A New Perspective

Last evening was the first of my drawing class where we plan to pay special attention to perspective. Let the wild rumpus begin! We began by considering the truths of perspective:

TO KEEP IN MIND.................

Distortion of subjects is the result of the position you take up when drawing. Three simple principles to remember are:

1. Objects viewed flat on have correct height and width but distorted depth.

2. Objects viewed at an angle have correct height but distorted width and depth.

3. Objects viewed close up have distorted width, height and depth.

Wow....to tell you the truth, I might as well be reading an insurance manual to see if my root canal is covered! It is hard to put into words that which you know visually!

We will be studying one-point perspective for a couple of weeks....that which is face-forward, directly in front of us. We will consider what happens to the object as it moves further back into space. We were all amazed at the tricks that our minds play on us.....i.e. we know that the book is taller than it is wide......but when we draw the book laying down at least 3' from us, the length becomes much shorter than the width......our drawing-what-we-know-to-be-true-brains are being challenged!

Must save some energy....next week we are tacking teacups and ellipses!

Feel like joining us?

Settling In

EverGreen   oil/canvas board   10 x 8

During the last session of the 3-day paint-out, I finally felt comfortable....isn't that the way it always is?
The gardens at this last dwelling were mostly evergreens of many varieties....there was a cool feeling throughout. I finally took off my earphones to enjoy the quiet and paired up a stone sculpture of a giraffe with an evergreen. In reviewing this small painting, I feel it needs some straight lines somewhere....everything is just too organic for me. On the positive side, I really enjoyed the small canvasses that I had toned and textured ahead of time. They lent themselves well to the nature of painting outdoors in gardens. These are the lessons that I feel I must retain when painting alla prima.......there is always next year.

Farmers Market/Framers Market

The Apple Seller   oil/canvas board   12 x 9

The Saturday morning Hudson Farmers Market is an absolute delight....that is where I perched under a tall pine tree Saturday morning during the drizzle. The smells that wafted from the chef's demonstration were tantalizing. The colors of the fresh produce and flowers were stimulating. I was initially drawn to a flower seller, but soon realized that she bounced around too much for me to catch a likeness of her figure. The apple seller was more stationary under his umbrella.....I was satisfied with that. Just across the green from the market is Hudson Fine Art and Framing....a framers market, so to speak. I enjoyed both that day!

Making Hay while the Sun Shines

Baughman Barn   oil/canvas board   12 x 12

The Friday morning of the paint-out poured! So.........I spent the morning on the covered porch of Hudson Fine Art fine-tuning paintings from the previous day. I hope that some day I will be satisfied with my impressions from just one session. The afternoon turned hot and sunny so I spent it at the Baughman property, a renovated arts and crafts house that drew quite a crowd! Although the house was amazing and the gardens quirky and creative, I decided to focus on the barn.....that is so funny, in that 20 years ago, I swore never to paint a barn, as I felt that they had reached a point of redundancy-plus in terms of paintings. I guess it was because I was dying to use my square canvas and the barn was perfect for that. Plus, my goal was to improve upon my ability to use purer color and harder edges earlier on in the process. I usually put those things off until later in the process, after some time for consideration. Alla prima requires more immediate decision-making. We are always learning..............that's why the whole thing is so stimulating! "Baughman Barn" is the result. Although it has a nice mystical quality, I think that, in considering it this week, that it would benefit from a few harder edges and, perhaps, the addition of another color.

Blue, blue, blue

Endless Summer   oil/canvas board   12 x 9

As I drove down College Street in Hudson looking for my next painting site, my attention was grabbed up by some awesome hydrangea bushes....their blueness stood out among the endless greens. The century house behind was captivating, but difficult to paint with so much cut-work around the porch. The owner stopped by and told me that the bushes were new and promised to bloom all summer.....the variety called "penny mac". If I had been able to come into the painting for a second pass after several days of dry-time, I would have come back in with some purer blue pigment. Ah.....regrets. Too much mucking around in oil paint creates nothing but mud....the same as with watercolors. "Neverending Summer" is my resultant painting from that Thursday afternoon.

....and did I mention rain?

The Learned Garden   oil/canvas board   10 x 8

The paint-out in Hudson was exhilarating! Dodging the ever-present drops added to the level of excitement.......it is difficult to paint in front of people, to be sure, but I found it to be less threatening than it used to be. One of the problems for me is the overwhelming complexity of gardens. In order to create an interesting composition, I need to be able to include a larger, simpler form. I also need to tweak the color palette away from the given, the local color, in order to enhance the process and harmony. My first attempt on Thursday morning was a garden next to a guest house. Things fell into place. I usually count on another painting session after drying is near to completion....that is when I add strokes of more pure color as well as enunciating strokes to firm up the movement in the overall composition. As this step is simply not possible in painting plein air, I have had to make adjustments by speeding up the problem solving and trying to foresee conclusions more quickly. "The Learned Garden" was completed in 2 1/2 - 3 hours on Thursday morning. These paintings are available for purchase through the end of June at Hudson Fine Art & Framing.

The Jazz of Life is not Found in the Comfort Zone

Lemonade   watercolor   13.5 x 18

O.K.....my comfort zone is painting privately in my studio. Large glasses of iced tea whenever. Throw in a load of laundry whenever. Check email whenever. Relaxed. Comfortable. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week, I will join a host of many fine artists to paint at the Hudson Home and Garden Tour Plein-Air Paint-Out sponsored by Hudson Art & Framing. Bright Sunlight. Bugs. Lugging painting stuff. Bugs. Where can I go to the bathroom? Bugs. Loud noises. I can do this......Granted, this experience lies well outside of my comfort zone, but I believe in participating in events that come your way............there just may be many wonderful surprises in store. I am gradually learning how to: paint smaller; focus-in on outdoor scenes; put my "create and destroy" process on hold for a while to concentrate only on reality; and enjoy the beauty of the experience. My colleague Carolyn Lewis is a master at this.....she is my inspiration for this event. Come out and see us!

I'm Peachy....You're Peachy

Pail of Peaches   watercolor   17 x 12.5

A hot book 40 years ago (?) was I'm OK....You're OK by Thomas Harris, M.D. I read it myself, and judging by its popularity, so did many others who, like me, were trying to feel good about themselves. We live in a culture that rewards sameness. Communities are becoming more and more homogenous with their outdoor malls and chain stores. Individual and eccentric behavior is regarded with suspicion. Our parents of the 50's simply couldn't imagine why we didn't want to be just like them. We were often punished for wavering from "the path", their path. I love all things peachy...especially peach ice cream. My mother ridiculed me for this as she simply could not understand why anyone would like something that "had no flavor". Well, well, well. Many years hence, I am truly understanding how my own preferences define me. I happen to love the understated peachy flavor and can smell these luscious fruits when I enter the store. "Pail of Peaches" was a breakthrough painting for me in that I could finally appreciate my own preference for vignette formats. My painting style was evolving into a more expressive one, making use of rhythmic and gestural strokes. That is my thrill. When I painted in this way, there was always space left-over. When I "filled in the background", I felt as if I were killing the liveliness of the painting. I might as well be painting the living room wall. So, thanks to Dr. Harris, I can finally say.....I love peaches......and.....I love vignettes....and that is O.K.

In for a little heavy reading?

A book must be the pick ax that shatters the frozen sea within us.”
-Franz Kafka

Leonard Shlain wrote such books. Leonard Shlain, one of my heroes and the father of filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, died last month. He was a surgeon in San Francisco, as well as a genius and best-selling author. His book Art and  Physics demonstrated how movements in art predated groundbreaking scientific discoveries. But it was his book The Alphabet versus the Goddess: The Conflict between Word and Image that rocked my soul. He follows the evolution of our culture from a right-brain-image dominant-one to a left-brained-world that is ruled by words and aggression. This book was revolutionary for me.....in a left-brained-word-driven world, we turn our natural resources into weapons. In a more peaceful image-driven-right-brained world, the materials are crafted into art, into decoration, into jewelry. I am hoping that our tattooed children are leading us into a more evolved and peaceful existence. Leonard Shlain had hope for the future.....as we evolve into a more image-driven existence. I salute this brilliant man. His work made its way into my soul.

Bluebird Babies! - painting nature

Cottage in the Woods   watercolor   16 x 12

"Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. – Albert Einstein”

Albert Einstein was the man! Oh, what those with great intelligence can teach us! My husband loves nature and birds in particular. He sets up bird houses all over our yard and checks on them daily. He knows and delights in their songs. He communes with them. I believe that we can hold communion with whatever is sacred to us, with whatever it is that elevates us. At present, we have 4 bluebird babies, all pink and new. The parents are working hard to help them survive. "Cottage in the Woods" was painted as a still life set-up in my watercolor class.

and it's a hot one

Infusion   watercolor/gouache   19 x 27

It promises to be a hot one here in northeast Ohio today. This week is my friend Jo's birthday. The hot weather brings back memories of her family and ours at the beach in North Carolina....so many beach summers that they all meld into an all-encompassing beach memory. We each have three sons. It took so much preparation that we actually needed that vacation to rest from preparing FOR the vacation. As we sat in our little beach chairs, the swirling waves sucked out all worries and anxieties.....we became one with the ocean. We liked becoming "flotsam". We became tea bags that were infused into the great water. Jo is a coppery beach person and she wears the most luxurious (in my mind) gauzy summer dresses.....and always flip flops. Her beach casual was queen-like. My mind is filled with the roar of the ocean and my skin feels salty even as I write this tribute. Happy birthday, dear Jo.

Surprises

continuous line drawing....mine?

Doesn't everyone love surprises? It's just another way to pique our interest....stepping outside the daily humdrum for a minute or two. A total clean-out of my studio has provided several surprises. Some of the drawings and painting that were stashed away a few years back seem better than what I recall......they have never been worse. Apparently my memory does a number on them when I put them away. In fact, some of the passages actually seem a bit brilliant (passages, not the entire paintings, mind you). I would like to think that we see things differently since we, as artists and as human beings, have evolved and are therefore more accepting of what we see at present. More open-minded? There were many many old sketchbooks filled with "eyeball" and "superhero" art, left over remnants from when my children filled the first pages. A continuous line drawing caught my eye....I am not certain if it is mine, actually. But the lines thrilled me, as well as the overall feel of the drawing. Especially the little curl resting by the wrist. Wow.....I will have to try some more of these. Maybe even the "blind continuous line" drawings, done without looking at the paper. I do love surprises.

Creative Community

I believe that it behooves us to look around and learn from all members of the creative community, including those who create with computers, food, flowers, wallpaper and fabrics. After all, we all work with those same design elements and principles in mind. During my down time of studio repair, I have been perusing decorating books, which is something I rarely make time for. Being a bit of a francophile, I turned to French decorating....whoa.....way too fancy for me, for the most part. No bows, no crystal, no Queen Ann legs and, please, no chintz. Then I proceeded to Scandinavian decor....the simplicity is me.....as well as the soft colors which, apparently, are modeled after the home of Carl Larsson, a painter. I have always neutralized my colors by using the complements. These books suggest using Raw Umber, a bit at a time, of course, to achieve those soft neutrals! What a find! I am definitely going to try it! We have been painting antique toys and well-loved items in my painting class. My painter friend Mo used a wash of her home-made walnut ink on the top of her painting.....it was ingenious. Neutralized....softened....aged. New tricks for old painters.

BTW, members of Akron Society of Artists will be painting from a model tomorrow evening from 5 - 9 pm on the 3rd floor of The Summit Artspace building. Come take a peek!

Group Gesture

Young Warriors   watercolor   12.5 x 17.5

It seems to take me a while to process large groups of art seen at exhibitions and critiques. Within days, however, those works that really touch me seem to float to my surface consciousness. There is an artist at "The View From Here" at Second April Galerie in Canton whose work has nipped my artistic aesthetic in a big way. I can't remember his name but all of his 5 or 6 paintings involved group gesture.....he is a very astute man. Using color and gestural groupings of figures, as well as the negative areas between them, he has so accurately described many social moments. One is called "Awkward Moment" and other something like "Just Arrived" (before the party begins). As a person who struggles with social engagements, I found these works to be all-powerful and all-telling with a minimum of description. Bravo! None of these figures has faces or distracting detail. The evolution is complete. We must learn that in the telling of the story of a figure, the face is secondary. When we tell the story of a group of people, facial detailing and other details simply must go. There is a limited amount of power innate in a picture....and that power is divided between all of the elements in the work. We, as artists, struggle to eliminate the non-essential in order to place the power where we want it. "Young Warriors" is my earlier attempt at a group gesture and was done before my work incorporated this important notion. It is in the collection of The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.

Model Night

Filling In   watercolor   10 x 10

Tonight is Model Night, the first Wednesday of the month, at my club, The Akron Society of Artists. It's my favorite........drawing or painting from a live model. Although it would seem otherwise, it most definitely involves a silent communication between the model and each of the artists who works to capture his/her essence. When I get a good feeling from the model, I receive an empathic feeling that helps me commit to the work and, I believe, makes me more receptive to what it is about the model that is his or her genuine essence or beauty. "Filling In" was painted many years ago....our model didn't show up and a newcomer freely took the model stand. I have thought about her and her wistful essence throughout the years. She used makeup tubes from her bag to create art. Her husband picked her up at precisely 10 pm. She shared a bit of herself with me and, although I don't know her name, we were connected for three short hours.

Define Painter...

Paint Brush (labor series)   watercolor   8.5 x 14

There are many kinds of painters. Recently, my studio has been emptied....closed down....for a couple of weeks for home improvements and painting. Bummer. I have been avoiding it for several years, but it had to be done. Instead of painting, I have been watching my husband paint the walls and woodwork. Over the years, he has developed a seemingly effortless stroke....knowing just how much paint should be on the brush, and manipulating the brush in a rhythmic and sleight-of- hand fashion. No matter what task we are performing, repeating the action again and again gives us an ease and relaxation that not only aids the task, but also beckons us into "flow". Muscle memory is involved. Beginners often over-control and choke up on their brushes and pens, causing a stilted and awkward movement. Those who are more comfortable, with many hours under their smocks and painter's pants, move their hands up toward the handle tip, allowing more freedom, more expression and a lightness of touch. They hold the brush more loosely. Muscle memory is involved as well. So, for a while I am dedicated to endless cleanup and selecting of new colors. It has been said that you learn a lot in the off-season. "Paint Brush" - Labor Series can be seen at Hudson Fine Art and Framing.

Now you see it...now you don't

Hidden Symmetry   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

Illusion is what painters do....the illusion of a 3-dimensional object on a 2-dimensional ground. My community of Brimfield is probably like many semi-rural communities in that it is being invaded by commercial ventures such as WalMart, Lowe's, Dollar Tree, Appleby's and Kohl's. Things are changing rapidly. A beautiful barn on my road was always a stand-out due to it's two dilapidated but beautiful spires. I always hoped to paint them. A couple of years ago, I finally had an opportunity to produce a painting of each one. Whoa...........within a few weeks of completion, the spires were removed and disassembled, despite local rumors that the owners were going to completely refurbish the structure. I feel lucky. My goal in "Hidden Symmetry" was to juxtapose the extreme texture of the shingles and old wood with a complete smoothness of the background. As always, easier said than done. My normal painting style is full of texture and strokes. Painting the background was most difficult, what with trying to hide and smooth out brushstrokes. "Hidden Symmetry" can be seen in "The View From Here", currently on exhibit at Second April Galerie in Canton.