Floral Fantasy, 16x12"

This is another piece that I recently shipped off to the East End Gallery in Nantucket.  I painted this one in one marathon session.  The three yellow flowers were established first, and then the rest was added, subtracted, moved, and painted over about a thousand times.  This process is fun and frustrating at the same time, and I'm left with lots of very wet paint on the canvas and on myself.  I do wish the Fed Ex man would alert me when I open the door with a purple mustache.

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.

Clear Blue Friends, 16x12"

Painting glass is just about the most fun you can have in art, in my opinion.  The balance of transparency along with the blue color of the jars had to be just right, but I tried to keep these jars as simple as possible and not fuss with them too much.

This painting is no longer available. Thank you for your interest in my art!

Telephone Posies, 8x10"

You must be wondering where on earth the telephone is in this painting!  Well, I put telephone in the title because this little still life reminded me of the telephone game we all played when we were kids.  I started with the setup shown below, and painted it in a very restrained, realistic fashion.  Then I used the second painting as a reference for the third painting, but I painted this version in a very impressionistic method.  Interesting to see the evolution from beginning to end, I think.

To bid on this painting, please click on Ann Feldman Posies.  Thank you!

I painted the last version as part of a demo for the Barrington Cultural Arts Council yesterday.  We discussed the differences in approach and technique for traditional paintings and impressionistic ones.  We covered everything from new colors in toning the canvas to painting with broken color and losing edges.  Great questions from the participants and a few good laughs made for a very enjoyable afternoon! Thank you BCAC!

Mariana came in to pose for our last portrait class last week.  I'm already looking forward to starting classes again next fall!

Demo at Hoffman Estates

I visited my friends at the Hoffman Estates Art League recently to put on a demo on Impressionist painting techniques.  I took a traditional painting and re-worked it impressionistically.  Here is the result after two hours of intense talking and painting.  We discussed drawing, edges, and broken color, just to name a few things.  This was painted using thick paint and flat brushes, switching to a palette knife at the very end.

And here's a little announcement:  I've posted some favorite paintings as notecards for sale.  If you would be interested, please click here.

Thank you for your interest in my art!

Thanks A Latte, 8x10"

Hi Friends,  Thanks to all of you who have been showing support to me these last several months.  You know who you are-- blog followers, students, teachers, neighbors, friends old and new.  You've taken the time and effort to give me encouragement in some way, and I am so grateful.

Thanks a latte!

"Sunday Afternoon", 14x11" Oil (Palette Knife) on Board.  Sold.

"Sunday Showoff", 6x6" Oil (Palette Knife) on Board.  Sold.

La Playa (Oil Sketch), 8x6" (sold)

The past few weeks at Mainstreet Art Centre have been dedicated to small, quick studies done in 15 minute increments to encourage everyone to put down the most important elements of the painting without any detail or "over thinking". Frankie Johnson has been leading this project, with great success and breakthroughs for everyone! I couldn't resist sneaking in the back of the class to try my hand at a few. (Thank you Frankie!) This is a quick study of a beach scene which I may develop into an actual painting. Thank you for your interest in my art!

Flowers for the Table, 12x12"

Yellow is a difficult color to keep fresh in a painting. Every time another color is added to it, the intensity is weakened quite a bit. To get the flowers to appear fresh, I put on thick paint with a palette knife at the very end of my process. To keep the yellow "bouncing around" in the painting, I mixed it into almost all of the other colors-- including the purple! To bid on this painting, please click on Ann Feldman Flowers for the Table.

Carnaval II, 9x12"

Today was "play day"! I pulled out all the media that I never use anymore: watercolor, gesso, ink, charcoal, and pastel, and started to throw it on various papers and boards. I had five different projects going, and decided to take this one to completion. If I'm still feeling adventurous, I'll develop the others, too.

Teddy Roosevelt

This week's Daily Paintworks challenge was to paint something from a room in the White House. Naturally I couldn't stop myself from attempting to copy Sargent's iconic portrait of Theodore Roosevelt. Since I painted it in "one go", I couldn't slow down and finish it off as I'd like to. But on the other hand, I like the loose, slap-dash quality of my painting sketch. Perhaps once again, it's time to put down the brushes and leave well enough alone.

Lisa

Lisa came in to pose for us in Open Studio last night.  I decided to keep things simple this time around, and painted her monochromatically, using only Burnt Sienna with touches of Burnt Umber for the darkest parts.  The light areas were lifted with a bit of Gamsol on paper towel or my brush.  No white was used in the creation of this painting-- the tiny reflections in her eyes were done with the tip of my brush after it was dipped in the Gamsol.

I could take the portrait at this point and add color to it on top of the monochromatic underpainting.  Color could be transparently glazed on top, allowing the underpainting to show through.  Or I could use thick paint on top, using the underpainting as a "roadmap".  I would need to be careful to match my color value (lightness vs darkness) to the values I had already established in the underpainting.

We will be exploring monochromatic painting in our next session of "The Nuts and Bolts of Portraiture" at Mainstreet later this month.  I'm looking forward to exploring this different approach with my students!

Repose, 10x8" (Sold)

I am so lucky to be part of a studio where we have models come in and pose for us.  This model came in a few weeks ago for our portrait class.  I was busy painting from another model that day, but I took a few reference photos and painted her today.  I may decide to put more detail on this one, or I may just leave it loose and impressionistic as it is now.  Do you have an opinion?

This week's challenge on Daily Paintworks is to paint someone in repose.  I think I'll send this one in!

"Carnaval", 8x6"

Hello Friends,

For the last three days, I had the great fortune to take a workshop from Dawn Emerson, a master pastelist and all-around wonderful teacher. I dove head-first into brand new media (pastel, guache, gesso, sumi ink) and new approaches to painting. I'm going to try my best to apply what I've learned in my oil painting. 

My favorite pieces from the workshop were my figures in motion, and I think I'll be exploring this theme some more in the future. The full color piece above was done with pastel over an intense wash of super black sumi ink. 

This black, white and gray piece was started with a wash of black ink, then gray and white pastel and charcoal. For the final step, I took a thin wash of gesso to give the impression of motion.

I hope that you enjoy this new direction for my art. We'll see if I apply it to my work. I'll certainly give it a try!

Vasanti, 12x16"

Hi Friends,
Several people have asked if I could show my painting process when painting from a model. This morning, I painted Vasanti at Mainstreet in a span of about 2 hours, and for once, I remembered to snap a few photos as I went along. I hope that you enjoy seeing how a portrait evolves!

Starting with a greenish-gray tone on my canvas, I use charcoal to make a horizontal mark for the top of the head and the bottom of the chin. I use the width of my hand to determine the size of the head on my canvas. I decided to make this one slightly smaller than life-sized, so the span of my hand will account for the entire head. Life-size would be just the chin to the hairline.

Using a measuring stick, I compare my model's head length to her width. In this case, her width is about 3/4 of her length. I drew vertical lines with my charcoal to show this relationship.

Next, I found the horizontal halfway mark on my box and drew a line through it. I found the halfway mark on my model and realized that the halfway mark went through the space between her eyebrows.

Using the halfway mark as my guide, I sketched in the major shadow shapes on her face.

Switching from charcoal to paint, I started to mass in my darkest values.

Once my darks have been established, I switch to my lighter skin tones.

Using the dark shadow areas as my guide, I can "see" where the dark irises belong.

I add detail to the features,

And swipe the color of her scarf across the canvas using a palette knife. I'm happy with the likeness of the portrait, and I like the bold color of the scarf. I hope that you enjoyed the journey with me!

Alex, 12x16"

Hello Friends: I had about 2 hours with Alex to paint his portrait the other day. Since I know that I'll only have a short time, I know that I won't have a complete, detailed portrait at the end, but I do like to have a few things achieved:

1. Do I have a decent likeness? The only way to get a painting to look like the sitter is to spend a lot of time in the beginning with the underlying drawing. I try to never rush the drawing. Careful, slow observation and measuring are so important. I'd rather have a well-drawn portrait with no color than a badly drawn portrait in beautiful hues.

2. Do I have a good sense of light and shadow? The excitement in a portrait often comes from the lighting on the subject. With Alex, I pushed the lit side of his face to contrast with the shadows under his cap. I also tried to remember that the black of his cap in the light will not be black so the light will show on it.

3. Do I like the painterly quality? At the end of my time with the model, I'll stand back to see if I can lose some edges or add some thick opaque paint to give the painting more interest. I went back into the lit side of his face to lay thick new color on top of what I had already established. I scumbled the paint a bit on his shoulders and added highlights on his nose and cap.

I love painting from the model because it forces me to be decisive and quick. This method of painting is a lot like perfecting a golf swing or playing the piano-- the more you do it, the more automatic it becomes. And the happier you'll feel!

I Swam Upstream for This? 6x6"

This is the latest in my "Sushi Monday" series.

For purchase information, please click on Ann Feldman Sushi.

A Slice of Paradise, 6x6" (Sold)

What can I say?  It's sleeting outside, and I needed to paint a little corner of paradise.  Have you heard of the challenge site The Virtual Paintout? Every month, a new location on Google Earth is chosen, and artists  can look around virtually and find locations to paint!  This one is from Elba Island, off of Tuscany.  And it was a breath of fresh air for me!

White on White, 8x10" (Sold)

WHITE ON WHITE

Recently, I've become very interested in the subject of painting white.  I just completed painting a portrait of three sisters in white dresses, and while I was in the process of painting it, I visited every master painting I could find in Chicago and Boston to see how the Greats handled this very complex subject.

Here are a few things that I found:

     1. Simplify.  Keep white objects and fabrics as simple as possible.  First, find the lit areas and the shadow areas.  Find an average color in the right value and cover the areas boldly.  Step back and decide where the color can be tweaked a bit, and indicate a few details without stepping outside your values.

Cecilia Beaux

     2. Look for color in both the lit and shadow areas for vibrancy.  I've never seen anyone able to show warmth and sunlight on white fabric like Sorolla, but his whites are far from white!  Pink, blue, and yellow dance all around, without a single stroke of pure white to be found.  And yet, those fabrics are white!

Joaquin Sorolla

     3. Balance warmth and coolness in the shadows.  Sargent's shadows make me want to weep, they are so beautiful.  When I saw his portraits in person, I could see that each shadow has both a warm and cool tone in each one, giving them life and interest.

John Singer Sargent

The most important lesson that I learned on this journey is that in order to paint white, the artist has to slow way down and observe the subject closely.  In fact, white has taught me to become patient, and to let the subject dictate the right path to follow in painting it.  Many rules and preconceived notions about painting have to be put to the side, and silent study is put in their place.  Sometimes, all this patience and study reward us with a new level of achievement, and we can say that it was all worth it.    

Buzzing By, 6x6"

How many times have you lined up the perfect camera shot, only to have someone zoom into it at the last possible second?  That's what happened here-- but I was happier with the stealth cyclist in the shot!  I painted this one with a palette knife to keep it spontaneous and lively.  Just enough information to tell the story and then get out fast!

For purchase information, please click here.

Nichole on her Birthday 12x16"

Harvard Yard, 6x6"

I captured this brief peaceful moment in my sketchbook when I was visiting daughter Emily in Boston.  I transferred it to a board and did an oil sketch of the scene, trying to keep it very spontaneous and impressionistic.  The scattered colorful chairs were a visual treat!

For purchase information, please click here.

Peppers & Potatoes, 6x6"

Did you know that the "Color of the Year" is Tangerine Tango?  Well, neither did I!  This week's painting challenge on the Daily Paintworks site is to use this super bright warm red as the basis for a painting.  I used it undiluted in the red pepper, then mixed it into most of the other colors in the painting.  Then, I fried up an omelet and ate my setup!

Please click here for purchase information.

Amy, 8x10"

I painted this very small portrait of Amy last night in Open Studio at Mainstreet. I've noticed that there has been some discussion on the web lately about the three color zones of the face, and it occurred to me that this painting might help to illustrate the concept. (Fine Arts Views)

The theory of the three zones is that the top third of the face will have a yellow orientation, the middle will be in the red zone, and the lowest third will be blue. If we think about the head as an egg shape in the light, then it stands to reason that the area closest to the light will be warmest, and therefore have a warm (perhaps yellowish) orientation. The middle of the face is fleshier and has more blood flowing under the surface, giving a reddish or pinkish color. Then, as the face turns away from the light in the lowest portion, the temperature often turns cooler, where you will find blue or greenish hues.

If you look at Amy above, you can see that her forehead and the top of her cheekbones have a warm yellowish hue, her cheeks are pinkish, and then her jaw area has cool blues and greens in the skin tone. This theory is very helpful when you are trying to vary the skin tones in a portrait, because it serves as a guide. Of course, rules are made to be broken, and only careful observation of the model will tell you what color to put where. But I hope this was a bit helpful!

Breakfast T, 6x6" (Sold)

This little painting is a study in "controlled chaos"!  Many students ask me how to loosen up their painting style and become more impressionistic in their approach.  In this case, I used large flat brushes and lots of thick paint to lay in the color after I drew in the major shapes.  Then, I went back in with a slightly smaller flat brush to put the structure of the pot and its contents back in.  I tried very hard not to touch the color areas that were working, so that the freshness of the paint wouldn't be ruined.

One other thing that I kept in mind throughout the painting process was to use straight lines whenever possible.  Look at the top of the teapot.  Even though the lid is circular, I painted it in consecutive straight lines.  It reads as round, but the straight lines give it a spontaneous quality that I like.

"Timeless", 22x24"

Happy New Year!

A few months ago, I read an article in "Art News" magazine on Beauty and the Brain. In this article, the author cited studies on what types of visual stimuli affect the brain's "beauty" receptors. The scientists found that art that is ambiguous will engage the viewer's brain longer, and the scene will then be considered more engaging, and therefore more beautiful than a piece of art where there is no mystery.

I'm encouraging my students to add a bit of mystery to their paintings, to see if they enjoy bringing the viewer in to solve some puzzles on their own. The portrait that I painted above has the model's head turned a bit away from the viewer, so it isn't obvious what her emotion is. Perhaps this is more intriguing than a full-on portrait with a big smile.

I would also like to introduce you to a blog that I've been enjoying very much lately, named COMPOSE by Dianne Mize. Dianne tackles difficult questions about the theory of art every week, and I look forward to receiving her insights very much. This week's posting is a question that I posed to her a few weeks ago about what makes a piece of art masterful. I think you'll really enjoy reading what she has to say on this, and many other subjects!

Dear Suzy, 14x11" (Sold)

This beautiful woodland creature befriended my neighbors, Pat and Rosemarie, and became a constant visitor and diner at their home.  Wild animals are a source of great fascination in our neighborhood, since we bump up next to a forest.  Our book club chats are frequently centered around who saw whom, where and when, and how everyone out there is faring.  Do we sound just a bit eccentric?  We wouldn't have it any other way!

A Place I Remember, 16x8" (Sold)

This painting was such fun to create.  Starting with paint and lots of turpenoid, I let the paint run all over the canvas.  On top of this, I used a palette knife to lay in the major shapes, and finished off with a brush to soften some edges. What I like best about this technique is that abstract forms are created, allowing us to use our imaginations to fill in the blanks.  

Mexican Woman, 9x12"

This week I've been thinking a lot about the artists that I admire.  Today, I decided to try to paint a woman in the style of Jeffrey Watts.  Bold, simple strokes with loads of paint are what sets him apart from many portrait painters.  I had to stop myself from going back in and putting in more detail many times-- it goes against my nature, but I'll put my brushes down now and let it be.

To bid on this painting, click on Ann Feldman Mexican Woman.