"Lemonade"

Sometimes computers can seem more of a curse than a blessing. Today "Pages" wouldn't let me mail the newsletter in the usual way but eventually I got it sent out - still not sure if it was smaller in size than usual - which could make it harder to read. A few days ago, things got really complicated and I lost the internet altogether and had to have a friend -who fortunately was an IT expert- to help out. Iy was a real marathon to get everything sorted out.  The painting on the newsletter was cut to fit the space so here is the whole thing- 20"x16". Strange how canvases have kept Imperial rather than Metric measuring - is it because of the States? This painting was another exercise in playing with glass and reflective surfaces as well as a sort of salute to the end of summer. Those hazy skies made for a strange summer and not as pleasant landscape painting.

     I read an early Ken Follett novel last week- originally published under a different name. He now says it is a bit too short with not enough back-log on the characters - but still kind of fun because it is fizzy. I got it because of the title "The Modigliani Scandal" although I knew it wasn't actually about Modigliani. It was fun to read but also contained a kernel of truth. The two young artists in the story are annoyed that it is dead artists who get the attention and dealers and collectors who make the money so they set up a scam to prove the point. I was also watching a series about the auctioneers Christies. Very interesting how they woo clients. The prices were astounding- 50 million for a Basquiat ! Sorry - I found it ugly.  About one and  half million for a quite lovely Lucien Freud drawing from his early days - traditional and, yes,  lovely - but the price was probably mostly for the signature. Some of the drawings I see in our Life Drawing group can be as lovely- but they lack the "valuable" signature - all of which agrees with Follett's novel. Very few people just buy what they like. They often don't buy paintings at all - playing it safe with a print.  Then other people let the decorator dictate. One of the things about "GuessWho?" is that you just have to like the painting and trust yourself. Even if it turns out to be by a high school artist - well they just might be famous later on and you still have an original you like for only $100 and a good feeling about helping the Food Bank too. You can always make arrangements with the artists for a signature later! ... and, yes, I photographed "Lemonade" before it was signed - but I will sign it.

Picture Perfect

     I used this painting on my December newsletter as it was in the December Men in Hats show about Harold Steves that we had in Gateway Theatre but I hadn't used it in a blog...so here it is. I wanted to show Harold out in the field with some of the Belted cattle. I have sketched Harold a few times when we have been at a meeting but, considering that he is a very busy man, this was done mostly from photo references. Some artists are very against using photographs at all for portraits. I think, for this, an artist would have to be very very well-known and the portrait would have to be commissioned. At that point, it would be easy to arrange for five or six sessions. For most of us, this is not going to happen and we are glad to be able to get a photograph of someone seen casually and then work it up into a painting, With our "long poses", we have around two and a half hours to work on a painting and then it is sometimes possible to get a photo  of the model (some don't like to be photographed) so the painting can be finished at home. I have just been doing pastel or watercolour work for Long Pose so as to avoid adding more canvases to the stack - so I have not being doing additional work from a photograph, as I am finished in the length of time we have.
     The history of portrait painting is a long one - portraits of princesses sent to prospective husbands for one. Think of Henry VIII feeling that the portrait of Anne of Cleves  was not a true one as reality was different from the flattering painting. In 17th-century Holland. social status was reinforced by portraits by prominent artists of the times. This continued with CEO's of business and important academics having portraits painted for display in their realms of influence. Then photography became better and society turned to studio photographs until that became mainstream.  Then it was back to painted portraits for those who could afford it. Curators at the Art Gallery of Ontario say that a successful portrait captures "what a person wants you to know about them and what the artist sees beneath the surface."  Lucien Freud was a master of letting the viewer see beneath the surface of his subjects. Brenda Bury,  an outstanding Canadian portraitist, says: "Looking at the portrait the viewer should recognize a fellow human. Machines, such as cameras, don't know the difference between the living and the dead. Painters are required to." Brenda has even painted the Queen and her paintings sell for $15,000 to $30,000. Drawings or pastels range from $3,000 to $6,000. I'd be happy  to work for  much less! There is something particularly interesting in the human face. I haven't heard if Harold has seen this painting but a lot of the people who viewed it at Gateway felt that it captured his personality.
     

Sigmund and cats-

Just did this page for my sketchbook, I looked up images of Sigmund - he was definitely a collar and tie guy - and suits in those days usually came with a matching vest, I just thought it would be fun to put this in my sketchbook when I found that, yes, he actually said this!  Sigmund was the grandfather of the painter Lucien Freud who did such great portrait paintings. Gordon Smith, a former teacher of mine, felt that Lucien Freud was the greatest living painter in Britain - that was said when Lucien WAS still alive, of course. This was drawn in ink, colured with pencil crayons and a blender.

Cards and books-

My Christmas cards have arrived from Apple so now they have to be sent out. Some friends "voted" their choice and I'm going with "Poppies by the Fence" even though they are not exactly seasonal flowers. ... The Globe and Mail printed their choice of the 100 best books of 2011 and Eric Larsen's "In the Garden of Beasts" made the list. I didn't mention it in my last listing... not one artist in it...but it was an excellent slice of history as it is the true story of the American ambassador to Berlin just before WWII. His family's gradual awakening of what was really happening - and the deafness of Washington to what he had to tell them- gives a real sense of what life must have been like then. On the "art" list, I read the biography of Modigliani - and wrote a review on it for Amazon. I also found Constable Portraits by Martin Gayford and Anne Lyles very interesting as I had just never thought of Constable in terms of portrait painting. He was admired by Lucien Freud - which is high praise indeed. Freud said "I've always thought that it was completely loopy for people to go on about portrait painters, English portrait painters, and not to have Constable among them." Further, he added "There isn't a good painter of 'subjects' of one subject rather than any other. I mean, as a game you can say, perhaps, Gwen John was the best painter of cats (as she is) but with really good painters all their work is really good. You can't say 'this is a marvellous painter but don't look at the portraits' "