Archive for January, 2011
Studio Day
Today was studio day. I needed to finish my abstract art painting and work on the oil painting I started yesterday, if possible. It’s a good thing we planned it that way because the sky opened up and poured rain all day today!
I repainted part of my abstract painting. For some reason, these acrylic colors do not cover to the degree that oils cover – perhaps it’s because I have a student’s grade of acrylic paint. I’ll have to ask in class on Wednesday, but the yellow is especially poor at covering. After the critique, I’m considering repainting the painting in oils. Then all the colors would be bright.
Veterans Park
My friend, Thelma, and I decided to do some oil painting today. We had seen a park on Nicholas Parkway in Cape Coral last week and decided we would go there, but when we arrived, the parking situation was difficult, so we decided to go elsewhere.
After trying a second park, also unsuccessfully, we finally found our way to Veterans Park at the foot of the bridge connecting Cape Coral with Fort Myers. It was a lovely spot along the Caloosahatchee River, on a pleasantly breezy day. It was good to get out the oils and set up my easel after a long period of traveling and visiting with friends and family.
The Aftermath
At the end of class yesterday, the instructor went to each student’s table, held up her painting(s) for the day and gave suggestions for improvement. I’m sure that was helpful to each of us.
Since my painting had basic colors (see attached), it seemed natural to add letters and/or numbers. I decided I would explore various fonts on the computer, choose some, paint them in color on an extra sheet of paper and try them out on the painting. When I like the arrangement, I’ll paint the letters on the painting at the desired locations.
We’ll begin our class next Wednesday with a critique of the paintings after we have had a week to add to them or make corrections. There is really no right or wrong way to paint an abstract painting, just things to do that might make it more appealing.
Abstract Art Class – Day 1
This is the first day of the class in abstract art for which I registered last week. The class meets every Wednesday afternoon for 5 weeks.
After introductions, our instructor began by asking us two questions: What gets your attention when you first look at a picture? and, What do you want to get out of the class? In answer to the first question, everyone agreed with “color”. Some were also interested in design or the feelings it engendered. There was a wide variety of answers to the second, but I was interested in knowing if there were any principles of design to which we should adhere, and how to begin!
There are several ways to begin an abstract painting. Today’s class emphasis was working from a real subject. Step 1 is to draw a landscape, or, in this case, we cleaned out our pockets or purses and put several objects on the table and drew them. Step 2 was to redraw the picture in Step 1, eliminating unnecessary shapes – soften reality. The goal is a stylized work. Step 3 is further simplification so that any semblance of recognition of an object is eliminated. The predominant shapes take command and lesser shapes dissolve. Step 4 is a full blown personal interpretation and expression of the elements of your design.
The Webinar
A webinar is an online seminar. In this case, Jason Horejs (pronounced “Horsh”), the owner of Xanadu Gallery, http://www.xanadugallery.com in Scottsdale, AZ, was the speaker. There were 1000 artists, oil painters, acrylic painters, watercolorists, sculptors, jewelry makers, glass makers, and others, tuned in to listen to his lecture, entitled, “A web site is a terrible thing to waste”.
He had six points: set realistic goals for your site (for a new web owner, capturing contacts and establishing credibility should be primary), design of your site (keep it simple, straight forward and neutral. Templates are OK if you are in control. Organize by category), give viewers info about yourself (bio, artist’s statement, sizes of artwork, images and prices (!)), keep your site fresh (update home page every 2 weeks with new works), capture your contacts (add a form to your site to capture email addresses for a newsletter), track your traffic (with StatCounter.com or Google Analytics) and study SEO (search engine optimization). He also put a download of tonight’s lecture on his site in case we missed an important point and which you might be able to access also.
Xanadu Gallery
Earlier this fall, my oil paintings were accepted into Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. This means that they will be put on the web site and, because this is a well known gallery in the west, will have a wider audience than my web site, alone, could provide. It means that it behooves me to add a couple of paintings each week, so they will show up on the first page at least for a few days when a viewer looks online at the gallery paintings. For me, this was an exciting moment because Jason Horejs is the owner, the son of a painter father and a curator mother and he knows the art business from both sides.
Jason sends out newsletters occasionally as well as opportunities to join his workshops on how to be accepted into galleries and how to sell your art. Tomorrow he is having an online seminar, a webinar, on creating your web site – what to do and what not to do. He even offered to critique 2 or 3 web sites, so I volunteered to have him critique mine! I’m getting lots of pens and papers ready in case he chooses mine, as he’ll probably say mine needs a lot of work – but, what the heck, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Abstract Art Class
It seems to me that my friend, Thelma, has become an abstract painter in the last few years – if not in action, at least in heart. My paintings, also, are somewhat abstract with pink or yellow skies and red tree trunks.
So we registered for a class that meets on Wednesday afternoons for five weeks. It’s called Abstract Composition, Techniques and Textures. Yesterday, we went to Home Depot and got a man to cut one 4’ x 8’ piece of masonite into as many 18” squares as he could. Tomorrow we buy the gesso and other materials needed for the class and on Tuesday we’ll apply the gesso and get the supports ready for our abstract art. We’re hoping that the class will stretch our minds and give us ideas that will enrich our art in whatever style we paint.
Thelma
My friend, Thelma, arrived today to stay the winter with me in sunny Florida. We have been friends for many years and our children grew up somewhat together. At least, we shared many a Thanksgiving dinner together, although her children are a few years older than mine.
Now begins the serious and joyous work of oil painting. Neither of us were painters in our youth, but have come to enjoy and work at it only in our adult years. We both took classes in North Carolina at Wild Acres, near Little Switzerland on the blue Ridge Parkway and, come April, she will go back to Illinois and study with her teacher there and I will go back to Maryland and paint with my friends. But while she is here we will find interesting places to paint and perhaps even take lessons at Bonita Springs where I just discovered there are a myriad of classes available for any and all art interests.
And Libraries
This is a continuation of yesterday’s blog regarding artists’ replies to Canadian artist Robert Genn’s newsletter last week. He said libraries were becoming obsolete and only places for the homeless to get warm. The artists really took issue with this.
One said that when she tutors at the library it is teeming with activity. Yes, she actually met a homeless lady there and perhaps that bit of social interaction they had helped her through the day.
Another expounded that libraries are one of our greatest democratic institutions – a place where people can still find tutors to assist in learning computer basics and where volunteers stand ready to assist the children of their community in reading, math, spelling and geography outside the classroom. As most employment is now found through Internet channels, libraries provide those who are financially unable to own their own personal computer the use of an on premise computer for job hunting at no cost. They sponsor fine art exhibitions, concerts, lectures, round table discussion – all free. He had also personally checked out countless books on oil painting and art related DVDs that have been enormously helpful in the development of his own painting, And all information is free to everyone, regardless of race, creed or color.
Another had seen a button that read: “LIBRARIAN – THE ORIGINAL SEARCH ENGINE!” Need I say more?
About the Demise of Books
The other day when Robert Genn, Canadian artist, mentioned the demise of the local newspaper, the postman, books and libraries, he received a rash of comments from his readers. They didn’t say much about the newspapers or postman, but heartily disagreed with his comments about the books and libraries. Here are some of the comments about books:
Several said the Kindle will never replace the joy of curling up in a comfy chair with a good hard cover book on a cold winter’s day with a cup of a favorite beverage nearby. One said she couldn’t loan her Kindle to a friend, and if the batteries ran out on a train, she’s SOL. She can’t continue reading the Kindle after she’s dropped it in the bath and it doesn’t like sand (so the beach is out). Another said that oil painting books and other books that depend on illustrations are unlikely to disappear soon. Looking at a photo on the iPad or Kindle is no substitute for a well printed picture on paper. Finally, a lady who expressed her feelings well said she loves the feel of a book, the stains on the page that traces past use and even the folded corners where a weary reader stopped for the night. She loves the good illustrations. She still has her “Dick and Jane” books and other battered old books that can never be replaced by technology. She shares her books with others and they with her. I can’t see that books will be gone any time soon.