FRENCHMAN: SHAPES IN ACRYLIC

I spent the morning painting. Sometimes, you just have to set priorities. As you can see, I started out drawing the SHAPES with my vis-a-vis pen onto a square canvas that I covered with hand painted collage paper and stained Indian Red (I was covering up a very ugly painting) I finished up with a painting I wouldn't describe as a dominant shape image. I will count it as shape since I started with shapes. I guess I really like broken color and lost edges. The other problem was the brushes I was using didn't create crisp edges. I probably would need to use good quality for that kind of precision. I avoid my best brushes with acrylic so as not to ruin then accidentally. Lame excuses, I know, but I have to put the blame somewhere!

Had fun, learned some things and had a productive morning. That's what it is all about.

Tomorrow I continue with my workshop. We will do day 3, 4 and 5 this week. Keep sending in your Frenchman Shape paintings. I have received some great ones and will create a slide show on Friday before I leave for Ocean Shores.

FRENCHMAN: LINE AS COLOR #1

This one was a lot of fun to create. I used my drawing from the "wire sculpture" challenge. I created a few value studies since I just completed a workshop where that was the emphasis. I really didn't know how to approach all the color so I just started making colored lines. I knew I wanted the background dark and a contrast in value with the outside edge. I used Caran d'ache for the colored lines and then used the Hydrus Liquid watercolors. This one is on Tyvek. The paint did a surprising thing. It appears it slipped under the resist crayon line and seeped into the next area in a very interesting way. The paint went through the paper on this sheet. It normally doesn't. I like the effect but I'm not sure I could recreate it again.

This marks the FIRST ANNIVERSARY of my blog! I can't believe it has been a whole year. I want to thank all of you who have followed along and helped to make it a big success.

NEW LINE CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK!

The challenge for the coming week is to create a painting of THE FRENCHMAN using LINE AS A DOMINANT ELEMENT WITH THE EMPHASIS ON A COLORFUL LINE. This version of Vern has colorful line work done with torn paper. It's one of my favorites but, unfortunately, I didn't realize the paper (cheap colored tissue) will fade! Now I paint my own colored papers with light fast acrylic paint. I guess I should have a giclee made of this painting to preserve the image. Live and learn.

I am providing some additional examples of other artists who have done some fabulous work with colored line. These examples are to stimulate your thinking and come up with your own ideas. Wayne Thiebaud is the first artist that comes to mind with a shimmering color halo around his objects. Van Gogh's work can be considered texture and colored line.

I'm itching to get started!

SLIDE SHOW FOR FRENCHMAN: LINE AS TEXTURE!

Here are some truly creative solutions to the weekly challenge using LINE AS TEXTURE! Tomorrow I will reveal the next week's LINE CHALLENGE for our Frenchman. I hope everyone is having fun with him.

FRENCHMAN: LINE AS TEXTURE #2

I'm not sure this really qualifies as "line" but it certainly is TEXTURE! The stamp I used was web-like lines, so I started out to do physical texture using line. I took an unsuccessful painting I started in a workshop (140lb watercolor paper) and covered it with my new Utrech Gesso. It was like icing a cake! The consistency is like buttercream frosting. It can be thinned down to whatever consistency you want, so it is very economical. I stamped into the wet gesso and then let it dry. Actually, that is as far as I got yesterday. Today I took my time and drew the image with my #4 Lizard's Lick Cheap Joe brush using diluted Cobalt Blue Hydrus liquid watercolor. I kept the board upright so I wouldn't get a distortion. The gesso surface makes lifting and correcting very easy. I then used Hansa Yellow Deep (yellow orange), Permanent Red and the Cobalt. Mixing Cobalt with the Red creates a very dark color close to black! I also drew into the image with my oiler boilers using diluted Magenta and Thalo Blue.

This feel more like me. I like the looseness and texture, lots of color but less abstract.

LINE AS TEXTURE PAINTING #1 FINISHED

I spent a few hours today finishing up the painting. My biggest problem was getting the support board to be perfectly level. I am painting on a French easel in my "Library" space. It has 3 adjustable legs. I have a large art glass marble that I placed on the board. Which ever way it rolled I knew to raise that side. It took awhile, but I finally got the perfect adjustment. I usually work on a table when I am painting on Yupo or Tyvek so it is automatically level.

The ink from the stamped images resisted the paint, creating some interesting effects. I will need to spray this painting with acrylic spray after I am sure I don't want to make any changes. I do this because the heaviest paint will remain tacky indefinitely. The spray seals it and gives an even sheen to the surface.

This painting is pretty wild. I limited my colors to Ultramarine, Alizarin Crimson, New Gamboge, Hansa Yellow Deep and Diluted Thalo Blue. This painting reminds me of a quilted image. It has future possibilities. I do think I need to tone things down next time. Hopefully, I will get my thick gesso tomorrow and can do a texture painting with it.

FRENCHMAN #1 & #3 FINISHED!

I finally finished #1 and #3. I think I may have overworked #3 but discovered some interesting techniques. I used the side of
a oil pastel to create a wider line on a sheet of Tyvek. In retrospect, I think I want to use a darker color next time. The Sienna color doesn't show that much. It scumbled across the page in a lacy pattern. When I brushed color over it the color filled in the little spaces. I also tried doing a rubbing with a crayola and a oil pastel. The crayola didn't do much but the oil pastel left an interesting pattern on his shirt. I also experimented with injecting color in spots using the oiler boilers from Cheap Joe's. I really liked this idea and intend to explore it more. The combination of oil pastel and watercolor left the Tyvek with a very irregular surface. I am going to try and flatten the sheet out but don't know if it will work. I will wet the back side and then press it between to boards and weight it down. I think I will try the oil pastel with watercolor on Yupo next and see what happens.

Tomorrow I will post a variation on line as the dominant element for the coming week. Stay tuned!

DEMO FOR BURLINGAME ART SOCIETY BECOMES FRENCHMAN LINE #2

Today I worked on the first painting for a while. It needs a few finishing touches so I will post the results tomorrow. In the meantime, I was scheduled to do a demonstration for the Burlingame Art Society to night so I thought I would continue with our Frenchman and keep line as the dominant element. Here is the result. This is more high key than I usually paint but I like the effect. I used the oiler boiler with diluted thalo blue to draw with and then to draw into wet paint. I think I kept to the five pigment limit: Yellow Orange, Alizarin Crimson, Sap Green, Ultramarine Blue and Cad Red Light. I guess the Thalo makes 6. OOPS! I broke my own rule. I should have lowered the image. It is going to be difficult to get this under a mat without cutting too much off the top. I did have fun doing this painting and it was a great bunch of people.

Today I received my first contribution for the challenge. I am hoping to see more work so I can create a nice slide show for Friday's blog. Keep those paint brushes wet!

SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE PAINTING PROGRESS

It was a great holiday weekend. The weather here in the SF Bay Area was totally glorious. Saturday I went with my husband to the King's Mountain Art Festival which is held on the crest of the mountain in a Redwood Forest. We splurged on an anniversary gift for ourselves and purchased a beautiful hand made display table that has different inlaid woods and some crushed turquoise stones imbedded in the knot holes. Sunday I went with a friend to the famous Sausalito Art Festival. By the time we paid the parking, entrance fee, lunch, gas and bridge toll, we had spent a pretty penny but didn't purchase any art work.

Today I was anxious to get started painting again, being so inspired by all the incredible art work the previous two days. I did three preliminary drawings playing around with different line widths. I started the painting on Yupo in a vertical position on the easel and using a 1" cheap bristle brush from the paint store painted the basic lines with diluted violet Hydrus liquid watercolor. The stiff bristles don't hold lots of paint so I had almost no runs. In fact, I wanted some runs in the background and had a difficult time getting this to happen. The first image (very poor. Sorry!) shows the results. Next I used a 1/2" cheap bristle brush with stronger pigment and went back over the lines. Lastly I used my favorite Lizard's Lick #4 Cheap Joe's brush with Cobalt and drew the fine lines. I forgot to photograph the second step until half way through the third step.

Now I am contemplating where to go from here. I have thought of 3 or 4 options. If I want the line to dominate, I have to consider how the next step will impact the whole. I shall sleep on it.

SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE: VARIATIONS ON ONE THEME

I am so excited about the challenge that I have prepared for September that I decided to start a day early in presenting it!
Here is the idea:
We are all going to be working with the same image. In this way we will have maximum variety for one image. Here is our guy. You might remember him from a previous drawing challenge. I picked him because I can see the potential. If you would like me to send you by e-mail a higher resolution image, let me know. From here on "we" means myself and any others out there that want to play along. "We" are going to create as many paintings based on this image as we can by working with the 7 elements of design. The elements are:

LINE...SIZE...SHAPE...DIRECTION...COLOR...VALUE...TEXTURE

Each month I will select an element which will be THE DOMINANT ELEMENT in the painting. LINE WILL BE THE DOMINANT ELEMENT FOR SEPTEMBER. I have found by creating restrictions I am MUCH MORE CREATIVE and FOCUSED forcing my thoughts and ideas to fit within the limitations. For WEEK ONE of September, the first limitation is that LINE will be the most dominant element of the painting. The second limitation is that it be not only line but THINKING OF LINE IN TERMS OF SIZE. I am not going to define what I mean by that because I want you to interpret what that means to you and then work with it. The third limitation will be color: You can only use 5 tubes of paint. You can decide what color scheme you want to work with, i.e. triad, split compliment, analogous, etc.





I have posted a few examples of line from my series Nick with Guitar to get you started. You might want to search the internet, look at competition show catalogues, go to the bookstore and look at the art magazines, think of famous painters who used line as a strong element, etc. to get some ideas. You might want to start a notebook where you file these ideas and images according to these elements for future reference.

A few thoughts on LINE and then we are off and running!
"Line is a dot who went for a walk" (I think this is a quote by Matisse...please correct me if wrong)
A line can be jagged or smooth, disconnected or continual, delicate or bold, tentative or assertive, implied, smudged, fading in and out and so much more. Each of these characteristics suggest mood or meaning. Thinking about all the possibilities with just line alone boggles the mind!

I can't wait to see what you come up with. I have already written down 3 or 4 ideas. Work any size you want. I personally think quarter sheet is the smallest I will work if pressed for time. Be sure and send me what you come up with.

PEOPLE OF NEW YORK SLIDE SHOW & MAY PAINTING CHALLENGE

Usually, photos are only interesting to the people who took them, especially vacation photos. I usually leave the "tourist" type photos to my husband and I spend my time searching out potential material for paintings. Since I am mostly interested in faces and figures, the majority of my photos reflect my interest. Digital cameras are so amazing and they allow you to take tons of photos and edit later. I often focus in on small details that can be inserted in other images. Shoes, hands, etc. A good zoom lens keeps me anonymous. The slide show will give you an idea of the kind of people who catch my eye. My friends have me all figured out and are good spotters for me when we are out together. The Museum of Modern Art was a wonderful place to take interesting photos. Most of the museum had no restrictions on taking pictures and they allowed you to get quite close to the art work. For those of us who want to see every brush stroke, it was a welcome bonus.

Today is the first of the month, so I have a challenge for myself and any of you who want to join in. Let's start with the title and see what image pops into our heads! With this in mind, I have an exciting web site for you. It is designed for writers to give them ideas but it works beautifully for artists as well. I will give you three titles to pick from. If you don't like any of them, you can go to "http://writingfix.com" and play around until you find a sentence or phrase that inspires you to paint. Many of them lent themselves to images other than people. Because of my desire to do a figurative painting, these are the three that set my imagination off on a journey:

1. "Her Friendship is like a birdcage"
2. "Finding my Marbles"
3. "The Picture in the Catalog had lied"

If you come up with some other wonderful titles, be sure and share. It will be fun to see multiple interpretations of the same title.

SAME GUY, DIFFERENT SURFACE

I am very excited about this painting! I covered a disaster of a watercolor painting with lots of gesso and textured the surface with wax paper brayered over the tackie surface. I could not find my Utrech Gesso (which is very thick) so I used regular gesso troweled on with a palette knife and left to dry. When it was still wet but not runny, I used the wax paper. I was trying to duplicate the surface of the last painting in the "Vern" series which had the most amazing texture. (Series on my website) The consistency of the gesso makes a big difference in the results. Anyway, I am pleased with the texture on this painting.

I only had a vague idea what I wanted to do with this painting. I started with one of my simplified drawings and drew those shapes on the painting using the oiler boiler from Cheap Joes with the walnut ink. It bounced and skipped over the surface leaving a line and lots of little droplets of ink. I let that dry. Then I started painting the large shapes with color linking areas together into larger shapes. At this point I was thinking about creating different textures in these larger shapes. With that in mind, I pressed some plastic wrap into the hair section on the left and let it sit for quite a while. When I lifted it off, it wasn't totally dry but the pattern was set. It is soooooo hard to have patience to let things dry in watercolor. I spritzed some on the right and blotted up the spray and I liked the texture that created.

From there I began painting back into the shapes. The image became more and more realistic and 3 dimensional. I have a difficult time letting things stay "flat" and decorative. The first colors I put down are showing through in a beautiful way. I think I have discovered a great way for me to start a painting. This surface is wonderfully liftable. I can work back and forth. The lifted areas have a soft edge and leave a little of the color behind. This is helping create a lot of depth.

The whole painting was done while the paper was totally flat so there is a visual distortion happening. When I was photographing it I kept it flat because there were still a few wet areas and I didn't want it to drip. When I angled the camera I distorted the image. This is more exaggerated than the eye sees but it is the same phenomenon. Notice how the eyes look properly positioned and the face isn't skewed in the second image. When the painting is viewed upright, the distortions become apparent. I like the distorted image a lot. I may try and do a painting from this perspective. In the meantime, I will make a few corrections on this one....move his eyes farther apart and make sure the features line up better

I have added a website to my links section that has all the details of the October workshop in Ocean Shores, Washington. This looks like such a beautiful area.

RESULTS FROM ARTISTS BY THE BAY DEMONSTRATION TONIGHT

I had the pleasure of doing a demo for a local art organization, Artists by the Bay, in San Mateo. There was some talk of doing a workshop exploring the possibilities of Tyvek. It will probably be a one day event. If it happens, I will post the information.

I had a lot of fun with this painting and it came together faster than usual. Overall, it took about an hour. I worked from one of my sketches rather than the photo. I used a Cheap Joe's Oiler Boiler (the thinnest one) loaded with Walnut Ink to draw the image onto the Tyvek paper. This is a really fun way to draw. Most of the line eventually disappeared by the time the painting was complete but it held up long enough to get the features established. The most difficult part is working flat without being able to hold it up to see if the drawing was correct. Time pressure kept me from checking the drawing before applying the paint. I used a very soft Isaby 1" flat brush to paint most of the time. In the end, I took out my favorite #4 Dragon's Tongue brush for some fine lines. It was pretty tricky getting the painting home as it was still wet. I didn't want to stop the capillary action of the wet paint with a hair dryer. By the time I arrived home, most of the painting was dry. The left eye needs correcting by moving it over a bit. With this paper, that should be an easy fix. Otherwise, I am very pleased with my first full size version of this image. I'm looking forward to doing more as I really like his face.

THE SUM OF THE PARTS! & APRIL'S CHALLENGE

This is how the sheet looks all finished. The tape worked fairly well but some paint still slipped underneath. Having coated the surface made it easier to clean up the dividing lines of errant paint. Overall, it is a good representation of the lesson I will be teaching.

I am looking for people within driving distance of Concord who would be interested in coming to one or more of the Advanced Portrait classes as subs. Since each class is a separate topic and doesn't depend on the previous lesson, you should have no problem. Stretching this class out over two months means life gets in the way and some of the participants can't make all five sessions. If you are interested, send me an e-mail and let me know which days you would be interested in coming.

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful messages in the past few days. It means a lot when people are cheering you on! Until I experience everything in New York, it won't feel real.

It's a new month, so I am throwing out another challenge. This month, pick an element of design: Line...Shape...Size...Direction...Color...Value...Texture. Now, keeping the same image, see how many ways you can work with that element to create a new painting or drawing. I am going to work with texture and the image in this bozzetto page.

FINAL BOZZETTOS #8 & #9

Sitting at the Gallery Concord yesterday, I was able to finish the bozzetto sheet. Here are the last two pieces. This is an image that I want to work with much more with texture, composition, lighting, and other ideas. Texture and mixed media will require larger formats than 5 x 7 but I am going to work with lighting next so a bozzetto sheet will work nicely. So this is my challenge for the coming month.....to develop as many ideas as I can with this image.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the American Watercolor Society website in the last day, they have finally posted the awards. There are some very exciting paintings there. I am looking forward to being able to see them and the entire show in person. Tomorrow is the official opening of the show with a big reception...food, drink, music. If you can get to New York City, it should be an exciting event.

I finally have my workshop schedule updated. You can find it on my website at www.myrnawacknov.com. The one in Ocean Shores, Washington is being held at a resort and will be like a mini vacation! If you have time in October, consider joining me there.

2nd MARCH SLIDE SHOW & NEW CHALLENGE!

Here are the drawings and paintings sent to me so far. Notice how drawing improves each time it is redrawn. The old "practice, practice, practice" philosophy at work. The ink lines are so interesting when the paper is wet.

I am struggling with paper work but hope to get back to the paint and brushes this weekend. Here is the new challenge. It comes from the book I bought in the Denver airport. I thought this one looked like fun.

#1....Pop some popcorn.
#2....DON'T EAT IT ALL! Pick through it and select 2 popped kernels to draw. Now you can eat the rest.
#3...Select a format (piece of paper to draw on) They used a square but you can use a rectangle if you want to.
#4...Compose the 2 kernels within the format greatly enlarging the image. They used a dark grey paper and white charcoal pencil. You want to be sure and get the full range of values present in this image.
#5...Now here is the fun part. Look at your image from all directions and see what comes to mind...like seeing things in clouds. When you have decided what this image is, do a painting the exact same size as your drawing, in full color. The kernels have to be in the exact same position in the painting as in the drawing. You can add additional elements to complete the image if necessary. Example: One of the students saw flower heads in her popped corn so she needed to add stems and leaves to complete her painting.

Have fun with this idea. Get your family or friends involved after you do your first popcorn drawing and see what image they see in the kernals. I can't wait to see what you come up with. I wish I could show you what the kids came up with but I think I would need permission from the author, so you will have to do your own thing with just a verbal description of the project.

REVEALED: JANUARY KALEIDOSCOPE FINISHED & FEBRUARY PAINTING CHALLENGE!

FINALLY! I feel ready to move on now. I had to finish this painting. I decided to make it look like a quilt square. The tape I used did a great job of keeping the lines clean. There was no leakage underneath. It was important to do the 8th head with as much detail and care as the first. This is a very different image than I have done before. I am interested in hearing how others respond to the multiple image in one painting.

I have been thinking about the February challenge for a while. It got more and more complicated as I thought of more and more interesting elements. Finally, I decided I needed to save some of these ideas for another challenge. So, here is what I decided I wanted to work on this month. I want to put the rest of the 3 requirements that were the January challenge aside for at least a month. We will get back to them but I was sick of this woman and want to do something else for now. I would like to create some paintings using the Pose Maniac website. I am a figurative painter, so this is the subject that gets me excited. It is difficult to paint good paintings when you aren't engaged in the subject. So, if figures aren't your thing, choose a subject that inspires you.

The next thing I want to work on is painting wet into wet. I know how to do it but I want to really focus on this technique. Lately I have been so taken with artists that are masters of wet into wet. I plan to really study their work. Shirley Trevena comes to mind, Don Andrews is a master, Charles Reid has a different way of flowing colors together. The latest issue of Amercian Artist features a father/daughter David and Jae Drummond who do exquisite wet into wet. The latest issue of the Artist Magazine has an article by Brigit O'Connor's florals done wet into wet. I'm sure I will discover many more when I search through my books and magazines. If this isn't a technique that you want to explore, pick your own.

The last thing I am going to focus on this month is shapes. I am not a shape painter so this is an area for greater investigation. Now for the twist! I am going to combine the "shape" element with one additional design element. Each painting will combine "shape" with a different additional element. I am going to start with Shape and Line. I am going to stick to the same image for the month. Your creative muscles get stretched farther this way. I'm excited to get started on this challenge.

To recap: Pick a subject that gets your heart racing, then pick a technique to explore for the month, lastly choose one design element for the month and add a different design element with each painting.

I will be teaching Saturday and Sunday so it will be Monday before I can put brush to paper. I will post my demo and hopefully my students work, with their permission.

#4 IS FINALLY FINISHED!

I was determined to finish something today! I worked on Kaleidoscope but can't seem to get very far at one time. The way I am painting it, there is so much down time waiting for it to dry. I have to be consistent so the heads look enough alike. I also have it on a very large piece of plexiglass as it was the only support around big enough to hold the painting. It makes it awkward painting because it needs to stay flat. I am leaning over pretty far. Well, I getting there but it is taking way longer than I like.

In the meantime, I finished number 4. I tried Alex Power's technique of splashing diluted gesso on part of the painting and then spraying parts for texture. I think it came out okay but I don't really have this technique down very well. I panic and then spray the hell out of it. I think I need to try it on a non-objective piece or something that I am going to cover up. That way I can be free and not worry I am messing it up. I used the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on the glasses. Great way to lift paint. I think it is less abrasive than most methods used too lift watercolor. I was thinking of creating a stencil for the lifted areas for a crisper edge and then decided to take the fast and easy route. Anyway, I like that her hair looks soft and wispy and thin. The only criteria I met on this painting was Blue Violet Mother Color.

I had a really fun idea for painting #5 but the month has run out. I will keep it in mind for another time. I will post the rest of the sets of requirements so those of you who would like to do the entire series will have them. I have February's Painting challenge in mind. I just have to work out the final details.

LATEST SLIDE SHOW

Here is the latest slide show. Enjoy! The month is swiftly coming to a close. I am still working on #2 and #4 but I think there may be time for one more this month. So, for those of you who are letting me do the random selection, here are the criteria for #5: (I am opening them as I write this!) MOTHER COLOR: LEMON YELLOW....COMPOSITION: CHECKERBOARD (here's where your grid experience will come in handy) DOMINANT DESIGN ELEMENT: DIRECTION (this one is left up to what you think direction means in this context).

Sunday is the Drawing Marathon at the Palo Alto Center. It will probably be pouring rain, so a great day to be inside drawing. I hope to see some of you there!

CHANNELING ALEX POWERS....I WISH! January Painting Challenge #4

While I persistently work on painting #2, the Kaleidoscope one, I am forging ahead with the next painting. This is #4 in the series. I need Cruciform design, shape element and Blue Violet for the Mother Color. I was thinking I wanted to leave a lot more undefined in this one. So, I got out my Alex Powers book, which is well worn, underlined, highlighted, flagged etc. to get some ideas how I might proceed. I will post the book on my reading list but it is now out of print and very pricey. Perhaps it is available in the library. I love every thing he does in this book, but I was interested in trying the mixed media idea of charcoal, watercolor and pastel, perhaps some gesso, too. What the heck! It's like cooking without a recipe...a dash of this, a pinch of that. Anyway, after doing a bunch of thumbnail sketches to figure out the light/dark cruciform shape I drew the image with charcoal on the watercolor paper. This is the first image above. Then I started putting in the Blue Violet color and saving some of the white areas. Blue Violet is one of my favorite colors but it is such a weak pigment, it is frustrating. I was working upright so the paint was dripping but I thought that looked like an Alex Power technique. Things started to get out of hand quickly! I kept working back and forth and the second image is where things left off for the day. I really like what has happened at the bottom under the head. Wish I knew exactly what I did to get that effect! It would be nice to be able to add it to my technique list but I don't think I could do it again. Darn! I started using a cheap little sponge brush for moving the paint and lifting color, etc. This turns out to be quite a handy little tool! It's nice to have something that costs 10 cents to put beside my Kolinsky Sables.

Now I have to do some serious thinking. I have lost the cruciform composition and it's definitely not a shape painting. I have been true to the Blue Violet, at least. I can get the cruciform back and make shape a dominant element, but I am liking what is happening and will probably let the painting guide me rather than force it into an arbitrary preconceived idea. The whole idea of the challenges is to set up something to motivate us to create past the photograph. If things take off in a different direction than you planned and you like what is happening, see where it will take you.