Let There Be Light

We all know that to make an area appear lighter, make the area next to it darker.  This idea was reinforced at the OPA Exhibition in Fredericksburg, TX when Kenn Backhaus painted for us with a fantastic demonstration.  The image was of a building with an archway; I think it might have been a cathedral.  The sunlight streamed brilliantly across the face of a portion of the wall leaving more than half of it in shadow.  "To make an area appear bathed in sunlight it has to have a strong contrast of a dark area. That area should be larger than the light area," he said.    I'm paraphrasing here but I think I am close to his actual words.

His words were my inspiration in this painting and I took the shadow side way down in value (more than the actual value that was visible).  The other idea was keeping the lightest light in the focal area and playing down all the other lights while still creating a light path.  The dark area in the bottom right corner was a cast shadow from my camera phone-sorry.

 This 11x14 was so much fun.  I completed it in less than three hours.  No underpainting, just laying blocks of color shapes of light and dark with some mid-tones.

Glazing--Love It!

If you haven't tried glazing to complete a painted image, it's a magical experience.  Okay, maybe not magical but a whole lot of fun.  I would have demonstrated this process but the changes are very slight after each pass.  Everyone says it takes patience and they're right.  Having another piece to work on is necessary.  Here's a reminder of what the grisaille looked like before color was added.

Here is the final image.

The background was glazed with sap green first, then ultramarine blue with a small amount of burnt umber.  Another layer was added of the last two colors but with more burnt umber.  Shadows were glazed in again with all three colors mixed making really soft cast shadows.

The peaches were first glazed with different colors in the different areas.  Alizarin crimson with sap green made the darkest part of the three peaches.  Cad. yellow deep with yellow ochre was first glazed in on the light side.  I can't remember how many layers were added and adjusted but the final surface says PEACH.  Every part is a glaze color application except the white fabric in the light and some of the reflections in the glass.  I chose carefully which edges I wanted to bring forward but the majority  have that soft and lost edge.

I had to go back and reread parts of Virgil Elliot's book (see the listing below on the right), as well as, talking to Deborah Paris, a real expert in this area.

I will have this for viewing at the Art Fiesta this weekend in New Smyrna Beach.  If you are in the area, stop by.

What's On the Easel

I'm a perpetual learner.  Can't help it and don't want to.  I love reading about how the Old Masters created their paintings, as well as, more modern techniques. But my heart lives in those paintings that have the deep transparent glazes that have been built up from thin layers of paint.  Yes, it takes patience and drying time between layers and yes it's not what most people want to learn when I teach.  But it speaks to me at a level that is so deep that words can't express.  What is it that the 19th Century Tonalists were able to create that I don't get with current painting techniques?  Glazing produces such rich lights and atmosphere that evokes mood that I can't get any other way. 

On my easel is a small still life, 8x10 on a linen panel.  I'm going back to my roots with a grasaille created with raw umber and Gamblin's Fastmate Titanium white.  This alkyd will dry within 24 hours.  Below is the actual still life and the grasaille.  Lights are painted a value darker than the actual value and darks are painted one value lighter because glazing darkens colors.  My whites will be scumbled in producing lighter lights.

Painter's Tip

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

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!

I'm wild for White

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.

Painting White-cont.

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.

Painting White

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

How to Paint Silver

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.

Four Stages of Learning

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.                      
  
  
  
  
  

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Warm vs. Cool Palette

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

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

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!

Beginnings

   









 
                         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

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.

Beginnings-More of Richard Schmid

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

 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

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

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

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.