"Contemplation"

"Contemplation", 10x8", oil on panel

Mary Williams Fine Art

In my last post, I talked about how I will change my technique to "fit" different subjects.  A lively, colorful subject (like the peaches in my last post) will likely get a very impressionistic approach with lots of thick paint and color, perhaps with a bit of palette knife application while I'm there.  I'll also change my approach to fit my mood.  With these white roses, I decided to slow way down and really see my subject.  The color shifts and the edges were full of subtlety, so I needed to be patient and build the painting gradually.

Today's art market encourages artists to find a certain style and stick to it, making that technique their recognizable trademark.  Try as I might, I can't stick with the same approach to all of my paintings.  For me, art is an exploration and I'm constantly seeking new subjects and new ways to approach them.  

Thank you Sherri Burritt, fellow artist and green thumb extraordinaire for sharing these home grown beauties with me!

That's Just Peachy

"That's Just Peachy", oil on panel, 14x11"

Mary Williams Fine Art

I enjoy experimenting with different painting styles.  Sometimes I feel that the subject calls for control and quiet colors, and sometimes I like to go a little crazy, as I did with this latest piece.  I started with a bright green underpainting, and I tried to let it peek through in the final version.  I think that these little hits of bright color give the painting a bit of excitement.  Using as few brush strokes as possible, I laid on the paint thickly and quickly.  You can probably tell that the peaches in the back were built up and destroyed a few times.  This softened their edges and pushed them into the back, and yet they still have a feeling of energy.

This painting is in the Mary Williams Fine Art Gallery in Boulder, Colorado.  I'm so happy to have a relationship with Mary and her beautiful gallery.  

New Work at the Petter Gallery

"Three Bowls", oil on panel, 12x16"

The Petter Gallery

Sometimes I like to take a normal still life setup and paint it from an unusual vantage point.  Looking down on this group of bowls and fruit gives the painting a contemporary feel which I like.

New Work at the Hildt Gallery

"Waiters Waiting"

Oil on Board, 12x9"

I captured this moment at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans one hot steamy morning.  The guy on the far left is looking at his cell phone; isn't that a new classic pose?  Everyone else in the scene could have been lifted from just about any time period in history.  Chatting or leaning back to catch a few winks.  This piece was painted with a palette knife, and I used a brush to touch up the smaller details. The paint is very thick, and took about a month to dry.

"Together"

Oil on Board,  14x11"

One sunny morning in Greece, I glimpsed this family group out for breakfast next to the sea.  Once again, I was struck by their classic poses. The girl with her back to us could be on a cell phone (naturally), or she could be buttering her scone, who knows?  Grandmother holds the baby to give his mother a moment of peace, while Grandfather is in full vacation mode, relaxing with his coffee.  I decided to take out their surroundings almost completely, to allow the family dynamic to take the stage.  I hope you get the feeling of sunshine and relaxation even so.

If you're interested in either of these paintings, please give my friend Jeremy Hildt a call at his gallery  in the Drake Hotel, Chicago.  (312) 255-0005.

Early Morning, Key Largo

"Early Morning, Key Largo", 9x12" Oil on Panel

If you find yourself in Michigan this summer, you should plan a trip to Traverse City and stop into the Crooked Tree Art Gallery there.  The Oil Painters of America is exhibiting their 2018 Juried Salon Show there this summer.  Beautiful paintings from across the country are in the show, and well worth the trip.  My painting "Early Morning, Key Largo" is in there with them. Contact the gallery if you are interested in purchasing this little painting.  Here's the link to their website: Crooked Tree Gallery.

Recent Sales:

Here are a few paintings that have found new homes this summer. Please check my website Ann Feldman Artist for the whereabouts of my latest paintings.  You can also sign up on this website to receive an email every time a new painting is added to this site.

"The Scholars"

Hildt Gallery, Chicago

"Orchids"

The Petter Gallery, Saugatuck

"Orange Reflections"

The Petter Gallery

I hope you're enjoying your summer!

Reworking A Portrait (And a Bit of News)

First, For A Bit Of News:

After a few decades of listening to husband John talk about the virtues of Colorado and missing our sons who live there, I have finally given in.  We have bought some property in Boulder, and will be in the process of selling our Barrington home, knocking down the house on the new property, and building a new one.  I'm girding myself for the roller coaster that is to become my new life. 

This is truly a bittersweet move.  I will miss the life we have built here, and the wonderful friends that we've made.  My consolation is that we will stay in touch and visits will be made.  But first we have to build that house!

I hope that you'll stay with me and my blog.  I'll let you know how the move is going, and how I find my footing as an artist in a new community.  If I haven't said it lately, your support has meant the world to me.  Just knowing that people are reading what I have to say has been wonderful.  Thank you, and let's go on a new journey together!

And Now For Our Regular Program:

Cassidy, 9x12"

When I paint a portrait from life, I have limited time with the model.  In two to three hours, I try to capture the essence of the person, and having a set amount of time forces me to focus quickly on the story I want to tell.  More times than not, I'll never touch these studies again because I want the painting to remain a study.  And let's face it, I usually overwork things if I go back in with lots of time on my side.

This little painting is an exception.  The version above is the reworked version.  Here is the original after about 3 hours with the model.  See if you can tell what I reworked, and I'll explain what I did below.

The first thing that bothered me with my study was that she appeared to be scowling!  Nobody wants an angry painting.  I gave her a slight brow lift and turned up the corners of her mouth ever so slightly.  I zapped up the color on her mouth and gave her a fuller lower lip.  Better already.

Then I looked at color temperature.  The shadow under her chin was actually very warm, sort of a dark reddish brown.  If the shadow is that warm, the light areas of her face will be cooler, and I had painted them quite warm initially.  I glazed a layer of light blue over the warm yellowish areas to cool them down, and added light blue highlights.  

I looked at the transition between the shadowy area on her cheek and the light area and decided to add a flush of light red to the transition area.  Cheek color made her come alive.

And then I put my brushes down!  If I kept working, all the spontaneity would be lost.  I think this painting says what I wanted it to, and I'll call it quits now.

An Endless Fascination

 "Jeannette", 9x11", oil on Raymar Linen

Last night, I painted with my regular portrait group at Bill's house.  Jeannette tucked a red rose behind her ear, which gave our paintings just the right pop of color.  My painting is unfinished and has lots of little drawing errors that I would love to attack, but for now, I'm enjoying the spontaneous feel of it.  I may even leave it like it is.

Here we are in Bill's studio.  Jeannette was wearing a fabulous turquoise blouse that I didn't have time to get to. Bill chose this color combination because the red and blue were positively vibrating against one another.

The other day,  I was going through some old paintings stacked in my studio, and I came upon this one.  It is my very first portrait painted in oil, oh so many years ago!  Miles of canvas later, I'm still enjoying painting people from life.  In fact, nothing gives me more joy than capturing someone in art.  I have no idea why I'm constantly driven to do so, but I'm still loving the journey and the endless challenge.

New Work at the J. Petter Gallery

"Fractured Sunflowers", 28x22", oil on canvas

Yesterday was an eventful day at the J. Petter Gallery in Saugatuck.  I was joined by five other Petter Gallery artists, Eddie Mitchell, Nina Weiss, Carla Sutton, Gert Olsen, and Lisa Vanderhill for the Second Saturday event.  We were on hand for the afternoon to paint, chat with visitors, and show our latest work.  

"Fractured Sunflowers"  was debuted at the show, along with two other large pieces.  Images of all my paintings at the Petter Gallery can be seen by clicking on Ann Feldman Petter Gallery.  

Here are a couple of photos I snapped during a brief lull in the activity:

One of the highlights of my day was talking with the other artists, trading stories about our history with the gallery.  Nina Weiss has been exhibiting there for 25 years!  Once again, I pinch myself to make sure I'm awake.  Sometimes I can't believe my good fortune to be exhibited there.

And a big shout out of thanks to my dear friend Jayne, who traveled with me and helped me with the schlepping of all those paintings and demo setup.  What would I do without you Jayne???

I hope you all will have a chance to visit this wonderful gallery.  Tell them Ann sent you!

April Class Recap and May Class

Before I recap our April class, I'll announce the date of our next class at the BCAC studio in the Ice House Mall in Barrington, IL:

May 4th, 2018

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!!

(Thanks for the pun, Kimberley!)

Please email me to let me know if you'd like to attend this class, from 9:30- 3:30pm.  The topic for this class will be "Painting With Abstraction"

And now for our recap:

Four Apples, Four Application Techniques

Artists tell me that sometimes, it's hard to know which brush to use to get the effect that they're after.  We focused in our April class on brush selection and technique.  Each of the apples above were painted with the same color palette, but you can see that they appear very different from each other.  Application of the paint is everything!

THE FILBERT BRUSH

The Filbert Brush

This apple was painted using a filbert brush, which has a semi-oval top. This brush gives us very soft edges and a somewhat thinner paint application because it tends to dig in to the underlying layers if the paint is still wet.  In my example, the wet Burnt Sienna wash blended with the other paint colors, giving it a more subdued look.  Filbert brushes are wonderful therefore, for painting soft things and subjects with softer edges, such as portraits, furry animals, and clouds.

THE FLAT (OR BRIGHT) BRUSH

The Flat Brush

Flat brushes are great for crisp edges and thicker paint application.  Notice the left side of this apple and the defined edge there.  And even though I used the same colors as the example above, the colors didn't blend as much with my underlying tone and they remained truer.  I use this type of brush for most of my work.  It's a great choice for all subjects requiring hard and soft edges, as well as straighter lines.  I reach for this brush when I paint architecture, still life subjects with defined edges such as plates and glasses, trunks on trees, furniture, etc.

THE PALETTE KNIFE

Palette Knife

For the thickest paint application possible, you can't beat a palette knife.  And although you can get some nice hard edges, they probably won't go exactly where you think they will.  But that's the beauty of the palette knife-  since the paint and the knife have ideas of their own, we're forced to give up on our need to be exact or perfect. Any subject can be painted with a palette knife, and be prepared to use a LOT of paint, and allow the painting to surprise you!

THE ROUND BRUSH

Round Brush

Round brushes are usually used when we are drawing in our initial shapes before we start really painting.  In this example, I used a small drawing brush to "scribble in" layers of paint, one on top of the other.  This method gives an airy, soft appearance to your paintings.  If you'd like to try to make your paintings appear more impressionistic and loose, you may wish to try this method.

I hope you have a chance to try each of these methods to help you discover which one you'd like to try on your next painting!

"Back to Basics", and a New Class

"Back to Basics", 12x12", Oil on Gessoboard

Whenever I'm feeling a bit rusty, I like to go back to my art school days, and paint the basics.  Fruit, elipses, and cloth are wonderful subjects to sharpen my focus and observation skills.  And I never tire of painting a still life setup, no matter how simple.  Even though the cloth may be orange, I challenge myself to find other colors to describe the cloth without going too bright.  And pears almost always have cool colors (green, blue) and warm colors (red, orange, yellow) wandering around in them.  Even the bowls are painted with many underlying colors to make them appear more complex, and to give the painting some atmosphere.

I'll be teaching an all day class at the BCAC Studio in the Ice House Mall in Barrington on April 6th, and we'll be talking about brushes and brushwork.  Beginning, intermediate, and advanced students sometimes need to "brush up" on what brush to use when!  Filberts, flats, brights, rounds, and palette knives all have their jobs to do.  Let me know if you'd like to join us in April by sending me an email, and I'll supply you with the details.

"Cassidy", A Portrait From Life

 "Cassidy", oil on linen,  9.5" x 15"

I've been away from the easel for a few weeks, and was feeling rusty when I went to my friend Bill's studio to paint Cassidy last night.  I decided to make things as simple as possible for myself, spending time on carefully drawing the underlying shapes and finding my darks and lights with a neutral color before adding any color.

I used Burnt Umber, thinned with a bit of mineral spirits to lay down the drawing and find my darks and lights.

Gradually, I built up the color in thin layers, using the initial drawing as my guide. Approaching the portrait in this measured step by step approach kept me on track and in control.  

Class Announcement Feb 16th

First, Here's What We've Been Up To:

Our ongoing class at the Barrington Cultural Arts Center Studio in the Ice House has covered a lot of ground this fall!  The last several classes focused on portraiture and figure painting.  Here are a few examples of the demos from these classes:

Painting the Features

Painting the Form of the Head

Abstracting the Head

Abstracting the Figure

Painting Hair

And Here's What's Next:

Our next set of classes will focus on brushwork and paint application.  Many students have told me that they would love to get back to basics and learn about which brushes to use for different effects, and how to use brushwork to make their paintings more interpretive.  This is my favorite subject!  I can't wait to dive into this new area.

If you'd like to join us, please send me an email to reserve a spot.  Our next class will be on February 16th at the Ice House Mall in Barrington, IL.  We start at 9:30am, and class continues until 3:30 to give everyone plenty of time for painting.  I'd love to see you there!