August 28, 2007 – Painting in the CCP Gardens
Even though we have lived here over 26 years, and I’ve spent a good portion of my time working in the yard, I’ve never thought of the yard as a place to paint. Last week a group of artist joined us here for a morning of painting. Seeing the yard through their eyes has changed how I see where I live. Instead of focusing on the bind weed and devils grass (dead spots in the lawn, dead branches in the trees… ) I see color and shapes. What a gift! Since then I have found much more peace here.
I have touted for years the importance of being able to see things as shapes etc. It took seeing through the eyes of others before I could do that for myself, here where I spend most of my time. What a gift!
Also, we received notice that THREE Creative Catalyst artists won awards in the recent National Watercolor Association show. Nicholas Simmons received the NWS Purchase Award, with Silver Star (top honors!). Mark Mehaffey won the Janet Hilford Memorial Award…..AND artist Donna Zagotta also won the Members Memorial award in the NWS show as well! Mark has two CCP workshops, we filmed Nicholas in May, and we will film Donna next year.
Something to think about
When I was a child, I remember one of my Moms first art shows. A friend of hers, the renowned teacher and mentor Reynold Brown, gave her a word of advice. He told her that you can tell the difference between an accomplished artists and a novice by the attention the artist gives to the edges of their shapes. Whether or not this is true, it has stuck with me throughout the years. Reynold, after all, was an instructor at Art Center School of Design and an illustrator.
Over the years, I’ve been especially alert to whatever anyone says about edges. Below are a few remarks from other artists:
William Reese: Have an entry point and escape route in and out of your shapes using a value transition or soft edge.
Skip Lawrence: All the information is in the edges.
Jan Kunz: A soft value transition on an edge of a shadow can indicate a rounded surface. A hard edge indicates an abrupt change of direction or a shadow cast by another object. In addition, Jan says to connect your foreground subject to the background by ‘loosing an edge’. Notice how the model in Jan’s painting becomes part of his environment in part because his left shoulder is very close in value to the background. – Lynn
Finding our Personal Style
When we first start to paint other artists want to share their creative process and we are eager to learn. There is also a tendency for us to want to emulate them. This may work well if, and it is a big if, our natural style of working is similar to theirs. Otherwise, we may find ourselves in an internal conflict that we find difficult to explain or understand.
As a consequence of filming a variety of talented and experienced artists, I have observed that their approach to art falls along a continuum between those who are “Planners” and those who are “Intiutives” and “fly by the seat of their pants”.
This distinction is not determined by where they paint, i.e.: studio painters vs. Plein air painters but by how they approach the process.
At the “planner’s” end of the continuum is the person who likes everything laid out before starting. The complete drawing is on the paper, every detail is down, and a firm plan is in the artist’s sketchbook. Accurate reference material is important. This seems to me a very ‘head’ way of painting.
At the other end of the spectrum is the artist who applies paint to paper for the pure enjoyment of the process. They are comfortable with random results and they take a lot of chances and say “who not” and “what if” as they paint. Theirs is an emotional approach”¦ it is the “heart” way of painting.
Art is communication, we need both head and heart. Finding that spot on the continuum that best suits us and facilitates our best mode of expression is, I think, the first major step toward achieving our personal style.
MAKE DRAWING PART OF EVERY DAY
Most artists agree that drawing is the foundation on which the visual arts are built. It is said that we should draw every day! So make drawing something that is fun and easy to do daily. Put a small sketchbook and pencil in places you frequent, such as your car, next to your TV, at the telephone etc., and leave them there! They will remind you to draw and make it possible to draw rather than spend time looking for your drawing materials!
Nearly all of the artists who have filmed here at CCP have brought a sketchbook and each book has been very different. It reflects the varying goals of the artist. Mark Mehaffey and Ratindra Das used theirs to think through design options for paintings. They make bold value sketches and notes of what is going on around them. George James paints relationships. His sketchbooks are filled with people in active poses. With his sketchbook as a reference, he is able to place figures in his paintings with realistic accuracy. In George James’s third art instruction video, Designing for Content we included over 25 pictures of his sketchbook. It’s a wonderful insight into how he thinks.
Cheng-Khee Chee tells us to collect visual reference material. As he puts it, “For an artist, it’s like money in the bank!”
Enjoy a Selection of Wonderful CCP Workshops for Drawing
Most artists agree that drawing is the foundation on which the visual arts are built. It is said that we should draw every day! So make drawing something that is fun and easy to do daily. Put a small sketchbook and pencil in places you frequent, such as your car, next to your TV, at the telephone etc., and leave them there! They will remind you to draw and make it possible to draw rather than spend time looking for your drawing materials!
Nearly all of the artists who have filmed here at CCP have brought a sketchbook and each book has been very different. It reflects the varying goals of the artist. Mark Mehaffey and Ratindra Das used theirs to think through design options for paintings. They make bold value sketches and notes of what is going on around them. George James paints relationships. His sketchbooks are filled with people in active poses. With his sketchbook as a reference, he is able to place figures in his paintings with realistic accuracy. In George James’s third art instruction video, Designing for Content we included over 25 pictures of his sketchbook. It’s a wonderful insight into how he thinks.
Cheng-Khee Chee tells us to collect visual reference material. As he puts it, “For an artist, it’s like money in the bank!”
MAKE IT PERSONAL With Your Point of View
A few years ago when I taught drawing at a local Junior College extension class, I had the students move outside to draw while enjoying a beautiful Oregon day. A particularly talented student was very frustrated with her drawing. It looked quite nice to me, but after talking to her for a moment, it became apparent she was not so much frustrated with the drawing but rather with what it said. It had missed the mark. She had been particularly attracted to a shadow cast across the bark of an old tree and the line and texture it created. Instead of focusing in on that particular aspect of the scene, she felt compelled to draw the entire tree AND a few others nearby. The result was that her drawing was less personal to her. Does that sound familiar?
Take ownership of your painting process by painting what interests YOU. Your paintings will have more energy and be more satisfying and unique! Here are a few examples.
If it’s a selected few flowers that interest you, why not zoom in on them and save the bouquet and it’s surroundings for another day. Likewise if it is the model’s hair that is her defining feature, make it dominant or perhaps change her pose all together for a more unique portrait. You’re in charge!
-Lynn-
One woman’s observation about what makes an ARTIST
Have you ever asked yourself “What makes a person an artist instead of just a painter?” The answer to that frequently asked question was again brought home to me this week while filming Carla O’Connor.
For me, a PAINTER is someone who finds joy in the act of painting, frequently has a preconceived idea of the end result before beginning and is directed by the ‘object’ being painted. In addition, there is often an element of risk-aversion in a painter’s way of attacking a painting.
An ARTIST is frequently inspired by visual stimuli, is inwardly driven, permits the painting to ‘speak to them’ and is as interested in the creative process as in the result. An artist is willing to ‘risk it all’ for the improvement of the whole. They are willing to alter much more than a few edges to improve a painting. Artists are also willing to spend as much time thinking about their composition as they are painting.
I watched Carla wipe out entire areas to strengthen her painting (even her “favorite” section). She was brave and exercised the power of design. The result was wonderful “¦ a learning experience on so many levels. This is going to be an excellent workshop.
-Lynn-
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