Timed Exercises

In Tracy Everly’s last class she reminded us
how doing timed painting sessions
can really loosen things up and
create more spontaneous and intuitive work.

“Caroline’s Tulips”
16 x 20 oil

This was done over a few sessions
and here is the progression.
The subject:

I drew in the shapes with a red oil stick
over an old painting,
then started with the darks.

Here it is after 20 minutes
and it’s already begun to feel too fussy!

So here comes the fun part;
destruction!
I took a squeegee and some scrapers to it.

I loved what happened here, so I left most of it
and just re-worked the vase and defined a few of the leaves.
(see final result above)
Not sure it’s “finished” but the process was
enlightening.

This process prevents over thinking and therefore,
over working!
And the results can be unpredictable and exciting.

Contrast

I took another terrific class with Tracy Everly last week.
We talked about ways to draw attention to a
specific area of a painting by using contrasts;
dark/ light values, hard/soft edges,
thick/thin paint application,
saturated/opague color etc.
Here’s my “homework”.

For this quick exercise, I used this image
where the attention was clearly the bright yellow Mimosa.

I challemged myself and made the coffee cup
the focal point instead.
I exaggerated the contrast of the dark coffee
and the bright white cup by
dulling down the Mimosa and the other glass.
I also used thicker paint in that area.
Below was my first pass, but the Mimosa was still too prominant.
So I darkend it and softened it even further!
(See top image)

This is a fun exercise that really helps you think about the
design of the painting, rather than the subject.
Manipulating the elements of line, value, color, shape, edges
to engage the viewer in unexpected ways.
As always, I will be incoporating many of these ideas
in my upcoming Modern Painting class
at North River Arts Society.
Details to be announced soon!

Destruction

I recently worked on another architectural piece
using Tracey Everly’s approach
of “destroying” it during the process.

“The Pink House”
12 x 16 oil
After I laid in the initial shapes in the appropriate values and colors,
I took a brayer and ran it over the entire piece.

I think the act of “destroying” the work at a certain point
in the process adds interest and texture,
and prevents it from becoming too predictable and overworked.
It helps you “let go” of any pre-conceived ideas
and allows the piece to tell you where to take it.

Limitations

I’m taking a wonderful on-line class with
Tracy Everly via the Winslow Art Center.
Each week we talk about limiting
one element of painting;
values, colors, ideas, time etc.
Here I used a limited palette of
cad yellow, sap green, and dioxazine purple
with the hopes of creating an overall harmony.

12 x 12 oil on wood panel
We began with a few limited (4) value sketches,
then pre-mixed our colors.

It is fascinating to watch Tracy paint.
She uses a variety of tools;
scrapers, knives, brayers, squeegees etc
to push and pull the paint around.
Here is where the painting was before she
encouraged me to soften the edges.

It ended up being a bit messy
but it’s so liberating to play with
new materials, approaches and techniques.
The journey continues!

Another One

Today I had some fun re-working
another older painting using pallette knives,
scrapers, credit cards, charcoal…

10 x 10 oil on wood
Below is the original.
Again, the sky color bothered me
and the values were off.
But I loved the paint application

I’m so looking forward to more
experimentation and discovery
in the New Year.

NOTE:
This one, posted last week
was just accepted in to the Concord Art
Juried Members Show!

Good Advice

One of my favorite instructors once told me
that when you’re stuck and nothing seems to be working,
get out the pallette knife.
I finally got a chance to play with that today
and I love where it’s going.

I’d had this old painting on a wood panel
in the studio for a long time
and the yellow sky always bothered me.
And it didn’t look finished.

So I got out the knives, scrapers and lots of paint.
Using tools and moving paint around is a great way to
reconnect with the materials….
It was very liberating and I’m excited to do more.

Painting Over Old Paintings

I’ve been painting over a lot of old paintings lately.
Here is a quick lay-in of thin oil paint I did recently.

And here is the painting I painted over.

When I came back to “finish” it
I was amazed by how much
some of the painting underneath added to the scene,
and I loved the affect.
So I cleaned up the sky, added some branches,
and accented the yellow line and left it.

“Winter Light”
16 x 16 oil

I may keep working on this but I almost don’t want to.
We used to call these “happy accidents”.

Gouache Sketches

We have had the most amazing fall this year,
and this scene took my breath away recently.
I thought I’d do a quick gouache sketch,
in preparation for a possible oil painting.

I love the immediacy and flatness of gouache
and this was great fun.
However, I’ve learned that when translating a
gouache sketch into an oil painthing,
they will not be the same.
(I often like the sketch better than the painting.)
Keeping that in mind today, I layed this 14 x 14 oil
in today over an old painting.

Will keep you posted.

Life Long Learning

My friend Page Railsback and I just finished teaching
an ”Anyone Can Paint!” class
as part of the Life Long Learning program
at Linden Ponds, a local independent living facility.
Each week we gave them a blob of red, yellow, blue
and white acrylic paint, paper and brushes
and a quick lesson.
First week, we set up small still lives
and talked about color mixing.

The next week we had them paint from photos.

The third week we had them do abstracts
and the results were amazing.
They all seemed to let go a bit more.

For the last class, we had them paint from memory.
They were each given a postcard with a painting of trees
to study for a few minutes,
then turn them over and paint from memory.

As always, I am so fullfilled and thankful
for the opportunity to work with these folks.
Their enthusiasm and willingness to try anything
is refreshing and a win, win for all.

A great big thank you to my dear and talented
friend Page Railsback for all your help!

More Paint Application

Once again, I took a painting that just wasn’t working
for me and made some adjustments.
It’s very cathartic!

Below is the original.
(This painting was in a show over the summer
and I was somewhat embarrassed about it.
Couldn’t wait to get it back to the studio.)

I removed the green trash barrell, softened some edges,
and tweeked the sunny side of the buildings.

Paint Application

I’ve been having fun re-working old paintings,
mainly focussing on varying paint application.
Here’s one I’m working on.

20 x 16 oil painted over this oldie from 2013!
(Too many details! Too many sharp edges!
Large shapes too flat!

As you can see, I deleted many of the features
on the house and simplified the shapes.
Using a palette knife, squeegee, and scrapers
I worked to make interiors of the shapes more interesting
and the exteriors less severe and defined.
Here is another one.

14 x 14 oil on a panel re-worked over this one:

Again, I’m focussing on softening the edges
and using varying paint applications
to add a little more interest.
The possibilities for applying paint
are endless!

Finding Inspiration

Monster Monstera Plant 16 x 16 acrylic on paper

While away this summer,
we left our innocent
Monstera plant
in a west facing window,
only watering it about once a week.

Last week, we moved back and
look what she has become!

Droopy, leggy with huge heavy leaves.
A true “monster” but so very healthy!
While I figure out what to do with her,
I decided to paint her.

I was fascinated by the
varying shades of green
and distinct shapes in the leaves.

Then I had this idea of cutting it into 8 x 8 squares.
(I haven’t done it yet, these are images I took of the sections)

Cut and framed seperately,
these could be fun to work with.
In any combination.

I’m trying anything to get back in the groove
as I’ve been in a bit of creative drought of late.
I just keep showing up in the studio
and hoping something good happens!

Using Procreate

I’m putting together a simple, one time class on
how to use Procreate to improve your paintings.
The main thing I use it for is experimenting with
making changes while paintings are in progress.

Here’s an example of how I use it:

12 x 12 oil
(A Work in Progress)

I began by putting the image in Procreate to simplify the shapes
and get a quick feel for how the colors interact.

Here is my first lay in of shapes.

I felt like there were too many shapes breaking up the composition,
so I put it back into Procreate.
I covered the top section with green, changed the color of the sky,
and muted the contrast in the foreground shapes….
added a few details on the barn

Then I felt confident making those changes.
Using Procreate to make adjustments during the painting process
saves you so much time and anxiety.
Not to mention wasted paint.
And the possibilties are endless!

I’ll keep you posted on where this one goes.
It needs something.

To Practice What I Preach

After teaching my Modern Painting class
this summer, I couldn’t wait to
”practice what I’d preached”.
I finally did this yesterday
just to see what would happen.

“Inside Out”
12 x 12 oil on board

I used an old orange toned wooden board
and just massed in the big shapes.
Next thing I knew, I was channeliing
Edward Hopper! ??

NOTE:
The main message in Modern Painting is:
NEVER be committed to your original
idea or process.
Allow the magic to happen.
It doesn’t have to be perfect.

I’m looking forward to having some
time in the studio
to just paint for fun.
(after Labor Day)

Edges, Surface and Paint Handling

We had our last Modern Painting class this week
where we talked about
edges, surface and paint handling.

This is such a personal and individual topic,
it’s not really something you can teach
so we all just experimented with new tools.
The first exercise was to do four small
paintings of a simple object;
each using a different application such as;
thick and thin paint, straight lines, adding sketch lines,
incorporating colors from background into the object,
using odd viewpoint,
scrape, squeegee, add paper etc.
Here are my samples:

And here are some of the amazing results:

As always, I learned so much from the students
and had great fun working with them.
It was wonderful to be back
teaching in person again!

Having a Show

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a “show” of any kind.
I’d forgotten about all the details involved;
framing, naming, pricing, photographing, PR,
labeling, hanging, hosting reception.
That said, it feels good to be “out there” again.

In January of 2019, I began a series of small oil paintings
depicting people eating and drinking in restaurants and bars.
I’ve always been inspired by the dramaic lighting, body language, and
spontaneous interaction observed while “breaking bread” with others;
one of my favorite pastimes.

There are 26 paintings in the show and the
“hanging” went surprisingly well.
Now I’m having fun planning the
opening reception next Thursday.
Hope to see a few of you there!

Painting From Memory

We kicked off our 5 week Modern Painting Class last week
with some fun “memory exercises”.
First, we closed our eyes, thought about a favorite place,
then did a few sketches from memory.
Using those as a reference, we did a quick painting.

This gal remembered the blue mid-century modern couch
and orange chair in her living room growing up.

And here is a favorite spot in a garden….

“Our memories retain the significant and eliminate the inessential.”

Painting from memory gives us the opportunity for creative invention; allowing us to state some visual elements of the moment,
 AND the emotion connected to them.

This is what engages the viewer more than mere representation! 

Summer Fun

I caught an image of a very pale young woman laying in the sun
on a very white sandy beach Memorial weekend
and got inspired.

“Red, White, and Blue”
12 x 36 oil
I found this odd sized canvas with lots of built up paint
in my studio and just knew
I had to fill it with her full figure.

I wrestled with the light light skin/sand tones.
Pink sand? Yellow skin?
(I went with yellow sand, pink sand.)

What a fun way start a summer of painting
whatever happens to inspire me.
WELCOME SUMMER!

Sea Side Interiors

Happy Summer!

After a busy spring with lots of shows, festivals, and openings
it’s fun to get back to business.
I’m excited to be sending these three new “sea side interiors” down to
Solace Studio and Gallery
in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

Cottage Kitchen
16 x 16 oil

Room By the Sea
12 x 12 oil

Summer Sleep Over
12 x 12 oil

(For inquiries contact Solace directly)

Once you put an ocean in a view out a window,
the story changes; it becomes universal
and everyone can relate.
A bit of Hopper.

Welcome summer and all the new subject matter.
Happy Painting!

Private Lessons

Last week I gave a private painting lesson to
a young couple in my studio.
The husband had purchased it as a gift two years ago (pre-pandemic)
so it was fun to finally make it happen!
After a simple review about color and value,
and a quick demo of a simple still life,
they jumped right in.

Having never painted before, and with no expectations,
they had no fear and the results were amazing!

This reminded me just how fun and rewarding teaching is,
especially when the “students” are so enthusiastic!
(Here is our simple “set up”)

Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in a lesson or two!