Tis the Season for busy-ness

Becoming too busy to paint can be very frustrating and this is definitely the season when that situation occurs.

On top of holiday plans, show applications are popping up daily on emails and plans are being made for upcoming art events. I noticed that all of these deadlines for entries seem to be falling in early January. The pressure of finding time to prepare for all of these things is quite real!

As a result, concentrating on painting will be very difficult. I have decided to admit that not much will appear on the easel until 2013 and spend what time I can find catching up on marketing tasks, cleaning up and winding down 2012, Applying to the shows that I would like to enter probably won't happen until January either, but maybe I can analyze what I might want to enter in which show so I can get the applications in on time.

Happy Holidays to everyone and Best of Luck in the new year!

Being Honest with Yourself

As I was preparing to frame my work for the Germanton Gallery Miniature Show, which will open next week, I went to their site and took a peek at the preview of the show.  I could have sent my images for inclusion in the preview, but I had procrastinated. I had pieces that I had been working on for weeks but just didn't feel satisfied with them. After seeing the wonderful work that would be in the show, I was forced to step back and be objective about my efforts. Clearly these were not my best.

Walking down the hall to my studio, I was struck by the glow of golden leaves on the maple tree outside the window. I grabbed my camera, shot some closeups of the leaves and went straight to the studio to begin a new pastel.  I was so excited about the subject that the painting was effortless.

8"x10" pastel Final Performance.

Feeling like I was on a roll, I searched through photos I had taken at farm we visited in Pennsylvania. I had always loved the feeling of this image so I decided to do a pastel of the sheep family. Once again, something I loved at first sight made a good painting.

8"x10" pastel Family Time

Now I can deliver these to the gallery, relax and enjoy Thanksgiving with my family. The show will open next Friday, November 30 with a reception from 5:00-8:00 pm at Germanton Gallery in Germanton, NC. Please join us!  (Click to see directions and preview of show.)

Starting with a Value Study

Many times I am too eager to begin painting and don't take the preliminary steps that might help me, but I felt it was necessary for this piece. As you can see below, the photograph I had to work from was of such poor quality that I wasn't sure I even had enough info to make a painting of the scene.

I really loved the woman sitting on the sidewalk with all of her creature comforts - umbrella to shade her from the sunset, a cold drink, cell phone in hand and a comfy chair. I wanted to make sure I gave it my best effort.

The source photo was over exposed.

To increase my understanding of what was happening with the values and shapes in this image, I made a black and white charcoal study first. This helped immensely; I was able to work out my drawing and values in this preliminary piece at the exact size I would be painting. I corrected and fixed things at this stage and was much more familiar with what I was painting by the time I picked up my brush.  You don't have to get every detail down or make a masterpiece. Get the shapes of dark, medium and light that tell the story so that YOU understand what's going on.

A charcoal study helped define shapes and values.

Here is the final painting which is available at Hampton House Gallery in Winston-Salem, NC.

The final work: Woman in Chair, 11" x 14", oil

This is a method I will continue to use for these studio pieces - it went so much smoother and required very little rework allowing me to keep a freshness I often lose by redoing.

Patience and Perseverance #2

Plein Air artists differ on how they view the pieces they produce outdoors. Purists consider these pieces finished art, ready to sell, while others use these paintings only as studies for larger works; the rest stand somewhere in between. I have bounced back and forth on this over time. Early on I had pretty good luck completing a painting outdoors. Here is one that I immediately knew was finished and ready to sign before I packed up my easel. Someone else agreed - it was stolen from the coffee shop where it was for sale!

When I brought unsatisfactory plein air paintings back to the studio and tried to "fix" them, I was usually unsuccessful. Back in the studio, I was looking at a photo that didn't accurately depict what I saw outdoors and I found myself repainting the whole thing according to the photo I had taken, ultimately wasting a canvas and a lot of time as you can see below -
YUCK! Where is the light source in this painting?!?

After taking D. Eleinne Basa's workshop in summer of 201, I tried following her good advice. She recommended not reworking plein air pieces but, instead, concentrating on capturing what is needed to produce a second painting in the studio. I did this and it does work, but something kept making me want to "fix" them!

This past summer I have done a good bit of outdoor work and found myself working on the pieces when I got them back to the studio.  I feel I have been more successful than in the past by:

• Making every effort to work more slowly and deliberately outdoors, reminding myself to capture what drew me to the subject initially and get the information down that I will need to complete the piece back in the studio.
• Ceasing to work on the painting outdoors when it becomes clear to me that the light has changed too drastically or when I find myself mindlessly slapping paint or pastel on the work.
•  Keeping my colors bright and clean when I am outdoors - even leaving them a bit garish to avoid the muddiness that can occur from overworking things. I can always calm them down.
• When I return to the studio I continue to paint rather than repaint - big difference!
•  Viewing the photo in grayscale on my computer to avoid seeing the color differences between photo and reality - using the photo only as a  reference for values.
• Adding smaller shapes and details to the paintings in the studio.

Here are a few examples - see what you think. Is is working?

Getting your money's worth from a workshop

Workshops are a great way to remove yourself from your day to day routine and really focus on your art for a while. No cooking, no mail, no interruptions – just you and your art and other people who love to paint.

Last week I attended a pastel painting figure workshop with Master Pastelist, Margaret Dyer. This wasn't my first class with Margaret, but it was the first one in six years.

When I attended her class in 2006, I was new to figurative work and Margaret gave me a great start. Her teaching method consists of a few simple steps which she outlines at the beginning, and you must trust that she knows what she is talking about to succeed!  Follow the steps and see what unfolds.

She is also a lot of fun, gives each student plenty of individual attention and is very straightforward, which I appreciate.

She works with three values and a limited number of pastel sticks, a method which allows you to create luminous pastels with beautiful contrast and clean color. You can also achieve wonderful color harmony and exciting colors built by layering the pastels when you limit your colors in this way.

I trusted her in 2006, followed the steps and was thrilled with the outcome. I trusted her in 2012, followed the steps and that, coupled with the experience I have gained since 2006, allowed me to reach a new level of understanding. I saw my work progress and improve each day of the four-day class.

My advice to anyone investing in any workshop is this:

• Buy the best class you can afford – a cheap workshop may not be a bargain.
• Choose your instructors carefully – find artists whose work you admire and can identify with. Don't just sign up because your friends are going.
• Do what they say even if you're not sure you agree with it. Why pay for a class and ignore what is offered?
• Remember that you are there to explore and learn. Break out of your comfort zone and don't be concerned with the quality of your work during the class. It probably will not be your best work, because you are trying new things and learning, which is what you paid for!

Day 1 - Lucky for me, I got the back view which always makes it easier!

Work from Day 1

Day 2 - We had a lovely young girl who was modeling for the first time, so I  decided not to post drawings of her in the nude.

Day 3 - I was pleased with this start, but I didn't feel like I really finished this one.

Work from Day 3

Day 4  - This final piece may need a little finishing work, but overall I was pleased and the model was so beautiful – who doesn't love a ballerina?

Work from Day 4

I feel that the workshop brought me back to the basics, which is something I need to do every so often to awaken a more precise understanding of what I am doing when I step up to the easel. Margaret's workshop was worth every penny, and I had a great week with my artist friend, Kathy Phillips, and all the talented artists I met in the class!

Practicing Patience and Perseverance #1

During the month of June I finally finished four larger studio pastels – larger meaning bigger than 12" x 16" since I usually paint small.

I started two of them during the winter by doing these 5" x 7" studies from my reference photos. I fell in love with the little studies, because they were so loose and colorful.

Teaparty (study)

Cellist (study)

When I tried to translate them to a 12" x 16" (Teaparty) and a 13" x 19" (Cellist), I had difficulties. I needed to add much more detail at the larger size and I lost the life that I had in the studies.

I had my artist friend look at them and she found some things I could improve upon, so I went back to the studio to work on them a bit more. My efforts were not going in a good direction, but I kept stabbing away until I ended up wiping Teaparty down and beginning again.

I was afraid to touch the Cellist for fear of doing the same, so I let it sit for a couple of months.

Finally in June, I got both pieces out again and mindfully approached them. Taking my time and moving slowly and thoughtfully, I worked on them and kept working patiently until they were finished. I know they aren't exactly how I would like, but taking small steps to improvement was a much better way to work towards my ideal than rushing and wiping down and redoing over and over.

Here are the finished pieces – at least finished for now. Never know when I might see a way to make them better and continue to work on them!

Ready for Tea

Montreal Street Cellist

Plein Air Season Returns

It's time to paint outdoors again which is fun, but very different from painting still lifes and painting from photos in the studio.  I am a fair weather painter, so every spring I have to adjust to painting outdoors again versus doing only studio work.

This year the weather has been very warm which has allowed me to start painting outdoors sooner. That, along with accepting the fact that I will probably not paint up to my potential until I get acclimated to painting outdoors again, has allowed me to have a much smoother transition.

A delightful surprise – right on my own street.

One Saturday morning a few weeks ago, I went outdoors to take out the garbage and discovered an almost summery day and my own street was a wonderland of blooming trees tinged with that light wispy green that only occurs at this time of year.

Immediately I ditched all plans, opened the garage door to get my painting gear and set my easel up right in my driveway to paint the scene. I was very pleased with the result. That got me off to a positive start this year so hopefully it will continue!

The painting below is one I did just last week in the Fisher Park Neighborhood of Greensboro, NC.

Fisher Park Neighborhood, Greensboro, NC

Today I get to play the triangle!

When I was in elementary school, we actually had music class. Coming from a family with very little musical or artistic activity in the home, music class was a fun time.

The box of "instruments" appeared and we could choose one. There were always a lot of blocks and sticks to make noise with, but in the box was one shiny prize – the triangle. It was a real instrument – the one that created a magical musical sound. This past week I had one of those triangle days.

A feature story about my art made my day.

Thursday morning I was off to a slow start, still having leftover symptoms of a cold. I did remember, though, that this was the day when I was to be featured in Relish magazine, a special arts and entertainment section of the Winston-Salem Journal that comes out once a week. I looked online and read the article.

First reaction: my responses to Andrea Brill's excellent questions didn't sound as good as I hoped they would. Second reaction: my hair looks bad in the photo. Third reaction: where the heck do I buy a real newspaper these days?

Finally in the car, I stop at a drug store but no newspapers for sale. Luckily, with chain drug stores on every corner now, I had only to cross the street to find the familiar blue box which held just one copy of the paper. I got change, bought it and for the rest of the day, I was playing the triangle!

I was very impressed with the Winston-Salem Journal staff: Andrea Brill was did a great job of interviewing, checking details and writing the article. She was so easy to talk to. Journal photographer, Lauren Carroll, did a wonderful job of snapping photos of me and my paintings on display at the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem gallery.

Read the Relish article

Local Colors

We once had a cute little cafe here in my town where a few of us artists could hang our work and sell some pieces. I did sell several and when they sold, the people at the cafe were so excited that it made it even more fun. Sadly, the cafe closed and I lost my local outlet.

Last week Charlotte Munning, a ceramic artist and friend of mine from Greensboro, NC, told me about a little gallery in my own home town of Kernersville, NC – Southwinds Gallery.

Charlotte's theory is that she likes to have a presence in her home area. She shows and sells her work at this gallery and said that Angela Jarman, the owner, speaks to everyone who steps through the door and she takes the time to get to know them. That made me realize that I needed to learn more about Southwinds Gallery.

This piece is currently on display at Southwinds Gallery.

I called Angela, and she was so friendly and easy-going that I knew she would be a good person to work with. She gave me the go-ahead to bring some pieces to the gallery which I did – that afternoon. I took six pieces including some plein-air pieces of the local landscape, and hopefully I will add more in the future.

Her gallery showcases the work of her father, Harry Jarman, along with a few other artists. His work is amazing, very detailed. I especially like the still life pieces with soft reflections onto a glossy surface.

If you get chance, stop by. The gallery is located at 132 W. Mountain Street, one block west of the main intersection of Main St. and Mountain St. Phone 336.993.0818.

Here are some other pieces I have on display at Southwinds Gallery:

Capturing Friends

This past week I worked on a commissioned piece for a friend of a friend. The subject of the painting is someone both friends know, and both were present when the photo was taken.

This commissioned portrait brought great joy.

When I received the photo I was to work from, I thought the photo was wonderful, so I knew my job wouldn't be too difficult. (It is not fun to work from bad photos supplied by other people from which you are to make a masterpiece that they will hopefully love.)

I liked this photo because:

• The colors were vibrant and exciting. The fellow was making orange juice and was surrounded by many bright oranges cut into halves. He has beautiful white hair and a mustache and was standing against a dark background which made those things show up really well.
• The glass of wine on the counter lets you know this was a fun undertaking.
• He was very intent on his task, and I enjoy painting people who are engrossed in something they love to do – lost in the moment.

I sent a photo of the the nearly completed painting to the person who had commissioned the piece to get his feedback before I finished it. When he replied to my email, his one-word reaction was, "marvelous!"

What a refreshing descriptor after hearing "awesome" used to describe everything and anything for so long. The other friend said I had caught the moment – and that is the biggest compliment I can be given.  She also added that the glass of wine in the picture ended up all over her white shirt!

Making people happy with my paintings – this is the part of being an artist that is most rewarding for me.

mar·vel·ous [mahr-vuh-luhs]
adjective
1. superb; excellent; great: a marvelous show.
2. such as to cause wonder, admiration, or astonishment; surprising; extraordinary.
3. improbable or incredible: the marvelous events of Greek myth.

awesome [aw-suhm]
adjective
1. inspiring or characterized by awe
2. very impressive

I like marvelous better!

Happy New Year, and here are some more marvelous words to try in 2012:

• extraordinary
• inconceivable
• breathtaking
• unbelievable
• fabulous
• fantastic
• incredible
• miraculous
• phenomenal
• remarkable
• spectacular
• striking
• stunning
• stupendous
• surprising
• wonderful
• wondrous