Too dumb to say no!

A friend asked me to do a portrait of his deceased father. I was pleased to be asked and so said OK. He brought me a 2x3 black and white taken in the 1940s.  Wow, I said - that will be a bit of a challenge - trying to work my way out of the commitment. Then he said, but I would like it done in colour - as a gift for my daughter - her grandfather.  It got a bit emotional so I said it would be a fun thing to "play with" - no promises as to outcome.

So I have made two 9x12  sketches so far. The first is a burnt umber pick-out, finished adding titanium white and warming it using transparent red iron oxide then added some dark accents with ultramarine blue - all water soluble oils. The plan was to make the under-painting value sketch then gently add colour once the first was dry. It was done on Yes Canvas. If you have not tried it Yes Canvas is an all- medium canvas that I was encourage to try while studying at Watts Atelier - for fine portrait work. It is inexpensive and very fine weave suitable for portraiture. I purchase in panels and in rolls mounting on board. U tube video on Yes Canvas   Because this canvas is so smooth, the burnt umber picks out nicely to create the value pattern - using paper towels, wet brushes and Q tips.

The second sketch was done in colour and a bold brush application, thick and juicy. Drawing looks a more like Tom Selleck - and the colours are probably too young for his stage of life.

Fun exercise to try. Let these dry for the week then play some more.

Off to Whistler to do a workshop with a really interesting group of artists.

More later.

Stapleton Kearns - GREAT PLEIN AIR ADVISE!

 One of the many blogs I follow is from East Coast artist Stapleton Kearns . He has just posted his sixth in a series on plein air painting. Now there is lots of good stuff  out there on painting and painting plein air- but now and again one really hits home - and this is one of them. I highly recommend reading. Don't know if there are more to come. 


Visit Stapleton Kearns Blog - this is the first of the series. Follow the others up to date.

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID = KISS

Learning to paint well is hard - damn hard. There are so many "balls to keep in the air" that it is easy to get off track, especially at the early stages of a painting and particularly when learning to paint plein air. Anything we can do to simplify and to remind us of the issues is helpful. I can remember that my first pochade - a Judson Gorilla Box - had a four value scale and a list of things to remember stuck on it beside the panels. 


Having recently finished two workshops (a five day Fundamentals for Landscape Painters and a two day Preparing for Plein air) I am again reminded how hard it is to hold onto the fundamentals and apply them in the heat of battle.  


Lots of painters have little reminders. I have been thinking about one for a few weeks and tried it out in the workshops. It is my 6 Ws. It will probably evolve over the next while but it is a start that may be helpful for others.


These 6Ws are to be used during the planning stages. I encourage recording simple shapes to include in a thumbnail sketch, then organize the shapes into three or four values. I encourage making additional  sketches using the 6Ws below to strengthen the first sketch. Every time you put pencil to paper and consider what to include or exclude and where to place things (WHATSITS) your composition will improve and your painting will move ahead more quickly and with confidence. 

WHAT-WHY-WHERE-WHATSITS-WORDS-WHAMMIES

Know WHAT your painting is about

What is the centre of interest, etc . - the reason you have chosen to make the painting?

Know WHY you are attracted to paint the WHAT

What is it about the WHAT that attracts you? Might be the colour of light on it, the strong value contrasts, etc. Exaggerate the WHY to strengthen the WHAT

Know WHERE on your canvas your WHAT will be best and your composition will be strongest

Understand the guidelines used for placement - generally keeping your WHAT away from the middle of the painting.  

Know the WHATSITS available to help support the WHAT and the WHY

Identify the objects or elements available in the scene that  can be used to strengthen the compositon - clouds, trees, reflections, rocks, etc - that can be relocated, exaggerated , enlarged, etc and generally used as needed. They are all subordinate to the WHAT and can be handled as such but available as required

. 

Choose WORDS to describe the painting - five or less

I have found it helpful to write down below my thumbnail sketches WORDS to describe what the painting is about or why I have painted it. These can be helpful during a self critique to see that you have simplified and that the painting is about what you intended. Can also help with the title. 

Choose the two big  WHAMMIES  - colour and value dominance

The two big eye catchers that create emotional draw to your work are value and colour. Having clear dominance of one value and one colour most often makes for stronger paintings. 

Simple flat two dimensional selection of shapes to include  in composition 

Separate light values  from combined midtone and dark values 

Divide midtones from darks 

Make additional sketches considering the 6Ws to strengthen the composition. If others have KISS systems that work for them, I would love to learn about them..

Cheers.

MAKING MY PAINTING PANELS

A question that continues to pop up is how I make my panels. So here we go. 


I like to paint on solid panels more than on stretch canvas - particularly plein air. I make light panels (1/8"thick) from 6x6" up to 14x18" for plein air. I am starting to make heavier (1/4" thick) supports for larger pieces - up to 18x24" - and may explore larger. 


For the thin panels my preference is 1/8" mahogany door skin plywood. It comes in 4x8' and 3x7' sheets. I cut it into the appropriate sizes (6x6, 6x8, 8x10, 9x12, 11x14, 12x16 and 14x18") on a simple table and chop saw. I sometimes use MDF board (medium density fibre board) but the dust it creates makes such as mess that it is not my preference. I seal the boards with a coat of shellac thinned about 10% with methyl alcohol. The mixture  brushes on easily, both sides at the same time, and dries quickly. I lean them against one another and snake them across the floor - often 100 or more at a time. They dry over night. 

Shellac to seal door skin 

Boards drying

I use a variety of canvas and linen types. All are pre-primed with gesso or lead. Un-primed canvas or linen tends to shrink using the technique described.  I purchase the canvas in rolls. I unroll it on a work table and place a selection of the boards spaced about an inch apart on all sides and placed to avoid waste. I do a quick cut around each board using a simple blade 
knife. 

Sealed boards placed onto canvas roll 

Linen cut around boards

The canvas is then glued onto the sealed door-skin using polyvinyl acetate ( white glue) and spread with a simple spreader. Glued boards are piled with a weight on top and left to dry over night. Next day I cut the extra canvas from the board.  Gives a nice light archival panel. I often add additional gesso layers as needed. 

Glue spread evenly on board 

Boards trimmed once glue dry 

I also take larger paintings that are going no where and, using a selection of frame sizes, see if I can isolate one or more small areas that are stronger on their own that the whole. If the painting was done on board I simply cut with my chop saw. If painted on canvas I cut the selected area using the blade knife and simply glue the painted canvas to a board as described above. I have, on many occasions, rescued smaller salable paintings from an unsalable large one.

Turning junkers into profit

Hope this answers the questions. 


Lots more to making paintings than pushing paint on a brush. 

PREPARING FOR PLEIN AIR WORKSHOP - LAST CHANCE

There are still a few spots open in Preparing for Plein Air workshop April 28, 29 at the Campebell River Art Gallery, Campbell River.  Price $250 - includes lunches. 

Most artists new to plein air painting are  overwhelmed by the challenge of  painting on location.  For the first few years, plein air painting is more about good planning and developing good habits than it is about applying the paint.

This workshop will be two days INDOORS. We will discuss equipment and supplies used for  plein air in oils and acrylics. We will cover  the key elements of planning and selecting composition for plein air.  We  will  practice the habits used by the best plein air painters including simple methods to create value thumbnail sketches to create a variety of simple and effective compositional choices. 

We will then move onto  painting  "on location": planning, subject selection, simplification and effective compositions from projected images creating small "plein air"  paintings in either oils (water-soluble or odourless solvent) or acrylics.  I will be demonstrating in both oils (water soluble) and acrylics. Weather permitting we will take out sketch books outside to do compositional sketches. 

If interested contact me directly (bbuckrell@shaw.ca) or the Campbell River Art Gallery Shannon Proctor-McLeod Acting Curator  250 287-2261 curator@craftgallery.ca

FUNDAMENTALS FOR LANDSCAPE PAINTERS

This is day 4 of 5 for the workshop at the Old School House Qualicum Beach.  Great group  - a keen and inquisitive bunch of artists - keen to try new and different approaches. I continue to learn as much or more than the students do at these workshops. And I still find it fascinating how unique  each of us is - in the way we see and interpret  and how we use our tools and work with the medium. Learning to paint well is such a personal journey. Wonderful!


I expect to be seeing a few very tired artists today. 

DAILY PAINTWORKS BLOG - Interview Today

I had the pleasure of being interviewed for Daily Paintworks blog yesterday. Daily Paintworks is the site where artists can show pieces - mostly small- and offer them for sale through auctions. It is an opportunity for buyers to get into art at low prices. It is where I display many of my smaller, more experimental pieces. I has brought exposure to my work and resulted in sales throughout the US and Canada. 


To see the interview hit this link.

They Call it Mellow Yellow

I often struggle with high key areas and highlights. I have a bad habit of grabbing titanium white to achieve those high key values. I always kick myself afterwards when critiquing my pieces and remind myself to NEVER NEVER apply white from the tube. But I keep forgetting. 


 I recently read a comment on Facebook from noted British painter Michael Richardson that brought back memories of a workshop suggestion that I should have incorporated into my work:


"Michael Richardson one of my teachers told me never to use anything but Naples Yellow until right at the end of a painting when white can be used for bright accents and particularly to avoid titanium because it is so blue and kills colour in mixes ..."

Naples yellow is a muted dull yellow. Various manufacturers make a Naples Light and Naples Deep. Historically, Naples Yellow was a lead-based pigment, and therefore highly toxic. Today, many companies produce it from a mix of "safer" colours - a hue. For example, Golden  Naples Yellow Hue blends Titanium White, Yellow Oxide and Diarylide Yellow to create an opaque, rich hue.

I use it but not often . 

This week I added some Naples Yellow Light to my titanium white - about 50%. It cuts the harshness of the white and warms it with very little change in value. I made a couple of small sketches using this mix for raising the value and for areas of highest value. I liked it. It leaves value room for a special highlight of almost pure white  should I need it. 

The acrylic sketch above is one of a few from a recent trip to Tofino on Vancouver Island. I need to produce a few larger pieces and so am playing with compositonal choices, values etc. All lightening was done with the titanium- naples mixture.

If you suffer from similar issues of white overpowering your pieces, consider adding Naples to your titanium white and completely remove titanium from your palette until you have critiqued your work and decided that you need that last high value punch. Worth playing with to see if you like it. 

Six Months Deep in Oil

I have been playing off and on with oils for a number of years - probably averaging about 2-3 weeks per year. There are things I have always liked about working in  oils ( over my beloved acrylics) and have wanted to become more confident with them - but most of my artists friends (and my wife) and galleries have discouraged me - saying that I should stick with acrylics as using them my work was much more inventive and interesting and a personal style was beginning to show. Its true, with acrylics I am playful and inventive; with oils I was tight.  That was the challenge.

So last October I decided that I would shift my focus from mostly acrylics to mostly oils for six months - to see what would happen.

I started with a plein air workshop with Calvin Liang in Glacier National park Montana and finished a few weeks ago with the workshop with Carol Marine. I should clarify that I use water soluble oils - used with appropriate mediums and brushes they are comparable to regular oils. In fact, by the end of my 5 days I had Calvin convinced that there was no difference in application  and the practicality of travelling with them made them worth considering. More about how I work with ws oils in a future post.

I admire the work and style of many oil painters. I am particularly drawn to those that work in the heavy impasto application  and those that lay down spots of colour with minimal blending ( as I tend to work in acrylics).  So for six months I have been trying different applications ( thick vs thin, start thin and finish thick, etc) different surfaces ( course linen, canvas, smooth masonite, Terraskin), different brushes (synthetics, nature figres, filberts, flats and brights), different mediums (water with linseed, sometimes adding Stand Oil, sometimes adding quick dry alkyd) a mix of under-paintings ( acrylic vs oil)   and playing playing playing.

I made a whole bunch of lousy paintings. I made some that were so far off the edge for me  that I almost like them. I gradually felt trends developing - choosing systems from the list above that just seemed to suite me and my personality. By that I mean I am not a detail person and have a short attention span. I am not interested in mucking about day after day with the same painting. I like to work direct over indirect. I would have made a lousy Old Master.

What have I learned? I am enjoying the oils. I am starting to loosen up.  I like working thick and juicy and am starting to develop some control - previously I would get thick too early and needed rubber boots. When in trouble I easily scrape off and start again - in part of in whole.

I really like working in spots of colour - one after the next varying hue or just value and temperature. Working spots of colour is improving my colour mixing and my eye for colour in both oils and acrylics.
I like working on linen. I like a warm coloured underpainting. I like synthetic brushes - brights and flats ( have recently fallen in love with Ivorys from Rosemary and Co).

I am comfortable now in that I don't need to  have one approach or style or even one medium -and  be damned to those that say I do. Each painting is an experiment and needs to stand on its own. Now  I generally start thin and work towards thicker - finishing at completely thin stage or with spots of thick paint or completely thick using a palette knife.

Big thing is that I am not afraid of oils any more - and that is when the real learning normally begins.

Painting at top is my son and daughter-in-law done THICK - mostly palette knife. Below is a portrait done in HEAVY THICK and JUICY - mostly palette knife. At first it was a throw away - but I kind of liked it as it represented a step in learning/ risk taking. Below that is a plein air done totally with palette knife - my first.

The rest are a mix of thick and thin, all trying to apply spots of colour with minimal blending. Some plein air -some studio. You should see that they are all quite different in their approach and style. My guess is that with continued work and more confidence  there will be less variation in the outcomes - maybe that's good or maybe not.

So, for better or worse,  that's my six months with oils. Completed over 200 oils in all. Most junkers ( maybe they all are) - but the junkers are the ones we learn from.

Got three acrylic workshops ahead of me  now so its back to acrylics to rebuild my comfort zone.

Click on photos to enlarge and see degree of texture for each. 

Back to Black!

Nothing to do with music of the sadly departed singer Amy Winehouse.

I am reading Betty Edward's book Colour:  A Course in Mastering the Art of Colors.   This is an excellent book, an introduction to working in colour for new painters and a good  refresher for those with experience. Lots of good exercises for the new painter. Very well thought out.

But what struck me is her support for the use of black. Probably the colour that illicits the strongest opinions on it use. I would guess that half of my instructors included it on their palettes and the other half were evangelically against using it. She presents good reasoned arguments on its use to dull colours, to create very useful greens and browns. You can't get darker than black so it is great for those dark accent areas particularly  -  but you need to  spice the black up by adding mixtures such as magentas,  blues, greens etc to move it from the flat back to  create more interesting darks.  


The argument I have heard against it is that you simply don't need it - you can mix great darks - ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, dark reds and dark greens etc. That's true. But that is still no reason not to include it - THERE ARE NO RULES. I particularly like its convenience in plein air work when I am under time pressure - I can more often get to the grayed colour  of a particular value going through the black route. I NEVER use black unmodified - its just too flat. 


For me, I stick with ivory black - it is transparent and less " potent" that the opaque backs. In addition to its use in mixing  I often include it in acrylics glazes - thinned greatly with medium and water and often modifying it with a touch of colour ( thalo blue green as an example). Used with caution it is great for dropping the overall value and saturation of some areas of a painting or the entire painting. Need to follow up the down glazing by making some of the areas pop with more colour and value variation by using a variety of opaques.  


Just for fun, if you suffer from black phobia, try adding a small bit of ivory black to some of your reds and oranges to move them to browns. Try mixing greens with a variety of different yellows. Try dropping the value and saturation of colours by adding just a touch of black. Not too scary !

Saved From The Dark!

I love working in acrylics. I have become comfortable and somewhat confident that I can work through the bad stages in most of my paintings and come out OK - at least OK enough for my stage of learning. I have confidence that I can  make changes and test new ideas and get immediate feedback - because of the fast drying time. I like experimenting with different paints - in acrylics that means different viscosity and manufacturers with specific claims. Some claim slower drying times etc. and I will post my opinions about these in a future post.


My biggest issue with acrylics is not drying time - but that they dry darker. This is not an issue in most cases - I can cope. I have jars of premixed colours of known drying values ( painted on their lids) and as most of what I do in acrylics are land and sea scapes I can live with a degree of inaccuracy.  But every once in a while I  become really frustrated that the final product dries darker than I expected. 


Winsor & Newton's new Artist's Acrylic paints boasts that they dry without value change. So I decided to give them a try. I purchased about 20 tubes of colours - a mix of lights (mostly opaques ) and darks ( mostly transparents) and put them to the test. I mixed a small pile of colour on a Stay Wet palette. I painted a round spot of colour on a gesso treated canvas board and dried it with a hair dryer. Took  photo 1 below. Then painted one stoke of fresh wet paint from the piles onto and out from the round colour spot and immediately took  photo 2. The wet and dry were of the exact same colour and value - I could not detect a difference live or in photo. 

Dry Paint 

Wet Paint stoke added to dry paint

WYSIWYG   What Ya See Is What Ya Get

I have used the product off and on since and am content in the belief that there is no value change. This has potential advantage for tight work - portraiture etc. 


Anyone else found the same or different? 

Great Little Gadget!

Manfrotto on Easy L 

Getting back into the plein air mode. Just off a Preparing for Plein Air Workshop and with the weather starting to improve I am getting itchy to get out and at it. One little gadget that I wanted to share that has been very useful to me but I rarely (like never) see others using. 


I cannot encourage too strongly, particularly in plein air,  making small value sketches to establish your plan before you get out your paints. Sometimes half a dozen sketches before you have what you want to work with: size of fore, mid and background; value dominance, etc. The trick then is to stick with that plan once the painting begins - and not get distracted back to the scene where you are in danger of chasing shadows, cloud shapes etc. To make that work you need a convenient way to have your reference sketch there for you. 


The best I have found is the Manfrotto Double Spring Clip. They seem expensive but are well constructed. I have a half dozen - one in each kit and two in the studio - I  have never had a problem so I think they are good value. I got mine from Judson Plein air. Good company with good service. 

The sketch pads I use are Strathmore Drawing 4x6 inches. 


Something to consider. 

On Soltek easel. 

Join Me! Blog Talk Radio - Artists Helping Artists

I have just been invited to be one of the guest artists on this week's Artists Helping Artists on Blog Talk Radio - Thursday morning from 9-10.  I am pleased and honored.  The topic  is Late Bloomers - apparently that's me. 


More about this week's show in a bit - but if you are not familiar with Artists Helping Artists you probably should be. 


Artists Helping Artists  airs each week. It is hosted by two energetic and highly skilled artists Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry. The show focuses on the business side of art but also has informative and fun interviews with highly successful artists - recent examples include Robert Genn,  Carol Marine and Jennifer Christian - I mention those three as examples of artist who I have taken workshops from and who are wonderfully open , sharing what they know. 


How did I got into Artists Helping Artists? Before the end of last year I decided that I would give on-line marketing and self promotion a try. We are moving from British Columbia and all my Vancouver Island art contacts, and returning to Ontario where are sons and grandchildren live. I was hoping that on line profile might be useful in " starting over". But I did not know quite where to turn for help. I had tried Facebook a few years prior and felt it was just not for me. I had heard about their radio show and took a look at the many programs available for listening ( each week's  program is stored and cataloged). Their programs and their own energetic self confidence helped me to get into it all - Facebook, Linked in, Daily Paintworks, Twitter and to start blogging. For better or for worse I have taken the plunge and so far it has been rewarding and a real learning experience.


So if you are not aware of Artists Helping Artists I strongly encourage you to take a look at the long list of topics. It is so easy. I listen in my studio, use my tablet when working outside, when waiting for the ferry, etc. 


You can look it up on Facebook and Like it - to keep current with new  shows. 


As for the show this week, if you are interested in listening in, simply follow this link Artists Helping Artists Thursday March 8. 


Scheduled Air Date: Thursday, March 8, 9:00 am PST, 12:00 noon EST.
"Late Bloomers ... Starting Your Art Career When the Kids are Grown"
Join artist and marketing expert Leslie Saeta as she highlights ways to sell your art on-line. On today’s show Leslie is joined by AHA March co-host Kathy Cousart. Join Leslie and Kathy as they share their personal "late bloomer" stories and interview artists Pam Holnback and Brian Buckrell. On today’s show we will discuss how many artists have become very successful, after the kids are grown!
To access the show,