Drawing & Painting Journal

New Piece Preview, "Doll Maker"

2012-01-21T18:58:00.001-08:00

This is a new piece I am working on. "Doll Maker" (oil on canvas) continues on a recent theme that I've been developing. The art and craft of doll making is quite fascinating, and not too removed from painting either. It combines the disciplines of sculpture, painting, sewing, and fantasy. It is like a painting come to life that you can hold, or a sculpture that you can dress and pose. The hair can be combed, and the glass eyes can be any color you like them to be.

On another note, one of the other things that draws me to this discipline is that it allows me to break out of the normal disciplines of portraiture or still life to reach something in between. I can paint these dolls as they are, still and lifeless (or half formed, as in the case of the fellow in the box) or I can imbue them with life as in the case of "Lillith". In other words I can pose and work with my own supernatural creatures, while still achieving all the realism and observation of form and light with which I am accustomed to paint.

Ordering Art Materials

2012-01-13T16:57:00.001-08:00

Studio View

Yesterday I took a nice long breakfast at the tea table, and ordered some much needed art supplies. This can be a fun activity if approached with the right mindset, or it can be stressful if you don't know what to get. Sometimes I get questions from people about how I go about this, so I will answer them now for the benefit of those interested.

First of all I like to do all of my shopping over the Internet. This is not only because one can save a lot of money, but because these days it is hard to find art stores that have everything you need in one place and in stock at the same time. Dick Blick is my online store of choice, they ship fast and cheap and have just about everything I need. Mister Art or Jerry's Artorama come to mind too.

When I buy paint I get the 250 ml tubes of oil colors from Windsor & Newton, Gamblin, Old Holland, and Rembrandt. This is because I do big paintings and always want to have colors on hand when I need them. I buy refined linseed oil, damar varnish, and turpentine from Windsor and Newton.

For canvas I order from the same website (except when I want something special like herringbone weave then you have to go somewhere else).
Some canvases I like are Claessens oil primed linen and Artifix oil primed linen. Both of these come in various weaves, so I stock my studio with very smooth ones for small works and rougher heavier weaves for large pieces. I order canvas in rolls by the yard and stretch it myself. You can buy stretcher pliers and a staple gun for this. I buy the Blick heavy duty stretcher bars and the quality is very consistent (they are never warped). Sometimes when I buy an unprimed canvas roll, I will size it with Gamblin's PVA size glue and follow with two coats of Gamblin oil ground.

So far all this can be obtained from Blick! I have not mentioned brushes yet. I actually do recommend visiting a store to feel them in person, or observe what your friends or teachers use. My favorites are long flats (mongoose), long flat bristles, small rounds in synthetic, hog bristle, and sable. Some brands I have bought are Silver Brush Renaissance series, Isabey, Windsor & Newton, Da Vinci... Lately a just ordered long flat mongooses from Rosemary, an English company that specializes in brushes. You can never have too many, and you need all types for what works on one surface or stage of a painting may not work in another. I tend not to buy nice brushes over a certain size because you can get the same effects with house painting brushes.

Anyway I hope this helps! One last word of advice is to stick with a familiar set of tools for a while and make additions (like new pigments, mediums, etc.) only every so often. This way you can stay in control and observe the effects that these changes make to the way you work. You want good quality materials that serve you well and make your work shine and live up to your highest standards, but ultimately you should not get carried away with too many of them at once.

Lillith the Putto

2012-01-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

"Lillith, the Putto" Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24 inches

I have just finished a new painting! This is Lillith, one of the "studio Putti" which you may or may not be familiar with by now. If you aren't you are welcome to familiarize yourself with this charming Renaissance/Baroque convention here. Speaking of which, I've come across another good definition of the Putto in art:

Art historian Juan Carlos Martinez writes:

"Originally, Cherubs and Putti had distinctly different roles, with the former being sacred, and the latter, profane. That is, Cherubs and Seraphs (Cherubim, Seraphim) are Angels, occupying the highest angelic orders in Heaven and are thus the closest to God. On the other hand, Putti, arise from Greco-Roman classical mythos (i.e., non-Christian). They are associated with Eros/Cupid as well as with the Muse, Erato; the muse of lyric and love poetry...
"Putti – which comes from the Latin, putus, meaning 'little man' – are...not so much babies as they are 'not human'. They are spiritual beings and thus depicted in their typically odd fashion; as winged little people of indeterminate gender. Using babies as models for Putti (or for Cherubs, either) doesn't quite get across the true concept of 'Putti-ness' as they (babies) are too guileless, for one thing, whereas Putti are clever and purposeful. They are there to help Cupid/Eros facilitate the onset of profane love – or secular, non-religious love, as between two people, rather than the love as between a human and God. Probably, it was artists' attempts to avoid simply painting babies that has led to so many rather odd and, often, ugly, Putti. Sometimes they nailed it, sometimes not.
"By the time the Baroque Era came about, which might arguably have been the high point for Cherubim and Putti, both of these little beings were usually being depicted in the same way. Which one they were, simply depended upon the theme of the painting or sculpture: If religious (sacred) – they were Cherubs. If secular or mythic (profane) – they were Putti.
"In either case, they'd be hard to pull off successfully today because most people are unaware of their roles in semiotics, or in philosophy/mythology/history, or in religion."[4] - from Wikipedia

Returning to the subject of this painting, Lillith was my first Putto. She came to the studio in April and has been wearing pink ever since. There are about a dozen Putti now, each with his or her own peculiar look. I like to think of them as "little personalities", almost a natural progression from depicting characterful Venetian Masks (the comedy, the tragedy, the plague doctor, the jolly, etc..). Every so often they make their way into one of my paintings and play a kind of supporting role if you will. In this case however I felt like making a small painting focusing on a Putto.

There are several things I really like about this painting. The first is Lillith's subtle gesture in reaching for the cake. Her ponderous and overlarge foot sticks out in a comic way, typical of her kind. She is dressed in Victorian finery but there is the wild, untamed spirit inherent in her species. Caravaggio did a few paintings like this in his early 20's (see "Boy with a Basket of Fruit, and "Boy Bitten by a Lizard"). In both these paintings we see a youth placed before opulence, sporting a dreamy face, often with a hint of danger lurking in the dark.

I deliberately painted a floral tapestry in background to contrast with the live peonies that bloom in the glass vase; the 2D contrasting the 3D. I wanted it to look almost as if the peonies were emerging from the tapestry itself. Pink is definitely the dominating color of this painting as seen in the pink the dress, flowers, and cake icing. This sounds obvious, but is notable because this painting is fraught with detail. It is practically a frothy explosion of pink and white! All these folds of drapery, twists and turns of embroidery, layers of petals, these are all things which could completely override a painting and yet it sits reasonably well together.

This painting (24x 24) is also a perfect square. I have been toying with this unusual format lately. It really lends solidity to a work and gives off a sense of calm and matter of fact neatness. Lillith's compact stature undoubtedly lends itself well to this cropping.

Detail of the foot and cake.

Self Portrait

2012-01-01T17:15:00.001-08:00

This is a very recent work, it is oil on canvas and painted approximately life size. This is the third in a series of dressed up, courtly self portraits. This one has more of the flair of the jester to it. It is also kind of a blend of the carnival and vanitas themes.

Detail of Self Portrait

"Girl in Blue"

This was one of the first paintings that I did in the blue theme. I think a lot of it had to do with my change of studio and location in 2010. With the new studio I had to choose a new wall color, so I went for a blue/gray. Consequently a lot of my paintings ended up having blue backgrounds. With the change of location I also began the exciting task of finding all new studio props, which was a lot of fun. I gravitated to Baroque, Victorian, and just a lot of old world things. Part of this was idealistic on my part, I just like the way those things looked. More of it was due to the fact that many of the painters I admire came from those periods, and through my travels and 5 years of studying in Europe I came to accumulate a lot of ideas about this in my mind. All this time in the studio I feel like I have been revisiting them and trying to incorporate them into my work.

"Girl in Blue"

First painting with the powdered Rococco wig.

Portrait of Three Children

2011-12-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

This is the portrait of the three children, it is the finished version. Previously I showed the "study" version that was painting a bit more fluidly and did mainly in brown with some limited color. In this version I have incorporated many extra elements. There are pink, blue, and purple hydrangeas from the garden of the family. These I paired with matching drapery ( I actually went to the fabric store with some samples of the plant in my hand in order to get the right match!). By doing this I achieved a more cohesive painting and was able to tie the foreground and background together.

In addition the children are posed in different attitudes (such as the reclining boy), giving the painting more of a dynamic sweep. This helps to balance their relatively passive and more withdrawn poses and keeps the composition from looking too still.

In the background you can see some very old blocks. These were also belonging to the family. I am not sure where they came from, but the scenes on the blocks reminded me a lot of Aesop's Fables and other children's rhymes and morality tales which were popular in the 19th century and would have been illustrated by an artist like Gustave Dore.

A closeup of the blocks! I was very happy while working on this painting. The three children made great subjects, and in addition this is one of the rare paintings where I used objects almost entirely from the sitters' household. In other words they owned things that matched my vision very closely, and I did not feel that I needed to supplement the portrait in any way with my own wardrobe or still life collection. Another example of this happening would be the portrait of Kazumi, in which she provided the kimono and music score. When things like this happen I consider myself fortunate because I have a chance to expand my vision and the content of my portfolio a bit more. I get to paint things I would not necessarily have thought of looking for myself.

Some Fun

2011-12-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

These are two paintings that I have been working on recently, the one of the left being the most recent. In this photo I have just stood them up next to each other; it is the end of the day and I am just looking and studying how the work is going so far. It just so happens that I chose the paintings of Lucifer, Unrepentant (bottom left) and God visiting the Garden of Eden, (bottom right). These reflect my recent interest in drawing from long established lore, myths, and religion for subject matter. I had been reading Milton's "Paradise Lost".

Aside from the coincidence of putting the only two rivals in the studio together, I was also trying to compare the two distinct painting styles. In Lucifer I was trying to go for more motion, and used the same rough herringbone weave canvas as I did for the three children painting. I felt that painting had been somewhat successful and had also recieved positive feedback on it. I was also in the mood to go back to my Florence Academy/Odd Nerdrum roots, and use a muted palette. So in this new painting you can probably tell that I did not match the hue or chromas of those flowers, for example.

Closeup of "Unrepentant". I was trying to capture the fallen angel look; the resentment, malice, and wind! There is a small whirlwind beginning to take shape here.

So there they are. I just want to say that one of the most important things in painting is standing back away from you work and really considering it. There are a lot of decisions to be made about handling of paint, the editing and adding of details, and above all the consulting of relevant old master paintings. For each project I usually have someone in mind. Next week I will follow up on the finished three children painting, and later to get back to the fallen angel (with progress shots of each stage!)

Preview of one of next week's subjects, the much respected and admired Brown Teddy. He has returned home at last after the putti and I gave him a fond farewell.

Completed and framed oil sketch

2011-12-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

This is a painting I recently finished. I chose a rough brown frame for it because I felt it reflected the free manner in which the painting was done. This was actually a study for a final and larger work, which was done in full color and detail with the same group of children. When you see it next week you will also notice the more ornate, "finished" look of its the frame.

I like to think of this painting as more of a character study, in which I was more concerned with capturing the movement and essentials of the subjects, and less interested in the clothing, setting, or any other anecdotal props. All of these things however are very charming, and I look forward to showing you them in the final piece.

Detail of the hands. You can see the broad way in which they were treated. I like to let things fade off. What you are seeing here is the early stage of the painting process. I did not rework it because I wanted to keep it in line with the idea of a sketch. To finish it would have lost spontaneity.

Close-up of the faces. If you want to see the process from start to finish, you can look at this related post.

This painting is oil on linen (Herring-bone weave), 33 x 24 in.

Open Studio Party

2011-12-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend we had an informal studio show! You can view more of the pictures here. Basically I gathered as many people who had played a role in the making of my paintings, served some wine, and arranged all variety of tea and party food along a flower strewn banquet table. Both finished paintings and works in progress were on view,as well as some of my studio props. It was a lot of fun to do.

New addition to the Sleepwalker frame

2011-11-26T16:23:00.001-08:00

After two days of painting I finished another decoration for the "Sleepwalker" painting's frame (which you can read more about here). This brings the total of "margin putti" up to three, with about 5 more to go plus some random objects. After working on a still life and a few portraits for the past few weeks I found it quite refreshing to work on another putto.

This one, named Viola, is painted in a very graphic, trompe l'oeil manner; which is a bit of a deviation from my usual technique where I try to achieve a lot of atmosphere with lost and found edges. In this quick painting most of the edges pop out, and the lack of a background makes one feel as if the doll could be removed entirely from the frame.

This putto rests at about eye level at the moment because the frame is resting on the floor. When it is mounted on a wall Viola will be well above average eye level, and so I have tried to figure this in by incorporating perspective into the drawing. Her head should appear slightly as though we were looking up at her. In addition I have taken care to make all of the shadows on the putti match each other, imitating a ceiling or high window lighting source.

Detail. Brown Teddy also features for the first time on this blog! You will be seeing a lot more of him... Basically he is a very cherished family heirloom, belonging to the father of three children I am painting somewhere else. He is a very nice, classic, English teddy with a lot of character so I love painting him. Viola adores him too.

All of my putti have bare feet.

Book Recommendations

2011-11-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would share with you a couple of my favorite books. These are three new acquisitions, and if you like them you can also look at my first and second book posts. I picked these three I am about to show you out of the bookstore in the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.). They really grabbed me as "must haves"; very inspirational and unusual you will find that they are somewhat dark too). In addition I am using them as travel guides and points of interest to visit on my next trip to Europe.

(Detail from the book, an illustration of the staircase of the ages of man)
The first book is called "The Print in Early Modern England, An Historical Oversight" by Malcolm Jones. It features beautiful and intricate prints from 16th and 17th century England. They deal with topics such as religion, morality, prophecy, English civil war, political and religious satire, social criticism and gender roles, punishments, deformities, and jokes.

Another book detail.

This second book is called "The Triumph of Death, a Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses" by Paul Koudounaris. I have only been to one of these in my life, the Cappuchin Crypt in Rome, and I think that one visit in this life is enough. However the book just looked fascinating!

These ossuaries could be very elaborate sometimes with the more famous ones (shown in this book) containing some several hundred skeletons, all used to build domed interiors, chandeliers, and walls and other sorts of baroque decorations. Charnel houses are very out of fashion these days and misunderstood (they were a 1600-1800's thing), and this book seeks to explain them to the modern reader. It includes a very good introduction which goes into the history and usage of these interesting and antiquated religious places.

The book also contains a handy map of Europe, Mexico, and South America with dots labeling the location of each Ossuary. And these are only the larger, more famous ones. There are more, and many which were destroyed and exist only in photograph and memory.

One of the more elaborate ones from the Czech Republic. I love how from far away these look like typical Baroque decorations, but up close they are really clavicles, pelvic bones, and femurs, etc. I also like how in some places the bones are incorporated with fresco and sculpture.

Alan dosing on the tea table. He hasn't quite woken up yet.

Page featuring an Italian ossuary.

Alan and Lillith page turning.

Lastly this is another huge book, "Carved Splendor, Late Gothic Altarpieces in Southern Germany, Austria, and South Tirol". It is by Rainer Kahsnitz, with photographs by Achim Bunz.

I am already very fond of the woodcarvings of Grinling Gibbons so when I saw this my eyes really lit up. There are incredible photos in here of immense, carved wooden altarpieces containing sculpted figures of saints and paintings of the bible. The craftsmanship in here in incredible, intricate, and all of it done with small figures linked together into large scale masterpieces. These are definitely cathedrals that I will be seeking out and studying up close.

We Apologize

2011-11-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

The Putti are zonked out. They have been working hard in the studio to meet deadlines and have thus ran out of energy. Blog writing will resume tomorrow.

Sleepwalker

2011-11-10T16:35:00.001-08:00

This is the new painting Sleepwalker, which I mentioned in my latest post. It is fairly large at 42 by 7o inches(canvas size only), and is also one of my first multiple figure compositions. I have been working my way slowly to first larger paintings (which actually feel more natural) and to more complex works as well. Another thing about this painting is that it heralds a new series of work in which I will focus on the motif of dolls, and the making of them. You may have already noticed my interest in creating small ones.

This is a more dreamlike, surreal painting than what I have done before. I wanted to give the feeling that the figures were dancing, and yet somehow not quite there at the same time. The one in the foreground has gone inert, like a marionette, while the one in the back directs their motions.

In keeping with the theme of dreams and sleep, I have arranged and drawn studies of side figures to go all around the frame. You can see one of the arrangements above, featuring sleeping putti, pastries, and a teddy bear.

In the image above the frame has been primed, and I am deciding what imagery I want in the frame and where. After several of these preparatory drawing are made, I transfer them section by section onto tracing paper, and tape them in the place in an organized manner. Charcoal has been applied to the back of the tracing paper so that all one need do is re-trace the drawing with a fine point to transfer the design to the frame. This is a technique I learned while studying in the Florence Academies; we used to transfer our drawings to canvas this way.

Here you can see that two of the drawings have been transferred and painted in with oil paint. The effect I am going for is a Tromp L'oeil, or eye popping effect. It is a lot more decorative, exaggerated, and moreover on the ornamental side so as not to compete with the main image. I made the frame wide, simple, and white to further emphasize the space of the painting within. While Sleepwalker is dark and gloomy, the white of the frame brings out some of the lights such as those found on the girl's dress and hat. The ornamental putti also act as supportive elements in that they mimic the poses of the dancers. They are candy colored as well and serve to lighten the overall effect of the piece. Their dress style mimics that of the girl, and the frilly child's Victorian wardrobe adds charm and more of the "sleepy Alice in Wonderland surreal character" to the whole vision.

Anyway this is a good start. There are many more putti and ornamental figures to paint in around the frame. Not to mention the painting itself, which needs a lot of work. I just wanted to show you this at different stages so as to give you a better understanding of how I work.

Detail of Orlando Furioso

Detail from left- This guy is floating upside down. My inspiration for this may have been Alice when she goes down the rabbit hole. In every version of the story you have a wonderful assortment of falling objects, twisting and turning in the air. These are going in slow motion.

James Portrait Framed & More Studio Putti

2011-11-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

I finished a new portrait and framed it. A studio helper slumbers below, they are surprisingly unhelpful given their talents. A life size, multi-figure work behind me; there is no more empty wall space in here, I feel part of the paintings myself these days.

James is one of my smaller, non life-size portraits. I think he came out really well. This was painted on panel for a change instead of canvas. You can learn more about him from my September post on him.

The big, new painting in progress behind me is called "Sleepwalker", and you can even see the tracing paper taped up there which I am using to transfer drawings onto the frame. It is going to be a very wide frame full of hand-painted illustrations, maybe a little like Gustave Klimpt?

You can already see one of the finished sections of the frame in the lower right hand corner of the picture. I don't work up these "ornamental" paintings as much as my main painting, but instead go for more of a trompe-l'oeil effect. Even so each little guy takes about 2-3 days each to complete. I will show you the frame and painting later, but it really feels as if you could reach out and grasp his hand or little feet.

"James" Oil on Canvas, 2011, 18 x 24 in.
A studio Putto slumbers. You may already know who these guys are from my last "Morella" post. They are a relatively new addition to the studio.

Alan in polka dots, Orlando the Furious painted on the right. Orlando is painted in oil on gessoed pine wood. It will be sort of half frame/half painting in its own right when I finish with it.
They are supposed to model and be helpful, kind of like apprentices, but they fall asleep on the job a lot.

Introducing... Morella!

2011-10-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

I think it is time to introduce one of my latest projects- Putti! For a few months now I have been building these doll-creatures, so that they may brighten up the studio and serve as my models.

This is one is named Morella. She was the second I ever made, and is famous around here for her poignant, "ply me with luxury but you still can't make me happy" demeanor, and also her watery blue eyed gaze. So far I have only shown you two of my "putto" paintings; the one sitting on God's lap, and another eating cake (both of which can be seen below). In total they feature in some 5 works in progress at the moment.

I am not sure why I like them so much. For one thing they were a major staple in Renaissance and Baroque painting. They were even to be seen in a lot of 19th century art, some even coming into the early 20th century in Gibson's etchings. For some reason we have lost interest in these charming little creatures, these immortal souls which can embody so much joviality. For example it is very amusing to pass by tapestries in the National Gallery, a serious one perhaps of "The Deposition", only to discover Putti gamboling about on stilts and pulling all types of pranks in the margins. I like to think of them as "little personalities", such as those found in my Venetian Carnivale mask collection, where you have the tragedy and comedy, the Pulcinello and the Bauta, the Jolly and the Doctor of the Plague.

I work quite hard on making them and endowing each with it's own dress and unique look. There will be posts following up on this which go into the details of making and painting a Putto doll, for the art deserves several articles in its own right.

Morella posing in front of "Book of Genesis".

What are Putti? Putto is the Italian singular noun for kid, or child. This slang term must have been coined somewhere during the Renaissance when they were in such high demand, and the term kind of stuck. You could also say cherub. You find them in all types of art, from Michelangelo, Rubens, Bernini, to Caravaggio and Fragonard. Once I became aware of the fact I wanted to make my own, I began noticing them everywhere... In parks, fountains, churches, and just about every room in an art museum.

One may observe the delicate painting around Morella's face. Her name also comes from an Edgar Allen Poe story.

The Mill and the Cross

2011-10-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Pieter Bruegel's "The Way to Calvary"

Last night I went out to see a film called "The Mill and the Cross", by Polish Filmmaker Lech Majewski. I thought that the imagery of the film was incredibly well made and something that artists would be particularly interested in. The whole thing was lit in the same manner in which a painter would light and paint his subjects.

In the first half of the film the daily lives of peasants, millers, and townsfolk are reenacted; their actions and costume coming straight out of Brueghel's painting, which was set in Flanders in 1564. In some scenes the real life forest background is actually replaced with the painting itself. This happens almost seamlessly.

The themes of Christ's suffering and of religious persecution in Flanders are examined. Periodically scenes of tranquility are punctuated with physical acts of violence and the audience is treated to a wide array of punishment and execution. Throughout all of this the iconic mill is present; either heard, felt, or seen in some way. The miller looks down on mankind like a stern, disapproving god and the mill continues to grind man's fate (according to Brueghel in one of the scenes where he is describing his painting).

I went to see this at E Street Cinema in Washington, D.C.

Paint From the Dawn of Humanity

2011-10-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

South African cave yields paint from dawn of humanity

The Washington Post

A hundred thousand years ago, not long after Homo sapiens emerged as a species, a craftsman — or woman — sat in a cave overlooking the Indian Ocean, crushed a soft rusty red rock, mixed it inside a shell with charcoal and animal marrow, and dabbed it on something — maybe a face, maybe a wall.
Before the person left, he or she stacked the shell and grindstones in a neat pile, where they lay undisturbed for a hundred millennia.
Unearthed in 2008 and described Friday in the journal Science, these paint “tool kits,” researchers say, push deeper into human history the evidence for artistic impulses and complex, planned behavior. Previously, the oldest evidence of ochre paint was found at another site in South Africa dated to about 60,000 years ago.
“They probably understood basic chemistry,” said Christopher Henshilwood, the archaeologist who led the discovery team.
Traces of paint on the tools show that the cave-dwellers mixed ochre — red or yellow minerals that contain metal oxides — with bone marrow, charcoal, flecks of quartz, and a liquid, probably water. Paint experts at the Louvre in Paris performed the analysis.
With ground ochre as the base, the marrow and charcoal acted as binders. The quartz could have made the compound sticky, with water — in the right amount — providing the proper consistency.
This deliberate mixture “implies that people at the time had complex cognition,” said Lyn Wadley, an archaeologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Wadley studies early ochre paint but was not involved in the research. “They could . . . multitask and think in abstract terms,” Wadley said.
The cave, called Blombos, sits in a cliff on the coast of South Africa about 180 miles east of Cape Town. It shows signs of human use starting 130,000 years ago. Protected from wind and rain and close to seafood, antelope and other game, the cave apparently made for an inviting stopover for wave after wave of nomadic hunter-gatherers.
Henshilwood, who splits his time between the University of Bergen in Norway and Witwatersrand, began excavating Blombos in 1992, digging through layers of animal bones, crustacean shells and other evidence of occupation during the Paleolithic, or Stone Age.
But the deepest layer, which the team reached in 2008, was different. Instead of scattered remains, two tidy “tool kits” emerged, covered by sand. Both included fist-size abalone shells and lay in neat piles.
In one kit, a round stone sat inside the shell. Six other grinding or pounding stones were arrayed around the shell and were probably used to smash the ochre. A small slab — a grinding stone — rested on top of the assemblage. A shoulder blade from a seal revealed evidence of heating and marrow extraction, and paint at the end of a thin forearm bone from a dog or a wolf showed that it was used to spread the paint, Henshilwood said.
Ochre comes in colors from mellow yellow to raging red. Whoever made the ancient paint selected only the brightest of reds.
“It could’ve been ornamental,” Henshilwood said. Even today, groups in southern Africa paint their faces and torsos with ochre to identify which group they belong to or whether they’re married. Ochre paint can also serve as a sunscreen and an insect repellant.
For whatever reasons the paint was made, early humans had a fondness for ochre. “Nearly all” South African sites from the Paleolithic show ochre, and it has been found at ancient sites in the Middle East and Europe, Henshilwood said. But all of those finds are tens of thousands of years younger than the Blombos paint kits.
The discovery adds to other early artistic treasures at Blombos, including 49 beads smeared with ochre and large pieces of ochre inscribed with cross-hatch patterns that date to 77,000 years ago — widely recognized as the oldest known art.
The cave walls show no paintings, but quickly accreting limestone would have obscured any obvious signs, Henshilwood said.
He plans to return with lights that can detect traces of ochre paint. If he finds any on the walls, it would push deeper into the past solid evidence of the human artistic impulse. The oldest known cave paintings, in France, are about 35,000 years old.

By Brian Vastag,

The Washington Post

Back in the Studio!

2011-10-16T19:52:00.001-07:00

After a trip to New York City I am finally back to the studio! This is a picture of what one might see upon returning; the welcoming paraphernalia of an artist's collection. And of course, tea. This morning I was all full of energy and got straight back to work on my painting of the previous week, featured below. While I was painting however, I pondered what new piece to write about.

This is a the third and final installment to my Plague Mask series! This painting, while lacking flowers, is going to be a little more special because it has a specially designed frame. After many visits to the National Gallery in D.C., Pulcinello and I drafted up a design to fit this austere painting. This wooden frame is based on classical and baroque tradition.

It is still in the making however; the wood will be painted a dark blue, and covered in repetitive ornamental "grotesques". Grotesques are creatures from mythology, like satyrs, nymphs, centaurs, gargoyles, etc. These will be painting in yellow/gold. Ornamental sculpture will also be added to the frame, but in relief on the sides and full free standing figures on the top. So you can see it has a long way to yet!

Still working up the painting too.

Exciting new painting

2011-10-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots of a new painting I am working on. They were taken from the easel after another days work. This painting has been obsessing me all week!

A brief post, that's all for now. I will show you the full thing in a few days along with some paragraphs perhaps.

James Portrait

2011-09-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

"James" 18 x 24 in, oil on panel

This is another new portrait in oils. This portrait commission is smaller than my usual subjects; the painting is only 18x24 in. Usually I prefer to work life size, but in this case the painting stands out all the better. By concentrating the whole subject it has gained in intensity.

The painting was inspired by a Michel Sittow portrait from the National Gallery of Art in D.C. James, my sitter, had seen it many times and admired it. Therefore it was partly for this reason that we went for the smaller size and used panel instead of canvas. The panel really allowed me to get into all of the detail.

In a way this painting was also coincidentally related to a Salvador Dali painting, the "Sacrament of the Last Supper". While choosing to robe James partially in yellow he came out looking a lot like the third figure to the right of Jesus. He found this quite fitting for he said that he had wanted to be portrayed in a repentent attitude. In any case I was going for a very contemplative mood. Other notes of interest may be that the object James is holding in his right hand is a Dorje, a ritual and significant symbol of Buddhism.

Last week to see Shirlington Exhibit

2011-09-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

This is just a reminder that my Exhibit at the Shirlington Library will be coming down this Friday, September 30th. Thanks for everyone who visited and left nice comments!

Time Lapse Portrait

2011-09-21T18:28:00.001-07:00

I've put together a brief time lapse demo to illustrate the way I approach an oil study. This particular piece was begun in preparation for a final portrait of three children. My focus here was mainly in getting a feel for their liveliness and temperaments. As this is one of my first visual examples of technique on this blog, I will let this images speak more for once and keep writing to a minimum. I will chip in from time to time to mention materials.

Initial lay in done in raw umber thinned with turpentine. I am painting on a Herringbone weave canvas, the roughest type I own.

Heightening the drawing with white. Painting pretty much the way I feel, no particular order. With studies time is often short.

Introducing color. Limited palette, mostly Titanium white, Raw Umber, Venetian Red, and Yellow ochre.

I made the arm of the boy on the right more gracefull.

That's is so far. Next I will work on the boy on the left.

Self Portrait, Work in Progress

2011-09-13T15:42:00.001-07:00

This is a new portrait that I am working on. I am using the white wig, Walter (the skull), stripes, and the cakes and flowers again because I like to maintain a sense of continuity in my work. It is nice to be able to look around the walls of the studio and see recurring images, playing hide and seek. In some paintings these objects play dominant roles, in others they are more subdued.

Detail of the head.

You can see a slightly more patchy handling of the colors here, as the work is still in its middle stage.

A "Drop" Still Life in the style of Grinling Gibbons

2011-09-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

"Still Life with Fruit", 24 x 40 in, oil on canvas

This is a newly completed still life centering around the fruit theme. It was intended for a spot in a dining room, where it could serve as both decoration and "conversation piece". The inspiration for this painting came from the wood carving of the great Grinling Gibbons.

Born in 1648, Gibbons worked in England and decorated many impressive buildings including Windsor Castle and St. Paul's Cathedral. To this day he is regarded as one of the best wood carvers of all time. His work output was as enormous as it was impressive. He managed this by his firm management of apprentices and his genius for wood carving.

He was famous for the depth and relief of his carvings, pushing the craft beyond what others had achieved.

Although his carvings look like one solid piece of wood he actually used layers. In one of my books "Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving" by David Esterly, it says he used as many as three. This helped to achieve the depth.

Many of his carvings served as frames for paintings. In such cases there were two important sections: the "overmantel" which sat on top; and the "Drop". The overmantel often bore a large crest or coat or arms in its center. A drop hung on either side of the painting and usually featured suspended fruit, weapons, game animals, mythical acanthus leaves, beans, etc...

One of my favorite things about Grinling Gibbons' work is his use of asymmetry. He was able to free himself of tiresome repetition of form by employing a design of symmetrical grouping. He then carved complementary ornaments within each group. This made his work full of life and always surprising.

Going back to my still life, you can see that I have employed the drop element which lends itself nicely to a vertical composition. Only instead of lime wood, my still life is rendered in oil paint. Another feature which I borrowed from Grinling Gibbons is the pure ornamental spirit found in all his work. The objects in this painting are lovingly rendered from a deep interest in nature, yet they do not necessarily bear a message to the viewer. The work of Grinling Gibbons was primarily meant to delight the eye.

New Work in Progress!

2011-08-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

This is the painting on my easel as of this moment. I thought I would share it with you just because I am very excited about it. As you know I have done a lot of figure painting before (coming from an Atelier this is kind of difficult to avoid), however I have never had the chance to paint body art! This has been really fun; a little like a mix between portraiture and copying. Only instead of copying a flat canvas this design has the added interest of wrapping around someone's form. The lights are achieved not by adding lighter pigments, but rather by using the flesh as a canvas and leaving it bare in the necessary areas.

In addition I am really fond of the "tree house" design, the bark is really fascinating and well drawn and the whole thing reminds me of Tim Burton, what with the red and white striped awning, and the litte teddy bear poking his head out of one of the windows (which you cannot see from here).

The whole idea of painting someone with a tattoo is grounded by the strong classical composition. To be precise, the pose was derived from one of Michelangelo's "Ignudi" from the cieling on the Sistine Chapel, in Rome. The lighting is also very stark and handled using Chiaroscuro, the way I prefer it. It lends a lot of gravity to subjects like this.

I will be posting more closeups and information on this painting as it develops. Most of the elements are there, it is now a matter of pushing some areas in or out of focus and turning form, as well as continuing to work the drawing.

Painting Exhibition Coming Up

2011-08-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

I will be having an exhibition in Shirlington this September. On display will include a selection of drawings and paintings. The show will run September 2 to the end of the month.

Where:
Shirlington Public Library
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, Virginia 22206
(703) 228-6545

Hours and Directions:
http://shirlingtonlibraryarlingtonva.blogspot.com/

So please stop by if you are in the area! The works will be for sale, with 20% of sales going to benefit the Friends of the Arlington Public Library. Although this is my third Library Exhibit I have never shown in Shirlington before. I was lucky enough to be invited by Diane Bishop! I was very pleased to visit the area and delighted in the many bakeries and out door cafes I saw along the way.

Norwegian Painter Odd Nerdrum Sentenced to Jail

2011-08-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

I know this has come as a shock to many of his fans; among painters and art lovers alike Nerdum's images run deep. He has done untold good for the art world by becoming an unshakable icon of good painting and in addition his generosity as a teacher/mentor is renown.

In light of recent events I have compiled a list of articles about this story to spread awareness. You can help too by contacting people you may know.

"Controversy Follows Imprisonment of Odd Nerdrum" - Richard T Scott

"War Report" - Turid Spildo

"Artist Odd Nerdrum Sentenced to Jail" - Views and News from Norway

"Artist Can't Paint in Prison" - Views and News from Norway

There is current an I Petition you can sign if you feel the artist should be dealt with more fairly!

Sign the I Petition to Free Odd Nerdrum!

My work on on the cover of Elan Magazine! Plus an interview.

2011-08-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks Natalia, Jean, and Alice!

Closeups of Mancini's "Il Saltimbanco" painting

2011-08-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

I took a few pictures of Antonio Mancini's "Il Saltimbanco", in the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art. A real "Painter's Painter", I have come to realize that Mancini has a near cult following amongst artists! This painting in particular is one that those lucky enough to view it love explaining to others in fine detail. The tricky thing is that Mancini didn't really paint with what I would call detail. Instead he employed a lively, manic, genius, and seemingly random use of impasto and aggressive lines.

He is hard to follow, but the amazing thing about his paintings is that when you stand back everything resolves itself beautifully. Below I have included a number of "detail" shots for those of you who are interested in seeing his technique up close. These were taken with a simple digital camera, but are instructive nevertheless.

The flower wreath, look at that yellow paint!

The highlights were just lathered on there, reminding me of the saying concerning Rembrant: "You could pick one of his portraits up by the nose".

I like how he isolates a few feathers to be impasto.

There was some subtle blending going on in the leg. Another interesting thing about the leg is that the outline is very sharp. It looks like he scraped away some of the background paint to delineate the contours of the limbs.

I thought I could see traces of graphite from where he sketched out the geometrical patterning onto the background.

ARC Chairman's Choice Award, 2011

2011-08-07T14:26:00.001-07:00

My painting "Mancini Fiddler" was among the Finalists in the figurative category in the Art Renewal Center's Annual Salon!

And "Father Time" was award the Chairman's Choice Award.

There were a lot of great entries this year and I enjoyed viewing them all. I would also like to thank the ARC, in previous years I was among the Finalists in the Salon but this is the fist time I have received a Chairman's award. In addition they were really great in granted me two scholarships in 2008 and 2009, to help me continue my studies at the Angel Academy.

"Kazumi" Portrait, Framed!

2011-07-31T19:04:00.000-07:00

"Kazumi", Oil on Canvas, 45 x 66 in

"Kazumi" is one of the larger portraits I have painted. It is life size. Recently it was completed with the finishing touch of a dark black frame with gold inside bordering. If you look closely you can see that we chose a floral/leaf patterned moulding to echo the roses in the background of the painting, and indeed on the rug and kimono too. However the beautiful somberness of the frame reinforces the sincerity of the painting as well as the confident nature of the sitter. If you would like to learn more about the process of this painting, you may look at this related post.

Closeup of the face.

One of the things I really like about this painting is the strong pyramid effect that the shape of the kimono lends to the figure. It helps to draw the eye up to the face, the most important part of the piece.

Detail of the flowers and hand.

Featured in both American Art Collector Magazine and International Artist

2011-07-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

There are two magazines you may be interested in checking out if you want to gain some new insights into portraiture, or read about the results of the 13th Annual Portrait Society of America. These two articles from American Art Collector and International Artist feature many winning paintings and interviews with the artists who made them.

This is a page from American Art Collector, issue 70.

From International Artist, issue 80.

My painting "Father Time", 2nd Place.

Lumen Picturae - A classical drawing manual

2011-07-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

I was visiting the National Gallery in D.C. and happened to come across this anatomy book in the underground bookstore. It intrigued me because of the time of its first publication during the 17th century in Amsterdam. Frederick de Wit, its author, came from a family of engravers who were known around the world for the sophistication on their publications. This book was a rare, though highly sought after drawing manual which artists poured over.

In addition its being useful as an anatomy source, I found its aims intriguing because it claimed to instruct the artist in correct classical proportions. These were derived from the Greeks; a product between "mathematical, modular, and proportional measurements" (pg. 10, introduction). Many painters today express themselves and their times through the vehicle of naturalism, on the whole having divorced themselves of these old canons. Even the classically trained ones, such as myself, hardly look to mannerism in the practical sense (instead books such as Richer, and Goldfinger come to mind). Thus such manuals are hard to come accross, and are all the more fascinating.

Chapter four features mythological and biblical figures, with the clothes and the accessories appropriate for each, along with details of setting, event, and time period.

Studies of the figure...
and hands...

One of the fountains in the west West Wing.

Still Life With Cattle Skull

2011-07-12T05:55:00.001-07:00

"Still Life with Cattle Skull" 38 x 64 in. More info.

This is one of the new larger format still lifes I have been experimenting with lately. This landscape-formatted painting is so large that it has been divided into several groupings instead of one. These three groups; the tea pot and striped saucer; the skull and assorted roses; and the striped pot on the left with the yellow roses, form a steelyard composition.

A steelyard is like a seesaw or teeter-totter, in which the painter tries to make two seemingly unequal sides balance. In this case I have given the small green and white stripe tea pot enough heft to balance out all the other items in the painting by making the roses in front of it the only color anomaly- bright yellow. Everything else confines itself in this piece to muted purple, pink and cream, all set against a dark background.

Details

Cow's teeth

Yellow roses

Surface on tea pot

Self Portrait in Blue

2011-07-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Another piece draws to a close! Above is featured my new "Self Portrait in Blue". It is another painting in the vein of "Girl in Blue". This painting is more intimate because of its closer and simpler arrangement. It was a lot of fun to work on and I think it came out very elegantly. Though a self portrait, this work was commissioned. The idea for the pose was a mix between capturing the spirit of "Girl in Blue" and drawn from the Raphael in the National Gallery of D.C., "Bindo Altoviti"

Some people have noticed my working in blue a lot lately. Part of this I credit to my new studio, which I moved into 1 year ago. The first thing I did after clearing out a space in which to work was choose a suitable color for the walls. Walls are very important in a working artists studio, for as you can see they imbue a painting significantly with their hue. In the past I have worked between green walls, and dark red. The green had the advantage of helping you turn form by finding subtle green hues in all of your halftones. These are almost always cool, and are essential in turning the lights into the shadows. If you can add a change of hue as well as tone then you are ahead; form can often be turned by only a hue shift. For an example just take a look at Peter Paul Rubens.

In my second studio the red walls were chosen to imbue the shadows with extra warmth. Of course cloth backdrops may be added to achieve any background color one desires, however there is not much you can do about the atmosphere/overall wall coloring which pervades all. It is for this reason that most representational painters make their walls a useful tone and hue, rather than leaving them blinding white. To wrap this background discussion up, I chose a grey/blue for my studio because I wanted a relaxing color on the eyes and mind as well as something that could occasionally double up as a background.

"Self Portrait in Blue" Oil on Canvas, 41in x 33in

A closer look at the stuff on top of the armoire. Two wild boars, a coyote, dry flowers and a small work in progress.

Abdul Portrait Finished

2011-06-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

"Abdul" Oil on Canvas, 33 X 46 inches

This is one of my recently delivered portrait commissions. My sitter Abdul, who is really an economist, wanted to be portrayed as a Buddhist monk. I took to this idea immediately after he gave me a quick familiarization with the type of pose and robes monks wore. We decided on a red one over orange; this was for the most part an aesthetic choice on my part because I like that color. The red robe was paired nicely with a cool grey wall/background. This had the advantage heightening the chroma/brightness of the robe while make Abdul's silhouette pop out and grab the viewers attention as well.

The close symmetry of this pose was something that attracted me as well. I am a naturalist painter, so the type of strict symmetry typified in Medieval and Byzantine art is not something I aim for directly. However I delight in achieving almost perfect symmetry. I feel this gives an added gravitas and solemnity to the work, without robbing it of any vitality. To me, images like these lurk with a subtle, simmering power.

Part of the way in which I achieved this balance was in the variety of contours and placements of pairs. Take the shoulders for example: the robe hangs on his left shoulder yet leaves the right one bare. His hands are also at a slight tilt. Because of perspective one arm of the chair is higher than the other. The shadows fall on the left side of the figure. Even the negative spaces are uneven.

When it came to the placement of the figure itself, I chose to place Abdul lower on the canvas (or in other words, added extra background above his head). This cropping is the very opposite of that of someone who dominates his space. Rather, Abdul exists peacefully and in harmony within it. His closed eyes and still posture add to the contemplative, quiet mood of the painting.

Lastly, the painting was finished off with a dark wooden frame. For such a light background a lower value frame was very suited. In addition wood seemed less "showy" and more in harmony with the message of the painting. From the selection of wood I made sure to choose a finish that complemented the chair Abdul was sitting in.

As I said before in my last post on Abdul, both he and his family were wonderful to work with. His wife actually read to us while he sat cross legged on the model stand, so in a way he wasn't posing so much as he was meditating!

New Studio Sign & The Garden

2011-06-25T07:10:00.001-07:00

I thought I would include a few pictures of the area surrounding where I work. When not in D.C. or in the studio I usually come outside to take breaks, especially when the weather is nice. The flowers at this time of year are also something to get a little inspiration from for my paintings. The truth is I have also missed the Rotunda Floral arrangements at the National Gallery (they don't make them in summer) so I thought I would add some color to the blog another way.

The new studio sign in the shape of a palette; Pulicinello modeled after one of mine and I added the pools of paint. It is actually quite accurate!

The trail of color leading up to the building.

Pink Hydrangea.

Secret Garden.

Spooky.

Farewell Party for Mancini Fiddler Painting

2011-06-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

The performers take a bow the night before my 2nd largest painting yet, "Mancini Fiddler" is sent off to its new home. I hope it makes the new owner as happy as it has made us here! Ava (at left), is the subject of this painting and made for a very lively model. Pulcinello, at right, built the entire frame himself from specifications we based on classical architecture.

"Mancini Fiddler" oil on canvas, 2010.
62 x 92 in.

This painting was featured earlier in this post, where you can learn about how it was conceived of as well as some of my inspiration and process.

There is now an empty space in my studio, so consequently I am already drafting up plans for another large work which should be really exciting! I can distinctly remember my very first inspiration to make a painting, and my subsequent desire to be an artist; I was standing in a church in Rome looking at Caravaggio's "Calling of st. Matthew". Perhaps it sounds funny to say this but I felt as if I were being called to make huge paintings of my own. Shortly after that I began the slow journey to acquire the art of painting; enrolling at art academies in Florence, Italy, and working my way up from miniature pencil renderings to the larger scale oils I am carrying out now. I hope to keep growing, gradually introducing more figures and action into my compositions.

Values & the Shadow on the Wall

2011-06-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a current painting I am working on. While I do not qualify it as finished yet, it is nearing that stage. One of the things that jumps out at me is that I need to work on the cast shadow in the lower right hand side. In order for it to look a lot more shadow like (and less like some wall creature) some things are going to have to be adjusted; namely the value.

Now it is normal to lay sections of a painting in at the beginning, and then for them to need to be fixed at the end. This is the way in which I work, by circling in on the finish. As key areas get pushed further and further, little noticed details such as the shapes in the background must be refined in order to go with the new standards which recent passages have achieved.

Values are really key in painting. Every shape, area, or brushstroke assigns a value to itself or else the cohesion of the entire painting may fail. I feel like values are a big topic to get into, but I might as well start talking about them here. They can be broken up into your darks (shadows) lights, and the areas in between (transition values). You might imagine 9 scale value strip with white being at one end, and black at the other. When starting off I find it helpful to be mindful of each step on the scale and may even go so far as to premix a corresponding set of tones (of blue, for example) before painting. In this way form can be rendered and turned efficiently and succinctly. Finer adjustments in hue and value may be attempted afterwards.

Another method I use in judging value is to isolate my lightest light and my darkest dark by painting them in as soon as possible. I then find it easier to fill in the rest of the values, whereas if I wait too long to add my black I might end up making a picture too light overall. Since I desire tonal accuracy early on, I usual do not let myself get past this initial lay in stage and onto the rendering until correct values are achieved.

Yet another method I was taught in school: When it is all said and done just look at the painting and ask yourself, does it look round? Your eye can tell this, and after all values play a crucial part in the illusion of volume in your paintings. If you can't answer yes, then you might need to go reorganize you values.

Study of James

2011-06-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

This is a small painting I have been making of a friend. The colors on my palette are the usual ones, the same goes for the lighting and the mediums. The only difference is that this was painted with a little more freedom, daring, and speed. The model and I were also talking a bit, which is really fun.

I have not put this painting away yet, not at all. It will be interesting to see where it goes and how the background develops. The marks at the bottom of the canvas are where I have wiped my brush, or made plans for future elements such as the upper body.

I am actually working on a full version, in a much more refined style. However I find it really helpful to make side studies (such as this one) before and during the process of a portrait. I can use the new canvas as a lab in which to try out new colors, moods, and any other changes I am thinking of infusing into the first and final version. (Some details of the final). In the past I used to make drawing studies in mediums such as charcoal or trois crayons, however I am working more and more with oil sketches these days.

Completion of "Born During a Carnivale"

2011-05-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

It is always a fine day in this studio when a painting reaches its completion. We like to assemble to take pictures in order to show the outside world, while having some fun in doing it. Pulcinello (bottom right) has just finished mounting the painting into its Baroque style frame. I felt that this frame worked well, considering the amount of gold paint and bells which the masks sported.

A young boy named Francis is the subject of this portrait. He holds within his grasp several masks or identities, which he inspects. The flowers lend a festive note to the event of his birth into the great spectacle of life.

"Born During a Carnivale" Oil on canvas, 46 x 48 in.

Closeup of the Jester mask. These masks where all picked up during my last visit to Venice. I entered many shops.

The golden Nasone mask. Notice how gold leaf can be imitated within the picture plane using ordinary pigments, such as white, yellow ochre, ivory black, and venetian red.

Impressionistically painted playing cards.

Francis, the star of the painting.

Until next time, more to come on this one.

On seeing values part 1: Oiling in

2011-05-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Recently I was asked to give an explanation on judging values. I thought that an excellent place to begin was the concept of oiling in. Surprisingly, I often meet with much interest and a little confusion as to what this is.

Oiling in is basically the act of re-saturating the surface of a dry (to the touch) painting, thus enabling one to judge the previously painted values correctly. If you are making an "Alla Prima" or one day/session painting, then you just skip these intermediary steps, wait for the painting to dry, and then give it a coat of varnish. In the case of a longer work in which many layers are employed, oiling in is most often necessary. You may have heard of the term "sinking in" or at least experienced it, or heard of it. If not, sinking in is when the support of your painting (the canvas) gets thirsty and absorbs too much oil from your pigments. You know when sinking in happens because the surface of the painting becomes chalky, most noticeably in the darks, and especially black.

Sinking is another discussion in itself... It just happens most of the time, and chances are that if it does it has something to do with the way your support was prepared. Or perhaps you used too much mineral spirits in proportion to paint, or didn't wait for the previous layer of paint to dry thoroughly before applying another. In any case, if it has happened then it is already too late to prevent but the good news is it's no big deal.

This is the the type of "make up" sponge I use to oil in my works. The term oiling in is one I picked up in school, and have also heard of oiling out. I think they both amount to the same thing. I dip the sponge into my painting medium and apply it sparingly over the surface of the canvas. Sponges are excellent for this because they deposit just enough. Too much oil can be bad for the work, so that is why I like to stay clear of brushes when I do this.

Detail of a work in progress (James and Judas). I will be demonstrating how I go about oiling in and reworking an area of a painting.

You can see here that I have applied a dab of oil to the surface of the painting (top left). The newly saturated area has been given a new, full valued lustre, allowing us to judge the value correctly. Since this is what the paint will look like once it has been given a layer of final varnish, we want to work on the painting with that end result in mind. To work without this crucial step would be to set ourselves up for failure, having no chance of judging and applying the correct values at all.

More of the painting begins to reveal itself. Not only do the darks go deeper, but the rest of the colors really come out. This allows us to judge temperatures, hues, edges... everything, in sum. Oil in the entire area you plan on painting before you start. In fact the best practice is to go ahead and oil out the whole thing (when possible). Sometimes a few areas of the painting may be tacky (not fully dried to the touch) and attempting to oil these out might smudge the painting. In this case leave that area alone. This is another good reason why I like to work on a few paintings simultaneously, for this working method allows me to let entire paintings dry for days or weeks. When I go back to them they can be safely oiled in. Not only do I have a fresh eye, but a clean canvas too!

"Kazumi" Portrait

2011-05-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is a recent painting I have been working on. Pictured above is a portrait of a young woman named Kazumi. She wears her own Kimono which was an original used in the Washington National Opera production of Madama Butterfly. Besides being a good student, Kazumi plays the piano so that was why we included the sheet music.

I have to say that I really enjoy portraiture because every sitter brings something new to the studio that I would not necessarily have thought of myself. They bring themselves, their personality, a new costume perhaps, and enlivening conversation... It really makes one reflect a lot more on everything; a kind of dialogue that cannot necessarily be enjoyed with still life, for example.

Melinda and Kazumi sitting in front of their portrait. This painting is about life size, and will be finished soon. I am currently in the process of working up the background and giving the roses and Kimono a little more texture and paint thickness. A frame also needs to be chosen.

These pictures were taken during an earlier meeting and at first I was going to save them for the final post, however I thought they would make a nice lead up to it. Besides that, the painting has progressed a lot since this shot. One of the more interesting things I added were a belt of stars into the background, to give the effect of the night sky.

The tea table with its various biscuits; Chessmen, Scottish Walker, short bread...

Tea captured in mid-air. Always a different kind each time.

More story, photos, and the final image to come!

2nd Place Award at Portrait Society of America's Internation Portrait Competition

2011-05-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

So as promised, the follow up to the PSOA in Atlanta trip! The Conference turned out to be a three day marathon of art lectures, demonstrations, and really an opportunity to meet people in general. Actually the getting to meet other painters was my favorite part. This year was the largest gathering of portrait artists yet. All of this took place within the grounds of a single Hotel, the Grand Hyatt in this case. It was really fun wandering around the corridors and entering makeshift classrooms. By far the largest spectacle was the opening "paint off" which featured 15 artists to 5 models. Hundreds crowded into the Hyatt's exhibition hall for a chance to watch each individual's approach.

On Friday morning the day opened up with David Leffel's self portrait painting demo, during which he did a pretty good job of answering the audience's questions. By now if you are wondering how everyone could see what he was doing, there were 3 large screens onto which he was projected. By this point my memory is getting a bit clouded as to the sequence of events; you see one thing sort of flowed into another. There was another great painting demo by Jeremy Lipking, in which he painted the nude model. In addition Michael Shane Neal did an awesome session in which he painted Everett Raymond Kinstler. The two were so popular, they had a great chemistry and knew how to joke; so much so that many attendees were suggesting they "take the show on the road".

In addition I attended the Cecilia Beaux Forum, and listened to a lecture on Eakins, Cecilia Beaux, and Mary Cassatt by Dr. Sylvia Yount. Tom Nash also gave a lecture on portrait painting theory, followed by a quick portrait of his wife. What was really amazing about him however was that after only 20 minutes of painting, he continued to finish the painting from his head and it looked as if he had worked on it for a week!

At one part of the Conference I was asked to do a video interview, which turned out to be a triple one! From left to right; Susan Lyon, Mary Whyte, and myself.

Part of my winnings included some great art supplies. The first thing I did when I got home was to try out the new Rosemary brushes, from England. I found it much easier to work on top of previous paint layers with them. This was probably because they are so soft and springy. I like the Rosemary bristles, especially the long, square, mongoose brushes. You can see that I am also holding an enormous Turtlewood palette. It is weighted for perfect balance, though I have not gotten around to taking off the blue ribbon and actually using it. Strangely enough I have a really similar palette which I got from Zecchi's in Florence, Italy. The Turtlewood one is much lighter though.

All in all I am pleased with the way things turned out. It was really nice to come off with such accolades on my first try. To be grouped in the top 5 out of a couple thousand entries is a staggering thing. Plus I had a jolly time. There is the "stand back from your easel" rule, in working from time to time. Well in my case I needed to stand back from the studio, and I am glad that I did it. When it comes down to it one should not take awards too seriously, there are so many fantastic paintings and painters out there. Let's continue to inspire each other and make the art world a better place.

Flikr Photos from PSOA 2011

2011-05-02T10:58:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone, wow the portrait conference was great! Thanks for all the kind letters and words of encouragement. There were a lot of great people there, I enjoyed meeting you all! For those curious, my painting "Father Time" got the Second Place Award. I promise to follow up on all this, but at present I need to get back to the easel. I have uploaded a ton of images from the three day conference, so you can what it was like. Also I highly recommend Matthew Innis's coverage on the Underpaintings Blog.

www.flickr.com

Portrait Society of America, day 1

2011-04-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

Kate selling books

Emy, Alicia, Nick and Jesus... Florence Academy reunion?

Anthony Ryder
Nancy Guzik
My painting
Jeremy Lipking demo, in progress.

The conference room in action.

Me during sustained sleep deprivation. We drove all through the night!

Alexey Steele

Abdul Portrait and Going to Atlanta

2011-04-24T16:55:00.000-07:00

"Abdul", Oil on Canvas.

First of all here is a new painting. This is a portrait commission which is beginning to wrap itself up, much like "Born During a Carnivale". Only that Carnivale has its frame! Abdul is portrayed here, by his own request, as a Buddhist Monk. Soon his portrait will be framed in a dark varnished wood. More on these both soon!

Lovely red folds of drapery.

Heidi And Abdul standing in front of their painting.

In addition I will soon be heading to Atlanta, Georgia with my painting "Father Time". You can read all about the painting here.

The Portrait Society Exhibit at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Atlanta is scheduled to begin at 4pm on April 28. I will we there for about 3 days to enjoy the Conference, watch the paint-off, learn some new things from some of America's best painters, meet new people, and finally take part in the Gala Banquet where the winners of the Portrait Society of America Competition will be announced.

PSOA Official Website

Painting Flowers

2011-04-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

Detail from "Self Portrait in Blue"

As you may have noticed I enjoy painting flowers a lot. In addition to their brilliant color range flowers are also an excellent topic to discuss when it comes to painting and observing edges. Whether you are painting fake flowers (as those pictured above) or real ones, the way you apply the paint goes a long way in conveying their particularities. These particularities are all there because of the individual parts that make up each stem and petal. This is what we call variety, not only in shape but in hue, tone, and edge (that is to say paint application: of soft vs. sharp, thick vs. thin, crisp or dragging). Variety is something that you might be used to hearing about when you work with figure models and in portraiture, where observing the core line of the shadows transitions comes into play. It is just the same in the case of still life, or any object. These things must all be treated with respect.

Detail from "Kazumi"

A closeup of some freely painted real flowers. I like this shot because in it you may see the range of warms and cool, and the blue vs. red hues that were used to achieve this relatively simple (yet convincing) rose. It is essential to keep in mind your values, and try and turn every form the traditional way (i.e. with hue and tone). Otherwise you may catch yourself making a "paint by numbers" looking rose. This is especially difficult not to do sometimes, at least in the early lay-in stages when one is still trying to get the drawing correct, count the petals, etc...

Detail from "Mancini Fiddler"

You may also find yourself needing to paint dead, unimportant/auxiliary flowers. In this painting the dried flowers truly act as the supporting cast. It is important to be able to let things like edges and hard details go here. This is really a lesson for painting all other sorts of objects; you need to establish your main points of focus while allowing yourself to describe the painting as a whole in the simplest and most elegant means possible.

Detail of "Father Time"

In the white/yellow roses above you can see where I was trying to build up texture. While doing this I was focusing on also having a fair amount of free play in the edges. This I felt was essential to avoid a too "chunky" looking of a rose effect. Note also the hints of blue, orange, and brown in the "white" roses. This is another universal lesson of painting, but here it is: Things are not only one color; the color is dependant upon the reflecting light and colors from other objects bouncing off of it. In painting, there is no such things as a purely red hat, a white teapot, or a brown hen.

Detail from "Born During a Carnivale"

An interesting thing to do is go actively seek out colors, and either place them where they might make the painting look better, or enhance them where they already appear to be. In the white flowers above I did a bit of this, finding bright yellows and oranges to really give a sense that light was passing though the roses' translucent petals and warming up the reflected lights in the center.

Another detail of "Father Time"

Detail from "All to Ashes"

Here is one of my first and favorite medleys of flowers. You can find tulips, daisies, and of course roses in here. What I find interesting is that each one has a matching pair in the painting. Sometimes painting only roses (or any type of flower) can be hard, so to change things up a bit try mixing species. Variety is the bottom line, so to paint good roses for example I recommend that you buy them in different sizes and shapes. Try to have a few closed tightly, some opening up halfway, and then a handful or two in full bloom. If you go to the florist and buy a dozen brand new roses, stick them in a vase without arranging them, cutting a few stems to alter height, or giving them time to open up then it will be very hard for you to make them not look fake. Even if they are real!

Detail from "Dutch"

Here is a detail on another still life I have been working on lately. The treatment is a lot softer and refined; when painted on smoother canvas I like to go for a less layered/textured look.

"Remembrance"

Born During A Carnivale- How to finish a painting

2011-04-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent painting that I have been working on. Last Friday I took it into class for a critique from my teacher Robert Liberace. It occurred to me that this would be an interesting topic to cover; that is, the business of finishing a painting! This is a controversial subject in some ways. Leonardo Da Vinci said that "art is never finished, only abandoned". Personally I find a few of these facts may influence the duration of a piece: Time restraints, anticipation, the degree to which one is a perfectionist or not... That is to say pieces are more often than not finished to satisfaction, it is just a hard thing to define what finish is. Depends on the artist I guess. I truly believe that these things could go on forever, being edited as we ourselves grow and change.

First of all I should introduce the painting. It is called "Born During a Carnivale". The "e" is in there because I am drawing subject matter from the Venetian Carnivale and its many traditional and Commedia Dell'Arte masks. I included the Bauta, Jolly, Capitano, and Nasone... The subject of this portrait is of a 1 year and 6 month old boy named Francis. The idea here is that he is sorting through faces, beginning to discover his own path in life.

My routine procedure is to work from big masses to smaller ones. You may imagine a penny spiraling in circles down a wide funnel; gradually the circles become tighter and tighter, increasing in speed until the penny disappears down the the hole. This is a how I like to work, by making successive passes over unresolved areas until I feel like everything looks right.

Standing back from the work is also a must, and getting different points of view on it. These views include looking sideways, backwards, and upside down through a mirror. Another great option is to ask a friend or teacher to look at it. Even non-painters are excellent for gaining new insight into what may or may not be working in the piece; essentially what they are providing is a much needed "fresh eye". You can do this too yourself by walking away for a while. In addition I find that having a number of works going on simultaneously throughout the week will aid in this search for a balanced point of view.

Some of the things that were suggested: Soften the flowers behind the head, develop the forms of the folds in the dress (lower portion), work on the desk, tone down the white mask... I am also going to give the hair another pass and see if that can't be made to feel a bit more airy.

The painting is going to have a Baroque style frame featuring gold leaf over a red bole ground. It will match very well with the gold glittering off of the masks. This painting is almost finished, I just need to do a few of the things I mentioned above. I would say that what drives me the most in painting is the need for constant improvement. By studying the masters often and comparing myself to them I hope to reach new heights each time I make a work. I try to leave each successive painting a little better than the one that came before.

Rotunda Flowers & Journal

2011-04-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

I just thought I’d include a picture here of the old NGA Rotunda decorations; the Azaleas! These were so full it was wonderful to see. This was definitely the most abundant topiary I have seen for a while. It must be a traditional spring arrangement, because it struck me as the same one from the first day I visited the Gallery back 10 years ago.

One of the books I have had on my person lately has been "The Journal of Eugene Delacroix". I like to pull it out when I am on a train or just sitting at the tea table during an idle moment in the studio. It is fascinating to have a window into his world. The way he illuminates Paris in the 19th century is fascinating, as are his internal struggles.

Here is an excerpt from Delacroix’s journal:

“I have hurriedly re-read the whole of my Journal. I regret the gaps. I feel as though I were still master of the days I have recorded, even though they are past, whereas those not mentioned in these pages are as though they had never been. How low have I fallen? Am I then so weak that those flimsy pages will be the only record of my life remaining to me? The future is all blackness. The past, where I have not recorded it is the same. I grumble at having to perform this task, but why always be indignant at my weakness? Can I spend a single day without food of sleep? So much for my body. But my mind and the evolution of my soul are to be destroyed because I do not want to owe what is left of them to the necessity of writing. On the contrary, nothing is better than having some small task to perform every day. “

And another:

"How stupid to get into the habit of reserving what one imagines the finest of subjects for a future occasion!"

"I must not eat much in the evening, and I must work alone. I think that going into society from time to time, or just going out and seeing people, does not do much harm to one's work and spiritual progress, in spite of what many so-called artists say to the contrary. Associating with people of that kind is far more dangerous; their conversation is always commonplace. I must go back to being alone. Moreover, I must try to live austerely, as Plato did. How can one keep one's enthusiasm concentrated on a subject when one is always at the mercy of other people and in constant need of their society? Dufresne is perfectly right; the things we experience for ourselves when we are alone are much stronger and much fresher. However pleasant it may be to communicate one's emotion to a friend there are too many fine shades of feeling to be explained, and although each probably perceives them, he does so in his own way and thus the impression is weakened for both. Since Dufresne has advised me to go the Italy alone, and to live alone once I am settled there, and since I, myself, see the need for it, why not now become accustomed to the life; all the reforms I desire will spring from that? My memory will return, and so will my presence of mind, and my sense of order."

"This morning I received a letter announcing the death of Gericault. I cannot get used to the idea. Although everyone must have known that we should inevitably lose him before long, I almost feel that we could conjure death away by refusing to accept the idea. But death would not relinquish its prey, and tomorrow the earth will hide what little remains of him. What a different fate his great bodily strength and his warmth and imagination seemed to promise! Strictly speaking he was not a friend of mine, but the tragedy cuts me to the heart. It has made me leave my work and paint out all that I have done."

Homage to Delcroix, 1864, by Henri Fantin Latour. ( The people depicted in the group on the left are: first row right to left - James Whistler, Henri Fantin-Latour (seated) and Louis Edmond Duranty (seated); second row right to left - Alphonse Legros and Charles Cordier. The people in the group on the right are: first row left to right are Jules-François-Félix Husson who wrote under the pen name of Champfleury (seated), and Charles Baudelaire (seated); second row left to right - Edouard Manet, Felix Bracquemond and Albert de Balleroy.) I appreciated the meaning of this work. The thinkers depicted stand separate yet united around Delacroix's portrait, facing forward ready to create new art.

Early Beginnings

2011-04-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

A question I imagine most artists are asked is "where did you get it from?" Or "when did you first become interested in art?" Therefore I am going to take these next few moments to do a bit of reminiscing. This is in some part because I have been getting this question a lot lately, and also to do with the recent discovery of early Esa in the studio photos. Lastly, I believe there are some people who deserve thanks and credit.

I included the painting of Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling fresco because this is one of the first memories I have of truly fantastic art. My mother had exposed me to a few reproductions of the Sistine Chapel when I was 4-5. I can remember having day dreams in school about them. Adam, Eve and God were taking on actions of their own- A subject for a future painting? Although I had never been to Italy by that age, I grew up in the Washington D.C. area and used to explore the capital's museums.

I would date this picture around 1994. When I was 6 years old my family to the Hague in the Netherlands. By happy coincidence we lived in a beautiful row house right across the street from a practicing artist. Her name was Angelique Schouwman, a Canadian born Dutch painter/sculptor. My mother asked her to give me some lessons, so there I am above sculpting in her studio. Angelique assigned the smallest of her loose fitting art smocks to me on my first day, and it became my uniform for about the next 3 years.

By the way the photo is deceptive; the tools I am working with include a knife to manipulate the wax, wire clippers, and a blow torch. I abstained from using the torch however. Angelique used to give me a bit of help setting up the armature, explain a few things to me, and then come in from time to time to critique and warm up some wax for me. I used to get drawing assignments to take home with me.

I can remember the first time I met her. She showed me up to her living room where I stood in the middle of a great, large rug and met her husband. He was a very kind man, and his understated manner balanced her grand, expansive one. We exchanged shy pleasantries (I was extremely shy back then) until Angelique came back in the room and gave me a piece of cherry candy. This too was to become a ritual. I thought, wow what nice people!

Our street on Soendastraat. My house on the right, Angelique's on the left. We used our car about once a year and preferred bicycle transportation. Angelique used to astonish the neighborhood by going on walks with her dog (somehow his name made the translation into English as "idiot-stick") in her favorite jean overalls; they were completely covered in paint. By the time I was joining her for walks the neighbors were already used to it.

As a matter of fact she was very well respected. She had wonderful living arrangement whereby the first floor functioned as a "walk in" gallery for the public to see, then living quarters on the second, and a studio on the third floor. Not only did she have a number of well attended open studio shows, but she was frequently exhibiting as a solo artist in the Dutch Museums.

I eventually moved back to Washington, where I began taking courses at a place called the Torpedo Factory, or The Art League. This was in Old Town, Alexandria VA. They have a lot of great painters there and variety of classes to choose from. I started off with a lot of portrait and figure sculpture. My interests took me to drawing and painting, until eventually I discovered the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy.

Top 15 Finalist in International Portrait Competition (Portrait Society of America, 2011)

2011-03-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

" Father Time", 64 x 62 in. Oil on Canvas, 2011

My portrait of "Father Time" was selected among 15 out of over 1,800 entries in the Portrait Society of America's Competition. I will be heading up to Atlanta, Georgia on the 28th of April to attend the Conference where the finalists' works will be on display. Judging will take place in front of the real works themselves. I was told that some of the judges this year include Dan Greene and Everett Raymond Kinstler.

This is the conference's 13th year. I am excited to be going as this will be my first time. In previous years I was always away in Florence, Italy during the time of the event. A lot of artists whom I admire have placed in this competition before, so I am honored. In addition I also look forward to seeing some of you there!

"The International Portrait Competition is open to all artists, members and non-members. The top fifteen finalists will be invited to exhibit their selected artwork at the prestigious The Art of the Portrait® conference in Atlanta, Georgia. There, finalists’ work will be judged by a panel composed of leaders in the field of traditional fine art portrait and figurative art. Awards will be given for each of the 15 top artworks, with more than $50,000 in prizes distributed at The Art of the Portrait® conference Gala Banquet, Saturday, April 30, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta, Buckhead."

"Father Time" is a double portrait in that it represents both the allegory of Father Time (an immortal old man, usually accompanied by an hour glass, scythe, or a white beard) and a portrait of my grandfather Joze Velikonja. In the portrait you can see his story written in his face. This is a very humanist portrait, I have not idealized him but painted him just the way he is. I saw no reason to add arching eyebrows, a one foot beard, wings, or anything majestic of that sort. All these qualities I felt were self contained in his gaze, and that the human condition was written in his face and unequivocal posture.

"Father Time" was painted in late December 2010 when my grandfather came down from Brooklyn to visit. I could not resist inviting him to my studio to sit for me. Earlier that morning I had arranged the pastel purple, pink, and bright yellow flowers which you see behind him "signifying certain achievements throughout his life" to quote a friend of mine. Joze is holding his own cane, which I thought was absolutely essential to the composition of the painting. The hour glass to the right was also featured in a previous piece "In Time". Of course one just has these things lying about the studio, all part of the trade!

Another thing we did together over the winter break was to record many hours of the family history. This topic deserves a post all of its own, but here it is in brief: His side of the family comes down from Slovenia. He was born in Ljubljana, lived through WWII, got a degree in Geography from the University of Rome in Italy, worked as a professor in Trieste, and eventually immigrated to the United States with my Grandmother. They started a family and settled in Seattle, Washington.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say on the subject: "Father Time is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, somewhat worse for wear, dressed in a robe, carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device (which represents time's constant one-way movement, and more generally and abstractly, entropy). This image derives from several sources, including the Grim Reaper and Chronos, the Greek god of time."

Here is a great photo of him from 1900.

My Palette & Eugène Delacroix

2011-03-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about artists' palettes but they always hold so much fascination for me. I got the opportunity to see Sorolla's workspace in his house in Madrid, or Monet's palette on another occasion. The "messy" or uncleaned ones are usually more interesting to me because I can see what mixtures were going on.

My own palette, above, is in its primed state.
I use a system where I clean the interior portion of it every night by rubbing it down with a rag and some old medium plus turpentine. However if I have excess paint (and I invariably do; I like to make sure I have ample quantities so as to allow me to load the brush accordingly) it gets left overnight, to be used the next day.

Another thing I am going to explain before I launch us into a talk on pigments is the "stringing out" system I use. I am referring to the graduation of color under each pile of pigment, going from dark to lighter, i.e. Ultramarine Blue to Titanium white. This system is extremely helpful in two ways! The first it that it allows me to see the full range of each pigment. Sometimes Ivory Black, Raw Umber, and Dioxazine Purple can all look very similar when laid out side by side. By graduating each pigment with white I can see what they will look like, and how strong they are when mixed with white. The second reason is that this system makes it easier for me to grab the appropriate value, and saves me the extra step of having to dive for and sully my pile of white. And again, it helps me be more liberal with my paint usage.

Here is a close-up on the "stringing out" method. The palette is seen upside-down.

The whole palette. Let's talk about it from right to left.

1. Cadmium Yellow Medium- This is a nice warm yellow, and the closest thing on my palette to an orange. I consider this color to be an auxiliary pigment, mostly employed for bright things like flower painting.

2. Yellow Ochre Light- One of my main pigments that is always on my palette. I use this for everything from flesh/figure painting to still life. One of my main beliefs is that the minimum means should be used to express the subject. So in other words, why take out the cadmium when the earth color will do the job? This is something I was taught in the Florence schools in Italy. There they believed that sticking to a limited palette would achieve a balanced, harmonious result.

3. Naples Yellow Light- Another new pigment I am trying out. It is a bit brighter and lighter than the Yellow Ochre, and I sometimes use it instead for my lights.

4. Titanium White- Old trusty. This is the only white I use... It is the brightest, and least toxic (you could eat it, it is put into cake frosting). I find its drying time to be alright. I keep a clean pile of this on the right hand side of my palette, and also use it to string out the other colors.

5. Alizarin Crimson- ...Beware! Very strong. Use only when necessary. I find it so helpful to mix in my dark reds, and perhaps accent in a few key areas. I don't use it in the lights too often though. This is why I have 4 reds, so that the others can handle that job. Alizarin is a lake, very transparent and dark, the darkest of all my reds.

6. Cadmium Red Light- A nice bright, warm red. This one is great for some skin tones, but most of the time I can do without it. I like it in flower painting, baby's cheeks, jester masks, that sort of thing. I don't know if the first closeup photo picks it up well, but every red has a different personality in its light, pastel range, so I just pick and choose what feels appropriate.

7. Cadmium Red Medium- A dark red, a relatively new pigment for me. I started using this one when I began the "Father Time" Painting, and have kept it around ever since. It was very useful on Father Time's coat, cool skin tones, and cooler light red petals.

Please keep in mind that I am just describing some common uses I can remember for these pigments. I am by no means advocating a"paint by numbers" system, or saying that there is such a thing as "fire-engine red" or "brick yellow" or "flesh tone". Truly I believe every object's colour depends on the light hitting it and the reflecting colours around it. There are no formulas, just practice, observation, and experience. Or more truly, Value, Chroma, and Hue. Just to be clear, Value refers to tone (think of a 9 step scale from black to white with intermediary greys). Chroma refers to the intensity, or dullness and Hue can be described as "greener" or "bluer". I.e. Cad. Red Medium is a "cooler", more "bluish" red than Cad. Red. Light.

Venetian Red- Another old stable pigment, always to be found on the palette. I make 90% of my reds with this, and it goes into a lot of the shadows and browns, etc. It is basically an earth red, warm in hue.

Dioxazine- I never used this color until I started painting purple things... And even then you don't really need it, but it is useful. It helps one achieve strong darks too.

Viridian- The only green on my palette. Use sparingly. Much as with Alizarin, I use it to tint more than anything. As you may have noticed I am pretty heavy on the yellows so I am able to mix greens just fine.

Cadmium Yellow Lemon- A nice bright, cool yellow. I am a strong believer in having a warm and a cool version of something.

Ultramarine Blue- My one blue, it is very nice and dark, semi transparent.

Raw Umber- I am a big user of Raw Umber! It dries fast and goes into many of my wash drawings. It is also one of those 5 pigments which I so strictly adhered to back in school. Really, you can do a lot with these. For example in studio and figure painting, most greens can be accomplished with this pigment.

Ivory Black- I am also a big user of black. This is also how I achieve my "blues", as the grey it produces can look a lot like blue, especially when laid next to a stroke of red or some other warm color.

Ok so those are all the pigments! What about Delacroix? Where does he fit in with all of this? I am not sure really. I know only that Robyn, a friend of mine gave me a beautiful copy of his diaries. There it is, the red book sitting on the tea table. Needless to say I am looking forward to reading it! Artists' journals are great to read for inspiration and knowledge into their minds and methods. Some other journals I have read in the past include Marie Vigée Le Brun and Marie Bashkirtseff. I have heard that Joshua Reynolds has some very good writing too, and Robert Henri in "The Art Spirit" is also something I am reading.

March Studio Pictures

2011-03-15T13:18:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!

This week I thought I would try something different and show you a few works in progress. Lately I have been working on many things at once, so instead of a writing about any one thing in specific I decided to offer you a glimpse of everything at once (or nearly! Its more like half of what is going on). Another thing that motivated me to do this was that Andrea came over, and she was eager to see the progress I had made on her painting.

At the top the large painting is Kazumi, a young pianist. She came in with a real Kimono from the Washington National Opera Company's Madama Butterfly production. That has been really great to paint, and Kazumi is as well.

You can also see in the back the "Born During a Carnivale" painting, featuring adorable Francis as well as a bunch of my Venetian masks. This one is in progress as well. You can see a better photo of it here or just wait for the post about it. Again I am not trying to focus my thoughts one any one of these, especially because they are not finished yet. It is just nice to see everything sitting side by side at once, the characters inhabiting similar yet separate worlds.

My doppelganger on the right, (in the blue dress and wig) is another recently started project. The recently sold "Girl in Blue" was very popular, and I have been getting more requests for that genre. This painting is a bit more light hearted and playful.

Andrea standing in front of her portrait.

The mysterious Zorro! Who could he be? Provider of fine Indian teas, in most pointy and triangular parcels. Thank you, I discovered a new tea "Kerala" which I shall have to look into further. This gift was most welcome because I am most fond of tea. Hence the permanent tea set on the table arrangement.

And another Anonymous gift! A blue, fluffy, stuffed rabbit! My goodness, such surprises to be found lately in the mail.

The new apprentice's name is Archimedes.

The New Humanism, David Brooks

2011-03-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a recent article by David Brooks that appeared in the New York Times. I thought I would share it here as I felt its relation to art and my own work quite strongly. Perhaps as an art, music, drama, photography, design, etc. student you felt a certain anti-climax that your SATs only measured your writing and mathematical achievements?

Personally I have felt that there were a few skills which set certain classmates of mine in art school ahead of others. For example equipoise was certainly necessary if one wanted to improve one's work- the ability to step back, analyze what one was doing and how it might be done better, and then move in that direction. These students were the type that didn't have to wait around for the teacher to fix the drawing for them. Needless to say individuals with greater amounts of sympathy and attunment to others will make finer and more sensitive pieces of work.

"Over the course of my career, I’ve covered a number of policy failures. When the Soviet Union fell, we sent in teams of economists, oblivious to the lack of social trust that marred that society. While invading Iraq, the nation’s leaders were unprepared for the cultural complexities of the place and the psychological aftershocks of Saddam’s terror.

We had a financial regime based on the notion that bankers are rational creatures who wouldn’t do anything stupid en masse. For the past 30 years we’ve tried many different ways to restructure our educational system — trying big schools and little schools, charters and vouchers — that, for years, skirted the core issue: the relationship between a teacher and a student.

I’ve come to believe that these failures spring from a single failure: reliance on an overly simplistic view of human nature. We have a prevailing view in our society — not only in the policy world, but in many spheres — that we are divided creatures. Reason, which is trustworthy, is separate from the emotions, which are suspect. Society progresses to the extent that reason can suppress the passions.

This has created a distortion in our culture. We emphasize things that are rational and conscious and are inarticulate about the processes down below. We are really good at talking about material things but bad at talking about emotion.

When we raise our kids, we focus on the traits measured by grades and SAT scores. But when it comes to the most important things like character and how to build relationships, we often have nothing to say. Many of our public policies are proposed by experts who are comfortable only with correlations that can be measured, appropriated and quantified, and ignore everything else.

Yet while we are trapped within this amputated view of human nature, a richer and deeper view is coming back into view. It is being brought to us by researchers across an array of diverse fields: neuroscience, psychology, sociology, behavioral economics and so on.

This growing, dispersed body of research reminds us of a few key insights. First, the unconscious parts of the mind are most of the mind, where many of the most impressive feats of thinking take place. Second, emotion is not opposed to reason; our emotions assign value to things and are the basis of reason. Finally, we are not individuals who form relationships. We are social animals, deeply interpenetrated with one another, who emerge out of relationships.

This body of research suggests the French enlightenment view of human nature, which emphasized individualism and reason, was wrong. The British enlightenment, which emphasized social sentiments, was more accurate about who we are. It suggests we are not divided creatures. We don’t only progress as reason dominates the passions. We also thrive as we educate our emotions.

When you synthesize this research, you get different perspectives on everything from business to family to politics. You pay less attention to how people analyze the world but more to how they perceive and organize it in their minds. You pay a bit less attention to individual traits and more to the quality of relationships between people.

You get a different view of, say, human capital. Over the past few decades, we have tended to define human capital in the narrow way, emphasizing I.Q., degrees, and professional skills. Those are all important, obviously, but this research illuminates a range of deeper talents, which span reason and emotion and make a hash of both categories:

Attunement: the ability to enter other minds and learn what they have to offer.

Equipoise: the ability to serenely monitor the movements of one’s own mind and correct for biases and shortcomings.

Metis: the ability to see patterns in the world and derive a gist from complex situations.

Sympathy: the ability to fall into a rhythm with those around you and thrive in groups.

Limerence: This isn’t a talent as much as a motivation. The conscious mind hungers for money and success, but the unconscious mind hungers for those moments of transcendence when the skull line falls away and we are lost in love for another, the challenge of a task or the love of God. Some people seem to experience this drive more powerfully than others.

When Sigmund Freud came up with his view of the unconscious, it had a huge effect on society and literature. Now hundreds of thousands of researchers are coming up with a more accurate view of who we are. Their work is scientific, but it directs our attention toward a new humanism. It’s beginning to show how the emotional and the rational are intertwined.

I suspect their work will have a giant effect on the culture. It’ll change how we see ourselves. Who knows, it may even someday transform the way our policy makers see the world. "

Book Fair = More Books

2011-03-05T15:41:00.001-08:00

I went to the Washington Antiquarian Book Fair today. It was extremely interesting, and ultimately quite exhausting. I found a lot of nice editions of the bible, illuminated manuscripts, and in addition discovered a few new illustrators such as Harry Clarke. In the end I wound up taking home an complete illustrated Brother's Grim book, and the Visconti Book of Hours.

Yes this was my outfit! Per usual I had a lot of explaining to do. As Anne, a friend with whom I like to frequent Antique Fairs says: "It takes Teresa about three times longer to walk down the display aisles than other people" but it is well worth it. Art, aesthetics, these are my religion and my creed.

Because I am in this frame of mind now, I decided to do a post on books! This is a continuation on my previous Bookshelf post. The idea is basically to share with you a few of my books which I have found particularly useful for the appreciation and creation art. This post takes us to some of my more recent acquisitions, mostly catalogues from recent exhibitions at the National Gallery, and a few others that I wish I had.

Without further ado here is the stack. You can see this in two different lights; As the Gustave Dore themed photo shoot that it is (aka rats) or on the other hand you may never wish to touch my Giovanni Boldini book again! It is totally up to you.

First up there is Monty and Hadwin posing for us beautifully. I promise you that those are yogurt drops, a tasteful and nutritious treat by Vitakraft's.

1. "The Art Spirit", Robert Henri- This is an art philosophy and teaching book written by the great American artist Robert Henri (1865-1929). I have not read it yet as I received as a gift yesterday; thanks Jim! I am looking foreword to it as I really enjoy reading thoughts from other painters, carvers, writers, and type of craftsperson really.

2. "Strapless", Deborah Davis- This is a really good book if you want some background on the whole Sargent/late 19th century art scene. It also uncovers the life of Virginie Amelie Avengo, or otherwise known as Madame X. Most people know her as the subject of one of Sargent's most famous Salon paintings.

3. "Giovanni Boldini, an impressionist in Paris."- This is a great art reference book, especially if you admire Boldini's Parisian period. This is my favorite in particular because he combines motion with great drawing and color, and he hasn't gotten wierd yet with his proportions.

4. This is a wish list item, but I am meaning to pick up a copy of Archimboldo's (1526-1593) work- preferably the NGA catalogue. He is just so unusual, and the show was gorgeous.

5. "Anatomy for the Artist, Jeno Barcsay"- This is another human anatomy book, my first one actually. I recommend you to start off with Richer or Goldfinger, but if you are looking to add another great reference book to your shelf then look for this.

6. Brent, a friend of mine, recently gave me a copy of "On Becoming a Painter" by Robert A. Johnson. He is from the Leffel school. I highly recommend this if you are trying to get some texture and paint thickness/variation into your works.

7. "German Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection"- Might have mentioned this one before, but this is a great book. It really gives you a wide range of drawing styles to study, and there is an illustration on every other page. I light to take this one with me for a forest walk, sit down, and consult it as I try to draw trees.

8. "The Landscape, Richard Schmid"- A new book out, kind of pricey but well worth it. It features large, full page illustrations of landscape and a lot of quaint Victorian homes.

9. Robert Liberace'a DVD's!- http://www.robertliberace.com/dvds.htm

Get them all! He has a new one out on painting the figure in Grisaille.

10. "The Moment of Caravaggio", Michael Fried- This is a really good book both for its featured Caravaggisti (followers of Caravaggio) paintings, and also for its writing.

11. "The Pre- Raphaelite Lens, British Photography and Painting, 1848- 1875. Diane Waggoner- Another great catalogue from the NGA. It is really informative for the understanding of how early photography was embraced by painters, and the effects of the the two mediums on each other.

12. "Rosa Bonheur, A Life and a Legend"- A great painter to learn about and to study.

13. "Renaissance to Revolution" French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800- More great works to study. There is a very beautiful pastel by Jean- Baptiste Greuze in here called "The Well-Loved Mother" 1765.

"The Rat's Council" by Gustave Dore.

New Facebook Page

2011-02-27T12:11:00.001-08:00

You can see it Here

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I have an "official" facebook page, one set aside for my art work and news updates. For those of you who don't know, I used to post weekly links from my blog on my facebook profile, and you could view them if you had friended me. That has not changed, I am just going to start do that through this new page which will give everyone instant access to my profile, meaning you don't have to wait for me to get on my computer and approve your friend request. To join, just hit the "like" button.

All that being said, you can still friend me (if you have not), just write me a little note or something!

All the best,

Teresa

More Life Drawings, Continuation and Progress shots

2011-02-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the second and final day of work on the Adam drawing. You can see the first say here.

Hi, here are a few more charcoal drawings. They were all made very quickly, on full size sheets of Canson's "Ingres" or "Hahnemuhle" papers. The Hahnemuhle is a new aquistition for me, but they are the closest machine made papers you can get with a "hand-made" feel. These papers feature a laid texture, and come in a variety of tones and hues, which make them fun to work with. Some of the papers come dark enough to warrant the use of white chalk, however on most of them I have found that it is better to avoid the chalk as it makes the lights to dull and heavy looking.

This is a nice opportunity to show you some close progress shots. This was about a 2 1/2 hour portrait drawing, using the Hahnemuhle on some warm colored paper. This first block in was shot after about 2 minutes.

After an hour and a half (?)

The End.

This is the Adam drawing from last week; the back pose. You can also see the first day here.
I tried to liven up the shadows a bit the last day.

Below is another fast drawing. This one was made on a toned, Hahnemuhle paper made by Canson.

Shot one (some where in the middle of the pose)

Shot 2, the end

Pope Innocent X Copy & Work in progress shot

2011-02-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

I noticed that the flowers were slightly different in the Rotunda this time around. A few more pinks and oranges had been introduced.

Which reminds me of people who have dyed their hair, and are constantly coming up with creative ways to maintain it.

This was the 5th day of my copy. I worked on the hat. Last week I spent some time around the mouth area, mainly trying to correct shapes and adjust color. Shapes for me are as important as getting the values right. This is especially true with portrait work, because if the shapes are off they scream right off the canvas at you- most distracting. Having said that, I don't claim to have perfect shapes.

Someone asked me an interesting question today about timing. The question was basically "how much longer will you take to finish this?" While my answer was "about 7 or 8 more days", this I know only because I have completed a similar sized copy of a Jan Lievens before. The thing about copying is that you cannot be "mercenary" (a term I like to use to describe painting for a reason, ie. money, expectations, esteem, etc.) I normally work for money, painting to the best of my ability, using all my technical expertise. I usually paint to a deadline, whether is is my own or a client's. All this is well and good when one is working in one's usual method; however copying is an exception to this. To get the most out of copying, I have to shut out the world (usually with some nice headphones and music...) and become almost meditative. When I am copying I am trying to learn something new from the master, something unprecedented in my own repertoire of tricks. Therefore each stage is a new adventure that must be approached with an open mind, time, and no expectations. If I start thinking too much, my own hand/style/methods automatically take over, the trance is lost, and I am not really observing or learning any more, just copying.

Another interesting things happened to me today, which threw me off a little- I forgot my Venetian Red. I don't know if this happens to landscape painters a lot when they paint on site, but seeing as I am mainly a studio painter I am never lacking for materials. So when I forgot this color that I mainly rely on, and have since about 4 years ago, I was a little taken aback. It was not a big deal, I used vermilion and raw umber and black to get the same results. All in all this incident made me realize how used to a certain, reliable system one can get. Systems can be efficient, though it might be fun to try a new palette in the future.

I spent some time at home with Monty afterwards.

A Detail of a work in progress. There is the same Jester's Mask from the Mancini Fiddler painting.

Friday Charcoal Drawings

2011-02-10T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here are three drawings in charcoal which I made during Robert Liberace's class. As I mentioned a little earlier, I was going to move away from the finer trois crayons studies, to more "explosive" and painterly methods of wielding burnt sticks. Literally! These were all made on Fabriano Ingres Paper (the full sheet) using jumbo charcoal (sp?) I am not really sure where I bought this brand, but they were lying around in my desk from years back. Jumbo charcoal is almost an inch thick, a bit like painting with a size 8-10 brush. On recommendation I picked them up again, along with a large hog bristle brush, white pastel, and some vine and conte.

The idea with this technique was to blast the drawing in quickly, focusing on broad masses. These are pictures taken after day 1 (of 3). It will be interesting to see where they go.

This method is intriguing to me. While I am working like this the calligraphy, or the actual charcoal and brush marks, are meant to be left as expressive entities. Together they make up the whole drawing. Sargent is probably a good example of what I would be working toward. My previous experience with charcoal has been academic long poses. These longer drawings call for a more refined and blended (and patient!) technique. They require hours of building up subtle tonal shifts. Charcoal is usually sharpened to a needle fine point using sand-paper, and blending tools and kneaded erases are often implemented. On the other hand, this technique which I am demonstrating now calls for faster decision making, and leaving some things unfinished.

Pope Innocent X Day 3

2011-02-07T15:41:00.001-08:00

I was very excited to find yet another arrangement around the Rotunda, after no more than 4 weeks after the last one! I really like the colors in this one. I have been making a collection of Topiary arrangement pictures.

There is a nice pink and red theme going on here.

This was the third day of work on my copy of Innocent X, by Velasquez. After spending the previous two days roughing in the whole painting, I began to focus on the face. I started off by glazing his forehead with red to better match the hue. Into this glaze I began painting, all the while trying to match the paint thickness and scumbling (painting wet over dry) from the original. One thing I have noticed about this painting is the allowance for scratchiness, randomness, and general expressiveness of paint. In contrast to my last copy ( The Jan Lievens) I found that painting this work was quite liberating. One can dab and drag the brush, thus achieving a wide range of effects. So long as the values sit together (which Velasquez's invariably do) the overall effect will be atmospheric and harmonious.

This is all good news of course because one of my latest endeavors has been to free up my brushwork a bit. Lately I have moved on from the smaller Trois Crayons sketches I was making, to larger scale charcoal drawings. These too feature a bit more freedom; they feel more like paintings than they do drawings. I will be posting some images of these shortly. The charcoal drawings will give me an opportunity to show you step by step photos, because I still have two more sessions to go on them.

Things are very intense in the studio at the moment, there are a lot of works in process.

The Google Art Project

2011-02-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

Rachel Ruysch, Still Life, 1716

I thought you might enjoy this Google Art Project. Google has basically compiled a few 3D tours of some of the great museums of the world; including the Uffizi in Florence, the Rijksmueum in Amsterdam, and the National Gallery in London.

It is a little dizzying at first(by that I mean the navigation controls), but you can browse through the floors as if you were there on foot. I think this gives a nice taste of what the hanging of the paintings and room arrangements look like. Of course this is not equal to experiencing the real thing, but Google also has a section where you can zoom in on some works to hi-resolution. Hopefully they will improve the features with time.

Recent Drawings

2011-01-31T10:41:00.000-08:00

This is a portrait study in Trois Crayons. It was made in a few short sittings as a study for a larger work. This was done in my studio. The finished painting will feature the same head position, with the down cast eyes. Abdul is sitting cross legged and wearing a bright red Buddhist Monk's robe. This is actually the painting on my easel today!

This drawing features the same materials as the Trois Crayon "Abdul" above, except here I only chose to use the sanguine chalk. I made this drawing in Robert Liberace's class. I think that this may be one of the last small scale drawings done in the trois crayons medium for a while. I have ordered a few trial sheets of Canson's Hanamule paper, and will be giving charcoal and white chalk a go next week. My aim is to use the full dimensions of the paper, thus encouraging myself to use a much broader technique.

"Gabe", also from Rob's class. Here I used simply black chalk.

In Time- Creation of a painting

2011-01-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

This painting, "In Time", was painted in the summer of 2009. I was taking on a number of commissions in the Washington D.C. area at the time during my school break. One of these jobs was to paint a portrait of James Mead, a Marine Mammal Curator at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. I was given access through him to a human skeleton, and thus embarked on the painting you see here.

"In Time" oil on canvas, 49 x 38 in. 2009.

The inspiration for this piece came from a visit to the Prado Museum in Madrid. On one of the lower level galleries I came upon a picture of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's "The Triumph of Death over Life". If you look closely into the lower left hand corner, you will see a king being robbed of his gold by skeletal figures. One of them holds up an hour glass, the symbol of his time remaining on earth.

Jan Bruegel lived between 1525-1569. Such themed paintings were common in Northern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Besides being a sober reminder of mortality, these and similarly themed "Vanitas" paintings were also meant to expose human weakness and folly.

The Creation

Step 1- I started this painting in my studio. A raw umber wash drawing was employed first. I began to draw directly onto my toned canvas. My friend Pete Darl was kind enough to sit for me as the figure of the King. You can see that I focused mainly on the features during the first session; pausing on briefly to sketch in the arms and the chest.

Step 2- Features of the face are laid in, and a halo of background is included to help me get my values right.

Step 3- Placement has already been worked out by this stage. Having laid in the entire background, allowance was made in the upper right hand corner for the inclusion of the skeleton (the background is left "smokey" in this area, to suggest the skeleton's emerging from the darkness). At this point the painting is still in my studio, where I will paint in the rest of the figure, robes, and chest.

Step 4- The skeleton is added finally. This photo demonstrates nicely the technique of sight size, in which the painting seen from the correct view point is an exact replica of the object being painted. This photo also demonstrates a very common phenomenon of "sinking in". This is the term used by painters for when the darks become cloudy, or several shades too light. Basically the ground has not prevented the thirsty canvas from absorbing the oil in the paint, leading to a lack of saturation and lustre on the surface. The only remedy for this is to "oil out", which can be done by applying a sponge which carries a bit of the painting medium one is using. This is a crucial step if one is to continue painting with the correct values. In addition, this is one of the reasons why paintings must be varnished before they are to be displayed or viewed.

Step 5- Skeleton close up. The hour glass was added later. I took full advantage of thick vs. thin paint application. In the brightest lights of the skull and other bones, the paint is almost trowled on. In other areas, such as the shadows and background, the underpainting can be glimpsed.

A coin was used in order to set the jaw.

All in all I really enjoyed the process of this painting. Animating a skeleton was a little more unusual than what my other subject matter usually demanded. In turn I was really grateful for the opportunity to study a real life skeleton up close for some many weeks. I personally do not own any full skeletons (however I have a small skull named "Walter") and I would love it if anyone could point me in the right direction to obtaining one for my studio use.

Innocenzo

2011-01-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

The new Topiary arrangement in blue and white. This pictures captures the mood of a lot of the rooms in the gallery. You can hear your footsteps echoing through the empty hallways as you tread the wooden floors.

The second day of work on "Pope Innocent X" by the Circle of Velazquez.

Today I painted the collar and red shirt of the Pope. At this point I am still working quickly, trying to cover as much canvas as possible with the correct values and shapes. After this is done, I will do one more sweep of corrections if necessary- or else begin rendering right away.

I found Alizarin Crimson to be quite an indispensable pigment. Venetian red can be mixed in with it so as to give it a little more body and covering power. In other places Alizarin can be used as a glaze. This is not so much true in the face however, where Venetian red and Vermilion were the predominant colors. In the cloak and hat I used a lot of Alizarin and Ivory Black, in order to get the high chroma, semi transparent darks. The lights (such as the ones seen on the folds of the cloth) where painted wet into wet over the Alizarin with a mixture of Vermillion, and in some cases white.

As I have stated before this is not the final layer of paint. I intend to take advantage of my next layer by applying a glaze of alizarin over the cloak again, deapening the hues and chroma.

A close-up (Day 2)

In Situ Commission photos

2011-01-18T11:40:00.000-08:00

Recently I obtained a few photos of my work. I am interested to see where my work goes once it leaves the studio, so I was quite delighted with these. The larger piece with the red Caravaggio drapery is "Judy & Blitz". The other one is called "Katya". You can read more about them if you like:

Katya's Portrait

Judy & Blitz

"...This painting was designed to hang over the fire place (in the picture it leans against it, but has yet to be mounted on the wall). When one walks in the main entrance the portrait is directly at the end of one's sight line, displayed high on the far wall. In addition it also presides over the sitting room. The extreme height of the ceiling, and the overall openness and expanse of the house are what prompted me to paint on this scale. I also just have a fondness for painting people life size; I feel they are more real and present this way..." - Teresa Oaxaca

"...We all began the project with the understanding that the painting of Katya needed to work as art; if a good likeness and an appealing representation also resulted (as they ultimately did), I would view that as a bonus. I was grateful for the way Teresa immediately grasped our objectives and used them to help set the course for the project. The result speaks for itself, but needless to say, we are thrilled to have this beautiful example of Teresa’s work..." -Anne Parten

Pope Innocent X- Beginning

2011-01-13T16:05:00.001-08:00

I began a new copy today, this time of "Pope Innocent X" a painting said to be of the circle of Diego Velazquez. It is remarkably similar to the original painting by Velasquez, which I have seen in the Doria Pamphilj in Rome. This one looks as if it might have been a head study for the final painting, or a devoted student's version of the original.

It was nice to get back to the museum. I took a little break over the winter holidays to devote myself to my studio pieces, but now I am ready to continue my studies from the masters. This is a gesso on linen canvas. A wash of raw umber to canvas before I brought it in to the museum. The photograph above was taken after half a days work. In this order I painted; the background, the red cap, and the face. The colors used were Ivory Black, Titanium White, Venetian Red, Vermillion, Alizarin Crimson, Raw Umber, and Yellow Ochre.

I recall reading in Harold Speed that Velasquez used two blacks; a warm and a cold one. Although I used just the one, I was able to warm it up when necessary with a bit of Venetian Red (as can be found in the background). This was my first day, and so it was generally spent roughing in the shapes, values, and colors. I tried to get them as close as possible without spending unnecessary time on details; for these would have been painted over in subsequent sessions.

I am really looking forward to the weeks that follow on this copy. Already I have noticed a liveliness of paint application, and a play of edges. These are qualities I seek to emulate in my own work in the future.

Putti! They are not being that nice. I realized upon close observation that they were actually breaking the swan's neck.

Mancini Fiddler

2011-01-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

"Mancini Fiddler" oil on canvas, 2010.

62 x 92 in.

This is the painting I have been working on, finally installed into its custom built frame. The frame was designed and painted by me, and cut and assembled by my father. I was inspired by classical mouldings and architecture. Originally I had planned on including a pediment at the top (a triangular portion) however the frame became too heavy and I liked it enough without the pediment. The white sections feature dentil moulding; one of my original inspirations and concepts that remained true to the finish.

"Il Saltimbanco" 1877, by Antonio Mancini.

This was the inspiration for my painting, and also the reason I chose the title "Mancini Fiddler". Actually I didn't choose it, it just nicknamed itself that as I was working. Both of these paintings are about working and performing children. They have been thrown under a spotlight and made to execute a tricky task, leaving the viewers to wonder whether or not these players are at all content with their lot. We feel their discomfort ourselves because the proximity of the picture frame puts us in the role of audience members. We become witnesses in more ways than one.
A second great motivation for me to make this painting was to study Mancini's painting technique. I mean his brushwork. He was very famous for his surface textures; his Alla Prima, "devil may care" attitude to the application of paint. In reality he was very careful about where he put his strokes, going so far as rig up an elaborate system of grids.

I included this detail shot of the carpet to show where I let myself loosen up a little. (The camera got up really close to the painting so the image is a little skewed, but all the better to pick up the canvas weave.) I find loosening up really hard! But I am persistent. Working on a larger scale with a tougher weave, ragged brushes, and standing back to the end of the room to judge the effect are all methods which I practiced.

Here is a closeup of the lower right angle. You can see that I have added little stars to both of the lower corners. One of the things one finds when building a patterned frame is that the corners do not always match up neatly. A common solution to this is adding a decorative corner element. These have the added bonus of breaking up the monotony and giving a little bit of flair to the piece. You can make these extremely elaborate if you want.

A note about the color choice; At first I had a vague idea of using some of the more gaudy colors available during the Victorian period (deep mauves, dark blue) and than giving them a weathered look with some sanding. Then I became very influenced by carousel ponies and rides from the 1920's, and started to shift to a more bright, pastel look. In the end I let all these ideas guide me, and honed in on the colors by using the painting itself. I was careful to place a mauve and gold section around the canvas, as the majority of the painting's background is blue. The light blues in the frame were chosen to bring out the pale threads just barely visible in the two carpets from afar. I was careful not to apply too bright of a white to the frame, instead giving the girl a chance to shine and relegating the shell and dentil mouldings to a safe off-white.

New Year!

2011-01-01T09:27:00.001-08:00

The year is out a new one begun! I hope everyone had some success this year and got to spend time with loved ones. All time is precious.

Personally I had a great time; I visited the museums perhaps a little too much, despite the fact that I was doing no copy work (just viewing). I visited the Corcoran for the first time in years; they have a really nice collection. If you get a chance you should check out their French paintings, Sargents, the two Mantel Rooms, and the Salon D'ore. The National Portrait Gallery, American Museum of Art, and of course the National Gallery are also good places to visit.

As you probably know I am going to be visiting this guy soon...

And last of all, my show at the Arlington Library comes down Monday! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see my works. I appreciate all of you who are faithful and have been with me throughout the years, and I welcome all of my new followers who just happened to discover me. For those of you who purchased pieces I will be getting in contact with you personally to arrange a pick-up of works. If anyone is still interested in purchasing something it's not too late to do so, just email me.

All the best,
Teresa

Vanitas

2010-12-27T08:06:00.001-08:00

"Vanitas" oil on canvas, 2008.

I recently found a few "progress shots" of this painting. I thought I few of you might be interested in them, since I get asked a lot about my process. This is one of the few examples I have in which I use a full "underpainting".

As you can see here the underpaintng was made quite exactingly. Raw umber diluted with turpentine was my drawing medium. I worked directly onto the canvas using the "sight size" method. This means that I stood back about 6 ft to judge and measure out proportions, and then walked forward to make my marks. This underpainting took me 2 sessions to make; I worked on the left side first. Afterwards I completed the underpainting of the right side. I worked in this manner so as not to leave any hard edges. Choosing one area of focus(a single goal, a task) per day and bringing it to completion while the paint is still wet and maleable is a key part of this painting process.

Raw umber was chosen because it is a fast drier, and secondly because it was left in certain areas as a finished product. You can see this in the halftones and shadow areas of the book, the type-writer, and the table-top. Leaving underpainting showing is done I believe because it gives the maximum range of thick and thin paint- and also because fellow artists like to say when visiting museums "oh look, see how Chardin left the underpainting showing.. wow..." It impresses us!

Here I went straight in for the key areas of contrast; the highest chroma (red) and the brightest light(the white page). This stage is called the "dead coloring" because it pretty much looks dead. It's aim is to give the painter a ground to work up from. This method as you can see if pretty methodical; first the drawing is locked onto, and than the value range is established.

I don't have any more progress shots after this, but the background was attacked next. It was pretty much pure black, however don't be fooled by it's seeming simplicity. It was actually very stressful! A very large pool of black was mixed up to a "soupy" consistency, with the aid of "black medium". The typewriter was part of the background, so I glazed black onto the drawing, being very careful to only put it where it belonged. The raw umber was left everywhere else, and in the end I can say that the whole typewriter was painted using just Raw Umber, Black, and white. By making the darks semi-transparent and by contrast the lights opaque and textured, a greater sense of space and illusion is reached.

Afterwards I worked alternately on the books, the skull, and the table. The ash tray took me two more sessions after the dead coloring layer because I made it too orange on the second go so I had to repaint it a third time. Luckily I was able to glaze a bit of red and Alizarin Crimson over it, so it saved me from having to blend the edges all over again, and also gave it a bit more lustre.

Katya's Portrait

2010-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

This Sunday was the day Anne and Katya came to pick up "Katya"; so of course I wore my best hat.
We started this painting in October. Anne wanted me to paint a portrait of her daughter Katya. They both lived near my studio, so we arranged to schedule 8 portrait sessions. After deciding upon a "head and shoulders" size portrait, we moved on to design the pose. Anne was inclined to go with a frontal view, and Katya with Gothic undertones. I arranged the lighting in such a way that Katya had a "Rembrandt Triangle"- which is the light shape on her left cheek. This is a device Rembrandt frequently used to get a strong likeness, while still allowing part of the face to dissapear into shadow.

This painting is Gothic in more than one way: not only are the forms modeled in chiaroscuro, but the symmetry of the pose calls to mind Medieval Gothic Art. However there is variety enough to keep the painting lively and naturalistic. Nevertheless I like to credit the intensity which this painting possesses not only to the chiaroscuro (light/dark) but to the strict symmetry as well.

Katya and Anne were wonderful people to work with. I can honestly say that the whole project flowed on quite naturally with nobody's idea "trumping" anyone else's. Between 30 minute sessions of posing/painting we took tea breaks. I have a variety of 40 teas in my studio, and we ran through quite a few! The breaks were a great time to catch up on conversation, and I always keep a large bookshelf nearby. In addition if anyone feels daunted by the idea of sitting still for long periods of time, frequent cups of tea can make all the difference!

The finished painting

Katya taking her portrait home. (She would also like to turn the top floor of her house into an art studio)

"Working with Teresa was a delight from start to finish. Hypothetically, the quality of the resulting portrait would have justified a considerable degree of inconvenience or accommodation, but Teresa was such a pleasure to work with that my daughter and I actually regretted that the process seemed to go by so quickly. In addition to her phenomenal skill as an artist, Teresa is a real diplomat, pitch-perfect in balancing playfulness and professionalism. She backs up her talent and training with extraordinary dedication and focus, and yet combines this with wide-ranging interests, intellectual curiosity, infectious enthusiasm, and a genius for whimsy.

Because I admire Teresa’s paintings, my starting point for this commission was simply wanting to have one of Teresa’s pieces. We all began the project with the understanding that the painting of Katya needed to work as art; if a good likeness and an appealing representation also resulted (as they ultimately did), I would view that as a bonus. I was grateful for the way Teresa immediately grasped our objectives and used them to help set the course for the project. The result speaks for itself, but needless to say, we are thrilled to have this beautiful example of Teresa’s work. Teresa is a rapidly rising star, and Katya and I will be following her career as fascinated fans. We are excited to own what I hope will someday be considered one of Teresa Oaxaca’s early works – by any definition, it is a treasure. "

-Anne Parten, December 21, 2010.

Father Time & other New Works

2010-12-17T07:27:00.000-08:00

Here are five of the new works that are currently hanging at the Arlington Quincy Library.

When-December 7-31th, 2010

Hours-Open Mon-Thu 10am-9pm; Fri-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 1pm-9pm

Where-1015 N. Quincy St, 22201 Arlington V.A.

Father Time 54x62

Still Life with Cattle Skull 38x64 in

All to Ashes 70x48in

Mancini Fiddler 72 x 50 in

Girl in Blue 61x50

These recent works are part of a new series that I am working on of fancy dress, masked figures, and flowers. The still life is an accompaniment to Father Time, and part of a greater series of which I hope to make; at the moment it is the only one of its kind.

Father Time was posed for by my grandfather. He is Slovenian and this painting is quite true to his likeness and personality. However the hour glass is meant to symbolize allegory, thus "Father Time".

All to Ashes features a Dottore Della Peste Mask from Venice. It means Doctor of the Plague, and is a traditional costume piece by now.

Mancini Fiddler was made to imitate the 19th century painter Antonio Mancini's Il Saltimbanco. I was impressed both by the pose and composition of his painting, as well as being desirous of imitating his brush stroke technique.

Girl in Blue is a fancy dress portrait incorporating both the mask and the flower paintings. I did pose for it, however it is not necessarily a self portrait; I just needed someone to wear my outfit. I will write more on each painting later, this is just to give an idea of what is at the show. In addition to these large works I have numerous small drawings and paintings on display too.

Christmas Topiary and Done with Jan Lievens

2010-12-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

The End! This is my first attempt at a copy made from life in a museum. I am satisfied with the result, and have gained a lot of experience from it. This last day was spent in re-painting the background and its corresponding edges with the hat. I found I still had a lot of room to mottle the background colors up a little; this had the effect of livening up the entire image. On the left side of the man's head I also lowered the value of by re-applying another coat of raw umber. I felt this gave the lights in the face and beard more punch.

I have not brought the painting home yet, but will as soon as it dries. I am going to frame it with a tradition black dutch frame- although this might not be the exact same style as on the original. Then, I am looking forward to hanging it on my wall for a while in my library. I feel like I went window shopping and decided to make myself "that one". This is the positive side of being a painter; you can have whatever painting you want. I wish I could make other things too!

I'm going to start a copy of a painting by "the circle of Velasquez" next. This too will be a small portrait of a man, in this case Pope Innocent X. Look out for that somewhere in mid-January.

This is a closeup of the Rotunda Topiary.

One of the main wings branching off from the rotunda, in festive style.

The Dome

Christmas trees in the background

Katya

2010-12-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

"Katya" 22x26 in, oil on linen, 2010

This is a painting of a young girl that was started a while back (about 2-3 months). It is finished now and ready to be taken home. I will be making another post which goes more into detail in the process. I just wanted to make a first announcement about it here and to show it off.

This painting actually took three people to make; Katya was the subject, her mother was the one who brought us all together, and I did the painting. They were both very wonderful people to work with.

This is only the second portrait commission I have finished since returning home from my studies in Italy. I resumed work on Judy & Blitz first, and then this one began to take shape in October. I pretty much like to take on one portrait commission at a time; this allows me to give full attention to the people I am working with. Portraits require a number of sittings; however this is more easily managed if one party (me) is able to meet any day of the week. This schedule also allows me to keep working on my other projects simultaneously.

Pictures from Carnegie

2010-12-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

The show went really well last night. The Esperanza team organized everything wonderfully, Grigory played well (mesmerising!), and a lot of people had nice things to say about my pieces! I will write more later, as I am waiting for other people's photos (there were some nice group shots) but here are the ones I have so far.

The Library Show is now up and running! You can go see everything from the Carnegie and more, directions to be found here.

You can go see pictures on the Flickr Gallery.

The crowd in front of Father Time

Being interviewed for TV

The Rotunda

Having a good time

Becky and J.W. Mahoney

Before the show

In front of Father Time

Interviews, Press, J.W. Mahoney Review & Carnegie Show sold out!

2010-12-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

The photo above goes with a recent interview by Robyn Mincher, and was published in Brightest Young Things.

In addition the Ode Street Tribune did a write-up on me.

The Dec. 6th show at the Carnegie Institute featuring my work has just been sold out. Sorry to all of you who were trying to get last minute tickets. I will be posting a lot of pictures from the event!

Lastly, I would also like to include a review by J.W. Mahoney who came by my studio see a few of my works which will be in the upcoming Carnegie Exhibition.

"AS AN ARTIST, I FOCUS MY GAZE ON WHAT INSPIRES ME - THE BEAUTIFUL, THE UNUSUAL, THE MIRACULOUS..."
T.O.

"ALL ART IS AT ONCE SURFACE AND SYMBOL." OSCAR WILDE

T E R E S A O A X A C A - A T R A N S M O D E R N R E A L I S M

"An old man, exquisitely dressed in red velvet and white lace, sits supported by a cane in a dark room, decorated by a profusion of blooming roses. He and his accompanying flowers are lit by a strong, clear light, and his expression is stern, lucid, and animated by an abstract, conscious certainty, as if he is aware of something quite specific about you, the viewer. The painting is titled "Father Time."

So what we're looking at is not only a luxuriously realistic figure study set among floral still-lifes, but a living symbol of the terrifying reality of time itself: these flowers will never die in their vases, and were this man not an immortal deity, his gaze would not stretch, as it does in Teresa Oaxaca's painting, into infinite ages - far past the death of any of his viewers... us.

The evocation of such classical themes in unexpectedly new visions is an emerging feature of this century's "transmodernity." It's been clear since the late 1990's that art has evolved past postmodern cynicism into a kind of open, rich uncertainty. Contemporary art is moving through every form of aesthetic possibility - in film and conceptual art, to digital photography and performance art, to name only a few - toward an unknown horizon, not "modern" anymore, but something Else.

That something Else is what Teresa Oaxaca appears to be seeking, herself, as her recent self-portrait, "Girl in Blue," reveals. Teresa sets herself at tea, wearing an antique blue dress and blue silk shoes, seated on a chair and a stool, holding a carnival mask. Her elegant white hat could've been worn by a woman in a work by John Singer Sargent. But this is how Teresa herself chooses to dress every day - so this image is no less real than it is also an act of singular imagination, a kind of masquerade, thoroughly authentic.

These artworks are deep mysteries, wrapped in quiet enigmas - whether a painting of a nude male wearing a plague mask that his gesture indicates has possibly been fused to his face, or a straightforward still life of roses and ceramics interrupted by the gravely dramatic intensity of a cow's skull. Or the portrait of the artist's sister painted in a 19th century dress playing her violin posed near yet another mask, whose eyeless face seems to commune with her inaudible music."

J.W. Mahoney

J.W. Mahoney is an artist, independent curator, and writer, who serves as Washington's Corresponding Editor for Art in America. He is currently an Affiliate Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Judy and Blitz

2010-12-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

"The long awaited oil portrait of me and Blitz. The artist (standing on the other side), ESA, finished painting Blitz from images since Blitz never could sit still and passed away before the portrait was completed."
-Judy Nguyen

So there is Judy standing on the left, and also in the painting with her dog, Blitz. I am on the right. This painting was so large that it had to be taken off its stretcher bars and rolled up temporarily to be taken down the studio stairs. It was re stretched, framed, and varnished for them at last, and delivered by truck on Sunday. This portrait took a long time as it was made in the US while I was studying abroad. I began it while still studying at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. I used to work on it when I came home during my winter and summer breaks.

Judy and I both agree that Blitz came out really well. Judy came out great too, although I had to keep in mind that the painting was made for Blitz; especially now since she has passed away. I am fond also of the red Caravaggio drapery at the top too. It gives the painting a lot of color, and makes it quite noticeable from a distance. The surrounding walls were all painted in a muted green, so red was the complementary color. This painting was designed to hang over the fire place (in the picture it leans against it, but has yet to be mounted on the wall). When one walks in the main entrance the portrait is directly at the end of one's sight line, displayed high on the far wall. In addition it also presides over the sitting room. The extreme height of the ceiling, and the overall openness and expanse of the house are what prompted me to paint on this scale. I also just have a fondness for painting people life size; I feel they are more real and present this way.

Judy & Blitz Portrait, Mediums.

2010-11-26T14:01:00.000-08:00

"Judy and Blitz" oil on canvas.

This is a double portrait which I have been working on for a while. I was 19 and ambitious when I started it- So much so that it remains the largest work I have painted to date. This Sunday I will be delivering it, so this is very exciting for all who have been involved. There will be more on the story of this painting to come! So far this is just a snap shot to better illustrate the painting's size; There will be an individual picture of it coming soon.

In addition I am going to talk about the mediums I used on this painting. My friend Bogusia expressed an interest in the methods I had learned at the Angel Academy in Florence, Italy. I promised her I would get back to her once I had located the mediums sheet(which I cannot find!) but I still follow the school's guidelines so I will describe them from memory. Basically I follow the fat over lean principle; Each successive layer must contain more oil than the previous one. Linseed oil is fat, while damar varnish and turpentine/OMS are lean. The fat over lean method is designed to prevent oil paintings from cracking over time, and helps layers of paint adhere to one another. Here are the stages in order:

Wash- The wash is a mixture of raw umber (or another fast-drying pigment) diluted with turpentine/OMS. This is also known as the drawing stage. The medium is kept pretty "soupy".

Dead coloring- The dead coloring can be done with pure paint, diluted with first painting medium if need be. The idea here is that oil paint alone is fatter than an oil paint thinned with solvent. Dead coloring is what is sounds like, pretty much flat areas of loose color are laid in to better see the drawing and establish a color and value range.

First Painting- 1 part linseed oil, 2 parts OMS. First painting is the stage when we almost finish the painting; we flesh out the form and rough in all the details. This is a mixture of Linseed oil and OMS. The rule here is that every successive layer, or every painting session, should contain a higher percentage of oil as compared to the subsequent one.

Second Painting- 2 parts linseed oil, to 1 part turpentine. This is the finishing stage, you aim to make each layer your last.

Dark/Black Medium- This medium is kept separate from your lights. In theory we were told in the academy that turpentine/OMS is what caused the darks to sink in (become to porous, absorbent. So instead of thinning your Linseed oil with a solvent, thin it with damar varnish. The varnish also lends the darks more of a gleam, and helps them maintain their lustre so that you can keep judging your values correctly. This medium would start out something like 2 parts damar to 1 part linseed oil. Afterwards you would begin to increase the oil content.

Yellow Flowers, Autumn

2010-11-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

The view from the tea room in my studio. It looks out over the turning leaves.

"Yellow Flowers" Oil on Canvas, 2009

24 x 4 in, $2,600

I thought I would take the opportunity to update the photo of "Yellow Flowers". Although the painting has always been framed, I never included an image of it with one online. Lately I've been photographing all my works complete with frames. This is because I believe the frame is an integral part of the work as a whole. My late interest in frames might also have something to do with the designing and painting of a frame for "Mancini Fiddler" that has been going on lately. It is on the studio floor as I write, and its process has been quite fascinating to watch and have a hand in.

This still life was painted recently back in 2009. I remember quite vividly listening to Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" going on in the background. His story helped me get through this painting; particularly the white doily/table cloth which was the most challenging part of this piece. You see painting white is not about white at all; anyone who has ever had experience painting a cast will tell you the same. There are an infinite amount of hues and subtle value shifts which take place in white. Paint thickness is also an important issue; White being what it is, these objects usually attract the most light in a painting and thus necessitate the heaviest use of impasto! The decisions one makes concerning how bright to make one's lights, and how much to bleach out/lighten the corresponding secondary tones have a great impact over the whole tonal range of the painting. In other words, there are a lot of decisions one makes over what details to ignore and understate. This can be particularly hard as it goes against my grain to ignore what I can see; especially the lively embroidery in this case. The human eye really takes a delight in detail.

On another note, this still life was painted in Washington. The metallic vessel that supports the flowers stems is a prop I bought in Italy. I was studying in Florence at the time and used to visit an underground store near the church of San Marco which specialized in items from Nepal. This pot was something in which alcohol might have been stored.

Jan Lievens

2010-11-19T20:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a colorful picture of the National Gallery's Rotunda. The floral arrangement was really engrossing for me. I have become increasingly fond of flowers lately. Each of my compositions contains more quantities and variety of them. Wow, I think; I must stop to appreciate how beautiful these are.

I took a break last week from copying because of Veteran's Day. I found the pause welcome because it gave me a chance to catch up on my studio work. As you know there is a show in which I will be hanging 5 of my newest works. This will be at the Carnegie Institute of Washington D.C. only on December 6th. You are all invited and for those interested in attending I just wanted to make it clear that there is an entrance fee of $100 which must be purchased ahead of time. These tickets are still available at Esperanza's website. See also my Carnegie Show post.

I spent my first day back working on the left side of the beard. Someone asked me today about my wet into wet process so I thought I would elaborate on that here. You see, even though the painting may take many work days to complete, the finishing touches are all made when the paint is malleable. If you work freshly over a layer of dry paint without taking the time to cover the area over (to give yourself a base), you will never achieve your blendings. I like to think of the painting process in terms of moving from larger onto smaller areas. One begins broadly with the big masses and values, trims the shapes into place, and locks in on the values. After this you need narrow your gaze and take on manageable pieces; an eye, a forehead, a beard... Whatever you are safely capable of. Often it is not done right on the first try, but without this focus you just spin your wheels and never get anywhere closer to the finish.

Mancini Fiddler and December Shows

2010-11-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

Hello. It has been hard working time in the studio, as opposed to hardly working time; which happens too. Frames are being ordered and custom made, and "Father Time" is currently what's on the easel. Here is the first picture of "Mancini Fiddler" to hit the web. It was my obsession for the past few weeks; now it is taking its turn on the wall to dry. Because of the drying time of oil paint I like to have several pieces going on at once. This allows me to work on some while others get the drying time they need. In this case I am trying to let my pieces have enough drying time before the winter exhibits begin.

"Mancini Fiddler" is 72 by 50 inches. It was named that because I based the composition on the painter Antonio Mancini's "Il Saltimbanco". This painting will be hanging in the Esperanza Winter Benefit Concert on December 6, in the Carnegie Institute of Washington D.C. For more information on this show and to purchase tickets, go here.

I would also like to make clear that for those who cannot make it to this one-night showing at Carnegie, my paintings will also be on display afterwards on both levels at the Arlington Public Library from Dec. 7th to 30th.

1050 N. Quincy St, 22201 Arlington VA. Hours- Mon-Thu 10am-9pm; Fri-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 1pm-9pm

Jan Lievens Day 7

2010-11-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

I worked on the beard today. I spent a lot of the time trying to capture the particularly wiry, visible hairs on the right half of the beard. I was aiming for a scratched out, carved look for the darker hairs. These were actually real incisions on the paint surface which revealed the reddish underpainting beneath. Interspersed into the beard were heavy areas of impasto, mostly in the central lights. Despite all these details however, the form was really my main concern. Capturing the form was achieved by attention to hue, paint thickness, and edges. As your eye travels from the center of the beard out, it registers a shift from warm, almost yellow lights, to bluer and than greener halftones. Sometimes you can get away with turning form by just altering hue; in other words without resorting to a value shift. Ideally one uses both. However care must be taken not to overuse a value and hue shift at the same time, or one gets "over modeling". Over modeling can be just as bad as under modeling.

Paint texture goes hand in hand with edges. You will notice that all the edges of the beard are soft. This is because the quality of hair is generally soft, thinner than skin as it is made up of multiple separate fibers. You don't even have to know this as you paint hair, just remember what the masters always do and make it soft. Let it wisp away, and use thin paint. I like to save my impasto for the highest light on the form. Often the highest light on the form tends to be the brightest in chroma as well. This may or may not be true, it depends upon your subject. Sometimes highlights are cooler and a little lower chroma than the surrounding area, but not by much. If you make the mistake of mixing too dark or "dirty" a color into your lights than you will ruin your form.

The Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery

2010-11-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

On my recent trip to NYC I visited the Strand bookstore and picked up the "Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery" by J.M Bourgery & N.H. Jacobs. Here are three reasons why you should get the book:

One of the foremost books in its field

Taschen makes beautiful and affordable reprints.

3. The book itself smells really good. It's not the usual "new book" smell though, it has more of a disinfectant quality to it... This is eerie, no?

This monumental work was one of the most outstanding to be published in the 19th century. The Complete Treatise of Human Anatomy was published in 8 volumes between the years 1831- 1854, in Paris. For both doctors and artists, anatomical knowledge was for a long time limited to data gathered by the dissection of animals. The influence of Galen, a Greek physician, was considerable up until 16th century. In 1319 Mondino dei Luzzi (c. 1275-1326) recorded some observations made from human dissections and recorded them in his Anathomia. While Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) made anatomical drawings of extraordinary scientific quality they were ignored by scholars of the day and went unpublished until 1898. In 1543 Andre Vesale or Vesalius(1514-1564) published De humani corporis fabrica. Its publication was revolutionary and replaced Galen's extrapolations with systematic dissections of the human body.

More notable works succeeded one another until Jean Marc Bourgery (1797-1849) wrote in his introduction to his first volume in 1830 "...we must not slavishly copy a previous work, as none exist to which new facts could not be added; but, above all, it is essential for the plates of such a work, created with new intentions, to be drawn from nature, whilst using as guides renowned figures amongst those that have been published to date. This is the task that M. Jacob and myself have decided to accomplish. We will spare no effort to honourably complete the immense work that we have undertaken."

This book and its illustrations have a beautiful artistic quality which is certain to be appealing to artists. Taschen has reproduced Jacob's hand coloured lithographs life-size. Jacob combined direct laboratory observation and extensive medical knowledge in his endeavors. Nicholas Henri Jacob (1782-1871) who was a student of David, began work with Bourgery in 1830. The execution of the illustrations was to absorb him for 20 years. After Bourgery's death in 1849 and the completion of the Treatise he was able to return to his other artistic activities with included participating in Paris Salons.

This book is also really well labeled and I am looking forward to reading more of it. It is 544 pages long, includes 1-6 of the origional 8 volumes, and contains sections on osteology, myology, embryology, neurology, physiology, etc... At the end lies one of my favorite sections dedicated to interesting 19th century surgery techniques. While I was taking an ecorche with Alicia Ponzio at the Florence Academy of Art one of the things I used to do was peek at these before class and see how long I could look at them without fainting! No, but they really are fascinating and that is why I would make myself look. Alicia owned the book actually, and highly recommended it to her students- although her advice was to "master one anatomy book at a time". She is a very good instructor who can inspire others to learn anatomy, as well as being an wonderful draftsman and sculptor too.

The artistry and lucid presentation of concepts is really what makes this book priceless. I have studied the Richer and Goldfinger anatomy books assiduously and they are probably the first two books to go to learn from. Bourgery & Jacobs provides more viewing angles, including hard to learn areas like the under-arm and neck. Students of artistic anatomy will be given an edge here, furthering their 3D understanding beyond the familiarly presented lateral, medial, anterior and posterior views that Richer and Goldfinger provide. I like to describe some of these unusual views as "from the inside out".

People's Choice Award

2010-10-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

My painting is back home! This means I can finish it now, and here are all my props laid out and ready to go. Today I photographed it with its new frame. As you can see I chose a gold frame, picking out the most Baroque/Rococco frame profile I could find. I thought this suited the theme best and brought out the lights better. Girl in Blue is also part of my mask series so it is nice to have around while I work on the others. "All to Ashes" and "Mancini Fiddler" are its present company.

In addition "Girl in Blue" was recently awarded People's Choice Award at the "Expressions" Portrait Competition in Herndon, VA, with a cash prize. This piece was hanging in that show for the last month with a lot of other nice works. I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me.

So what do you mean finish it? Well I like to think of the 19th cent. painter Meissonier's answer; "I have someone much harder to please"(or some variation on that). It's really important to keeping working on a painting, to try and push myself further. In this way I improve. I would really like to add more impasto to the hat; some of the feathers would be a very good opportunity for this. The shoes, dress, and still life on the right can all be given a defter treatments of brushstrokes, and more think paint in key areas. I am a little divided these days between my earlier, smooth treatment of paintings, and my will to move in a direction closer to artists like Mancini or Odd Nerdrum. Consequently this is leading me out of my comfort zone; however I hope to find myself in a Via di Mezzo and be able to express myself in more than one way.

Friday Life Drawings

2010-10-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

These are some of the Trois Crayons (read this post to find out more) drawings I have been working up on Fridays. They take me about 2 to 5 sessions depending on the allotted time given. I am taking classes with Robert Liberace. I have been focusing on this technique which is one of the many he teaches, and have also had the opportunity to watch many of kinds of drawing and painting demos.

I am happier with these photos because in them you can see the alternating temperatures of the black and red pencils. The previous drawings I made also had this richness, it was just not apparent due to the photography, hence I am thinking of re-shooting them.

The first drawing, "Wayne" is 12 x 18 inches. It features the full "palette" of black, sanguine, and white. The white interestingly enough is really just the white of the paper, which you can get back by using a type-writing eraser to remove the layers of watercolor and shellac. It is better not to add white chalk unless you absolutely need to. Rather, you should strive to achieve your modelling with a full range of darks and half tones. This is because white chalk is heavy and hard to manipulate.

"Emma", 14 x 18, also features all three colours. "Nicole", 13 x 12, is only drawn with sanguine and than heightened by erasing in the lights. Sometimes it is nice to just make a drawing with one colour; you don't get the hue shifts, however the image turns out stronger and develops a lot faster. That's because there is a lot less second guessing going on ("should that be black, no red? no black..."etc.) This is at least my opinion on the subject. I build these drawings up slowly, deepening the values with successive applications of hatching. Hatching is key in these drawings. If you just "color in" the shadows like a coloring book, or perhaps the way you might lay in a charcoal drawing, they will appear dead and flat. The weave of the paper will clog up and the Verithins are less forgiving than charcoal. That being said, I tend to take this caveat too seriously and work a litle too delicately. Sometimes it is good to be a little more aggressive than usual and work faster. This is why the night class is my favorite one of the day, I get to push the envelope a little more.

Some people comment to me that I must have a lot of patience(some people can only stand to work on a drawing for half an hour), or that I am very accurate with mapping out the anatomy. I suppose to some my experience is from the opposite end of the art spectrum. I was trained in ateliers where we worked for 5 weeks on one drawing, where measuring came first and observation second, and where tones where established right away instead of gradually. I have since had to train myself to work faster, without measuring or sight size. I have been striving to be more expressive with my drawing implements; to make a more calligraphic line, to leave pentimenti and stop using the eraser. I am finding all these things challenging, and am enjoying adding a new tool to the "tool box".