Richard Schilling - DIY Art

Today I'm just passing along a wonderful link - one sample of the DIY (Do It Yourself) art movement. DIY is about finding ways to create art that is accessible. It is an anti-big-business-corporate-art world groundswell. Examples range from public free temporary work like Schillings (attached) to instances where artists form their own collectives, find venues to share their art (visual, movement, literary). I think you'll enjoy these wonderful art works made in nature, from nature - by pros and novices alike. May it be a spring board for us all to think outside the box, Enjoy. if it doesn't open - cut and pst into your browser. http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/richard-shilling/

Just returned from a week with the grandkids. While I had hoped to make a little painting or two my art this trip consisted of sandcastles, pine-cone collections and clothespin dolls :-) New work soon.

3 Painting Classes Coming up

Three session of "Get Ready to Paint" are now schedule for the next couple of months.

This is an orientation for the total novice - covering brushes, canvas prep, basic color mixing etc. We have a lot of fun. Some presentation, demos and hands-on activities.

If you know anyone that might be interested pls pass this along! Questions? email me.

August 8 - Riley Street Art Supply, San Rafael.

September 11 - College of Marin, Kentfield Campus

October 2 - Tam District Adult Ed - Tam High, Mill Valley.

A Sneak preview - and two Painter's Tips

Two peeks at a new piece started a few days ago. Worked on it most of today, except when I was having a friendly (I hope) FB debate with my ol' pal Charlie.

What fun this new project is. In my typical schizophrenic style, from last week to this, I went from using 6x6" to 36x48" canvas, oil to acrylic, realism to abstraction (shoot, I'll never be a famous "landscape" or "still-life" or "portrait" painter.... too confining. Will post the final soon.

Painter's (Green) Tip: You never have to throw away paint.

Tip 1: When you finish painting, cover you palette and acrylic paints, with waxed paper, pat down the edges to the palette and pop in the freezer for a day, a month - or longer (trust me on this...and don't ask me how one can forget /not notice a big pan full of paint....). Before you cover it, wipe off the thin, used areas of paint - keep the big blobs of clean or mixed paint.

Tip 2: Another way to use up all your leftover paint - prime any new canvases/board etc. you have laying around. Don't worry about it being all one color, smooth, thin, missing places Whatever you have left - wipe across your next to paint surface. Eventually you can cover completely with your next painting...or let little surprise color highlights pop through.

Cherry-licious... thanks to Fern!

"Cherry-licious" 6x6" oil on panel. Thanks to you you all for the fun titles for yesterday's painting: Compassion, Red Jubilee, Starting Life, Cherrilicious, the Huddle and Cherry Hug ---all terrific titles. Pulling out of a hat, the winner is...(ta-da) "Red Jubilee". Thanks Marilyn G.!

Since there were so many cute titles to choose from, I chose another one for today's painting -- Cherry-licious, from Fern N (I made a letter change - OK?) By the way, the back wall is grayish in the orig.; go figure!

So you're off the hook for this one. Watch for another "name that painting" image later this week. .

Painter's (Green) Tip: Make friends with those old scruffy crusty brushes and save them from the dump. You can get some great affects with frumpy brushes. They are wonderful for making uneven, squiggly lines and edges, 'carving' marks in thick paint, etc. When I'm stumped with a painting that seems to be overworked or going down a dead end, I grab one of my old brushes and redraw or just put some color on and enjoy the unpredictable. I used two rough one today to create an edge that I didn't want to look rigid.

What shall we title this?

"______" ? 6x6" oil/board.

Help me name this little orphan: click comment or send an email to me. Winners will get fame, fortune... well, maybe not - perhaps just notoriety. :-) I'll post a couple more later this week ....let's see how creative you can be.

The cherries were gorgeous. What is it that is so happy about cherries?

Soon I'll try a similar one with acrylic to see which ends up easier/more fun to paint. Or better yet - someone from my last class - give it a try. Let me know how it turns out.

China Red /2. This is the 2nd image of a small triptych piece.

About a week ago I committed to painting every day for the week; pretty much did. Little guys - 6x6", oils. Been waiting for them to dry so I can shoot photos. Some I like better than others. Will post a few during the week. Always hard to come up with a name - how many "tulips" can one have?

Stand by - you can help name them. This is not from last week but had the photo already.

PAINTERS TIP: Lava soap! Amazing for cleaning off oil or acrylic paint from your hand. And you thought it was only for auto shop!

Paint Solver: Be cleaner - be thrifty - be smart!

'Two Fujis' - oil on canvas. 5x5

Oil painters often use mineral spirits, turpentine or Turpenoid for cleaning brushes and sometimes as a medium. Sadly, many newbies throw out a lot of it each session - wasting both the product and money, not to mention having adding a lot of toxic product to our fragile planet.

Thought I'd pass on an efficient, cleaner was to handle your solvent:

1. Get yourself two old food jars with good screw-on lids: one for dirty solvent; one for clean solvent.

2. Into a clean jars, pour a little solvent and use it sparing while you paint. Between colors, wipe your brush well on an old thick rag/towel. Often you can then go to your next color without rinsing the brush in solvent. You usually can get away with rinsing only when going from a dark color to a much lighter color.

3. At the end of your painting session, pour the dirty solvent into your second jar, put lid on tight.

4. Let the solution separate. After a few hours (or overnight) the dirty paint sludge will settle to the bottom.

5. Next painting session, carefully pour the clean solvent into your 'clean' jar - to use again.

This process can be done over and over. Your solvent will last for years. Or, better yet, avoid toxic solvets. Use Murphy's Oil, kitchen oil, painter's soap or other on-toxic product to clean your brushes. Now - go paint!

One step at a time....

(Chine Red II; acrylic on paper)

Some weeks I think about painting more than I do it - booo. This week I commit to painting every day (once I clean a path in the studio tomorrow!)

Saw an odd, haunting movie recently - "Seraphine" (Netflix) - about a woman's passion for making art in spite of her circumstances. Many things to soak up in this movie. One point that particularly struck me is that she just let her art flow - no formal lessons, no thought about a 'right vs wrong' way to paint. She had the urge to paint and she did it- she had no choice really. With little or no money she found ways to make 'paint'...no Winsor-Newton tubes to buy readily! Her originality is what made her art special. Pretty inspirational. Let me know if you have any other art movies to recommend...

Got a couple new class dates scheduled. I'll post them in a day or two.