Class Notes: Clear as Glass

 We spent several painting sessions in class last month looking at glass; one of my
favorite still life subjects. With these 2 little water glass demos,  I took a minimalist approach, with a focus on the distortion - behind the glass.
This is the route I encourage students to take:  say as little as possible in paint and allow the eye to fill in the blanks. More explanation can be beautiful - or just redundant.  Clarity is key when interpreting clear glass.
"Duh"- you say,
but beginners always try to describe too much "glass"- which, when you think about it - if it is clear, should hardly be seen at all.
I use hard highlights and hard accents (the darkest marks) to communicate the hardness of the glass.

The lower photo is a quick study in colored glass.
So, how do you make glass look clear and still show the color? Think CLARITY.
If the glass is clear/transparent or colored/transparent, you have to be able to see through it.
Well, I got a little carried away with this colored glass - probably a result of too much time, alas.

A Tribute, and Sad Goodbye

This April the LaVeta Fine Art Gallery closed its doors and wrapped up a wonderful chapter in the life of the scenic town of LaVeta in Southern Colorado. This gallery ran strong for about 8 years- amazingly as a co-op of artists - with a far reaching reputation for excellence. I remember, years ago, peering into its window, after hours - amazed at the very high level of artists represented there.
In 2009 I was asked to join the stable of represented artists and was impressed by the integrity and professionalism of the group; artists like Robert Buckner, Joan Hanley, Tim Deibler, Janey Waldrep, Annie Enke, Claude Appel, and Paul Foster.
In the end, neither a lack of sales (I can attest to that) or interest, forced the closing but attrition and the wearing work of running a gallery, as artists - not strictly gallery owners.
Thank You, especially to Bob Buckner, friend, and fabulous painter/sculptor - I am your biggest fan. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of something really special, and for all of your support and encouragement.
Finally, all the Best, to every artist that was a part of this fine gallery. 

San Luis Valley Painters Present OUR TOWN

This show of work highlighting the San Luis Valley will hang all of March at Milagros Coffee House and Gallery in Alamosa.
The San Luis Valley Painters is a group loosely associated with my Painting classes and we hold a show every Spring in the Milagros Coffee House Gallery in downtown Alamosa. This year 12 Painters participated with 40 pieces, all in sizes less than 80 square inches and all very affordable.
At the reception, Judith Greenwood's piece "VFW Post 899, Alamosa" was voted Best in Show.  Bravo!
Judith's piece and much of the work in this show was painted en plein air, over the course of this last year in and around "our town".

Thank You to Milagros, not-for-profit coffee house;  a place where friends meet for conversation and coffee, musicians and writers gather, and tourists stop to shop.  It is Alamosa's living room and a natural place to share our work with the community.
20% of all proceeds from sales go to LaPuente which serves Alamosa in so many ways.
Thank You to the everyone who came out to support us, to view and buy work, and to all the painters who participated - Thank You!
This show will hang until March 29th, 2013.

Class Notes: More Drawing Challenges

It's another one of those.

I can't resist them - bikes, trikes, bowls;
here is more of what we have been painting in class.
I am over the fruit phase and am moving into a
things-on-wheels phase.
Thanks to Perla for bringing this sweet little rusty trike into class.
And the Pyrex bowls used to belong to my husband's grandmother; the apple - is history.

Class Notes: Drawing Ellipses

We draw quite a few elliptical things in class and recently a blog reader asked about giving some instruction on how to draw ellipses correctly.  I saw this set-up idea in a painting done by Tracy Wall and thought that stacking two cups would serve the purpose well.
An ellipse is just a circle in perspective but when they go in different directions, drawing them can stymie the beginner, and even stump a pro. 

Most people can spot drawing errors but the ability to make them right, is something worth knowing.
Start by looking, looking, looking - at wheels, cups, jar lids, soup cans.
An ellipse is a circle (that's 2 dimensional) in perspective, and even if you don't know a thing about perspective, observation and simple rules will guide you.
NO matter what direction a circle is facing, turning, or leaning, - its ellipse will have a directional axis on which it is based. Find the direction and draw the axis lines which will look like a set of cross hairs. Axis lines MUST be perpendicular to each other.
In the example below, see the lines that show the directionality of the shape and the lines that cross it to create the axis of the ellipse.

With these lines in place, draw half of the ellipse on the upper side of the cross hairs and the other half below. It helps to compare the width of your ellipse, top to bottom, to what ever it is you are looking at. Is yours too deep, or too shallow?
The great thing is - a correctly drawn ellipse will be exactly the same in each quadrant.  So, if you have drawn one quarter correctly each of the other 3 quarters should be exactly like it, no matter what direction the ellipse is going.  Hmmm . . . .
I had a drawing teacher argue with me on this point, saying that because of the foreshortening and perspective most ellipses could never be the same in all 4 quadrants.
We pulled out perspective books, engineering books, and tho' we never read it written anywhere quite this way - in the end he was convinced.  NO matter what direction your circular item is facing, turning, or leaning - when drawing ANY ellipse, each quarter will be exactly like the others - just like a circle.
In the example above, drawing the ellipses involved cups going in different directions. The directionality of the each cup is established with one line of the axis that goes in that direction; the line bisecting it is drawn perpendicular to it. From there I drew the ellipses, one quarter at a time.
A final reminder:
An ellipse is made up of arcs and has NO flat edges, or points - just like a circle.

New ARTrium Show

John Thompson moved to the Valley last year and we have enjoyed having him paint with the San Luis Valley Painters.
He is currently showing his work in a solo show at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center ARTrium Gallery. Congratulations John.
This show will hang for 3 months so don't miss the chance to see this showing of landscape paintings and photography in 2nd Floor ARTrium Gallery at the SLVRMC in Alamosa.

Big Art - Small Town

Susan painting near Creede.

Alamosa, Colorado may be small on size but very big on art.
Right now we have an exceptional opportunity to view the work of 2 major valley artists - in beautiful venues.

The Susan McCullough "Landscapes & Dreams" show is at the SLVRegional Medical Center Artrium gallery.  The reception this Thursday the 21st from 4:30 - 7:30pm, is the chance to see the show before it closes at the the end of February, and to meet the artist.  I also happen to know there will be great food.  Susan has lived in the San Luis Valley most of her life but paints all over the west, including Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. One of the most well known, and loved artists in this area, her work shows a sensitivity to the landscape that only comes from years of observation and out door painting.
The 2nd Floor Artrium gallery at our medical center is the perfect place to see this great show of Colorado landscapes, and specifically our valley.
Stephen Quiller Retrospective; Steve is one of the foremost water media painters working in the world today. Painter as well as writer of 6 books on Color and Water Media, we are so lucky have him near us in Creede.  Adams State University is hosting this retrospective show of Steve's work in both the Hatfield and the Cloyde Snook galleries on campus.  There are works from his high school and early years as a painter - and also work from his travels, books and color studies.  At the Opening Steve packed out the art dept. lecture hall for a talk about his life and work.
The show hangs through March and is a must see.
These two Alamosa art venues are only about a block away from each other. It is possible to take in both of the shows in an afternoon - and consider it a day well spent.

Class Notes: Gettin' Loose

Things with wheels are tricky. Un huh,
but our class discussions have been more about painting technique than those pesky ellipses - (see Class Notes on drawing ellipses).
Specifically, students  want to know how to make work that appears (operative word here is "appears") loose.  The question being "How do I get loose."
Hmmm. . . .
That could be answered several ways,  but as to painting technique - almost every artist is looking for a way to make their work look fresh and effortless. This is the big irony in art - because creating "loose work" takes more thinking, greater mastery, and more discipline, than tight work.  That one, seemingly tossed-off, and perfect stroke takes more skill than many small, repeated strokes.  I believe tight, detailed work is easier than skilled loose painting. Really, if it were easy - everyone would be doing it.
Bottom line: the appearance of looseness in a painting is a viewer's perception - not a process.
Having said that  - I do have a few tips for creating the perception of looseness in your work.
1. Use a bigger brush that will not allow you to "fix" everything.
2. Don't use two strokes when one will do.
3. Never brush over the same stroke twice.
4. Show off under paint when ever you can.
5. Use "active brushwork" in large quiet areas.
6. Add hits of heavy paint in the focal area.
7. Stay mentally engaged and discipline yourself to make every stroke count.

I hear painters say, so often - "I'm trying to get loose." - it makes me laugh. My response is - "don't try - do it".
To paint in a fashion that give the appearance of effortless joie de vivre,  in fact, takes a lot of practice, and determined discipline.
Go for it!
and when someone comments on your "loose approach" - just shrug and say "it was nothing".

Thank YOU PAPNM

Last Fall the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, a plein air club of which I am a member, put out a call for entries in an online painting contest.  These are great opportunities to show off current work- especially among members and we all get to vote for our favorite. The contest title was "Color Passages"; appropriate for Autumn paintings and I had just returned from the Westcliffe Plein Air event with a painting that won a prize there- and I posted it here at that time.
I think Fall brings out the best in most painters and it was no surprise to see a lot of good work posted by the membership which includes painters from all over the country. Usually, I post a vote and forget about it, so I was very gratified when my piece ended up in a tie for 1st Place - with Michael Chesley Johnson.  Well, I admire Michael very much; we have never met but I read his blog, his books, follow his stuff and someday hope to catch up with him at a PAPNM paint out. All that to say - I was  ASTONISHED when a few days later I was informed that my piece had won the contest. This was about December and it all went to the back burner of my mind until the day before Christmas when my PRIZE arrived in the mail. YIPPEE - YIPPEE - YIPPEE!!
Edgar Payne's 'The Scenic Journey' - the definitive book (coffee table size of course) on his life and life's work.  This was the best present and the book you want with you when it is 30 below outside and you can't "go out" to paint.
Thank YOU to the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico membership for voting my painting First in the 'Color Passages' contest and for the FABULOUS prize.

Happy New Year- 2013- let's get on with it

It has been pretty quite in Alamosa, Colorado - the coldest spot in (the universe?) the country. Our back door has been frozen shut for virtually 2 weeks - opened at the expense of one hair dryer - and only on account of our dog.
Temps like minus 28 for days on end and post holiday blahs contribute to a downward spiral. Sometimes I envy folks who must get up and go to work. Like it or not, I think that very act can get you back on track and into the flow of "life" again.
For the artist, this can be a very hard time of year - especially if you worked hard right up to Christmas with shows etc. A break might be in order but the holidays have a way of killing inertia and getting juices to flow again can be like trying to start the car that sat under a snow drift for 2 weeks. That is - if you can even get out the door.
Creative inspiration is so elusive - I have long since given up chasing that rabbit- but getting into the flow of work by DOING definitely leads to creative inspiration- I promise.
Maybe for you, a shopping trip can fire off motivating endorphins.  For me deadlines are very motivating; the letter on my desk from the Colorado Dept of Revenue - that will do it. While working on my taxes- the desire to paint and the frustration of having to do something so mundane will be very motivating.

DOING even one small thing often gives the impetus that will propel you to the next thing with a positive cascading effect; before you know it,  things are humming again. 
I am very glad my painting classes start up again tonight. It is one of my DOING things, and even tho' I teach the class, it is as encouraging as anything;  3 hours to paint, any way I want -  no one to please but myself.
And for all you artist- types that make excuses like: I don't have a place to paint, I don't know where to start, I don't have the materials - THIS is what classes are for; at the very least, socially interactive (that means - fun) and, I hope - always creatively stimulating.
Whether you are looking to get the car out from under a snow drift, or just fighting off the after effects of too much "holiday"- do something good for yourself - get with people and paint.