Two paintings and a workshop walk into a bar ...
No, that's not how it goes. Since the last update here, there have been several things going on in the studio. And yes, I have pictures this time!
In the last post, I mentioned that I was working on a new sample painting for the live event painting side of the house. That one is now done, and here it is:
This was fun to do, and a bit of a challenge, but in the end I think it came out very well. It has certainly gotten lots of good words from people who have seen it.
I completed another painting several days after this one. Long-time readers will know that I've been wrestling with some new (for me) concepts in figure painting. Mostly, they revolve around the concept of completeness, meaning how complete to make the painting. I've been working on a series of charcoal and pastel figurative works over the past year that dealt with that concept and those seem to be working pretty well. Not so with the paintings. Almost all the paintings in which I've tried that concept have been painted over or otherwise destroyed. I just have not been able to translate the feeling of the charcoal and pastel works into paint. My most recent attempt is a bit more successful and I don't mind showing this one:
It is definitely not where I want to be, but it's further along the path than I've been so far. What I'm focusing on here is finer brushwork around the face, with increasingly looser brushwork the further you move away. I'm also very conscious of edges. The only sharp edge is along the side of the temple and cheekbone, with a slightly softer edge around the shoulder, and considerably softer edges everywhere else ... in some cases, no edges at all. And I'm looking at value contrasts to help guide the eye. Here the highest value contrast is in the same place: along the temple and cheekbone. So the brushwork, edges, and value contrasts are working together to put the focus on her face. Color isn't playing along, though. The strongest color is the blue clothing, which draws attention away. The background is a muted red, but it's still a bit too strong and does nothing to guide the eye. And, finally the color in the face is the same as the color on her side. Again, nothing to indicate what's important and what's not. So I guess I'll have to try another painting and see if I can figure it out.
In addition to doing a couple of artworks, I ran a portrait drawing workshop a week ago. Had a good turnout for it and they were all a lot of fun. My focus in this workshop is less on the drawing and much more on seeing. So we spent the first day talking about shapes of the head and different features, and drawing each other, and then talking about what we were seeing. The second day, each of the students took a turn as a model while the others drew. After each, we talked about what features made each individual unique, and how the different drawings were successful (or not) in capturing that. It was really cool to see everybody develop very rapidly over such a short time.
Coming up, I've got a workshop scheduled for Saturday, March 4, to talk about a logical, easy-to-use approach to mixing color. Lots of schools don't really teach it. In my early days, they just wanted me to remember what all the colors would do with each other. Right. I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast, and you want me to remember an infinite number of color combinations? Finally, when I was taking classes at Maryland Institute College of Art, I learned an approach that worked for me. That's what I'll be teaching at this workshop. Interested? You can sign up on my website:
www.skiprohde.com/store/p16/Color_Mixing_Workshop.html
No, that's not how it goes. Since the last update here, there have been several things going on in the studio. And yes, I have pictures this time!
In the last post, I mentioned that I was working on a new sample painting for the live event painting side of the house. That one is now done, and here it is:
Rick and Julie
Oil on canvas, 24"x30"
This was fun to do, and a bit of a challenge, but in the end I think it came out very well. It has certainly gotten lots of good words from people who have seen it.
I completed another painting several days after this one. Long-time readers will know that I've been wrestling with some new (for me) concepts in figure painting. Mostly, they revolve around the concept of completeness, meaning how complete to make the painting. I've been working on a series of charcoal and pastel figurative works over the past year that dealt with that concept and those seem to be working pretty well. Not so with the paintings. Almost all the paintings in which I've tried that concept have been painted over or otherwise destroyed. I just have not been able to translate the feeling of the charcoal and pastel works into paint. My most recent attempt is a bit more successful and I don't mind showing this one:
Amy D #1
Oil on canvas, 24"x18"
It is definitely not where I want to be, but it's further along the path than I've been so far. What I'm focusing on here is finer brushwork around the face, with increasingly looser brushwork the further you move away. I'm also very conscious of edges. The only sharp edge is along the side of the temple and cheekbone, with a slightly softer edge around the shoulder, and considerably softer edges everywhere else ... in some cases, no edges at all. And I'm looking at value contrasts to help guide the eye. Here the highest value contrast is in the same place: along the temple and cheekbone. So the brushwork, edges, and value contrasts are working together to put the focus on her face. Color isn't playing along, though. The strongest color is the blue clothing, which draws attention away. The background is a muted red, but it's still a bit too strong and does nothing to guide the eye. And, finally the color in the face is the same as the color on her side. Again, nothing to indicate what's important and what's not. So I guess I'll have to try another painting and see if I can figure it out.
In addition to doing a couple of artworks, I ran a portrait drawing workshop a week ago. Had a good turnout for it and they were all a lot of fun. My focus in this workshop is less on the drawing and much more on seeing. So we spent the first day talking about shapes of the head and different features, and drawing each other, and then talking about what we were seeing. The second day, each of the students took a turn as a model while the others drew. After each, we talked about what features made each individual unique, and how the different drawings were successful (or not) in capturing that. It was really cool to see everybody develop very rapidly over such a short time.
Coming up, I've got a workshop scheduled for Saturday, March 4, to talk about a logical, easy-to-use approach to mixing color. Lots of schools don't really teach it. In my early days, they just wanted me to remember what all the colors would do with each other. Right. I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast, and you want me to remember an infinite number of color combinations? Finally, when I was taking classes at Maryland Institute College of Art, I learned an approach that worked for me. That's what I'll be teaching at this workshop. Interested? You can sign up on my website:
www.skiprohde.com/store/p16/Color_Mixing_Workshop.html
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