Out & About Plein Air Painting Event Norfolk

Two weeks ago, I participated in the "Out & About" plein-air painting event in Norfolk. This 3rd annual show and sale at the Monticello Arcade (across from McArthur Mall) was organized by artist and gallery owner Karen Kinser. She does a fenomenal job getting a group of about 60 artists together who paint in Norfolk for 2 days and show & sell their wet paintings on the third day. Thank you Karen! We've been extremely lucky with the weather this year, it was beautiful, which makes being an outdoor painter a whole lot more fun! Here are the two pieces I painted, the beautiful door of a sunroom in the Freemason area and the pagoda next to Nauticus. I will definitely participate again next year....a great 'change-of-scenery' from the Eastern Shore marshes I'm used to seeing & painting and meeting new talented artist friends....life doesn't get any better!

Portrait & Figure Workshop with Scott Tallman Powers

Last week, I was lucky enough to be able to take a workshop with well-known artist Scott Tallman Powers in Easton, Maryland. Scott is a signature member and boardmember of the Oil Painters of America and founded The Plein Air Painters of Chicago. He also teaches at The Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Art in Chicago. His paintings are like pure poetry to me, beautiful scenes and portraits with a certain mood or atmosphere that touch your heart.

This 5-day Portrait & Figure worskhop was organized by South Street Art Gallery in Easton, MD so it promised to be a good one! After the gallery owner (and artist) Nancy Tankersley had asked Scott what our schedule for the week would be, he answered: "Schedule? We're going to paint, paint, paint!" He kept his promise....we painted from 9am till 4pm every day and afterwards, we were welcome to look over his shoulder during his own outdoor painting sessions.

The week was divided into two subjects: the first two days we would paint a portrait and the last three days we're going to focus on the nude figure. Scott would start with an extensive demo of half a day. He would be talking about the importance of measuring accurately, rather than trying to capture a likeness! Measuring by using 'plumb lines' and comparing distances to eachother, rather than using inaccurate 'rules' (such as the eyes are always in the middle of the face). These rules don't work, since people are all different! He also emphasized the importance of putting down the darkest dark, the lightest light and the brightest color right away. This will give you the opportunity to measure all other values and colors against these 'guidelines'. The first layer of oil paint is put on rather thin (almost 'scumbled'), but in the correct value & local color, subsequent layers of subtle color nuances are added with more paint. He also stressed the importance of edges. Sharp edges are created by big value-changes (f.e. difference between foreground value and background value) and bigger plane changes (f.e. sharp edge of the nose instead of the soft curve of a cheek). Both a portrait ,as well as a figure, requires you to work from large shapes to smaller shapes and from the large value and temperature changes to more subtle changes. The trick is also not to stare at one value or color too long...this will make you see all kinds of different colors! Scott told us to look at an area by squinting and using your peripheral vision, rather than to stare at it directly. This will make you compare the value and color to another area closeby and relate every area correctly.

The models had a 5 minute break every 25 minutes, but we probably needed the breaks more than they did! It took all our energy to stay focused, keep measuring, comparing, squinting and mixing. Scott was extremely encouraging and very generous with his information and experience. He gave us so much to think about that it will take us quite a long time and lots of practice to digest the information for it to become 'second nature'....but if we can get any closer to painting like Scott in the future, it will be definitely worth it! Check out his work by going to: http://www.scottpowersfineart.com/.

Out of the Comfort Zone

I want to share a wonderful experience with you on what it was like for me as an artist to be completely taken out of my 'comfort zone' and loving every minute of it! Last weekend, I took a workshop on still life composition with well-known artist Maggie Siner. The workshop was organized by Brazier Gallery & Studio in Richmond where I had taken a workshop before and both the gallery, as well as the workshops, are of high quality. The reason I had signed up with Maggie's workshop was because her paintings look very loose and spontaneous. They show bold brushstrokes, yet are very harmonious and colorful. I would like to 'loosen up' a bit in my own paintings, which means painting less photographic and leaving more to the viewers' imagination. This would be the perfect opportunity I figured. And how right I was... On the list of suggested materials, there were a few items to bring to the class. Items of 1 solid color, no pattern, not shiny, but interesting shapes. OK, I can handle that....it took me about a week to put together a nice collection of objects that had those characteristics and when combined, would tell an entire story. A red wooden box, an old tankard, some big red onions, a few scallions and a garlic would be the perfect little still life I would render beautifully on the one large empty canvas that was also on the list of materials. Friday evening, after my 2,5 hour trip and a visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, we all gathered at the studio for a slide show and demo. Maggie explained her approach to painting. First, you do some sketching without confining yourself to a certain canvas size or dimensions yet! Look for the big shapes of light & dark, not just objects versus background. The light hitting the object will be part of the light area(s), as well as the light hitting the fore- and background, they will be part of the same light areas. The shadow side of the object will be part of the dark areas, as well as the shadows hitting the fore- and background. These light shapes and dark shapes have to be designed in a solid and balanced pattern. If there are too many small light spots in a dark painting or too many dark areas in a light painting, the composition will fall apart. It made sense to take a few minutes to establish a good light-dark design, but it definitely takes practice to divide your entire picture into either black or white. You have to decide which of the halftones (grey-values) belong to the dark shapes and which ones to the light shapes in order to achieve a solid design.
The next day we would put the brush to canvas ourselves. On Saturday morning, I had my first shock when I walked in the room. All my carefully chosen items had been placed onto several different tables to be incorporated in several different still life set-ups! There goes my carefully planned ‘story’ of a still life, I had to pick an easel and choose any of the still lifes that were put together with completely random objects! After a deep breath, I picked an easel, put my art supplies down, and then I noticed how Maggie had strategically placed the taboret (table for your palette) in front of the easel, which meant I could not get close to the canvas at all. I had to stretch my arm and use a long-handle brush to reach the painting surface, which does not allow for any detailing or ‘nitpicking’! The easels were also very tall, so there was no sitting down during this painting session….it forced us to walk back and forth and look at our work from a distance one would ‘normally’ observe a painting (hanging on a wall). After many different sketches and more demonstrations, on Sunday we finally got to paint on our large canvas (16”x20”). I had picked a still life with a wooden hand, two apples and two yellow paper bags. Maggie pointed out the diagonal from the curtain in the background, running down the fold in the paper bag along the finger and down to the table top. Stuck in my old habit, I focused solely on the objects and the background, and had not noticed the diagonal! After my initial sketch in raw umber to establish the light & dark pattern, I was allowed to put colors down. I felt I was painting an abstract, using big brushes, lots of paint and only ‘filling in’ the big shapes of light and dark. At the end of the day, Maggie came by again and I asked her what the painting needed. She told me it was a pretty nice piece, but it was too bad I had over-worked the hand and the apples. I stared at the painting in disbelief….over-worked? I felt like I was still painting an abstract, right? But…..isn’t the hand that ‘picked’ the apples the most important part of the painting, I asked? I thought it was OK to put a few details in the most important area of the ‘story’? Maggie shook her head and said: “no, your ‘story’ is not the apples, nor the hand, your subject or story of the painting is the play of light & darks hitting the objects and the background!’. Oops…..I guess it takes more than just one weekend to overcome old habits and learn to see things in a whole new light! Besides the workshop literally being an eye-opener, connecting with other wonderful artists who are struggling with the same issues is a great way to bond. Trying to put Maggie’s advice into practice on my own now, I’m already looking forward to the next experience to shake things up a bit…!
PS If you'd like to see some of Maggie Siner's work, visit: www.maggiesiner.com