EXPERIMENT: CHARCOAL ON YUPO W/ ACRYLIC

I have been seeing many beautiful and interesting mixed media work that incorporates charcoal. I decided to try and see what charcoal on YUPO would look like. Vine charcoal is very faint but allows for correction, then I added darker charcoal. When I was satisfied with the drawing and shading, I started glazing with acrylic glazing liquid and liquid watercolor mixed in. The charcoal smeared a little but not as much as one would think. I started with new gamboge. The charcoal mixed in gave a subtle green quality to the glaze. I have quite a ways to go but it has been fun building up the image. I don't know how opaque I will get with the acrylic but so far it is very transparent. YUPO always adds an interesting quality to the finished work. I should be able to finish the piece tomorrow.

INK SKETCH

Taking a workshop for a week throws off my schedule. Consequently, the following week seems to be filled with mundane but necessary tasks that were neglected the week before. It seems I'm not getting much art work done this week but my dreams are filled with ideas I am anxious to get to. In the meantime, I try to do some drawing each day. Here is one I did last night. I made about 5 or 6 drawings in my sketchbook and this is the best of the lot.

I did start a large charcoal drawing on YUPO today. I hope to finish it tomorrow. My idea is to do a detailed charcoal sketch then start glazing color over it with Dr. Martin's liquid watercolor mixed with acrylic glazing medium. We'll see how this idea turns out. I am wanting to experiment with charcoal combined with other media.

Outwin Boochever Competition Finalists

The waiting is over! Click on the title of today's blog and it will lead you to the winners and finalists in the Smithsonian's Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. They selected 49 out of the 100 semi finalists. There is a People's Choice award, so look them all over and pick your favorite. Be sure and click on each image as many of them have a lot more image than is showing up on the group page. Also, notice the size of each work (there are some real surprises to be found) and be sure and read the artists' explanation of their work. As always, you will not agree with all of the choices. I took the time to compare the different media, so here is the breakdown: 23 oil paintings; 12 photographs; 3 acrylics; 2 sculptures (both in a synthetic material) 2 Ink; 2 Video; 1 Pastel; 1 Waxy Chalk (what could that be?); 1 Egg Tempera; 1 Gouache; 1 charcoal and 0 WATERCOLORS!

This is a very major portrait competition held every 3 years and based on a similar type of competition held by The National Portrait Gallery in England. That competition is held every year. At one time it was restricted to citizens of the United Kingdom but now is open to artists in other countries. They still have the restriction of having to be under the age of 40. Rats, even my kids wouldn't qualify!

Since I love portraits, I am happy to see lots of support and interest in this form of art.

I am curious to see the other 50 semi finalist paintings and how they compare to the finalists. I would like to start a blog to post these images. Let's see what the power of the internet is. I do not personally know of any other artists that were semi finalists. If you know of someone or want to spread the word, have them contact me and I will start the Semi Finalist blog and create a link so all can enjoy.

SCVWS AWARDS CEREMONY

Today was the reception and awards ceremony for the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society's annual show. It was a gorgeous day and there was an excellent turn out of artists, family, friends and patrons of the society.

First off, the committee did an outstanding job. The show is beautifully hung, the refreshment table, festively decorated, was overflowing with delicious treats. Wine was flowing, live music was playing as everyone was greeting old friends and meeting new people. Everything ran smoothly. This organization is fortunate to have such a wealth of active and exceptionally talented volunteers.

I was excited to learn that my painting was awarded 2nd place!!! It is a very high honor. There were so many truly outstanding paintings in this year's show. A very difficult job for the juror. We were fortunate to have such a national figure in the watercolor world, Christopher Schink, take on the task. The show is up for a month, so if you are in the area, be sure and stop by. Everyone gets a chance to be a juror and select their favorite painting in the show. People's Choice will be announced after all the votes are counted. The show is at the Rose Shenson gallery on the grounds of the Triton Museum in Santa Clara.

"KITCHEN SINK" Day at the Stroud workshop!

Well, here is the result of throwing everything at the painting, including the kitchen sink. Betsy's demo painting is below mine. It is spectacular. It is even more special because it is of a good friend, Jane Ferguson. I think I have a better idea how to go about this now that I have gone through the motions. The actual figure got away from me. Her hair and shoe are the best part. I may continue to work on this painting to see if I can resolve the figure better and produce better skin tones. The important part is that I learned a lot of new processes which I can incorporate into my own style of work (what ever that is !)

One of the exciting things we did was make collage paper out of newspaper! We also carved our own stamps. That is something I intend to do more of. Pretty easy with the few simple tools.

Another great week. Art fills my life with such pleasure. I feel very blessed.
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IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MATISSE!

I found I had 4 out of 5 days available this week to take the Betsy Dillard Stroud workshop through the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society, so I signed up at the last minute. It has been a busy, busy week, but lots of fun and learning from one of the more innovative leaders in watercolor.

I felt a little lost on the first day, had to miss the second day, but started to pick up steam on the third day with two starts. Today we worked in some of the elements of a Matisse painting in our work with acrylics on watercolor paper. This painting is quite different than my usual work, but it was lots of fun. I need to make one small adjustment and then it will be finished. Tomorrow is "kitchen sink" day...my kind of thinking, exactly! Should be a wonderful ending to a great week.

THE PITFALLS OF WORKING FLAT!

This is the demo painting I created for the Society of Western Artists on Saturday. It was a wonderful group of enthusiastic artists. I always have such a good time at demos.

Here is the problem: Because I work on Tyvek, a very slippery surface, I need to keep the painting flat so the watercolor doesn't slide right off. I draw the image on with a wet line, so the painting stays flat from the drawing on. There is a distortion that happens (slight parallax) and I don't discover it until everything is finished and dry! The first image is what I was seeing and the second image is what I actually drew and painted. Rats!!! I really like the head but the body and hand are too small (or the head is too big!) What to do? I have a few choices. The first is to try and scrub out the arm and hand and change it. Not too sure that will work with this paper. I could do a drastic crop. I could do it again. I think I will start with the first idea and work my way through the choices until the problem is solved.

The real question is how to prevent this in the future. A number of possibilities here, as well. First, I could draw the image on the paper with something that doesn't run so the paper would be upright and I would avoid the distortion. Second solution is to view my drawing in the overhead mirror before I start to paint. I think I would notice a distortion. The third idea is to print out the reference material with a parallax distortion and then I would automatically correct it when I drew it on my paper. The fourth idea is to use a "reducing glass". This is the opposite of magnification. It allows you to see the image you are working on as if from a distance. You can find this item in a shop that caters to quilters. They can't pick up their work in the planning stage as it would fall apart!

As with so many things, there is always more than one solution. I think starting with a distorted image is the one that appeals to me the most. Once I get started, especially with demos, I work fast and furious. I forget to slow down and check the drawing. Can't wait to try this theory.