VALUE PLANS

Today I begin my painting for the Sunriver Arts Festival poster. This is an intimidating project. After all the things they told me they love about my painting, how can I possibly reproduce those in another painting? Can I possibly have that much control?

I decide to spend extra care on designing this painting, especially since I have a deadline, and no other canvas prepared to work on. Of course, there is always the safety of scraping off, which I have recently discovered to be very useful. Even so, I get out my gray markers and make value sketches. I make much more elaborate value plans than the thumbnails I usually do outdoors. This allows me to work out horizon line, numbers of trees, and a few other crucial shapes. It will help when I begin painting.

PACKING FOR AIR TRAVEL WITH OIL PAINTS, Part 2, Toning Canvas

Many plein air painters like to paint on toned canvas or panels. This has the effect of removing the glaring white from the canvas, and giving a light-valued ground against which all the painting’s values can be compared. Some toned grounds are allowed to show through in the final painting, giving it an overall unity of color.

Some artists prefer to tone the canvas on location. A common method is to take a color or mixture of colors, often burnt sienna or some other warm semi-neutral, and thin it with solvent, then wipe the mixture over the canvas. The result is a thin wash-like layer of color that dries quickly in most outdoor conditions. It is even possible to rub out light areas of the painting, resulting in a toned value plan on which to build the painting. In order to use this method, it is necessary to either travel with solvent, or purchase solvent on location.

Aside from all other considerations about solvents, flying with solvent is problematic. Airline regulations prohibit flying with any flammable liquid, which is defined for airline purposes as anything with a flash point of 141 degrees or lower. Gamblin’s Gamsol, variously listed at 145 and 147 degrees, barely makes the grade as a flyable solvent. No other paint manufacturer’s product that I know of does.

Rumors abound about artists having their paints confiscated by the airline security. Maybe these artists didn’t pack their paints with the proper information. Whatever the reason, I know that most artist supply warehouses ship their Gamsol ground transport, and just avoid the issue, so I do too. I don’t pack solvent.

My preferred method is to prepare a gray-toned canvas ahead of time. This way, I can use the slower-drying oil painting ground, which according to some experts creates a stronger bond with the layers of paint above it, and which also keeps the oil from the paint from drying in, leaving the paint layer matte in texture and dulled in color.

To prepare your canvas or panel with oil painting ground, mount the canvas on boards or stretchers so that you have a stiff surface to work with. First seal the surface with a coat of PVA size. This is a thin glue-like substance that seals the canvas, keeping the oils of the ground or paint from reaching the fibers and causing their early demise from rotting. Let this dry overnight. Then, take your oil painting ground and mix in some gray or black oil paint to darken the ground to the exact value you want for your painting. Sometimes I use a black pigment, like ivory black. Sometimes I add a little quinacridone majenta to warm up the gray tone. Often I have a gray mixture of leftover paint from paintings that I can put into the mix. What you see is what you get, so balance the value carefully. Then scrape the oil painting ground over the canvas with a palette knife, and smooth the whole thing with a stiff brush, using random directions. If the canvas was previously sprayed commercially with gesso, usually one coat is enough. If it is raw canvas, two coats might be necessary. Depending on conditions, this might take up to a week to dry.  The illustration above is my canvas drying in 90 degree summer heat.  The canvas was dry the next day.



Video demonstration from Gamblin


You might prefer the simplicity and quickness of acrylic gesso. Skip the PVA step. Mix gray acrylic paint into the gesso, to reach a value at least one step lighter than the final value you would like. Acrylic paint mixed into gesso dries considerably darker than it appears when wet. Coat the canvas at least once if it is pre-primed, and at least three times if it is not. Some people recommend sanding between coats. For landscape painting, I don’t bother. Let the gesso dry overnight between coats.

If you’re joining me for the Maui Painting Retreat, pack about 4 practice pages or panels per day.  Practice panels can be prepared with the quicker acrylic gesson method.  For panels or canvas you might use for 

Now, your canvas is ready. Let’s pack and go!

MAUI PAINTING RETREAT 2011

Leave winter behind and paint the beautiful beaches of Maui!

This trip is designed to include painting instruction and some optional activities, allowing you to choose your own lodging and transportation at your preferred level of luxury.  Sign up early for some bonus options.

$375.00

Workshop Dates: 2/21/2011 - 2/25/2011

Location: Maui (Wailea and Kaanapali areas)

See FLIER for more details

OPEN STUDIO INVITATION

Karen E. Lewis

invites you to tour her studio dduring

PORTLAND OPEN STUDIOS

October 9, 10, 10-5

October 16,17, 10-5

4155 Calaroga Dr.

West Linn, OR 97068

503-699-0817

including

10 MAUI SUNRISES

(with 60 + plein-air paintings from Fall 09 to Fall 10)

Brand new works in oil on canvas, plus many other paintings, cards, prints and demos throughout the day.  

www.karenlewisstudiio.com

A CASCADE OF CLEARING

I want a space in which to place paintings in frames and evaluate them for gallery placement.  A nice-sized wall.  All the walls in the studio get full with paintings that are drying.  All the walls in the house have paintings that live on them (an ever-changing array.)  And the hall by the studio is full of newly finished work.  Where can I possibly do this?
In my office there is a bulletin board covered in thank you letters, postcards, and award ribbons.  It is surrounded by paintings made by my kids when they were small.  Do I need all this stuff?  No.  I put the postcards from friends into a box.  Put the best of the kids' goodies on a small wall by my door where I'll see them when I walk in.  Take a photo of the ribbons and throw them away.  Then pull the bulletin board off the wall.
So now I have my wall.  But the credenza is covered with project boxes and the file cabinet is piled to the ceiling.  Need to find a place to put this stuff away.  I dig into the closet.  This releases piles of stuff for goodwill.  Piles of unorganized office supplies. Stuff I couldn't use because I couldn't find it.  I put things in boxes and label it all.  It turns out to be a full day of sorting.
The next day is staging day.  I reward myself by setting up lots of paintings in my newly cleared space.

CREATIVE ENERGY

Thought shared by a friend:

When you don't have energy to do something creative in the studio, do something routine.  Cut mats, prepare canvas, and such.  Move forward.

Today I prepared canvas.  Thought about clearing a wall for pre-gallery selection and staging of paintings.

THE LIVING RIVER

This month,  I'll have a painting featured in THE LIVING RIVER juried art exhibit.

This is a benefit for the Mckenzie River Trust.
Jacobs Gallery
110 West Broadway
Eugene, OR  97401

For more information:
http://mckenzieriver.org/the-living-river-art-exhibit

BOOK REVIEW: GEORGE BELLOWS by Mary Sayre Haverstock

Book Review: GEORGE BELLOWS by Mary Sayre Haverstock.

(Merrell, 2007)
This artist’s biography is the most beautifully illustrated and presented book I’ve seen in years. The color images are rich with color and look as if they represent the artist’s paintings superbly. The story of Bellows’ life is engaging. Even more interesting are the shockingly honest portraits dotted throughout the book. There are also some elegant portraits, and I kept speculating that those in particular must have been commissions, in which the sitter had to be pleased with the results.

Probably the most characteristic of Bellows’ paintings are the boxing ring paintings, straining muscles recorded in paint. It’s hard to imagine how all that action could be captured with a painter’s painstaking brushwork.

A beautiful book, with pleasurable reading and thought-provoking paintings.

SUNRIVER MUSIC FESTIVAL

This year, I was invited to paint the poster for the Sunriver Music Festival.  You can check it out on their web site:

http://www.sunrivermusic.org/

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 11

Gruppe


“BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COLOR IN NATURE

“When you work outdoors, you only need to worry about a few basic concepts. 1. The nature of the eye, 2. The local color of the object 3. The color of outdoor light, 4. The color of the atmosphere itself, and 5. The effect of neighboring colors on one another.”

Wow! A lot packed into that. Probably, when he mentions the nature of the eye, he is talking about cones, creating colors with bias, and keeping the eye moving. 2-5 seem to speak about the influences that affect the appearance of color. Light, atmosphere, and reflected light all alter the appearance of local color to some degree. But why do we have to worry about all that? Isn’t observation our best guide to what colors are in our complex and changing environment? I’d be surprised if Gruppe meant artists to paint by rule rather than observation, and I saw no sign of the approach of rule in his book. Perhaps he just means us to be aware that all of these factors are present when we observe colors.

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 10

Gruppe


“A NATURAL WAY TO SEE

When I tell you to look all over a scene in order to see color, I’m not giving you a professional “trick”. Think for a minute: how do you normally look at the world? You see color because you move your eyes, constantly giving them new objects and colors to look at. The cones are always stimulated. Staring at a spot–something you habitually do when you draw or paint-is an unnatural way of looking. So when you stare and paint, you lose the sparkle that comes with a casual glance. Train yourself to keep your eyes moving, to compare area with area–and you’ll find that there are no nondescript colors in nature.”

This bit is confusing. While I agree that natural seeing involve movement of the eye, and I agree that it is easier to see color when moving the eye, I believe that there is a difference between natural seeing and the way that an artist looks for color. It has something to do with the way the brain shifts from seeing trees and grass to seeing color shapes. So, while the cones may be more stimulated by keeping the eye moving, the artist still needs to be seeing things flatly, in terms of color and shape, and not allowing the brain to interpret objects. You need to be in artist’s mind.

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 9

EYE FATIGUE


You might think that the best way to analyze an area of color is to stare at it intently.. But that’s just the wrong way to do it. The longer you stare at an area, the grayer it gets. Your eye becomes used to the color. It fatigues; your sense of color dies. The only way to judge the color of an object is to compare it with the color of objects near it.

"Let’s say, for example, that you want to determine the color of the sky at the horizon. It can be anything from purple to green. But to see it, you should first look over your head for a few second s at the color of the zenith. Then quickly lower your eyes. For a few seconds, you’ll see vivid color near the horizon. Then the color will rapidly fade. If you want to get the character of that day, you should paint the horizon as you see it for those few seconds. That’s why I constantly move my eyes over a scene, comparing values and colors. If I’m stumped by an area, I work on another spot; then, when I turn back to the trouble-some place, I’m usually able to see the color."

What can I say about these words of wisdom?  Keep the eye moving.  It really works.  The more I practice this, the more it helps.

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 8

Gruppe


“If I am stumped by an area, I work on another spot; then, when I turn back to the trouble-some place, I’m usually able to see color.”

This speaks to eye fatigue. That is, the tendency of the rods and cones to need some time to recover. Generally, the recovery time is seconds, but I suppose that if you are painting an area of gray sky and it starts to look grayer and grayer, moving to some other area would help refresh the eye. Even more, it would let you think about something different for a while, which is helpful in any context when you are stuck.

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 7

Gruppe:
“You might think that the best way to analyze an area of color is to stare at it intently. But that’s just the wrong way to do it. The longer you stare at an area, the grayer it gets. Your eye becomes used to the color; it fatigues, your sense of color dies. The only way to judge the color of an object is to compare it with the color of objects near it.”

This is one of those passages that continues to yield new meaning with every reading. Lately I’ve been looking closely at color fields, those large areas of color that at first appear the same, but reward further looking with variations. A large meadow, the sky, a road, a group of trees. The idea of not staring, but keeping the eye moving is very helpful. As you move your eye across the wall in a room, you begin to notice differences in the color as you move across the color field.

Another way to interpret this passage is to consider a color in comparison to things around it, rather than within itself. Thus, how light or dark something is depends on what’s around it. Colors can be compared to one another, giving more clarity to exactly what kind of blue is in the sky or what gray on the trunk of a tree. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have to watch out or our paintings will be 80 percent green. Comparing greens, however, gives us a multiplicity of colors.

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 6

Gruppe:
"One of the first things I discovered was that the amount of color you see is a result not so much of what you look at--but of how you look at it. To help you understandthe idea, we should first examin how the eye operates.
"The eye sees through color cones. It has three sets of cones: one for red, one for blue, and one for yellow. From these colors, it creates everything you see in the world. For the eye to be excited and stimulated--and for pictures to have snap, the viewer should see a bias toward the red, blue, or yellow in your color. The eye should be able to dissect the colors. That is one reason black and the earth colors have little effect on the eye. Black, for example, is opaque. It's just a black and the eye can't decipher it, can't break it into recognizeable color parts."

Gruppe here is probably projecting his own explanation for the observations he has made in his painting. M perspective, based on my research into how the eye works, is that the eye is indeed much more stimulated when there is a bias in a color toward red, yellow, or blue. But this has more to do with how the brain interprets stimuli from the cones. Cones are connected in groups to the nerve cells behind the retina in such a way that the eye/brain is always making comparisons rather than measuring absolute levels of color. The brain also is more interested in variations and change in the environment. so a flat field of color is less interesting than a varied one, and a color with no bias toward red, blue, or yellow is equally stimulating to all the cones, therefore less interesting to the eye/brain. Because research is continually turning up new information, even this perspective may be outdated. But the useful part is: stimulate the eye/brain. Creat variation. Create colors that have bias.

Black may still be useful for creating contrast with another color. Black is also useful when the entertainment of the design is not in color, but in shape. Earth colors can be useful as long as they are varied and not used straight out of the tube.

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 5

Gruppe
"Often you must sacrifice one set of relationships in order to emphasize another more essential one."

This speaks to the limitations of paint when expressing the varied and wide-ranging world of light. If you have nine values in which to express the world, you will need to simplify the complexity of what you see. Otherwise, you will run out of values. If the lightest color you have to express a light source is light yellow, then all other yellows must be subordinated to that one, or the light source won't appear to be light.

There's another aspect to the expression of relationships. Our brains are attracted to variety and contrast. If all relationships are expressed with equal emphasis, the painting that results is one of scattered interest. If essential relationships are expressed clearly and others are subordinated, then the painting shines with expression of the artist's intention.

It is useful, in either case, to know what your painting is about.

REVIEW: The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art, by Mark Rothko

REVIEW: The Artist’s Reality: Philosophies of Art, by Mark Rothko

This small, dense book is an interesting historical perspective, both in that Rothko views the artist’s place historically, and in the historic turning of art away from realism during Rothko’s lifetime. Rothko sees the artist as a sort of philosopher, an interpreter of the sensibilities of his time and life experience. He talks about the shifting attentions of artists throughout history, from the art of myth, to sensual art, to art of emotion expressed in light. We are left to speculate how he might have reflected on the abstracted forms of art prevalent in his later years, after the book was written.

Rothko’s prose is heavy, laden with undefined terms. Even when he does pause to define his language, his meaning is often unclear, as with his oft-used “plasticity.” A significant work of philosophy would require, I think, more exacting language.

An interesting glimpse into the mind of an artist at a crossroads.

GRUPPE ON COLOR, 4

Gruppe
"When painting light trees like birches, don't darken the sky too much to show them up."

It would be pretty easy to overemphasize these contrasts. Along the Boise River, I notice that, while the trunks of the birches in sunlight arewhite, in shade they are darker, and the branches against the sky are significantly dark. The key here seems to be to observe the relationships, and not to exaggerate them out of proportion.

REVIEW: Edward Seago, by Ron Ranson

REVIEW: Edward Seago, by Ron Ranson
My favorite sort of artist biography: a bit on the artist’s life and perspective so I understand what I’m looking at, followed by lots and lots of high-quality color plates. Seago’s subtle paintings reward lengthy looking. His compositions are spare, neatly balanced, with exacting attention to values. He makes great use of balancing compositions, counterchange, and precise placement of a bit of more saturated color, leaving no question about what interests him in a scene.
These paintings are particularly interesting for me, because, while I enjoy and admire the subtle, grayed paintings, I find that I am emotionally drawn to those with more color in them. Value and composition make the paintings great. But color is what engages my heart.
Still, I am drawn to look at these paintings over and over. A lovely book to add to a collection.

TURNING FORM WITH COLOR

In this exercise, we practice, in a very simplified form, turning the form with color. This enables you to conserve values, which can be very useful in creating a unified design. We talked about coming up the color wheel as the form turns into the light.