Don Andrews Workshop, day 2

I did this barn today, from a photo I took at Winterthur Gardens last summer. The critique suggested that I darken the top of the lefthand tree, somehow connect the window on the front of the barn with the shadow, and one other thing that I've forgotten but have written down in my sketchbook which is at the art center. Don talked today about making these juicy, multicolored washes, about making good neutrals (gray: ultramarine blue and burnt siena, for one), and making mud. We all thought we could teach the last subject! I'm a bit pooped, but this is lots of fun. Do click on the smaller version here to see the larger, more colorful one.

Don Andrews Workshop, day 1

Our local art center is sponsoring a 5-day workshop with Don Andrews. Even after only one day . . . a long one . . . I can recommend him as a teacher.

His painting style is not mine, at all, but it's interesting to try his method. He paints in lots of layers, but I wouldn't call it glazing. He starts with the lightest value (leaving some white of the paper) and works toward the darkest, not necessarily waiting for things to dry but using the same color(s) over each other to build up the value. I tend to be a direct, slap-it-on painter so this takes some restraint on my part. On the other hand, he uses lots of colors, often letting them mingle on the paper which is on an easel set quite steeply. He also talks a lot about various elements of composition such as value, hue, value, placement of elements, value, focal area, etc. So this is what I did today (at the bottom). It's from my head and I see I have a nice, dark worm moving through the middle ground, not an unusual occurrence for me when I make something up. Basically I'm happy with what I did.

Here are a couple of photos I took during Don's demo. The right one is when he has put on a couple of layers of light value and the left is where the painting was when we left today. I assume it's finished, but only he knows.

Rub My Tummy

This was painted on gesso-coated board with the lighter tones lifted. It's Amari in a very familiar position. The title says it all!

figures

I didn't feel too inspired to paint today in our painting studio. I had a bunch of photos of people and my sketchbook, watercolors and Caran d'Ache crayons. I sketched the other three there (snowing today, we we are the intrepid ones) in charcoal in my sketchbook first. There was no effort to make these portraits, just to make them look like people, lol. I also transferred a pencil sketch I'd done previously onto wc paper. For that one, I used the two liquid watercolors I'd taken, an orange and a turquoise and some charcoal. On another paper, I pencilled in the others, washed in some wc paint in a pattern I liked with little reference to the sketch, then used a single crayon to draw the people. Finally, I loosely painted the shapes of the figures in two photos, then used crayons to draw in, or accent, the figure. My goal here was to get the gesture. I could correct a bit with the crayon, too, since the painting was done without lines and loosely. I need to put more obvious wheels on the skateboard. With the kid on the wave board (I don't know the name of this, but it's used at the beach where the water is only a few inches deep), I did the drawing first with orange crayon and it wasn't right, so I just did the drawing again with blue.

Mixed Media Workshop

Last week I took a 3-day, mixed media workshop at our local art center. I've taken these regularly over the last several years and this time something suddenly clicked and I got paintings that I like, or can at least look at for a while. Usually I either make mud or an all-over pattern with no center of interest and no place for the eye to travel. Rather than put all that I did, and have continued to do this week, I'll offer you a slideshow. You can see larger versions by clicking on the little Picasa icon at the bottom right of the slideshow. Any of these paintings is subject to change!

Purple Sky

Done with pastels on black paper. It may or may not be finished, depending on what feedback I get (hint!). It's from an ordinary photo I took, then changed the colors in Photoshop.

Storm Passing

One day in the fall, late in the day, I looked out the window to see the western sun shining on the trees across the cul-de-sac, with the day's storm clouds moving off to the east. I used that light as inspiration for this pastel. The light on the trees is the only resemblance to what I see out the window! It's good to be back making art. As always, this version of this picture next to the words you're reading is muted; you'll get a better idea of the painting if you click on the picture and see the larger version.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Who wrote "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun"? Anyway, that's what came to me as I did this painting. It's taken me weeks to do; these holidays sure do mess up our schedules, don't they? The photo was taken somewhere in Germany, I think, by my father in 1964. I love the light and the angle until, that is, I tried to draw it. I see a couple of things to finish, but basically it's done.

Feeding Grandpa

I finished this one today, after it has sat around with the drawing done for many days. It's from the same photo as a previous painting, only this one is a half-sheet and cropped while the other was a quarter-sheet and full length. It was a bit scary to start with the paint, but I'm happy with it now. I love Grandpa's hand in this one: it looks just like my father's hand (Grandpa is my father's father). I think this is finished, but as always, I invite critiques. And as always, you'll see better colors and more detail if you click on the picture for the larger version.

Sky

This little landscape was done for a monthly project of an email watercolor group to which I belong. It was inspired by a photo taken by Marci, also a member of the group, although it doesn't much resemble the photo. It's somewhat smaller than a quarter sheet.

Autumn Road

Another pastel. This is the same photograph that I used for the previous, blurry painting. The orange and lavender in the sunlight is really what attracted me to this photo. As usual, you'll see the colors better if you click on the picture here to see the larger version.

Two pastels

To make up for that leaf painting that took weeks, I did two pastels this morning. Both are from slides that my father took and that I have been scanning (all 6700 of them!). The autumn scene was done on a piece of red, flocked paper that another person in the studio had found in her old art supplies. If it looks out of focus that's because that's how it looks in person. The paper would only take the softest pastels and sharp lines were out of the question. It was fun to do, but the two of us who tried it recommended that no one buy more.

Catching Up

Well you haven't missed many paintings in the 6 weeks or so since I posted. About a month ago, Fran tripped over one of our dogs and broke her shoulder. As a result, she spent almost 2 weeks in the hospital and had a partial shoulder replacement (the knob on the top of the arm bone). We discovered that the closest hospital to us has improved greatly over the last dozen years or so and Fran got excellent care there, as well as from the ambulance guys who got her there! That means I've taken over all the cooking, as well as the other household tasks Fran usually does, and I haven't gotten much painting done.

I did paint this dogwood tree that grows on our back hill, and these canna leaves from a photo I took at Chanticleer, a local-ish garden where we were taking a plein air class. The leaves took me weeks . . . not my usual finish-in-one-sitting style of painting.

Whte Abstract

This is the same painting as August 23 and September 23! After living with it for a week, I decided to revise it yet again. This time I put white gesso over most of it, using a scrap of foam core for a spreader . . . sort of like icing a cake but messier and not nearly as sweet. I added some things, took away some things, threw some paint and generally made a mess and had fun. As always, critiques welcomed.

Birches

I started this pastel yesterday, too, and I'm really excited about it. It has an energy that I like. This needs more work yet than the low country painting, but I'm going to try my best to maintain the energy.