ACOPOL competition news

-My painting was one of fifty selected as finalists for the ACOPAL competition: http://acopal.org/index.php?option=com_datsogallery&func=detail&catid=2&id=140&Itemid=58  This is a great honor & I feel like I am in really good company!  Don't forget to vote if you like the painting (you don't have to be signed in). Thanks!

Touchstone paintings

Here are some of the paintings I did during my class at Touchstone Center for Crafts last weekend - We went to Ohiopyle State Park on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning:

These were done on the grounds at Touchstone:

For these last two we went into the woods to practice simplifying a more complex subject by establishing the basic values, shapes, and colors of the scene as quickly as possible - it was a great time.

Bargue Drawings

Last week, I started introducing my drawing I & II students to drawing Bargue plates :
 http://www.amazon.com/Charles-Bargue-Jean-L%C3%83%C2%A9-G%C3%83%C2%A9r%C3%83%C2%B4me-Ackerman/dp/2867702038/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315515998&sr=8-1

   Doing these studies takes great concentration and they can be very rewarding.  I've noticed an increase in the intensity level/ attention to detail with my classes already.  We're still working "from the flat" : doing sight size drawings from a flat copy.  This is a fantastic way to hone your observational skills and it is really fun (for me at least!)  Doing these drawings forces you to constantly check your work and more importantly, take your time.  Once a few drawings have been done, the eye takes over more and more and your mistakes start to appear more clearly, as do the correct placements of points, lines, and angles, which is the primary purpose of the course.  The next phase of the course involves copying master drawings and eventually academies ('...a finished drawing after a carefully posed nude studio model; strictly speaking, the model should be male, but drawings of female nudes are now often referred to as academies. - from the 'Glossary of Technical Terms', p.328 - see the edition linked above.)
   My goal is to eventually have the students drawing from the cast using the same principles applied to the flats before we get to the model.  I've included some of my drawings from the Bargue plates and I will, in the near future be including a few pictures of the process as I like to use as well as some "in progress" photos. Until next time...

   

Landscape painting class @ Touchstone

 

Just posting a reminder that my plein air landscape painting class at Touchstone Center for Crafts is coming up in October!  Here is a link with more information: http://www.touchstonecrafts.org/Default.aspx?pageId=464806&eventId=255962&EventViewMode=EventDetails
Tell your friends!

Paintings etc...

Roses

Some paintings for my next show

You may have seen a couple of these before.  These will be included in my upcoming show at the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts in New Castle, PA along with roughly 30 other pieces (all landscapes), which were done either plein air or from plein air studies.  The show runs from August 2nd to September 24th , 2011. The opening is on August 7th from 2 -4 pm in the Blair Walkway Gallery. 

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl

I had to post this painting because I think it is just wonderful :

"Die Seelen des Acheron" 

Souls on the Banks of the Acheron

The artist is Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl, a Hungarian born artist who lived from 1860 to 1933. Everything about this painting, from the color, to the drawing, to the movement, lines, and values and the way these elements come together to build the design is really fantastic.  Every figure is drawn so well, with such sensitivity to the gesture.  This is an amazing work. Enjoy!

Opening

Here are a few pictures that Krista took of me standing with some of the paintings before the show opened - there was a nice crowd & I met a lot of new people.  Thanks to everyone for coming out!

Drapery studies

The title says it all...

Completed painting

Here is the final version of the painting in my last post:

Painting progress & process

In my last post,  I included a sketch which I'd done from the model & was in the process of gridding out and transferring to the larger canvas.  In the past, I've developed full size drawings on toned paper for transfer to the canvas as well as "freehand" drawings from smaller oil sketches or drawings.  In the latter process, the transfer can be slow & laborious,  especially on a large painting, as you have to continually step back to see your work. This is particularly important during the initial blocking in of the drawing. For larger pieces like the ones I've been doing,  I've found that putting a lot of work into this drawing stage makes the painting come together much more easily (and quickly).  The issues of tone and color are much easier to tackle if several studies have been done beforehand,  and the drawing has been worked out to the greatest extent possible during the beginning stages, especially concerning the exact placement of shapes within the picture plane.  With this latest painting,  I've tried to follow more closely some of the methods (as I understand them) of William-Adolphe Bouguereau,with an emphasis on his process more than anything else.  Once my drawing was transferred via a grid

I began the frottie stage in which the basic pattern of dark shapes is laid in.

 Once this stage was completed, I started on the ebauche, in which I worked color into the frottie.  The colors, in this case, were actually more intense than I intended them to be in the final painting.

The last stage is the fini, the stage of final completion.  This is a bare bones description of the process I used but it shows all of the essential steps as far as they were used with this particular piece.  I will post a better picture of the final painting some time this week.

Still working...

I'ts been over a week since my last post - I've been working steadily on a few last minute things as I get ready for my show.  

Postcard

Here's the postcard for my upcoming show - it's a little dark, but it works...

Latest painting in progress...

Some more details/samples.This one is 66" X 36" - thank you to Amber for modeling (again!)

New painting images

Here are some details of a painting I'm putting the final touches on. This will be in my show at Panza Gallery in May. There's a lot of glare on the one, but the idea is there. Thanks for checking these out!

Still-life class

I'm teaching a still-life class at Touchstone in April - here is the info:

http://www.touchstonecrafts.org/Default.aspx?pageId=464806&eventId=255961&EventViewMode=EventDetails

The surroundings at Touchstone are beautiful & it's always a great time! Come on out!

The joy of painting (with lead white).

Here are two more detail shots from a painting I've been working on for a while. There are a lot of light, pastel-like colors in this one which I'm really enjoying working with. Also, I've probably used at least a whole 150ml tube of Williamsburg's Flake white on this. I was introduced to lead white several years ago by my good friend Bruce Erikson. Although my main white has been Titanium for quite some time, I have fallen in love with lead. There is no other pigment like it as far as texture, color, feel, etc. You can't see the surface texture in this, but some of the lightest lights are pretty thick. I love the look of thick, loose brush strokes and lately I've been "training" myself to work more in this manner, while still retaining the accuracy of the drawing as best I can.

Here are some details from a different painting that show some of this lead texture close up :

Drawings, Details, and Bouguereau

For some of the paintings that I've been working on recently, I've been doing fully developed drawings of some of the figures and then transferring these to the canvas. Some of you may be familiar with the article entitled "Bouguereau at Work" (available at the Art Renewal Center's website). Reading about how Bouguereau went about building up a painting from initial idea(s), to sketches, to more detailed studies, to the final painting is very inspiring and I know that in my case, it gave me a greater appreciation of his amazing work. I tried to apply some of these ideas to my own work in the best way I knew how. It's an involved process, but it's worth it to at least try it. Here are some of my drawings as well as details from a couple of the larger pieces I've been working on.