Still Waters, 6x8"

You just can't beat Colorado for rocky, wintery scenes.  I captured this moment near Maroon Bells in Aspen last spring.

Fleeting Memories, 8x10"

This small painting was created with the help of an App on my phone!  Sharon, a friend at Mainstreet introduced me to "ValueViewer", which allows artists to view their work in grayscale to check on value massing.  My painting started as it was below left.  It didn't have much punch or excitement, so I downloaded it into the App and looked at it in grayscale (below right).  I could see that I needed to separate my darks and lights a bit more for drama.  I deepened the darks and lightened the lights, and I'm much happier with the result.

If you would be interested in purchasing this painting, please click on Ann Feldman Memories.

Autumn Reflections II, 10x8"

The fall here in the Midwest has been spectacular.  I couldn't resist painting another scene with our autumn colors!

The Art Room-- A Blog to Check Out

"Children At the Beach", Joaquin Sorolla

Every now and then, I stumble upon a wonderful blog that I think you might like to know about.  Have you heard about The Art Room?  It's written by Taryn Day, a fantastic artist and friend of mine through Daily Paintworks.  Every month, Taryn chooses a theme and then posts work by artists both living and from the past who have noteworthy work in that area.  

This month, Taryn is exploring the art of the nude, and I sent her a few of my favorite Joaquin Sorolla paintings of children playing on the beach.  I've learned about so many new artists from her site, I thought you might like to drop in and see what's new also.  Taryn also conducts very lengthy interviews with contemporary artists about their work and motivation.  It's just fascinating!  I hope you enjoy your visit there.

Autumn on the Lake, 10x8"

"Autumn on the Lake", 10x8", Oil on Canvas mounted on Hardboard, Palette Knife

I will be donating the sale price of this palette knife painting to the American Red Cross as part of the Daily Paintworks Hurricane Sandy Relief Challenge. 

Autumn Reflections, 8x10"

This painting was created as a demo for my Impressionism workshop at Mainstreet Art Centre.  It was painted with a palette knife and loads of oil paint.  Everyone tried their hand at the scene, and the results were spectacular.

Painting Portraits with Kevin Bielfuss

Portrait of Christie, Oil on Gessoed Hardboard, 16x20"  Ann Feldman

On the next day in the Kevin Bielfuss workshop, I attempted a looser, more painterly portrait.  I'm not happy yet, but I'm getting happier!  This portrait was painted on a hardboard (masonite) that was coated very thickly with gesso applied with a palette knife.  I love this surface because it forces an impressionistic feel from the very beginning, since there are so many cracks and crevasses in the gesso, and the oil paint sinks into them so beautifully.

Below are a few portrait "starts" by Kevin.  Notice that he starts very loosely (he doesn't measure), and he switches from raw sienna to pink as he moves ahead.  I think it's really helpful to see how an artist starts his paintings to understand the process underneath it all.

Here are a few notes that I found in my notebook after the class:

1. If a painting isn't going well, try doing the opposite of what you see going on.  Is it too soft?  Add impact.  Is it tight?  Loosen it up.  Dull?  Try a shot of color.

2.  Paintings can be thought of as cakes-- you need the "cake" or the structure before you can add the "icing", or the flourishes at the end.

3.  He thinks of his paintings as drawings; his work is very linear.  In the end stages, he brings his lines together and softens areas that need it.

4. His goal is to suggest rather than render his subject, because he finds this technique more interesting to look at.


There was so much to learn in this workshop!  I recommend Kevin's workshops to anyone interested in learning to paint the figure more abstractly, or anyone interested in taking their figure painting to the next level!