We drew in triads (3/4 views or side views) to get some portraits today, in addition to perspective drawing using vanishing points.  A good class.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.   Another may  happen on June 2.

Rebecca, 11×14, Oil on Canvas
I think this is finished, except for the nose? And a varnishing after it’s dry. I used Tad’s boiled linseed oil and marble dust putty in equal volumes with the paint (indian yellow, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and zinc white). Rebecca doesn’t particularly care for it, but I think she is looking at it from a different perspective than I am. I worked on the image in the previous post a bit more, based on Tad’s critique, which I am printing out here: ” I think all you need is a very small amount of further definition: The ear on the viewers left, a little more nose. Not much. Keep it broad. Very OM in the way you’ve used the colors. Great sense of the eyes. A painterly painting. Keep going in this direction. You’re getting much more of the essence, allowing the viewer some space to ponder.” Well, Tad’s always supportive and kind. Now I’ve got think about that left ear. It’s so dark over there I think I may leave it out. The nose needs attending to though. The nose knows – it’s not quite right. But from that far viewing distance, it may not be critical.

Got the main painting blocked in this morning. I’ve got to work on definition of some features in the center of the face on this. The light is right, but I don’t know about all the abstract shapes yet. I have an SOS help email with image stages out to Tad for feedback. I’ll want till I hear some before continuting with this.

The top image is the beginning of a block in of Rebecca. It looks a little like “paint by the numbers” but when it’s finished, it won’t. I’ll be working on it more today. The second image is one of The Bird Women of North Hero drawing a couple of stuffed feathery critters from last week. This week we have a total of 12 who will be meeting on May 19 to focus on perspective. I hope the weather is good enough to do this outside. Otherwise we’ll be focusing on vanishing points inside the room! That will be interesting!

The two images shown include one of Evan walking by all his portraits from the North Hero class last Monday. We are having another class on the 19th, and nine are currently enrolled (Marie, Patti, Alayne, Colleen, Barbara, Sally, Ann, Joyce and Jeanine). If anyone else wishes to attend please contact me soon. We will be working on perspective, compostion and value, and hope to go outside for some of this depending on the weather. There will be no class on the 26th, but we will begin again in June.

The second image is the second layer on a burnt sienna/ultramarine blue study of a picture Rebecca took in Paris. I was looking at our map, somewhere out on the street. I’m using Tad’s linseed oil and marble dust putty, and it dries really FAST, so I can continue to work on it today again. I did it on stretched canvas, so it is not going to be easily sanded. I’m still trying to get the feel of the light coming from the left, and have yet to put in detail of the upper right quadrant – windows, doors, etc., on the wall of the building. The horizontal lines are part of a composition I hope is pulling the eye of the viewer towards the center focal point. The light on the back of the hat, extending to the hair curves around to lead to the face , but I haven’t got this all worked out yet. More layers to come.

My son Matt and I drove down to Porterville hospital yesterday, late afternoon, to visit with Shamms Mortier, who is very ill. He has been a wonderful mentor to my son over the years, and it was a good ride, talking about Shamms, and to see him. I don’t think he recognized me or knew I was there, but I thanked him for his help and advice to Matt over the years. Matt did connect with him, telling him about the CD’s of Shamms music he is producing in quantity, so some of Shamms art will continue to flow.

Began this self portrait yesterday, a value study primarily, using burnt seinna and zinc white, with a touch of permanent red thrown in. It was from a shot Rebecca took in Paris while I was looking at the map trying to figure out which way to go to get to a museum. I drew it by hand from the photo and changed the background a bit to bring the eye to the focal point. More to do and when I finish, I’ll post the final version.

We had a great drawing session this morning at the North Hero Library.  Some very good drawings resulted. Thanks to Evan who kindly modeled for three hours without much of a break.  We did gesture drawing, short poses, medium long poses and one very long pose. My apologies to those artists not in the pictures below.  We will probably meet again next Monday at 9 a.m., for a workshop on perspective, including a discussion of vanishing points, horizon lines, one, two and three point perspective, and perhaps aerial perspective.   We must also consider composition and view finders as well.  If the weather is good enough, maybe we will go outside and begin some landscape drawing.  If you plan on coming to this, please bring your easel if you have one.

Doing portraits can be a humbling exercise.  Trees, plants, clouds, and the general outdoors are often much less symmetrical, and being a little off on angles, proportions, or alignments often doesn’t preclude a very nice painting or drawing.  However, being a “little off” on a portrait is immediately obvious to those who know the subject, and a likeness can be an elusive thing to capture.   Bert Dodson notes in his book “Keys to Drawing” John Singer Sargent’s comment: “A portrait is a picture of a person in which the mouth isn’t quite right”.  That sums it up nicely.

Am toying with the idea of offering a week long drawing/painting workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico next winter.  Met some folks with a “Villa” there which they rent out for such events, and since we know San Miguel now from our visit in the winter of 2006-7, it seems a possibility.  I think it would be well attended.  I’m just wondering how much energy and effort it would take to get it off the ground and running.  Will mull it over for a while before jumping into this committment.

On Monday, May 12, at the North Hero Library we’re having a class on portraits and figure drawing. Last Monday we did some gesture drawing, and we’ll begin with that again on the 12th, with poses of 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, and then some long poses. I hope we get our model (Marie’s son).

Without a model we could bring mirrors and do self portraits.  I don’t think we’ll have to do that.  The drawing I’ve posted here was a quick self portrait I did in a mirror several years ago. I can see some issues with incorrect shapes in the lower half of the face, but for a very quick study it is ok. The biggest issue of course, is that it is a mirror image, and not the real “me”. The left eye of the guy in the drawing is my right eye, etc., etc. The only way to get a correct representation is to have two mirrors, and to draw the reflection in the first mirror off the second.

So here is a riddle. You can see that mirrors seem to reverse the right and left (we notice that immediately when looking at words containing unsymmetrical letters, but may not be so aware of it when looking at ourselves – i.e., the image’s right hand is our own left, and so on.) SO… why does this happen? Why do mirrors reverse right and left, rather than top and bottom?

This is a trick question. Think about it.

Join us in North Hero at the library on Monday for an interesting session. We begin promptly at 9 a.m. Please email me to register. The cost of $20 will cover the cost of instruction as well as payment for the model.  As of Thursday morning we are up to seven, and have room for about 5 more.

I’ve been reworking the distance in this painting for some time, trying to get something I like. There is a lot going on in this piece. I don’t know where it will eventually go. I’m trying to create depth using color and contrast (cooler colors in the distance, warmer up front, and less contrast in the distance, more up front). I’m also trying to incorporate opposites in order to keep the work lively and interesting – horizontals in the distance, verticals in the foreground. I’ve also layered on paint with a palette knife on top – the distance, and put it on with a brush in the foreground. Note the heavy layered paint in the close up image, which is the top right of the painting. This may still have miles to go before I’m done. I’m looking forward to Tad’s critique which may come in the next week.

A snapshot taken of me as a kid about 64 years ago provided a good exercise in creating a black and white value study in oil paint. Probably taken by mom or dad.    I used Tad’s marble dust and boiled linseed oil mixture -> putty, and mixed with various combinations of zinc white and vine black to get this quick study.   The canvas was covered with a transparent red oxide wash before the value study was done.  It dried almost overnight.   This work will be a jumping off point from charcoal value studies in the North Hero class on Monday, extending these to oil value studies, if the class wishes to go in that direction.   If not, we will begin some ink wash again.