Going Vertical

 I often forget to think like  a decorator.  And one format that painters tend to forget is the vertical.  Verticals emphasize the height of a room or fill a small wall space where a horizontal would be squeezed.

As a landscape painter, it is not always easy to design a vertical composition.  But if you look for tall subjects within a landscape, you can narrow the scope of your painting.  Case in point:  a waterfall!

Also notice the "S" curve formed by the light shapes.

Numbers

Here's one more sketch.  This scene has been painted so often by local painters in Boothbay that it's referred to as Motif #1.

An often touted rule in painting and drawing is to use an odd number of objects (3, 5, 7) rather than an even number.  This is probably because an even number might create a balance that is too symmetrical, i.e., two on one side and two on the other.  Just remember that one side or section of your composition has to "win".  If both sides are equal, there will be no clear focal point. 

You can either see this composition as five buildings or three.The three buildings in the center are grouped as two against one.  The hints of the other two buildings make it three on one side and two on the other.

Back to the Basics

Sometimes when I'm at a loss about what to paint next, I get out my sketchbook and do what I first did when I started my art journey so many years ago.  Drawing and sketching can reintroduce me to the joy of expressing myself with the strokes of a pencil.  Nothing fancy...a #2H and a #2B.  These days I'm more interested in finding values than I was when I was younger and concerned with outlines. Values rather than lines define the edges of things.  Keeping the strokes short and staccato also makes them more interesting.
Here's a scene I can draw in my sleep:  Ram Island Lighthouse off Ocean Point in Boothbay Harbor.

Critique

Here's a link to the St. Louis Watercolor Society's video of Stephen Quiller commenting on the winning paintings in their annual exhibition, including mine.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY1r67SBUyg&feature=youtu.be

Last of a series

This is the last of the beach shack series for a while.  The search for a new subject is not easy. It feels like looking for visual candy when all I see are visual vegetables.  I'll keep you posted.

Recognition

Most of an artist's time is spent in the studio or plein air painting.  Ours is basically a solitary profession, so there must be pleasure in the doing, satisfaction in the process. 

But if we've worked hard, paid our dues, and learned our craft, for a brief, shining, hopeful moment,  we can celebrate our growth in the spotlight.  It's not "Look at me", or "Look what I've done";  it's "Let's share the enjoyment of the fruits of our labors."  The work is still the most important thing.

So I'm proud to announce that two of my paintings have been accepted for the 2012 St. Louis Watercolor Society's Annual Exhibit, and that one of them ----- "Eastpoint Shoreline"----won an Award of Achievement (3rd place).  The juror/judge was nationally known painter and author Stephen Quiller.  The exhibit will be on display at the Creative Art Gallery here in St. Louis for the month of April.  Friday night is the awards ceremony. 

The Power of the Silhouette

In this painting of Jackson Square in New Orleans, the silhouetted statue of Jackson has very little detail, but that does not lessen its impact.  The viewer doesn't need every detail of the saddle, the folds of the uniform, or the carved letters on the base.  The silhouetted shape of horse and rider is very clear without those details.

I've said it before:  Providing all the details in the interior of a shape will never save a bad shape.  Let the silhouette carry the day.

Diminishing Repeats

In the last entry, I talked about the power of the diminishing repeat.  When depicting similar objects in a group, if many details are included in the foreground object, fewer details are needed as the objects recede in space.  The eye will just fill in the missing textures or interior details.

Here's another illustration of the concept.

Looking Back

This week while going through some slides of my old work, I found this painting I did nearly twenty five years ago.  It's reproduced from a photo made from a slide, so the color is not at all accurate.  But it illustrates the idea of "the diminishing repeat." 

This concept is that if foreground details are explained thoroughly, then repeats of the same subject receding in space need fewer and fewer details.  The eye just fills in the missing elements.  By the time you get to the last Indian, there are just dots of color which you assume are horses and braves.
You can do this with boats or people or almost anything that comes in groups.

Variations On A Theme

Sometimes I like to play with a theme.  I'll change the colors, the temperature, add some elements, remove others.  There's a freedom in having the subject matter decided so that other concerns can be addressed.

By the way, feel free to become a Follower or leave a comment or reaction.  Sometimes I just need to know I'm reaching readers!

A Trail of White

Areas of white or light values are attractors.  So it only makes sense to plan them carefully.  Isolating light areas causes the viewer to jump around the surface, not knowing where to focus. 

Leaving escape routes of connected white allows the eye to travel in a logical sequence.  In this painting of shoreline shacks, the largest shape is the building on the left.  By letting the light connect to the laundry, the eye is led to the second shack.  Next, the white proceeds downward toward the beach and over to the boat.

Emphasizing the light shapes by placing darks near them further helps the eye by providing an obvious contrast.

Let the light leak!

Foreground Plane

As I wrote in the last post, here is another version of some shacks in Naples, Florida.  In this version, the foreground plane on the near bank is emphasized.  It not only frames the shacks, it also becomes a more important subject. 

More and more, though, I am favoring the single plane presentation.  Flattening the subject plane is one sure way to concentrate on design problems.

Florida Shacks

This is the first of two paintings I did of some shacks lining a creek in Naples, Florida.  It's basically a one plane subject.  The shacks are on the third and so are the palm trees.  The background and foreground water are deliberately kept simple so as to emphasize the subject plane. 

Next I'll show you what else I decided to do to this subject to create two planes.   

Florida is in the rear view mirror.  I'll be home tomorrow around noon.  It's been a fun and productive winter, but I'm ready to be home.  Now the challenge of finding subject matter in the studio.
Stay tuned!

Small and Silhouetted

The continuing series of small assembly line paintings.  This one is my homage to Winslow Homer.  Silhouettes work well to describe an object.  Not much texture within each shape.  The object is described at the outside edges.

Another Small Painting

 I'm on the road, so not much time for blogging.  Just ditto the last report with this small painting.

Small Paintings

In order to loosen up, I sometimes set up an assembly line of small format pieces of paper.  I tape as many as five pieces of paper down on my masonite board.  Then I start painting the first wash on one and then the next, and then the next.  By the time I've painted several of these, I return to the first one which by then is dry, and proceed to the second wash on all the  paintings.  Finally, I place the darks strategically around the focal points. 

This production line procedure not only helps to speed up my painting, thereby keeping a looser result, but I tend to repeat the same color schemes as well as rearranging the same objects into  different compositions.  This creates a small series which helps solidify an idea, a technique or a compositional problem.

Here are two paintings done in this manner.  Hey!  If it was good enough for Henry Ford.....well, you see where I'm going!

Negative shapes

Here's a painting I did to illustrate the idea of painting what is behind an object in order to leave an object.  I painted through everything, and when all was dry, I picked out the area behind the tree branches on the right hand side of the painting.  This is a real adjustment in thinking and requires lots of practice before I started to be able to paint in negatives.  Give it a try!

Day 2 - Naples Workshop

What a nice group of students I have here in Naples!  We're painting inside for three days, and then will move outdoors to paint plein air on Thursday and Friday. 

Here's today's demo. Our focus was on painting negative space  in midtones, creating a trail of white shapes.  Then it's on to placing the darks and adding a little calligraphy, and BAM!  You're finished!
Tougher than it looks, however.

Still Life

I've commented on this  one before, but, since I'm travelling right now, I thought it might bear repeating.

Repetition, the S Curve, and size variation all play major roles in this composition. 

If your subject is all one color, you might want to be inventive to avoid boredom.  Add color where there isn't much.  With these tan mushrooms, it was pretty important to add some color to give life to the subject. 

It's a good idea to overlap at some point too in order to form clusters rather than individal object.

My Naples Workshop begins on Monday so I should have some new paintings very soon!

Pointers and Stoppers

A painting should make you feel as if there is nothing outside the edge of the paper or canvas.  I'm always aware of "pointers" that lead into the painting or to the focal point.  But "pointers can also lead the viewer out of the painting.  That's when you need a "stopper", something that will keep the eye from going off the page.

In this painting of Scipio Creek, pointers include the direction that the boats are facing, lines on the boats, the dock, ropes and rigging.  The lines on the far boats could point off the page without a couple of pilings to stop the eye.  On the left side of the painting, the nets and the dock are stoppers. 

Objects and elements that point or stop are consciously included.  Sometimes they have to be borrowed, invented or moved to come in aid of the composition.  Always think before including or omitting an object that could help or hurt the design of the composition.

Complementary Colors

The state park on St. George Island has some fairly high dunes with some very interesting scrub pines.
The sand is nearly white, but painting it that way would be monotonous.  I decided to use a pink tint as a base color.  Then it only made sense to use a cool green as the sky color, thus setting up the complementary colors.  The cool green in the sky would then recede when I put down the warmer greens of the tree canopy. 

What a nice way to spend a February day.....At the beach!

Inspiration

I still remember the first time I saw an exhibition of John Singer Sargent's paintings in London.  I had stopped painting for several years, but his work inspired me to pick up my brushes again, and I haven't put them down for 38 years.  I was especially drawn to the paintings he did of architectural features, statues and fountains.  Ever since, I, too, have been attracted to these subjects and love painting them.

Finding an artist whose work you admire can be inspirational.  Is there an artist that you admire?  Leave me a comment to show your appreciation.

This memorial is in front of the Episcopal Church in Apalachicola.  It is dedicated to Dr. John Gorrie who invented an ice making machine with a fan to blow cool air over his patients with Yellow fever.  Thus, he created the forerunner of the air conditioner, thus making him the patron saint of Floridians!

Receding Space

There are several ways to make space appear to recede in a painting.

1.  Size  --  Larger sizes in front, middle sizes in the mid-ground, and smaller sizes in the far distance.

2.  Color  -- Brighter purer colors in the foreground, more neutral colors in the far ground.  Warm colors up front, color hues in the distance

3.  Textures  -- Textures in the foreground, few or no details in the background areas. 

4.  Edge Quality  -  Hard edges in front, softer edges in the distance.

5.  Perspective -- Lines that recede to the vanishing point.

6.  Values  --  Darker values in the foreground, midtone and lighter values reserved for the far distance.

A lot to think about, to be sure, but better to think about it and get the feeling of three dimentional space.

Stomp 'n' Holler

It doesn't happen as often these past few years, but every once in a while I'll have a Stomp 'n' Holler Day.  The painting not only goes badly, it goes so badly that I lose my temper, holler in frustration and stomp on the nasty thing I've just created.  (This technique is also helpful in chasing curious onlookers away!)

My birthday was Monday, it was a beautiful day, and I had hoped that I would paint a good painting to commemorate my special day.  It was not to be.  The first painting was tight and the color was lacking dominance.  In the afternoon I tried again, but the humidity didn't allow for any drying time and the paint just kept spreading.  Stomp #2!

We all have these days.  The desired result is firmly in our mind, but circumstances or lack of focus or some fool painting muse or other puts the hex on our efforts.  We're convinced we don't know anything about painting and that we'll never be able to paint anything good again.

But after a few days the itch comes back, and out I go again.  Yesterday things went better.  This is the memorial near the library in Apalachicola.  Sometimes simpler really is better!

Trees

I  love trees.  I love  to paint trees.  I once told my English Lit. class  (some of whom feared for my immortal soul!) that if there were no trees in heaven, I wasn't going!   

Many of my  watercolor students, some of whom are very accomplished, approach painting trees as if they were still in kindergarten.  In their prejudiced eyes, all trees are brown.  But when I ask them if they can see red, their eyes suddenly fly open!  If I ask them to see green on the bark, they suddenly notice moss.  If I ask them to see blue, it takes a little longer, but eventually they start coming around.  And even if they can't see those colors, I still ask them to paint them because unrelieved dark brown is so boring. 

Other students insist on trying to get the whole tree in their painting.  If this happens, I  tell them to look straight ahead and tell me if they can see the blackbird on the top branch.  If they move their head to look, then I point out that they are not painting a video! 

In this painting of a live oak in Apalachicola, the tree is not a frame for the main subject; it is the subject.  The figure and the dog against the light of the house act as secondary interest, but the tree is the main entertainment, which I emphasized by its bulk and texture.  I downplayed texture elsewhere in the painting so your eye would travel the surface of the tree and its color.

Study real trees instead of relying on your idea of a tree that you probably formed in elementary school.

Inventive Color

By the sea, by the sea, By the beautiful sea.....

I love to paint the water.  That's why my two homes away from home are Apalachicola, Florida and Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  And if you're near the water, what more natural subject than boats? 

But even a seasoned watercolorist can get a little tired of a favorite subject.  What to do to spice things up a little?

I like to play with color combos.  In this painting of a couple of shrimp boats at Scipio Creek, I began with cadmium yellow and cobalt violet, both in the sky and the water.  The really bold move came when I threw some cad yellow on the stern of the near boat.  Then I repeated it in the area that would become the nets.  Later, when these areas were dry, I added some cerulean blue.  Blue + Yellow = Green (and the nets were really green!).  I continued to add those four colors in ever darker values in the reflections.

I love painting docks, boats, and trees.  Next time.....trees!

Placing the Darks for Emphasis

In this painting of an unloading dock in Eastpoint, Florida,  I began with the light midtones and then began to place dark midtones and dark values around the right edge of the structure.  Working outward from there, I kept lessening the darks to keep the emphasis on the textures of the dock which was my main interest in the scene. 

The overall shape of the dock structure was also a consideration.  I wanted it interlock with the background to form an L shape.  That created a balance problem.  I didn't want all of the weight of the composition to be on the left, so I added the shrimp boat on the right.

So much to think about while designing a composition.

The Importance of Obliques

I've always felt that oblique lines give a painting energy.  They can be used as pointers, tension builders,
or as a contrast to the more formal verticals and restful horizontals.

In this painting of a wild undeveloped beach in Eastpoint, Florida,  the line of cypress "knees" echoes the oblique of the old dead tree trunk.  The shadows are also a good way to incorporate obliques. 
And since so many obliques seemed to point to the middle distance of the beach area, it seemed right to include a couple of figures taking a New Year's Day stroll.

As in the previous post, I used a red/green complementary color scheme.

P.S. Many people use the word "diagonal" to describe oblique lines.  An oblique is any slanted line; diagonal lines divide things in half.

Complementary Colors

Much of this painting is blue-green.  Therefore, it made sense to use a pinkish (red) color for the trunk colors and the mud beach.  The color choice for the boat was made to complement the surrounding reddish hue.   Complementary colors contrast and attract attention.  Careful placement of them around the focal point is a good idea.  Make sure one dominates, and then use the complement to emphasize the primary subject.


Happy New Year,  everyone!

Using Shadows as Frames

In "Oysterman's Rest", I decided to use shadows in the foreground to help frame the oyster boat.  The shadows are also reflected in the water, which extends the frame, providing a dark shape to look over.

The scene is of Indian Creek, which borders the property here at Sportsmans Lodge.  I wouldn't even have to leave the Lodge grounds and still have plenty of subject matter to paint!

Framing II

In my last post, I talked about using "framers" to peer around to get to your main subject.  Here's a really old painting that does just that.

Now that I'm in warmer weather, I hope to get out and paint very soon.  Meanwhile,  Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Framing the Subject

I learned about framing as a kid when I was first exploring photography.  Placing the subject so that you have to peer around something in the foreground creates a sense of depth as well as a sense of mystery.
Looking over, past, or around something also gives special attention to a second subject, kind of a two-for-one painting.

Here's a painting I did in Naples, Florida several years ago that illustrates this approach.

Dry Spells

For a variety of reasons, most artists go through periods when their productivity drops off dramatically.
It could be illness, depression, confusion about direction, lack of motivation, or time restraints.
There might be the thought that you've "lost it", that you've run out of ideas, that you'll never be able to paint anything good again.

I've experienced this phenomenon several times.  The upside of this, unfortunately not known at the time you're experiencing the dry spell, is that it sometimes signals a breakthrough is on the horizon.  It is often my observation that while the hand is not busy, the brain is still thinking through problems and their possible solutions.

When this happens, I find myself going back to the basics:  values, design, color dominance....
I also tend to go back to very small paintings in the hope that if it isn't a serious attempt, if I'm only playing around, I have nothing to lose.  It frees up the hand and the brain.

Now....if I can only take my own advice!

The Silhouette

A tell-tale silhouette is often the cure for the over detailed and textured depiction of a subject.  These Monterrey cypress trees are easy to caricature because of their zig-zag shapes. 

More paintings fail because the descriptive silhouette takes second place to details in the interior of the shape.  Get the silhouette right, and it will carry the day.

The Sketchbook Habit

"An artist is a sketchbook with a person attached." --Irwin Greenberg

Preparation in art is a matter of keeping your eyes in training.  I often say that each year when I return to Maine, I get my eyes back.  Looking and seeing are two different activities.  The former just needs to identify objects without much detail identification or naming.  But seeing implies that you stop for a longer studied view of things:  their shapes, values, subtleties of color and texture.  Giving your brain and heart the time to connect with what you see is an invaluable skill in the production of meaningful, emotional art.

Your sketchbook is the shorthand reminder of these moments.  Jotting down impressions helps to free us from overwhelming details and allows us to be free to adjust things and improve them.  To find patterns, alter colors, add figures, experiment with values....All are easier when dealing with a reference sketch.

So tuck that sketchbook in your car, and take advantage of waiting times or unexpected vistas.  Keep your eyes and your hand busy and they will be ready for you when it comes time to paint that masterpiece!

The Demo

Last night the members of the Art World Association here in St. Louis invited me to give them a demo at their monthly meeting.  I was a bit nervous as I planned to do a painting using the technique I've been doing for a while now which starts without any drawn plans.  Facing a totally empty white piece of paper with no preconceived notion of what the end product will look like is normally daunting;  doing it in front of an audience is nearly paralyzing!

I gave them two choices:  horizontal or vertical format?  warm or cool colors? They chose a warm, horizontal theme.

I then proceeded to carve out the whites.  Look carefully at the four corners of the finished painting and you'll see that they are all different sizes, shapes and directions.

Then I started placing the midtones, defining the normal objects found around a working dock.
Last came the carefully chosen placements of darks.  I think the final product has a vibration and movement that resounds with the energy around a seaside dock.

Thanks again to the Art World Association for having me!

I'm going to try to move on to some new subjects next week.  Tune in again soon!

Underpainting

In this painting, I began with an abstract underpainting of cool blues ---cobalt turquoise, thalo blue, and ultramarine blue--and cobalt violet to give some warmth to the painting.  Then I went back with darker values of the same colors to add some buildings and signs.  Finally, I left a trail of dark accents.

I think you can see that the preserved whites left after the initial underpainting all point to the busy focal points of the design.  Intuition played a large part in placing the buildings and signs.

Early this week I kept getting into trouble because I was trying to include too many colors and none of them clearly dominated the paper.  When you have too many warm colors to choose from, the temptation is to put them all in.  To get out of that problem, I decided to stay strictly on the cooler side of the palette this time. 

Containment

Design is the hardest part of producing a successful painting.  One consideration is to contain the subject matter within the parameters of the  paper.  I am very mindful of the negative space in the background.  Keeping the background relatively quiet will certainly focus attention on the focal points of the subject matter.
The values and textures should be limited to the focal points, keeping the background area quiet and subdued.

P.S.  Design is not an easy thing to achieve.  I've attempted at least ten paintings in order to produce one that hopefully accomplishes these attributes.

St. Louis Proud!

Sorry I haven't posted lately, but I've been busy cheering on my St. Louis Cardinals who are now the World Series Champions!  It's hard to believe since on August 25th, we were 10 1/2 games out of first.  But we scratched our way back to the Wild Card spot and then beat the Phillies and the Brewers in the playoffs.

Game 3 was amazing with Albert Pujols tying only Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson with three home runs in one game.  But Game 6 will forever be implanted in my memory as the most amazing baseball game I have ever seen.  Twice, the Cards were one strike away from losing it all, but came back to tie the game.  And home town favorite David Freese nailed it down with a walk off home run which sent us to last night's game and victory!  A fairy tale ending to an amazing season!  If sports is a metaphor for life, the message is don't ever give up.  In baseball or in painting!  The journey is its own reward!

Here's Albert Pujols hitting a homer early in the season.  And waiting in the batter's box is World Series MVP David Freese.  Congratulations to the World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals!

Color and Value

Many of my students have a difficult time translating their black and white value sketches into color.
Either their value sketch doesn't have a clear pattern of value shapes (at least three), or when they transfer their idea to the paper and start to translate it into color, they are fine with the light values, but the midtones and darks don't seem to be clear enough.

Here's a reversal of the process.  I took a photo of my latest painting and used the computer to convert it to black and white.   You can clearly see that there are light areas, midtones (especially around the edges where I wanted the least emphasis), and darks where I wanted the viewers' eyes to be drawn. 

Some colors do not lend themselves to dark values.  Yellow is especially hard to go much beyond a light midtone.  But most other colors can be rendered darker merely by limiting the amount of water applied in the second or third glaze.  To maintain glowing transparency, it is important to be able to commit to the midtones and darks the first go, or you will have to try again with the real possibility of muddying the area.

Try changing your computerized image of one of your paintings into black and white to see if you have clearly rendered the three basic values.  It would be a helpful thing to do this during the stages of your painting, too, to see where placement of a dark would enhance the focal area.

From This to That

People often wonder how the artist starts a painting.  I started this one with a cool relief of blues and then  proceeded to what was to come...a warm, red, violet ground color.  Then I began to pick away at the midtone I had established to "find" objects in the wharf scene.  I did no previous drawing or value study.  I simply knew that I wanted to emphasize the wharf objects, so I started finding barrels, flags, boats, and architectural features I have used before.  It is all invention.  But it is very conscious design.  Obliques that are emphasized by the darks and cools help create shapes that are interesting and create tension. 


Remember that every color dominance needs a relief of its opposite.   Warms need a little cool, and cool dominance needs a little warmth.  And above all, establish interesting interlocking shapes!

Workshop Opportunity

I am conducting a workshop in Naples, Florida    February 20th - 24th.  Tuition for the five day workshop is $425.  To reserve your place, send a check before December 20th to     Carol Jessen    8865 Flamingo Ct.  Brentwood, MO  63144    You also might want to make your lodging reservations soon as it will be high season in southern Florida.

Please join us for painting in sunny, warm Naples in February!

The "S" Curve

                                     "I Saw Her First"
In this painting of sunflowers and daisies, I painted the background first, keeping in mind the trail of white shapes which formed an "S" curve.  It was then a matter of emphasizing the focal area with a few well placed darks. 

Seasonal subjects are always a good choice.  Pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, apple pie.  Try some!

Travel Paintings

                                                               "Newport Harbor"
When I'm travelling long distance by car, I always keep my French easel on top of the suitcases just in case I get an urge to paint.  But I can't remember a time when I've been willing to spend a couple hours painting in lieu of seeing as much as I can during a limited visit.

So photographs are the answer.  On the way home from Maine this year, I veered off course to Newport, Rhode Island.  So much to see:  the mansions on Bellevue Drive, the cliff walk, Ocean drive, the tree lined, cobblestone streets of downtown, the wharves.  So the easel stayed in the trunk.

When I arrived home, I was able to filter all the sights and sensations of the place.  The one lasting impression I have of Newport is the harbor and the scene of the America's Cup races.  The bridge out of Newport over to Jamestown Island  was impressive and heart shaking, as I would soon have to drive over it!  Here it is, seen from Goat Island and its lighthouse, in all its magnificent, terrifying altitude!

I'm Back!

Sorry I was gone for a while.  I was on the road back to my home here in St. Louis.  Between packing up and travelling, I also haven't done any painting in a couple of weeks.  But now I should be settling into a routine and posting more frequently.

Here is a painting I did up in Maine a few weeks ago.  It is also on the subject of zooming in.  To give you an idea of the actual distance I was from the lighthouse, I'm also including a painting done earlier this summer.
Sometimes zooming in will change your whole perspective about the subject, and give you a different motivation for painting it.

Glad to be back!

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

When confronted with an overload of possible subjects on location, the tendency is to think that since it's there, everything must be included in your composition.  Not so.  It only confuses the viewer when looking at such a painting.  What is this picture about?  If the answer is, Everything, try zooming in on one particular object or building or boat. 

If you can title the painting, it might help focus your attention and thus eliminate extraneous details.  A painting called "Boothbay Harbor" doesn't tell us much about what you want to say about the place.  If you can say, "Sunset over Boothbay Harbor", we know your focus was on the sky and its light and color.  If you give it a title of "Red Wharf", both you and viewer will know that your interest was on the color red, not just the subject.

The time to do the hard work of focusing on your purpose is before you start the drawing or painting.  Know what you want to say.  Then say it!