Patrick Lee

2 X 20 show at St. Vincent College

2012-01-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

I've been invited to display two paintings in this show: http://gallery.stvincent.edu/

Thank you to gallery director Br. Nathan Cochran for inviting me to be a part of this!

ACOPOL competition news

2011-11-28T21:21:00.001-08:00

-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

2011-10-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-07-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Roses

Some paintings for my next show

2011-07-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

The title says it all...

Completed painting

2011-05-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

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

Painting progress & process

2011-05-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-04-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-21T20:20:00.001-07:00

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

Latest painting in progress...

2011-04-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

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

New painting images

2011-03-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

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).

2011-03-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

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

2011-03-08T09:20:00.001-08:00

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.

Getting back to it...

2011-01-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything for quite some time & I thought that now would be as good a time as any. These photos are details from a large painting I'm working on and have almost completed. The piece is made up of three panels, that when put together total 5 1/2' by 11'. This piece will be included in my show at Panza Gallery in April as well as a show I'm having at the Hoyt Institute of Fine Art this summer.

6/14/2010 Sketch of Sierra (Oil on paper 24" X 18")

2010-06-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

Detail

New sketch - Monday night @ Panza Gallery 6/8/10

2010-06-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is a detail of the painting below...

Ron Donoughe's daughter Emma.

Still-life work...

2010-05-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

I started this one yesterday - still have some elements to add.

Here is the completed painting from last week - I sent this one to Gallery in the Square today.
Until next time...

New Still-life in progress

2010-05-13T20:39:00.001-07:00

Some news...

2010-05-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

I recently had paintings accepted into the Westmoreland Museum of American Art Biennial and the Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2010 at the state museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

Some new figure drawings...

2010-03-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Charcoal...

Black & White charcoal on blue toned paper.

Two new drawings -

2010-03-29T20:29:00.001-07:00

I finally brought my skeleton home from school after almost ten months. I've been working on these over the last couple of days. I will hopefully have some actual figure drawings to post tomorrow. Until then...

Open session @ Panza Gallery 3/25/2010

2010-03-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is a 15 minute sketch from the open figure session last night. Ron Lessig is the model.

Sketch of Kristen #2

2010-03-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

This is from last night @ the Academy of the Southside. I didn't get a good likeness but that's just how it goes - you win some, you lose some.

Monday portrait 3/22/10 @ Panza Gallery

2010-03-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

Lauren

Three new figure sketches

2010-03-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I got together with John Pisarcik & Thomas Hunt at John's studio on the North Side to do some figure drawing/painting. John's studio is wonderful & he does some fantastic figure drawings. He's a great guy too! Thanks for opening your space up to us John! Thanks also to Lauren for modeling for us.

Postcard - Academy of the Southside

2010-03-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

The guys at the Academy of the Southside blew me away with this postcard that they had made to announce the figure drawing class that I will be teaching during their upcoming spring term. Thank You Tim, Shervin, & Dan for this opportunity. It is great to know you guys & I look forward to working with you!!

Panza Gallery - open model session 3/18/2010

2010-03-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

Lauren was our model last night - the best female model in Pittsburgh. This one (above) & the one below are two minute gestures.

Ten minute pose.

This last pose was about 25 minutes. I was inspired to try this because of the quick sketch figure sessions at the Academy of the Southside. Also, I recently made about 60 of these panels in sizes varying from 4" X 6" to 9" X 12" (this one is a 9" X 12").

Portrait of Kristen

2010-03-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

This is from tonight's portrait session at the Academy of the Southside - the first of two sessions that she will be posing for. Thanks Kristen!

Monday portrait session...

2010-03-15T19:28:00.001-07:00

Steve was our new model tonight - he did a great job especially considering that the lights were fairly close to his face. Way to go Steve - thank you!

Portrait of Jordan

2010-03-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

This was done at the Academy of the Southside on Tuesday night.

Figure sculpture, continued...

2010-03-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

I did more work on the rib cage, shoulder girdle and head today. I also added some muscle to one side of the face & skull.

Something a little different

2010-03-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

Part of my Drawing II class this semester involves having the class develop what is essentially an elaborate relief sculpture of the human head out of Plastilina on a wooden armature - (anyone who had McMurray's Human head class @ Edinboro University will remember this - Bruce, I'm mainly talking to you here!). I love doing these sculptures & the materials are so easy to work with. I believe that the complex forms of the skeleton & various muscle groups can really be more solidly grasped, from a drawing aspect, in three dimensions. I am currently attempting to develop a full figure (approximately 1/4 life size, maybe a little less). I'll post pictures here as I get more work done. This is a really great thing to do to improve your drawing. These photos are from two nights' work of constructing the armature & building up a rough idea of the major forms - this is really like the gesture stage, but in three dimensions.

More snow - enjoy!

2010-02-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

paintings...

2010-02-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

These aren't the best photos, but here is some new stuff I've been working on.

Welcome to western PA!

Another sketch...

2010-02-24T07:02:00.000-08:00

The snow finally stopped and there is actually a place to park again at the Academy of the Southside! This is what I got done...

New still life

2010-02-21T18:19:00.000-08:00

Recent oil sketches/paintings

2010-02-19T12:22:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the new things I've been working on - I posted a new folder of paintings (some new, some older) on Facebook & I'm hoping that there aren't ten different posts from me notifying everyone that I was uploading these photos. (I'm not really sure how FB works as far as this goes.)

Start of a new painting of Lauren

2010-02-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

Got the rough lay-in done today, as well as developing the areas of the head/headdress and shoulders. There are still quite a few drawing issues to be resolved. I'll have to wait until next week to make a lot of these changes. Thanks Lauren!

paintings etc...

2010-01-30T16:06:00.000-08:00

Still life done at the Academy of the Southside

Another still life...

Rough lay in of a painting of Lauren - one of the better models here in Pittsburgh.

Drawings etc.

2010-01-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

Here are more drawings/studies for something new that I'm working on. These are related to the studies I posted about a week ago for the same piece. The model is one of Pittsburgh's best - the amazing Ron Lessig.

Ron's back - I've been using toned paper with white charcoal a lot and I love it!!!

Legs - same toned paper & white charcoal - this one uses graphite for the darks and contours instead of charcoal.

This oil sketch was done mainly to record some color relationships - I like to try and record a general impression of warms/cools, values, etc. & work from the drawings to recreate the colors from memory. I'm not as worried about the accuracy of the drawing at this point (as you can see!).

More Plein air paintings...

2010-01-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more plein air paintings which I've never posted on line.

For those of you that are curious, all of these paintings were done on-site in one sitting.

Fall Run State Park (Fall 2009)

Ohiopyle (Fall 2009)

Clarion River

(This one is a watercolor done from a drawing.)

Yosemite Valley (Fall 2008)

Studies for new pieces

2009-12-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

These are some studies and oil sketches that I've been doing for a new series of pieces. With classes starting soon and shows coming up, it's going to be a busy couple of weeks!

Some newer drawings

2009-12-28T21:51:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of drawings from the Monday night sessions at Panza gallery. More to come later!

Long time no see...

2009-11-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone (all three of you!)- I'm still here. I've been doing a lot of drawing lately & I will post some of the work soon. Also, I've been reading "The Painter's Secret Geometry" by Charles Bouleau. Good stuff! The fall semester @ CCAC ends on December 7th, so I'll be concentrating on wrapping things up for my classes in the next few weeks. Until next time...

Some newer stuff

2009-08-06T09:34:00.001-07:00

New painting...

2009-05-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

new study

2009-05-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Last fall Krista & I went to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, & Yosemite - I did this study from a photo that we took when we hiked down the South Kaibab trail into the canyon. The color in that place is like nothing I've ever seen - I am planning on turning this into a larger painting. The goal with the next group of paintings I want to do is to loosen up & simplify things alot more - but still retain the accuracy of the drawing , which is absolutely key.

Field near North Park

2009-05-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

The painting above is the same field from a different viewpoint - the actual temperature that day was 14 degrees F.(no windchill)- Ouch.

another Fall Run painting

2009-05-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

I managed to get this sketch of one of the waterfalls done before it rained - I also saw a bunch of baby ducks...

quick plein-air

2009-05-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

The light last night was so beautiful & such a long time coming that I wanted to attempt to capture it. At this time of day the light changes so quickly that its very difficult to capture accurately - I plan to do a lot more outdoor painting this summer. I need the practice!

Painting session sketches -

2009-05-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some oil sketches from the Monday night sessions @ Panza Gallery:

Summer classes

2009-05-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

I will be teaching a couple of summer classes at CCAC Boyce campus this year. The classes (Drawing I & II) will run concurrently from May 19th until June 27th. Both classes will meet in the same room from 9:00 AM until 2:15 PM. Contact info for the Boyce campus campus can be found at www.ccac.edu.

some recent drawings...

2009-04-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the drawings that I've been doing at the portrait sessions that a group of us here do once a week. The upcoming show that I'm participating in at Panza gallery will have its opening party on Saturday, May the 30th. Come on down...

Upcoming show...

2009-03-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

I will be taking part in a three person show at Panza Gallery (www.panzagallery.com) in June - Mark Panza puts together some of the best openings in the Pittsburgh area - My friend Bill Pfahl & I did a show there in March of '08 and it was great fun - I'll have more details about this upcoming show soon!

Still here...

2009-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

I see that it's been a while since my last entry. At the end of February, I gave a gallery talk/ slide presentation on the last day of my show at CCAC Boyce. I had a great time! I've recently submitted pieces for the "Art of the State" show in Harrisburg as well as two pieces for a small works group show (entitled "Size Does Matter") with the Pittsburgh Society of Artists Guild (www.pittsburghsocietyofartists.org). The small works show opens on Friday, March 6th @ 6pm at The Framery in Lawrenceville (www.theframerypgh.com). Hope to see you there!

Hello there...

2009-01-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some things I've been working on in the last week or so - My show at Elan Gallery in Sewickley was cancelled but I've got some other irons in the fire. My show at CCAC Boyce Campus will be in February & I will be participating in the first art auction of this year at Elan(www.elanarts.com). Hope to see you there!