Favorite Quotes

I love painting the human form both naked and clothed...It is expressive, never still- an undulating landscape. Values and colors are subtle shifts across the plains. But it is the life within which if captured immortalizes a soul-- to achieve that is my hope. 

The following quotes inspire, direct and remind me of how much work there is yet to be done!

For soule is forme, and doth the bodie make.

                        - Spenser, Hymne in Honour of Beautie, 1596

THE NAKED AND THE NUDE

                By Robert Graves (b. 1895)

For me, the naked and the nude

(By lexicographers construed

As synonyms that should express

The same deficiency of dress

Or shelter) stand as wide apart

As love from lies, or truth from art.

Lovers without reproach will gaze

On bodies naked and ablaze;

The Hippocratic eye will see

In nakedness, anatomy;

And naked shines the Goddess when

She mounts her lion among men.

The nude are bold, the nude are sly

To hold each treasonable eye.

While draping by a showman’s trick

Their dishabille in rhetoric,

They grin a mock- religious grin

Of scorn at those of naked skin.

The naked, therefore, who compete

Against the nude may know defeat;

Yet when they both together tread

The briary pastures of the dead,

By Gorgons with long whips pursued,

How naked go the sometime nude!

Connotations

Denotations

“The ambiguity and multiplicity of meanings possessed by words (images) are an obstacle to the scientist but a resource to the poet (artist).  Laurence Perrine Sound and Sense

Picasso has often exempted the (nude) from the savage metamorphosis which he has inflicted on the visible world ..´

Kenneth Clark  The Nude pg 4

“What is the nude?” It is an art form invented by the Greeks in the 5^th century. The nude is not the subject of art, but a form of art. ( 5)

“By long habit we do not judge it as a living organism, but as a design: (pg 7)

Du Fresnoy (Mason’s translation)

        For tho’ our casual glance may sometimes meet

With charms that strike thee soul and seem complete.

Yet if those charms too closely we define,

Content to copy nature line for line,

Our end is lost. Not such the master’s care,

Curious he culls the perfect from the fair;

 Judge of his art, thro’ beauty’s realm he flies,

Selects, combines, improves, diversifies;

With nimble step pursues the fleeting throng,

And clasps each Venus as she glides along.

Durer

There lives no man upon earth who can give a final judgment upon what the most beautiful shape of a man may be; God only knows that….

Dipendenza: Michelangelo – His sense of the relationship between the two forms of order -  ideal scheme and functional necessities (architect and draftsman of nude)

Until the beginning of the 20^th century art was used to glorify God.

Pastel Palette

This will be the first of a series on working with chalk pastels.
After teaching pastels over the past 7 years, I have come to find that Nu Pastels 96 piece set is the best beginning palette with which to work. Here is why.
1. The colors are fairly neutral. What that means is that they are purer hues not mixes.
2. The hues are intense. Colors can always be greyed. But a greyed hue can not be made more intense.
3. Color range is good.
4. Individual sticks can be replaced. This is critical. Never buy a set unless individual sticks can be replaced. You will find there are some sticks you use far more than others.
5. This set is relatively inexpensive.
6. The sticks are harder and so one is more apt to practice different pressures when painting.
7. The edges help with final details.
Once you begin collecting pastels, think about keeping a journal recording brand, name/number and color swatch of the stick. Put wax paper between the swatch papers to keep pastel from rubbing off on other paper. By recording this you will be freer to take of hindering paper wrappers and breaking pastel sticks to suit your purposes.
After playing with a beginning palette exploring what you can and can not achieve with the colors, there will come a time when frustration sets in because some darks and lights will not be able to be achieved. Then it will be time to start adding stick by stick to your palette.
There are many brands and each has distinct properties both in regards to texture as well as color.
Color selection is so personal. There is of course individual taste, but also the location where one is painting. One brands greens, I find are too chalky for the coast of Maine. I think they would be perfect if I lived in southern France however.
What I will cover in the next entry will be pictures of various brands and descriptions of texture and color. Hopefully including enough information for folks to make selections according to individual need and interest.
PAPERS
There are many kinds of paper as well. Visit Dakota Arts for good generic descriptions. I write here my observations.
1.Canson is well known and readily available in local stores. It tends to have a regular texture which comes through even well layered painting. Some of the colors have dimples which are very hard to fill.However, if painting on a colored surface is of interest, this product offers a wide range.
2. Sennelier makes a textured surface with a variety of tones. However this surface is not waterproof. If it gets wet the texture comes off. I use this paper if I am combining pastel with gold leaf.
3. Wallis is my personal favorite. It has an excellent tooth onto which I can get 12-15 layers. When layering color, I do not choose a color that is the local color, I choose 10-15 colors which will create the local color. This results in a physical as well as visual depth. This paper is waterproof.
4. There is a new sanded paper out but I have had trouble acquiring it because it is always sold out! The company sent samples-- now why didnt I think of that for all the papers??

5. There is a new product called Pastel Mat. I have tried several paintings on this surface. It is very smooth but takes multiple layers but not as many as Wallis. Wallis is still a favorite for portraits because the tooth is deep but does not impose itself on the painting visual results.

Questions from Tuesday's Workshop

 

Letting pigments mix in water on the paper keep colors vibrant.

FirsT 

The first two weeks in August are always set aside for the Schoodic Arts Festival for All. The activity on the peninsula as folks hustle to class, brown bag lunches with free demonstrations and evening performances brings our quiet neck of the shore alive. I have been teaching for this marvelous organization for 9 years now and seven of those have been in my gallery. It is a time of- as Goethe said - being out amongst the activity of humanity in order to hone vision and insights so that later I retreat to quiet to create. Students through their eagerness to make connections and understand both the physical world and how to represent, it teach me new ways of perceiving as well demand of me articulation of intuited techniques.

    Here is the curriculum for this week’s class. At the end will be answers to some of the poignant questions raised as we worked together

First Colors:

  Cobalt Blue, Rose Madder, Aurelian Yellow

Then add:

Opera

STEP I:  Playing ;

We will begin by playing with the 3 colors. When using these pigments we have a wealth colors we can create through understanding all the variables. These variables include:

1. Which pigment begins the mixture

2. Ratio of pigments

3. How water is added

    Is pigment first put on paper

                                                                                               

    Is water first placed on the paper ( and how) and then pigment added?

4. Are pigments mixed on the palette or on the paper

5. How is a mixture made warmer or cooler

6. Ratio of pigment to water

7. How is pigment made denser

8. What happens each time the brush is moved in the mixture

9. How many ways can pigment be added to water

10. What happens when moving pigment and water with brush, with moving paper

11. Adding color while first color is still wet

12 Adding color on top of  a color which has dried.

All these methods when understood help make watercolor colorful especially when using the listed pigments.

STEP II Being the Scientist

Now we will make a color chart. Begin with a color make swatches in the form of a ‘T’ The stem of the ‘T’ is the root color. Take each of the other colors for the top bar of the T mixing with the root color. Where the stem meets the bar will be a mixture of all 3 colors.

This work can go in your sketchbook for reference when working. After painting with these colors for awhile ‘feeling’ what they can do will be come second nature.

Now try a simple color wheel. What color(s) do you think are not achievable with these pigments?

STEP III Comparing

Next work on placing colors next to each other. A painting is essentially colors next to each other carving out objects by delineating planes.

1. Make a mixture then alter it ever so slightly. Paint both mixture on your paper. Can you see subtle differences?

2. Make a mixture that is very high key notice its character when painting next to white.

3. How many different whites can be made?

4. What darks can be mixed?

5. Mix a color then try to push it warmer then cooler what does this do?

6. Mix neutral gray!

7. Now push it more towards purple. Paint yellow beside it on one side  then orange on the other…

STEP IV PAINTING

Plan a painting. Try doing something out the window or a scene with which you are very familiar. Think about what you have discovered about the properties of watercolor. What are those distinct characteristics that w/c can achieve that no other medium can do? What type of picture/story would be told best with w/c?

So Question #1- Using and Controlling edges:Edges- not lines- are an important 'tool' if you will, for the artist. A hard edge draws the eye a soft edge lets the eye slide by which in turn also lets the eye and brain register a volume in stead of a completed plane. For example, soft edges are critical  when painting human forms in order for the eye to read a volume. When painting in watercolor there are many ways to achieve soft edges. 

     A.Dip your brush in water or a color. Take out some of the moisture from the BASE of the brush not the tip. Then dip the tip in more pigment. Hold the brush angling the tip toward the side a hard edge is desired and plop the base down letting water out of the well onto the paper. Drag the brush.

     B. Put paint down then have water in the tip and touch it along the edge of where the paint is. Encourage the paint to bleed into the water. ( You can also do this with another color instead of water. Be careful not to muck around with the brush too much because the mixture of the two colors will be come flat.)

     C. Put   stroke of water on the paper. Dip tip of brush in rich pigment and touch it to the edge of the water stroke. Let water move pigment down.

With all of these techniques, critical is amount of liquid in brush and on the paper. Constantly adjust these proportions. Too much water dilutes the pigment resulting in lighter higher key marks. Play with how much water is needed to achieve the affect you want. 

Remember there is no right or wrong. There is being able to achieve what you want  to achieve. Make results a CHOICE not a result because it only what you can do.

 

Note the edges at the top and base of the mountains.

Question #2: How do I avoid mud?

Well first step in avoiding mud is to identify why it is getting made! There are many habits in watercolor which create mud - here are some I have been able to identify

a. Mucking around too much in multiple colors with the brush. Let the water move pigment as much as possible rather than the brush because the brush will more thoroughly mix pigments which lead to flat colors. A brush will also keep depositing more water - especially a sable brush- which of course dilutes color.

b. Know pigment content- for example French Ult has red in it which of course, will make a less brilliant green. Usually a straight green is warmed up with a touch of red but it is easier to control degrees if you determine the type and amount of red.

c. Chose colors relative to each other! A color might be absolutely beautiful next to one color and become utterly dead next to another. If you have a dead color in a work, before you try changing it cover up surrounding colors to determine what is causing the problem. (This is true with any part of a painting not working. It may not have anything to do with the area that looks wrong  but with a 'supporting' role part. 

Question #3. How do I maximize the fact that I am using a brush?

Part of any skill set is learning inside and out how to use the materials of the trade. For watercolorists the brush is a critical tool. It has one clear distinct use- to get pigment and water to the paper. However, there are so many ways to achieve this. And of course, the brush is used to effect how the pigment and water land on the paper. 

Make sure you investigate all the actual physical attributes of the brush. While we are all creative and we do this to express that creativity, there are actual physical realities with which we must work. That is, at least for me, much of the fun! The brush sucks up and releases when pressed, moisture. How much depends on the individual tool. Play with your brushes learn them inside out so that it becomes part of your hand. A brush has width and depth. Use both! We tend to rely on the tip and if we apply the base to the paper it follows the tip. This is not the same stroke as letting the base travel perpendicular to the tip. Brushes can be big enough to carry more than one color. (This is true in any medium) Varying the amount of brush you apply to the paper as you move it around varies the width and moisture of the stroke. Another valuable tool to depict calligraphic lines.

PLAY PLAY PLAY  PLAY

 

Colo

Watercolor Workshop

This is information for folks enrolled in my watercolor workshop offered through Schoodic Arts for All and any one else of course!
While some paint will be provided, should you wish to invest in your own supplies here is the list of what we will be using. Most critical is to get  the specific paint listed.
The focus of this workshop is creating work with color. Now of course, folks' definitions of what is 'good' color differ. The key is to know your supplies so that your color is a CHOICE not a by product or something settled for.
I personally resonate with vibrant subtly shifting color. I am not one for earth colors ( unless of course, I am painting earth, or dense colors. If I want opaque I switch to oil or pastel  since those mediums can remain vibrant even when the paper is occluded.

Beginning list:
Working with a limited palette has its merits. Only 3 colors can create the rainbow. By using just 3 it is easier to learn more fully and quickly the properties of the pigments.
I begin with
Cobalt Blue - a true, transparent, non staining blue
Rose MAdder Genuine - transparent, non staining slightly blue pink
Aureolin Yellow- transparent, non staining slightly blue yellow
We will begin with these colors learning their properties as well as creating all the colors of the color wheel.

This painting was completed with the above colors:

Then we will add:
Opera - transparent, non staining true pink-- excellent for making orange
Viridian- transparent, non staining intense green good for making darks
The addition of these colors  permits mixing purer special colors like orange and a greater range of cool and warm grays.
How to be the scientist.
Learning the properties of our supplies requires initially being the scientist. First we must ask the questions:
1. How does one color mix with another? What is the range of colors two colors create?
Does beginning with one color then adding another create a different color than when the order is reversed?
Which pigment weighs more and consequently move slower in water?
What happens when pigment is added to water on the paper?
What happens when pigment is put on the paper first then water?
What are all the ways water can be applied?
Color can never be seen separated out from its context. What happens when you put different colors beside the focus color?
What happens when a touch of hte complement is added?
How best are rich darks created?

These are just some of the beginning questions to explore. Some folks will like to do their explorations in an actual picture while others will want to play first. What ever method speaks to you, keep a record and never let the pressure of creating a 'finished' product prevent you from playing.

Asian Ink Painting-Other Techniques to Try

As with all mediums there are wonderfully kinky techniques which can be used to create different affects.So it is with Asian Ink painting. Here are ones I have learned and discovered:
1. If using suen paper, both sides become the canvas. Paint the picture first then when the ink is dry, flip the paper over on the felt and play with painting on the back. Washes can be done this way as well as depicting specific objects. Washes can include diluted ink, vegetable color, tea, coffee, coffee and cream, wine ( I like a Merlot myself.) These washes will make the painting on the front of the paper pop.

2. Take a small piece of screen and load it with paint. Flick it with your finger. This is a lovely way to create random leaves. It takes some practice managing pigment/water ration, density of pigment on screen so it does not goober and color placement so that mud is not created!

3. Paint a wash on the back of the paper, then as it is drying flip paper over and apply ink or perm. white
( No bleed) or if you have access to it gofun- ground sea shells mixed with nikawa. This is how the scales of fish, the luminescent white of lotus and peonies is created.


4. Charging the brush with a variation. Charging the brush means to put different moisture and pigment contents into the brush in order to have hard and soft edges and differenng values in one brush stroke. This is done by dipping the brush in water, then 3/4 into a different value, 1/2 of the tip in another and the tip in dark drier ink. Take out extra moisture from the BASE not the tip ( because the base is the well) What also can be done is putting pigment on only one side of the bristles then as the brush is manipulated across the paper that color will come up intermittently.

5. Cream as well as alum make  good resists each of course creating distinct effects.

Asian Ink Painting-Books and Ideas

There are several excellent books worth owning if one is interested in Asian Art. These are books I have visited and revisited over the years. They are beautiful and  informative and worthy of deep perusing especially if one is working in this medium
Books which help with actual technique include:
The Way of the Brush by Van Briessen. This book both explores the different uses of the brush and styles which have developed over the centuries as well as the spiritual principles which shaped ink painting.

The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting- The wealth of information in this 'how to' manual is incredible!  Written in the 1700's it is a culmination of samples of all the different styles of how to paint and depict nature's objects. It is very clinical so the painter must be ware of not copying directly in order to make a painting. Copying to learn the marks of course is very efficacious.

3000 Years of Chinese Painting and Between Two Cultures published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art contain many reproductions of paintings. By looking through these two books one can see the evolution of painting, the different schools' methodology and spirit and beliefs which engendered this art.

 

I have found absolutely critical to pursuing this medium is practicing all the different ways of depicting objects. Because the style of learning is so prescribed, copying the teacher's work, students tend to emulate that style.While this is not in and of itself bad, if the student does not experiment by applying the specific skills in new ways, work will have the cast of the teacher. 

This is definitely the conundrum of the Asian style of learning. I deeply respect the fact that Asian education perfects the skills of the medium being learned. But the method to achieve this can limit the learner's expression while in this country we tend to 'be creative' before we learn the skills. My goal therefore, has been when teaching is to develop a two fold program teaching the skills while fostering the vision. I have had students of Asian Ink Painting come through the gallery who had never learned the why  or analyzed what  caused what affect. Consequently, they could only repeat the specifics they were taught. I encourage all of you who are learning this medium to  practice the strokes over and over again until they are second nature then dream about how they can be applied to depict the scene which stirs your heart. Play and when you find an aesthetic mark think about how it can be used to depict that scene.

Understanding the Painting.

When looking at an Asian piece analyze how brush strokes depict planes of objects.

Try to determine what was painted first. It will be the object which always comes forward.

Look for the 3 parts of the picture plane, bottom is closest object, middle than top tends to be most distant. Check relative size.

How many values are in the paintings. 5 tends to be the minimum.

What are the negative shapes- the unpainted on areas. Most likely they will not fit into a geometric shape but be interlocking.

How was the brush moved across the paper.Pauses result in softer edges, flying whites are created by a faster moving brush.

Where is the compositional tension?  Many paintings for example, will have elements pulled as far apart as possible yet keep the tension so it does not become two pictures.

How is movement captured.

Charging the Brush

Ink painting, especially on raw Suen paper, is all about brush work. The Asian brush is constructed so that all parts of the brush should  be used on the paper. Techniques include

1. Charging the brush. The Asian brush can be charged with 4 colors and moisture contents. The base is the well and can hold a tremendous amount of liquid. The tip coming to a very fine point, can create drier lines. And of course there is the range in between. Usually the tip is charged with the darker, drier pigment and the base lighter and more moist solutions. Because of this, practicing angling the brush in all directions is important.
2. Using the brush length incrementally pressing from tip to base depending on desired width of stroke, desired softness of edge and movement or direction of object being painted.
3. Movement of entire arm and wrist include angling the brush so that the base of the hairs is on top of the stroke and at the bottom of the stroke moving in all directions.
4. Pace of brush movement over paper- slower movement means more moisture absorbed out of brush into paper which of course equals softer edges.
5. Brush strokes on dry paper create totally different effects than on wet paper.

When I have been painting in this medium for many days, brush stokes become so nuanced and so articulate that the subtle shifts of value in a peony evoke soft folds of silk. Light is depicted in an entirely different method than classical western painting.
Should you undertake Asian brush work., I highly encourage you to  play- play with absorbing moisture from the base by wrapping a white towel around it where the hairs meet the bamboo, play with dabbing a different color in the middle of the brush on one side alone, play with clear water then dipping the tip into pasty ink, playing with fleeting movements across the paper then pausing, playing with standing above the paper weight dropping onto the brush as it begins a journey across the page, playing with wrist movement which fatigues every muscle...
play  until all track of time is gone and you are one with your brush....