Line Meets light - Summer Workshop

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Palette Ponderings

V....Vaughan took this photo at Joel's and sent it to me. I can't quite remember why it intrigued her but I think it was the palette arrangement sort of reflecting the painting image. I have mixed - quite unconsciously - my colors as they appear in the painting. The darkest darks were the first down (alizarin and pthalo). I used that to sketch my figures as well as paint the darks. Then I mixed the fuscia shirt color, the green shadow color is below just as it is in the painting and the flesh tones and background light to the side. 

I don't know if I do that other times. Maybe I do since it was quite unplanned. I think when I have a larger space I start mixing my darks (cool colors) on the left and work lighter (warm colors) to the right. That is how my palette is set up as well. 

Note: you don't need fancy equipment and the perfect setting to work! Lately I've been sitting on my family room floor painting while "watching" the tv and hanging with my family. 

Online Learning

Not sure if you all remember or know that I have a blog I started with a friend when we were doing "The Artists' Way" and when that ended (read: petered out) we changed it to offer creative help during the down times. It is still there, but not terribly active. Once in awhile something comes up and I share it there. Recent posts have been about online learning or website tutorials.

I saw (too late) that Ken Auster is going to have an online course offered through Tuscon Art Academy. There are various sites that offer classes and I know some artists who offer them direct. There is a list I've started on the right column on the other blog.

I'd love to hear from any of you who have taken online art classes What is your experience? Were you motivated? Did you learn something new?

If you've read this far, you can now pop on over to The Creative Block - AND you can enter for a chance to win a free class offered on Caftsy.com. Check them out - they have a lot to offer. Second post down on the page. ;-)

p.s. - I have another idea to make the Creative Block more exciting...but I'm a little nervous about approaching other artists for help.

Wading In

8x8 oil on panel
$375 
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Did some paint sketches today to play and loosen up a little. I'm working on paintings for a show (more on that later) and feel a little pressure to be perfect - and sometimes that means tight and serious. Sometimes its so good to squint, paint fast, mass in, suggest and leave things unrefined. I highly recommend it in fact.

Saturday is the last day this month that we will offer lessons on sketching at Joel's Coffee House in NW Austin. Do come and join me and V....Vaughan for some practice with painted or pencil sketches. 9 a.m. start, $20 and we can provide supplies and chocolate, coffee and tea!

Blue Belle

8x8 oil on panel
$375 
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I was frustrated with this one for awhile. I loved the figure, her shape, the polka dots, and the blue tube she was holding - but it was all so much blue. After some fussing, I scraped off the background and then scraped my palette. The palette knife then had a variety of the subject's colors on it so I scraped it over my painting and really began to like the effect. Its something different. Enjoy!

Sketching 101

sketch from photo - working out composition and light/shadow patterns

sketch from life with graphite wash

sketch before painting "en plein air"

Whether you are working from life or from photo reference, sketching is a wonderful way to improve your "vision." I find that if I take a little time to work out my composition and value pattern with even the simplest sketch, I am better able to express myself in painting. Its easy to be overwhelmed by all the information before us. We see in 3D, but have to render in 2D. As a scene changes, or when we need to edit, its wonderful to be able to refer to your first impression caught in a sketch and keep yourself on course.

Come and sketch with me and V.... Vaughan at Joel's Coffee House in Austin on Saturdays in June (except the 29th). Bring your supplies, or use ours, we offer instruction, demos and hopefully inspire you too with some delicious coffee and truffles (or hot chocolate in my case.) Cost just $20.

Digital Practice

I'm not sure this is very good as far as painting digitally goes, but it was a good exercise in planning for a real painting. In doing this, I try to minimize my colors (out of laziness), so I end up using 5-6 and using them throughout the image. So the picture ends up quite harmonious. Its a good exercise and gets me thinking about approaching work on the easel. Good fun for a rainy Sunday morning.

Mood

Today I felt like experimenting a little - I needed to loosen up and try some new things. I think painting from photos and trying to be "representational" often makes me tighter and too real with my color choices. Today I had fun and loosened up. And I can't tell you how much fun I had! I should paint this way all the time! Instead of copying a scene, I created different moods and interpreted.

I chose a photo of two cowboys from a rodeo we stopped at in Bertram. It has a nice contrast of shadow and light with lots of fun highlights. I massed everything together basically and then just added a midtone here and there.
I tried different color schemes and its interesting to see how the mood changes with each.

The first one I wanted to do in 'hot' colors. All warm reds and yellows. A wonderful reference for work that looks like you're in the blazing sun is John Asaro's book "A New Romanticism" (btw - I have his book and didn't realize it was so valuable$ now!)



Next, I approached it with a cool palette and it almost has a feeling of a night scene under moonlight. One regret.... I put his hands in with a red. I got too literal. Painted what was there rather than what should have been there.



Next, I chose to paint the scene with complements. First, purple and yellow. Obviously not direct complements. The yellow turned out more towards the green side.



And red and green. I like this combination a lot for this scene/subject.



Finally - I wanted to try to paint in a higher "key". Everything I do generally has the full value range from 10 (black) to 1 (white). This time I wanted to try something very light. And this is my favorite.



All of these took a short time. They are on linen scraps and I painted them with washes and really massed everything together first, then went back in to model the forms. I can see doing this with cafe scenes very successfully.

What a great exercise. I feel renewed!