Friday, July 27, 2012

memory painting

Underpainting possibilities are so numerous it's almost crazy! When I was shopping at Dakota Pastels I found this cool stuff called Liquid Spectrum- Concentrated Artist's Ink. Waterproof and intense  it proved to be an excellent first layer.  It easily layered with watercolor and then pastel. Playing is part of the job!
On another note I think painting from memory allows me to relish the materials even more!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

quandary over color

I realize (from all my plein air painting) that the landscape is made up of more neutrals than pure color. Beautiful grays. Still when let to my own devises I use more pure color than I must "see." Balance is the key, even in color, and I can't always seem to find it.
This one is done on a piece of 320 Uart- a bit too scratchy for my tastes. It holds lots of pastel, but will take off your skin after just a little finger rubbing. Yipes. I tried 600 and 800 and while they are smoother and easier to blend, they buckle with water media (problems for underpainting).  I know I can mount them...but since my small paintings are studies that seems like a lot of work. Back to 400, the magic number...for me.

On another note: Upcoming posts-
*new method for notans
*interview with Katherine Tyrrell ( of the wonderful blog Making a Mark)
*interview with Christie Scheele

In the meantime, if you have a moment, check out my new website. I am still working on it..... but it's up. There's a button for "sign up for my newsletter." My goal is to do a small newsletter- maybe 4 times a year. If you want to receive it sign up there.

Monday, July 23, 2012

juicy stuff on the way

My week in Washington was amazing, as always. I always love be in that gorgeous place and gather new insights from Richard. The pinnacle was learning a new method for creating notans and discovering its use to strengthen my work. As soon as I can, I will post step by step instructions.
This painting was one I did one very early Tuesday morning- I was alone at my new favorite site in Mt Vernon. The chattering birds were the only sounds. There was a silvery glow to the sky and water. I used the notan method to make my design and below is the notan that guided me. I must say that since I was trained as a painter, not a graphic designer- my design was never my strongest aspect. Now, with the new Richard method I think I can change and develop a stronger design.
Stay tuned for the new method!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

fog on whidbey

When I arrived in Washington this year I went straight out to my favorite place to paint. It was raining too much to take my pastels outside so I sat in the rental car with the radio on and painted. (not bad) While I love living in  sunshine, the skies here are pure inspiration.  I spent the following days (Monday-Friday) working with Richard- my  yearly check-up with the doctor. I will blog all kinds of good stuff about that time later. Right now I only have 12 more painting hours so I must go. Toodles for now.

Monday, July 16, 2012

retro- throwback: new notans

step one (top), two (middle) and three (bottom)



Notans. Most people know how important a solid design in a painting can be. You may have beautiful color and strong value decisions but if your design is weak the painting will not have a leg on which to stand. The notan shows the importance of "negative" space and it's relationship with good design. When I was in Washington this year, Richard showed his new 3 step to a notan method. If you have ever struggled making your notan actually work to help strengthen your painting this post is for you. In addition for an excellent read, please check out this post written by Richard for his Pastel Pointers blog: Value of Notan.

For this method of notan making you will need your sketch book, pencil or pen and value markers. Tombow makes good ones: N65 ( a middle value cool gray 5), N75 (a light value cool gray 3), and  N15 (a pure black.) Here is a link to Jerry's Artarama. My recent fave markers are made by Faber Castell and come in a small pack of 4 "artist pen big brushes in warm grey. I bought them at my local art store but here is a link to Daniel Smith.

The Method:
First, when making a notan, work small (1" or 2" no bigger.) Rather than getting wrapped up in the luscious drawing you are instead focused on design. Mark out your format. You may experiment with many, but once you decide, you have one small drawing inside a format.
Once you have a basic drawing you like, make that drawing 2 more times. Just look at the drawing not the scene for this step. Here you see the first drawing and the beginning of my repeated drawings.
Now you should have 3 small drawings.
step one











Proceed to the second sketch (The 3 drawings are there, waiting). Now is the time to use your markers with 3 or 4 different values to mark in the important values of the landscape.  No fussing.
step two
On the last sketch you make your true  notan. Look at your 2nd value sketch and make a third sketch that shows  a strong design using only positive and negative shape- black an white. Note the changes that I had to make in order for the design to work.

step three

Good books that include good information about notan:
Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design  by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield
Composition: Understanding Line, Notan and Color by Arthur Wesley Dow
And of course, Richard McKinley's Pastel Pointers:Top 100 Secrets for Beautiful Paintings. If you don't have a chance to work with Richard (even if you do) get his book.
You can get all these books at Dakota Pastel.

I hope this post helps!


why are you painting that?

oil on board, 20x20
Another wax medium painting, this time I was really playing with the layers on a textured board.
But more importantly, I want to talk for a moment about why we paint and the concept of "looking." These are just my thoughts.

When trying to understand the essence of the landscape (still life, figure) it's best to do it in a quick glimpse. Oftentimes we think that if we want to understand what is before us that we need to stare and analyze. Hmmmm, that is not the case. This is probably why memory painting works so well. A painter needs to look briefly and think and then respond. That works in the studio and en plein air. What is the purpose of looking and looking...do you really want to duplicate what you see?  Or are you trying to make a new special universe which relies on paint and color play rather than just  painting "it"? Count me in on that one.
What do you think?

Thursday, July 12, 2012

more wax medium

Two weeks ago I was fortunate to spend a couple of days working with Christie Scheele (at the Woodstock School of Art.) I had wanted to learn about the wax medium possibilities. Christie is a master with the medium. For a treat, check out her website. The good news is that I will interview her in late August.
Most of Christie's work is done on a very dark  or black gessoed canvas which sets the stage for a very beautiful, moody feel. I tried the black gesso, but now I have reverted back to a lighter underpainting.  I must say I love this new medium. First, it replaces the toxic Liquin I have been using for a long time and second the wax helps me work up a painting faster.
This painting is one I painted while working with Christie and just finished yesterday. Lately I have had a fascination with rivers, especially from an aerial perspective.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

more wax, nova scotia hail storm

oil on wood, 20x16
Working from memory, on a wood panel that had a failed painting, I had nothing to lose. I used the Soho wax medium on a painting that had Liquin as its medium. My memory of the thunder/hail storm we had in NS was firmly in my mind.
List of ingredients:
Soho- bleached beeswax, damar, linseed oil- softest of all
Dorlands- mineral spirits, paraffin wax, damar resin, micro crystaline wax, bees wax and ozokerite wax- whitest of all
Gamblin - unbleached beeswax, alkyd resin, OMS

The one thing I can tell you at this point- use as little as you can to move the paint- 10% medium to 90% paint. From my reading you will make the surface unstable if you add too much wax....more likely to crack.  I am playing with types of surface (textured vs smooth) and advantages of using it alone vs on top of other mediums(liquin) More later as I discover.

Monday, July 9, 2012

washington and wax medium

16x20 oil on wood
Just returned from beautiful Nova Scotia and I am excited to be back in the studio. The time is short since by Saturday I will be in Washington State for my usual time with Richard. Then I will finally be back to the studio for a nice long work period. It's funny  I LOVE to travel and get new inspirations, see friends, etc, but I am always eager to return to normalcy and my studio.
This is a painting inspired from last year's trip to the San Juan Islands. I am working with the wax medium and having a lot of fun discovering its possibilities. I am enjoying the buttery smooshy feel of the medium. It is very different from the stickiness of Liquin or Galkyd. Like Liquin it dries in a day, especially when it is out in the sun. I think I use too much of it and need to temper my use a wee bit. a little goes a long way. So far I have sampled 3 different kinds: Dorlands, Gamblin and Soho. Later, after I have a better feel I will write more about the differences.
I have received a few emails and comments about sketchbook posts and am looking forward to all the peeks we will be getting. Just let me know if you are interested in participating. Check out my last post about it here.
While you are checking out things, by best friend in the universe has begun a blog called "Eye on the Cove." For a year she will be documenting the daily changes of the cove near her home in Nova Scotia. I can't wait to see the changes. Here is the link.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

sketchbook peeks needed

Hi everyone!
After I posted my sketchbook it made me realize how much we painters love to peek. So I am sending out a challenge to everyone. You may take the peek-a-boo challenge in whichever way suits you.

The peek-a-boo:
Photograph 3 pages of your sketchbook. Choose pages that show the way you work. A peek into your mind. Write an explanation about how you use your book.
If you have a blog you can post your pages with an explanation (send me a copy to post parts.)I will link to your blog.
 If you don't have a blog, send me the pics and explanation. I will post for you
 Make sense? If I didn't explain it well, just ask.


All info is due by July 21st.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

sketchbook questions answered and nova scotia

Finally I am creating a post to answer all of the questions sent to me about sketchbook use.
1. My preferred sketchbook is a Fusion by Cachet
2. The paper is not thick enough for pastel or water medium. I "tip in" my pages.
3. In the back is a flap- envelope where I place my pastel papers.

4. I use the paper in the book to record thoughts, notan compositions and color harmony schemes.
5. My sketchbook is more useful to me than any other aid, including a camera (which I often forget to take with me.)
6. What is useful about the camera and why I try to remember to take it with me is to record my process. I find that having photographed the stages of a plein air painting is incredibly useful when I return to the studio and focus on large pieces. Having the "footwork" documented is a helpful shortcut.
On another note: Leah and I are on a girl trip having a blast in Nova Scotia.