Category Archives: Influences

A figurative and an interior collage, for more fun

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I wandered off on my own again and created a collage based on a photo from ‘back in the day’ when two of my little sisters, Susan and Mary, were swimming in the back yard pool (pre Hurricane Camille). I’ve always loved that photo and had earlier done a fairly abstracted version on the iPad. After my collage class, I decided to do a second version using the paired color technique I’d learned from Rotem Amizur.

the original photo.
the ‘colorized’ iPad version.
the collage version — didn’t get Susan’s head cute enough!!

A hard thing about this method is that Rotem encourages us to use whatever papers we still have on hand, rather than painting new ones that hew more closely to the reference underlying the image we’re trying to create. Here, that hot pink on the two girls is jarring, but . . . whatever.

I’ve been trying to paint more interiors lately, so I decided to try a collage construction based on the view of our living room from the kitchen table. The first cut was pretty dreary, so I layered up the background with a bright pink. Granddaughter Maya was around as I was critiquing the first version and she too agreed I needed a hot pink wall in the background, rather than the lavender I had already used.

Living room in wonky colors and with an imagined painting on the wall beyond the windows.

More collages.

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I took a second zoom workshop with Rotem Amizur which focused on still life collages. This one was less intense than the first and I produced less work, but this time I was working ‘from life’ based on a simple still life arrangement: plastic watering can; two lemons; and a small orchid (that I pumped up in the collages using artistic license.

Rhw set-up
Drawing to analyze light/dark paper pairings
The final collage – take one.

I then made a second collage of the same set-up, using a different selection of paired colored papers to represent lights and darks. Do you have a preference?

Second take, using same arrangement.

Next, for an added challenge, I did a collage of one of my special ceramic pieces, filled with twigs from the beautiful Chinese maple tree in my front yard.

Progress shot — the pins almost function as flowers — was tempted to keep it this way!
The final, glued piece.

Catching up with collages posted elsewhere.

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With more apologies to my Facebook friends who’ve probably seen these before, I want to post some collages I produced during a zoom-based workshop with Rotem Amizur, a fabulous Israeli artist. Key tasks included painting two contrasting layers of acrylic paint on each of a large stack of paper; selecting three or four sets of lighter and darker papers to represent light and shadow in different areas of the reference photo; and then cutting and arranging pieces of those papers to interpret the reference image in a collage. Here are two sets of paper selections I used in a couple of exercises:

Rotem had us select a couple of ‘old master’ paintings to use as our references. I started with a portrait of Matisse, followed by his portrait of his wife. I did one of Matisse and then a number of variations of Mrs. Matisse, some looking at the reference image or an earlier collage and others relying on just my memory of what Mrs. Matisse looked like. It was fun to get wilder and more abstract with each iteration, as we had to come up with a focal theme that didn’t duplicate an earlier collage.

Reference Image for Matisse Collage
Collage of Matisse using 3 pairs of papers.
Reference Image for Mrs. Matisse
1st collage of Mrs. Matisse, following reference rather closely; 3 pairs of papers.
2nd collage based on the first collage; 3 pairs.
3rd collage, from memory; 3 pairs.
4th collage, from memory, with only 3 colors.
5th collage, from memory, 3 colors.
6th collage, from memory, 3 colors.
7th collage, from memory, with 2 colors & a pattern as added design component.
8th collage, from memory; 2 colors
9th collage, from memory; 2 colors.

And here are a few progress shots, showing the method of pinning the paper pieces, which were glued to each other in the final stage.

This was an exceedingly fun and challenging workshop — so good that I took a second one from Rotem a few months later. See the next post!

Still Lifes in Oil ~~ Dried Plants and Household Treasures

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Here are two of my favorite still life compositions, ‘homework’ painted in oil under the guidance of Ed Praybe. He’s a fabulous painter and equally great teacher. Check out his site.

Dried onion stalks and ceramics. Oil on Arches huile paper. 8 x 16.
MomMom’s Pitcher, Ceci’s Scissors. Oil on Arches huile Paper. 12 x 16.

Inspired by the Masters

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It’s a time-honored tradition for artists to deepen their craft by studying, copying, transcribing components of, or gaining inspiration from old and newer master painters. In various zoom classes over the last months, I’ve had occasion to do that kind of work.

An abstraction of a Titian nude:

After Titian’s ‘Venus of Urbino’. Oil on Linen. 9.5 x 16.

An abstraction of van Veerendael’s A Bouquet of Flowers in a Crystal Vase.

After van Veerendael’s Bouquet of Flowers in a Crystal Vase. Oil on lInen. 9,5 x 13

Modern subject (Cuban art students studying on a busy boulevard on a Sunday morning) in the style of Vuillard’s paintings of women working.

Cuban art students at work, after Vuillard. Oil on linen.

Practicing the Knife!

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Bernie Dellario tasked our zoom-based art group with painting a fairly complicated scene using only a palette knife. The idea was to force ourselves to simplify. I selected a photo that I’d taken at a Nats night game, courtesy of friends Doug and Toni. I loved the vibrant colors, the dramatic lighting, the sharp green grass, the movement of the crowd and vendors. . . .

Here’s the painting and references. A note for composition buffs: For a bit of extra drama and clarity, I combined positions of orange hands from the two photos. I also omitted the wonderful yellow foul marker because it would been too much for a small square painting. . . . Maybe I’ll do a larger version some time so I can add that color into the mix.

At the Nats. Oil on Arches Huile Paper. 10″ x 10″.

New Facebook Challenge ~ 10 Paintings in 10 Days ~~ per friend Kathy Stowe

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Ooof! I did one of these challenges not long ago, but here goes! Day 1 of my mission to share something from my art, my studio, or my life for ten consecutive days, no explanation needed, and nominate someone to do the same. I nominate Penny Smith to share some of her beautiful artwork and carry on the call. The idea is to promote positivity and bring art into each other’s lives.

Here’s what’s on my easel at the moment — inching toward a dual portrait of my deceased brother-in-law Albert ‘Terp’ Ward, and his widow, Donna Garnett.

Double Portrait – 2d session
Initial drawing, using Catherine Kehoe’s method of building a web of intersecting lines until features emerge.

Mississippi Workshop – Part II. Water & Wildlife.

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It would be impossible to retrace our workshop footsteps and recount all of our painting triumphs and pratfalls, so I’ll just say:  WATER and WILDLIFE!   We spent every day painting by beautiful waters ~~ the old Ocean Springs harbor, the gentle marshes of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, the sparkling Ocean Springs beaches and the marshy streams meandering down to the shore.  Here are a few shots of the waters we enjoyed.

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And as for the wildlife, there was a feast for the eyes ~~ from bombardier pelicans, sunning alligators, eel-gulping herons, osprey, crab and who knows what else.  And I guess we have to count as ‘wildlife’ the daring youngsters, male and female, who paddle boarded within feet of the alligator after he decided to take a dip in the harbor.

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Remembering Our Recent Workshop on Mississippi Gulf Coast – Part 1

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In writing my last post, I realized I hadn’t described our recent workshop in any detail.  It was great ~~ a delightful mix of ‘7 Palettes‘ painting buddies and Kathy Stowe, another Maryland-based friend; two of my sisters (Ceci & Susan); and three other Coast-based artists — Marylyn Gibson, Sherry Carlson and Curtis Jaunsen.  And of course our most excellent instructor, Marc Hanson.

Marc and Terry Miura are two of my most favorite landscape painters (not to take anything away from our outstanding MD-based artists).  Painting ‘rock stars’ in my book.  I’ve taken workshops with each of them and our 7Ps group sponsored a workshop with Terry not long ago.  It was fun to learn that they both trained at the same school in California!  Must be something in the water (or the OMG) out there!

Here are the beautiful demos that Marc did during our four day workshop.  I bought ‘On Canal by Old OS Harbor’ as a memento of the wonderful experience.

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The ‘7 Palettes’ Kicked Off a Summer-long Exhibit Yesterday!

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Yesterday, some friends and I, who collaborate on all things art as The 7 Palettes,  opened a new exhibit in Bethesda, Maryland.  Our art — some 40+ pieces — will be displayed for three months at Maplewood Park Place on Old Georgetown Road.  Come see our pretties, please — any day between now and August 24, from 10 to 4 daily.   And congratulations to Sara Becker, whose large abstract painting sold during the Opening Reception!!  Way to go, Sara!