How To Loosen Up

I recently presented a demo for Art School Live with Eric Rhoads.  The theme was how to loosen up with the added benefit of using Acrylics. This fast-drying medium definitely helps with spontaneous painting, because you can correct mistakes easily and build paint immediately…no slip sliding away! We can achieve an Alla Prima paintings with oils, too, but it’s a little trickier with wet-in-wet. As an aside, I have not switched completely to acrylic paints, but rather have integrated them into my oil painting practice. Sometimes I use them for an underpainting and then go over them with oils later, or sometimes the Acrylic underpainting tells me to stay all Acrylic. Helps me paint larger. With the right surface, paint brand, and brushes, they can look quite a lot like oils. 

In the Art School Live demo I started simply with light and shadow shapes, using a sort of Notan sketch as a guide.  The concept of Notan (balance of dark & light) and my preliminary sketching was discussed in the demo but not shown on the Live session, so I want to elaborate on that subject as it is a huge part of my loose style.  Before I begin a painting, and to familiarize myself with my subject, I do contour drawings, which is simply drawing the outline of the subject in a continuous line (meaning I don’t lift the pencil from the paper).  Contour drawings are fluid and imperfect, which loosens me up right out of the gate.  Then I take my favorite composition and break it down into 4 values with Greyscale Markers and then in only two values (Notan).  This process gets me oriented with my subject which allows me to be more spontaneous when the paint comes into play (I emphasize the word “play”). These preliminary sketches inform my next step, a tonal underpainting or a value “road map”, if you will. Ps, pictures of my sketches and scene reference for the demo painting below.

In the underpainting for the demo and in an effort to keep loose, I used a paper towel to swipe in big shapes with energy and movement. This broad application of massing in shapes informs the end result. The Notan/value underpainting can be graphic or scrubbed in, it doesn’t matter.  With a good underpainting, you can pull out information without tight rendering. You are in control to highlight what’s more important, eliminating fussy detail. 

I’d like to share some little tricks for looser painting that I mentioned during the demo:

•Use a big brush, a big tattered brush is even better!  Use all sides of the brush.

•Lay down a stroke and leave it.  You can always adjust it later if it is really a problem, but most of them are not…lay it and leave it.

•Starting with a little controlled chaos will help you stay away from the little fiddle-y details.

•Work all over the canvas, keeping everything at the same level of un-finish. Once you get everything to the same level, anything that needs refining will jump out, and so on and so on until you decide what the final finish is. 

•Challenge yourself and see how much information you can leave out and still tell your story. Just because it is there, doesn’t mean you have to put it in.

•Change the colors to suit your needs and work from a limited palette to achieve color harmony. As long as your values are correct, the painting will work. 

•If a color is not shining the way you want, what can you do to enhance it? I continually focus on contrast, juxtaposed complements, bold against neutral, and cool next to warm (or layered on top of). If you watch my demo, you’ll see that with each stroke I employed one of these concepts. 

My final offering to stay loose is to get a little out of your comfort zone. When I am giving a demo, being recorded giving a demo, or am under any time constraints, I usually do better. While you may not ever be recorded or filmed, you could set a timer knowing you must stop once the timer sounds, at least to step back and check values.  Using Acrylics is also a great teacher of expedience because of the quick drying time. Painting outside will also teach you to get that paint down. That light changes fast! I feel that any of the aforementioned constraints train you to be more spontaneous and therefore more painterly. In any case, just remember to stick to those big shapes and big brushes, and have fun!

You can see the demo here  https://www.facebook.com/Eric.Rhoads.Publisher/videos/3963678433956792 and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sswddqpKTpU

A Gift

I believe that people come into your life for a reason, just when you need them.  Sometimes you know why and sometimes you may not.  Along that same vein, I have a story to share.  

In the early 2000’s, I had been painting for some time, but was in need for a little jumpstart.  I was more than ready to change things up and push my current boundaries.  The Chestnut Group, a plein air painting organization that I belong to, has a long history of inviting seasoned plein air painters to teach each year.  They invited Camille Przewodek, and I enrolled in the workshop.  You talk about getting information at the exact moment you are ready to receive it…well, I left that workshop a changed woman and I never looked back!  Camille taught us how to manipulate and layer color in a new way, infusing our work with more excitement and vibration.  While I have altered the information I learned from Camille to suit my personal painting style, I have always been grateful for her influence. She is hugely responsible for the change in the way I see color.

So this year, some eighteen-ish years later, I was a faculty member at the Plein Air Convention and Expo where I demoed for a large crowd.  Camille came to watch me at work and made sure to catch me afterwards.  She was so complimentary and supportive.  The best part is I got to give her a big hug and tell her how her workshop all those years ago influenced my artistic path.  It is a true gift to let someone know their worth.  It is doubly so when just a few months later they pass away unexpectedly.

Camille died a few days ago from a brief illness, leaving behind a legacy of teaching, creating, and curiosity.  I appreciated her for her sense of humor, her directness, and for the fabulous artist that she was.  She leaves in her wake a body of beautiful artwork, family and friends who will forever miss her, and students who will move forward with the knowledge she bestowed upon them. She will be sorely missed, but I know she is at rest, basking in the north light.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Mileage

Often when giving painting demonstrations, I hear, “You make it look so easy!”

Well I’m here to tell ya, PAINTING IS NOT EASY. 

Not in a box.

Not with a fox.

Not in a house.

Not with a mouse.

In my opinion, one of the keys to moving toward a more intuitive painting practice is consistency, or mileage. Some think that means 10,000 hours of creating perfect paintings. I beg to differ. I believe the quick studies, experiments, and yes the duds, too, are the teachers. We want so much so fast, we forget to enjoy the process and look too much toward the product. 

This is why in my workshops, whether in-person or online mentoring, I give my students assignments and exercises that allow them to actually feel what it is like to paint expressively. It is not always easy or comfortable at first. In some cases, the first try it is kind of like when you were in kindergarten and you practiced writing the alphabet…sloooowly and with great mental energy. But, as you are probably aware, it got easier with time! Whether your penmanship is perfect or not now, I bet you could write pretty darn fast and without even thinking about each letter by early middle school. 

That is what happens with painting if you have consistent practice and mileage. With time, you become “unconsciously competent” which means, according to Wikipedia, “The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned”. 

(To learn about the four stages of competence, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_competence).

Charles Hawthorne said, “Do not let it look as if you reasoned too much. Painting must be impulsive to be worth while.”

But he also said, “If you look into the past of the successful painter you will find square miles of canvas behind him.”

I invite you to enjoy the process of learning, growing, and traversing the stages of competence as much as you enjoy painting “a winner”. The joy will show in your work, however it turns out. 

Below are some “imperfect” plein air studies that have or will become larger paintings. Mileage!

Making Your Mark

I am passionate about teaching. Seeing my students grow confident on their painting journeys is my main motivation. 

I don’t teach in a “how to paint a chair / figure / tree” style. I would rather empower folks to see painting in a “big picture” sense so that they can develop their own voice and therefore convey their perception of a chair, a figure, or a tree.

I can attest to the fact that once your painting process becomes intuitive, there is more joy in your artistic endeavors. Isn’t it really about joy, anyway? So even if your drawing skills are not where you want them or your color sense is not yet honed, I believe it is still 100% possible to make beautiful art. You may hear to the contrary, but to that I say phooey. 

So how can your painting become more joyful and intuitive, even if you lack academic mileage? I suggest shifting focus from what you are painting to why you are painting. 

Sure, I build my paintings on tried and true foundational elements. I give a lot of preliminary thought to the academic necessities through sketching and planning. But, after I give my left brain that nice hearty meal, I send it to bed. Then, when the paint really starts flinging, it’s time to get down to the “why” I paint. 

I want to share my feeling of a scene, not feverishly try to render it perfectly (see March 19, 2020 blog, “It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect”). Perhaps through my painting I can send you to a relaxing porch or a comfy sofa in dappled sunlight, creating a peaceful sense of place for you. Maybe through my brushwork I can leave a little mystery in the painting, inviting you to linger and paint the rest of the painting in your own head. Or, perhaps my color choices give you that happy-flippy feeling in your tummy. For me, it is all about connection.

So, why do YOU paint? If the answer to that question is to render objects, then take drawing classes and practice, practice, practice. Nothing wrong with that. But if you want to make your mark (pun intended) and connect with your art and your audience on a deeper level, then let your vision and passion be the real subject of your art. The rest will fall into place. 

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”~Henry Ward Beecher

“Back Home” 16x16 oil on linen

Bluebirds & Buttercups

I’ve been staying at our Bluebird Hill farmhouse in Santa Fe, TN for over a month now. A massive power outage in Nashville, my full-time home, sent us hightailing out here. It’s the first time I’ve been able to enjoy the place as a home due to a long renovation and cold weather. The house was built in 1880, and the property sits on a quiet, rural road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

 The weather has been delightful, and I am taking full advantage of it by painting outside every day, a favorite endeavor that had become elusive for me in the last couple of years.

 To live right in the middle of such natural beauty is soul-cleansing. I love Nashville, but being out here...this is who I am. The colors, textures, and atmosphere are off the charts gorgeous. In terms of connection, it is not enough to come out here for a day of painting. Living at the farmhouse, totally immersed in the country, I am able to paint places I never would have found before, observe things I never would have seen. I am seeing the outside in a whole new way, and it’s making me a whole new person on the inside. I feel a growth shift happening, spiritually and artistically. 

 It occurs to me that I am here at this beautiful place going through this growth period due to a global pandemic AND an unprecedented power outage. Our power actually came back on within 24 hours of our leaving, but we stayed because it is the best place to shelter for now, and…Buttercups were covering every field and hill and it was spectacular! But, I digress. 

 I recently saw a church sign that read, “Crisis is a cause for change”. Yes indeed-y, it is. Lots of changes have come about, some intentional and some thrust upon me. I bet you are in the same boat. I guess we have 2 choices though: fight it, or embrace it. Since I do not like conflict, I think I’ll embrace it. 

 The images here are of some of the plein air studies I’ve done in the last several weeks. I have rarely been able to paint outside this consistently, and I think I am starting to understand light and atmosphere better. Having these studies helps assuage my lament that I will have to return to Nashville sometime soon. I will use them as inspiration for studio paintings, and I’m very excited about that. Thanks, Universe, for the kick in the pants to get back to plein air painting!

It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect

What is perfection, anyway?

Do you ever overwork your paintings? Maybe you start loosely…it’s going well…you’re a rock star…then you see some areas to “correct”. Then maybe you’ll just straighten those lines out and draw every slat on that fence. Two hours later oh wait you didn’t notice that mailbox, you think you’ll add that in…and that dog in the driveway has long eyelashes…sound familiar?

For me, painting is not so much about total accuracy and depiction. It is more about expressing an emotion or just simply transferring good energy. Yes, I do this through a form of semi-realism, i.e. you know what you are looking at, but I try to tell my story with emotive brushwork and harmonious color rather than tight or overwrought drawing.

I think this painting, “Roamin’ Holiday”, is a good example of creating energy without detail. Full disclosure: it was hard to stop at this point. The urge was to paint more detail on all the chicken shapes…surely I have to add beaks and eyelashes, right? Thankfully, I put the piece in front of some artist friends and the consensus was STOP. The white chicken shape visually informs the other chicken shapes. 

My goal in painting is to cease “naming stuff”. This shifts the focus away from excruciating accuracy, or moreover, “perfection”, and into the joy of expression. 

In my opinion, there is much beauty in a serendipitous brushstroke or a lyrically crooked line.  

“There have always been painters who love the look of a brush stroke and

who, as a result, are willing to sacrifice “accuracy” for the sake of

suggestion and implication.”– Charles Movalli

Photo Finish

Painting from direct observation is a crucial skill for any artist, but I learned early on that painting from photo reference can be quite useful. While I prefer to have a plein air or life sketch to work from in the studio, that is not always possible. 

As a budding artist, the first series of paintings I created was of waiters and restaurant interiors. You can imagine the look on the waiters’ faces when I asked them to stand still for an hour! Ha! Joking aside, we have been given the gift of modern technology which enables us to explore any subject we desire. This is especially helpful when the subject is in constant motion or we just can’t set up a whole painting rig and stand in the middle of the action for 2 hours, wherever that may be.

In reality, a photo is basically a lie. The camera lens is one eye, we have two. 

So how do you traverse the challenges of painting from reference photos? In my workshops I have categorized a list of photo reference pitfalls along with methods and suggestions on how to infuse these studio paintings with luminous color, dynamic energy, and a painted-from-life quality. Keeping in mind that photos are often too dark, too light, color washed out, etc., here are some method highlights:

• employing the sense memory with “connection sketches”

• composition/detail adjustment- don’t be a slave to the photo

• playing with the color wheel

• let brushwork tell the story

With practice and some life painting mileage under your belt, you will find that the use of reference photos for your art can be just as rewarding as painting a still life or en plein air. It’s all about the statement you want to make and the energy you put into it. See examples below.

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”~Henry Ward Beecher

“Cottage Kitchen”

“Cottage Kitchen” Reference Photo

“Cat Nap”

“Cat Nap” Reference Photo

“Farmhouse Shadows”

“Farmhouse Shadows” Reference Photo

That's Amare

I recently ran into a patron of mine who said she would love to take one of my workshops someday. I asked her if she had been painting and she said not in years. She was too shy to sign up for a workshop because she doubted her skill level…wouldn’t measure up…thus the not-painting thing. 

I get it. Lack of consistency in your painting practice, or “low mileage” as I like to call it, makes you feel as if you don’t even know where to start much less how to finish. Makes those blank canvases look quite scary. The fact is, we all doubt ourselves no matter what our skill level is. Full disclosure, as I write this I am slightly procrastinating. I have a gallery show opening in a couple of months. Lots of blank canvases to fill. I’ll conquer the fear, really. I just need a minute to gather myself and stop the voices…but I digress.

As I see it, there are 2 choices in life: fear or love. 

Let’s talk about the word love.

The word “Amateur”, which in our society has come to mean someone who is just a hobbyist and basically not as good as the professionals, really means “lover”. This French word is derived from the Latin word Amare… “to love”. So, if you are an amateur, that is a good thing! I am an amateur too because I LOVE painting and creating. I love it so much that the love eventually kicks the fear to the curb.

The more we can look at our passions with wonder, curiosity, and openness, the better we can learn and grow. Ego, shmeego, right? We can accept that our deficiencies are something to move past, like a delightful bar to reach instead of a mean ol’ barrier stopping us. 

I invite you to lean into love. It’s more fun. 

The above image is one of my favorite plein air paintings, completed on location in 2015. I was painting near two VERY accomplished landscape painters and that always makes me nervous. But I just decided to check the ego at the door and be in the moment. I still recall this day as one of my most favorites. :-)

Think Like Turtle, Paint Like Rabbit

I recently had a thought provoking conversation with some art buddies about teaching. One friend who just finished a workshop said she had conducted a “paint along” with her students, that is to say they painted the same subject standing side by side. I had been thinking about that very exercise just that morning as I sat down to map out my 2020 mentoring program. I thought it would be fun and informative to stand together, painting the same thing, so that the students can see my process and immediately react to it on their own canvases. I think that would be a superb way to keep everyone in the moment and having fun.

That said, the friend went on to say her students conveyed they appreciate a subject being selected for them so they don’t have to wander around wondering what to paint. That is a valid point! That initial selection of subject and designing of the painting can be overwhelming, and it can be exponentially harder when painting outdoors. Combine that with low “mileage” and the whole thing can seem like a big chore. 

But it got me wondering…how can we expect people to connect with our paintings if we do not take the time to connect with them ourselves? 

I realize that is pretty deep. We want to have fun out there….what’s all this connecting stuff, and for that matter when is cocktail hour? Seriously though, I am on a mission to help folks find joy in every minute of the painting process, including a thoughtful start. Easily said, but HOW do you do that? I have developed steps to do so in my own process, and am finding it helps remove the “fear factor” that many have when painting outside (and in the studio!). In a way, it means slowing down so that you can speed up. 

I touch on these steps in my latest video, “A Painter’s Journey”, and in my workshops I have had fun teaching these steps and watching lightbulbs go off. A little time investment can pay off big time. You will become more in sync and familiar with your subject, and that will translate into confidence with paint. You will feel more at ease and joyful, and in my humble opinion, that shines through in the finished product. 

“Think like turtle, paint like rabbit.” ~Sergei Bongart

Found In Translation

Just back from a painting trip in Asheville, NC. It had been a while since I painted outside because of the heat. It was still hot there, but boy-o-boy it felt good to get outside!

This was the first painting I did on a muggy morning, one of those times when the sun goes in…and out…and in…and out…and then in. Initially, I had been excited about the shadows on the chicken coop but alas, they went away. Such changing variables can really have you chasing your tail!

My strategy for painting in such conditions is to take a mental snapshot of what kind of light attracted me to the scene in the first place, and then proceed to create art instead of trying to copy what I see. I take liberties with composition and push color when it lends to a more interpretive expression of what I am seeing. I also use brushstrokes in varying thickness and direction to create energy and movement in what is otherwise a static scene.

I’ve included pictures of the actual scene in it’s varied light as well as the “finished” painting (a sketch has charm because of it’s truth, right?). Notice there are no chickens in the photo. They were behind the fence on the other side of the coop…but I was too short to see over it so I had to improvise!

This particular morning got me thinking that reality is just a starting point in impressionist painting. I suggest spending the majority of your painting time tapping into your creativity and imagination rather than trying to copy and perfect. That’s when the fun begins, in my humble opinion. 

“We must not imitate the externals of nature with so much fidelity that the picture fails to evoke that wonderful teasing recurrence of emotion that marks the contemplation of a work of art”~John F. Carlson

Exploration

I once read a list of characteristics attributed to artists, and one was, “easily bored”. I felt that was untrue as I have PLENTY to do in the studio if not in other parts of life. Then I gave it more thought and for me, “bored” can translate to, “dislike of feeling stagnant or repetitive”. Ok yes, I get bored.

So I try to do a little exploring and this is what I came up with recently. My continued goal is to give less and less information with greater impact. I realize this is a lifelong journey, but little changes lead to larger shifts eventually.

Inspired by 2 recent workshops with Larry Moore and David Shevlino, I blocked this one in with a Bondo Scraper using acrylics. No brushes…just scooped up paint and applied color shapes. The next layer is oil, applied with 2 inch gesso brushes and palette knife. The underlying bold acrylic color shapes led me to stick with more chromatic oil color, which is great because sometimes I can get too neutral. I like where this is going and not sure what’s next. Stay tuned!

“Do not let it look as if you reasoned too much…”–Charles Hawthorne