Sparkly Spectacles (and What That Has to Do with My Teaching Philosophy)

You have untapped artistic talent. The person sitting across from you does as well. The person serving you your white mocha frappuccino at Starbucks does too. We ALL have artistic potential. The question is not IF you have the ability to paint and draw -- the question is rather how far do you want to take it?

I really don't think that studying painting and drawing has to be about becoming an artist (although that's great too). I think the real gift that arises from studying painting and drawing is the gift of forever SEEING as an artist. Artists experience the world around them in a heightened state of perception. We see the way the light cascades across a form and how it magnifies or sublimates color in ways that will truly astound you. We see the beauty that is there that other people just pass by.

Since ancient times, man has linked beauty with the divine. To see as an artist does is to journey through your life, forever changed, wearing what I call "Sparkly Spectacles" (like Elton John pictured above) that allow you to see the beauty -- and thus the divinity that is in us and all around us, and in each other. 

That is the REAL reward of studying art. Even if you don't ever progress to becoming an artist, does that even really matter when you have the gift of Sparkly Spectacles? I don't think it does.

Faith Chapel. Lucketts VA

I teach all levels of artists (even those who don’t yet think of themselves as artists) at Faith Chapel in Lucketts, VA . I offer both 5 Week Evening Classes and Weekend Workshops for adults. To be among the first to hear about new classes, please sign up for my monthly Newsletter by clicking here.

A demo from my most recent Rose and Peony Workshop at Faith Chapel.

Best Studio Practice: New Year's Vision Boards

Artwork shown on the Vision Board (Clockwise): Ron Hicks, Ed Praybe, George Dawnay, Suzanne Lago Arthur, Mark Dunford, Caitlin Wenner, Mark Dunford.

Last year I started a new tradition for myself. I created a “Vision Board” of all the things I wanted to bring into my work in the New Year on the road to developing my own artistic voice. I credit this one project with bringing me greater clarity and helping me to lean more into my artistic intuition. The idea is simple. Print out images of work that you like and respond to. Label each image with the element it represents that you hope to bring into your work and assemble it on a poster that you hang in your studio to inspire you every day.

In 2022 I chose: 1) to allow more abstraction within my representational work, 2) to explore different forms of visual measurement (as a way of further connecting the viewer to my vision as the creator of the work), 3) to expand my commission work by offering charcoal portraits, 4) to introduce more “quick sketch” starts to my work (direct massing of shapes as opposed to starting with an under-drawing), 5) to work much larger, 6) “remix” older themes and 7) to paint more plein air landscapes.

And I am happy to report that out of the 7 things I tasked myself with, I genuinely adopted 6 out of the 7 into my regular practice and it has indeed helped me discover my own style. Case in point here is a before and after photo of a painting of in my older style and photo of a current work in progress. I think you can really see the difference here.

Should you try Vision Boards as part of your New Year’s forecasting? Most definitely! Don’t miss out on this simple strategy to help you on your path of self-discovery.

Workshop Wednesday: Zoey Frank

Zoey Frank’s finished demo. “Eggplant” 2020.

I have a confession to make. I am a little bit of a Zoey Frank online class junkie. I have taken all four of the courses she has offered to date (and I am enrolled in the new one she recently announced). They have all been fantastic! When I think about the top tier of contemporary realist painters, Zoey Frank is definitely part of that personal pantheon of artists that I truly admire.

Taking a class with Zoey is a Master class level experience. The structure of her courses remind me of the academic environment of my graduate school days, which isn’t surprising as her husband Peter, who is an actual humanities professor, is often co-leading the class lectures.

The following are my notes that I took in Zoey’s “Painting Change” class. These will be just a taste of how fantastic it is to actually take a class with her. And you are in luck—because Zoey will be offering a new class which starts in just a couple of weeks on November 11, 2022. To register for her new “Breaking the Surface Part 1” class click here. If you are reading this post past November 11th, all her previously recorded classes are still available for download by clicking here.

Painting Change: Still Life in Motion

17 Sept 2020 - 08 Oct 2020

-”Painting is a static art form. It is unique in that way.”

-”There is a strong element of time that comes into painting, (frozen time) such as in a Zurburan still life, evidence of temporality like a Jackson Pollock or deKooning painting where the process of painting is obvious.”

-”The way we paint is impacted by the time we live in. We are responding to the great work of the recent past.”

Class assignment: Paint something in flux/change. Zoey chose an eggplant for her demo that she painted outdoors over several weeks and pre-taped the video so that she could respond to the growth of the plant as her “flux”.

Zoey Frank’s Thoughts On Process:

-“Paint the new thing over what was there before. Not erasing, not entirely correcting.”

-Be aware of the time of day when painting.

-”Start by responding to the environment or subject but eventually begin responding more and more to the painting itself and what it needs.”

-Zoey measured her plant subject to paint at life scale.

-”Keep things broad in the beginning”. From the beginning, Zoey masses out shapes.

-She tries to match color and value as closely as possible each time.

-She wants to develop the entire painting at the same time.

-Zoey spent about 3 hours painting her demo that first session.

-She is constantly comparing a “stable” measurement in her composition to the area of flux that is changing.

-She does not erase anything at first. She will eventually cover up what is needed.

-Zoey later decides to add the siding of the house in the background of her painting as a way to keep track of the changes in the growing plant. To do so she starts by guessing where the siding goes and then measures their averages & applies this measurement to the drawing of the horizontal lines of the siding.

-“I want to work every area of the canvas with this “response” approach - working on the entire painting each session.”

-When painting living objects Zoey recommends scheduling out painting sessions so there is something new to respond to each time you paint.

-She works back to front often. Background to subject to foreground.

-Zoey asks “is the process showing up in your painting from the beginning”?

-Commit to how the eye is moving through your painting.

-Work in 3 hour time intervals so the lighting is right each session.

-Zoey will take pictures of light beams in a room to find the dramatic lighting possibilities.

-Mix your greens when working with plants. Check your mixed color on your palette knife against the plant.

-Zoey will start her paintings from observation but will always lay carefully calculated perspective drawing on top. The Horizon line is always at her eye level. If you have problems figuring out perspective by going to Youtube and watching videos.

-Think of erasing things when they get in the way of seeing (pot). Link shadow shapes together.

-Keep your set-up in the shade when working outside.

-Working with plumb lines to find out where things line up in the horizontal and vertical locations.

-The first week of painting is about setting it up. The following weeks are about responding to the subject and what the painting needs.

-”(Go for the) sense of presence in a painting.”

-On making stencils: Use mylar and cut out shapes. Only works on flat painting surfaces.

-She will occasionally use a projector to work out the perspective corrections but will only do it on one area of the painting because she prefers to work from observation.

-Check the balance of a painting by holding a finger over an area and see how the rest of the canvas reads. Ask yourself if it is too heavy on one side, etc.

-”Investigate other artwork to figure out what qualities you want in your painting, You can’t change the way you paint simply by wanting it. You must set up the same problems other had in order to achieve the same results.”

-”What questions were other painters asking? By exploring all of these things you will come to find your own voice.”

-”The canvas is a place to explore - not to necessarily make beautiful things.”

Zoey Frank’s Thoughts On Technique -

-Zoey does a lot of scumbling (light over dark). Direct Opaque painting. She doesn’t glaze a lot.

“I am not so much about the finish, but more about whether I am (still) engaged, about how my eye keeps moving.”

-”Great paintings are built on corrections & adjustments to get after the best composition. Think of Rembrandt’s 3 heads.”

-While painting her demo, Zoey extends her brush out as far as possible “like sword play”.

-When painting symmetrical objects, such as when painting leaves Zoey will often use a midline measurement.

-Do not be afraid of mistakes. “Putting something in wrong and then correcting it is how we build paintings.”

-She adds “tick marks” to her paintings to mark needed improvements, These marks help her adjust the composition when figuring out measurements.

-Zoey will hold a lighter brush and darker brush of each color when working.

-She scrapes while wet. Sands when dry.

-Techniques on erasure: painting more on top, dragging the brush over the canvas but not completely obscuring, scraping with a palette knife, sanding with water or wet sand.

-Zoey does not do a lot of glazing in her work. Instead, will add lighter paint dragged over the ground. Focuses on keeping values organized.

-”Shadows are there to lift up the lights. They anchor us down. Squint until all the values become the same value. Think of shadow as a lady skater being held up by her partner.”

-Tip: Zoey adds a highlight in the center of her lights so she knows how far to bring up the midtones from the shadow.

-Soft edges = bridges into a painting. Hard edges = barriers that stop our eyes.

-Ask yourself how many different edges can you have on one form?

-Zoey feels free to draw in graphite over oils (when correcting).

-She works back and forth between warm and cool. Warm shadow cool transition at “last light”, then warm into the middle of light & then cool highlight. It is the opposite in cool shadows/warm light.

-Think of ‘tiling’ when laying in transitions of color.

-”Core shadows will always have a softer edge than the cast shadow because that is where the light ends.”

-”The most successful paintings have control over in shadow and excitement in the light.”

-”Over-working a painting is more about losing the accuracy of value relationships. Think of it as regions with its own value relationships. Squint! Only one part of your painting can be the lightest light, only one part of your painting can be the darkest dark. Everything else is in between these two extreme values.”

-On surfaces: Zoey wants the surface to come organically from the process. It should accumulate over time.

-When painting in letters in a painting, she will aim for their abstract shapes instead of writing in “print” letters.

My “Cotidano” painting which I created during the class (of my son’s place setting at the kitchen table in the early lockdown days of COVID). Oil on linen panel. 2020.

Technique Tuesday: Q-Tip Hack

It’s been a while since I published a “Technique Tuesday” post. It occurred to me today that I could share a cheap tool I use all the time in the studio-the humble Q-Tip. I have found over the years that this a simple, yet versatile tool for painters. I use it to erase areas that I would rather not have painted over, and it also helps make the softest “lost edges”.

I bought this cute, little travel pack of Q-Tips at my local Target in the travel toiletries area. I think i spent a dollar on it? Worth every penny to me.

Have you tried adding Q-Tips to your painting technique? Give it a try and let me know here how you like it!

Art Tourist: Stepping Into a Thomas Moran Painting

“Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone” Thomas Moran. 1872.

I just got back from a family vacation, our first since Covid began, to Yellowstone National Park. As you can imagine, the views were spectacular especially to an East Coaster like me who was seeing the Rocky Mountains and surrounding areas for the first time. Many of the stops in the park had artistically inspired names such as the geyser area trails known as “Fountain Paint Pots” and “Artist’s Paint Pots”. I was not particularly enthused to see yet another similar sounding named sight along the Southern Trail called “Artisit’s Point”. So when my husband turned to me and asked, “Should we go see it?”. I answered “Sure”, in a rather dismissive voice—not expecting much. But boy was I wrong!

What awaited us was nothing less that the jaw dropping view of Yellowstone made famous by Thomas Moran himself, famed Hudson River School landscape painter and as such is considered to be associated with the “Transcendentalist” art movement of the 1830s & 1840s. He is credited with the American embrace of the West and inspiring many to embark upon their own journeys of Westward Expansion.

As soon as I encountered the view I was gob smacked. I had such an intense feeling of Deja-Vu that I knew I had seen this view before. Then it dawned on me, I had— in the art of Thomas Moran!

It is not an exaggeration to say that Thomas Moran’s work is responsible for the creation of the Yellowstone National Park itself. As Chief Illustrator for the popular magazine Scribner’s, Moran was invited in 1871 by Dr. Ferdinand Hayden, director of the United States Geological Survey to join the survey team of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 as they explored the Yellowstone region. Moran produced over 30 images of locations on that trip and it is these paintings and sketches along with the photographs of William Henry Jackson that persuaded President Grant and the US Congress to make Yellowstone our first national park in 1872. My visit coincided with its 150th anniversary.

Moran was so closely associated with his paintings of Yellowstone (and Teton National Park) that he eventually began signing his work simply with the initials T.Y.M. - for Thomas “Yellowstone” Moran.

Some argue that the actual view used by Thomas Moran to paint his famous painting is located on the North Rim Overlook currently called “Look Out Point” as this is the place from which he made his sketches during the Hayden Geological Survey. However, Yellowstone Park Photographer, F. J. Hayes, attributed this location on the official map to Moran’s painting and so it continues to be linked to it. I personally think it is possible that he made the painting based on several different views including the North Rim Overlook and Artist’s Point views as is common practice among artists seeking the best composition in a painting.

Moran’s painting “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone” (seen above) was purchased by the US Government for $10,000 and can be seen on long-term loan from the U. S. Department of the Interior at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC. And now we have come full circle because it was indeed at this museum where I first saw this view—within Moran’s painting—for the very first time.

My husband and I doing the touristy thing in front of “Artists Point” Yellowstone NP (also known as “Moran’s View”).

Workshop Wednesday: Edmond Praybe {Part 2}

The finished Week 3 Full color palette painting demo by Edmond Praybe.

This post is a continuation of last week’s post on Edmond Praybe’s 4 week “Floral” class that I took with him through the Winslow Art Center back in January of this year. The following are my notes and screen grabs that I took during the final Week 3 and Week 4 classes.

Week 3, 05 Feb 2021

-”When working in a secondary palette it is helpful to approach it as if you were working in black & white. Approach your color decisions more as temperature decisions. This is especially helpful in landscapes when you have too much green.”

-”You can introduce and element of change to a painting by repainting an object again in a slightly different location on the canvas (elevating the object, etc.) or by painting it again at a different time of the day.”

-Edmond will move an object in a painting. Often painting it out and putting it back in. “It opens up the painting in a fresh way.”

- The "Euglow approach is to look at the subject frankly each session and to redo the painting each time, not just add details on top.

-You can experiment with a fresh, (quick) first pass in acrylic and then paint in oil on top of that.

-”It is the color of the flower that draws us in. Today we let loose with a full color palette idea.”

-Consider the 4 main aspects of Color: Hue, Value, Saturation, Temperature.

-Simultaneous contrast: what color is next to a color influences the reading of the color. See Joseph Alber’s color experiments.

-”Sometimes it is the colors that are around something that are not working. It is all about the context.”

-”It is helpful to “name” what is wrong with your color. Is the temperature off? Give a vocabulary to the phenomenon that is happening in your painting. Be more analytical.”

-Edmond will sometimes use colored tissue paper as backdrops for still lifes.

Edmond Praybe’s Full Color palette

Full Color Palette Painting Demo

Palette: Titanium White, Tin Yellow, Cad Yellow Light, Indian Yellow, Cad Orange, Cad Red Medium, Quin Red, Manganese Violet, Alizarin Crimson, Ultra blue, Cobalt blue, Cerulean blue, Cobalt Green, Pthalo Green & Mars Black

-Edmond instructed us to “Use any of the above colors and any tint (color + white) mixture in your paintings this week” for our assignment. In addition we were allowed to create up to 4 specific mixtures as needed during the development of our paintings. The result of this exercise was that the majority of our paintings would be painted from the tint strings or pure color.

-”Pthalo green and Indian Yellow will make some really beautiful greens.”

-A good strategy in this exercise is to save two of the discretionary mixes for the end of the painting to use as needed. Or use only tints in the beginning and then create your mixes to bridge any color gaps.

-”The idea is to give everything a very nameable color. Be very direct with how you are seeing the color.”

-For this exercise Edmond will leave a little space blank in between objects and fill it in later so as not to unintentionally mix the adjoining colors.

-Add fast drying mediums from the beginning so it dries quickly enough to work in layers without the layers mixing.

-Edmond will do this exercise in his studio after he has been doing too many “grey” paintings to remind himself that painting is all about handling color.

-”It may be pretty blunt at first which is fine, you start fine tuning as you go. Give up the idea that this is about beautiful painting. This (exercise) is about understanding color - but there will be sections that turn out very interesting. These discoveries are what can inform future paintings.”

-”(On abstraction) Look at flat pieces of form and less modeling. Accent the idea of certain types of flatness. A flat form and then two flat forms coming together. Let them sit together not blending them too much.”

-

Edmond Praybe’s Week 3 Full Color Demo early on. Notice how he began first with the bottle on the left and then works his way through the composition.

-“Henshe would use the saturation of color as a light in his paintings. Even his passages of white have color in them. “

-Look at Carl Plansky’s work (founder of Williamsburg Paints).

-”Think of (this) color string assignment as a collage that you are adding pieces of color on top of each other. You can scrape down. Yes, you can refine shapes smaller and smaller as you go.”

-”Sita Saxe thought that this type of exercise got you closer to a Diebenkorn and Bay area way of painting. Pure color in shadow, etc.”

-”This exercise is meant to heighten your sense of color.”

Week 4, 12 Feb 2021

-”This week’s assignment is about complexity and composition in the floral arrangements.”

-”(On composition) Consider placement of objects: on floor, on shelf. Where is it in relation to the foreground, background? Where are the objects in relation to each other? How many things are you using and what is their placement?“

-”Start out with a couple items then decide what you want to add of take out. Then analyze and step back".

Edmond Praybe’s demo on arranging still life objects.

-”Paint” the objects (in your mind) first by how carefully you consider the set up the still life itself.”

-”There is no real right answer (compositional solution). It is about finding the balance or off balance between objects.”

-Edmond admits to often spending half a day to set up his still lifes.

-Use a color family or strong color association as your basis for your composition.

-Edmond is thinking about “fun shapes of color” when he composes. He is thinking more about the color and their relationships to objects. Composing purely on color and shape. What the objects are about is not as important. Working in this way pushes the sense of abstraction and the design of his paintings.

“Don’t neglect the power of lighting situations to create interest in your still life.”

-Think of breaking up edges in a fun way. How the color of a white plate on a white fabric flows together.

-”Paint abstractly - but with your objects.”

—”Groupings are a fun way to set up a painting. Clusters of things.”

—Edmond will tape out the edges of the composition of his still life objects so that he doesn’t “get lost”. This helps him to see the actual proportion of shape in a more complicated painting.”

-Edmond thinks that “Susan Jane Welp paintings break all composition rules”.

Edmond Praybe’s Week 4 demo showing his “quick painting” color notation approach.

Week 4 Demo

-In this week’s demo Edmond will use the approach that he calls “quick painting”. He will get some kind of notation of where the placement goes and color and then come back to it the next day so that he doesn’t get too stuck in describing it.

-”Constantly bouncing back and forth between one color or another, one element or another.”

-”It is important to get “notes”, some kind of feeling, for what is happening in the broader areas (background). I think the sooner that you get around into putting these notes of the broad areas of color, the better. It forces you to make color decisions and it will make the painting have a better sense of unity and harmony overall.”

“The important thing is not what it is but where it is. What is the main color, etc? You don’t have to draw everything perfectly but where you put things matters.”

-”This way of working (color notation) is really good for very literal painters.”

-Quadrangulating and triangulating where things will be. Considering your corners in relation to where things will be.

-”You are having a dialog of comparisons.”

-’That struggle of back and forth gives the painting a sense of energy that cannot be achieved by locking in right away.”

-”I kind of enjoy when the painting doesn’t look like anything for a while. I hold onto that feeling. The paintings come out better. There is a more pronounced sense of being seen.”

-“I try to resist the urges to finish a line, resist the urge to draw out the edges and contours of everything just because I know it is there,”

-”As I think of “notes” I am thinking of temperature shifts.”

-”Slowly things emerge out. Like the fog is lifting.”

-”Another good trick is to use brushes that are two sizes too big for what you need in the initial block in if you have a tendency to get too detailed in the beginning.”

-”If you leave too much of a “halo” around objects you don’t really understand how the colors are interacting.”

Edmond Praybe’s Week 4 demo painting at the end of the session.

The final finished painting by Edmond Praybe.

I want to thank Edmond Praybe for allowing me to share my notes and images with you during this post and the first blog post I wrote on him. He is an extremely generous teacher as you can see from all that I have shared. If you have enjoyed what I have shared with you today, then I really would encourage you to take a class with him yourself if you have the opportunity.

Thank you Edmond!

Workshop Wednesday: Edmond Praybe {Part 1}

Artist, Edmond Praybe, Oil on Yupo paper, 2020. Private Collection.

All painters have a list of other painters they admire for one aspect or another. Some artists are admired for technique, others for the conceptual idea behind the work itself. Edmond Praybe for me falls right in the middle of both considerations. He is one of my favorite contemporary painters working in a very modern feel of realism, one full of abstraction and yet his paintings are still ripe with mood, representation and sense of place. The perfect mix if you ask me. And I am not alone in my admiration of Edmond’s work. He was one of the 2021 finalists of the Bethesda Painting Award, a recipient of the Hohenburg Travel Grant, a two time Mercedes Matter Award winner and was recently profiled in the Painting Perceptions Blog by Larry Groff.

I was lucky enough to get a spot in his “Floral” class at the Winslow Art Center in January of this year when we were still under lock down and at a time before the vaccines were widely available. Winslow Art Center was one of the first to pivot to online classes during the pandemic and it continues doing so with a really robust line up of classes including more from Praybe in the future.

The following are my notes (and screen shots) that I took in class that I will happily share with you here over two blog posts (that will be published a week apart). I found his class intellectually fascinating on so many levels and definitely left feeling inspired. So much so that I taken two more classes with him since then and will happily sign up for more.

Week 1, 02 Jan 2021

-”Treat the flowers as a portrait. Treat them as an entity. (Painting flowers) can become cliché when the attention to specificity is lost.”

“Think about yourself as a botanist when approaching your flowers. The specific shapes - the light catching certain planes, the shards of color. Patterns of shape & lines & value.”

Edmond likes to save flowers after they have dried for a “spot of color” in his still lifes. (And a bonus being that they don’t change after they are dried).

Week 1 was comprised of two demos of the same hibiscus flower (students were assigned later the same exercise). In an effort to maximize his time Edmond, prepped both studies with a simple under-drawing that he did beforehand. He painted on Arches oil paper for both exercises. Same toned ground.

Week 1 , Value Study of Hibiscus Flower

First Exercise: Tonal Value study

Palette: Titanium White & a Neutral Dark (Mixed Up of Primaries).

The goal in this exercise is to decipher the internal shapes and forms of the flower, not paying too much attention to the composition. To be used more as a value study for the second color painting.

Limited palette painting of the same hibiscus flower.

Second Exercise: Limited Palette Painting of the Same Subject

Palette: Indian Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White.

-“Think about basic shapes, breaking it down by values.”

-“Working with a palette knife helps you to make broad decisions about value without getting too fussy.”

-Generally starts his paintings by laying down the darkest darks and lightest lights from the start.

-Is interested in specific shapes and how they exist in space. “What is moving toward me, what is moving away.”

-“You will mostly be operating in the middle values. Ask yourself how do you translate saturation into a value that makes sense?”

-”Scrape down and simplify when things get too overly complicated. When the painting gets “too brushy” etc. Chances are it will make more sense the second time around.”

“Constantly re-evaluate the edges. How soft is it? How hard? How about the proportions? Keep your view point constant.”

“The spaces in between forms (negative shapes) will key you into what is the true form of your subject.”

-”Keep asking yourself, "What is the value next to that value?”

-”You can be as “detailed” as you want or as “open/painterly” as you want.”

-”Don’t lose sight of the big planes if you are the type of person who likes to dive into detail.”

-Uses a palette knife to soften edges and transition values.

-”Slowly a sense of the movement of the forms begins to emerge.”

“Always ask yourself: “How light is this light? How dark in that dark?”

-”Never assume that the values are the same as you move across your subject. Most of the time there is a shift. Look for the dynamism.”

Limited palette painting demo using the previously painted value study as a guide.

Limited Palette Demo

-Use the Value Study as a guide for the underpainting on the limited palette.

-In addition to using the palette knife to soften edges, Edmond also uses it to fill in surface, re-state/erase form.

-Uses Impasto Medium for thick passages (C.A.S. Alkyd Texture Impasto Medium).

-When laying out his limited palette Edmond will often mix up the secondary colors; an orange, a violet & green. Then adds white to each to make a mid-tone & light value of each (he likes to have the visual of what gamut of colors and values he has available when working with a limited palette).

-He has a solvent free brush cleaning routine. Just uses Linseed oil. soap and water to clean his brushes.

-Starts painting the red flower with a mid-tone red. Then paints a light red and the background at the same time, varying the color along the contour.

-”Striping off the excess paint with a knife allows you to get more of that ground through and makes things more luminous.”

-Will “blast in a little color” broadly & suggestively when describing form then will come back and describe negative space (which simultaneously describes the subject). This is also a good way to re-evaluate your shapes when working.

-”The color of the area that trumpets out of the flower is always the most subtle. Has more green in it, is duller. If you get it right it makes the color “pop”. A bright colored neutral scumbled in {will do it}.”

-Lays in a mass of color again at the end of the stamen - then cuts back into it to create the form.

-During the lecture portion of class he shows a slideshow of art work to consider and advises, ”Look at Conrad Gesner’s work (German botanical artist). And Margaret Meed. Also Jim Dine’s Sunflower charcoal drawing and Antonio Lopez Garcia. (Look at) Euan Uglow’s Freesia painting.”

-”Morandi painted a lot of dried flowers.”

-Edmond works from life on toned Arches oil paper saying that “Even with figurative work, the secret to (successful painting) is engagement. You get more out of it working firsthand and you get a sense of time that creeps in. It creates a sense of depth.”

-He will often follow the decay of the bloom or will use a “stunt model” and substitute a blossom as needed.

Week 2, 29 Jan 2021

Assignment: Create two paintings from a limited palette, one limited time exercise and one from long observation

-Some painters benefit from time frames to help them focus.

-Edmond sometimes works on Yupo paper. Just puts a layer of oil paint on top (it is made of plastic, no need to prime).

-”You can get away with “mushy transitions” if there is a bigger shape to hold it in. Otherwise you will get the amateur look of everything being blended to the same degree.”

-At the end of a day of painting Edmond will scrape down all of his paint in to neutral piles and add a tint of white to these mixtures. He will then use these grey piles to neutralize his colors if needed on the the next studio day. Edmond will also use these mixtures to tone his canvases and papers.

-”Find a visual lynch pin in your object then compare out from there. Especially helpful for something complicated like a pine cone. It also helps you figure out distortions.”

-”Be open to allowing the painting to develop as it wants to. If it wants to be a 2 hour painting - then let it”.

Week 2 demo. Notice how Edmond paints the objects as he goes along (as opposed to drawing the items and then filling it in with color).

Week 2 Demo

Limited Palette: Titanium White, Cad Yellow Lemon, Cad Red Medium, Cobalt blue, Thalo Green.

-Starts by adding a note of color and then draws the shape of the water in the vase.

-”This is roughly where this blue is going to be” he says while adding his notes of color & initial drawing to canvas.

-He paints very ambiguously not really defining things initially. “Be accurate with color but lose with drawing (in the beginning).”

-”If something isn’t working don’t be afraid to come back in with a rag or palette knife and get that paint off.”

-His demo grows from one point out. ”Build your form out with the paint - not just color it in.”

-If a mark is too forceful he scrapes it down to make it push back into the space better.

-Balance giving enough accuracy to make sense as an image but do not lose the gestural quality of the paint itself (which you get in faster sketches).

-”Sometimes the best solution for a tricky part is just to let it rest & come back to it.”

-Uses his palette knife a lot to incorporate the object in the background.

-As yourself, “Is it there vs. do I need to state it?”. “Do I need it to further the main goal of the painting?”

-”The areas that I try the least are the best, the areas that I focus on too much I overwork.”

-Edmond tries to approach a fast painting like a Diebenkorn with areas of transparency in the paint application.

Week 2 limited palette

Stay tuned until next week for Part 2 which will cover Weeks 3 and 4 from Edmond’s “Floral” class.

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Mother's Day Post: Extending Peony Blooms

“Pheny’s Bouquet”, Oil on linen panel. 20” x 16”. 2019. Available.

There are two things that happen in May that I now associate together, Mother’s Day and peony season. I think this is because I was gifted my first peony plant, a Sarah Bernhardt, from my husband when my son was still little. I have since found out that is is indeed a popular Mother’s Day gift.

I grow all three species in my garden: tree peonies, herbaceous peonies and their hybrid peony, the Itoh. The Peony is by far one of my favorite flowers. Its blossom is ethereal, cloud like puffs of pink, peach, yellow, white and red and many are perfumed scenting the cool Spring nights. Peony season however is like the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC, a much anticipated event that is over in almost the blink of an eye.

But with a little planning you can extend their blooming season by an extra month, possibly two by storing them in your refrigerator using a method called “dry packing”. This simple trick allows me to paint my peonies around my often busy schedule. I am going to share with you now how you too can do this and what you need to do to revive them.

“Red and White Peony Sketch” Oil on linen panel. 12” x 9”. Private Collection.

Dry Packing Peonies

You will want to harvest your peony buds when they are still closed but feel a little soft in the center, like a marshmallow. I like to leave my stems pretty long (as long as I can reasonably fit in the refrigerator ;) and this next step is important, be sure to dry your stems with paper towels and take off any extra leaves you won’t need. Taking this extra step will ensure that they don’t grow any mold while they are in your refrigerator. Next gather all the stems in a bouquet and wrap them in newsprint or newspaper like you would see if you bought flowers in a flower market. Add rubber bands at the ends to keep the packages together. Peonies wrapped in this way can last in the fridge from 4 - 6 weeks. I normally reserve a shelf in my fridge that my family knows is off limits to them and keep all the cut peonies there lying down on their side until I am ready for them.

Wrapping the peony buds for storage in the fridge.

Reviving The Blooms

When you are ready to revive the blooms, simply take the stems out of the refrigerator, recut them and put them in warm water in a sunny place. You will need to replace the water with more warm water ideally every 6 hours or less. They should fully bloom within a day or two.

Please consider this little “hack” my gift to you for Mother’s Day. And thank you for all the selfless things you do every day. Those around you see it and appreciate it all. :)

And if you have any peony tips or Mother’s Day remembrances of your own, I’d love to read them in the comments below.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Various peonies from my garden including the fuchsia Karl Rosenfield above and Sarah Bernhardt, far right.

Bartzella, Itoh Peony. Smells lemony and the showy foliage looks great all summer. One of my favorites!

A collection of white peonies from my garden. I love displaying the whites together for a tone on tone effect which also shows off the differences within varieties.

Online Classes

Finished oil painting demonstration for the upcoming “Sunflowers and Pumpkins” workshop.

One of the few silver linings during this crazy COVID time definitely has to be the ability to take online classes.

I have recently rolled out my own online art classes for both adults and teens. Next up will be my “Sunflowers and Pumpkins” online oils workshop for beginners - intermediate level painters.

During 3 hours each day, I will demonstrate and break down my painting technique in simple terms so that students can follow along at home. Students are encouraged to email a photograph of their finished painting for feedback once the workshop is over. A Zoom conference link and materials list will be emailed closer to the start of the workshop.

Sept 19th & 20th. 1:00 - 4:00 PM. I hope you will join us!

The COVID-19 Convalescent Project

The Little Convalescent, Eastman Johnson. 1873-79. Collection of MFA Boston.

The seed of a new art project

As someone who has dealt with their own health crisis, I feel a particular solidarity with the suffering that is happening right now during COVID-19. And as a painter, I have been searching for a way to visually express this historic moment. I am about to embark upon a collaborative art project - one which I will share with you shortly!

During my research for the Painting During a Pandemic blog posts, I was reminded of a popular subject among 19th Century artists, the “Convalescent”. Merriam Webster defines convalescence as “to recover health and strength gradually after sickness or weakness”.

Growing up my mother (who was the daughter of a ENT cancer surgeon) would always advise me “Don’t push yourself too soon - you are “convalescing”. The term convalescence has fascinated me ever since, and so I have been particularly drawn to these 19th Century paintings.

A common thread among these paintings is of resting, as if hitting the pause button on life. The majority are not somber. They are peaceful and contemplative reflections of a moment in time.

Le Convalescent, Carolus - Duran. Circa 1860.

The subject of convalescing got me thinking about all the people who are dealing with COVID-19 at this very moment and especially those who fall into a category that they are calling “long-haulers”. Those who are baffling doctors with their extended convalescence of months of recovery. People that are suffering from long-term symptoms such as memory loss, tiredness, shortness of breath, chest tightness and pain, headaches, muscle pain, and heart palpitations. CNN television journalist, Chris Cuomo includes himself in this category.

The COVID-19 Convalescent Project

As I mentioned earlier, I am embarking upon a collaborative art project involving possibly, you and me. And this is where you come in!

If you or a family member is now or has been sick with COVID-19, I would like to document your particular experience convalescing with paintings created in the same spirit as these 19th Century examples. I want to create a modern day counterpart to these paintings because this specific moment in time, the COVID-19 Pandemic, needs to be documented for the historical record and because your particular experience matters. But I need your help to do it.

I am looking for submissions of photos of you or your family member’s recovery, Your day to day experience. I will be looking for submissions that I can build upon and make art from. I do not plan on copying every last detail of your pictures but instead composing from your images and improving upon them. For instance, this could mean altering the architecture of a room of adding or taking away objects, changing the color of clothing, etc. - in order to build and expand upon the overall design and composition.

suggested subjects?

• You or your loved one resting in bed or on a couch

• You or your loved one reading or engaged on your phone/ipad while resting

• Doctors visits, waiting rooms

• Tender moments that strike you during your/their recovery

PRIVACY

As a realist painter I do hope to use you or your family member’s likeness in the paintings, but I also want to respect your right to privacy and will not use your names or geographic locations in the titles if you prefer it.

SUBMISSIONS

I am looking for images that meet the following criteria:

• Clear photographs with good lighting

• No nudity please :)

• Candid shots, not posed

• Natural expressions, not “say cheese” grins

Those who are chosen as subjects will receive an original sketch of their photo. In order for me to work from your photo, I ask that you sign a release allowing me to make artwork from your photo/likeness and grant me the permission to exhibit the paintings when they are completed. As the creator, I will own the artwork and the copyright. The paintings will be available for sale at a later date after they have been exhibited as a body of work.

Will you become my muse? Allow me the opportunity to elevate your experience into a painting of perseverance. It would be an honor to be entrusted with your story. And I will approach it will all due reverence & sensitivity.

Submissions can be emailed to me Suzanne@lagoarthurstudio.com. Please spread the word and share this post! I am hoping for submissions from far and wide of people of all ethnic and social backgrounds in order to document as much as possible this global experience.

Thank you in advance for your support of this project!

-Suzanne

The Convalescent, Helene Schjerfbeck. 1888.

The Convalescent, James Tissot. 1872 Collection of AGO Ontario, Canada.

The Convalescent, John Gwen. Circa late 1910s to mid 1920s.

Making and Keeping New Year's Resolutions

9 of the 22 finished paintings I completed in 2019.

Like many of you, I started on my New Year’s resolutions yesterday. So far, so good!

I’m kidding of course, but I do think it is possible to keep your New Year’s resolutions, the key is just to make them simple from the get go. Its even better if it is a small daily habit that when compounded over time makes a big difference in your life.

Mine are the following:

• 1) Do not go more than 24 hours without doing studio work

• 2) Sketch everyday

• 3) Work out 5xs a week

I started out with a much longer list initially, but when I really dug down deep to the “why” behind most of my resolutions, it became obvious to me that what was driving them was one main idea: that I want to live a long, healthy and prolific life. So I cut out anything that did not directly support that goal. These 3 resolutions made the cut because they all support my why and they are simple enough to do.

Do you have any resolutions or strategies that you would like to share? I would love to hear them!

One last thing, I have to share this funny poll I took on Instagram on the topic. Not sure what this says about the ambition of my followers on IG, but it certainly gave me a laugh!

Have a great 2020 everyone!

Workshop Wednesday: Scott L. Christensen

Artist, Scott L. Christensen speaking to a packed room of workshop attendees.

A special workshop just wrapped up last week at Zoll Studio School of Fine Arts in Timmonium MD. Reknown landscape painter Scott L. Christensen shared with a group of very lucky students his process and personal development as an artist during a 3 hour demo. I was one of the eager fans in attendance.

I am sharing with you here the notes and photos I took during his demo (with permission of the artist). I take copious notes during any workshop/demo I attend because I am a visual learner and it helps me to retain information better that I receive verbally (i.e., in a lecture) and also because I can revisit my notes later during my study time. Self directed learning is something I apparently have in common with Christensen who credits daily studying as one of the keys to his success.

ON THE VALUE OF STUDYING:

-Don’t try to make good paintings when doing plein air. Paint to study, to get information. Worry about the painting itself later.

-”I would rather do volume when working outside then try to wrestle a painting to the ground (by over rendering)”.

-”When you study outdoors you have to sacrifice something. Decide what the focus of your study will be.”

-He limits his palette when making studies.

-He studies for hours outdoors everyday. It is part of his regular working practice.

-”Study paintings and take them apart”. When going to museums, he often takes detail shots of paintings that he admires that have a good solution on how to paint a rock, a tree, etc. He then turns the photos into black and white and studies them more closely to see how that artist achieved that specific effect with value, form, composition… whatever information he is seeking.

-”Ask yourself why the Master did things? They did things for a reason. Figure out why”.

-He has done a lot of studying on Sargent and more recently, Fechin.

-”Study what it is that you like about an artist, and what you don’t”.

NOTES ON CHRISTENSEN’S PROCESS AND SUGGESTIONS ON PAINTING::

-Begins by writing in his notebook, trying to define the scene in front of him with words. He asks himself questions like; What is drawing him to this scene? Is it light? Color, etc? What compositional elements can he build upon? He then settles on something from this enquiry that he wants to explore further, and makes that the theme of the painting.

-He often starts exploring ideas by working on craft paper or drawing in his journal.

-The next step is to distill the composition down initially into “10 lines” on the blank canvas. In the demo he used just transparent red oxide and paint thinner for this step. The idea being to simplify and develop all the elements of the painting at the same time. He is after unity of subject here. Christensen says that “connectivity of things is one of the hardest things to paint”. He believes that connectivity/unity of composition is much more important than rendering a specific tree or rock perfectly.

While making his 10 marks he asks himself:

• ”What is different with this space compared to that space?”

• ”Where is my variety”

• “Should I add a cloud here for tension?”

• “Think connecting points and tension areas (where your eye draws to)”

Some of the beginning “10 marks”.

The entire “10 mark” composition mapped out.

-When working from reference or life, don’t allow the photo or scene in front of you to decide the placement of things. “You decide the composition”.

-He looks for “unequal distribution of shapes and scale” in his compositions. Too many shapes at similar sizes is not interesting.

-”All the detail in the world can take place AFTER you have your design down”.

-While traveling he has started using gouache. He did 100 gouache paintings in one month recently but feels that is not enough time to really know the medium.

-He preferes to paint to music.

-His palette consists of the following Vasari paints (partial list):

• Cobalt, Ultramarine Blue, Kings Blue, Video Blue, Yellow Deep, Permanent Red, Ruby Violet, Transp. Red Oxide, Thalo Green, Chromium Oxide green (which he uses less often) and the Vasari neutrals that he developed with the Vasari Paint Company, “Color and Light” set.

-When mixing color he starts with one of his neutral greys and then adds a color hue into that say Bice and Cobalt blue.

-His philosophy on color is based on p. 88 of Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting book which reads, “good color has infinite varieties, a reserve.”

Christensen’s palette. Notice how he efficiently groups values together.

Here Christensen is beginning to lay in some of his color notes. You can see him altering his blue values as he searches for the right relationship between the water and the sky.

-He begins his paintings with brushes of all sizes (including a 2 inch brush for blending water for instance) and will then switch to palette knives after he has locked in the design and is seeking more impasto.

-Reminds us that Sargent stayed in the mid-tones most of the time. He added his darks only at the end. ”Staying in the mid-tones adds unity to a painting”.

-Quotes Carlson, “its the juncture (of values) that require thought”.

-Reminds us that a specific value can appear differently when surrounded by lights and when surrounded by darks. Keeping this is mind will help with the simplification of values.

-”Keep it all in tone. Every note must be in harmony”.

-"Put in determined value, not half value, not “sneaking up on it” value”.

-”Try to go out & do relationship painting. Try to figure out those things instead of trying to paint the perfect tree”.

-”I am big on experimenting with most of my painting”.

-Moves specific temperatures (colors) around the painting by adding it in a new area- but always alters value appropriately first.

-”Sometimes I will completely change the season of a painting”.

-Will recompose a painting as he goes along if needed “I might put something in and the take it out dozens of times”.

-”It doesn’t take long to lose a painting if you (mindlessly) just pat color down for 2 mins”. Be intentional.

-Uses a mirror once his painting is established to check for corrections.

”Landscape (painting) is learning to put parts together more than anything else”.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE STRUCTURE OF CLOUDS:

-Clouds get warmer at the core.

-Value & temperature changes make something turn.

-The yellow in a cloud will turn to orange and then red as it recedes.

Christensen’s finished painting with palette.

Christensen’s finished 3 hour demo.

“Be willing to sacrifice your paintings to get something better overall.
Be willing to make them ugly, then fight to make them better”

— Scott L. Christensen

Workshop Wednesday: Kathleen Speranza

“Yellow Cluster”, Oil on panel. 11” x 11”. Artist, Kathleen Speranza.

There are few floral painters today who can conjure up the sublime in their paintings, Kathleen Speranza is definitely among the best of them. There is a palatable, moody atmosphere in her paintings which envelopes her still life subjects. This atmosphere simultaneously ensconces and reveals the delicate forms of her subjects, often English roses. And since I have been in search of the sublime recently in my own work, I jumped at the opportunity to study with her when she came to the Art League in Alexandria VA this past summer.

She will be returning to the area to teach a private sold out workshop in Purcellville VA in early December 2019. If you are interested in getting on a wait list should a slot open up, please contact me directly.

The following notes and photos I took myself so that I could continue to study on my own. Hopefully they will inspire you to spark a little moody magic in your paintings.

Day One/June 11, 2019:

ON THE SUBJECT OF ROSES:

-Kathleen has been working with the subject of roses for the past 4-5 years. She is still working on unlocking the secrets of subtly.

-”The growth habit is more beautiful in a garden rose”. A living plant twists and spirals into form. In nature this is called “Equiangular Spirals” or in design it is known as “Dynamic Symmetry”. Other terms for this are the Golden Mean and the Fibonacci Spiral.

-When she does work from florist roses (long stemmed), three of her favorites are “Juliet”, “Patience” and “White O’Hara'‘, all from David Austin. She recommends purchasing the cut flowers from Florabundance.com, an on-line retailer of flowers.

-When working from the rose she thinks of it as occupying space, and the background around it as space as well.

-She often composes her arrangements with a tiny vase so that flowers spread out - not tall and narrow. Also loves using just the floral frogs to allow for “more air”.

Kathleen Speranza’s charcoal drawing on Fabriano Ingres laid paper.

ON THE SUBJECT OF DRAWING:

-She does drawings constantly. Her drawings help her to “think” about her compositions.

-She uses her prepatory drawings to help her edit her vision for the painting. Kathleen has discovered that if she works directly from the roses when painting that she often ends up painting everything and losing the essence of subtly and restraint.

-When working with charcoal she prefers Nitram and will lay down the charcoal & then lifts the light. “The light is everything”.

-She will also draw with graphite.

-Prefers Fabriano Ingres laid paper. Tip: Place a thick pad of paper behind the Ingres paper when drawing.

-She draws and paints in natural light. Natural light is ambient - it envelopes the subject.

-She thinks in term of “light to dark” and “dark to light” when setting up her still lifes and also when drawing/painting.

-”Feel the gesture, the curvilinear marks”. Create compound curves w/straight edges.

-”You can’t get momentum if you hold the pencil like you are writing - that kind of detail comes later in the drawing”.

-”Make an ugly drawing first - structural, a boxy block in”.

-Lays down several lines with each angle - “feels'“ her way through. Makes cross hatches to indicate the end of a petal. Angled dashes that break the edge.

-”The edge tells you everything about the interior. They are hugely important”.

-”Veils in” the overall shadow.

-Recommends watching Sadie Valerie’s video on shading a sphere.

-”The viewer will see your experience- not your goal. Slow down and enjoy every detail”.

-”The background creates your edges.”

-“Laid paper slows down your darks - allows for the marks to breathe. Much more interesting that way”.

-”The more shapes you put down the more variation in tone you will have”.

-”The whole thing is straight lines. Take extra care around strong contrasts. Make sure each petal is where it should be exactly at this stage of the drawing.

-”if you go into details too soon you will make it too complex. This is not what you want. You want to simplify and go for subtly”.

-Use a grey scale with 9 steps and work toward those values in your drawing.

Kathleen’s paint mixing demo using the Munsell Color System to dial in on the exact value, hue & chroma of the rose petal above.

INTRO ON THE MUNSELL COLOR SYSTEM:

-Comes out of the French Academic system.

-Hue + Value + Chroma = Subtly

-It is based on 9 value color chart.

-Kathleen creates a mixture she calls “blumber”. 2/3 ivory black + 1/3 raw umber. She then adds white to this mixture to achieve the correct value and finally adds a color hue to arrive at the final value and color of whatever she is painting.

-Always add dark to your white. If you go the other way you will use too much white. Conserve your white.

-The student Munsell book contains 60 colors.

-Practice the color system by doing master copies. Use Google Art Project for references of the highest resolution.

-Be aware that the influence of black in the Munsell color system makes everything you mix a little greenish.

-It is a good idea to tube your paint in advance (blumber + white to achieve the 9 values in a value chart).

Underpainting block in

DAY TWO/June 12, 2019:

NOTES ON PAINTING DURING HER DEMO:

-Kathleen set up a split compliment for her demo composition. Yellow & grey.

-”Color is relative- edge to edge”.

“The classic still life is light to dark, or dark to light”.

“Look for structure, large mass & contrast”.

-”I have to believe the space I am making. Sometimes I get it right away. Other times I have to sand it, mash things around first”.

-Quotes Flannery O’Connor, “I don’t know what I think until I read what I write”. Feels the same way about her work.

-Uses a colored sheet, studio wall or box as her background.

-Degreases panel first with gamsol on a brush.

-Starts the underpainting with yellow ocher and plans to work in values 1 - 5 with a little darker for the leaves.

-Her set up has a nice horizontal arc so she is creating her composition horizontally on her panel.

-Does not start with “darkest dark” works in mid tones first.

-Starts her under-paintings with a floppy brush. For this demo a large comber.

-Masses in background with fluffy brush. Leaving object as negative space within.

-“You are making a space, not an object”.

-“Don’t think roses, think midtones, large shapes etc”.

-Consider light, height and spread of plant when composing.

-Wipes out as needed.

“The one thing your eyes can hold is light. So we are after that one thing our eyes can truly hold. Think about that for a minute”.

-”You have to look at the whole thing or you won’t make a space”.

-“It is much better to do a “raw underpainting”—meaning not too developed because otherwise I won’t want to cover it.”

-“If I put an edge there it will pull everything forward. I want to delay those decisions until later”.

-”If I am struggling with a painting I will overlay a grid on it to look for the path of composition. But I don’t start out rigidly with the grid”.

-”I work around an object until I understand how something is unfolding”.

-”Keep the edges soft”.

“Save your best drawing for the end of a painting. Delayed gratification”.

“Think about the paint and not about what you are painting. You have to trust that you can paint your way out of anything”.

Underpainting with background lay in.

Establishing the darkest green shapes of the painting.

NOTES ON PAINTING WITH COLOR:

-The understanding of color is all about relationships.

-The color of roses is deepest always in the center or in the creases (unless it is red). The color compounds by the overlapping of each petal. In other words the petals are all actually the same color but they appear darker as they overlap.

-She uses just a simple yellow & black mixture for her leaves & stems. Try black + yellow ocher, black + lemon yellow, black + cad yellow med and black with indian yellow.

-For blue greens try; lemon yellow + ultramarine blue, cad yellow med + cobalt blue, or cad yellow med + cobalt blue + ultramarine blue.

-Think “dark, blueish green”. Think in 3 descriptive terms when mixing, it will help.

-When people paint flowers they tend to use too much chroma.

-Sargent is known to have said “Use fewer colors & more values”.

-Kathleen uses the following colors from Marvin Mattelson’s flesh palette (with whom she has studied) , terra rosa, indian red and yellow ocher to use when painting roses.

-”Here’s a tip for painting clouds and skys. Start at the top of the painting with ultramarine blue and as you get closer to painting the earth, switch to cobalt blue then cerulean blue and finally manganese blue. The color of the earth affects the air around it - so it becomes greener as it gets closer to the ground.”

Kathleen’s demo at the end of Day One.

FINAL MUSINGS:

-”If you copy from a photograph you are not making space”.

-Do not paint all the edges the same, it will not have a life force. It will turn out flat.

-“Hedge the whole painting with edges that are “open” so that when you harden an edge it leads the eye immediately”.

-When working, Kathleen often pushes the subject “out” and then paints the background “in” towards the subject. She then works that edge. {Sargent is said to have also worked this way}.

“Get rid of the word background. It doesn’t exist. Everything is relative in color. Color exists edge to edge.”

“Do not make pictures.
Make experiences.”

— Kathleen Speranza

Finding Purpose in the Darkness

Recently my family and I marked a very special moment in our lives. August 16th, 2019 was the 1 year anniversary of my craniotomy to remove a 5 cm (racket-ball sized) non-cancerous meningioma brain tumor. My doctors tell me that a meningioma is extremely slow growing and one of my size could have been there for 10 years before we discovered it last summer.

Sure - I had a few symptoms over the years that could have possibly accelerated its discovery, like the year I suddenly had vertigo or how I would get this sharp pain in my head every time I laughed at my husband’s jokes (and he is a really funny guy so that was a regular occurrence). But both these things were easily treated with decongestants as odd as that sounds. One day last Spring was different however. I awoke to find that I had intense nerve pain running up and down my left arm. I started physical therapy shortly after that and it did make a difference. Then one day half my face went numb and suddenly I was experiencing for the first time in my life real anxiety, claustophobia, and insomnia seemingly overnight. After realizing that my symptoms were most likely neurological in nature, my husband strongly urged me to go see a neurologist. It was my neurologist that was the first to order the MRI that you see above. Finally we had a terrifying answer to what was happening to my body.

Now that I am on the other side of this experience and thankfully completely healed (without any lingering side effects) and back to all the things I love to do especially painting. I can tell you that my outlook on life has been transformed. I do not regret what happened to me because it brought into better focus what was most important in my life; namely my relationships with my family and friends, my faith and my calling as an artist. I have read that the reason suffering exists in this world is to hollow you out from the inside so that you have more room for love. This is exactly what happened to me. I am a better person today than I was before and I will not squander a single moment of my life going forward because every day is indeed a precious gift. I ask myself now, “am I living up to my potential”? Am I working as hard as I can on my {insert here}; health, fitness, relationships, art, etc.?

We have decided as a family to celebrate August 16th with an annual retreat. And furthermore, I am claiming August 16th as a day of self reflection and a review on the progress of my New Year’s goals that I set without fail every year. And it occurred to me that if I shared my story with all of you, that perhaps I could inspire you to find the light in a difficult anniversary of your own.

Suffering is like the setting in a diamond ring, without the setting you would not notice how brilliant the diamond is. Simply put, without the difficult times in our lives we would not truly appreciate the good.

No matter what you are going through in life right now, I believe you can find the light to get through it. Do yourself a favor and reclaim your own day. Life is too precious to not embrace all of it.

Closing Day of "Bloom" Exhibit

I currently have 15 paintings displayed at Tryst Gallery in Leesburg for my 2019 solo show “Bloom”. This exhibit of oil paintings is coming to an end after tomorrow, May 30th. The overarching theme that unites the show are floral and natural motifs. They are also united in palette with predominantly soft pastels & gem colors. Several of these paintings will be going home with collectors for which I am extremely grateful. But there is still time to snag one to grace your own walls! The gallery is open this Thursday from 10 - 4 pm. I hope you will come out and see it if you are in the greater Washington DC area.

I had the honor of being interviewed for the exhibit by Tryst Gallery owner, Jim Sisley. If his last name rings a bell to you there is good reason. Jim is a descendant of the famed Impressionist, Alfred Sisley.. He casually mentioned that to me prior to our interview when we were discussing my art influences. Needless to say I was a little starstruck after that.

Workshop Wednesday; Casey Childs' Painting Oil Portraits From Life

When I take my copious notes during workshops I have a system of highlighting certain passages by assigning a number of stars to them or by calling some things out as "money tips" (my terminology for thoughts that truly add value to your painting). When I looked over my notes for Casey Childs' painting workshop, I found stars and comments littered through out the pages. What I am giving you here is some of the best advice to painting that I have heard, at least that is the way it struck me. Part of Casey's genius as an instructor is that he is a really good communicator and can easily explain both his working process and (more importantly) his thought process in ways that students can digest.

The following  notes I took during Casey's Painting Oil Portraits From Life Workshop in October of 2017 at Francie's Studio in Purcellville VA:

____________________________________

-Casey believes it is good for your painting to work on charcoal drawings in between, because it forces you to work on values.

-Working with a limited palette is also good if you are having problems with color.

-It is well documented that Sargent used lots of paint. You should too!

-Casey uses a palette of 3 reds, 3 blues and 3 yellows. Ivory Black, Flake White (lead white -does not use titanium white). Genuine Naples Yellow Light (Vasari), Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Transparent Red Oxide, Cad Yellow, Cad Red Light, Alizarin, Ultramarine Violet, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Viridian, Bice (Vasari), Ultramarine Blue,  [Writer's note: may not be transcribed as a complete list of his palette nor in the correct order].

-Casey believes in pushing primaries together to make subtle grays. He finds & mixes color accordingly.

-Makes his own panels with gatorboard and linen canvas that he glues together using  Beva Glue Film. He hand irons it together.

-When beginning a new painting he lines up the canvas at eye level.

-Starts with a thin wash of neutral color. A red + a blue + black.

-If anything is too warm he hits it with the complementary color. He is always thinking  what he needs to adjust.

-Then he begins to wipe (with a blue paper shop towel) out shapes which immediately makes him think only in regards to lights & darks.

-Raw Sienna + Alizarin + Blue for the under-drawing. Today he is pushing the mixture towards warm because of the models red hair.

-"Get the shapes to relate to each other and you can start to get a sense of likeness without even drawing."

--"This simple block in approach is so important - spend the most time on that. You can't fix poor drawing with colors or edges."

-"Try and be a perfectionist. If you are tackling portraiture you have to be."

-Maintain the relationships of light & dark. Meaning, keep the values in the general same range.

-Starts working with color by jumping  into the darks (Aliz + black).

-Observing where else you can use a specific color is a good way of harmonizing a painting.

-"Think of the biggest brush you can use for something then go one brush bigger. You get better marks that way."

-Uses the following mixture as his initial flesh tones; Ultra Violet + Lead White + Cad Red Lite + Yellow Ochre + Bice.

-Lays in color swatches to test value.

-"I'm slowing down. Just looking at big shapes."

--He purposefully dulls down the flesh color so he can sneak in more primaries, pushing the greys into one chroma or another.

-Casey observes on the model a blueish tint in between the shadow & the light (known as "the last light") and paints it that way. He uses subtle color to turn form. It is one of the cornerstones of his painting.

"I am trying to build the eye without building the eye (by building the large shapes). I put in my shadows, then suggest a color and then another value change. All those little notes come together & build the eye."

-"The areas that are not necessary I blur out or leave intentionally out of focus. With eyes for instance, I take my time & detail them well and in focus."

-"I often draw something by drawing the things AROUND it."

-"People often make the value of the crease near the nose way too dark".

"You can hold more paint in a bristle brush than you can with a soft hair brush so I often switch brushes to lay in more detail."

-"As I lay down piles of paint, I utilize them in creating new colors-- it helps harmonize the whole painting." Grabbing from the "mother puddle" to create new tones.

-When working on larger paintings he often starts the under drawing in charcoal and then works in a similar way to his demo, working general to specific. He works ALL the figures up at the same time. This allows him to bring areas into fuller focus and leave other areas more finished which gives more life to a painting.

-"Notice that I haven't really drawn the eyes or nose. I've been concentrating on the big shapes but because I have done that it suggests the other parts."

-Highly recommends Harold Speed's Painting Book.

-"Sneak up around the eye. Find the eye socket first then suggest the eye --only then do you add eyelashes."

-Thinks darkest dark, lightest light. The highlight on the eye is the purest white. All other lights are local color.

-Always maintain the relationship between shadows and lights.

-Local face color usually appears in the following "banded" manner (based on the amount of blood seen under the skin)---Forehead: Yellow, Nose: Red and Jaw: Green.

-Around the eye sockets things lean more blue.

ON REFINEMENT

-"Lead your viewer to the areas you want to stand out by how much refinement you do to that area. Think Rembrandt. Closer to the light has more detail. You can focus on a couple of features and bring them to refinement--but be choosy."

-He prefers filberts in bristle rather than flats.

-Makes corrections first (color, drawing etc.) when choosing what areas to start back into.

-"I paint like I am a millionaire (meaning use paint like cost is not a concern)."

-Color has a tendency to cool as it goes into shadow (last light) although on fleshy areas like cheeks & nose it can be warmer.

-"When painting the iris I am going to make that whole circle dark & then place the color on top. It is more pleasing that way."

-Likes using Trekkel Brush Restorer for keeping the shape of his brushes.

-Likes to paint with the corner of larger flat brushes.

"I think in terms of time when painting, especially in front of the model. For instance I will say to myself "spend 20 mins on that eye and then 20 mins on the other eye."

-Eyebrows--make lighter initially and then darker as it turns.

-Paints the darker circle of the pupil and then places the highlight on top.

-Don't paint a hard edge around the pupil.

-Load up the brush and add the lead white highlight to the eye, but be careful & delicate when placing! For this application he uses a Rosemary 279 flat 0 though he would have preferred a 2 or 3.

-In general key the nostrils lighter.

-"Refinement of value is all you need to turn the form on the nose."

-"It is important to work in value strings so that you can go up and down in value as needed." Incidentally, his value strings are not grouped by color so different colors merge together according to value to create his value strings.

-"Value is more important than color. If the color is close that's good but what is important is the value."

-He built his eye (with this particular model) using the value of the neck shadow and then simply adds more strokes of value on top, either lighter or darker, to build form as needed.

ON HAIR

-Lays in a middle value then will paint the darks & lights over that. Using a #6 brush or bigger. #10 for laying in the initial color. Used a palette knife on the shoulder to scrape back a little.

"Squint and paint the passages of light over the hair. Paint hair in one session because it will change."

I will end this post with one of his best tips so far: "Start everything with the middle tone value & then paint lights or darks into that (air, jewelry, features etc). And paint back to forward, always thinking about things in terms of depth."

Casey will be returning to Francie's Studio to teach another Oil workshop this April. He is honestly one of the best instructors I have studied with.  I would highly recommend him to all of you and there are still spots available in this workshop. If interested, please email me at lagoarthur_studio@yahoo.com for more details.

Workshop Wednesday: Casey Childs' Charcoal Portrait from Life

The following are my personal notes that I took at Casey Childs charcoal workshop last Fall. Altogether I have taken 4 workshops with Casey.  With each opportunity to study with him, I truly feel myself growing as an artist. And as a rather frequent workshop attendee--I can tell you that is a rare thing.

Normally I am happy if I can walk away with one or two new aspects of technique or approach in my painting after a workshop. Rarely do you attend a workshop where the instructor literally changes the way you THINK. And that my dear artistic friends, is really where improvements happen. We could talk all day about what brushes to buy and what paint to use but what truly matters is what you are thinking in that complex brain of yours that drives the brush in your hand. Seek enlightenment and your painting will automatically get better.

Casey himself is a friendly, laid back and humble kind of guy. He does not carry airs---he does not need to. His work speaks for itself. Casey is a regular finalist in the Portrait Society of America's International Portrait Competition. He is a sought after portrait and gallery artist and is represented by Principle Gallery, Haynes Gallery, Meyer Gallery and Illume Gallery.

Without further prologue, here are my notes from two relatively recent workshops I took with Casey at Francie's Studio, a private and intimate work space in Purcellville VA.  I will divide up these notes between two blog posts that I will release over the next two Wednesdays as part of my "Workshop Wednesday" series. This particular blog post will concentrate on Casey Childs' Charcoal Portrait Drawing From Life Workshop. The second post will be on his Painting Oil Portraits From Life Workshop.

Charcoal Portrait Drawing From Life Workshop

-Casey says he draws and paints in the same way. He thinks the same things when he approaches both drawing and painting.

-He begins by taping two pieces of willow charcoal together to simulate a long handled brush. He uses a razor blade to sharpen it to a "big long needle point."

-Measures in the traditional way with his arm extended and straight taking comparative measurements, not sight size.

-Uses a brush to gently knock off or soften "area ridges" made from the charcoal line.

-Casey personally believes in using just a little bit of white chalk as an accent in his charcoal drawings. He says to look at the drawings of Fechin and you will see the same restraint.

-Prefers Canson Mi Teintes paper (in Pearl) and uses the smooth side (the side normally with the sticker).

-Be vertical with your easel and keep line of sight (eye level) right at the middle of your paper.

-Use your whole arm when starting out. Place "tick" marks to define the outer dimensions of your subject. Top & bottom, right and left etc.

-Shoot for life size of your subject or just under.

-Outline shapes. Think flat, think proportions.

-He uses the side of his charcoal too so he doesn't break the point.

-"Charcoal is similar to painting in that if you lay too much down initially you can't easily work with it."

-Often uses hard charcoal as a "stump" to push around and refine things more.

-He feels free to leave unintended marks -- "because it could add interest later on."

-He does use some lines as contour.

-Prefers to break up his drawing workshop over two days in this manner: Day 1 focus on shapes and drawing, Day 2 Finish & details.

-From the initial 2D block-in he begins to look at large forms first, turning form, thinking planes & light transitions but just on the larger forms. "Only once you have resolved that do you move on to resolving smaller forms and details."

-"The key to likeness is proportion. It is not hard to get a likeness if your drawing is correct."

-Casey uses calipers to measure proportions more accurately. He looks for areas where the vertical and horizontal are in proportion. Always measure horizontally & vertically.

-After a while trust your eyes if you have spent considerable time measuring.

-Hard charcoal is used to fill in the value (i.e. the gaps left in the paper from the initial med. charcoal pass).

-Uses soft charcoal to gradate flesh tones.

-"In the painting you can get value relationships much quicker. You must work at it in charcoal."

-Uses his mahl stick on the second day (details).

-Doesn't blend with his finger at all or stump. Doesn't like the look of smudges. Uses a piece of hard charcoal as his stump.

-He is most interested with getting his big forms right (turning forehead, shape of eyes etc. ...)

-Uses the hard charcoal to get the turning of the mid-tones.

-Recommends thinking of Andrew Loomis' "head in a box" when turning facial planes. "Helps you to think in a more structural way".

-Casey avoids working in a "window shading" kind of way (where one fully renders an area before moving on to the next) so that he doesn't get distracted. "You must be aware of the whole form."

"Form is edges. What makes an edge soft? Is it the light/shadow? Its all about relationships and how they relate."

-He takes it very slow when modeling the surface. Slow and deliberate drawing built upon observation.

    _______________________

Casey will be teaching his 5th workshop at Francie's Studio April 14th-16th, 2018 and there are slots still available. As an instructor I could not recommend him more highly. If interested please contact me directly at lagoarthur_studio@yahoo.com for more information.

On a personal note I want to thank Casey for his generosity in sharing all that he knows with his students, and in particular with me. :) Thank you so much Casey!

Root to Bloom at Principle Gallery

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I am really thrilled to say that I was juried into the Root to Bloom exhibit at the famed Principle Gallery in old town Alexandria (VA) by the amazing Teresa Oaxaca. There are so many great artists in this show that I feel humbled to have my painting, "Feedsacks" (above) included. I am told that they had nearly 1,000 submissions to the competition and only 73 artists were selected overall.

There is currently a social media competition happening at the Principle Gallery for this exhibit. The artist who gets the most "likes" on their painting in the link below will win an award. I would really appreciate your "like" on my painting. Simply follow the link and click on my painting and hit like. https://www.facebook.com/principlegallery/photos/a.10154652878153383.1073741843.98926243382/10154652879903383/?type=3&theater

And I hope some of you will come out to the opening on November 11th from 6:30-9 PM. Thank you readers!

Abuelo and Alexander

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This past August I finally finished a very personal family portrait of my father and son which turned out to be a true labor of love, begun 3 years ago. My patient father simply waited until I was able to work on it, a little at a time, in between my portrait commissions.

My father is a passionate gardener and the background of this painting is my father's very own garden depicting his collection of azaleas, deciduous azaleas and rhododendrons. It is a fitting tribute to him and to the loving relationship he shares with my son. My favorite part being the tender gesture of their hands touching each other.

2016 WLAST Studio Tour

I will be exhibiting again with the Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour (WLAST) next weekend June 18 - 19, 2016. Come see my work along with the work of potter, Carrie Althouse and jeweler, Dana Jansen at STOP #1 on the WLAST tour. In addition I am excited to share that all 3 of us will all be conducting art demonstrations,  Tarara Winery will be giving wine tastings, Jules BBQ will have his yummy food for purchase and there will be LIVE music performances on both days of the event! Pack a picnic blanket and make a real day of it. Afterwards continue your tour at the other 30 open studios across Western Loudoun Co. If you live in the Washington DC area, this is an event you will not want to miss!

WLAST STOP #1 June 18 - 19, 2016 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 42498 Farm Lane, Leesburg, VA 20176