tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24516956443349801922024-03-13T10:58:01.534-07:00Painting the NorthwestUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451695644334980192.post-72658849379458586122010-08-24T21:06:00.000-07:002010-08-24T21:06:49.742-07:00Juliette Aristides WorkshopI just completed a 5 day workshop at Rockwater Arts Center in Poulsbo, where top artist Juliette Aristides came and worked her magic. I wasn't sure what to expect, I am by no means a classical realist, which Juliette is, but I was very impressed with her teaching. She set very simple exercises for us to follow, from underpainting values to posterizing the subject matter. I was shocked at the improvement at the end of the week. <br />
<br />
However.......it seems for me that I can do better as an intuitive painter. I found that my last painting, completed in less than an hour on the last day, with a bit of a " devil-may-care" attitude, was better than the one I had labored over for days. I'll let you be the judge when I upload the images..........Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451695644334980192.post-83030526715467515312010-08-07T10:12:00.000-07:002010-08-07T11:15:01.861-07:00WPW Award<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AEbeGwSnAwM/TF2iQcVsyrI/AAAAAAAAABA/eTacLExTbEU/s1600/pelinari.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AEbeGwSnAwM/TF2iQcVsyrI/AAAAAAAAABA/eTacLExTbEU/s320/pelinari.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502732723085429426" border="0" /></a><br />I went to the opening night of the WPW fall show, http://2010fallmembership.blogspot.com/. My first event where I was exhibiting. I had one painting in the show, called " visions on 3rd & Pike" and was pleased to see it won an award. The best news for me was that the juror was Barbara Shaiman of the Seattle Art Museum, so I took that as a real " thumbs Up" for my work. This was on top of a First Prize last weekend at the North Kitsap arts and crafts show. So things looking up.<br /><br />Heres a painting I did the other day with my friend Gillian Bull, we were out in the hottest sun, painting what I thought was a rather uninspiring view. Still its great practice. I tweeked it a bit in the studio, I have discovered Prussian Blue is great in landscapes, contrary to every other painters view I think.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451695644334980192.post-33829742137188336952010-08-02T20:25:00.000-07:002010-08-02T21:10:06.012-07:00Plein Air Problems<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AEbeGwSnAwM/TFeWPso143I/AAAAAAAAAA4/dgwlnj9JWaM/s1600/Jimlamb.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AEbeGwSnAwM/TFeWPso143I/AAAAAAAAAA4/dgwlnj9JWaM/s320/Jimlamb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501030666281018226" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I went on a 3 day plein air painting course last weekend with Jim Lamb, at the Rockwater Art Center. I thought it would be a good challenge working from life, and I was sure right about that! Jim was a great instructor, he gave a good demo the first day and showed us a few tricks. He always ' warms" his white, with a little yellow and red, makes a huge difference. Also he showed how he makes a " mother color" which helps keep the harmony of the painting as you basically add color to that to make other color. Really useful if you have a lot of green .</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>I had a huge problem keeping my pallette organized, tidiness is not my best quality, and I soon had a big mess, but the paintings turned out pretty good, I thought. The main challenges were working with bright sunlight, wind ( that blew my easel over and ruined possibly my best painting by giving it a lovely muddy surface), and lack of toilet facilities, big problem for ladies.Anyway, here is one of my better efforts that didn't get completely ruined, although it did have a small accident in the car on the way home, a bag fell on it.<br /></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>Jim was very good at spotting the compositional errors and telling us to always do a thumbnail, something I would never do in the past, but am making that a must do from now on. You can really see what will work if you get the values massed in on the small scale.</div><br /><div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451695644334980192.post-39980628967084447662010-06-30T16:36:00.001-07:002010-07-01T07:23:48.843-07:00Still Life<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AEbeGwSnAwM/TCykhg35wOI/AAAAAAAAAAw/SbPAsocNpw0/s1600/still+life.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488942941524836578" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AEbeGwSnAwM/TCykhg35wOI/AAAAAAAAAAw/SbPAsocNpw0/s320/still+life.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I have started a new challenge, which I am ashamed to say I have not kept up with, and that is painting from life. Having taken Henry Yan's figure painting class in April, I found myself struggling with working from life. I have spent the past 2 years working from photos and was amazed at how hard it was for me to even place the figure well, compositionally. I also had not realised how much is lost in a photograph, in terms of depth. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have done 2 so far, the first was not great, and I am posting the second one here. I don't conside it really finished, but it is not ever going to be. I am trying to just do quick studies. I am definitely drawn to reflective transluscent surfaces, and wish I could render them well. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have signed up for Juliette Aristides class, which hopefully, will be a great learning process. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451695644334980192.post-32540331892623278412010-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:002010-06-07T10:17:46.240-07:00Try something new or thrash a dead horse?Just created this Blog and want to check out how it looks. I'm a bit behind the times here as eveyone I know is already blogging away madly.<br /><br />OK so I have today only to get creative, the rest of the week I am at work. I should get in my studio, I want to experiment with Gold Leaf, if anyone saw Brad Kunkles' work in American Art collector they will know why. I want to do that, I love how the viewer is reflected in the art, and the surreal effect it has.<br /><br />I am applying for an Artists Trust grant which I want to use to create some paintings on Gold leaf for an art show in January 2011, the title of the Show will be " Seattle, - Boom to Bust" if I get it done. It will be a series of paintings showing the effects on the local economy of the housing bubble. The first in the series will be over gold leaf as a kind of " gold rush" feeling where nothing could go wrong and everyone was making money. Still getting the logistics sorted out on that.<br /><br />I do have an unfinished painting thats not going well, and have to figure out whether to try and resurrect it or to call it a day and paint something else over it. Somehow I think I'll try the former, its the challenge........Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1