Class Notes: Abstracting the Set-up

The last couple of weeks in class we have focused on "abstract" painting because it presents very unique challenges and forces students to look at things a little differently.
In the last post and in the past (see:Class notes: Abstract Painting) we have approached abstract painting from a purely compositional point of view, developing work with a specific compositional theme and color agenda.
This week in class, we are talking about "Representational Abstract" painting;
think Picasso and Georgia O'Keefe.
We started with a still life which I set up in a rather casual way and left on the table for about 10 minutes. This is enough time for students to see and be influenced by colors and shapes,
and work out a rough sketch from the first quick impressions.
Once the still life is removed we are free to focus on shapes in developing the composition. This may mean turning the paintings sideways, or upside down as we are look for interesting shapes, deleting some, redrawing others. We do what ever it takes to help the "items" disappear and the shapes take over.
I have a fascination with outlines (and a life long love of coloring books) so I used them to create, resolve and dissolve shapes. Some artists have a natural tendency to see everything as a landscape. Other artists see the landscape as a really big still life.
No matter how you work,  or what your style is - the very act of putting brush to canvas is an act of abstraction. The difference between the "abstract painter" and the "realist painter" is the level of abstraction. How far do you push the envelope to communicate your idea?
Abstract work has a way of revealing an artist's strengths, weaknesses and natural tendencies because composition, shape and color take precedent over subject matter.

Class Notes: Journey into the ABSTRACT

My Thursday Painting class recently requested some instruction in ABSTRACT painting. Every couple of years I specifically address the subject but it can bring out strong opinions in my class painters. Some love it- some hate it.
I love abstract work - of all kinds - and it is an area worthy of study; one that we could spend years on -BUT- I might loose a few students. So, we are taking a couple of weeks to touch lightly on the subject.
Week one we looked at ABSTRACT art that is NON-representational. That means it does not refer directly to a "thing" or view. That rules out Picasso;  think Rothko or Kandinsky.

Kandinsky was one of my major influences as a kid, and the first real art I was exposed to that made me sit up and take notice. Kandinsky believed that art should communicate on an intuitive level.  Hmmm. . . There's a rabbit to chase. 
In class we help the "intuitive eye" connect with the work through the use of composition and color.

My general guidelines for nonrepresentational work:
1. Start with a dynamic compositional theme.  We chose here the CROSS composition.
2. Look at a color wheel or create your own; see the one we created in the photo.
- Choose a color that you want to dominate the work;
- choose a second color that will contrast or complement the first.
- choose 2 more colors to add excitement but with the intention of using them sparingly.
3. Establish your center of interest and work with color and shape to reinforce your compositional idea.
4. Use colors as shapes. Place then to interact with each other, varying the size and shape of the masses. Think about patterns, repeating patterns, theme and variation.
5. Don't over work the paint or you will lose the visual strength and energy you are trying to create.
Note: if you are working with acrylic, don't be afraid to pour, fling, wipe, drip and dribble with paint to: cover areas, build up or allow some areas to come forward
while other areas recede or become submerged for the sake of compositional strength.
This is not random paint dancing, this is intentional, non-representation work with color and compositional ideas behind it.
Abstract work is not a walk in the park. The best work has depth and a driving concept.
Nice things often happen by "happy accident" -  BUT,  great abstract painting is anything but accidental - it is always intentional.

Best In Show, 'Bluebird in the Snow'

Congratulations Lara Demlo, who won 'Best in Show' at the
SMall WONDERS reception. 

Our shows at Milagros are judged rather informally, but certainly by the people.
We bring the party and share our work with friends and everyone else who comes thru the door. Mothers & children, tourists, diners, students doing homework - everyone is encouraged to join our Art celebration and happy to vote for their "favorite" painting.

Thank You to the everyone who came out to support us, and to all the painters who participated.
Thank You, as well to Milagros coffee house/gallery, a non-profit very much at the heart of Alamosa.
20% of all proceeds from sales go back out to the community through Milagros and LaPuente which serves Alamosa in so many ways. This show will hang until the end of March.
Nice job - Lara! The "people" have spoken.

San Luis Valley Painters present "Small Wonders"

The San Luis Valley Painters are featured in an exhibition all month at Milagros Coffee House on the corner of Main and State streets in Alamosa.
Charming and colorful, small and affordable, there are pieces in watercolor, oil, fabric and fibre, collage, encaustic; SMALL WONDERS.

SLV Painters is a group loosely associated with my painting classes and every Spring we present an exhibition, giving even beginning painters a chance to show work.  This opportunity is open to anyone who has ever painted in my class, and requires all the hoop jumping and mechanics involved in preparing work to be exhibited in public.
Our SMall Wonders show features 10 artists, working at all levels.  The are:  Heidi Algrim, Mary Anne Buehler, Yvon Boss, Peg Collins,
Lara M. Demlo, Mary Susan Eldredge, Coni Grant, Judith Greenwood,
Perla Kopeloff, and Richard Luckemeier.
All the work is for sale and at
64 Sq. inches or smaller,
very affordable.
BRAVO! to all the painters who
participated - and Thank You!

Please join the SLV Painters at a reception on Sunday March 16th, from 2- 4 pm at Milagros, corner of Main and State in Alamosa.  Refreshments will be provided.
All work on display is for sale with 20% of the purchase price donated to LaPuente. The “Small Wonders” show will continue through the end of March.

For information about SLV Painters or painting classes call the Alamosa Family Recreation Center at 589-2105.

Classes Notes: Painting Drapery

I confess, I have had a bias against "drapery" - probably from the tedious hours of drapery rendering that we did in college painting.  ZZZzzzzzzz.

And when there are so many other fun things to paint -  drapery, for its own sake seems SO prosaic.
But, when a student made the request - I figured it was time.  In my on-line research I found: "The secrets to painting drapery" (it is still a secret),  "How to make elegant drapery",  "Understanding Drapery", etc, etc.
This is all good stuff but I can't believe "drapery" is so much different than anything else 3 dimensional that we are trying to communicate on a 2 dimensional plane.
It has to be about shapes.
The top/red drape is my first demo and I started with a Sharpie sketch to organize the big shapes.
It was hard. It was fun.
After class I began to look at books for painted drapery - classical and otherwise and when I pulled out a book on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel- a light went on. I am sure that sounds pretentious . . . what can I say.
But, his drapery is so bold, so simple, so understandable.
It makes sense, that a sculptor would paint drapery that was oh, so readable, and not tight or bogged down with minutiae.
This photo, from the book by Lucinda Hawkins Collinge & Annabel Ricketts, is what we studied in class.
I can't say we came up with any secrets to painting drapery but just looking at work from a master made a big difference. We all did stronger work in the second week.  It seemed to make real sense.
My second demo is the green one and even in its unfinished state it has more volume.
Thanks Michelangelo.

Looking for Snow

At this time of year the landscape can be pretty spare in Colorado. Finding color in the neutral shades challenges me - and not in a way that I like- so as long as there is snow to be found I will be out in it.
Sue McCullough and I drove up to Rock Creek not too long ago, looking for deep snow and spent a PERFECT morning painting. Perfect means: temps over 10, no wind and a bright day with no cloud cover. Being out in the mountains on a day like that - I don't even care if the painting turns out to be a bomb; but as a rule  Rock Creek does not disappoint.  Just a short drive into the high country and you find every kind of view - short and long, with pine and aspen forests, majestic snow covered peaks, rocky canyons, and no sign of civilization. It is hard to go wrong.

Art is For Everyone - even Astronauts

Work from the Alamosa Family Rec Center Youth Art Program is currently on display (March- April) at Weiss Cleaners in downtown Alamosa. The work is an expression of the theme " What I want to be" and catches kids in the act of envisioning their future.
I love the fact that in a kid's world - everyone does art; everyone creates, even astronauts, hairdressers, scientists, farmers.

This is an ongoing class taught by Suzanne Greenwood, New Mexico State University graduate with a BFA in clay sculpture and herself a brilliantly creative artist.
So the call is out: send your future farmers, math minds, scientific geniuses, engineers, doctors, nurses, musical prodigies,  6- 12 yrs old - and help them create their future.
For more information about the Rec Center Youth Art Classes for Spring and Summer call
589-2105 or visit www.alamosarec.org.

PLACES and SPACES

February 14th was the reception for my solo exhibition
"Places and Spaces" highlighting work of the San Luis Valley.
Whew!
And that big one in the photo - it has also left the building - THANKS to collectors in Kansas.

It was all so much work, but a pleasure to show in my home town - something I try to do every 2 or 3 years.  The ARTrium Gallery space, located inside our SLV Hospital is also one of the most beautiful venues in southern Colorado. I was able to show about 35 pieces during the 3 months that this show hung, and I sold over half of the work - including the one in this photo.  It was especially gratifying that buyers came to the reception from as far away as Denver and Santa Fe - and carried work home with them.
Thanks to the SLVHRMC Hospital Foundation for providing such a great ART space and one that is also enjoyed on a daily basis by doctors, nurses and many patients on their way into surgery or back to recovery. The SLV Medical Center owns several pieces of mine - as part of their permanent collection.
- another reason why I love this place. Thanks so much friends.

February 2nd - Already?

Today is both Ground Hog Day and Superbowl Sunday. Yikes! The first time, ever- these dates have collided.
I am hoping that Punxsutawney Phil sees the shadow of Peyton Manning and the Broncos winning the game.

This is what folks in cold climates do in the winter; watch too much football and talk to groundhogs. I never understood these things when I lived in California where it is never ending Spring. Painters go outside and enjoy ubiquitously pleasant weather year around.  Here in Colorado, where temps last month hardly rose above 5, we must flow with the seasons. This season being the really cold one.  In December I was busy with 3 shows all going at the same time and involving about 50 paintings, big and small. And I am very grateful,  but by New Years I was very ready to watch football and meditate on rodent weather predictions. I guess we all have times like this.
It isn't inspiration I lack, just motivation to follow through. This blog for example, I have written it - with pure genius I might add, a hundred times in my head, while driving, talking on the phone, sleeping . . . 
it just never made it to hard copy.
So, what does a plein air painter do during these dark days of winter when motivation and inspiration are at low tide?
My studio did get a pretty thorough cleaning this month, but mostly,
I lean on the classes that I teach to keep me moving forward. Class times are social, for sure but we take simple set ups and hone the craft of painting with no pressures. This is very different than painting for the market.

Essentially, I took the month off and tried not to say "I should be painting" but pondered the snowflakes and let the joy of painting, the "WANT TO"  to come back.
When the full moon rose above Mount Blanca on Jan 15th, I snapped this photo from my back porch. Sometime in the next few months the inspiration from this will show up in a new piece.

Winter Dreams of Summer's End

This plein air painting, done at the end of last summer is a part of the solo show that I hung at the beginning of December here in Alamosa at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center ARTrium Gallery. This solo exhibition has been the major focus of my year and I felt real relief as it all came together.
A huge "Thanks"
to the San Luis Valley Medical Center for creating such a beautiful dedicated space for art in this community and for all the encouragement from the staff.  I am thrilled that 4 pieces sold right after the show went up.  The reception will be February 14th - save the date;  paintings will hang until the end of February.
I for one am happy to throw myself into the Christmas Holiday and do a little quiet non-painting meditation before heading into the new year.
Thanks to my galleries; it has not been any easy for those in the way of fire and flood here in Colorado. This is one year we are ready to see come to an end.
Thanks to folks who purchased paintings this year, from me or from other artists. Thanks for supporting art and the people who make it.
Thanks to all my students; you keep me honest and keep me on track.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a blessed holiday season.
See you in January.