Color Play with Acrylics! Online Demo, May 17 (Friday), 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, Eastern Time

“It’s not just about what you see…but how you see it.”

I am excited to team up with Penn Studio School to present an online demo: “Color Play with Acrylics”. In this color-focused demonstration, I’ll show you various ways to mix and apply color that will make the light sing and the shadows dance! I’ll demonstrate how the fast drying time of Acrylics can aid in layering color and how the outcome can be as vibrant as oils. Color mixing can be daunting in any medium, but I will break down the process of building color with Acrylics into simple concepts and steps that ensure harmony.

I’ll also be showing various Acrylic techniques and sharing tips I’ve discovered to create dynamic marks and textures.

May 17 (Friday), 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, Eastern Time

Cost: $55

**Demo is live and will be recorded, students do not have to be present. The recording will be available to students for 3 months after the live demo, after 3 months the recording will be deleted.

Sign up here:Color PLay with Acrylics Online Demo

I Second That Emotion

The purpose of the painter is simply to reproduce in other minds the impression which a scene has made upon him. A work of art does not appeal to the intellect. It does not appeal to the moral sense. Its aim is not to instruct, not to edify, but to awaken an emotion. –George Inness

I’ve been thinking a lot about the “notion of emotion” in artwork. Inness’s words are very impactful, although from my point of view I might have stated it a little differently, i.e., “A work of art does not necessarily have to…”, just to include the folks who DO want to edify, instruct, and appeal to a moral sense with their art, which is perfectly ok. 

I, however, prefer the kind of art that makes my tummy feel tingle-y (emotion) and invites me to linger over delicious color and mark-making, regardless of subject. If you are the same kind of artist, I guess the question is: how do we execute this magical, expressive art and awaken our viewer’s emotion?

I guess the easy answer is to share with your viewer the impression the scene has made upon you, according to Inness. That is good and well, but there is still a “how?” factor here. On my own journey, I have discovered some ways to achieve emotion through mixing and applying color and also in the physicality of laying down strokes. There are some deeper and more philosophical aspects also, but it is in practicing the “how-to” part that has helped me sidestep labored, over-rendered paintings and move toward spontaneous, emotive painting.

1. Swing. A. Bigger. Brush. At least in the beginning. If you start with a tiny eyelash brush and labor over all the detail, you will certainly get a nice academically correct result, but maybe not so much emotion. Bigger brushes promote spontaneity and energy, which translates to emotion. 

2. Hold your brush like you are a musical conductor holding a baton, cuz you ARE the conductor of your painting. Use a light touch at the base of the brush, then throughout the painting move the brush in different directions using your wrist, elbows, and basically your whole body. Step back and forth occasionally. All of this will create an energy that is palpable in the painting. 

3. Sculpt with your paint. Lay in shapes and use negative space paint to carve out positive shapes. I have long believed if you have the right shapes (puzzle pieces), you have the correct drawing and perspective. 

4. Lay it and leave it. If you keep “licking” over strokes, you will kill the spontaneity those bigger brushes are so valiantly trying to help you with (and you will probably muddy your color). 

5. Pre-mix color pools on your palette. This achieves several things: you can see pretty color emerging before you start painting (confidence), you have lots of paint ready to scoop and go (emotion), and you can work within these color mixtures so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel over and over from your primary colors (this last one is a GREAT way to get instant color harmony). 

6. Make color your own. You don’t have to copy everything you see. As long as the value is right, the color will be right. A few ways I own my color is by overstating or understating, using tonal underpainting to create a unified color base, and layering warm and cool to create vibration (emotion). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

7. Stop before you think you are finished. Set a timer for 30 minutes. Then stop. Check your values. Then paint in one, two, or three more 30-minutes sessions, then stop and sit with it. Does it hold together? Could you take something out rather than adding anything else in? Remember, less is more. As with music, the power is often in the pauses. 

I’ll be talking about and demonstrating all this and more in my upcoming workshops, Brushwork & Color: Make Your Mark. I’m so excited about this workshop theme I decided to hold two. The first is online, Wednesdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26, 2024, and then the second is in-person at our beautiful Bluebird Hill Retreat September 18-21, 2024. In these workshops, you’ll learn to use your palette and brushes to paint your impressions with emotion. If you want to get loose and have fun doing it, I hope you’ll join me! 

For more information, go to https://anneblairbrown.com/workshops-and-mentoring

You Do You

Being a painter, for some, can be an isolating and sometimes deflating experience. A lot of us are usually creating our work in solitude. We don’t always get feedback from fellow artists, but rather from friends or household members who have little understanding of our paintings or what it takes to create and put it out there. They might tell you that you should paint a certain (acceptable) way, or say things like, “I don’t get it”. We know they mean well, but as we say in the south, “Bless their hearts”.

Then there are the general and often soul-crushing comments, even from fellow artists, that sound normal but the translation is something like, “You have to do it this way as it has always been done…” or, "You can’t paint if you aren’t a perfect draftsmen”, or “You don’t have innate talent”. I disagree with comments like these, down to my core. I have been teaching for quite some time, and if I had a dollar for every student who has told me they got shut down by comments like these from teachers (teachers!), parents, relatives, and even fellow artists, I would be a rich woman. These students have told me that their painting shut-downs lasted for years…sometimes even 20 and 30 years. Wow.

Here is what I believe:

1. If you create in joy, it is “right”. Do not worry about perfection and do not worry about what anyone else thinks but you.  

2. If someone criticizes you, it is probably more about what is inside of them than what is inside (or outside) of you. 

3. There are rules in art, but rules can be broken. There is merit to knowing the rules before you can break them, but I say just break ‘em if that’s what you want. Might be a more interesting outcome. 

We all want to make good art, something to be proud of…but there is something to be said for growing where you are planted.  Embrace what you like about your art and improve what you don’t.  Art can be a conduit.  It could be a joyful expression of your inner self, or a way to expel your inner demons.  Whatever reason you have for creating, it should be your voice and your expression, not what someone else wants from you. There is nothing that says people have to “get it”, or even like it. If you like it, that is what matters. 

I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free. –Georgia O’Keeffe

Holiday Pop Up Sale!

I am excited to be joining forces with Leiper’s Creek Gallery to raise money and awareness for Nashville Mutual Aid Collective, a local grassroots organization that raises funds and other resources for the emergency needs of individuals in the Nashville area. Sunday, December 17, 1–4pm.

We have gathered a selection of my smaller paintings (and a couple larger ones) which we will be offering to you at 30% off. Perfect for gift giving!

See below for a preview of some of the paintings that will be included. A portion of each of these paintings sold will go to this deserving organization.

Pre-sales welcome! For inquiries and pricing please contact Amy Smith and Lisa Fox at https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact.

Leiper's Creek Gallery is located at 4144 Old Hillsboro Rd, Franklin, TN 37064.

PH: 615/599-5102

Down By the Station, 12x12 Acrylic

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

A Chick Thing, 12x14 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Autumn Light, 11x14 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Hills & Valley, 10x12 Acrylic

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Barns At Snow Creek, 12x12 Acrylic

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

On a Country Road, 11x14 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Roamin’ Holiday, 24x24 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Marketing, 11x14 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Outdoor Seating, 12x12 Acrylic & Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Light & Shadow, 12x14 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Reflecting, 12x12 Acrylic

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

In the Field, 10x12 Acrylic

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Autumn Shadows, 8x10 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Summer’s End, 10x10 Acrylic

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Southern Town 12x12 Acrylic

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

In the Distance 6x8 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Piers, 8x10 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Impending Storm, 6x8 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

By the Tracks, 12x12 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Autumn Color, 6x8 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Long View, 10x12 Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Summer’s End 24x24 Acrylic & Oil

Contact: https://leiperscreekgallery.com/contact

Umami

Salty, sweet, bitter, sour…all the elements of a perfect culinary masterpiece. 

I am a former chef and now an avid home cook. I always pay close attention to the balance of flavors in my cooking. This gets me thinking…what about the elements of a balanced painting?  How do you achieve that balance?  For me a successful painting must include good design, spot-on values, expressive brushwork, and harmonious color. But there is something else in the mix, a fifth element that makes our paintings unique to us. Let’s equate that with the elusive and often overlooked fifth element of taste…Umami.

Umami is that savory, meaty flavor found in such foods as mushrooms, soy sauce, and good Parmesan cheese. Though this mysterious flavor had been known for centuries, it wasn’t identified until 1908, when Japanese researcher Kikunae Ikeda isolated the taste. I think Umami is unique and sometimes elusive, just like that “je na sais quoi” that makes our paintings powerful and not just correct.  

Very much like your handwriting is yours and yours alone, no one can paint exactly like you.  Every time you paint something, you are experiencing a certain mood, your brushwork is uniquely yours, and your vision and creativity is culled from your mind and experiences. No one else has all of those things. Only you. But what if you could inject “you-mami” into each and every painting?

To do this, it is necessary to practice the fundamentals so that you become “unconsciously competent” in the words of Abraham Maslow. That just means painting is intuitive and you don’t even have to think about it, it just comes naturally. Once this happens, let the Umami begin. This came true for me after many, many years of practicing the foundational work of building a painting. I can’t put my finger on when, but one day like a lightening bolt, I was slapping down paint in an expressive way with brushwork unique to me. Color-mixing seemed effortless. My paintings started to be in line with artists I had long admired for their juicy paint strokes and luminous color. The highest compliment I have recently received was from an admired artist who said, “I always know your work immediately. No one paints like you.” I was thrilled to the bone. 

I encourage you to learn and practice the elements that go into making a successful painting. Solid beginnings usually end up in successful endings. Learn the salty, sweet, bitter, and sour. Then you’ll eventually and surely be able to taste the Umami. 

https://anneblairbrown.com/workshops-and-mentoring

"Acrylic Demo" Online Demonstration!

I am excited to team up with The Ohio Art Center to present an Online Demo: “Acrylic Painting”. I’ll be showing the ins and outs of using this versatile medium and sharing tips I’ve discovered to create dynamic marks and textures. Sign up info below!

Price: $55.00 U.S.D.

Date: January 26th 2024
(Friday)

Times: 11:00am to 1:30pm
Eastern Standard Time

The demo is live and recorded.

You will receive the link to the recorded demo 24 to 48 hours after it has been completed.

Learn more at:
www.theohioartcenter.com

Winter 2024 Online Classes and Workshops

Solvent-Free Painting

In the past two years I have started to move away from solvents in my studio.  I still use oils a lot, the water soluble kind, but I also use acrylics a good deal in both my plein air and studio work.  The benefit of the fast drying qualities of this medium is huge when traveling and when out in the field.  I don’t need another piece of equipment with me in order to transport wet paintings…with fast drying mediums my painting is already dry and ready to toss in the backseat of the car or suitcase.  It has become my goal to remove the cloud of inferiority that seems to be attached to acrylics as being paint only worthy of craft projects.  In fact, I pose a friendly challenge to you to be able to tell the difference between one of my oil paintings and one of my acrylic paintings.

My foray into painting with acrylic began innocently enough. I needed to get moving on a painting, but was behind schedule.  I had a few tubes of acrylic lying around in the studio and decided that painting my initial underpainting with acrylic would eliminate the drying time usually needed before I proceeded with the next step, and it did!  In fact I started to do that more and more with a newly expanded palette of acrylic paints.  Then I took them into the field and now I use them quite often in all aspects of my work.  They help me most with painting larger works, something I struggle with.  The fast drying time of acrylics allows me to get that look of spontaneity in a larger piece that I might fail to get if I had all this extra drying time to smoosh the paint about. 

I’m excited to demonstrate my process of “going big” at the Plein Air Convention next May 20–24 and hopefully open eyes to the the joys and benefits of painting with acrylics. I’m also excited about my upcoming online workshop, “Solvent-Free Painting”, with Trey Finney. We’ll discuss and demonstrate acrylic painting as well as explore Gouache and water soluble oils. Click here for more info: https://anneblairbrown.com/workshops-and-mentoring/category/color-amp-light-gpg3m-hj7r5-9mn25

I ASKED FOR WONDER: Group Exhibition

I ASKED FOR WONDER: Group Exhibition
September 1 - 22
Opening Reception: Friday, September 1, 5 - 8pm

"I did not ask for success. I asked for wonder."  The artists in this group show — Anne Blair Brown, Christopher St. Leger, and Marissa Vogl — find wonder in the everyday, from often overlooked structures to a pot of purple flowers to the way leaves on a tree can appear to be a thousand different shades of green.

To see the artwork in this exhibition before anyone else, request a preview by emailing katie@meyervogl.com. 

"Seaside Cottage" Going To American Impressionist Society National Exhibition & Sale

The American Impressionists Society’s (AIS) 24th National Juried Exhibition this year is being held at Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, Delaware, Aug 3- Sept 2, 2023. I am so honored to be designated AIS Master, among so many other artist I admire. This organization promotes American Impressionism and provides exhibition opportunities to all of their artist members by partnering with galleries across the country to produce quality art exhibitions.

Water, Water Everywhere

The last couple of years I have been on a course of exploration as a means of giving less information and more impact in my paintings. I look at abstract art and I think, “how do they do that?”. I don’t necessarily want to be an abstract painter by definition, but I wonder, “How do they make up all that cool stuff?” How do I/we do this? Well, the first step is getting out of the comfort zone and trying new things. 

If you know my work or have taken a workshop from me, you know I always try to use bigger brushes than I’m comfortable with, try new mediums such as Gouache and Acrylics, and just try to think outside the box and not stick to a formula. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly think having a specific method to practice and sticking to it for a time is extremely beneficial (which I’ve done), but once you do that, what’s next? One of the best ways I found to get even looser in my oil paintings is to play with Gouache. I emphasize the word “play”.

In the painting above, I started by just staining kept adding wet stains in shape form…no lines, no drawing. Not a lot of planning (which I am big on but sometimes ya gotta just go for it). It was a little scary because I might have gotten the placement wrong, but the great thing about Gouache is that you can just go right over it because it dries so fast! I love Gouache for that reason and also its staining ability, but also because I feel like I’m in kindergarten when I’m painting with it! I have a separate desk in my studio, away from my big, intimidating easel. When I sit down to paint, I try to explore without worrying about the outcome. Stains, blooms, dry brush, wet-in-wet…so many possibilities. I make these sessions quick, without trying to perfect the painting. I just get color notes as if I were outside painting plein air. This helps keep me loose and I come up with strokes and colors that I probably wouldn’t have come up with if I was just painting with oils. Then, that free-painted fun li’l color study becomes sole reference for a larger acrylic or oil painting. I’ve been working this way for a while, and it’s really paying off. 

Each and every time I do a Gouache painting, I learn something new about the medium. I also always feel something different. Liberating!

I’ll be showing this painting in demo form this March in an upcoming 4-part demo series with water media specialist, Trey Finney (he’s also my fiancee as of this writing. :-)). I’ll also use the Gouache as sole reference for a larger painting in a second demo. In the 4-total demos, Trey and I share our passion for Gouache, Acrylics, and Water Soluble Oils. Solvent free painting is quite liberating, especially if you travel or paint outside. We’ll show you the flexibility and versatility of using any or all of these three mediums in your painting practice, how they can enhance your creativity and “playtime” in and out of the studio, and how they can inform all genres of painting. 

Click here for more info! https://anneblairbrown.com/workshops-and-mentoring/category/color-amp-light-gpg3m-hj7r5

"Copying Is For Machines: How to Create Expressive, Colorful Paintings from Photo Reference" (Online Demo)

Demo Description:

I will share my process for using photo reference as a suggestion and not hard facts. I’ll start by creating a small Gouache study from photo reference using a very limited palette. Then I will use that Gouache study as sole reference for a larger oil painting. I’ll show you how to put your own stamp on your subject by taking “cues from the hues” to make color your own. I will also discuss my brushstroke techniques and how to “lay it and leave it”.

Hosted by Penn Studio School

January 13, (Friday) 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, EST

Missed it? See below for recording purchase option!

$55.00

**All sessions will be recorded; students do not have to be present. Recordings will be available to students for up to 3 months.

Good news! If you missed the January 13, 2023 demo presentation, you can still purchase the recording with access for 3 months!

$55

Go to https://pennstudioschool.com/buy-a-recording

"Back Porch" Pop-Up Show at Leiper's Creek Gallery!

I am thrilled to be the August featured artist at Leiper’s Creek Gallery’s monthly “Back Porch” Pop-Up Show!

Sunday, Aug 14, 2022 from 2-5 pm…The Porch is the place!

Hope you can join us for this indoor/outdoor event!

For those who can not attend, I have added all the painting images here for a sneak peek! Just scroll down, and hope I you enjoy!

“Happy Place” 12x14 Acrylic

Inquire

“Fields of Gold” 30x30 Acrylic & Oil

SOLD

“Wash Day” 16x20 Acrylic

Inquire

“Good Morning Sunshine” 16x20 Acrylic

Inquire

“Farmhouse Shadows” 24x24 Acrylic & Oil

Inquire

“Garden Variety” 12x12 Oil

Inquire

“Chicken Shack” 12x12 Oil

SOLD

“Over the Hill” 20x20 Acrylic & Oil

Inquire

“Pillow Talk” 11x14 Oil

SOLD

“Sophie’s Chair” 12x12 Oil

SOLD

“Peace In the Valley” 11x14 Oil

Inquire

“Summer Field” 11x14 Oil

SOLD

“Summer Greens” 11x14 Oil

Inquire

“Autumn Light” 16x16 Acrylic

Inquire

The Plein Air Painters of the Southeast paint Leiper's Fork, TN!

Sept 19-24, 2022 will find the members of PAP-SE capturing the charming community of Leiper’s Fork in paint! The week will culminate in our “On the Porch Show” at Leiper’s Creek Gallery on Friday & Saturday (23rd & 24th). I will be there with bells on!

Sunny on Bluebird Hill

The members will be on location during the show painting and visiting with all who come. Come meet your favorite artists and watch them in action. It is our third time in the Fork. It’s always a fun event!

Plein Air Painters of the Southeast Virtual Show

“CONCEPTION” ONLINE SHOW up all of JULY!

Hey friends! I am super excited to be participating in this online show with my colleagues from Plein Air Painters of the Southeast (PAP-SE). Hosted by Hagan Fine Art in Charleston, SC. This show demonstrates the process of how sketches inform the final painting. Each artist is sharing their sketch, plein air painting and final studio painting for a selected piece. If you like to see what goes on behind the scenes, you will certainly enjoy this!

The images above are the two sketches I did in preparation for my final studio piece. The first is a gouache sketch used to gather color notes and check my composition. Keeping it super loose. The second is also plein air and done in oil. Here I refined my design and altered some of the color notes. Now I am very familiar with my subject.

Good Morning Sunshine 16x20 Acrylic (Studio)

My final studio piece “Good Morning Sunshine” Available through Hagan Fine Art.

View the online show at Hagan Fine Art for the month of JULY here https://haganfineart.com/plein-air-painters-of-the-southeast

An Einsein Moment

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”  ~ Albert Einstein

How does the above quotation apply to painting?  Painting is full of problem solving.  For me most of that mental work comes at the start. For years, I have tended to begin my paintings in the same general manner, which is massing in shapes and values in one dark tone and wiping out lights. This method has really worked for me and is what I teach. Recently, though, I have been exploring new starts. If I want to grow as an artist and give a new freshness to my work, it doesn’t make sense to approach each painting the same way every time.

In the painting above, I started in a rather classical way (instead of my normal loosey-goosey-shape-y-no-lines massing). I stained the canvas in a light ochre color and drew an outline of the scene with a small, pointy brush. Not groundbreaking by any stretch, but nonetheless a departure for me. Full disclosure, I have recently watched a classically trained painter begin in this tried and true way and thought it would be fun to get back to basic drawing.  The funny part was that since I am the big-wonky-brush-lady I had to scour my studio for a small brush. 

The painting above is also 100% acrylic. Another departure from my norm. I know, I know…acrylics are plastic-y, right? I beg to differ. I love the thicker strokes on top of the flat here. The only difference I feel with acrylics vs. oils is that I have to spritz the acrylics with water occasionally. Other than that, I still use a variety of #8-12 Hog Bristle Flats and Filberts just like with oils. I still load up my brush for chunkier passages. I still leave a little under-painting showing through the strokes. The best thing about acrylics, too, is the fast drying time. This really helps with plein air painting and travel. 

I like the way this painting turned out, and I think the ease with which I painted it (believe me, that doesn’t always happen!) was because of simply switching gears. That put me in a place of exploration and play. Changing up my process here and there is keeping it interesting, varied, and adding a little bit of challenge, allowing me to problem solve from a different level of consciousness….(see what I did there?).  By keeping my work exciting to me, it is bound to reflect in the work I put out in the world.

Working from a place of unfamiliarity can be a scary but wonderful thing. If you have not yet found your “art groove”, by all means follow a process that teaches you to get consistent results. But, the minute you get comfortable, switch lanes for a while. You might discover something delightfully unexpected. 

Take Heart, All Ye with Self-Doubt!

A painting of mine, “Front Porch”, 11x14 oil, was recently chosen as one of the 10 best of the decade in a Tenth Anniversary edition of Plein Air Magazine. I was floored. No humble bragging here. I was floored. Honored of course, but taken aback for a very specific reason. I had initially considered the painting not very good. 

I painted it in 2013 on location in a plein air competition in Richmond, Virginia. The reason I did not consider it very good is that it did not sell immediately. Perfect, spectacular paintings sell immediately right? So cut to 2021 and there it was, in a feature article alongside some of the best painters who I’ve admired greatly for a long time. At the risk of bragging just a little (LOL), the painting holds up! That is to say, have you ever seen a painting from your past hanging on a wall or in publication…and cringed? I have! Perception changes and so does an artist’s style. “Front Porch”, though, while not the best painting ever in the history of ever, is a sweet little ditty that came from the heart. 

The point of my musings here is that at the time, the deflation I felt because the painting didn’t sell immediately (took a long time, actually) was self-doubt and fear talkin’. Those competitions can get the best of your self-esteem. After a while, I looked at it and thought, “Dangit, I like it!”. Eventually I submitted it to Plein Air Magazine to be showcased in a plein air article in 2014.

I am reminded of a delightful conversation I recently had with one of my gallery owners and friends, Lisa Fox at Leiper’s Creek Gallery. I was telling her the aforementioned self-doubt story about how I had initially not thought the painting was that great because it didn’t sell. She stopped in her tracks and said to me very intently, “That’s not how it works”. She went on to explain that how it works is…"paintings get connected with the correct owners”. That one statement suddenly changed the way I look at my skills and the way I approach my art. Painting what inspires you with authenticity is always the way to go, and phooey on slow sales and self-doubt! 

If you have ever been on a similar roller coaster as the one I was on in 2013 (and frankly, for some years after), I offer this: 

Do not worry about sales. 

Do not worry about perfection. 

Do not worry about kudos. 

Just paint.

Copying Is For Machines

7 Tips For Using Photo Reference in the Studio

Painting from life, whether outdoors or in, is the single most important practice for an artist. Only by direct observation can we truly learn to see depth, perspective, and atmosphere. However, it is not always possible to get outdoors or even set up a still life. Also, sometimes a certain subject matter dictates painting from photo reference. I faced this fact early on when I was primarily painting restaurant interiors. I was interested in capturing the waiters’ movement, but setting up an easel in a frenetic, noisy place is less than ideal, for the artist as well as the staff and patrons. This is where I channeled my years of painting the figure from life. 

It is my belief that if you make painting from life a consistent practice, you will have more experience translating photos into vibrant, atmospheric paintings in the studio. Having said that, there are many other ways around the pitfalls of painting from photo reference that can help. Here are some methods I employ to give life-like energy to studio paintings:

1. Set a 30 minute timer. This will keep you in the moment to make quick decisions, which will also pull you away from stringently copying the photo. After each 30 minutes, take a break, step back and check your values and color.

2. Don’t be a slave to the photo. Use small plein air studies to inform your studio paintings. I prop up a plein air study on my easel next to my canvas and try to work from that in the beginning. I then set up my iPad with the photo reference and set the display to fade out in 15 minutes, still only glancing at the photo reference. You can also forego the iPad and solely use the plein air piece as reference, using your imagination and sense memory to paint a larger painting.

3. Consider painting small preliminary studies even if you are solely working from a photograph and edit, edit, edit. I like to play with gouache or acrylic to explore color notes, then use that study to inform the direction of the larger painting. The Gouache or Acrylic mediums are helpful for quick studies because they dry fast and you can continually edit on the spot. I also find myself personalizing the colors in this smaller format, rather than copying what I see in the photo (which is a big ‘ole lie anyway). 

4. Speaking of big ‘ole lies, in photographic reference, shadows appear too dark and lights look blown out or too white. In my experience, it is all too easy to get seduced into copying those distorted values, getting harsh black shadows and chalky lights. I suggest painting a small black & white study, referring to a 9 value scale to control the values. Look at the scale and scootch down on the dark end and choose a dark grey for the darkest dark instead of black. Then hippety-hop down the scale further to key the mid-tones and lights. Regarding the too-white-lights, do the reverse. So basically you are working within the 7 middle values. Then you can use this black & white study to inform your color mixing.

5. I often employ the aforementioned pick-your-key-on-the-value-scale approach by drawing preliminary greyscale marker sketches. If you feel the darks in your photo are distorted, pick a dark-ish grey marker instead of black and then key the rest of the values as mentioned in tip #4. If the light looks too white, peek at the slightly darker value to the left of white (or further up the scale) and see if that would be better. I suggest four markers. Limited choices streamline the value decisions. 

6. Draw preliminary Notan sketches. Here is where stark black & white is our friend. Notan is a Japanese term which literally means "light dark harmony”. If you see in only two values first, it’s easier to see the underlying abstract design of a scene. This will help you simplify your scene right out of the gate and pull you away from rendering or copying all the “stuff”.

7. Turn your canvas upside down. Yep, you read that right. This will help you identify shapes in the photo and not copy “stuff”. My method for this practice is to wash in a monochromatic underpainting right side up (creating a design/road map), then flip the canvas and paint 70/30, that is 70% of the painting time is with upside down canvas, 30% turned right side up. I recommend the aforementioned preliminary Greyscale Marker sketches to help identify the value structure, and set that timer! :-)

In the image gallery below, you will see from top left to right:

1. Plein Air study, green house

2. Larger studio painting from green house study

3. Gouache study, beach path

4. Larger painting using Gouache study as reference

5. Greyscale marker sketch with dark grey as darkest dark

6. Greyscale marker pict

7. Pitcher & Fruit value sketch and Notan sketch

8. Photo reference for both the beach path paintings and the interior greyscale sketches

9. Larger umbrella painting using the study at the top of this page as reference.

10. 9-Value Scale

11. Photo reference for umbrella study and larger painting

Anne Blair Brown Awarded Master Status!

I am thrilled to share that the American Impressionist Society (AIS) has granted me Master Status!  This is the highest honor a member can achieve. There are four new 2021 inductees, and we are the first group of invited Masters since 2018.  I am honored, grateful, and humbled to be recognized in such a way and to be among such great company with fellow new Masters Dan Beck, James Richards, and Howard Friedland. 

I am looking forward to a long future with AIS and can’t wait to contribute and grow with this fine group of artists!

Shades of Grey

I typically start my oil paintings with some sort of monochromatic tonal underpainting, usually in a warm hue. I stain the canvas by darkening the darks, establishing a couple of mid-tones, and wiping out the lightest lights. If my value shifts are correct, the scene “reads” even before I add color. Before I execute the underpainting, I also sketch out thumbnail compositions with contour drawings, greyscale marker sketches, and Notans. I consider the sketching the “ready” and the tonal underpainting the “set”….setting me up for “GO!” 

In an effort to keep my work fresh and to inform my oil painting, I have been playing with Acrylics. I have had to come up with plan B for underpainting as Acrylics do not let you wipe them out, due to fast drying time. When I paint with Acrylics outdoors, I wash in a Notan underpainting with Burnt Umber. But in the studio, I really want to get a 4-ish value range to better see the big shapes or “puzzle pieces”. 

I decided to try a sort of Grisaille approach, using Burnt Umber tinted with Prussian Blue. I draw in some lines, then begin using various amounts of white to bend the dark color to other values. I have taken this approach before in terms of a value study, but I have never actually painted on top of the Grisaille. The good thing about Acrylics, too, is I can paint over these Grisaille underpaintings with oil if I prefer. 

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of big shapes and values before considering color. In actuality, I believe that if you struggle with color, it is really a value issue. 

I’ve included 3 Grisaille underpainting images here (below), along with the reference images. You can see how this method also lends to simplicity and eliminating fussy detail. Aaaand, I use 1 inch and 2 inch frayed gesso and chip brushes for all my underpaintings for added looseness. Pict below. 

I’ll post the finished paintings soon. Stay tuned!

“Color is an inborn gift, but appreciation of value is merely training of the eye, which everyone ought to be able to acquire.” ~John Singer Sargent

Reference image for above underpainting.

Reference image for above underpainting.

Reference image for above underpainting.

SECOND HARVEST HOLIDAY PAINTING COLLECTION

Give the gift of art and help someone in need.

As the pandemic continues to cause job loss and evictions, more fellow Americans than ever are standing in line for food. Those more fortunate are looking for opportunities to help.

I am partnering with Leiper’s Creek Gallery to offer small paintings for sale with 40% of the proceeds going to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. I have also set several of the paintings for 100% donation. During SHFB’s limited-time holiday match, every $1 given helps provide 8 meals to families in need through Second Harvest. Imagine how much your purchase will help!

The majority of the paintings for sale were created on location in the beautiful Tennessee countryside near Nashville, TN.

SHOP THE COLLECTION

If you would like to donate directly, go to Second Harvest.