Do you know who your strongest competitor is? If you do, find out who their agent is and see if that agent can take on another client. You might find they don’t have an actual agent, but market themselves in other ways like placing ads in trade magazines. Recently Eric, the owner of Artspan, placed a full page in Art in America. I’ve seen similar ads in Art Review, Antiques and Art and Artist Advocate. Taking out a large ad in a national magazine can cost big bucks, but it can also give you big returns. You have to be ready for it in the way of the number of pieces you can have on hand at any one time. If you share the expense with say 5 other artists, then the cost is cut down and you all get great exposure. This is what Eric did. He ask all of us if we would like to participate and several did. This is one of the reasons I like Artspan. Eric is always thinking of ways to help all of us.
You can be your own art agent but if you can’t because of time constraints or just don’t have the skills, I think I’d start out with someone that might be willing to promote you for a percent of sales. Most of the time an artist gains a reputation for the work they create in their local town and then branch out from there as they have more and more work to offer. I’ve known many artists who have husbands or wives that work as agents for their spouse.
If an agent approaches you don’t pay money in advance. You don’t have to get a lawyer to help you with contracts but if you can afford one, it certainly won’t hurt especially if you are looking to do this for many years. Start out with your agent on a small scale and a small time frame so both of you can see if you have a good fit. Once you see that things will work out you can think about what you need in a contract to protect you and your work. I’m also sure that the agent would want to protect themselves as well by asking for an exclusive contract.
Why not try the Tupperware party approach… get your friend to act as your agent and throw some Jewelry parties locally and then get their friends to book parties … soon your work would be all over the place. I’ve often thought art could be sold like that too. Hook up with a decorator and have them teach people how to hang art. Hook up with a model and have her wear your jewelry and teach folks how to wear jewelry to the best advantage. I can see it now… get in touch with a civic group and tell them you have an idea for a program. Civic groups are always looking for program material that would be of interest to their members. Okay.. this idea is going to cost you.
:jest:
Wishing you much success! :drink:
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Shadow notes
Concerning landscapes:
1. Over half of all shadows are made from the sky color which is usually ultramarine blue, alizarin and yellow ochre in various proportions.
2. "For me, shadows are filled with light and air. I try to make the paint quality transparent in shadow areas to convey their airyness. In addition, the temperature of shadow areas is the opposite of the light source. If the light is cool, the shadows are warm, and vice versa." Donna Cusano
General:
1.Looking at any subject, you find two different types of shadows, cast shadows and form shadows. Once you begin to see the different types of shadows you will be able to take your painting further and make it more believable and interesting.
A cast shadow is what we think of when we sing the tune “Me and my shadow.” It the kind of shadow that is created when some object blocks the light source. For example, think of any object and then think of the shadow it would make if that object was sitting on a table or on the ground. The shadow you see is called a cast shadow. Same thing with shadows created by a flower blocking the light from another flower or a hat sitting on someone’s head. Even a nose can create a cast shadow. Casts shadows are the darker type of shadow because most of the light is being blocked out. Still there is color and a shadow isn’t a solid object… it is just a dark shape falling on a lighter surface, so some of that surface color has to show thru. Using transparent colors to create your shadows is a good idea but remember to make your shadows have sharp edges at the very base where the shadow meets the object but as the shadow leaves the object make the edges less sharp, less defined, softer and lighter.
A form shadow is the shadow that is actually found ON the object. Again it’s a shadow that is not in direct light. Mastering shadow form will help you turn an object making it have volume—three-dimensional. Form shadows are mostly soft having less defined edges and much lighter than it’s partner cast shadow.
Then there is the matter of reflected light, which I think of as a reverse shadow… lol, I thought I’d confuse you with that one.
Again, these are just notes cleaned up a bit. Hope I haven’t gotten anything confused.
2. Shadow color is determined by the light source and what the shadow is laying on top of. If you were painting a shadow on green grass and then that same shadow continued on to a pavement, the shadow would change color because the color of what the shadow is laying on top of would be different.
3. Reflected light is the light that jumps back onto the object from the light source hitting the ground, table, cheek other objects, as examples. Because it hits the ground, table, cheek or other object it will have some of that color in it but will be much lighter.
1. Over half of all shadows are made from the sky color which is usually ultramarine blue, alizarin and yellow ochre in various proportions.
2. "For me, shadows are filled with light and air. I try to make the paint quality transparent in shadow areas to convey their airyness. In addition, the temperature of shadow areas is the opposite of the light source. If the light is cool, the shadows are warm, and vice versa." Donna Cusano
General:
1.Looking at any subject, you find two different types of shadows, cast shadows and form shadows. Once you begin to see the different types of shadows you will be able to take your painting further and make it more believable and interesting.
A cast shadow is what we think of when we sing the tune “Me and my shadow.” It the kind of shadow that is created when some object blocks the light source. For example, think of any object and then think of the shadow it would make if that object was sitting on a table or on the ground. The shadow you see is called a cast shadow. Same thing with shadows created by a flower blocking the light from another flower or a hat sitting on someone’s head. Even a nose can create a cast shadow. Casts shadows are the darker type of shadow because most of the light is being blocked out. Still there is color and a shadow isn’t a solid object… it is just a dark shape falling on a lighter surface, so some of that surface color has to show thru. Using transparent colors to create your shadows is a good idea but remember to make your shadows have sharp edges at the very base where the shadow meets the object but as the shadow leaves the object make the edges less sharp, less defined, softer and lighter.
A form shadow is the shadow that is actually found ON the object. Again it’s a shadow that is not in direct light. Mastering shadow form will help you turn an object making it have volume—three-dimensional. Form shadows are mostly soft having less defined edges and much lighter than it’s partner cast shadow.
Then there is the matter of reflected light, which I think of as a reverse shadow… lol, I thought I’d confuse you with that one.
Again, these are just notes cleaned up a bit. Hope I haven’t gotten anything confused.
2. Shadow color is determined by the light source and what the shadow is laying on top of. If you were painting a shadow on green grass and then that same shadow continued on to a pavement, the shadow would change color because the color of what the shadow is laying on top of would be different.
3. Reflected light is the light that jumps back onto the object from the light source hitting the ground, table, cheek other objects, as examples. Because it hits the ground, table, cheek or other object it will have some of that color in it but will be much lighter.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Color Wheel error
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Looking back at the first steps to create my very own color wheel, I see I made a mistake not in creating the color, but in placing it in its correct spot. Did you see my mistake?
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to work some more on the color wheel and do the first exercise.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Color wheel - spectrum colors
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Finished with my color mixing for today.
I made all the colors found around the color wheel using the recipes in the book I'm using. The only adjustment I made was finding a sub for thalo green. I decided it was close enough to viridian. I looked at the color wheel I had printed it off from the handprint site. I can't seem to find the exact one at the handprint site but I did find this one ... a value chart of colors all lined up against a gray scale value bar. I thought it was pretty cool and did answer some questions for me. http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/vwheel.html all the information at handprint.com is for watercolors but you can learn much that translates to oils and acrylics there. After all, pigment is pigment.
Here's my color mixing for today.
Another point I found interesting at handprint is this statement:
Finished with my color mixing for today.
I made all the colors found around the color wheel using the recipes in the book I'm using. The only adjustment I made was finding a sub for thalo green. I decided it was close enough to viridian. I looked at the color wheel I had printed it off from the handprint site. I can't seem to find the exact one at the handprint site but I did find this one ... a value chart of colors all lined up against a gray scale value bar. I thought it was pretty cool and did answer some questions for me. http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/vwheel.html all the information at handprint.com is for watercolors but you can learn much that translates to oils and acrylics there. After all, pigment is pigment.
Here's my color mixing for today.
Another point I found interesting at handprint is this statement:
Because most artists have been trained under the "color theory" dogma that paints are just "colors", even knowledgeable artists or authors such as Michael Wilcox, Charles Reid, Susanna Spann, Jim Kosvanec or the late Zoltan Szabo do not always keep the distinction clear between pigments (colored powders), paints (mixtures of pigments and liquid vehicle) and "colors" (the product names given to paints). This results in frequent inaccuracies and outdated information in art instruction books, as explained in my book reviews. The editors at publishing houses such as Watson-Guptill, North Light or Watercolor Magazine share in the responsibility — after all, packaging and distributing information is their business. This confusion is an entrenched habit, abetted by the marketing techniques of art materials manufacturers, but a conscientious effort by artists, authors and publishers can put it in the past.
Color Study
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
I'm beginning a study of color. I may have mentioned this a couple of times before, because I've started this color study several times and just got distracted. It would be good if I had a class that I had to show up to at a certain time and then get a grade at the end... that might help me finish up, but until then, I'm going to start again and again if that's what it takes. :)
For my study of color I'm going to use a book written by Arthur Stern called "How to see color and paint it". I may jump around a bit so I don't get bogged down in reading text and not getting paint on a canvas but I do intend on moving thru the exercises he gives. I've never made it past the third exercise before. There are 22 painting projects. I feel that finishing all 22 will give me a better understanding of where I go wrong with most of my paintings.
I'll post my progress if you want to follow along and welcome you to also post any exercise you might do too. Actually, if you would do the exercises with me, it might help me complete them. We could be classmates! :)
Get ready:
I'll be using 8 oil paints.
Alizarin crimson
Cadmium red light
Cadmium orange
Cadminum yellow pale
Phthalocyanine green
Phthalocyannine blue
Ultramarine blue
Titanium white
Palette knifes
Canvas
Palette
solvent and medium
view finder
set up box
easel
paper towels
pencil
tape
colored paper ... I may use material instead. (this is for taping to the set up box so you can change out the color of your background)
trash can
easel
lights
You might think listing these is silly but I'm also trying really hard to clean up my studio, so having a list of things I need helps me make sure I keep my essentials handy... ready to use.
I need to contruct a set up box. So that's what I'm doing today.
I'm beginning a study of color. I may have mentioned this a couple of times before, because I've started this color study several times and just got distracted. It would be good if I had a class that I had to show up to at a certain time and then get a grade at the end... that might help me finish up, but until then, I'm going to start again and again if that's what it takes. :)
For my study of color I'm going to use a book written by Arthur Stern called "How to see color and paint it". I may jump around a bit so I don't get bogged down in reading text and not getting paint on a canvas but I do intend on moving thru the exercises he gives. I've never made it past the third exercise before. There are 22 painting projects. I feel that finishing all 22 will give me a better understanding of where I go wrong with most of my paintings.
I'll post my progress if you want to follow along and welcome you to also post any exercise you might do too. Actually, if you would do the exercises with me, it might help me complete them. We could be classmates! :)
Get ready:
I'll be using 8 oil paints.
Alizarin crimson
Cadmium red light
Cadmium orange
Cadminum yellow pale
Phthalocyanine green
Phthalocyannine blue
Ultramarine blue
Titanium white
Palette knifes
Canvas
Palette
solvent and medium
view finder
set up box
easel
paper towels
pencil
tape
colored paper ... I may use material instead. (this is for taping to the set up box so you can change out the color of your background)
trash can
easel
lights
You might think listing these is silly but I'm also trying really hard to clean up my studio, so having a list of things I need helps me make sure I keep my essentials handy... ready to use.
I need to contruct a set up box. So that's what I'm doing today.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Time to move on
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
It's time to move on. I've broken the dry spell and am inspired to go on to the next painting. This final edit is not what I had hoped for but learning to push values from the darkest darks to the lightest lights is good for me. The final painting is too green, but like I said, it's time to move on. After all, all three of the paintings have about 5 pounds of paint on each of them. Just teasing. :)
Monday, June 23, 2008
corrected values
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Corrected values... some correction on color
Plein Air Ocean studies
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Slowly I'm being able to stand to paint. I've taken some old plein air paintings out from the storage room and have tried to finish them up and get them framed.
I am really rusty and feel the need to do some color work so I'm going to try to do that the next few days.
To see what I'm talking about, take a look at these in gray scale and then I'll post the color images next. The gray scale images look so much better in my opinion.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
March Newsletter
March 2008
To: Plein Air Georgia Members
From: Phyllis Franklin in Thomaston, Georgia
I have great news. Jim Greenwood of Acworth, Georgia has agreed to manage and keep PAG on line and serve as a board member. Thank you so much Jim. I know I hear applause and cheers from everyone. Thank you too to BJ Wright and Jo Adang who have agreed to stay on as editors and advisory board members. I too will stay on as an advisory board member to lend support to Jim.
Look for a letter from Jim soon telling you of plans he has for 2008. Also look for a membership invoice to come to you. When you get this invoice, just follow the instructions given to you by the Pay Pal folks. Your support moving PAG forward is so appreciated.
You do not have to become a member of PAG to participate in most events but by becoming a member you will show your support for the organization, its mission and activities. We also provide a Yahoo discussion group which will alert you event news via email and encourage you to join at your earliest convenience. Go to www.yahoo.com and select groups, enter the name Plein Air Georgia in the group search box and that will give you a box to click and join. Joining the discussion group is not mandatory but just nice if you want to receive news via email.
It is an honor to be a member of PAG. At Plein Air Georgia, we have no preference as to style, materials used, or artistic interpretation. These are all personal choices that contribute to the unique expression of each artist while they paint 'en plein air'. Likewise, we think honest work by novice or professional is equally valid. The challenges and rewards of plein air painting are open to all. Although many of us are not die-hard plein air purist, we all enjoy painting outside and enjoy networking with fellow artists who enjoy the same. Some of us claim the title of plein air artists and others just enjoy the occasional outing. No matter how much or how little you are able to get outside and paint, all painters and patrons alike are welcome as members of PAG.
Join us for Workshops- paintouts- forum discussions, friendship
There is always something new to learn to push us beyond our comfort zone. Our mission is to serve the membership by providing a means to communicate with each other, share event and workshop information and provide a showcase for our work
To join, send an email to pleinairga@yahoo.com requesting membership. An invoice will be sent to you. Please provide us with the following:
Name - Email address
Website URL if you have one
Short Biography or artist statement
Physical location – town – county -Local art organization
Three or four images of your work in jpg or gif format along with art size, title and medium.
We are excited to have you as a member us no matter if you join with full membership or just join the Yahoo discussion Group. If you would like to become a contributing editor or serve on the advisory board for your area with post capabilities to the news blog, which feeds into the PAG web, let us know and we can set that up for you. Web membership is not required to be a news correspondent nor is membership at the Yahoo discussion group. What is important is being able to stay informed so we don't miss an event, resource or opportunity that takes place somewhere members might like to attend. If you have questions, just send a message to pleinairga@yahoo.com and that will reach the PAG staff.
Jo Adang
Phyllis Franklin
Jim Greenwood
BJ Wright
Friday, November 9, 2007
November Colors
The colors outside are finally showing in some spots around my neighborhood and I'm anxious to get out and paint but don't think thats going to happen anytime soon. I'm making good progress with my knee and all the other stuff going on.
Test results for anemia are encouraging as this new med pack is doing it's job and I finished up yesterday with a very painful physical therapy session for my knee that has bursitis. Once this bursitis goes away, I hope I NEVER have another attack. It's the same knee that had the broken patella a couple of years ago. I'm going to do everything possible to keep my knee healthy for sure. At least now I can walk a bit, sit a bit and get some things done like the ton of clothes piled up in my laundry room. Today I'm going to walk to the mailbox and see how that goes. If that works, I'm going to get myself out to the studio tomorrow. I also hope that I'll be able to sit at the computer and share some art things I've been reading.
I miss keeping the girls more than I thought I would. Strange how life makes it's twists and turns and all the things you though you knew about yourself change. Some pleasent and some not so.
Hope you all are going well.
Test results for anemia are encouraging as this new med pack is doing it's job and I finished up yesterday with a very painful physical therapy session for my knee that has bursitis. Once this bursitis goes away, I hope I NEVER have another attack. It's the same knee that had the broken patella a couple of years ago. I'm going to do everything possible to keep my knee healthy for sure. At least now I can walk a bit, sit a bit and get some things done like the ton of clothes piled up in my laundry room. Today I'm going to walk to the mailbox and see how that goes. If that works, I'm going to get myself out to the studio tomorrow. I also hope that I'll be able to sit at the computer and share some art things I've been reading.
I miss keeping the girls more than I thought I would. Strange how life makes it's twists and turns and all the things you though you knew about yourself change. Some pleasent and some not so.
Hope you all are going well.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Jack the Koi
The end of August and the sky is overcast with the promise of rain. The goldfish in the pond pretend they are koi as they splash their fins in and out of the cool morning waters. When we are children it’s fun to play dress up and prance around like the princesses that our mother’s tell us we are. It’s good to watch the fish playing and remember the play times when we were transported from everyday life into a fantasy world. What is it they say? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Jack the Koi
En plein air 08-31-07
8x10 framed without mat
Soft Pastel on Canson
Framed & ready to hang
$100.00
Contact phyllisfranklin@hotmail for availability
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Colored Pastel Paper
This morning I woke up early, before dawn, and got myself together for the day. As soon as it was light enough I went out in the yard to the goldfish pond and sat with my pastel pencils and some dusty red canson paper taped to a slick masonite board. I watched for a bit as the fish played around catching the early morning bugs. I guess everyone was waking up and wanting breakfast. The birds were singing and the frogs had gone silent I suppose in fear I would see them.
The fish in the pond are just ordinary goldfish, but one has a fancy tail and I guess that makes him special. I call him Jack. As I sat thinking and drawing I thought about the paintings I had looked at the night before of wonderful koi swimming in a pool. Jack had all the moves of a koi, but just wasn't a big and he was just orange all over, not spotted like some koi are, but like I said he had the spirit of koi. So, I pretended he was a koi just like pretend when I was a little girl and wanted to be a princess. Before my hour was up I had finished my work and felt really good about the painting, so I hurred to get it under glass and framed.
The Canson paper I used was a dusty red color so I just blocked in Jack letting the paper show thru. Working on a red background and letting the background pop thru everyonce in a while is a good thing to bring harmony to a painting. Keeping your colors limited is another way to bring harmony. I put down a dark blue layer around Jack and then proceeded to layer in yellows and some greens over the dark blue which produced different shades of green all the way across. To finish the painting up, I used a cerulean blue pastel which worked well with the red paper.
Normally you frame pastels using a mat and spacers to keep the paper from touching the glass, but you can frame pastels next to the glass if you are sure you have the paper secure so it will not rub or shuffle at any time. I took care to tape the Canson paper with archival tape to an archival backing board and then framed next to the glass. Yes, you lose some of the sparkle, but in this case, framing next to the glass actually helped the illusion of Jack in the water.
Jack the Koi
En plein air 08-31-07
8x10 framed without mat
Soft Pastel on Canson
Framed & ready to hang
$100.00
Contact phyllisfranklin@hotmail for availability
The fish in the pond are just ordinary goldfish, but one has a fancy tail and I guess that makes him special. I call him Jack. As I sat thinking and drawing I thought about the paintings I had looked at the night before of wonderful koi swimming in a pool. Jack had all the moves of a koi, but just wasn't a big and he was just orange all over, not spotted like some koi are, but like I said he had the spirit of koi. So, I pretended he was a koi just like pretend when I was a little girl and wanted to be a princess. Before my hour was up I had finished my work and felt really good about the painting, so I hurred to get it under glass and framed.
The Canson paper I used was a dusty red color so I just blocked in Jack letting the paper show thru. Working on a red background and letting the background pop thru everyonce in a while is a good thing to bring harmony to a painting. Keeping your colors limited is another way to bring harmony. I put down a dark blue layer around Jack and then proceeded to layer in yellows and some greens over the dark blue which produced different shades of green all the way across. To finish the painting up, I used a cerulean blue pastel which worked well with the red paper.
Normally you frame pastels using a mat and spacers to keep the paper from touching the glass, but you can frame pastels next to the glass if you are sure you have the paper secure so it will not rub or shuffle at any time. I took care to tape the Canson paper with archival tape to an archival backing board and then framed next to the glass. Yes, you lose some of the sparkle, but in this case, framing next to the glass actually helped the illusion of Jack in the water.
Jack the Koi
En plein air 08-31-07
8x10 framed without mat
Soft Pastel on Canson
Framed & ready to hang
$100.00
Contact phyllisfranklin@hotmail for availability
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Painting with Pastels
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Yesterday I painted with pastels and took some progress images along the way. Here they are:
First I sketched in the ducks using Derwent pastel pencils and started placing in the negavtive shapes around the ducks trying to leave the white of the paper as much as I thought would be good to have in the water and leaving the ducks completely white. I did get some blue into the ducks, but at this point it was like a very light wash, so it didn't matter much. For this painting I was glad that I had white Wallis sanded paper because I think it helped the water sparkle and also helped speed the painting of the ducks. I haven't painted with my pastels in quite some time and was surprised when I found white paper because most of the time I use the Belgian Mist, professional sheets. Sheet size for this one is 18" × 24" and I've taped the paper to a full sheet of foam core with blue painters tape. For the first few swipes of pastel and water as I wanted to be able to take it off the foam core if I needed to. I wasn't sure how wet I would get the paper and wanted to be able to dry the back with a hair dryer if I did get it too wet. Fortunately, working quickly worked for me and the paper did not get too wet or buckle a bit. I did not pad the paper with newspaper like I do sometime. Padding with newspaper helps me not get so heavy with my strokes for some reason. I tend to fill up the tooth really quickly because I do have a heavy hand. Wallis paper is touted to be able to take 25 layers, but they didn't use my hands to do the test. :)
Then I used some water and a sponge brush to make the blue pastel liquid and sink into the paper. I did this quickly and with as few brush strokes as I could manage and still get the flow of the water like I wanted it to be. I confess, some of the water helped create a water effect without my help. :)
Note: You can use water, denatured alcohol, Gamsol which is 100% pure odorless mineral spirits or Turpenoid as a wetting agent to turn the pastel into a kind of liquid. I've tried all of the above and have found that using Gamsol as the wetting agent seems to hold the colors better.
Adding in the shadows for the duck feathers was lots of fun, along with adding in the oranges for feet, beak, and a little on the feathers just to keep them from being too clean. :) Pastels, as any other media reflect color from the first colors put on the support as well as the support color itself. The colors you first put down might not be visiable in the end result, but are very important because of their reflective nature and color mixing effects.
More refining and headed for the last touches of sunshine. I've used a very limited palette of ultramarine blue, cad orange, burnt sienna, and a few greys. This makes it easier for me not to make muddy areas and certainly sets this painting up as a very effective complementary color study.
Done.
I used Rembrant soft pastels and Derwent pastel pencils with a final touch of a white pastel from my own collection of handmade pastels I made several years ago. I did not put this painting on my easel but rather propped it up on the counter and used some newspaper to catch the dust. I did this on purpose so I could lay the painting down on the counter or prop against the table or hold in my hand to sketch and work with the strokes for the ducks. While I layed in the water, I did move the painting around to let the pastel move with the water I applied to liquify the pastel and set it into the paper much like you would a watercolor wash.
Final image is 23x17 unless I crop a bit, and I don't think I will.
Yesterday I painted with pastels and took some progress images along the way. Here they are:
First I sketched in the ducks using Derwent pastel pencils and started placing in the negavtive shapes around the ducks trying to leave the white of the paper as much as I thought would be good to have in the water and leaving the ducks completely white. I did get some blue into the ducks, but at this point it was like a very light wash, so it didn't matter much. For this painting I was glad that I had white Wallis sanded paper because I think it helped the water sparkle and also helped speed the painting of the ducks. I haven't painted with my pastels in quite some time and was surprised when I found white paper because most of the time I use the Belgian Mist, professional sheets. Sheet size for this one is 18" × 24" and I've taped the paper to a full sheet of foam core with blue painters tape. For the first few swipes of pastel and water as I wanted to be able to take it off the foam core if I needed to. I wasn't sure how wet I would get the paper and wanted to be able to dry the back with a hair dryer if I did get it too wet. Fortunately, working quickly worked for me and the paper did not get too wet or buckle a bit. I did not pad the paper with newspaper like I do sometime. Padding with newspaper helps me not get so heavy with my strokes for some reason. I tend to fill up the tooth really quickly because I do have a heavy hand. Wallis paper is touted to be able to take 25 layers, but they didn't use my hands to do the test. :)
Then I used some water and a sponge brush to make the blue pastel liquid and sink into the paper. I did this quickly and with as few brush strokes as I could manage and still get the flow of the water like I wanted it to be. I confess, some of the water helped create a water effect without my help. :)
Note: You can use water, denatured alcohol, Gamsol which is 100% pure odorless mineral spirits or Turpenoid as a wetting agent to turn the pastel into a kind of liquid. I've tried all of the above and have found that using Gamsol as the wetting agent seems to hold the colors better.
Adding in the shadows for the duck feathers was lots of fun, along with adding in the oranges for feet, beak, and a little on the feathers just to keep them from being too clean. :) Pastels, as any other media reflect color from the first colors put on the support as well as the support color itself. The colors you first put down might not be visiable in the end result, but are very important because of their reflective nature and color mixing effects.
More refining and headed for the last touches of sunshine. I've used a very limited palette of ultramarine blue, cad orange, burnt sienna, and a few greys. This makes it easier for me not to make muddy areas and certainly sets this painting up as a very effective complementary color study.
Done.
I used Rembrant soft pastels and Derwent pastel pencils with a final touch of a white pastel from my own collection of handmade pastels I made several years ago. I did not put this painting on my easel but rather propped it up on the counter and used some newspaper to catch the dust. I did this on purpose so I could lay the painting down on the counter or prop against the table or hold in my hand to sketch and work with the strokes for the ducks. While I layed in the water, I did move the painting around to let the pastel move with the water I applied to liquify the pastel and set it into the paper much like you would a watercolor wash.
Final image is 23x17 unless I crop a bit, and I don't think I will.
Critique from Elin Pendleton
Nice, Phyllis! You've handled the reflections well. The critique for improvement would be to get the water beyond the duck heads to "lay down" more by the addition of some burnt umber to the blues, and perhaps lighten them a bit (lighter, bluer, grayer with distance).
Your whites on the ducks seem very cold to me, so perhaps an addition of a whisper of either cad orange or cad yellow medium to the lightest parts would warm up the sunlit sides.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Painting Children - More tips
I recieved another set of tips for painting children so I thought I'd share them here:
1. Don't paint babies if what you want is THEIR portrait. They don't have their personality yet so wait until they develop one. Babies almost always look like any other baby.
2. If you shoot photos outside in the sunshine, don't shoot them at midday because it will give you dark shadows under their noses and rings under their eyes.
3. If you are shooting photos for reference have them dressed in clothes they normally wear. You don't want an uncomfortable child. Let them pose for you if they are posers but try to use the photos you take that are natural poses. Give them their favorite toy, pet or let them play with something new you've brought along.
1. Don't paint babies if what you want is THEIR portrait. They don't have their personality yet so wait until they develop one. Babies almost always look like any other baby.
2. If you shoot photos outside in the sunshine, don't shoot them at midday because it will give you dark shadows under their noses and rings under their eyes.
3. If you are shooting photos for reference have them dressed in clothes they normally wear. You don't want an uncomfortable child. Let them pose for you if they are posers but try to use the photos you take that are natural poses. Give them their favorite toy, pet or let them play with something new you've brought along.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
What to do with an ugly painting
I’m sure that most of us have paintings that fall into the categories of good, bad and ugly. I’m finding that to have a painting that I really think is better than good tends to run the course of about one out of three. So that leaves me with at least one painting in the bad or ugly category and I have to decide what to do with it.
The first thing I remind myself is that all art is a great experiment. I don’t care how long you have been painting or how accomplished you are, each time you create a work of art, you are experimenting and each experiment will turn out differently. Have you ever tried to paint the same painting? Did it turn out the same? Some of us have track records that turn out successful paintings all the time, but even if you are this kind of artist, you are still a student for we all learn every day from each painting we do.
The second thing I remind myself of is that an old ugly painting doesn’t have to go to the landfill gallery unless I just give up and I shouldn’t give up without trying to save it at least one time. There are some things that can help me make a clean start or work-over my painting that I’ve used successfully before so I run down my list and see if I can salvage my painting by using one of these (choose the one that fit your medium).
· Spray it with oven cleaner and take off all the old oil paint
· Sand the oil or acrylic paint off and reapply gesso
· Cut it up and use it in a collage
· Soak the paper in a tub of water and rub pigment off gently with hands
· Cut the canvas or paper into strips to be used as bookmarks
· Use a product called sansodor which is a W&N solvent for oils
· Try reapplying a sanded surface when working with pastel papers
· Crop the ugly parts and reframe
. Take the canvas off and save the stretcher bars for new canvas
· Turn it into an abstract
· Flip it and paint a different painting with the old painting as a ground
· Try glazing
· Turn it into a mixed medium painting using inks, casein, egg tempera or gouache
I’m sure that you could add more ways. Make your own list and the next time to are ready to make a donation to the landfill, remember you can try one of the things on your list to save that painting. If all else fails and you don’t want to try anything new, you can go ahead and make that trash donation and still call yourself successful because you have just cleaned and organized your studio.
The first thing I remind myself is that all art is a great experiment. I don’t care how long you have been painting or how accomplished you are, each time you create a work of art, you are experimenting and each experiment will turn out differently. Have you ever tried to paint the same painting? Did it turn out the same? Some of us have track records that turn out successful paintings all the time, but even if you are this kind of artist, you are still a student for we all learn every day from each painting we do.
The second thing I remind myself of is that an old ugly painting doesn’t have to go to the landfill gallery unless I just give up and I shouldn’t give up without trying to save it at least one time. There are some things that can help me make a clean start or work-over my painting that I’ve used successfully before so I run down my list and see if I can salvage my painting by using one of these (choose the one that fit your medium).
· Spray it with oven cleaner and take off all the old oil paint
· Sand the oil or acrylic paint off and reapply gesso
· Cut it up and use it in a collage
· Soak the paper in a tub of water and rub pigment off gently with hands
· Cut the canvas or paper into strips to be used as bookmarks
· Use a product called sansodor which is a W&N solvent for oils
· Try reapplying a sanded surface when working with pastel papers
· Crop the ugly parts and reframe
. Take the canvas off and save the stretcher bars for new canvas
· Turn it into an abstract
· Flip it and paint a different painting with the old painting as a ground
· Try glazing
· Turn it into a mixed medium painting using inks, casein, egg tempera or gouache
I’m sure that you could add more ways. Make your own list and the next time to are ready to make a donation to the landfill, remember you can try one of the things on your list to save that painting. If all else fails and you don’t want to try anything new, you can go ahead and make that trash donation and still call yourself successful because you have just cleaned and organized your studio.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Carly Ann's portrait is finished
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
I'm finished!
I can't say I am totally happy, but I think I should leave this as it is and move on to the next challenge. I feel good about everything I've learned and I thank everyone for help and support.
These images are taken from my old camera which only is only 1.3 mega pixcels. I can't believe how much technology has improved since I bought this camera in 2000. The camera I use today takes images at 8.0! I wonder what we will be doing five years from now.
I'll take better pictures tomorrow when I can take them outside and use my newer camera which is on batter charge at the moment. I did take a B&W just to see my values.
I'm ready for my critique. Please do not hold anything back. I need and want to learn as much as I can from this piece and trust that all of you will be honest with me. If you want to wait until tomorrow for better pictures, I'll understand. Most things did not change from last image, but I did finish up the shoes and of course, you'll notice I made the bush big again. (sigh)
Thanks again for all the emails with advice and support.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Hanging paintings
I didn't paint today but instead brought the painting of Carley Ann into the house so I can see how it will look hanging. I can't decide where I want it to be but I'm glad I brought it in. Paintings look so different when you hang them on the wall and lighting is so important. I think I'm going to hang it in the blue room which is actually a sitting room right across from the dinning room. When it's done and has found it's place on my walls, I'll take a picture and post the image here. Here's saving a spot for it.
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Next project - Inventory Storage
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
I'm working on getting my studio cleaned up and organized. I know this sounds like a broken record, but get the studio organized is taking me more thought than I anticipated.
The first problem I have is finding space to store the finished paintings that are not hanging in the gallery. Then there is the problem with storing paintings that I want to revisit and maybe finish up. Most of these are plein air studies. I want a quick way to identify them without having to pull them all out to find the one painting I want to work on that I've identified by looking thru my inventory book.
My inventory book is of the loose leaf variety. The pages have all the necessary information on them along with a photograph of the painting. I have my paintings tagged with the inventory tag number and try to store the paintings with the tag visible. My inventory tag system is based on the date I finish the painting or stop working on the painting and photograph it for the first time. I name my image file the same as the inventory tag which looks like this example using todays date: 070407 and if I have more than one painting, the tag would look like 070407a etc.
Sometimes the tag is just written on the side of the canvas, other times it's on the clear bag cover of panels. This works pretty good but I'm always on the look out for an easier way to sort and store the paintings for easy access.
I'll keep you posted if I find any interesting ways beyond the usual. When I get mine done, I'll photograph it and let you see my progress with that too.
I'm working on getting my studio cleaned up and organized. I know this sounds like a broken record, but get the studio organized is taking me more thought than I anticipated.
The first problem I have is finding space to store the finished paintings that are not hanging in the gallery. Then there is the problem with storing paintings that I want to revisit and maybe finish up. Most of these are plein air studies. I want a quick way to identify them without having to pull them all out to find the one painting I want to work on that I've identified by looking thru my inventory book.
My inventory book is of the loose leaf variety. The pages have all the necessary information on them along with a photograph of the painting. I have my paintings tagged with the inventory tag number and try to store the paintings with the tag visible. My inventory tag system is based on the date I finish the painting or stop working on the painting and photograph it for the first time. I name my image file the same as the inventory tag which looks like this example using todays date: 070407 and if I have more than one painting, the tag would look like 070407a etc.
Sometimes the tag is just written on the side of the canvas, other times it's on the clear bag cover of panels. This works pretty good but I'm always on the look out for an easier way to sort and store the paintings for easy access.
I'll keep you posted if I find any interesting ways beyond the usual. When I get mine done, I'll photograph it and let you see my progress with that too.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Check lists
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Funny how the list that I keep on my easel to reimind me what I need to be reminded of keeps growing.
Some of these were given to me by artist friends, others are just things from workshops, workbooks or personal observation.
Bottom line, I know my list will keep growing because I'll keep learning and that's exactly what painting is all about.
Funny how the list that I keep on my easel to reimind me what I need to be reminded of keeps growing.
Patterns
Symmetry
Colors
Complementary colors
enhanced colors
texuture (physical and visual)
Compostion focus
interesting crops
pointers
movement
proportions
presentation
framing
Paint with your eyes
Think what things might become
Let the brush talk
Be in love with change
Find the elegance
See the big picture
Make it a pattern
Identify the extraordinary
Don't get gauche
Keep it fresh at all costs
Take your time
Compositional integrity. A composition that knows its edges, balances internally and "works" in the "big picture." The superior creative eye often simplifies and is not distracted by minor elements or extraneous detail.
Sound craftsmanship. No sloppy craftsmanship detected. Artist appears to be grounded in accepted means of application, order, and seems to have knowledge of media chemistry. Work looks like it is not liable to fall apart shortly.
Colour sensitivity. Appears to have understanding of colour choices—complementary, analogous, etc. Often shows colour paucity and attention to sophisticated grays. I hate to use the word "taste," but I will.
Creative interest. Subject is creatively different so that it attracts, leads and holds my attention to the artistic and creative elements within the work. I often become aware of a greater creative mind at work.
Design control. Artist appears to have an understanding of how the eye is managed and led by the design, flow and activation of a work—effectively 'seducing' me. I often have the feeling of a masterful eye managing mine.
Gestural momentum. Brushwork or line-work is often expressive and has bravura, bravado, courage and élan. It often shows variety of stroke and is generous in the "hand made" conveyance of visual energy.
Artistic flair. Artist does something beyond blind representation and/or just moving the materials around in some form of lazy play. Work has style and panache and captivates in its artistry. "Wow, that's artistic!"
Expressive intensity. All stops are pulled to enhance the central idea or general motif. It can be a "look," a mannerism or an illusion, but the intensity convinces me of the presence of a non-jaded, passionate, particular author.
Professional touch. Artist avoids amateur methodology and gives a direct, confident, seasoned look to the work. Some people seem to know what they're doing, others do not. Professionals often, but not always, tend to leave their strokes alone.
Surface quality. Up close and personal the surface is intriguing and a joy to cruise. This may be because of the texture, handling of pigment, or the complexity of surface abstraction, gradation, or other quality—anything that makes the surface fascinating.
Intellectual depth. Artist gives me something to think about. There is an enduring resource here—not just a pretty picture but a thoughtful metaphor or other device that has staying power without retreating to sentiment or kitsch.
Visual distinction. The art has a look of uniqueness, either with style, subject matter or handling. It looks different from what I've seen before, or if similar, arrests the eye with a unique feeling or look that denotes "character."
Technical challenge. Artist has chosen something that requires above average skills or technical ability. Not just something that anybody could do. I love to see artists challenge themselves, take the technical risk, and win.
Artistic audacity. Artist is "in your face" with some element that dazzles—skill, idea, technique, or some other in spades of the above mentioned points that makes me sit up and take notice.
Some of these were given to me by artist friends, others are just things from workshops, workbooks or personal observation.
Bottom line, I know my list will keep growing because I'll keep learning and that's exactly what painting is all about.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Working Small
Click any image to see an enlarged version
Lesson Plan to try
Lesson Plan to try
Working small
Take a 6x8 panel or paper and divide it up into four rectangles. Create four thumbnail sketches to use as reference for your small works painting.
Limit your palette. Premix colors for each major color/value in the painting (no more than around 8 colors or so or if you want to limit further, try just three plus black and white. Using a mountain landscape as an example, you would need to premix the sky color, the light and shadow for the upright trees, the light and shadow for the ground plane, and the light and shadow for the slanting plane (mountains).
Limit your time spent on each painting to no longer than 20 or 30 minutes. Don’t keep working on a painting that is not working… just move on to the next one or try the same painting with a fresh panel, different light, different angle, perspective, etc.
Working small has great benefits with economy of time, material, and learning. Once you have a successful small painting, you can expand the ideas to a larger works with ease since you’ve already worked out the majority of the problems and tried the same set up in different lights, etc. Use every painting you do as an opportunity to design and problem solve. Work from nature or life as often as you can. Work to capture the essential information. Practice objectivity to critique your own work and make your own check- list of things that you want to pay special attention to.
There are so many things to paint and so little time to get them all done.
Hands, shoes, hair adjustments
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Today I've been working on trying to get the hands in position, resolving some issues with her hair, and getting the shoes in ready for shadows. Small changes in some places and big changes in others. I still can't quite get the color of her skin right. Looking at the image I see I will need to go back and adjust the shape of her chin where I cut in taking the hair off her shoulder and putting it to the back. It's still fun. :)
.:.
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Today I've been working on trying to get the hands in position, resolving some issues with her hair, and getting the shoes in ready for shadows. Small changes in some places and big changes in others. I still can't quite get the color of her skin right. Looking at the image I see I will need to go back and adjust the shape of her chin where I cut in taking the hair off her shoulder and putting it to the back. It's still fun. :)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Background and foreground adjustments
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
I'm fiddling and that's my usual routine when I'm just not happy with something. I worked on the background and adjusted the size of the bush in the front. I'm happy with the background and think everything will come together when I lay some of Carley Anns hair back in at the top of her head. If it still doesn't look right, I can lower the yellow grass line.
I'm also fiddling with her hair on the left side of the painting.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Hair Sample
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Just for reference, here is a sample of her hair. In the photograph her hair is wet.
Bear and Hair
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Still trying to find the right blonde for her hair.
Painting advice from my friend Booker Thomas Poole:
1.
Phyllis....try using a combination of burnt and raw sienna, yellow ochre, and mars black on Carley's hair....hold on the hands until you've finished Carley's hair and you are satisfied with her face...believe it or not, you have painted a very challenging portrait in record time! Paint on Phyllis!!
__________________
http://www.dazzcraze.com
2.
Mars black was only to be used to "darken" the burn't and raw sienna....I see no problem using black as much as I see using white as potentially problematic...white used with certain colors can "bleach" that color out---too much white can make a painting look "washed out"---the colors are not as brilliant, or lively as they could be.
__________________
http://www.dazzcraze.com
Monday, June 18, 2007
Hair and Hands
Click any image to see an enlarged view.
Still trying to find the right formula to paint her hair. I see I need to study a bit more. :)
Bricks
Back trying to resolve the problem about the brick perspective and finally deciding that what I need to do is downplay the bricks so as to keep the focus on Carley Ann. I darkened the bricks somewhat and will probably do back over them again with another layer of dark glaze to further push them out of focus. I also keep tinkering with the background around her head as I'm not happy with what I keep doing. Again... working these problems out by doing a thumnail sketch and sticking to it would have solved this problem right off.
Click the image to see a larger photo.
Friday, June 15, 2007
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