A Visit from the Guerrilla Painter

Last week I got a call from Carl Judson, AKA Guerrilla Painter; the traveling plein air guru and THE Judson behind the famous Judson’s Art Outfitters - supply/lifestyle catalog for all things PLEIN AIR.
If you click on the link above for Carl Judson, then click Track my Tour - you can see where he has been in his travels - visiting artists like: Shaun Horne, Carl Ortman, Peggy Immel, - me - to name a few.

While I had known about Carl by reputation, we met in person when I painted at the Sedona Plein Air Festival - and hoped that some time in his travels he would come through Alamosa.
Last Thursday we had coffee and a wonderful visit - about all kinds of stuff,  our mutual interest in San Francisco, where I am from and where he also has history,  and we talked about painting - of course,  the nitty gritty of how and why,
and of course - where?
I got to see the inside of his famous Guerrilla Paint Mobile - and could kick my self for not taking photos - BUT Carl is coming back to town  - this summer  - to spend time with the Plein Air Painting Class- and anyone else who is interested. He talks to groups, of any size - about the Plein Air Life, and his personal take on 30 years of plein air painting. He will also come with books, catalogs and all kinds of wonderful Plein Air Supplies.
I am looking forward to it and that date will be posted on this site.

Volleyball Painting

So - what do Volleyball and Oil Painting have to do with each other?
Yeah - -  I don't know either.

I was asked to put together a one-time painting class for the Adams State University Volleyball team.
 Do we need a reason?
We do it because it is fun. These girls were way FUN.
Fresh from practice and weightlifting, the team blew in and immediately engaged with enthusiasm - ah, youth. . .
For me the hardest part was figuring out WHAT to prepare for a one time, disinterested group (not to be confused with -uninterested) and how much real learning should be my goal for them.
Yes! I believe learning can be fun.
In the end, I chose to focus on Design (my favorite thing),
Value, Color and Brushwork- bringing those things together in one painting with no reference or set-up to paint from.
Below are my 4 basic points and what I hoped they would take away - besides their painting.
Design: placement of imagery on the canvas
Value: the light and dark of imagery, that's a little bit of Light Logic
Color:  just WARM and COOL - no color wheel or color theory
Brushwork: using the EDGE of the Brush, and using the FLAT of the brush

This might be reminiscent of a one-time event that involves wine and some paint, where folks pay and walk out with the ubiquitious copy of some one else's painting
. . .  not that there's anything wrong with that. . . .
but as an educator my highest hope is that some real learning will take place - even if it is ONE thing, or ONE "ah ha" moment.
Well, I had an "ah ha" moment - I need to loosen up and get a few more athletes into my painting classes.
Bring on the football team. - Go Grizzlies!

Blessed Easter Happy Spring

This week marked the 1st day of spring - and in class we celebrated with a painting to honor the change of seasons.
Usually, I like to paint from LIFE (still life setup) but this week we contrived the image from our heads and painted in a step-by-step manner focusing on: Perspective, Value, Color Temperature and Brushwork.
See below - the 7-step gray scale that we made in class; (read about it a few posts back) - we used it in this painting and I will refer back to it.



To start the painting we sketched a simple back-lit bowl with eggs inside, - onto a black panel.
If you paint from direct observation a lot this should not be a stretch to create a painting that works - however,  to be on the safe side - I did bring an actual bowl with eggs into class so that students could use it for reference.                                                                   
Using a #8 or #10 Flat brush and the gray scale as a guide, we mixed a dark, cool neutral in the value range of #6 and painted the front of the nest that would not be lit, and the inside of the nest behind the eggs.
Load the Flat brush with paint and make thin, twiggy, individual strokes with the narrow edges of the brush - NOT the flat of the brush. This may not sound hard but it does require disciplined brushwork and is a great way to PRACTICE using just the edges of the brush; 2 edges - 2 juicy strokes, then reload your brush. Pull a few strokes out beyond the edge for interest and to create more interesting negative spaces to paint around later.

Next, I went back to the gray scale and mixed light, warm neutrals in the range of #2-3 and painted more twiggy strokes in the upper left and around the rim of the nest to show that the light is coming from the back, upper left.

The background is 2 variations of a cool color - in the value range of #1-2.  Use the FLAT part of the  brush to paint negatively between the 'twigs'  for depth and the look of light peeking in and around the edges. I purposely made my eggs darker than the background and correct light logic gives them a realistic feel.
 This was fun to paint and would also work well in watercolor or acrylic. Remember - think twiggy, thin brushwork.
Happy Spring!

Class Notes: COLOR Choices In VALUE

In class we are looking at VALUE and the color choices that make it work.  This adventure took a more abstract approach to VALUE, applying color-in-value to simple shapes that did not come from a photo or image.
First we divided the canvas into quarters,  drew 3 circles in every quarter and gave each one a value number using the value scale - seen here.  Every quarter should have 3 circles:  a light one, a medium one, and a dark one, plus a fourth and lightest value for the background - for a total 4 different values.

Now to the fun stuff - PAINT.  On the sketch above, I have noted the intended values, based on my numbered value-scale (I expect to vary these a bit).
With the sketch as a guide, I will use the value-scale to match each color choice to the value number noted on the sketch.

Side note: You can see that I did not paint the circles onto a white canvas but applied a mid-range (value #4) color as a ground. In the end this may get covered but sometimes having a mid-range "ground" already ON the canvas helps us evaluate the colors placed on top.  Note: a "ground" is a prepared surface, in this case- a colored surface, to which paint is applied.

After generally covering the canvas, I went back and began to play with the shapes by varying the brushwork and worked to move the color around the canvas, while staying true to the values in each shape. This was so much fun that it was hard to stop -  I could imagine working up this idea to 6 foot format.  Oh yeah!
In the end however - the tonal photo tells the story;
for all the craziness, the shapes still hold to the value plan set forth in the original sketch.


Now- go out and color the world - but don't forget your VALUE sketch.

Class Notes: VALUE in Color

In Class we have been studying Value, making Grayscales - hoping some of it sinks in. . .
Making sense of the value scale is part of training our eyes to discern value changes, - the more we do it, the more sensitive and accurate our value choices will be.  - but WHY?
Because VALUE is how we show form and create the illusion of 3 dimensions, on a flat canvas.
Does your work have depth, or show the light effects that you desire? We avidly study COLOR, but VALUE is what gives COLOR it's power - with out it, color makes little sense.
So - this week we started with a color photo of a cup and saucer and created a few 3-value plans - to which we applied this criteria:
The value plan must show the light & shadow effect.
It must help me to communicate what I want to say about the photo?
The value plan must communicate the 3D structure of the image in the photo?
To keep it simple we started with Black as #7 and laid in the darkest areas, then mixed a mid range gray (matching it to #4 on the Grayscale) and applied it to all of the middle value areas. Finally we left the white of the canvas as #1 our lightest value.
Of the 3 above - each value plan is a little different.
We used the photo for reference, but have made different design choices as to where certain lights and darks will be placed.
So much for the easy part. . .

I chose value plan two as my favorite, each class painter also chose one and we began to lay color on top of the value areas, trying to use colors that fit into that specific value range by matching them to our Grayscale.  It is all about comparing,  squinting, and matching; and there were a lot of A-Ha moments.
In the case above - I have tried to work many colors into each of the three values, but the true test is when we look at a tonal interpretation to see if they all hang together as one value.  See below.
At first I did not trust my own eyes as I squinted to match colors to values.
Several people pulled out their "i-phones" for this part; most new phones have a photo app of some kind that works well. Beware however,  we found some major anomalies between  phones, and between phones and cameras.
Your trained EYE can still be the best judge of visual information - so grab that grayscale -
you are now free to start squinting at the world.

Class Notes: Value and the Grayscale - why?

2016 Painting classes started last week and there is something about the newness of January that seems to add fresh inspiration to my outlook.  Ironically, it would seem like we are tackling an old subject in Class but when it comes to painting there is always MORE to be learned.

In my classes we have studied VALUE in the 2-value NOTAN, the 3 and 4 value sketch, laying in value in an under painting, we have addressed color as value, value in neutrals, values on a black ground, or white ground,  values in the landscape, in still life, in direct light like sunshine and in shade. Are we bored yet - or just tired?
This is a subject that we address at almost EVERY class meeting; it is always with us- ho hum.
There IS more to be learned,
but, is there a new way to look at it?  Stay with me. . . .

This week we did something we have never done in my class - we made grayscales;  mine is at the top.   Not earthshaking you say?  Too true.

But as one of my students revealed - she made a grayscale in another class but never really did anything with it.  Hmm. . . . .  So WHAT is it for - or how can I make it "work" for me?
I have discounted the grayscale as an artist's “toy”, something a teacher would tell you to buy but you'd just carry it around.  Maybe hoping it will help with - something.
I have one - never used it.
In high school, I also used to imagine that if I slept with my German book under my pillow some learning would leak into my brain. 
yeah. . . . .

I do have to say, in my own work, I have had trouble using certain colors with success and I know the problem is a VALUE problem - not strictly a color problem - so, I am going back to the grayscale to examine closely the colors I have struggled with.
Color in VALUE is one of the most difficult hurdles facing painters, and especially troubling for students. I try to hit it in class from every possible direction.
The Grayscale is not a cure all; only a tool, but in the weeks to come we will be learning to use it to address those "gray" areas of color and value in our work. In the end, if we find the grayscale worthless - well, we can throw it out and not feel guilty.
Somehow, I doubt we will do that. Stay tuned.

Class Notes: Making a Grayscale

The GRAYSCALE contains only shades of gray - no color.
Not magic, it is only a tool, but a good one to use to judge, and compare every paint mix we make, to see where it fits in the gray range.

You can do a strong 3 value sketch but not have a clue about what colors to plug into those gray shades. That is where the grayscale will help.
Let's start by making one.

I drew 7 boxes for a 7 value scale because it is pretty simple and also has a MID-point. I placed white paint in box #1 and black in box #7.
The first time, I mixed, what I perceived to be a "centrist" or middle gray for the #4 box and mixed values up and down.
The second time, I started with white and added a little black to the mix as I worked up the scale to all black.
This is something that you get better at the more that you do it; so don't stop at just one.
Do several, set them aside and judge them later as to which seem to get the best gradation of even values up the scale.

Next we will look at just WHERE our colors fit in this scale.
A hah! More fun to come.

Success at Art for the Endangered Landscape Show

Before Christmas - this piece sold at the Art for the Endangered Landscape Show,  that opened here in Alamosa in December. This show was sponsored by the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council and in the fall traveled to Pagosa Springs and Durango before finally opening here in Alamosa.

THANKs to David Montgomery who committed a year of his painting life to put this show together and to the 40 -plus artists from all over Colorado and outside the state - committed to supporting the effort to save "Endangered Landscapes" in Colorado. This was a nice way to wrap up the year - a success for everyone involved. 
For more information go to www.slvec.org
Merry Christmas.

Art for the Endangered Landscape show TONIGHT

This exhibition, and sale opens tonight, Friday, December 4th at Community Partnerships Gallery; on the Adams State University campus, right off Hwy 160 just west of the ASU Theatre in Alamosa.
The reception will be from 4 to 7pm.
After traveling to Pagosa Springs and Durango this exhibition finally comes to Alamosa.

Over 40 artists from all over Colorado are featured and even some from outside the state - all coming together with the purpose of raising awareness for endangered landscapes;  - and brought to us by the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council.
Special THANKs to David Montgomery who brought it about and put it all together, and to the artists committed to supporting the effort to save "Endangered Landscapes" in our state.
For more information go to www.slvec.org
Consider this a perfect place to do some Christmas shopping. There is something for everyone and proceeds go to counter development on Wolf Creek Pass.
Hope to see you there.

Live Model in Class - Woof!

 Last Tuesday night we were lucky enough to have a live model in class. Richard Luckemeier brought Gus who "sat" to be painted - actually he went to sleep, hence my painting of him snoozing at my feet.
The Tuesday night class has been inspired to paint animals- in the landscape, in abstracted forms, from scrap and from life.  I put animals in the "figures" category- right up there with portrait - always challenging - but like anything else, practice is what gets you there.
More about that later.