Landscape workshop June 2010

With 2 painting session per day, the student's paintings improved. By Friday, they were really beginning to understand atmospheric perspective, and they were starting to "pitch" and simplify by "massing" their big value shapes.

One of the rainy days, we painted under the shelter of a big gazebo, and on the other days, we painted at various locations around Cambridge and Jeffersonville. With a small class, Jack and I got to paint, too. We went around and helped each student individually, but we also had students follow us around to observe the other crits. Watching us re-mass, explaining, as well as showing, "why" and "how" certain colors work to bring a sense of atmosphere and depth to a painting, really acelerated learning.

Landscape workshop June 2010

Here are a few more pictures from the workshop. I will add more later.

5 Day Plein Air Workshop - June 2010

We started this year's class along the recreation path in Jeffersonville. Jack did a small demo in the morning to explain massing and to encourage students to do small thumbnail sketches.

Open Studio Weekend - May 29-30, 2010

Winslow Art Studio participated in the 18th annual Vermont statewide Open Studios Weekend that was held May 29-30. For 2 days all participating studios are open to the public. People make a day of it and wander from one studio to another, enjoying the art. I decided to do some painting demonstrations, so on Saturday I painted a portrait and on Sunday I painted a still life. A small, but steady stream of people came in and watched on both days.

In addition to the demonstrations, I had prizes. Maryellen won my painting, "Fresh Veggies", and 4 other people won a free class. My granddaughter helped pick the winning names.

We had little snacks and pastries, as well as plenty of pretzels for all. The pretzels were a huge hit, especially with the grandkids!

Various Palettes

I have been painting a long time (since 1973 when I started studying with Frank Mason at the Art Students League), and since that time I had been using pretty much the same palette, or line-up of colors. This palette was a "Cadmium Palette", meaning I used the full range of cadmiums paints, from cadmium yellow lemon to cadmium red deep. Along with the cadmium colors, I used alizarin crimson, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, raw umber, burnt umber, titanium white (of flake) and ivory black. Under my standard line-up, I made a series of grays using black and white.

When we built our new studio, I decided to expand my knowledge of color a bit, and I started trying different colors in my line-up. Most of the above palettes were used in different "Open" Figure/Portrait Sessions. The above pictures show some of my experiments. As you can see, the grayscale is the one consistency. I learned that there are other colors that I now use and love. Terra Rosa, Viridian, Orange Ochre, and Cadmium Brown are among some of them. Trying new colors keeps you from falling into a formula. It keeps you thinking and problem solving as use paint.

Open Figure/Portrait Sessions 2010

Twice a month, I host an Open Figure/Portrait Session. With the longer days, I shifted the hours to noon to 5pm. This seems to work for most people. Today's model wore a wonderful costume that she had made. To get the nice warm, reflected light, I opened the shutters on our south-facing window and draped it with material. This stopped the direct sun, but left a nice warm glow that you can see on the right side of the figure. It was fun to contrast the cool north light with the warm reflected light.

Working on Still Life

I added the blue print to the pitcher.

March

With the coming of March, I began painting with renewed energy. The longer days always make me happy. I can paint in natural light until around 6pm, so I have several paintings going at once. Purchasing a bouquet of supermarket roses inspired several paintings so far this month. The top photo shows a previously painted head study that I re-worked by adding a crown of flowers. The other photos show the set-ups and paintings, and the bottom one shows the start.

Open Figure/Portrait Sessions 2010

The Saturday Open Figure/Portrait Sessions are held the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month. So, we have had 4 sessions this year. All of our models were wonderful and offered different challenges. We had one nude, a mother and 6 month old baby, a woman in a medieval costume and a young man with a mandolin and really neat jacket. Here are a few photos from some of the sessions. It is fun to try to complete a study in one session, and it is great to paint with friends.

Jack's Screen

Jack has painted three double-sided screens over the years. All of them had three panels, but this is the only one with the rounded top on the middle panel, and it is my favorite! It stands in the corner of the new studio now, and it serves as the "changing room" for the model. We turn it around periodically, so that we can enjoy both sides. In the top photo, Violet is standing in front of it. On this side is the story of the Fox and the Crane from Aesop's Fables. In the second photo, Violet is peeking out from behind the screen. Can you see her? And in the third photo (which was taken at night), the story of the Fox and the Grapes from Aesop's Fables is seen. Walking into the studio and seeing this wonderful painting (paintings) makes me smile!