Friday, June 22, 2018

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.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

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.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

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!