My type of Gal

 I remember having an Art Class where the instructor challenged us to look at the deeper psychological intentions of the artist. Believe me, I can never look at a painting of a naked woman and a swan with innocence anymore. I just thought it was a nice nude painting with a bird. The teacher said it possibly meant that the artist wanted to paint the sexual tension between a man and woman. Say what? So why did he use a bird with a long neck....oops...I think I get it....

 Believe me, I'm all for symbolism and I was inspired to post this painting after reading Gilberto's thoughts on the last post. I'm still giggling in part because I know something is being lost in the translation from Spanish to English. Bravo Gilberto!

 First off, this beautifully framed painting is at the De Young Museum in San Francisco and it is by George de Forest Brush. Good George actually studied with Gerome and it seems he assumed some of Geromes delicacies in depicting women. There was a retrospective of his work 2 years ago at the Smithsonian that I was able to see and it focused on his paintings of  Arapaho Indians. The show was stunning and he was more " brushy" in his application of paint than Gerome his teacher.

 The painting is called Celtic Huntress. Was this painting  symbolic of a deeper meaning or did he just love painting a strong assertive Amazon with dazzling red hair? Notice how the end of the arrow goes directly to the right corner. The frame really compliments the painting in my opinion and it adds weight and elegance to our tribal warrioress. Does the dog symbolize her masculine dimension? Why is the arrow so close to the dog's skull and brain? There is a repressed sexual tension to this alpha girl although I sense there are those that will find her very seductive.... hey its a full moon.....i gotta run before I get myself in trouble...you go figure it out....

Gotta Love the Pose... ripping off

 

 You just gotta love the pose of this extaordinary Dutch Dandy. I mean...look at that hat. I photographed this painting in the National Gallery and I can't recall the Dutch painter . But it caught my eye right away. Right around the corner were the Rembrandts. 

There is a wonderful interplay between the blues and pinks. The composition is  based on a grounded triangle with the head at the apex. It feels sturdy. But what is the significance of that flag? I guess I could hunt down the image at the National Gallery but my time is limited today.

 Anyway ... the gentleman makes me laugh every time I look at him. He is definitely contented with his gape and his stout gut. Good going Gus!

 But as I looked at it longer it reminded me of the Velasquez. Now who ripped off who? Maybe it was more convention and style of the times rather than a rip off. It has always bugged me that the Flemish arm closest to us is dramatically foreshortened. I rather like how Diego solved the problem. It seems more natural.

 Click on the image to see a fairly large image.

Thursday Nights Figure Class .... Disaster

 Have you ever just wanted to shake things up and try a new surface to paint on? I had heard about Sherwin Williams Alkyd Primer as a good and reliable base to paint on so I purchased a quart just the other day. I decided to apply a coat to a panel as well as a linen canvas. It dried to the touch within an hour as the directions stated and it seemed fine and ready to paint on. So off I went to S12 to paint a figure.

 The first 30 minutes were great and the paint seemed to flow well. But into the first hour the paint was noticeably being sucked into the primer. Well I thought, maybe I should add a little linseed oil and maybe that should slow down the absorption rate of the canvas. It did not work. The painting was starting to dry ( we are talking oils here ) in the 3 hr time frame. It was amazing. I can't recall when I have been so frustrated with my " tools " . Well maybe I can....like when I was in Art school. But this was ridiculous. Nothing seemed to work and I could not control what I wanted to accomplish. The surface was fighting me at every brush stroke. So I quit a bit early and hoped I could possibly rescue it at home but when I set the canvas on my easel the background was ALREADY DRY. Amazing.

 What also made the evening frustrating was that I really liked the pose and I was orchestrating a colorist approach. I did a minimal amount of drawing and blocked in a color chord that I found appealing . But as the night progressed it was like going to a dance with your dream date and slipping and falling and breaking your leg after you drank some punch.

 So , the next day after I taught at Lincoln Hills , I went back into the painting to see if it just needed to dry before I added another coat. But it was all for naught. The surface was like a sponge.

 Did I do something wrong here? Hmmmm. I started to scrap off the surface of the second attempt but I stopped and photographed it as reminder of good intentions gone bad. A Catcher on the Dry .

 I tried another quick sketch on the panel yesterday and today it's already dry! It absorbs way too fast for my taste and my alla prima approach....anybody want a barely used quart of Sherwin Williams Alkyd Primer?


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Luckily , I had a place to vent as I told my Friday Class about my misadventure. I taught the students about keeping the light consistant throughout the painting. The shadows and the light have to feel like they are coming from the same light source.

 I could not help myself and I painted a little portrait sketch of Jim Brunk who was painting a real beauty yesterday. I just lusted at all his cool Silver and Robert Simmons Brushes. Its like looking at a golfer with the best clubs. It may not help you be a better artist but in the end you can't blame the brushes!

Walton Ford Video

I saw Walton's work in a PBS special awhile back. He paints like Audoban with a huge left turn twist. His work at the very least is accomplished and fascinating.

Alla Prima Self Portrait

 A 9 x 12 self portrait  on panel.  A 2hr pose in front of a mirror....I usually don't look that menaceing.

 Jesus Estevez mentioned that I was fast on his comment. I am naturally an accelerated personality. Thats my euphemism for being hyper active. Although I feel that I have slowed down a bit with the passage of time and gravity acting on my body. But others who watch me paint also tell me I am fast although I don't rush when I paint. I aim to be efficient. I have trained myself to recognize color patterns and shapes and I  consciously try not to overwork an area if I can help it. I aim to get the color right the first time I lay it down. This is done by establishing my range . Where is my darkest darks? Where are my lightest lights. Which planes  are reflecting the key light the brightest?  What big masses will help me define the form quickly by way of the least amount of value nuance? What is the temperature of the light source? Questions like these are resolved at the BEGINNING. That way, all the hard work and the "framing" is done at the initial stage. I work from patch to patch to patch. I am constantly comparing and contrasting. Is the right side darker than the lighted side? But is it lighter than my hair in the shade? Compare and contrast....compare and contrast. You will be amazed, once you train yourself to be as accurate as you can at the initial stage how fast you can work. Its actually just being efficient and a familiarity of " what color mixtures get me there " . And the best way to train yourself is to spend time making a color wheel and seeing how pigments mix.

 lets look at it in B & W

Speaking Truth to Power and the Powerless

 I don't always post some of my illustration work these days but I just heard someone talk about speaking truth to power. Its easier said than done, considering that the one with power can usually affect how you remain to live out your life. This is an illustration depicting Joseph telling the Pharoah how his Kingdom will turn out. Most of the time, the courtiers surrounding the Pharoah pretty much told the King what he wanted to hear. Not Joseph. He spoke the Truth. And in his case it really did set him free.

 I think an anology can be made with Art. Artists are famous for having their feelings hurt. Especially if they respect the opinion of the one being critical of their work. There is always that tension between telling someone what you really feel and also being constructive with your criticism. But the opposite I feel can also be destructive when too much flattery is offered about one's work.

 As for me, my experience at Art Center College of Design and my time with Theodore Lukits trained me for the brutal world of Art. Ofen times I feel some of the teachers went out of there way to knock you down in order to build you up. Much like an army boot camp. Being tough in the business really helps. You gotta have your full armor on.

 When I teach I really try to emphasize principles that in many ways are non personal. How an object is affected by light , for instance , is not a personal judgement. It is what it is , regardless of how  I feel about it . Training a student to see is what I aim for in my classes. I feel that is more tangible than being subjective and cheerleading . Hopefully, I can share what I have learned and hopefully students will receive my many years of experience.

 But it is always nice to hear kind words and encouragement. As artists , expressing our thoughts and feelings in paint is what we feel we must do. It adds to our vitality of life. We see and we respond...hopefully with a hint of good news...Life is worth living... even in the midst of suffering.

 It was nice to get an email from Nancy Guzik. She was last months judge at FineArtViews Art Competition . 

She was complimentary of my work and said some nice things. She made my day. By the way... she is married to Richard Schmid, a pretty good artist from what I hear ;v)!

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Thursday Nights Figure Class

3 Hr. pose oil on linen 16 x 20


 Thursday Nights class is getting to be pretty popular. Even if you get there early , its pretty difficult to find a space. But we all make due and the comraderie is wonderful in large part due to Patris's energetic hospitality at S12. Luckily...I got a space right in front of the model...Yeah!

 I decided to do something a little different for a change and start at the face and work out. I did not apply a wash and just painted unto the white linen canvas. I went for bold colors and changed the background color from what was setup for the pose. I applied the paint fairly thick and I went from matching one patch of color to the next color patch. Kinda like the Henche method. This pose was going to be about color and my lightest light was around the models forehead. Maybe if you click on the image you will see that I added some viridian into the highlight color on the face.

 I tried to keep it simple by pushing the cools in the shadow areas. But the real key to pushing color and not making it look weird and uncontrolled is to get the VALUE right. This is where I depart from the Henche crowd. Lets see what this painting looks like in Black and White.

As you can see, the key is separating the darks from the lights and not SEEING too much in the shadow areas. Time and time again I see my students lightening the shadow area and paint the reflected light as bright as a plane receiving direct light. What happens is that your painting ceases to look solid and starts to look choppy and fragmented. Notice how the light gradually progresses down from the head to the breast area. I forced the diminishing light effect to keep the focus around the models face ( pretty hard though when you are painting a nude ) .

 

 So the key is...if the painting has the right values then the color will work. No two ways about it. You can push the color, and if the value is right you can even change and experiment with color variances in the value plane and it will still work. That's where it gets real exciting and a lot of fun.... not least of all but a sense of freedom and exhuberance. Its a great way to paint with a sense of energy and life.

A Funny Face......

to brighten your day.

Angels Among Us

 Today is exceedingly blustery and wind gusts are being clocked at 60 mph plus. I hope we keep power. But this morning in our local paper, the Auburn Journal , ran a story of a family in Auburn who were in the process of adopting a Haitian orphan when the EarthQuake struck. This family attends our church and my son Isaac is in the Youth Group with their daughter .They sent out a plea, to anyone who would listen, that they wanted to go to Haiti to rescue the young girl. Ted Turner...came to the rescue and has donated his private Jet for the Mission.

 Read the article here...

Ramblings and Rumblings

  My heart grows heavy looking at all the picture and video images of the suffering and chaos in Haiti . Earthquakes , when they last longer than 5 seconds , are killers and are no respecters of rank or privelidge . Having experienced 2 major eathquakes, the SoCal Earthquake in the 70's and the NorCal  World Series Earthquake, there is nothing so unsettling as feeling the earth move under your feet and being at it's total mercy . And to add to the terror are the aftershocks which come at unusual intervals for a couple of days. It is enough to drive you crazy when there is loss of Hope.

 Which brings me to todays post. I received a call yesterday from Beth, a  local curator at BlueLine Gallery,  asking me to be a guest speaker at her class at William Jessup University. It is a Christian College and they are expanding their curricum to include Art Appreciation. I guess so many students were hanging Kinkaids on their wall that they had to step in and show them a menu of other artists out there to consider. I've given many talks on Art and my Life as an Artist but recently I have been tailoring my speeches. Last Wednesday, I spoke at our Local Rotary Club's Breakfast Meeting and my topic was the impact and effect of Mentoring. I used my dear friend Norma Yocum, as an example of how one woman , by reaching out , had influenced and inspired me to pursue my goal of being an artist. She always challenged me to perservere and to stay determined. She used examples from her upbringing to show me that Life was not easy , but that I needed a clear focus and that I should never give up or quit.

 I was reminded of Norma when Jana and I saw the movie " Blind Side" where a Tennesee family takes in a transient black child and gives him a home and today he is a starting football player for the Baltimore Ravens. The impact we can have on someone's life choices are profound.

 Also, I believe that our Art can similarly have an impact for good in the lives of  others. Jacques Barzun, in his book " The Use and Abuse of Art" has a chapter called  " Art as Religion " and " Art  in the Vacuum of Belief " . As a Historian Emeritus from Columbia University, Mr Barzun looks at what artists are up to because artists socially give the Historian an insight into what the Culture is producing and what the conditions are of the " Patient". He quotes Nietzsche , that the purpose and role of Art is to enhance Life ( you see...Nietzsche said some good things ). It is a 19th Century sentiment. From the Romantics and their adherents, Art was supposed to deepen, enrich , distill, refine, ennoble and redeem life. Thus Art with this attitude was seen to increase Hope and Self-Confidence, to reduce fear and self-doubt and not the reverse. In an age where we now believe that any Belief is arbitrary and that confidence in any standard of truth is dangerous and extreme , We now see Art that destroys, that criticizes , that blames and points the finger , that shocks , that trivializes , that flaunts and that scams alla Warhol ... " Art is Anything that you can get away with " .

 Even  those artists, who in their flight from Religion  had lifted Art up like the serpent in the desert , found out that Art could not give grace and healing. In a mad dash for existential meaning, Art was only a reflection of the artists heart and temperament. He was painting his prison.

 I was reawakened to Art's impact when I called my folks the other day. My Dad got on the phone and thanked me for the Christmas Card I had sent them. Then he got philosophical on me ( now you know where I get it ) and thanked me for painting such a wonderful scene. He said it made him dream and made him aware of the beauty in this world ( he lives in the city ) . He thanked me for being an artists and giving the world so much beauty. I was taken aback at first .... I mean, this was the first time I had heard him phrase it that way. But it also reminded me of the time I was introduced to Carlos Santana backstage after he played at a small gig in Marin at the then Uncle Charlies. I was working at ILM at the time and I went up to praise him on his performance. When I was introduced as one of the artists at LucasFilm, his eyes lighted up and he said... " ThankYou for adding Beauty to the Planet". You see ... there is a purpose to this Life. For those of us that grasp it, we no longer paint for ourselves but to enrich and ennoble and give vision to the possible.

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ps. We here in California are now being battered by a series of major storms coming in from the West and NorthWest. We may lose power , they have already at my son's School , and the high winds forecasted to be in the high 50's may down some power poles. If I don't post or respond soon...its because..........

Thursday Nights Model

 Its been a really exhausting week. I did not even mention that I got up early on Wednesday and spoke to the local Auburn Rotary Club. They gave me a nice pen after my speech...I guess they liked my jokes.....I'm off to teach my Workshop in Lincoln this morning...go  go  go....

3 hr pose . What a great character on that model.

Norma Yocum

 I received a letter yesterday that my mentor of over 40 years had passed on. Norma died 2 days shy of her 99th birthday. All of my recollections of this great woman raced through my head as I looked at the last picture taken of her and the date below her name....January 10, 1911 - January 8 , 2010. Somehow, winter felt colder and a chill ran through my spirit. But I was kindled back to a warm summer afternoon when I met Norma when I was 12 years old. She was then mayor of Alhambra and she was going door to door meeting constituents in her district as she ran against a powerful incumbent for assemblywoman of California. It was then that we forged a life long friendship as this amazing women had decided to become involved in the life and career  of a poor Mexican American boy outside of East L.A. She was like a second mother to me.

 Norma had made national headlines during WWII when she looked after the children of soon to be interned Japanese friends. There was an internment camp for Japanese Americans in Arcadia Ca.. She was scorned by " neighbors" who were indignant..." How could she care for Jap kids". She was a woman of great moral character defying the opinions and pressure of the status quo. She did the right thing regardless of the personal cost to her reputation.

 As a young girl, she moved from town to town as her father was working for the Railroad Industry and she developed the rare condition, right up to her last stay in Napa Ca,. of always moving and making new friends wherever she went. She was naturally comfortable in new surroundings and had a way of making everyone feel at ease.

 She served as mayor of Alhambra for 3 terms and was instrumental in getting the hospital built and operational. She was the city's finest ambassador and her wit and charm won everyone over to her side regardless of their personal political views.

 It was through  Norma that I met Sam Hyde Harris who was my connection to the early California Plein Air Painters. It was through Norma that I met Ronald Reagan.

 Norma was a prolific letter writer ( she kept a correspondence with 100 friends ) and she always wrote to me. I have kept stacks of her letters. They are precious to me. She would tell me stories and recount her many adventures and also offer some motherly advice. She would also scold me if I did not return a note telling her what I was up to. In many ways both of us were stubborn as she exclaimed in a letter..." I have given up the hope that you will ever become a letter writer like me!". Of course, I would tell her that if she went digital then we could correspond all the time . we both failed on that account.

 I was able to see her 2 months ago, and she gave me the impression that it would be the last time. She had taken a fall and she was experiencing difficulties with her heart. Somehow, in her own way, she was teaching me that Heart was not a physical entity.  A human heart was more than a muscle passing blood to a host body. Heart was the spiritual blood to give and spread life to those around you and by being open and affirming that one human being can be a lifeline to others. She has been and will continue to be an inspiration to me. I will miss you Norma.


 this is a poem she wrote:

 I Heard Him call " Come to the Edge".
I answered , " No, I might fall".

He called again, " Come to the Edge".
I said, " I am afraid, it's too high"

He said, " Don't fear. Come to the edge".
And I went. He pushed, and I flew.

blessings

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Maestro Velazquez

 I am currently reading an online  book on my hero Diego Velazquez . I saw many of his original paintings when I visited the Prado years ago. I had a camera with me on the trip but by the time I had reached Madrid it had been stolen while I slept on a train in Marseille , France. Drat.

 The book has some very interesting insights that has me re -thinking and reassessing some issues. Most notably, 3 paintings of the master are highlighted from his early period , middle  , and late period.

The author discusses how the artist progressed from particulars to universals. From the literal to the abstract.

 I am off to teach a workshop this morning and I will share and elaborate on these thoughts.

Mimi..RIP

 I am currently teaching a 4 week workshop at Lincoln Art Association . I was informed that one of my former students and the person most responsible for my appearance in Lincoln had passed away on Sunday.

 Mimi was very enthusiastic and supportive about my art and stood behind me the whole time as I painted a plein air  at the Horton Iris Farm last year. It was at that time that she suggested that I should give her group a teaching workshop. She loved art and right up to the end she exemplified the art spirit in her desire to always learn and expand her talents. I can't wrap my head around the fact that she is no longer with us here. I had just talked to her several weeks ago when I found out that she had aggressive cancer in her body. She went fast.



 She posed for this portrait this past summer. I hope I did her spirit justice. Copies of this portrait have been made and given to friends and relatives. I am glad that I was a small part of her life.


 Mimi...You will be missed!

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Thursday Nights Model

Thursday nights session was a real challenge. As usual, the place was packed and the only place available was to the far right next to the wall. However, I felt that the angle and view was a real classic and I limited my palette to naples yellow , terra rosa reds and viridian. 3 Hr. pose in oil.

I'll explain the process of laying in the BIG MASSES and abstract shapes on the next post. Or in Philosophical terms...from the Universal to the Particulars...thankyou Aristotle.....

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The Haggin ...Plein Air Show

Yesterday was a real treat of seeing close and upfront samples of some fine plein air paintings of our National Parks by members of The Plein Air Painters of America. I went with fellow artists and notably Connie Mclellan of Fresh Paint Blog. There were about 100 paintings on exhibit and it was visual eye candy for anyone who loves images of our wild frontier. There were some surprises and some shocks in the show.






This was the first time I had seen a Skip Whitcomb canvas in person and I marveled at his luscious and deliciously thick application of paint. In fact , the show was a good way to see how many of these Plein Air Masters handled paint application. Some liked it thick and loose while others had a more thin and transparent approach. It was eye opening to see the differences. Whitcomb was definitely in the top bracket of not being timid about just splashing some paint on the canvas.




Another fine sampling of some intimate desert portraits were done by his emminence Matt Smith. A real force of nature, Matt chose to paint some groupings of cactus. They were immediately eye catching and he was serendipitously helped out by the green background of the display wall. Which brings me now to a point that is being hammered into my brain as I enter the gallery scene. And that is...Get a good frame that MATCHES your painting. All in all, most of the paintings were properly framed but there were a couple where I felt that the frame and painting were clashing in the extreme. You don't want the show viewer to get more excited about the frame and not be thrilled about the painting. Anyway, Matt's paint handling was at an expert level and it is no small reason why he has risen towards the top of his field.




One of the shocks, at least for me , was seeing how Ray Roberts style has changed. He always has applied his paint in a juicy fat flat approach with a strong sense of composition and light. His style is visual poetry. I am a big fan. But for some reason, he seems to be highly influenced by my hero Maynard Dixon ( anyone who loves the ol west has gotta love the tall guy ) and his work is looking alot like somebody else. To be fair, his work is not the only one out there looking like Maynard ...Glen Dean and Logan Hagege come to mind ( I'm glad there were no Fechin wannabees in the exhibit...enough already ). His style is becoming more graphic and up close seems unfinished as compared to the rest of the paintings. But compositionally they remain strong and grab the eye. Consequently, his small plein airs photograph very well as he is a MASTER of separating the lights from the darks and controlling the big shapes.




Ralph Oberg definitely gets the award for having one of the nicest framed paintings in the show. This painting was tucked away in a corner by itself and really works at a distance. Up close the paint is applied a bit thin for my tastes but the overall composition and the blue color of the hot spring works well with the warm local color of the surrounding elements. Having been at Yellowstone, I can safely say that he has captured the mood and feel of that sulfuric environment. Bold show.



If there was going to be a " Bierdstadt Award" then I would give it to John Budicin. Larger than most of the other exhibiters and weighing in at 32 x 40 , this $10,500 painting gave me the WOW reaction. I didn't know his work before the show but I do now and he impresses me with understanding the " Grand Effect". Most of the painting in the exhibit were on average 12 x 16 paintings and they depicted your average intimate scene. There were only a few that tackled the wide expanse , Kathryn Stats was another. His studio painting had a Big Feel and I felt the enormity of those snow capped mountains and the snow covered foreground swept my eye up to the warm light on the peaks.




West Fraser created a beautful light effect on a large trunk of driftwood. The gradation of light across the canvas was exquisite.




Ron Rencher dazzled the eye with 3 paintings depicting the sunset light at Canyonlands. The violets in the shadow areas were irresistable and he slammed home the feeling of light on those weathered canyon walls.




Finally, on the second floor, the viewer was treated to a Plein Air paint out by the exhibitors at Zion National Park. Here , we saw these artists paint together and we could see how they really shined. In my opinion, Kevin Macpherson , outshines them all as he is a man in his element painting and capturing a wondrous moment and effect. Right up there with him was Skip Whitcomb. In fact, Kevin's paintings, which I did not photograph, were truly spectacular and he is a virtuoso at painting with confident juicy dabs of paint that mesmerize the eye. Other paintings that I liked, that were blurry when I photographed them , were done by Scott Burdick, Don Demers , Jean LeGassick , Joe Paquet ( a real nice sunset scene ) , Gay Faulkenberry and Katherine Stats.

The show ends next week. The Haggin Museum is in Stockton Ca. I'll show some closeups of their vast Bierdstadt collection as well as 2 early George Inness.

Work in Progress...Rosie

I started this portrait as a demo 2 years ago and I'm tinkering with the background as well as bringing the face to a higher finish. When I have a spare hour or 2 between other canvases , I putter on this piece. The hair has been given a tone and plane on the left side. There is more to be done there.

Rosie has a lot of character and she is the director of the Placer Arts Tour.

Problem Solving

Have you ever felt that there was something wrong with your painting and you just can't put your finger on it? Try as you might , it bugs you and the frustration level starts to consume you. In fact, it torments your soul when your spouse just loves it, but you know that what you have painted is NOT what you had in mind. These are times that sharp objects should be clearly out of your grasp.

I do have a couple of tried and true solutions although just walking away from the dang painting and seeing it the next day can often times work. But in those cases where it looks WORSE the next day..here are some thoughts on the matter. You can add this post to ON BEING FRANK willing to restore harmony and goodwill within the family circus.


1. It was not unusual for our older masters to put away a painting for months and return to their painting and attack the piece with fresh eyes and renewed vitality. We want to embue life to our work and when it falls short we somehow sense this in our spirit. However, some of us don't have the luxury to wait around a year or months to reestablish a relationship with our canvas. So what next?

2. The key is fresh eyes and insight with knowledge. There is a technique I employ all the time and that is the use of a mirror. Just when I think my work is going well or even when I feel I am losing control of the painting and it's going wrong somewhere and I am stuck, it is then that I pull out my mirror and see my painting in REVERSE. Wow. I am struck by how seeing my painting flipped shows how my balance of shapes and objects are working. I might even discover that the color I fell in love with just seems out of place when it's seen in the reverse. I can't tell you how many times using a mirror has rescued a painting. In fact when I feel things are going well....I am afraid to use it for fear of discovering that I have really screwed up. So, I NEVER EVER work without a mirror.


3. The next thing would be to scrap off and start over. This might seem drastic but sometimes you can't rescue a bad start. Sargent was known to scrape off and restart over and over again. Painting on top of old paint will just make your work look like mud. At least wait for it to dry before you proceed. There is nothing worse than having the wrong underpainting mixing with your top coat. Its at that point where your anxiety level is a def com 4.

4. Get some knowledgeable advice. This can come in many forms such as emailing an artist you respect to give you a qualified review.Take them out to lunch, they will probably be more forth coming with their advice at that point.

5. You can also get out a trusted book that addresses some of these problems. I recommend a book by artist Greg Kreutz called " Problem Solving for Oil Painters. His style is influenced by David Leffel, whom he dedicates the book too, so there is a wee bit bias towards the dark background chiaroscuro look. But all in all, Mr, Kreutz focuses on principles and he is quite effective in analyzing how to address your painting when in trouble.

Here is a blurb from Gregs Website:

In 1986, Kreutz authored Problem Solving for Oil Painters, which was published by Watson Guptil, and has been selling steadily ever since. It is now in its fifth printing and can be purchased at bookstores and art stores throughout the country. Order online at Amazon.com.

On Problems Solving for Oil Painters, Gregg Writes:

“The book came about because Don Holden—an editor at Watson Guptil—saw a little workshop class description I had written and contacted me to see if I was interested in doing a book. I mentioned to him during our interview that in working with paintings that were weak or flawed or irresolvable, I often found that certain recurring strategies could help get the paintings on track. He asked me if I could make a list of these strategies, which I did, and pretty soon I got myself a big fat contract. I spent the next year trying to flesh out all my ideas into a full fledged book. Watson Guptil was helpful during this process in that they didn’t intrude much and didn’t try very hard to make me include concepts like “Always keep a trash receptacle near your easel.” I didn’t want typical how-to book ideas. I wanted the book as much as possible to be about universal principles, about the essential abstractions that underlie all good art.”

Here is a sampling from the back cover

Shapes: Are the Dominant Shapes as strong and simple as possible?

Are the shapes too similar?

Values: Could the value range be increased?

Could the number of values be reduced?

This book can be read by section. I often times will read a topic and feel like I just was in a painting class where my instructor was pointing out areas of concern and neglect. Eventually, an artist should internalize many of these points. But Its also helpful when its written down and we can be challenged to ask ourselves...Why did I do it this way?

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Back Again

Its good to be back live again. So much happened over that 2 week stretch. Parties, Family Time , Movies , Books , and painting etc etc etc.I'm glad the terrorist plot was thwarted over Detroit. Can you believe a guy , from a well to do family at that , straps a bomb to his family jewels, and tries to blow up a plane? I mean ...what's up with that ? I know some think that artists are loony , but there are real crazy people out there .

I usually get some books to read and I finished off 3 Nelson DeMille novels , The Gold Coast , The Gate House , and WildFire.I'm reading Daniel Silva's " The Confessor" which is a pretty good spy thriller concerning the Vatican and The Holocaust and assassins and your basic coverup. I'm not a big fiction reader , but I enjoy a good diversion right around this time of year.

I did finish the small portrait commission above over the weekend . I had John Gack pose for me and I painted him at his wife's studio which has wonderful northern light. We had decided that the best route to go would be with a live sitting.

My process is pretty straight forward. I have the model pose for an hour or so. In that time frame, I aim for the tones and salient characteristics of the sitter. What is his jaw line like? Where are my brightest colors on the face (which is usually around the nose and cheek )? I also get the core shadowing as close as possible. Then I take a photograph of the sitter. When I head back to the studio, all the tones are what I want them to be with a minimal amount of detail. How the light falls on the form is what I am after. It is very much a tonal approach. There is drawing, but the tones and patches of colors next to each other on the planes of the face , defines the characteristic of the sitter. If you learn to SEE the planes then the detail will naturally follow.

So, the final step involves just correcting parts of the drawing and adding in bits of detail to complete the painting.

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