French Tulips

I spent the afternoon painting at Trisha Ratliff's house while the boys were at the Capital's game.  I continued painting on the french tulip painting I started in Robert Johnson's workshop.  As usual, it is unfinished but I'm very motivated to complete it because I love the set up and value distinctions. 

Of course the flowers are long gone and I'm painting from photographs.  Since all my friends are starting to buy iPads, uploading their source materials, and then painting from the screen, I've been very jealous.  So I purchased the poor man's version--a consignment store digital picture frame.  It works great and was only $25 but I do need an outlet (no battery).

Photos always wash out the colors and my photos were  no exeption compared to the real flowers.  As  result I had to change the entire value and saturation scheme compared to what I already had on the canvas (as represented from the first painting session).  Anyway, I prefer the photos because the value adjustment are so much easier to see.  The photos also seem to exaggerate the amount of dark and light values, so it makes the final painting much more dramatic. 

Camillias, dogwoods and cherry blossoms - Spring is BACK!!!

Here is my latest FINISHED painting. I painting this in Robert Johnson's recent workshop. What a great time and great group of artists. I have to say that was the most pleasurable workshop I've ever taken. There was tons of space, super nice people, and an abundance of material. In addition to Robert's flowers and fruit, one of the students was a florist and brought buckets of flowers. I bought my own too, so we were over flowing with great material. Same student also brought still life material, including this very nice bowl. It was perfect. I was not anticipating this set up (unlike the painting I will show you next, which was completely planned and severely thought out). This was spontaneous and an orchestrated throwing of flowers on the table. What fun.

Robert was so kind to also host a reception at his studio at the old Jackson school in Georgetown. It such an inviting studio with beautiful paintings on walls and easels, huge windows, tall ceilings. It was a pleasure and I hated to leave.

Spring Class Starts April 19, 2012

Hi everyone, please note that my spring class starts thursday, April 19, 2012 at 7pm (goes until 10pm) and runs through June 7. I do a demonstration on April 19. Sometimes I get done in an hour and we do a paint along so please bring your materials. Some times the demo is more complicated and I take the whole three hours to demo. Anyway. bring your stuff.

The class is a realism oil painting class designed to teach new and intermediate painters how to get their still life paintings to look more realistic. I provide the still life set up (flowers, fruit and veggies) and students come prepared with canvas and quality artist materials. This is a fun class, but you will learn new skills and ways to view painting. So come willing to learn and wear an open mind to absorb. You will learn how to block in the drawing, color block paint, intensify light and shadow and color intensity, and vary edge quality and paint thickness to make the painting read from across the room (a key sign of success). We'll also work on key drawing principles that ensure your paintings look professional.

I have many returning students, so if you are interested please contact me right away to hold your spot. The cost for 8 sessions is $200. Classes are held every Thursday from 7-10 pm at ArtSpace Herndon at 750 Center Street (off Elden).

Canvas Panels

I continue to look for cheap linen on birch boards. I really can't find a cheap price, but I wanted to write a bit about panels. This summer one of my objectives is to either find reasonably priced panels already done or make them myself.

As I previously posted, I took a Robert Johnson workshop and he talked about the panels he created. He uses linen and attaches to birch with Miracle Muck. it is pretty obvious how you apply the stuff, you put on the miracle muck relatively thick, run over it with a roller or rolling pin. turn upside and put heavy books or bricks or something on top until it dries, but here are the tips I wouldn't have thought about:

1) make sure that you line up the weave of the canvas with the board. You don't want a cock-eyed linen panel. To avoid it being off kilter, put the board on the reverse side of the canvas and trace around the board to see what it will look likje in final applied form.

2) cut the canvas larger than the board, so when the adhesive oozes out it goes on the linen and not ooze back onto you painting surface.

I was talking to one of the artist in our inaguaral town show and he told me about sourcetek. That is a source for paneled canvas I hadn't heard of (uninformed am I?). So I got inspired to talk about sources for canvas panels. Here they are with some comparison shopping:

1). custom canvas workshop: 12x 16 linen portrait grade, lead primed on 1/8 birch $20.63

2) new traditions: 12 x 16 claesessen portrait grade linen, lead primed on 1/4 birch is $42.45

3) sourcetek: 12 x 16 classen portrait grade linen oil primed (unclear with what) on 1/4 inch birch is $22.78 (must buy 5)

4) Raymar: Not available on birch. 12 x 16 claessen portrait gradelinen, Zinc/Tit primed on I don't know what. $20.02.

5) Wind River: Looks the same one of the other websites. 12 x 16 #13 clasessen on 1/4 birch was around $33.06 1/8" was around $22.78

6) So I found this site for sanded birch without canvas on it. I thought I would edit my own post so I wouldn't lose the company name: www.nasco.com/artsandcrafts.com. Looks like a kid art store but they also have masonite panels too. See also www.artsuppliesdirect.com.

7) Another cool site for canvas panels, plain birch panels or framed canvas panels ( I've never seen this before). www.canvasplace.com/framedcanvas.html.






Please leave a post with other sources for canvas on birch.

Robert Johnson - Painting #2

Here is my second painting start from the Johnson workshop. Cheryl Cochran and I set this up in a huge rush. I think we had three hours left in the workshop and we were both tired of the carnations painting and had purchased these beautiful hydrangeas, pink spiky flower and golden rod, so we had to use them. We probably should have taken more time with the actual placement of the pears. So after about an hour of painting, we substituted the mango on the right and the orange slices on the left because the set up was looking contrived to have pears so equal in size and spacing. The pears looked like book ends so that had to change. Hopefully not so much anymore.

I've never painted hydrangeas before. They are intimidating. I knew it was going to be hard, but it wasn't horrify to get to this stage. My problem is trying to figure out when to stop. Just like grapes, I think I should paint the heck out of two or three clumps of petals and leave the rest as brush stokes. Plus, painting the detail here and there would help focus the eye and move it around the painting. My main subjects are the apple and pear in the center so I would want to paint some detailed petals near them. I've then got to decide where else will keep the eye flowing through this painting. I'm a bit perplexed by that challenge.

I think I'm going to have to take a class at the Art League or I will never finish these. I would love to take Danni Dawson's class on Saturdays. It is five hours (well one hour for lunch, but who stops for lunch?), but that is a long time to be away from the family on a weekend. Plus, the class is a portrait and figure class, so I know I'm going to want to paint the model. Dilemmas!

Robert Johnson Workshop - Carnations in Sugar Bowl

I recently attended Robert Johnson's workshop. It is a great experience. His set ups are spectacular and while I set up my own, he made suggestions including substituting mini pears with the clementines you see in this photo. While I liked the pears (and they would have done just fine in the painting), I agree the oranges gave it a good saturation of color.

Robert made me thicken the paint on the sugar bowl. Despite thinking I had thick paint already, my original attempt to paint the bowl does not compare to what is on there now. I now need to add the blue design.

I try to leave his workshops with at least one completed painting. That did not happen this time. First it took me forever to set up this still life and to get the right light and shadow on the subject. Second, I was completely unprepared and had not purchased the right canvas sizes or linen, so my canvas was too big (why I couldn't finish it). Third, I forgot paint colors at home and didn't have medium. But I did bring my favorite props and at lunch Cheryl Cochran (who painted along side me) and I went to Wegmans for some flowers, fruit and eucalyptus, which I find perfect for almost any set up. Eucalyptus was especially important in this painting since carnations don't have a lot of leaves and I think the painting set up would have looked unbalanced without it.

I found the perfect combo of colors for the cool shadow side of the carnations (cobalt blue and permanent rose). I'm writing it down here because for some reason I can't remember to put in the perm rose. So, here again is another unfinished painting. I'll post my other unfinished painting from the workshop tomorrow.

This class was especially fun because several friends took the class too, including Trisha Adams, Tricia Ratliff, Cheryl (mentioned above) and Dana Thompson. I can't wait for the next one!

Paintings at Gallery 222 in Leesburg until Saturday

I have not posted in so long. Lots of things getting in the way or should I say broken that required replacement - roof, dishwasher. Anyway, that has taken a real bite into my time and desire to paint. A lot of angst in figuring out how to replace these items.

In the meantime I failed to mention that I'm actually showing three paintings at Gallery 222 in Leesburg. I'm showing the "Pink Carnation in Oil Jug," "Clementines and Blue Vase" and "Hot Peppers Study". I think I might display this Carnations painting or Hot Peppers Study at the upcoming Art League show too (after the patron's show), which start at the end of February. It is actually the student's show, but the only thing left of the paintings from class is Hot Peppers, everything else has sold or is on hold.

I do love taking class at the Art League. I usually take Mike Francis's or Kurt Schwarz's class. Both teachers have a dedicated group of fellow artists followers, who are also good friends. Plus they put up with us doing our own thing. Taking class seems to be the only way I can dedicate time to paint. But it is an exhausting week, painting one night and then teaching another. It means two nights of getting home after midnight, then getting up the next day at 6 am. I just had to take a break this term. Now I have to self-motivate. It's near impossible.