Class Notes: Seeing Color, Mixing Neutrals

It has been awhile since my students have seen this white cup; not everyone's favorite. It has a few quirks I still wrestle with: the ellipse at the top and red painted rim, the rolled metal handle, etc. . .
This week it served to help us see and mix "grey's" or neutrals.
I have been trying to stop using the terms "grey" or "brown", because they are useless descriptors, giving no real indication of the character of what you are seeing or mixing. Instead, I want to learn to see color,
say color, paint color.
See it, give it a name, such as a warm neutral, or to get more specific -
a red, pink, or orange neutral; conversely, a cool neutral, such as a violet, blue or green neutral. In reality there is very little absolute neutral grey, (a black derivative) in nature.
In the case of this white cup on a white cloth the challenge was to see the whites as color. The enamel cup has a very warm cast and the table cloth took on a cool cast. Before mixing that ubiquitous GREY
try SEEING what you think is just grey, as a color and mix accordingly. Your work will take on a much more colorful life.

ps. I once asked Eldon Warren, one of my favorite painters, how he managed to paint so many wonderful, vivid and sophisticated greens. He told me that as he drives, he looks at the greens he sees and names them to himself: a gold-green, a red green, a silver-green and imagines how he would mix them.
He SEEs them, he names them, he paints them. Check out his website by clicking here.

New TOYS

Tools of the trade - or as I call them
TOYS of the trade. How we love them. New brushes, a slick and tiny brush washer that just fits in the plein air box or. . . bigger toys like a studio easel. This one came in my Easter basket; Woohoo - Way better than a chocolate rabbit - or even peeps.
The Klopfenstein Professional; I fell in love with this easel at Adams State during grad school - no fussy knobs, weights, or anything resembling a Venetian torture device. It has a small footprint but unparelleled canvas size limits and is made to last a lifetime. I think it could also double as a jungle gym.
My new favorite toy.

Plein Air Workshop in LaVeta, in June

I get asked about workshops a lot: Do I do them? - when, where?
The answers
are - Yes! - Not often, - but always in the landscape.

I have a Plein Air workshop coming up - Monday, June 21 from 10 am to 1 pm, at the Spanish Peaks Arts Council Gallery, or SPACe, in LaVeta, CO.
I will focus on design, and of course, color interpretation in the landscape; all en plein air in beautiful LaVeta, Colorado.
The workshop price is $35. and is part of their Colorado Expressions Celebration. Information will be posted on their website at Spanish Peaks Arts Council and registration will be handled through SPACe.

If you have never been to LaVeta, this is a great chance to paint in one of the most charming towns in Southern Colorado and destination of the Scenic Rio Grande Railroad that runs from Alamosa to LaVeta, through some of Colorado's most beautiful scenery.

The painting above, "Barn Dance" was just in the Nomadas del Arte show that opened April 9th at Southwest Gallery in Dallas, Texas - and I am happy to say that it SOLD.
To see all the plein air pieces juried into the show, click on this link to Nomadas del Arte.

"Food As Art" at the SPACe Gallery

As far as I'm concerned, when anyone prepares food - it's art - so, in my book, a potluck could be considered a full blown art show.
Thus, the Spanish Peaks Art Council's up coming show - Food As Art,
is open to all kinds of interpretation.
These two class demos, done in a 6"x 6" format will be my entries and though my demos very seldom see the light of day beyond this blog - these two fit the bill.
May 1st is the opening Reception, from 5-7 pm in LaVeta, Colorado - and there is guaranteed to be good art and good food.

Class Notes: Ladies of the PAAC

I shot the photo scrap for this little piece at a Plein Air Artists Colorado paint out in Taos almost 2 years ago. The directionality of the painters at the easels is interesting enough but without the contrast of the dark bluff behind their highlighted forms this would just be, so - so photo scrap.
I am always looking for scenes with strong value that translates to good patterns of light and dark.
Can you see strong value shapes in your color photos? Not sure? Take them to a copier and print them out in black and white. A color photo with good value will pop in black and white. Once you see clearly - exactly what you are looking for - look for more photos with the same sensibility: strong darks and strong lights. You will eyes will recognized what it is and your photos will get better and lend themselves more readily to paintings that communicate the sense of light.
And isn't that what we all are going for?

"Reigning Cats and Dogs" in Salida

This Saturday night saw the opening of two big juried shows for Sue and myself: Nomadas del Arte plein air show in Dallas and the Associated Artists National Show in Ft. Collins. It is always hard to miss a big show opening, touch base with friends and make new connections, meet buyers- it's all good. Having two on the same night is a bummer. Missing both is doubly sad - but we decided to take a road closer to home (about 5 hours closer) and headed up to Salida, Colorado Saturday afternoon to see our friend Sally Mather and take in her "Reigning Cats and Dogs" Show at the Salida Steam Plant in the Paquette Gallery. The work of Sally Mather (dogs) and Padgett McFeely (cats) represents over a year of work in support of (20% of proceeds) the Ark-Valley Humane Society. Bravo Sally!
Light hearted and full of life this show was so fun and gave us a good excuse to spend and afternoon in the very arty town of Salida and still be home by dark.

Nomadas del Arte '10 - the Southwest En Plein Air

With the goal of bringing together 200 of the best plein air artists in the country, working in 6 Southwestern states - this is probably the biggest Plein Air show in the country.
The Nomadas del Arte Show 2010 opens Friday, April 9th at 5pm and continues through Saturday at the Southwest Gallery in Dallas - 800-272-9910. A show worth seeing if you are within 200 miles of Dallas this weekend.

Artists Association of Northern Colorado National Show and Sale

The Artists Association of Northern Colorado (AANC) in Fort Collins presents its 19th Annual Juried Art Exhibition and Sale with a reception this Saturday April 10th at the Lincoln Center (417 W Magnolia, Ft. Collins).
Artwork is chosen from nearly 300 entries from all over the country (so I am told). I was very happy when my plein air piece, "Spring Thaw" was chosen for this national show.

Class Notes: Proportional Landscape

Working in this, small 6"x 6" format, is a continual challenge for me - and my students. I like broad brushwork and large shapes but getting that look, in the 6"x 6" size, when you are used to a 16"x 20" format
- well, you see the problem.
A small canvas can really psych you out and students immediately grab the smallest brushes in the box. So what's to do?
I have found that being more selective about reference material is a priority. Many of us are used to working with 4"x 6" photo prints that can take in epic views: trees, mountains, a barn, the river, foreground, etc. - and they all look so good in the photo. . . and soooo tiny.
Broad work calls for broad forms. Look for photos with strong shapes and values, that means good patterns of light and dark . If you have a snap shot you love - blow it up on a common copier and see how it holds up in black and white. It can be so helpful to make the reference the same size as the painting, and not too hard if our format is 6"x 6".
Then ask yourself the really hard question: What is this painting about?
The piece above is from a photo taken of me with a group of painters last Fall at the Colorado Mountain Plein air Fest. What struck me was the light and dark pattern around the umbrella and the hat. I blew that photo up and moved over it with a square frame until I found the composition that suited a small format.

ArtWalk Saturday

ArtWalk Saturday dawned sunny - good news because snow had been predicted.
Sue McCullough and I were out on Main Street about 9am and took advantage of a southern exposure on the side of the SLV Brewery. It was not as warm as last year but warm enough. We both painted looking west up the street to Alamosa's historic Rialto Theatre building; now home to the Rialto Bistro.
Thanks to everyone who volunteered, promoted, planned and participated in Alamosa's ArtWalk and to the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center for hosting a beautiful reception on Friday night.