Fledglings Need Feathers

      This week, while driving along, I heard an interview with Kay Ryan, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in poetry -2011.  Because I teach novice painters, I couldn't help love what she had to say.  The interviewer asked her what advice she had for fledgling writers.  "Fledglings!", said Ms Ryan, "that's the perfect name for beginners.  I'd tell them that they need to stay in the nest longer and grow more feathers before trying to fly." 

It's typical to want to put your work out there ... we all tend to fall in love with our first attempts.  When really, if you'd stay 'in the nest' growing your feathers for a few years, you'd have learned so much more and your art would be so much better.  


There are always exceptions, of course.  Some - and it's rare -can pick up a brush, sit down to the piano or put pen to paper - and beautiful results happen right away. But for the rest of us - well it takes a lot of hard work to be an 'overnight success',  The Good News?  Even growing feathers is great fun!

Again: value does the work; color gets the credit!

In my classes we often discuss and practice value studies.  Value is the difference between dark and light.  While some paintings work very well with minor value change (i.e. little difference in darkness or lightness regardless of the color), paintings with a variety of value levels (some strong light and dark tones/values along with medium values) tend to be more exciting and energetic.  
(on laptops: tilt your screen to see more clearly).

Minor Value Difference

This top image has mostly medium values - mo really strong darks and lights. It's pleasant but a bit uninteresting.

Strong Value Difference

The middle image shows more value changes: strong darks, bright lights and several varying middle range values.

      

Color w Value changes

This final image has translated the multi-value middle image into color.  

   
Many artists will paint their piece first in gray scale values (top two images) to work out the values before adding color.  Then they can mix their color to the value on their underpainting without having to think too much about it.

    
I don't work that way usually though it's a great exercise to train your eye for value differences.  I challenge those of you who paint to try a couple paintings (small is easiest) doing a value underpainting then add your color at the end.  Let me know how that works. 

'Fruit Cup' for the series

'Fruit Cup' 
24x30" acrylic on canvas
double click to enlarge

    As many of you know, I set a goal earlier this year.... to paint a new series of about 12-15 new pieces  This is the newest to join that group. 
   The paintings for the series are often either out of my head completely (like some of the florals posted) or taken from a still-life set up, as this one was.  
   I realize that my paintings are often very different from one another.  Sometimes I fret about this; other times, like today, I say "so what". If I can't paint what I want than what's the point of painting....right?

Do you notice anything different about this piece?

Watching Over You

"Watching Over You" 6x6" oil on board.

This little painting was 'done' a few weeks ago - or so I thought.  But, as I glanced at it in my studio I kept thinking it needed something - like when you taste what you're cooking and think it needs a tad more salt or chili pepper....  


Today I  put it back on the easel and pushed the shadows and brights a bit more - and now I'm happy with it.  It's a "value" thing.  Without some strong value contrast a picture can have all the right colors but not be much fun.  I think that dark shadow on the wall makes everything work a lot better.  I'm ready to call it finished now.

One of these days I'll invest in good photo lighting and a better camera so that what I post is as clear as the real thing....  Maybe I should put that on my Christmas List!

Great Gals = New Painters!

 

See these great gals?  They were Saturday's students at Tam High - and they jumped in whole heartedly to get their brushes thick with paint - trying out brushes, mixing wonderful colors. grappling with value studies and more.  Five hours full of info and when offered a choice to leave early or do 'just one more exercise' -  they enthusiastically opted for more painting.  GO GALS!  

 

I would like to develop a new class - maybe by January.  Probably I would teach this intro class in Sept; the new class in January.  We'll see if I can pull it together by then.  It may be done but then it will need to go through the approval process.  

Had a great personal art week.  One of my painting pals was in town  We painted together a bit and also did some local sight-seeing.  Today worked on a couple new studies - and a bit on a bigger painting.  Will post some tomorrow if they are dry enough.

Happy Painting....

Work in progress...checking for changes

(work in progress - no name yet, 16x20")

Painting is often about working out problems...figuring out how to get where you want to go...or where the painting wants to end.

I don't usually show paintings at this stage but I thought I'd share with my students how to take an objective look, identify problems and come up with some 'fixes'.

This was actually a totally different painting. It's been sitting in my studio for a long while --a piece I just couldn't love--and didn't see anything I wanted to do with it.  So, I began a new painting right over the old one.

At this stage you have two options.  Cover the old painting with white gesso or begin painting right over the old one. I prefer painting on the old piece because often something comes through and adds a lovely surprise to your new piece.

The lines here are left from the original piece.  Haven't decided yet if I'll tweak them or take them out altogether.  What would you do? I may take some out and if I miss them, paint them back in.
One big mistake I made is that I didn't step back often enough to look & assess how things were progressing. When your in front of your canvas painting for hours you don't see the proportions or relationships clearly. You can't tell how it will look in a room, seen from several feet away.  I missed a couple obvious flaws by standing too close.   (If you double click on this piece you'll see it more clearly.)  

What do you think the most obvious flaw is?  Is the middle cherry too big compared to the others? Don't you think it looks more like an apple?  And..maybe there is too much space between the left and middle joined cherries....? I may need to move that second cherry over to the left a bit and make it smaller.  But you don't want them all the same size either.  Then it would become very static.  Maybe the second cherry should be even smaller than the first one.   Well, I will just have to try some of this.

Sometimes I'll say "hmmm, I wonder if X is too big?" Or "Is that blue right?"   As painter Bob Burridge says:  "If you have to ask the question you already know the answer!".

One way to avoid having to correct all this late into your project is to make a quick sketch first.  Or do a rough study on paper with paint.  Had I taken a bit of time to do that, most of these problems would have been figured out before I began the final painting.

Maybe I can put the painting in Photoshop now that I have a jpeg of it and play with it there - do my 'homework' on my laptop and then finish the painting. 

We'll see how it goes.  Who knows, maybe it'll end up something totally different - again!

Floating Tulips, acrylic on canvas


I think this triptych is finished...?? This happens from time to time.  Less often when painting from a set up still life, but if I'm doing any abstraction, esp. if from my imagination, it's tempting to want to add just one more brush stroke, a little addition of color or line. 


So, I'll put it up in the studio and see how it 'feels' for a few days. Will go from there....
Mary


p.s. a friend asked why she gets emails and not the actual blog.   To view the blog, just click on the highlighted daily title.

Free Demo of Acrylic Products.....& My Class

Hi all,  I'll probably post a  painting tomorrow but wanted to give you all a heads up on two upcoming events:

Oct. 22, Free Demo:  Many ask about the various mediums and additives that can be used with acrylic paints.  A rep from Golden Paints will be demonstrating many of these products at Riley Street Art Store, Fourth St., San Rafael

Oct. 30, Class:  I'll be teaching my Beginning Painting with Acrylics (aka Get Ready to Paint) class at Riley's on October 30th. 11:00-2:30.  Pass the word along to any friends who have wanted to paint but are hesitant.  We cover brush types, color mixing, prepping surfaces and other basics. This class prepares a really novice artist to embark on her first painting class.

You can check out details here:   http://rileystreet.com/   (look under classes/San Rafael)
OK - More soon,
Mary