September 8- Three Square Inches of Inspiration

a 3" part of Dreama Tolle Perry's painting 'Wanted'

Have you ever copied another person's painting to try to figure out how they did it? I have and it can be really helpful! For instance, I'm  inspired by the painting above. (Please be sure to go fall in love with Dreama's work!)

However, copying can have its drawbacks. I often find that I'm less than satisfied with the end result. It's a bit of a losing situation, after all. I can't really do what the artist did, yet I'm constrained from making it too much my own by the premise. So, why copy the whole thing? I mean, you learn things from different parts of the painting, so maybe just looking at those parts would be helpful.

That's how the idea for this class was born. I want you to be inspired. Look for work that you want to emulate. Any subject, and kind, any time... Analyze what it is you like about this work, and locate the areas that just jazz you. Choose 3” square portions to replicate. This gives you the opportunity to examine the colors, strokes, layering, and details the artist chose to use, as well as giving you a look at the underlying abstraction in each small section. It’s fascinating to see how just a small section of a painting can be a work of art in itself.

It's far more helpful if the painting is in the same (or an applicable) medium, and about the same scale as it was originally painted. If you find a reproduction that was originally a 24" x 36" painting and is reduced to 6" x 8" in size, when you print it you'll be trying to copy strokes the size of cat hairs! Instead, consider using  the work by other artists that you have on your walls at home, or search the internet to find a painting that's one-to-one in size (not easy to find--and you may need permission to print it), or come to class and use one of my pastels...which I hope will be inspiring. (I'll bring my portfolio with me.) You might find smaller paintings reproduced in books or magazines that approximate the scale of the original.

We'll do three different little paintings 3" in size in class, all of which may be derived from the same painting, or different ones. That's up to you. It's very helpful to make a 3" square viewfinder out of stiff paper or mat board to use for finding that area that inspires you, and to put in place over the painting as you work. Yes, you may take a photo, crop and print it, and paint from that, if you prefer, but make sure it's printed the same size as the original, and that the color and quality are excellent. Painting from the real thing is best--but we can be flexible and still learn things! Do what appeals most to you. 

You're welcome to bring three small pieces of paper, or mask out three areas on one sheet--it doesn't really matter. You might find it so much fun you want to do more of them, so take that possibility into consideration. They aren't laborious and don't take very long to do. Feel free to bring other paintings you're working on to continue in class, as well.

I bet you’ll start to look at everyone’s paintings differently after this class! It’s quite inspiring. 

See you Thursday!

Deborah

Cliffs in Detail class results

Our cliff class was very successful, and I saw some tremendous work being done by my talented students!

I demonstrated using stick pastels on yellow Pastelmat this week, to show the process of building up to the details. It's not finished yet. Here's a shot of it, and a couple of details for you to examine. I like to keep things very loose and build up to the details slowly. As I worked on this demo the area of greatest interest emerged as the middle-right section of the painting where the light is strongest.

 

All rocks are shaped by pressure, temperature, erosion and friction. Most notable is the wind that blows dust and sand, smoothing and sculpting rock; the falling rain, flowing water and crashing waves that tumble and carve rock; the scorching heat and sub-zero cold that stress and crack it; and the tremendous forces of rock sliding over rock that pares it away with the ever-present pressure of the earth itself. Time and gravity move and change rocks. They’re slowly pushed up into mountains or sifted down riverbeds and gradually ground away, becoming smaller and smaller. We don’t sense this change because it happens so slowly. Rocks seem stable, constant, firm. It’s this seeming permanence that must first be communicated.

Look for the special way that rocks relate to one another, whether the rocky face of a sheer precipice or a pile of loose boulders that have tumbled together. The weight of rocks causes them to fall to the lowest point possible, often leaning into or on top of one another. Even the rocky faces of a mountainside lean together as one giant cliff, made up of many facets, most often slightly receding as they climb upward. Smaller stones are then slowly sifted into crevices or between and around boulders, creating more visually engaging complexity.

As always, I recommend you do a good underdrawing, sorting out all the planes of the rock. Find the relationships of the cliffs, how they run into one another and change angles, how the details of light and shadow show depth.

Start with three values. Find those rocks that are darkest and be sure to get them in place, then look for the medium values -- usually where the most color will reside. Then look for and establish the lightest values. Be sure you understand where all the various planes of the rocks lie. Look for characteristic fractures, striations and places where wind has worn the rock smooth. Draw in any holes, caves or hollows using light and shadow to indicate them. Draw stains and chelation (where salts have risen to the surface) accurately in order to paint accurately. This is the part of the process where you can resolve any difficulties, simplifying anything that is too complex for you to portray.

Because cliffs are large and upright, usually they will face into or away from the sun to one degree or another. This means that you must identify the direction of the light and stay consistent throughout the painting. Remember that the angle of the sun remains the same, though various rock planes may jut into it or be deeply hidden from it. Shadows have no random shape of their own so be certain that the angles of the shadows and light explain the various rock planes to your viewer. Shadows shouldn’t be too black. Be sure to make them colorful, using a variety of dark blues, browns, reds or purples. Don’t let sunlit areas become overly chalky and whitish in color.

The cliffs may be any color, but around New Mexico we find red rock cliffs. If your cliffs are red you have a chance to use a large variety of pinks, oranges, purples and yellows, even greens and blues. If your cliffs are gray be sure to construct grays using tertiary colors (red, yellow, blue or green, orange, purple) or complementary colors in your palette (red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple combinations) rather than picking up your gray pastel first. If, after layering them or using them as broken colors, you haven’t arrived at a good gray, it’s perfectly acceptable to use gray very lightly over the top, allowing some of the other colors to emerge.

Take into account linear perspective, especially where there are strong striations in the cliff face. Find your eye level, where the straightest level occurs, and establish the proper angles for the strata above and below that line. A strict vanishing point isn't necessary, nor is any strong adherence to plumb or level lines. Let the cliff remain natural and not forced looking, but respect the linear perspective to give an additional sense of depth to your painting.

Use characteristic vegetation in your painting to soften edges and contrast with the rock cliffs. Be careful not to obscure too much of the cliff with trees or other vegetation or you’ll lose the continuity of the rocks. Pay close attention to scale. Nothing destroys the illusion of depth like a strangely out-of-scale tree or bush.

To give the illusion of space in your rock cliffs you must remember the laws of aerial perspective. Blue each color slightly and lighten it as it recedes from the eye. Soften edges and diminish details in the distance, and lessen value contrast in the distance. Save the interesting details for the foreground rocks.

I look forward to seeing what comes of this class exploration. 

Keep going, gang!

Deborah

September 2011 Classes

Be Inspired

 I hope you can join me for the next set of classes in September!

September 8- Three Square Inches of Inspiration

Copying is a tried and true means of learning how to paint. I want you to explore another artist’s painting that inspires you.

However, in this class, instead of copying an entire painting you will choose 3” square portions to replicate! This gives you the opportunity to examine the colors, strokes, layering, and details the artist chose to use, as well as giving you a look at the underlying abstraction in each small section. It’s fascinating to see how just a small section of a painting can be a work of art in itself.

You will do three different ones in class, all of which may be derived from the same painting. This requires you to find a photograph that’s close to the same scale as the original painting, or you may use a painting from your own personal collection of another artist’s work (or, if you like, you may use one of my original pastel paintings in the classroom.)

I bet you’ll start to look at everyone’s paintings differently after this class! It’s quite inspiring.

September 15- Inspired by the Subject

If the idea of painting something new seems a little daunting, this class is for you!

It may be that you’ve toyed with the idea of painting a still life or an interior. Maybe you’d like to explore another genre of landscape or paint a seascape. Perhaps you want to learn how to paint birds or other animals. In this class you can delve into whatever subject you’d like to explore.

You’ll need to do a little research ahead of time for this class: find paintings by an artist whose subject matter inspires you. This needs to be a range of paintings on the subject you want to explore, not just one. I suggest a minimum of five paintings on the subject. I don’t want you to copy one of the artist’s paintings exactly, I want you to examine the body of work and see what it is you’d like to emulate. 

In class we’ll put your examples (from books, magazines the Internet) on the board and see if together we can figure out what is key—is it the color, gesture, line, detail, contrast, or...? Just what is it the artist did so well that makes you want to imitate the work and what elements are most necessary? Yes, you can translate from one medium to another to some degree. Do your homework on this one!

Then you’ll derive a composition and give it a shot in class. Keep it smaller in scale but not miniature in size. Any subject, any paper, any medium is fine.

September 22- Extract Nature’s Colors

The colors of nature are truly the inspiration for the way we think about and use color, of course. In this class I want you to spend some time making a record of various colors you see together in the natural world.

Bring in photos of places you pass frequently, things right in your own habitat and as current as possible. Perhaps you see a cottonwood tree turning golden, or the grasses in the front yard. Maybe you’re inspired  by  a ristra on your deck or the last of some flowers, weeds that are beautiful (the colors can be!), or the color of the Rio Grande where you walk. Remember—not the pot on the porch, not the paint on the wall—only natural colors!

You need to take good color photos that are fairly current before this class and print them out as inspiration, or make some color studies on location. In class we’ll make a palette of colors from the photos—but the trick is we will NOT paint those references. Instead, I want you to find beautiful harmonies of colors and analyze the proportions of each one, as well as finding dark and light, warm and cool colors and then use them to make a chart, from which you will paint an interesting abstraction in this class.

Don’t like abstracts? Never have them work out? This exercise will give you an formula to use, so that won’t be a problem. Come with an adventurous spirit and see what happens! It’ll be fun and inspiring.

September 29- Critique and Potluck Brunch

Often a critique is the most instructive class of all!

Bring a body of work for us all to look at. We’ll set up all your work on the board and on easels, so be sure the paintings are ready to tape up or show on a piece of foam core/cardboard. No need to mat or frame things, though you may bring framed pieces if they’re instructive (however, they won’t be ‘critiqued’ per se.) Work in progress is fine, too. If you wish to join us for lunch and the critique, but not show your own work, that’s fine too.

Bring a dish to share and we’ll enjoy a day of food and paintings. We have a microwave and a toaster over, if needed. This will be a paper plate meal.

I’d like to put out the word about the critique to other artists in our community, so if you’re a member of any art groups I’d like to let them know. I’ll design a flyer you can use to help promote this class. Let’s spread the word!

September 1-- Cliffs in Detail

Red Cliff, gouache

In this new class we’ll examine the drama, light and color of rocky cliffs like the one I painted above. This one is in gouache, but you could use any medium to accomplish it. The challenge often is how to use enough color, detail and line, without overburdening the painting too much, but this will be a detailed demo. I want to discuss how color works in the upright plane (not solely red rocks, though I may paint them since we see them so often here.) We'll talk about painting details and how to give the impression of depth and recession, as well as how to drape the foliage so it's believable.

Look for a close-up with some interesting detail. If you have one with good strong light and shadow it will give you the opportunity to paint both, and it's visually more interesting. I wouldn't try to paint a gigantic vista, although this may be a good chance to paint the Grand Canyon or Canyon de Chelly. Focus in one one interesting area of a cliff and make it the subject of your painting.

I have a few people already signed up, but I'd like to know if anyone else is coming. Please RSVP via this link. Class is at our new location at CCF. The studio opens at  11:00 for set up, and class is from 11:30-2:30. Any medium is welcome. $25.00 at the door.

See you on Thursday!

Deborah

The BIG Vista class results

Above you can see the demonstration painting I began in class. I used PanPastels on a piece of white Pastelmat paper 18" x 9" in size. I'd say there's about a half-hour to an hour of work in it up to this point. It needs to be finished, of course.

First of all, in class we discussed some of the key points about painting a large open space. To review, we identified the four values of the landscape. Do you know these? They are light, medium-light, medium-dark and dark. That is: sky, ground plane, mountains and trees. It's a generalization that doesn't work in all cases, but is true often enough to be quite useful. Things become a rule because as a rule they are so. (See chapter three, 'Angles and Consequent Values', in John F. Carlson's Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting (1929), for more information on this.)

There are five rules of aerial perspective that landscape painters use all the time. As the eye looks into the distance: Colors become cooler. Colors become less intense. Detail is lost, edges soften, and value contrasts diminish.

I have yet to establish the detail in the fore-to-middle ground in the demo painting above, but the color is already starting to work. Notice how the yellow-green grass becomes much bluer in the distance. Likewise the more distant mountains have less purple. There's a reason for that, another set of rules that, as a rule, work: In the foreground you see all the mixtures or red-yellow-blue. In the middle ground the yellow is filtered out leaving purples (mixtures of red and blue.) In the distance red is filtered out, leaving blue. The atmosphere is basically a big blue filter. Leonardo observed and recorded this phenomenon. He said: "Thus if it is to be five times as distant, make it five times bluer."

So at it's most basic level you could reduce the landscape to three colors, like this:

The box on the left side looks harmonious and correct to me, while the box on the right feels upside down and unbalanced. That's because the blue filter usually causes us to see the landscape the way it is on the right: yellow foreground, purple mountains, blue sky.

In his book John Carlson states the law of aerial perspective: "All colors become cooler in color and lighter in value as they recede from the eye, except white." Why is white an exception? Because technically it's a value, not a color! White becomes slightly duller and often shifts to rose or yellow at great distance, becoming pure white as it nears you. But the rest of the colors in the landscape are progressively filtered to become more and more blue, and lighter and lighter in value.

Here in New Mexico, where I live and teach, we have to take into consideration altitude and humidity, as well. We have plenty of altitude, rising from 5,000 ft. to over 14,000 ft. in the highest mountains, but we have almost no humidity. At altitude the air is literally thinner than it is in lower regions. The lack of moisture means we have clear air that allows us to see details a hundred miles away! If you're painting on the beach, you need to take the reverse into consideration--more air, more vapor, less detail much sooner. But there are days when I can see the crisp edge of a mountain I know is 50 miles distant--it looks like its across the street. To paint believably here, edges stay tight and crips much longer than they do elsewhere, something you have to consider when viewing someone else's artwork.

I found a wonderful illustration that might interest those working on still life, portrait or other genres of painting. It's self explanatory: Atmospheric Perspective. The visual alone is worth looking at. Test yourself before you read it and see if you can identify the nine recession cues mentioned there. (Hint: some are mention in the five rules above.) These cues can help you create the illusion of air between the nose and ear in a portrait, or between the apple and the copper pot behind it in a still life.

Keep going, gang!
Deborah

August 25--The BIG Vista

I had a real treat yesterday that's likely to translate into an interesting demonstration on this subject. We took a drive up into the Jemez Mountains and although it was stormy, I have some wonderful photos of the BIG vista to inspire me. 

I love painting the vast, open spaces. It's a chance to play with aerial perspective about as much as anyone ever gets to in New Mexico. (Some call it the "Land of Enchantment". Others call it the "Land of NO Humidity" = little atmospheric regression.) Our topic will be how the air affects the landscape. 

Find a good photo with lots of rich information leading well back into space, including all four value masses: the sky, mountains or mesas, trees, and foreground. We’ll discuss ‘the rules’ of distance and look at how to control values, colors, edges and use effective strokes. Think BIG, at least in scope, if not in scale. You may paint any size piece, of course, and use any media you like.

For those who were with me last week, I encourage you to apply that lesson to this week's painting. Don't just rush ahead to the next painting. Why not look around for an inspirational color scheme from another artist and see if it can be incorporated into the painting you plan to do?! Analyze how the artist used color expressively, what kinds of layering or strokes were incorporated, and the balance of warm or cool, and light or dark colors. This may help you do two things: consider the values in the big vista photo you're using, and free yourself of the tyranny of the color in that photo!

I also suggest that if you plan to come to next week's class on CLIFFSIDES (September 1), you might consider combining the subject matter with this week's class, as well. Perhaps you have some photographs of your trip to The Grand Canyon or Canyon de Chelly, or others locations that include a cliff and large panoramic vista. That would be a good subject for this week and next, and you might find next week's demonstration comes at a good time for the details of the painting. Just a thought for you...

Please RSVP if you're coming to this week's class and are not already enrolled. The class is $25.00 at the door. And remember, we're meeting in our new location.

See you on Thursday,

Deborah

Color Wheel Paintings class results

This turned out to be a very instructive class, even to the instructor (not an uncommon thing!)

Here's what we did. I gave the students a cartoon to use, derived from a photo of a barn:

Feel free to copy and print to use for your own color studies.

You can see that I reduced it to grayscale so we could see the values easily. I asked them to paint the 'real' colors first, then using another person's painting as inspiration, to interpret the colors they had used and plug them into the cartoon.

Then I asked them to use the color chart to derive new colors, for instance in the third box (in the lower left of the four color studies above) I moved three spaces to the right and used whatever color I found there. My inspiration was Carol Marine's painting of the green apples you see to its right.

The class was quite revealing, as they often are. I think the most inspiring idea was to look at the color work from other artists, but not just copy it. By plugging it into the cartoon we were forced to take a step away from the 'thing-ness' of it, and think about why the color worked and how to apply it to an entirely different subject. The cartoon releases you from dealing with subject matter, to concentrate only on the color.

But we discovered we needed to look at the balance of colors, too, and sometimes it was good to pull out a little bit of the application, like how the artist built up a beautiful color relationship by layering or putting colors side-by-side, and in what measures, to make one area more beautiful in our color studies. Interesting!

Here you can see the first of my studies inspired by Susan Ogilvie's painting to its left.  I love what happened with the roof, sky and trees, as well as the fore. The barn in sunlight and the darks still need work, I think. That can be my next two color studies. I want to analyze how she used the blues amid the the green/red areas.

It needs more time, and probably at least one more class devoted to it, but it's a good way of inspiring color, I think. I hope you all will find it inspiring and have some fun with it.

Keep painting!
Deborah