"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.

The Mancini Challenge, continued

"Forgotten Teacup", 9x12"  oil on canvas mounted on board

The second half of the Dailypaintworks challenge was tougher than I thought it would be. After copying a master work, we were to paint an original painting with the master work serving as inspiration.  I set up a still life, put the Mancini copy on my easel for easy reference, and got to work.

I started painting with the Mancini copy in sight for inspiration

My mantra as I painted was, "Lots of paint, Keep it loose".  This part of the challenge was difficult, because now it was up to me to decide which edges I should lose, which highlights to hit the hardest, and what areas I could abstract entirely.  Mancini wasn't making the decisions anymore!

A few hours later

One of the most interesting parts of the challenge to me was that no matter how hard I may try to copy the style of a master, when it comes time to paint my own rendition, the painting won't look like it was painted by Mancini.  My style surfaces, no matter how hard I try to mimic someone else's.  It's my "fingerprint", and while I can absorb the influences of other painters, my paintings will always look pretty much like my own.  And I guess that's not an entirely bad thing!

I learned so much from this challenge.  If you'd like to see what other people painted, here's the link.

"Chinese Jar and Grapefruits", 8x8"

Just as a musician practices scales before launching into a complicated piece, I like to practice simple still life setups from life to keep my observation skills sharp.  I always ask myself, what colors do I see beyond the obvious?  Where can I lose an edge or where can I sharpen one?  Is the composition balanced and pleasant to look at?

Every completed painting, large or small, informs the next painting.  Questions or problems that pop up will look for resolution in the next piece.  When the painting is smaller and the stakes are lower, I can explore new territory and push myself a little further.

Spanish Platter, 12x12"

I have a new relationship with the East End Gallery in Nantucket this summer.  Business is good and paintings are selling!  This painting is one of a group that I sent out east recently.