Sunday, April 28, 2013

"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!  






Thursday, April 25, 2013

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.


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

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.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

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.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

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.

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