"WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS"

Texture painting from a Gerald Brommer workshop 

I received a request from the Northeast Art Workshop Retreats Fine Art to help promote a workshop they are giving with Gerald Brommer as the instructor.  It seems he doesn't have a website and they wanted to get the word out.  I am happy to help out because Jerry Brommer is such a National Treasure  and I absolutely love his workshops.  I have taken three of them and have some of the many books he has written.  We are so fortunate to have a man of his knowledge and talent still able to travel and teach.    If you haven't had the wonderful experience of a Gerald Brommer workshop, now is your chance. Here is a link to the Northeast Art Workshop website where you can learn more and sign up!  

Northeast Art Workshop Retreats Fine Art

HUMAN NATURE EXHIBIT NYC

HUMAN NATURE 

HUMAN NATURE

Just back from a wonderful trip to New York City to attend the American Watercolor Society show and dinner.  It was a fabulous exhibit and some of the paintings will be traveling the country starting in a few weeks.  If at all possible, try and see it.  

Monday morning I walked over to Rockefeller Center to see the exciting Human Nature sculptures.  They have a Stonehenge feel to them, massive, imposing, powerful and primitive.  I was happily surprised to see a press conference with the Mayor of New York, Bloomberg!  If you are interested in knowing a little more about these sculptures, the clip below is the Mayor talking about them.  They will be up into June.

A GOOD DAY'S WORK!

REVELATION

I found a few sheets of heavy weight YUPO in my studio and decided to try an idea on one of the sheets.  This handsome gentleman was a guest at a recent art event I went to.  He even knew I was taking his photo and didn't mind.  He is one of the few people I know that doesn't look self-conscious or pose when a camera is aimed his way.  

I wanted to see what would happen if I stamped an acrylic pattern on the paper first and then drew and painted on top.  I forgot to photograph the stages...a sign I was really into the painting and not thinking about anything else.  I kept the paper upright, which is a risky thing to do with YUPO, and surprisingly, I was able to control the drips pretty well.   I used diluted liquid acrylic and some acrylic ink.  Watercolor would have been impossible at the angle I wanted to work at.  Part of the reason I wanted to work upright is to get an accurate drawing without distortion,  I had fun drawing with these rubber shaping tools.  I thought they were intriguing but this is the first time I have found a good use for them.  I'm not sure what they are designed for but probably clay or heavy acrylic or heavy oil.  

Now that I have a good realistic portrait, I think it will be fun to try some stylized versions.  If you click on the image it should bring up a different screen where you can see the details.

DIFFERENT!

UNSURE

It feels good to finally finish a painting.  Lately I get to a stage in a painting and seem to get stuck somehow.  I am pleased that I was able to keep the painting dominance on the warm side and that I have a balance of texture playing against opaque and semi transparent.   The odd expression adds a narrative mystery.  I think I will try this approach again and see where it leads.

WHAT'S BLACK AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER?

SELF PORTRAIT IN RED

I started this painting today.  I have another I am working on but I didn't feel like   painting on it and wanted to get some art done, so I thought I would have several going at the same time.  My wonderful husband bought me a new Mac computer with a 27" screen and WOW!  The imagery is awesome.  Now I want to paint in my office so I can utilize the screen.  I was playing around with the Photo Booth  app and took a few pictures then did a little photoshopping.  This is the basis for my new painting.  I usually paint the dark value in cool colors, so I thought I would use red this time and see what develops.  So far, I am breaking the "rules" by centering the image a bit too much.  I will see if I can pull it off, otherwise there is always the option of cropping to create the balance I need.  Working directly instead of drawing and transferring does create challenges.  Starting with a Notan (2 values) helps to focus on shapes and relationships.  I thought I would keep this one 80% warm.  I am fascinated by the 80/20 idea of dominance, often 80/15/5.   Just one more thing to be thinking about which  adds complexity to the process.