Here are a few other paintings I did last week during the Artin watercolor workshop. No more nudes for now!
Radish 2. Watercolor on Paper.
Beet 1. Watercolor on Paper.
Beet 2. Watercolor on Paper.
Sorry sorry sorry, y’all! My last blog entry contained paintings of two full length nudes, neither of which was ‘out of bounds’ (IMHO). So, I was aghast when I checked to see if Facebook had re-posted it and found that the images had been sliced and diced in an unexpected manner (to say the least). I hope you clicked over to my blog to get a better sense of the overall paintings!
In any event, here’s a ‘palette cleanser’! It’s one of the radishes I painted during the Saturday afternoon session of my Wendy Artin workshop, followed by one of Wendy’s gorgeous still life watercolors — also of radishes.
Radish 1. Watercolor on Paper.
Wendy’s radishes — again, quite a difference:
Radishes, 2001, watercolor on cotton Khadi paper, 11″ x 12″
This past weekend I spent two grueling days knee-deep in watercolor. Wendy Artin, a fabulous artist and lovely person, was our instructor, at Glen Kessler’s Compass Atelier. Talk about ‘alla prima’ painting! She dives right in – no rough sketch, no gesture drawing, no nothing — just her eye, her paint & her brush to guide her relentlessly down the sheet of paper. Her tonal nudes, in which she paints ONLY the ‘shadow shapes’ yet leaves you believing the whole body, are exquisite. Her colorful fruits & veggies are more fully rendered, but are also beautiful & light.
Here’s one of her nudes:
And one of mine — a half hour pose during the workshop (quite a difference, yes??:
I was VERY happy to be able to switch to vegetables in the afternoons!
We Seven Palettes are taking turns ‘sitting the gallery’ during our art exhibit this month at Gallery B. I’m scheduled for more duty on Jan. 21, and 25, from 3pm to 6pm.
If you’d like to explore digital art a bit, grab your iPad and come sit with me for awhile. I’ll show you some of my favorite techniques! Here are some of my iPad images, illustrating how varied the results can be — from very detailed representation to impressionistic line drawings and quick notations at the ball park!
C & O Canal in Summer. Original iPad painting, 2014. 1:1 aspect ratio.
Fairy Lilies. Original iPad painting, 2013. 1:1 aspect ratio.
At the Nats! Original iPad painting, 2014. 3:5 aspect ratio.
Here’s how to find & where to park for Gallery B. If you’re thinking of coming by, let me know in advance so I can alert you to any last minute schedule changes.
I made this flower study during a recent workshop with Duane Keiser. He plopped the vase down on the table one hour before the session was to end and suggested we paint quickly! I was slinging and slapping that paint around like mad. I completed it in the allotted hour. Actually, it’s more accurate to say I ‘stopped’ at the end of the hour! Duane encouraged me to go for the bright blue background — which the composition had in ‘real life’. I was about to tone it down to something insipid. I’m glad I followed his advice!
Red Roses & Frilly Purple Things
You may recognize these two gentlemen from an earlier post. I was delighted that Danni recruited them to model. They were positioned so I could see each by glancing to the right or the left. Not knowing if I’d have a chance to paint them again, I decided to do both, if possible. I set up two canvases side by side and got to work. At some point I had to pick one to bring to greater finish — the bearded soldier.
Danni upped the anty with her next assignment: paint striped fabric so that the stripes drape properly with the twists and folds of the material, with shadows etc.
I didn’t want to be boring with two simple pieces of material. So I composed a still life with a red and white striped towel, topped by a bottle of red wine, standing next to a bottle of sparkling water, atop a green and white striped towel. I thought of it as a ‘Face Off’.
If you’re going to paint a portrait, you need to know how to paint clothes and drapes.
Hence the homework assignment to paint two pieces of fabric so that a viewer would know that they differ in weight and texture. I didn’t have to look far for subjects: a blue denim apron friends had brought back from Sennelier in Paris and a red satin shopping bag made by a daughter-in-law. I draped them over a corner of my easel and set to work. Voila.
I’m WAY behind in reporting on my art activities. I am hoping to give some brief updates to get back on track.
After seeing Danni Dawson’s work at the Art League’s conference mentioned in the last post, I enrolled to study portraiture with her over in Alexandria, VA.
Our first model was a lovely young woman draped in a Spanish lace mantilla. I made a series of studies of her — and they went downhill from the first one! See for yourself:
The model:
My studies:
First Attempt
Second try
Third – Aargh!
Fourth Try
Shortly after dear Alison Neustrom passed away, my sister Cecilia and I flew to Maine for a mixed media workshop, turning to art to help manage grief. We wanted to try our hands at combining oil paint with patterned papers to produce unique images, with artist Katie Wilson. Ceci’s first effort was a portrait of granddaughter Evie; I worked on a biking scene of grandson Max steering dad Sam.
Ceci’s Evie
Max Steers Sam on a Sunday Ride