Painting in the Studio

It is cold out. Today I needed to do work in the studio and also paint (and run around, but that isn’t part of this story). My studio is a little office/gallery where I do paperwork, phone calls, packaging reproduction prints and cards, and, believe it or not, actually draw! When I began painting, it seemed prudent to keep that mess away from my drawings and paperwork. We have a workshop with lots of windows in the front half, and it is a fairly mess-proof place. That is not exactly right – it is full of messes, but it doesn’t matter. As I said, it is cold out, and it made sense to only heat one building. So, I did 5 miniature paintings because they seemed to be the least likely to create a mess.

These are 2×2″ – miniature, for sure! The purpose of these little poppies is to sell at Colors for the First Saturday of March. March 5, Three Rivers, to be specific. The theme is. . . POPPIES!  I know. duh.

What is Geotourism?

According the the web definition it is ” ‘best practice’ tourism that sustains or even enhances the geographical character of a place, such as its culture, environment, heritage and well being of the residents”. What does that have to do with cabinart? The National Geographic Society is making websites of maps for geotourism. Currently they are building the site for the Southern Sierra Nevada, and it includes Three Rivers. We who choose to participate are nominating ourselves to be on that map. This is a wonderful opportunity to market Three Rivers, to present our best self, and to show us to be irresistible to those who are planning to visit Sequoia. All the sites in Three Rivers are currently pending nominations, but they are visible if you go to the National Geotourism website. Click on the Main Map page, and when you mouse over the Three Rivers area, bubbles appear with a title, photo and description. (If it is too cluttery, use the sliding scale at the top to make it larger and more spread out.) I invite you to visit my site and if you like it, please give me a thumbs up. Thanks! Thanks a lot!

I thought it a fine example of my very regional oil paintings – showing off our river!

I’m No Abbey Ryan.

Recently my friend MA sent me some info about painter Abbey Ryan, and I watched a video of her painting. She finishes one painting every day and then sells it for big $ on eBay. It looks so easy.

MA owns these cute little metal birds. She loves these guys, and I understand why!

She asked me to paint one for her on a 6×6″ canvas. I photographed them a bunch of different ways, this angle, that angle, 2 together in different poses, light on this side, light on that side, this one alone, that one alone. Then I deleted the ones that weren’t as appealing, cropped the 4 best ones to a square format, emailed her, and let her choose. She asked for one more angle, so I photographed it that way and sent her favorite along with the new one. She chose the first favorite.

I began mixing the colors while looking at the actual birds. The sun was so bright that I was sure I was getting the colors perfect! Mixing colors is so much fun, and it is sort of magical because of starting out with only 2 blues, 2 reds, a yellow and white.

Finally, it was time to paint. I couldn’t get the angle of light on the bird the way it was in the photo, and the light was too bright to see my computer screen photo well. I moved things all over my work area, and finally decided to just begin. I figured I could try getting MA’s bird finished in one sitting a la Abbey Ryan. I figured wrong. The brush is still not a pencil, no matter how much I practice. Finally I realized that the paint was just smearing around, messing up the colors, and no more progress would be made until it dried. Here is how the little bird looks after one painting session:

Good start, messed up feet, paint all over my hands from holding the canvas!

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

This is 16×12″ oil on wrapped canvas. It represents 2 days of exploring Yokohl Valley last March at the height of wildflower season. I spent an inordinate amount of time on it, and almost had to break out my blow dryer to have it dry in time for the show! “Yokohl Valley Revisited” at the Tulare Historical Museum opened last night.

The title of this paintings has 2 meanings: a fair amount of trespassing was involved in gathering my photos. Number two: in the Bible “trespasses” means sin; I think it would be a sin to turn this gorgeous place into a city. I can just hear my Very Wise Dad saying in his overly calm voice meant to soothe but also a bit infuriating, “Everybody has to live somewhere.”

First Things First

Second in a series called “Thoughtful Thursdays”

Living in a beautiful place often inspires people to create art. Lots of people get the yen to paint, often when retired. (Sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying, “Oh yeah? I think I’ll try practicing law when I retire!”) Most don’t understand that drawing comes before painting, sort of like grunting and pointing comes before public speaking.

A painting without drawing skills behind it is usually a weak piece of art. By “weak”,  I mean weird shapes, bizarre perspective, and lacking in contrast. Unless one can see proportions, perspective and understand values  and composition, the resulting paintings will most likely be exercises in frustration. Throw in color, paint consistency and brush behavior, and you get a recipe for visual chaos. (Of course, if one is more process than product oriented, poor paintings may not be considered a problem.)

Drawing is a skill that can be taught, learned, and developed through repetitious practice. I have been teaching people how to draw for 17 years and always tell beginning students “drawing is a skill, not a talent”. It is like typing – everyone can learn to type. Some type 25 words per minute, and others hit 90. Those speedsters are the ones with talent, but all are typists.

Despite knowing the proper sequence of skills, I do understand the desire to just dive in! When I was learning to knit, my attitude was “Scarves? We don’t need no stinkin’ scarves!!” My first project was a sweater, and not just a simple pullover but a cardigan, complete with button bands and button holes! Needless to say, I own many weird sweaters, and, after almost 6 years of knitting, quite a few good ones too. So, it is probably possible learn to paint without first drawing, if one is learning from mistakes in the process rather than just cementing bad practices. Of course one must also be willing to have a collection of weird paintings!

Musicians, particularly pianists, have to practice like crazy. They play lots and lots of scales, repetitious exercises, picking apart songs line by line, phrase by phrase, note by note. Artists sometimes forget to practice and treat each new piece as if it were the performance of a lifetime, or thinking in athletic terms, an Olympic event. Practice, practice, practice. This is how you learn to draw and to cement those skills of proportion, perspective, value and composition.

The drawing above was done when I was competent in my drawing skills. This painting was my first attempt at the same subject  when I was brand new to oils (try to be polite!):

Here it is again after 3 years of practice with oils (and I’m sure it will look hideous to me in another 3 years!):

It is all speckled because I photographed it wet in bright sunlight and the sun reflected off the texture of the canvas. Photography is another skill that requires training and practice!

Cranking Up the Painting Machine

That would be me, the Painting Machine. I’ve spent the past several weeks evaluating my inventory, thinking about subjects that might appeal to a flatland audience, analyzing my photos and asking others to share their opinions on a pile of pictures. After making decisions about subjects and sizes, putting the hanging hardware on the backs of canvases, assigning inventory numbers and titles, and adding them into my inventory lists, today I finally picked up my paintbrushes! This is how things look right now; think of this as a sneak preview into a solo show that is coming for me in May!

Yokohl Valley Show

Next week I will deliver a new painting to the Tulare Historical Museum. They are having a themed exhibit entitled “Yokohl Valley Revisted”. If you are a follower of this blog, you may recall a photography trip I took through the Yokohl Valley last spring – see the April 2 and April 3 postings. (I thought I was gathering info for a show in the Bay Area, but it turned out to be for plein air painters, which I am not.) There were so many beautiful photos from which to choose – I carried the best ones around to several spring shows and also polled my students. The view with the highest number of votes is the one I chose to paint. Out of respect for the Tulare Historical Museum, I won’t post the painting here until after the show opening. The title might pique your interest – “Forgive Us Our Trespasses” popped into my mind as soon as I began the painting, and it can be interpreted in two different ways. The opening reception is Thursday, January 13, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. No admission is charged (hmmm, can we peek into the museum during the reception??) and there are refreshments. Depending on the number of paintings at the show, they might also accept this painting that I did for an earlier Yokohl Valley show. (popular subject – go here to learn more: Save Yokohl Valley)

Behind Rocky Hill, 16×12″, oil on wrapped canvas

Here is something rather astonishing that I discovered on a blog I read from time to time called “Abby Try Again” – in her January 3, 2011 posting this interesting and creative photographer with roots in Tulare County showed her favorite photographs of 2011. Look at this list, and tell me what you think about the last photo. Abby Try Again

New Year Lessons

Here is a list of what I am learning so far in 2011

1. How to use the Total Gym

2. How to update my website by adding pictures

3. What a mistake it is to not photograph every piece of art

4. What a mistake it is to not label every photograph of art

5. That plantar fasciitis takes forever to heal

6. That it takes a very long time update my website

Here is a list of what I would like to know:

1. Is 1000 miles too many in a pair of walking shoes?

2. Do people actually consistently use the Total Gym?

3. When will my website be ready?

4. What should I paint on my repaired garage door, now that I feel more confident it won’t end up in the county dump?

5. Whatever was I thinking when I didn’t bother photographing some paintings or keeping a list of which was where or checking in regularly to the stores that were selling for me???

6. Will I learn from #5???

Here, let’s try to take the edge off of the hard lessons of life:

Think of it as a “bridge over troubled waters” (and no, I don’t know the title, size, when it was painted or who has it now.)

Why Artists Choose Three Rivers

First in a series called “Thoughtful Thursdays”

When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices of of towns in Tulare County, this is a reasonable assumption.) Now that I actually do live here and have become a painter, I recognize a multitude of reasons that any artist would want to reside in Three Rivers.

We are surrounded by beauty that takes no effort to see. There are incomparable views from my yard, studio, mailbox, and even from in my neighbor’s pool. The beauty continues as we go to the post office, the Memorial Building, the golf course, or maybe even from the dentist’s office!

Then there is the beauty that might require a little more effort to take in: the North Fork, the South Fork, Kaweah River Drive, and the Salt Creek area of BLM land come to mind. If you are able to walk, there is so much more that becomes visible.  In fact, I wrote a series on my weblog called “Peculiar Sights in Three Rivers” documenting odd items that appear to the pedestrian in our town.

Another great enticement to living in Three Rivers is the shorter drive to Sequoia and to Mineral King. In less than an hour you can be among the big trees and in a little longer than an hour, you can be in a valley that I have heard resembles the Swiss Alps.

Everywhere I look there are subjects to paint. The wildflowers could keep my brush flying for several seasons. The gates alone could occupy my pencils for a year. I could produce an entire series of drawings and paintings simply of loading chutes. Curves in the road, bends in the river, the autumn leaves, light on the rocks, Moro Rock from every possible angle, Alta Peak from every attainable viewpoint, sycamores all around town, the grand oak trees of every variety, the assortment of fence styles – every one of these subjects could be depicted in pencil or paint.

It is true that there is beauty in almost any location if one learns to recognize it. I certainly had plenty of subjects available in my former locations.  Now, the accessibility of paintable scenes is almost overwhelming!