dirt road and passed by a house. On the front porch was a dog spread out resting but then let out a howl of pain. Watching, he noticed the dog howled then stopped, then howled again. An old man was sitting in a rocking chair next to the dog. "What's wrong with your dog the stranger asked. The old man responded. "He's lying on a nail." Puzzled by the answer, the stranger asked. "Why doesn't he just get up?" Still rocking, the old man said, "It doesn't hurt bad enough."

Just a thought to think about.

Halifax Art Show

2010-11-09T14:25:00.004-05:00

The Halifax Art Show was a total success. The write-up in the paper brought many people to the show and all were very complimentary. For me, just meeting old friends and making new ones who share a love of art is worth the price of admission. The Museum of Arts and Science's guild gave me a purchase award for a landscape of a sunset river scene on the Tomoka River. This piece will become part of their permanent collection for Art in Public Places. Another pleasant surprise was an invitation for a show at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens. I also had a few comments from folks who read my previous blog and watched the video essay on The Banishment of Beauty. If you haven't seen it, you should. Scott Burdick did a fantastic job of articulating why we should value art for the sake of its beauty and craftmanship.

Scott Burdick's-The Banishment of Beauty

2010-11-03T12:42:00.004-04:00

Scott Burdick's well articulated presentation on The Banishment of Beauty (one of my favorite figure/narrative painters) was presented at this year's American Artist's Weekend with the Masters event. Narrating his video essay, he describes so clearly what has happened in the last century since the onslaught of modern art. Using Thomas Wolf's explanation of understanding modern art, Burdick shows how modern art has become just illustrated literary comments where shock value, vulgarity, and egotistical intellectual messages have become highly prized by museums and galleries. It is obvious to me that these higher institutions of art want and promote what mirrors our current culture . . . rude comments, vulgarity, bullshit, and incivility to the public. With these last few months of political name calling and outright inhumanity to man, my platform is beauty, love, and hard work.

Halifax Art Show

2010-11-01T11:33:00.002-04:00

Life has taken me in many directions these last months--all good. Gallery sales have improved somewhat but the economic downturn has really taken a toll. Having said that I am excited about next week. November 6th and 7th is the Halifax Art Show in downtown Daytona Beach. Last week the local paper--News Journal--called and asked if I would like to be the featured artist for this year's article in the newspaper. Don't ask me twice! Today the article with pictures appeared in the Sunday paper. They did a great job and their choice of using the portrait of Angel on the cover of the tabloid was very well done. The article has already brought e-mails asking about the art and prices. For all of you locals, please come down and say hello.

Beginning Again

2010-09-16T11:03:00.002-04:00

One thing that has become very apparent to me this last year is an internal struggle with what do I really want to paint. Having had a full time job for over thirty years with a paycheck coming in every month, I painted what I liked. It was fun and I learned something with every piece I created. Things have changed! My daily life is about painting and I have come to know that what I paint has to be more than just a pretty picture that sells. It has to be about my passion. I'm not about making social or political statements. I'll leave that for the more . . . you put in the word that comes to mind. The struggle has now formed into the big question. What do I care about the most or simply stated; what do I want to share with others that is important to me? The artist I have featured here is the one person that has helped me to understand the direction I must go in.
Last year, as some of you know, I went to the event called Weekend with the Masters in Colorado. There I met a painter that I have followed these last few years with great interest. Of all the people I met there and I have to say, most of the painters I know today, she was truly unique. Talking with her for that afternoon while I was in her group, something came through that I didn't understand until later. She cared about people. Her demeanor was unpretentious, quiet, and caring. That caring seems to come through in each of her paintings. There was and is an honesty that resonated with me from the moment I met her. She was just recently feature on CBS Sunday Morning. I have attached the video for you to see and hear her. It's about 7 minutes long. I think you will feel what I have been trying to describe. She is indeed a truly gifted artist and individual. Sunday Morning with Mary Whyte.

Missing In Action

2010-08-29T19:10:00.004-04:00

Sorry that I haven't been posting these last few weeks. The world has been heavy and I have been in my cave painting and trying to tune out the ills around me. This week I received news from some of my painter friends about the gallery in Ormond Beach that closed without warning to their artists who had work hanging in the gallery. Jessie Cook (in the photo) and Peggy Landeen are hoping to get their work back but so far have not had much success. Hard times seems to be all around me and I'm trying not to let it get me down. One of my galleries damaged a painting and returned it to me after keeping it for over a year. Prior to that, it had been in another gallery and wouldn't you know, someone came in looking for that painting. Since I wouldn't send the damaged painting to them for consideration, I painted another one very similar to the first. There is no guarantee that they will buy it, but my fingers are crossed. David and I will be starting the art show circuit again this fall. I'm trying to stay positive so that it won't effect my work. Tomorrow is a new day with wonderful possibilities!

The Uniqueness of One

2010-08-12T16:35:00.001-04:00

   Majestic 48"x60"

Since my last posting, I have been putting in long hours at the easel. Here is my next finished shell painting. Ann Morrow Lindbergh’s words from Gift from the Sea keep me focusing on the one beautiful specimen and looking at all the nuances of color and form. In her words not mine,  “One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can only collect a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.   Since the format and design is quite a bit different than my traditional still life paintings, I have had to refocus on creating a strong pattern, eye path, focal point, and above all strong compositional elements that require careful pre-planning. What has helped me more than anything else is creating a Notan in three different values-white, gray, and black. I’ve been reading everything I can to understand this planning tool and feel like it has been worth the effort. More information on this planning strategy on my next entry with examples of what I am talking about. Sorry for the font change in the middle. Part of the text was done in Word and the other here on the blog page. I can't seem to get them both the same size.

Ebb and Flow

2010-07-27T15:23:00.011-04:00

   It's been quite a few weeks since my last entry. I've come to realize that my painting, as well as my life, ebbs and flows like the tide and I must accept what that means for me . After returning from Maine and having the gala opening, I came back feeling lost and void of energy. With no work at home, I needed to begin again. Hence the feeling of emptiness and wanting to get excited again about returning to the easel. I hate it but I'm starting to recognize that angst and accepting that with time, silence, and just letting go of expectations, that the gestation period before a birth of something new will come forward. In the meantime, our local art league--http://www.artleague.org/Exhibit-Openings/2010/July2010-FigureShow/index1.htm had a show called Figuratively Speaking. I entered two pieces and a student of mine, Janis Murray, entered three of hers. As you can see from the newsletter, we both were very happy with the results. Recognition for my work helped to lift my spirits but I still didn't have a desire to pick up the brush.
   When I'm empty, I read. Years ago my son gave me a small book entitled Gift from the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindbergh. I dug it out and began to read it for the second or third time. She wrote it about 55 years ago when she stayed one month down on Captiva Island just west of Ft. Meyers. Ann's insightfulness as a woman and the stages of life touched me on many levels. Road trip!!!! Walking the beach where she walked and collecting the shells that gave her inspiration for the book gave me an idea. My shell collection is enormous but I have only painted a couple as part of a large still life. Why not paint shells in an environment. Just shells. So for the last two weeks I have worked on this one that is huge for me--36 inx48 in. Nothing like jumping into it with both feet. If you don't know about A. Lindbergh and her life, there is a website about this amazing woman and Captiva Island. Check it out at http://www.charleslindbergh.com/press/21Sept05.asp http://www.charleslindbergh.com/press/21Sept05.asp

New eBay Painting

2010-07-03T07:00:00.013-04:00

   Click to Bid
   Yesterday was open studio and we painted most of the day. Rainy and muggy outside, it was a good day to stay indoors. I finished the lemon wedge on Thursday but just now had time to post it. This lemon comes from my Meyer lemon tree which is prolific this year.
   As an artist, I believe that it's important to always try to push your skills to new levels. Since the opening, I have been searching for a new direction. I think maybe visiting the New England area, like Old Lyme, Conneticut, opened my eyes to the beautiful paintings of the American Impressionists like, Charles Hawthorne and Henry Hensche. I learned recently that Monet started out as a tonalists. His painting of Rue de la Vavolle, Honfleur, was an early attempt to paint on location. As you can see, the shadows are brown with little variation. Once he opened his eyes to color, detail became must less important. I'm drawn to the beautiful colors of light outdoors but it is difficult to leave my comfort zone of indoor painting.

Two for Two

2010-06-29T14:39:00.015-04:00

After returning home from Maine, I went on the patio to water my half-dead flowers. Suddenly a small wren flew out of one of my wall sconces that is a cut in half piece of Mexican pottery. Was I surprised when I looked down inside. Four delicate eggs were tucked deep inside a nest that was fashioned to fit the sconce. I can't wait for our new arrivals. Does anyone know how long wren eggs need to incubate and hatch?

4X6 in. oil on linen canvas panel
Click to bid

New Listing on eBay

2010-06-28T10:19:00.006-04:00

"Used Up" oil on canvas birchwood panel
5X7"

Click to Bid

Opening A Success

2010-06-23T12:52:00.004-04:00

The opening was a great success in Kennebunkport, Maine. Irene, one of my students lives in the area half the year and drove over for the event. The flowers were sent by her and the "Saturday Ladies" that come every week to the studio in Florida. Jill and Harry, our gracious hosts, made the gallery opening very special. David, my husband, and I were treated like royalty and saw the local sights like a native. We met wonderful people and sales were great. Below are some area photos of this beautiful area and places we visited. Oh by the way, I researched info on the soap Dark Shadows and learned that images of Kennebunkport cliffs were used in the opening title credits but the house was one from Rhode Island. The stone Episcopal church and its surrounding grounds brought me to tears. There was an organist in the loft practicing for a Sunday service. We stayed at a Franciscan monastery and roamed the grounds that led out to a point on the water. Both David and I were totally mesmerized by this storybook setting.

Arriving in New England

2010-06-18T17:34:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we arrived in the New England area. Our first stop was in Mystic, Conn. For all of you old enough to remember the movie, Mystic Pizza, with Julia Roberts, I had my picture made in front of the famous restaurant. After a quick bite, we continued on to our destination--Kennebunkport, Maine. It was rainy and cold but we checked out the area and take a look at the Bush Compound. This is a pix of the main house but there are about four other smaller homes to the left with a guard house at the entry gate. I was told the house that was the soap opera's main house on Dark Shadows (a soap from the 60's about vampires) is also on this road. I think I know which one it is but I'm going to google it since my memory is a little faded on exactly what it looks like. Tomorrow is my opening at the North Light Gallery so i will take lots of photos. More photos tomorrow.

Journey to the North

2010-06-09T20:25:00.002-04:00

Minnesota weather has been a real surprise for this Florida girl. The temperature started in the high 50's and made it to a scorching 70 degrees today. The Elmquist family piled into the car and headed for the Twin Cities. Along the way we stopped in Chisago City to check on the arrangements for the family reunion this weekend. David relived events from his childhood as we drove around looking at his old house, the family burial ground, and the large amount of land that was given (free of charge) to the Camp Fire Girls of America by three of his uncles. After a trip to the airport to pick up the patriarch of the family--92 years old--we headed for Bloomington for lunch. Across the street was the Mall of America. If you haven't been there, it is mind blowing. I took my two grandchildren for a walk and they rode a few of the rides plus a visit to the American Girl store and Build a Bear. These pictures are just a glimpse of the vast amusement park inside the mall. I could not relax because of my inability to fathom where I was and how to navigate through a place that puts you on sensory overload at every turn. Next week I will share the Northlight Gallery experience unless something unusual happens between now and then.

June Events

2010-06-02T15:13:00.005-04:00

This week has been more about the business end of art than putting paint to canvas. David and I will be driving to Kennebunkport, Maine with paintings in tow. I’m taking a little bit of everything I do. I don’t paint a lot of flower paintings but this one is a favorite of mine and I have not shown it outside of the Daytona Beach area. I am looking forward to hearing the comments good or bad. If it is well received, I might add florals to my repertoires.

Even though the opening isn’t until June 19^th at the North Light Gallery (moved from the 20^th as earlier stated), we will spend the week before in a small community outside of Minneapolis for a huge family reunion for my husband’s relatives. This community, Chisago, where the union will take place, was featured in the movie The Emigrants, with Liv Ullman, about a Swedish family who came to Ki-chi-saga-igun (Ojibwe language meaning Big Lake with-an-outlet) and settled in the 1850’s. I sound like a history teacher but these last few months have been about this reunion and all the history of the Elmquist family. One can’t help but learn something in the process. With the help of his son, Jeff, David has taken a casual suggestion made last year at a family member's funeral and turned it into a larger than life epic event. This reunion has been researched through the local church and county records and the patriarch of the family who is 92 years old will be the guest of honor. I haven’t seen the top of our ten-foot dining room table in months. Photo are scattered from one end to the other with some of them more than 75 years old and written in Swedish on the back. David has been scouring the family photo albums and googling names trying to find all that are related.
I will be taking my laptop with me and will document all the art related information that we encounter along the way. David just told me that this trip will be approximately 5,000 miles of driving. OMG!

Revisiting Old Work

2010-05-22T14:02:00.002-04:00

Faithfull Hound

12" x 24" oil on linen

This painting has been around the block a few times. In its journey, a few marks and scratches have shown up. North Light Gallery had it last year and asked if I would fix the marks. Not having seen this piece for some time, I viewed it with fresh eyes and made a discovery. . . it was too dark overall. So not only did I fix the marks, I lightened the background and made small alterations here and there. The painting is now a show-stopper (in my opinion). Note to self: put a painting away for a few weeks to a couple of months without looking at it. Then bring it out, look at it fresh, BEFORE, sending it out into the world. Writers do this with their manuscripts; the same is true for paintings.

Finally Finished

2010-05-20T11:34:00.007-04:00

Country Kitchen 18" x 30" oil on linen
After three months, this piece is finished. Not only did the cheese go bad but the milk became cheese, or something to that effect. The plums shriveled and I don't know what condition the raw egg was in when it went in the trash. Working from life presents its own set of problems. I think there is a parallel to life if I think about it for a while. This piece plus three other ones will be sent to North Light Gallery for my One Person show in June. There will be a reception Sunday, June 20th and I can't wait! I have never been to Maine.
I have spent about three weeks on a figure in an environment. Boy did composition issues become a major challenge in the process. Painting a figure is not easy but putting it in a space with other objects made me take out my books on composition to help create a more dynamic piece. Note to self: work out all these problems ahead of time with sketches, value and color studies.

Identifying with a Camp.

2010-05-04T14:57:00.005-04:00

This is an 8" X 10" on oil primed linen that I sent to the North Light Gallery in Kennebunkport, Maine. As I look at all my pieces that I sent, I was drawn to this one more than any of the others. Why? It's the combination of both realism of the fruit and yet a soft, almost (but not quite) impressionistic brush work in some places. Up until today, I didn't really know what to call this marriage of two camps. I've always been aware of the different styles and movements in the history of art but didn't know what to call the striving for academic accuracy combined with soft brushwork. Yesterday I was clicking through Gurney Journey's blog on painting techniques and came across some information that told me I had found my "camp." It's call The Juste Milieu artist. The words translate as "the right mean," or the "happy medium." These artists aimed for a middle ground between the Impressionist and Academic camps. It is both a philosophy of painting and a movement of painters. Carolus-Duran was a member (Sargent's instructor). In the late 1880's, the group separated from the Academy, forming under the name Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts. According to Gurney's research, Joaquin Sorolla traveled to Paris, not to see Monet but Bastien-Lepage, a juste milieu painter. Their palette seems earthier in color, closer to a Zorn palette. Sir George Clausen was another member. I guess we still can learn something new each day!

Taking Inventory

2010-04-18T20:28:00.003-04:00

These last few days have been more about business and less about painting. I will be shipping a couple of pieces to my gallery in Atlanta. My other gallery is in Kennebunkport, Maine but I am lucky that the owner spends half the year here in Florida. He'll be coming by this week to pick up a dozen or so small pieces. Framing is not one of my favorite activities but a necessity. What I do like is to put all the paintings out and look at them as a unit. I can immediately tell which ones are my strongest and which ones shouldn't be let out of the house. Every piece has to be photographed by my husband and printed out on a consignment sheet. Fortunately, he's good at that. When I get the images, I will share them on the blog. I'm hoping for a good summer but with the economy in the condition it's in and now the volcano in Iceland, I'm not taking any bets.

Hazards of a Still Life Painter

2010-04-03T16:01:00.001-04:00

Painting can present all kinds of hazards for the painter. Plein-air painters have to endure the outdoor elements. All oil painters have to be aware of the metals contained in their paints. But the still-life painter has it's own set of problems. For example, flowers wilt before the painting is finished. Fruit becomes moldy and shrivels looking nothing like it did in its original, fresh form. Well I am adding one more to the list. Before I left for the M Gallery workshop with Sadie Valeri, I began a large still life containing objects and foods from yesteryear. I should have waited till I got back but I couldn't wait. I decided the jug of milk could be put in the refrigerator and the jar of preserves would last with no problem. The item that became the "hazard" was the mozzarella cheese. After wrapping it up in white cheese cloth with interesting folds and positioning it just right, I got right down to business. Upon leaving Sunday, I decided it would be okay to leave it out because it was still package in a clear plastic wrapper. I didn't want to disturb the folds that I had arranged so carefully and the weather was still a little chilly in the studio. After arriving back, I began working again. I noticed the cheese had a small swell on the side but everything was in its proper place. Today when I entered the studio, the most gosh awful smell greeted me like a thousand rotten eggs. The wrapper had broken from the pressure of the rotting cheese and my beautiful still life set-up looked like a white paint-ball had exploded all over it. Everything needed to be removed and cleaned. I opened the windows immediately. I'm only hoping I can arrange everything back to its original position after buying a new package of cheese. The picture shows how far I got before the explosion.

More Info on Sadie Valeri's Workshop

2010-03-31T06:27:00.001-04:00

I was extremely pleased to read and see Sadie's blog after she arrived back in San Fransisco. There is more information showing her step by step process. Take a look and you will see where we painted and images of her painting. http://sadievaleri.blogspot.com

Final Wrap-up for Sadie Valeri's WS

2010-03-28T19:34:00.011-04:00

I'm back home and have had time for all the information to simmer and let the lessons rise like steam. Processing so much information in such a short amount of time often makes me want to curl up in a fetal position. Now that I have had some quiet time to reflect and to look at my pictures, I will try to share briefly some of the highlights.

First of all I have to applaud Maggie Kruger and M Gallery for their outstanding way they treated each and every participant. Food was always available so that we didn't have to leave for lunch and breakfast was waiting for us when we arrived. This photo shows the picnic table we all gathered around at lunchtime to get acquainted with each other. The setting was "old Florida" at it's best.

Sadie broke up each stage of the multi-level process each day with a demonstration, as well, as discussing any questions we had about procedures or materials.

Between each layer of thin paint, we wet sanded the surface with a 1500 grit sandpaper to remove any dust or ridges. This prepared the surface for the next layer. Frustration in the drying process occurred because of the humidity of our Florida climate that Sadie was not use to in San Fransisco.

Here is Sadie's early stage of painting the wax paper with a small silver pitcher. The minute brush strokes were amazing as we watched the metamorphosis transform into a work of art.

I'm never pleased with my results in a workshop environment but I will show you one image. There was no way anyone could finish this process in five days but at the end, we all had a much better understanding of her unique process.

Check out the workshops on the M Gallery's website. You will be surprised at the high quality of painters who regularly travel down to Sarasota. Just this last week, David Kassan and Sue Lyon were here.

Day 4 of Sadie Valeri's Workshop

2010-03-25T17:47:00.001-04:00

Most of my underpainting was dry upon arriving this morning but there was a small area of white that was still tacky. In a perfect world/workshop, all of the paint should be completely dry before proceeding but one must move on. The next step was to lay down a "couch." Translated that means a mixture of two parts linseed oil to one part stand oil. Remember, we are working lean to fat. After brushing on a thin layer of this mixture, we used the 1500 grit sandpaper to sand down any bumps and to take off any particles of dust. The finish was beautiful.

Next we mixed strings of the local color that we would be working with. Everybody else was painting the wax paper which meant some variation of a warm or cool gray. Not me! I jumped right into painting the orange tangerine. What was I thinking. But with some trial and error and a little help from my instructor, I was painting with very little difficulty. After the tangerine, I went on to the warm toned white stone pot. That's as far as I got today and I'm hoping to finish this layer by tomorrow.

This way of working requires a lot of patience and a steady hand. Although I don't think I will totally change my style of working to this method, I will most certainly use some of this new found knowledge. Besides learning this method of working, the sidebar lessons were very informative and ones that I had never learned before. I'm a happy camper!

Review of Day 3 of Sadie Valeri's workshop

2010-03-25T08:39:00.001-04:00

Wednesday was continual painting. I can't believe that a canvas 5"x 7" would take this long to cover in a closed grasaille. Why would it you ask? This method requires a lot of LOOK and a few strokes of PUT. Couple this with trying as hard as you can to match values in relationship to the values around it and the total environment of the still life. Sadie's latest work is a series called Wax Paper Series. Almost all of the participants in the workshop set up their still life using wax paper surrounding an object. For them, the challenge was greater than mine. When you see my image you will understand. I choose something simple because of wanted to focus more on learning the concepts with the simpler forms (tangerine with ceramic pot). It was still a challenge. At the end of the day the entire surface was covered. Today we introduce color.

Last night our sponsoring host ,M Gallery of Fine Art and Maggie Kruger, the owner, opened her lovely home on Long Boat Key. If you have an opportunity to take a workshop from M Gallery, you are in for a real treat and excellent instruction. I highly recommend it. Check out their list of upcoming workshops.
People are coming in so I will close for now.

Day 2-Sadie Valeri"s Workshop

2010-03-24T09:06:00.001-04:00

Tuesday was a full day of learning. Sadie's classical training comes through in every aspect of her teaching. I am now a firm believer in beginning my drawings with straight lines instead of the innocuous curved lines. Judging angles and distances are so much easier and the objects have a solidity that is not there otherwise. Yesterday was a short lecture on the nature of organic forms--life and energy. We all use symbolic words to describe organic forms, i.e., arm, finger, hand. In life the following is true. All shapes in nature are tapered, not parallel. Shapes are spiral including arms, tree trunks, bones. All forms interlock with each other and continue through to the other form. And last, and probably the most aha for me, all forms are convex not concave. For example, a waist looks like it goes "in" (concaved) but in reality, a series of curves that push out.

After the lecture, she demonstrated the second layer (closed grisaille) using raw umber, ultramarine blue, and white. Previously the white of the canvas was left white which is an open grisaille. Wednesday we will finish this stage and proceed with color on Thursday. Picture coming on Saturday.

Workshop with Sadie Valeri

2010-03-22T15:02:00.001-04:00

My workshop with Sadie Valeri--oil painter from San Fransisco--began today. After a three plus hour drive, I arrived in a remote area of Bradenton, Fl near I75. Our host is Sue Foster and her studio is to die for. I will post pictures Saturday after I arrive back home. Today we watched a three hour demo and then it was our turn. Using her method, we drew a simple still life on mylar with straight lines and no attempt to capture value. Upon completion, we transferred the image onto a gessoed board that was prepared by Sadie using her "cooked" gesso on Art Board. It is the end of this day and the image has been sealed with a mixture of turpentine and Damar varnish. Tomorrow it will be dry and I believe we will be attempting to lay in a tonal underpainting.

New paints

2010-03-18T19:22:00.007-04:00

I am always looking at new materials and trying new paints. Last fall at the Weekend with the Masters, Gamblin Paints gave the participants a sample of a new product they were soon to be marketing. In our bag was a tube of Transparent Earth Red alkyd oil paint. I was excited since earth red (transparent earth oxide red) is a color I frequently use in my underpaintings. Thinking I could buy their alkyd line of paints now, I found out that they were still in the "testing" stage. Upon calling, they asked if I would like to be a tester. Well Monday a box of three colors arrived-transparent earth red, ultramarine blue, and titanium white. They dry within 18 to 24 hours which means I can begin painting over my underpainting the next day. Yesterday I laid in my underpainting using these three colors plus transparent yellow ochre and so far I am thrill with the results. The product is called FASTMATTE and I hope they will be on sale soon.

Also, this Sunday, I will be leaving to attend Sadie Valeri's workshop in Brandenton, Florida. If you haven't visited her blog, you must. There is so much information available, you could be on it for days just learning new and interesting information.

Garlic and Vinegar

2010-03-05T18:48:00.004-05:00

My strength is almost back to normal so I'm back at the easel. I thought I would try the Painting A Day ritual to see if I can get back into the groove again. I have large pieces that I need to begin soon but this is a great way to "warm up" like stretching before exercising.

Portrait of Lauren

2010-03-02T11:55:00.009-05:00

Stopping at a local sidewalk cafe during the Halifax Art Show, I was served by this very captivating server and knew I just had to have here sit for me. Her skin was like porcelain and her high cheek bones and blue eyes made me think of the northern European girls of Sweden. I can't wait to have her come back for more posing.

Oil Painters of America

2010-03-01T17:39:00.004-05:00

February has been brutal. Without going into details, I had surgery and after three weeks, am up and painting again. The great thing about it all is that now I can walk without pain after about five years of suffering. Now for the really good news. My painting "Sew Many Memories" was accepted into the 19th National Juried Exhibition by Oil Painters of America. If you have never been to one of their exhibitions, you are missing a real treat. Every painting is superb. This year it will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Legacy Gallery.

"Jewels" on the Internet

2010-02-04T18:21:00.004-05:00

Today as I was researching a particular artist --thinking I might like to take a workshop from him--I came across a blog/website that was so fantastic, I had to feature it so that you might enjoy it as much as I am. Check out www.artdemonstrations.com The demos are worth every minute of watching. Enjoy!!

New Year and Resolutions

2010-01-20T13:00:00.003-05:00

We all make them whether we want to admit it or not. We take inventory of 2009 and look to 2010 with fresh eyes and plans to make those changes in our habits that we deem necessary. Yes I made a few New Year's Resolutions, but at my age, I am more pragmatic and realistic. This past year brought some health problems that forced me to retire from a long time teaching career. Painting became my day in and day out occupation. No excuses now for not getting into the studio every day. But what has become evident to me, if not my husband, I work better under tight time pressures. Thirty-five years of schedules and deadlines are difficult to shake off and take my time to think and reflect on what I want to paint. So after all the family has gone back home and the holidays are over,and a bad cold/flu had subsided, I sit and look at the blank canvas wondering which direction to go in. For me, the best remedy for this dry spell is to paint small and quickly. Here are a few "quickies" that I did hoping that something more challenging will come along.

The yellow creamer with grapes was a 8" X 10" that took a little longer than a day but proved to be a challenge because of the bisque surface with no reflective properties.

Finished Work

2010-01-01T10:24:00.002-05:00

It's been some time since my last post. As you can see I made quite a few alterations in the composition itself. My original had the still life sitting on a wooden box. It just didn't work compositionally so I turned it into a stone shelf. I love the chiaroscuro style and hope I didn't go overboard with the strong light and dark. I am always remembering the rules about basic value patterns and that is--there should be three values, dark, middle and light. By varying the proportional amount of area occupied by each value, it makes for a much more interesting composition. In each case, the smallest area naturally becomes the center of interest (the garlic and onions). The largest value area becomes the dominant value group (bottles, dark cloth, background, and under the shelf). Middle value is the front face of the shelf, cloth in front, and parts of the balsamic bottle. My challenge was the cloth. Veermer is one of my favorite painters and his rugs are masterfully painted. I was trying for the same results with the scarf drape. My final step that I try to do with all my paintings is to put it away for two or more weeks without looking at it--then bring it out and have a "cold" look so I can see if there are any glaring mistakes that can be fixed. I learned this from writers. By putting the piece away and then reading it cold after a few weeks, this practice will reveal elements of strengths and weaknesses that weren't visible earlier. If you don't have that much time, have someone else that you trust look at it.

New Still Life

2009-11-29T15:40:00.004-05:00

After spending most of the summer working on painting figures, I've returned to my comfort zone--the still life. I've had the port wine bottle for two years and finally decided it was time to showcase it in a still life. The wine was wonderful and the trip to the winery in St. Augustine, Florida where it was purchased proved to be a well needed getaway. I placed it with another bottle holding some remnants of balsamic vinegar. These two objects provide the primary and secondary anchors for the onions and garlic. What I loved to paint and always find as a challenge is drapery with intricate designs.

The set-up took about an hour before I finally had it the way I wanted it. I work on smooth portrait Belgium oil primed linen. After making an intricate drawing on paper, I transferred the image to my canvas board (11"X14"). Using charcoal, I refined the drawing and then sprayed it with fixative. This takes about ten minutes to dry.

From here I laid out my pallet of grays with 9 values including white and black. Drying time is slowed down by using a slow drying medium. Mine is one part turpenoid to one part M.Graham walnut oil.

It's been two sessions of approximately four hours each and I think I am satisfied with the results. Now the hard part, waiting for it to dry throughly before I add color!

OPA Eastern Regional Exhibition

2009-11-25T11:00:00.004-05:00

Last Friday was the opening for the Eastern Regional Oil Painters of American Exhibition in Jacksonville, Florida. David, my husband, and I took the two hour ride to the Corse Gallery and Atelier to view some of the most talented artists gathered in one gallery. C.W. Mundy, an OPA Master artist, was the judge. I truly was impressed with his presentation of the awards. With each award, he described what he saw in the piece that made it so outstanding. It was a true teaching/learning experience for me. Check out the on-lline exhibit at the Corse Gallery.

Last Thoughts About Weekend with Masters

2009-11-18T16:41:00.017-05:00

Probably the most valued gift a teacher can pass on to her or his student is to inspire them through their own extraordinary talent. After watching Jacob Collins demonstrate his process for drawing the figure, I came away with a renewed desire to go back to painting the figure. Angel was my most recent attempt at painting the figure in some time. Although I'm not finished with Angel, I am excited about my beginning.

Angel, 24"x30" oil

Another inspiring artist, Jeremy Lipking, also sent me back to the canvas with a renewed desire to perfect my skills. I thank them both for their amazing talent and sharing it with me.

Local Color Trailer

2009-11-14T17:33:00.005-05:00

Here is a trailer of the fantastic movie. Enjoy!

Weekend with the Masters cont.

2009-11-13T11:19:00.018-05:00

Today’s email delivered a letter from Robert Genn’s Twice-Weekly Letter entitled—"The Art of Teaching Art." After reading an anonymous response about teaching and creating art, I had to put my thoughts into words to help me process what I thought about what was said.

The old saying, “Those who can, do; those who cannot, teach.” I agree and disagree. How’s that for taking a stand about what I think! Years ago, I remember an interview with a noted writer who was asked—“Now that you are older and wiser (he was in his 80’s), what have you learned about life and your art?” He said something to the effect that he felt in his last years, he was spiritually obligated to pass on what he had learned to those younger and talented individuals. And hopefully, they would do the same in their latter years. A circle if you will. He had made his “mark” on the world and the next step in his final years, was to leave behind to others what he had learned and to support their efforts.

So my response is not one that is so black and white. It’s really a timing issue. Anyone in his or her early career is not seasoned and truly grounded in their knowledge and skills. Add to that, the ability to put into words and actions that knowledge and ability for others to understand conceptually. If you do teach, it’s my opinion that, you the teacher, will be learning more than your students.

In this theme of teaching, and the Weekend with the Masters, I saw the most fantastic, powerful, heartfelt, and very absorbing film (on DVD available at Amazon) dealing with this subject of teaching: “LOCAL COLOR: One Master, One Student, One Summer to Dream.” a George Gallo film.

Armin Mueller-Stahl is amazing as the older Russan master and his influence on the young man (a life experience taken from Gallo’s life) wanting to paint under his tutelage. Another major theme is one that I feel very strongly about. It's a must see. Check out the movie clip.

My experience with WWM definitely proved that those presenting could DO and also, TEACH.

Master's Weekend continued

2009-11-10T14:25:00.004-05:00

What makes a great teacher of painting? I believe it’s the same answer if I just asked, what makes a great teacher.

Make a connection between the skill or concept and one that is universally understood through a story or analogy.

A few years back I observed a master teacher-painter explaining to a student why her painting of three lemons next to a ceramic pitcher wasn’t working. The lemons looked like they were pasted up against the side of the pitcher. I could plainly see that space and cast shadows were missing but just loved how the teacher what she needed to do. It went something like this. . . Have you ever been sitting at the bar minding your own business when some guy who has had a little too much to drink sits down next to you? Mind you this student was in her 70’s so I wasn’t sure if this approach was appropriate. She went on to say . . . this guy starts hanging over you breathing down your neck and touching your arm. You tell him to move over because you need your space. Your lemons are just like you at the bar. They need their own space. She then proceeded to show her where a better placement would be. By this time everyone was listening and the group chuckled at the end.

Now my point here from a teacher’s point of view is she had the student’s full attention and made a connection that was not only relatable but also memorable. Using humor and emotions plus the story makes one remember what was taught. Every time I place objects next to another object, I check to see if they have their own space.

Sherrie McGraw at the easel

At the Weekend with the Masters, David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw showed themselves to be real masters of teaching!