Variations- same model, different look

The other day at lunch on "studio day" we were talking about what makes a good model. Besides the obvious - holding a pose well, being able to get back into the same pose after a break and having some imagination to make an interesting pose, we also felt that there has to be some rapport with the model. There has to be an input from the model - not just sitting there like a store mannequin- so that it is a team effort, a give and take with artist and model. Last blog showed Michael who is an excellent model who even has a great chest of costumes. A few years ago, at a drawing (and painting) marathon with the theme of the "Dirty Thirties", Michael posed for two sessions. In the top painting, he is a gambler and wore a wig and mustache for this. Then he posed - standing for about 4 hours- as a Rum Runner - complete with telephone and wooden cases for the rum- and pistol tucked into his waistband! His father was a model too and his mother posed for some of the Group of Seven. Models  can make a big contribution  to art and artists. Michael is certainly one who is a  pleasure to work with. Our "Friday" group hopes to have him back again this Spring.

"Separation Anxiety"

Here we are at the beginning of a new year and  it is a time of sorting out paintings, wiring, re-arranging and also sorting out the records of sold paintings. I always feel that it completes the creative circle when a painting goes out into a good home. Sometimes, I hear from the owner again and they tell me that they are enjoying the painting- so I get to feel good all over again! Apparently, however, some artists don't like to sell- especially if they feel it is their best work. Robert Genn had this to say about that. "This is a career killer and needs to be neutralized with the knowledge that works of art are always yours no matter whose walls they're on - and they're best off on someone elses'." I always feel that just maybe my best work is going to be the next one anyway! "Michael" the mixed-media piece above was done on a Friday "long pose". We were asking the models to come as they see themselves. Michael is a very good model - which means that he holds the pose well and gets back into it accurately after a break- and he has an extensive collection of costumes. For this, he included a scarf that had belonged to his mother, who was also a model. I may post a couple of older paintings from a drawing marathon with Michael posing in costume and appearing as a completely different character in another blog. My computer needs a bit of an update so I can't post the full 2016 collection of paintings on the website yet. I did put "Michael" on my Pinterest collection of Life Drawings. ... and so it is on to 2017 and more painting - maybe the best ever yet!  ... A final thought- J. Bruce Wilcox, an outstanding quilter, says "Art going out into the world- changes the world."

Looking backwards-

Nearing the end of the year, it is interesting to look back on the year's programs and production. Plein air painting worked well with the weather cooperating on most days. Our "substitute" studio Tuesdays for the winter has seen other work completed and lots of useful comments shared. Every other Friday for a "long pose" has been a great supplement to Wednesday night regular Life Drawing. This pastel was done one Friday and I will have more to post as my photography is not up to date. I'm not sure if I will continue my "mixed media" approach for long pose as we may be in a smaller room for the next session. I've appreciated the greater space with out smaller group as I've needed table space for the painting, blow-drying and pastel ground application as well as the "donkey" to sit on while working with pastels. I may have to work with something that can be contained to a smaller space... but then that can be good too as it is challenging to work in different ways. The drawing above was done in three colours of Conte' on brown paper for a change of pace. I did quite a bit of painting in my home studio  this year- and not all of them are photographed either. I've also noted that quite a few need wiring as well - not my favourite job but the cats aren't volunteering to do it. I'm in the process of shifting my display around since I brought home the paintings from the View Gallery. Keeping a record by photographing paintings and mounting them in a display portfolio is another task that takes time. I don't record all the Life Drawings and they don't all get kept either, but I have been posting most of the Long Poses on my Pinterest folio - to give them a life beyond being piled up in a cupboard. We already have all the dates booked for Long Poses and the studio booked until we go outside in the good (we hope!) weather. It looks like 2017 will be a busy year.

The Artist's Brain

      I just read an interesting article on the artist's brain. Rebecca Chamberlain, KU Leuven, Belgium was reporting on a study to see if artists brains are structurally different.  Using a scanning method- vaxel-based morphometry, it was found that there was more grey matter in the region of the brain used in visual imagery. It was also found that hose better at drawing had more grey and white matter in the cerebellum and in the related supplementary motor area involved in fine muscle control. Studies also showed that more work at drawing resulted in better work - so there is certainly something to the "10,000 hours" idea. However, the "right brain,left brain" idea didn't seem to hold true as improvement showed on both sides of the brain.
     I still think, however, that there is value to be had in going through the exercises in "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" - maybe especially if a person has been away from it for awhile and needs to power-up the creative workings. Most artists feel that Life Drawing is like playing scales - it keeps the skills up even if a lot of what is produced ends up in the recycling bin.... well, we don't want to be buried in overwhelming piles of paper! For our Long Poses every other Friday, I have been taking a mixed-media approach - drawing first in charcoal on watercolour paper, giving that a wash of acrylic,  drying that, and then applying acrylic medium for pastels (to give the paper "tooth"), drying it again and then completing the work in pastel. It is an interesting approach and I'm still exploring the possibilities.
    I'm  interested in light effects and I hope to do more city night scenes . "Five-fifteen". above. is the first one- based on a black and white newspaper photo - but I now have more references and will get at this idea after Christmas. I'm certainly well-past my 10,000 hours but there is always something new to try, some different ideas and approaches to play with, and some skills to keep up. There is lots to keep an artist's brain busy.

Men in Hats show up at Gateway

Above - Marvin Skelton with painting "A window on the past" - the Steves' house as it was in 1920. , then Jennifer Heine is on the ladder with her painting of Harold Steves on the wall and John Beatty's farmyard to the left of it with Gordon Borgfjord. Bottom- Jennifer leans precariously with Larry Tillyer's painting of the farmhouse and David McHolm's "Buttercup" waiting to be hung. I'll post my painting later. The show runs at Gateway through December - great performances on all month but you can also go to see the paintings when the box office is open and get admission during the day.

Walter Foster -mentor from my past

I recently received a new publication from Walter Foster publications. Pen&Ink is the first in a planned  Artistry series which will focus on various fine art mediums.  The name Walter Foster is very familiar to me as I still have my very first art book on how to draw children top, above. A friend of the family gave this to me when I was also a child in order to help my drawing of people. It is well-worn and certainly helped back then. Now Walter Foster Publications is producing a new series of books that should be of great help to artists.  This first book focuses on pen and ink  and, after a basic introduction to tools, materials and techniques features four different artists with different techniques and styles. Desarae Lee also uses water colour washes and collage material. M.Ramos is a Brazilian artist who uses stippling (along with a magnifying glass!) to create detail  such as cats' fur and the smoke and steam of a locomotive. Loui Jover is from Australia and works in mixed media. He uses vintage book pages as  his drawing surface and creates very interesting effects. I especially liked his city scene as the book pages added another dimension to the work. I was amazed by the work of Samuel Silva who is now based in London and works in ballpoint pens.  Yes, ordinary ball-point pens to produce startlingly realistic work such as the bird shown above!  Needless to say, this is very time-consuming but the book does show it all in detail. Illustrations are excellent and inspiring. It seems like Walter Foster -or his descendants - is carrying on as an aid to artists.

Surely 11 million means painting is not dead!

     No, this is not the 11 million dollar painting - but one I recently "fixed". I was one of my dream cities series - cities you imagine visiting - until you get there and it is too hot, too cold, too crowded, too polluted - or your feet hurt! I imagined Angkor Wat as a place of serenity but, as the original painting stood, it didn't quite come off .  Some others in the series had that magical feeling but I was going to just paint over this until after a lecture on colour and simultaneous contrast  I went over the painting with glazes to recreate some of the mood I had been striving for. This is part of the struggle of painting- getting the mood right . All of us in our group are serious in our struggles. Not that we don't have fun- but it is serious work.
     But uplifting news was found in the fact that Lawren Harris' "Mountain Forms" painting sold for 11 million at a recent auction and set a record for a new high for Canadian painting. This is good news as it shows Canadian art can hold its own on the world art scene and that paintings are still highly valued.
     However, our local public gallery has decided , without any public input, that they are a "contemporary" art gallery with an "educational" outlook.  Paintings, apparently, are things that can be shown in a commercial gallery but not within their walls. I would think that about 75% of the local population would like to see paintings - at least some of the time. Most people do not have the space or set-up to allow for installations and video presentations but would be happy to have a painting they enjoy on a wall. Contemporary architecture and interior designs show paintings used to complete the setting. Ignoring painting seems a bit elitist to me. It also ignores centuries of art history.  I would bet that 300 years from now, people will still travel to Paris to see Monet's waterlilies and Amsterdam to see the "Night Watch" but I doubt they will go to London because of Tracy Eminem's unmade bed. In fact that bed may well have been thrown out by then. I must admit that I laughed when I read about an installation that got swept up as debris by new cleaning staff!  Many of the "stars" of today's art world - even Lawren Harris, the Group of Seven, and Emily Carr - got much of their early recognition from  open shows in public galleries. Local public galleries need to support local artists by at least occasionally giving exhibition opportunities. A few years ago, before the change in "mandate", I had the opportunity to show "Local Landscapes" and it was well-received. I think that part of an educational program should include showing what is produced in painting today- of all genres and mediums, not just what is deemed "contemporary". Contemporary should mean current and not indicate a particular style.