tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307599975620956832024-03-13T07:26:12.694-07:00Look twice, draw once(Then erase)
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My explorations in natural media & techniquesJohn Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.comBlogger180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-90606260558718894822023-01-20T08:26:00.002-08:002023-01-20T08:35:02.275-08:00Making Linen Panels<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Making linen-wrapped birch panels</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p>I recently made panels from birch plywood with linen mounted on them. One is for an existing frame I have, and the others for common sizes I can get ready-made frames for (an important consideration).</p><p>Below is my process</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHxTpbsHZCjcJWxeLO-Hb_OfO3uEWJ2EV6-eN1zLTZyKMkXaoVC_kqiMZMdqAeEsLrd9cZH6Bk3EYhINphyur5gOnv0zCb3Z8US-oTy68XSksrOau0claQSuRqDq4IBcArnKUUHATF30qOSqzqskBNbqKlyBMKWBvWEdebqyNmD5IzmW6QXp7aWjw7rg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="425" data-original-width="535" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHxTpbsHZCjcJWxeLO-Hb_OfO3uEWJ2EV6-eN1zLTZyKMkXaoVC_kqiMZMdqAeEsLrd9cZH6Bk3EYhINphyur5gOnv0zCb3Z8US-oTy68XSksrOau0claQSuRqDq4IBcArnKUUHATF30qOSqzqskBNbqKlyBMKWBvWEdebqyNmD5IzmW6QXp7aWjw7rg=w320-h254" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">The wood is 1/4" thick birch plywood that I bought at Lowe's in a 2' x 4' sheet:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIq-OV1hrCVD8zLvLcBTNAW9JYVga1rSjpiXmPvG4lp4BJYKVlFlRFZX2daDzKwUA0DinQa10CUOq25YJnMEi8nYYn1-DP5ZFqqrducaB6qM5UxtecXOcaZusIycKPIfRJFGbl6e8Xs10PDOi72ByX-b8xLoF9zh-civoWsGx-JFAzC05HHTGxe3NLFA" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIq-OV1hrCVD8zLvLcBTNAW9JYVga1rSjpiXmPvG4lp4BJYKVlFlRFZX2daDzKwUA0DinQa10CUOq25YJnMEi8nYYn1-DP5ZFqqrducaB6qM5UxtecXOcaZusIycKPIfRJFGbl6e8Xs10PDOi72ByX-b8xLoF9zh-civoWsGx-JFAzC05HHTGxe3NLFA=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Blick Premier Belgian Linen type 135</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">unprimed, medium, smooth</div></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>For gesso, on 2 of the panels I used Michael Harding. I am experimenting with clear gessoes and tried Winsor & Newton's on the other panel this time around.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjNLEqnDIM9B71AwFtGYD2IcJ-Xt32Im4UIy7F_EPvVqzqUsSdJ8A5eed4FD_Nx5UU_XZqdQw4RKIqNkyXuQw0MKGArnKKayrgmZTrS89lAPFTTqAE-rqVaY1HusFNTSivwXKfAN03Ph-2agbK326mkH25oe8lCB_gujhj1LL8cpMoEfP_qlMWQJpBEQ" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjNLEqnDIM9B71AwFtGYD2IcJ-Xt32Im4UIy7F_EPvVqzqUsSdJ8A5eed4FD_Nx5UU_XZqdQw4RKIqNkyXuQw0MKGArnKKayrgmZTrS89lAPFTTqAE-rqVaY1HusFNTSivwXKfAN03Ph-2agbK326mkH25oe8lCB_gujhj1LL8cpMoEfP_qlMWQJpBEQ=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>NOTE:</p><p>From some reading, I have become aware that I should be doing a coat on the bare wood before the gesso, as a moisture barrier/sealant. I read of some artists using a product like Zinsser "bulls-eye" shellac. I will try this for the next round...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Carrying on, after I cut the panels, I do a light sanding on the edges. (I hand-saw these and wind up with little splits along the edge.)</p><p>Using a brush, I then coat a side of a board with Lineco glue and attach the linen to it.<br />I will use a brayer to make sure it gets evenly pressed on. I leave a reasonable margin of linen beyond the panel.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgiKSY97Sr-6WHS5o6DKJx2dnceMYZY8x3lezX-3hwdY2S590F---dv-t906StniJ5gQ8J4Z5hejUe_LxobABHPwUegKyxYAD5qqLOKGaJzAmlD_FmEOse0rlal45d1DonNN4yZBFDXLv-6mSMN_v6WtjmTUcjGN0dVk87sW22Fqmdx9W4BDN6dkuVqw" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="863" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgiKSY97Sr-6WHS5o6DKJx2dnceMYZY8x3lezX-3hwdY2S590F---dv-t906StniJ5gQ8J4Z5hejUe_LxobABHPwUegKyxYAD5qqLOKGaJzAmlD_FmEOse0rlal45d1DonNN4yZBFDXLv-6mSMN_v6WtjmTUcjGN0dVk87sW22Fqmdx9W4BDN6dkuVqw" width="209" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD19FTogVwIqOHQSWxogcOwkbSxdZJK9ArsTKI3B9DO35DTM85Sur0gzNCLfh2cceoj06CnL5fHKlrw3_GzG9a0RzrsqH2kMWf0ftBlvO75I4Rub1xXdCjAMji63WbP1txX4SjdkdKYzjluBgQUrzGBHcCnUYgLtgeC6Mi6gqW19_trUwkMJVtZgizjg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD19FTogVwIqOHQSWxogcOwkbSxdZJK9ArsTKI3B9DO35DTM85Sur0gzNCLfh2cceoj06CnL5fHKlrw3_GzG9a0RzrsqH2kMWf0ftBlvO75I4Rub1xXdCjAMji63WbP1txX4SjdkdKYzjluBgQUrzGBHcCnUYgLtgeC6Mi6gqW19_trUwkMJVtZgizjg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD19FTogVwIqOHQSWxogcOwkbSxdZJK9ArsTKI3B9DO35DTM85Sur0gzNCLfh2cceoj06CnL5fHKlrw3_GzG9a0RzrsqH2kMWf0ftBlvO75I4Rub1xXdCjAMji63WbP1txX4SjdkdKYzjluBgQUrzGBHcCnUYgLtgeC6Mi6gqW19_trUwkMJVtZgizjg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCQV-NdFiTkt10xvYkravjweGVSm6TsSLxDH5SggGZyJCCQSsnIKzikNW6Gl-5WGoqp9L27bCJTRn02Kn1ryFWwj8RCQKg20J9pri19KmkhA4BRH7gcgGTxK2i-2B_t9PSj73wG5ZtKeMKHiW_uaS3aj7xd4pdoClor8pha4KXJyfSJZ6tT0N057HuAw" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCQV-NdFiTkt10xvYkravjweGVSm6TsSLxDH5SggGZyJCCQSsnIKzikNW6Gl-5WGoqp9L27bCJTRn02Kn1ryFWwj8RCQKg20J9pri19KmkhA4BRH7gcgGTxK2i-2B_t9PSj73wG5ZtKeMKHiW_uaS3aj7xd4pdoClor8pha4KXJyfSJZ6tT0N057HuAw=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it is glued, and a weight<br />will be put on top next</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD19FTogVwIqOHQSWxogcOwkbSxdZJK9ArsTKI3B9DO35DTM85Sur0gzNCLfh2cceoj06CnL5fHKlrw3_GzG9a0RzrsqH2kMWf0ftBlvO75I4Rub1xXdCjAMji63WbP1txX4SjdkdKYzjluBgQUrzGBHcCnUYgLtgeC6Mi6gqW19_trUwkMJVtZgizjg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><p>I then put a weight on them to press down - usually a stack of art books.</p><p>I have dealt with the edges differently. Sometimes I have just cut them flush to the front. Other times, I will wrap them around to the back. This time I wrapped them around and glued them to the sides. I then needed to do that as another step.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKan8oi62BWckivGf1NubkMW_CUk0vKktbKr8zP0wGIMpYpCB8_9WOyH5-Ex3m4eI1PHDXCfPZR9uJtHmuvIE8oLI9X7YxCbY4cvNWoENS5--aSaz3Ne7gNkhLFIIq1tM5t1LfaAJ83TpHlcYUAYj24_rP4B_ui6qLlk6A5vmhw80ri7qJSD7BUgRv0g" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="944" data-original-width="911" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKan8oi62BWckivGf1NubkMW_CUk0vKktbKr8zP0wGIMpYpCB8_9WOyH5-Ex3m4eI1PHDXCfPZR9uJtHmuvIE8oLI9X7YxCbY4cvNWoENS5--aSaz3Ne7gNkhLFIIq1tM5t1LfaAJ83TpHlcYUAYj24_rP4B_ui6qLlk6A5vmhw80ri7qJSD7BUgRv0g=w310-h320" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting the glue on the edges</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiudbBJ80fbN-NrlfPbCLfFDy8Gh0RoDNS8cDfjO4UQPcp6PqB6Yq_YfidAwe9PzoEMPj9DyH7AykucbmI-h4Diq9IkBpNsuB8F_y6b-huxz1-Tjv2LbzR1I-pdU0i6Ftm7FuBY6Wkb_yeKj__ywxE7imqI-11rcKB9FTsAe4IkfSVoRnCh1MWc2LNJrg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="846" data-original-width="780" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiudbBJ80fbN-NrlfPbCLfFDy8Gh0RoDNS8cDfjO4UQPcp6PqB6Yq_YfidAwe9PzoEMPj9DyH7AykucbmI-h4Diq9IkBpNsuB8F_y6b-huxz1-Tjv2LbzR1I-pdU0i6Ftm7FuBY6Wkb_yeKj__ywxE7imqI-11rcKB9FTsAe4IkfSVoRnCh1MWc2LNJrg=w368-h400" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the edge after gluing<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>After that,<br /></b><b>3 coats of gesso with sanding in between each</b></span><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4FcNtNwXnHCCbk5_3iI32Rra91YGl9h7HUBMu5s7P7qyzICU987nK8DaJFQ67DSxyFshRkuxgsIX3dWDQgce1AuvUnRxUkUInz_0QHlVxZiLXdilXkJSJP8mVDHGI8gjHx42Xck8aBrD1I5TbMegBaVsQlj1yP-zBPBtSIvlh3rhHdxfovqIDPg5czQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4FcNtNwXnHCCbk5_3iI32Rra91YGl9h7HUBMu5s7P7qyzICU987nK8DaJFQ67DSxyFshRkuxgsIX3dWDQgce1AuvUnRxUkUInz_0QHlVxZiLXdilXkJSJP8mVDHGI8gjHx42Xck8aBrD1I5TbMegBaVsQlj1yP-zBPBtSIvlh3rhHdxfovqIDPg5czQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">what they look like while drying<br />The clear gesso (top right) looks milky when wet, but dries clear<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><p><br /></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJtJ5ctfuuIQafJtIgNQPfHayzu9cOQADgAmc5kOPDncELLm1HwQaDOLReIP2zPXcZajRCHFMfhSDgMUK5F7WrtQjzrbcVwRllS__sYzYMRBT6WUPJanbYXKnk9CBni__4WCay6_5Ep8Xyn3XF_EmMHpdawKweIdYZGvkL4U-MSIx-uy5fjZj_1UFUkw" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1095" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJtJ5ctfuuIQafJtIgNQPfHayzu9cOQADgAmc5kOPDncELLm1HwQaDOLReIP2zPXcZajRCHFMfhSDgMUK5F7WrtQjzrbcVwRllS__sYzYMRBT6WUPJanbYXKnk9CBni__4WCay6_5Ep8Xyn3XF_EmMHpdawKweIdYZGvkL4U-MSIx-uy5fjZj_1UFUkw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The finished panels</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6v-44Brt5Czncc-WZmj9MNGcbuotynhI1WMOiPsMAhICWeF9L1mbij-YdJCQGdgMhwLvmE88XTHhm50hJD-XNgAZmSAnhIWbBjpNNBz03xpyJ6GpbDOxuQFh3YQK4KMvK7FNZoLI890OIBeOQyd1qfdsHhfZciGuyoZM3s-gMqZLilkAy4DqEQSycTw" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="587" data-original-width="905" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6v-44Brt5Czncc-WZmj9MNGcbuotynhI1WMOiPsMAhICWeF9L1mbij-YdJCQGdgMhwLvmE88XTHhm50hJD-XNgAZmSAnhIWbBjpNNBz03xpyJ6GpbDOxuQFh3YQK4KMvK7FNZoLI890OIBeOQyd1qfdsHhfZciGuyoZM3s-gMqZLilkAy4DqEQSycTw=w400-h260" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">close up or texture of clear coated panel<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7lcr2pUuKaJLbq2rZgNRgQFctsMVrn8Zhw-5A8l_8atNQp6b6_P4TMjEnELmlrQj7G3Qtw74ZPsxr2YVT7nqgnEKR9PGiN_qG1AlnmARtqyqo_ZKIJAj6OrIEKIt821JFaxiQE4eXjxqCoFnNx0PxpTTQ1IVjAlvvUK37dGFUWeLTgLIFJzEfDPQKRA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1029" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7lcr2pUuKaJLbq2rZgNRgQFctsMVrn8Zhw-5A8l_8atNQp6b6_P4TMjEnELmlrQj7G3Qtw74ZPsxr2YVT7nqgnEKR9PGiN_qG1AlnmARtqyqo_ZKIJAj6OrIEKIt821JFaxiQE4eXjxqCoFnNx0PxpTTQ1IVjAlvvUK37dGFUWeLTgLIFJzEfDPQKRA=w400-h295" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">close up of panel with white gesso</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Conclusions:</span></b></p><p>Three things to probably improve this process and/or the quality of the resultant panels:</p><p>1. Finally get a power saw of some kind</p><p>2. Use the finer (portrait) grade linen</p><p>3. Put down a coat of some protecting varnish before gesso</p><p>4. Apply 4 coats of gesso, rather than 3</p><p><br /></p><p>I do think the Winsor & Newton Gesso feels better than the Liquitex. The Liquitex seemed to have too much pumice in it. But I won't know for sure until I make a picture on it.</p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-38768301006506103302022-06-25T22:29:00.000-07:002022-06-25T22:29:23.902-07:00Dwight William Tryon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhk4ZmSlLoGoMDe0vhqPIlshhNnjk9oIJ21lQlBS3NxMOmtZAQUr6P5mDAKIC3Hd68gaBw2-jLMan_GzGHrhLsu6GaYJTgdXW8D-eYL926IKBbGeFP1E0CmnVcP4TmQ5T9rUGJOfeyEB5IXEL4ksUJaDkrBES2nMXQEVZDt6OueBzcLWL1cbiHUILTg/s675/Early%20Morning%20in%20Autumn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="675" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhk4ZmSlLoGoMDe0vhqPIlshhNnjk9oIJ21lQlBS3NxMOmtZAQUr6P5mDAKIC3Hd68gaBw2-jLMan_GzGHrhLsu6GaYJTgdXW8D-eYL926IKBbGeFP1E0CmnVcP4TmQ5T9rUGJOfeyEB5IXEL4ksUJaDkrBES2nMXQEVZDt6OueBzcLWL1cbiHUILTg/w640-h440/Early%20Morning%20in%20Autumn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Early Morning in Autumn, </i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">oil</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Dwight William Tryon</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>1849–1925</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not too long ago I was very kindly given a book by a fellow artist. I just finished reading it and I thought I would put together a few words about it.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The book is:<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">"<b>An Ideal Country – Paintings by Dwight William Tryon in the Freer Gallery of Art</b>"<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">by Linda Merrill</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was aware of Tryon's work from a few books I have. I was also recently at the Freer and saw one of his paintings there. (They have a LOT but only one was on display.)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">His later work is pretty recognizable with a very characteristic way of depicting his trees.<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">I have a lot of art books, but some are really just for the photos. Many are not that readable, and can be dry. This one was written quite well, and there are many passages that struck me. It was fascinating to learn a bit about Tryon's thinking on art and process, and I started taking notes as I read.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAInwQN0WDhpzUMr2AYclwEn3K1s1Rad_KRnf2TW8Gk-EUnys22Hlwv7SebJtyj7Fykacbqtqa_6HlvakvSUN6mOf4_0hD3BOiAqk29cMZwIjM1he0XIT9NYED8eu-JOXUWTNpX1BH73CBd9lWpb7K_McyJ_ryc4SV_C5yA29FmnPOXLJF4Bhd0H_KQ/s4200/Central%20Park%20-%20Moonlight.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3031" data-original-width="4200" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAInwQN0WDhpzUMr2AYclwEn3K1s1Rad_KRnf2TW8Gk-EUnys22Hlwv7SebJtyj7Fykacbqtqa_6HlvakvSUN6mOf4_0hD3BOiAqk29cMZwIjM1he0XIT9NYED8eu-JOXUWTNpX1BH73CBd9lWpb7K_McyJ_ryc4SV_C5yA29FmnPOXLJF4Bhd0H_KQ/w400-h289/Central%20Park%20-%20Moonlight.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>Central Park: Moonlight, </i></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">pastel</span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;">Here are some of the most stimulating ideas I pulled out of the book:</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">...the “work any real artist goes through before he can become a power is much more than the equivalent of any college course”<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(</span><span style="font-family: arial;">p. 26)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>On Tryon’s quitting a bookstore job to become a full-time artist:</i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Here you are making an honest and comfortable living and like a fool you throw it up for a career in art, which of all things in this world is the most fickle. You will probably starve to death in a garret.” <br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> – Samuel Clemens<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(p. 28)</span></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Only to the persistent lover and close companion does nature reveal her beauty… only to one who no longer looks upon her as a stranger does she yield the secret of her charm.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(</span><span style="font-family: arial;">p. 44)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UGHkcSI9_5OeaPAavHi2MxIYjpIq6gILo2WXBqlnxW1kS3Ve84cuFGkcfxFajKdtVzpYuxsXaN03q6bc0waekhg0u4KkK9ofE_ZHefGlAtw56FtVn9P_JHTF-WMp_Ww7ry7wQQk9cixdlfq35HT9j87zLe7J7t-T_87_kjLKPfTlvAGtFI8ukT8hlg/s2874/Twilight%20-%20Autumn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1878" data-original-width="2874" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UGHkcSI9_5OeaPAavHi2MxIYjpIq6gILo2WXBqlnxW1kS3Ve84cuFGkcfxFajKdtVzpYuxsXaN03q6bc0waekhg0u4KkK9ofE_ZHefGlAtw56FtVn9P_JHTF-WMp_Ww7ry7wQQk9cixdlfq35HT9j87zLe7J7t-T_87_kjLKPfTlvAGtFI8ukT8hlg/w640-h418/Twilight%20-%20Autumn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Twilight – Autumn, oil</i></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“It seems to me every country has a soul as well as a body, and this soul is what is really worth giving expression to in Art.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(</span><span style="font-family: arial;">p.65)</span></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Keep yourself in the habit of drawing from memory. The value of memory-sketches lies in the fact that so much is forgotten.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">from “W.M. Hunt’s Talks on Art” (underlining by Tryon)<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(</span><span style="font-family: arial;">p.74)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Margin notation by Tryon by above: “The less imitation the more suggestion and hence more poetry.”</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LvqT_-TZqcdpQAs3pm67iiBRW-bDirr-XsrH1BRGuv20iTqywWBvh75eQ1ImSNeA06-vzNioJ2edX5PelvsISIwm4QBIku2ffbNcjxI1YRLDrw7BFP7bS2ux6uE7XG3Ir0BCE3V8zE2qVIUimUUxL4zh7ffY51Lm2lqj3xNjcwRO3QjzTH5yc9YSrQ/s2544/Tryon_April%20Morning%201908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1740" data-original-width="2544" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LvqT_-TZqcdpQAs3pm67iiBRW-bDirr-XsrH1BRGuv20iTqywWBvh75eQ1ImSNeA06-vzNioJ2edX5PelvsISIwm4QBIku2ffbNcjxI1YRLDrw7BFP7bS2ux6uE7XG3Ir0BCE3V8zE2qVIUimUUxL4zh7ffY51Lm2lqj3xNjcwRO3QjzTH5yc9YSrQ/w400-h274/Tryon_April%20Morning%201908.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">April Morning, oil</i></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyj_7d3KxC7wrwibVDkriWxZUL5le9A6w-4jJZGCaBYvI3xzx9wC2EmtYu4xoXDLVd3ZTNWyVDv5zv9CxoVexqFJLjwHbN9HBzoWtAE_y0yof5_GP0YmZfv3N6NFuD-Rmle76XJewhAlFaJ02TuB-u8QIysjCTXkCLvkUvqrKNXrAzhw5cHu26T_QrQ/s4200/Night%20-%20A%20Landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3281" data-original-width="4200" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyj_7d3KxC7wrwibVDkriWxZUL5le9A6w-4jJZGCaBYvI3xzx9wC2EmtYu4xoXDLVd3ZTNWyVDv5zv9CxoVexqFJLjwHbN9HBzoWtAE_y0yof5_GP0YmZfv3N6NFuD-Rmle76XJewhAlFaJ02TuB-u8QIysjCTXkCLvkUvqrKNXrAzhw5cHu26T_QrQ/s320/Night%20-%20A%20Landscape.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Night – A Landscape, pastel</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></p></div>John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-53899935126559287532021-11-05T08:35:00.006-07:002021-11-05T08:35:39.721-07:00Comparing Blues<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>I got some new (to me) blue colors in oil recently, and I wanted to compare them with ones I have been regularly using.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">• The top row is thick application with a palette knife and a "drawdown" to thinner at the bottom.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">• The 2nd & 3rd rows are tints (tube blue + titanium white)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">• 4th row is pure paint applied with a brush</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">• Bottom row is each blue with <i>just enough</i> white to bring the color out. Many blues (and other colors) are so dark straight out of the tube that they appear back, or colorless.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jOYYDqtR3_k/YXbH2sjFVkI/AAAAAAAAE2w/GcsQyLlGhL8jSs4DJKrri2gD-6VAw8SwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1567/blues_again.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="1200" height="651" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jOYYDqtR3_k/YXbH2sjFVkI/AAAAAAAAE2w/GcsQyLlGhL8jSs4DJKrri2gD-6VAw8SwgCLcBGAsYHQ/w499-h651/blues_again.jpg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I tweaked this for color accuracy as much as possible, but it still lacks something compared to viewing in person</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">My conclusions? </span><span style="font-size: large;">Hmmmm..... Well, they all have their uses and tendencies.</span><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Straight out of the tube (no tinting):</b> Cerulean and Cobalt show the most pronounced color. Those two are lighter in value (without he addition of white) and my eye can register the hue better. This is Williamsburg "genuine" Cerulean (a more pricey color) my issue with it is that it's too pasty and thick. Which can be remedied, of course.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Cobalt</b> seems like the least biased blue. Not strongly greenish or bluish to my eye. Williamsburg also makes a "Cobalt Deep" which I may try when this runs out. Some projects for making color wheels suggest Cobalt as a primary blue.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The <b>Transparency</b> of Ultramarine is nicely evident in the top drawdown. It's really the only one that evinces much transparency here.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I'd like to bring <b>Prussian Blue</b> back into some paintings again. The third row, far right tint is so much like what one sees in skies. Prussian seems like it occupies a spot in between Phthalo and Cobalt on the color wheel.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I think one could certainly use 3 out of these 5 in a painting to utilize the best features of each, depending on your painting's needs.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I am leaning toward using Ultramarine and Prussian for my warm and cool blues, respectively. I have been recently painting with a split-compliment palette using Ultramarine and Phthalo.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><p></p></div>John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-38399100252838306272020-06-13T21:44:00.000-07:002020-06-13T21:44:19.454-07:00Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Notes on John F. Carlson's <i>Guide to Landscape Painting</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I first got a copy of this book, I managed to read about half of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I knew Carlson was offering up some good advice, but older books like this can be tough to get through. (Somewhat antiquated language, written by someone who's first skill is not writing, etc.) A few months ago, I got determined to read the whole thing from front to back and take notes as I did so. And I did so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This book originally came out in 1928 as <i>Elementary Principles of Landscape Paintings</i>. My copy (pictured above) is a reprint from the 1950s. Nowadays there is a very affordable <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Carlsons-Guide-Landscape-Painting-Carlson/dp/0486229270/">reprint available</a> for around $14 in paperback.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some strange things about my edition of this book:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- an odd choice of work to put on the cover. Far from one of Carlson's best, and it appears to be a watercolor (!) to my eyes. The book is about oil painting, btw. All understandable given Carlson would have had no say in this later reprint as he passed in 1947.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- There seem to be a similarly poor representation (to my eyes and tastes) of the quality of Carlson's work in the inner images as well. Again, he may not have had a say in that (or all of them). Also, there is a grand total of ONE color reproduction inside. Smack in the middle. What was the point of that? At least give us 6 or 8... Anywho... Carlson could churn out some amazing paintings and I have decided to sprinkle a few of those in this post to delight your weary eyes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Morning in the Forest</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I read, I wrote down passages that clicked with me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Below are some of the best ones, with the name of the chapter in which they appear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(I also included some of my own thoughts and reactions here and there <span style="color: #76a5af;">in blue.</span>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">1. How to Approach Painting</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"... the camera does not <i>have an idea</i> about the objects reflected upon its lens. It does not 'feel' anything..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2. The Mechanics of Painting</i><i><br /></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Do not be afraid to spoil what you have, so long as you know <i>why</i> you are making a change."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">– This resonates with me. Some large area in a painting seems.... wrong. I think and think about it, putting off what seems like a risk, until I embark on the change and almost always it was the right thing to do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>3. Angles and Consequent Values</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In most instances when the beginner finds the color of anything 'impossible,' the fault lies not in the color, but in the faulty value or weight of the mass."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">– Another way of saying that value is predominant over color. Or that if you can't get the color right, get the value right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>4. Design</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Nature is seldom perfect in design."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>5. Light</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"No one can tell another person <i>exactly</i> what the color of anything is, because each of us has a variously differing 'color sense.'"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It might almost be given as a 'recipe' that the smaller the dark mass presented against a light, the lighter and fainter becomes that dark."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– Especially visible as tree branches get thinner and thinner near the top. More light "wraps" around them and their value seems to lighten.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"... there is no such thing as flat tone in all outdoor nature – it is changing toward or from the light."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FTr0uVROKuU/XuWnQLx1VtI/AAAAAAAADgI/EkJyb5LnE48ejsHsRqN2pfVUasE97xYTgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Sylvan%2BLabyrinth.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FTr0uVROKuU/XuWnQLx1VtI/AAAAAAAADgI/EkJyb5LnE48ejsHsRqN2pfVUasE97xYTgCK4BGAYYCw/s400/Sylvan%2BLabyrinth.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sylvan Labyrinth</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i style="font-size: small;">6. Aerial Perspective</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The sky is the key to the landscape"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>8. Color</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"... the student, by a very slight degree of self-analysis, can select his gamuts and harmonies, as well as his constructive lines of color, rather than merely stupidly taking things as they come in nature. We must not train our eyes to copy tone for tone, but think of the bearing of such colors and harmonies upon the main <i>idea</i> of our picture."</span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />"Reserve us strength; overstatement is weakness."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– The downside of this can be seen in paintings where all the colors of the spectrum and a full value scale are present, but the painting doesn't work. Restraint.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>9. Trees</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The painting of tress is best accomplished by much drawing of trees."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"... do not think that because a landscape is "real" that it is a work of art. A true picture is one in which so-called natural elements are made to function as an idea."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>11. Composition</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">" The choosing of expressive limitation is not child's play – it is mature choice."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">– I relate this to expressive strategies like working with a limited palette, or reduced value scale. Those kind of limitations in the service of your painting can be what makes it work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"A work of art in paint should be beautiful and expressive as <i>abstract color and form</i> and should not interest us necessarily in any "story" outside of itself..."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">– A representative work of art should also work on an abstract level.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"Too much reality in a picture is always a disappointment to the imaginative soul. We love suggestion and not hard facts. A picture should be music in form and color, with the subject-matter the vehicle."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">"Analyze your <i>impression</i> in order to approach <i>expression</i>..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>13. The Extraordinary and Bizarre.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"... homely objects and effects are made sublime in their transmutation, in the passage from the artist's brain to the canvas."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>14. Painting from Memory</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"... memory exaggerates the essentials..."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– This is why the exercise of memory painting, or sketching a scene that moved you <i>later on</i> will often get you just the key elements, and not the distracting minutiae of needless details.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those are some of the key points to my mind. I took a lot more notes than this and distilled them to the essential.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-73203714727924093582020-05-01T06:58:00.000-07:002020-05-01T06:58:30.771-07:00Canadian Artists, Part II – Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(1869–1937)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His name is quite a mouthful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monsieur Suzor-Coté – like M. Gagnon from my last post – was born in the province of Quebec. From the town of Arthabaska (modern-day Victoriaville), he began his artistic career working on interior decorations for churches. Later, he studied in Paris (with Léon Bonnat) and returned to Canada in 1908 and maintained a studio in Montreal. where he sculpted as well as painted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(<a href="https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/marc-aurele-de-foy-suzor-cote">Biography</a> on National Gallery of Canada site.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Mauve and Gold</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Levée de Lun</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He drew influences from the artists <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Henri_Harpignies">Henri Harpignies</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frits_Thaulow">Frits Thaulow</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Millet">Jean-François Millet</a>. It is said that he put paint down very thickly with a brush and then flattened it with a palette knife to get the effect he wanted. Even from online images, some of his paintings look to have <i>very</i> heavy paint application.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">His color handling and the texture of his work really knock me out. I would love to see a work of his in person.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">the man himself – looking dapper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Evening</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sunset Arthabaska</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Paysage</i></span></div>
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John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-28716741592747087532020-04-24T08:54:00.000-07:002020-04-24T12:26:54.185-07:00Canadian Artists, Part I – Clarence Gagnon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Time to share my enthusiasm for some artists that have recently come to my attention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am a fan of members of the famous Canadian <a href="https://mcmichael.com/collection/group-of-seven/">Group of Seven</a> painters, and they led me to other great Canadian artists. Specifically two, one of which I will show off in this post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b>Clarence Gagnon</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1881–1942</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">French Canadian painter & engraver</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K-n2WRX2KLU/Xp_HX7_KBuI/AAAAAAAADTU/f4MZUlnyCp4hieEIGQMW0qPtlG8xtHYoACEwYBhgL/s1600/Gagnon_Brittany%2BGoose%2BGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="1070" height="277" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K-n2WRX2KLU/Xp_HX7_KBuI/AAAAAAAADTU/f4MZUlnyCp4hieEIGQMW0qPtlG8xtHYoACEwYBhgL/s400/Gagnon_Brittany%2BGoose%2BGirl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Brittany Goose Girl</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-twMd-xQMt3A/Xp_HYHO9UYI/AAAAAAAADSo/xRmxNGfyhjUkOyfRtN8wm5C9mF3yfmYkACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gagnon_Baie%2BSaint-Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1000" height="305" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-twMd-xQMt3A/Xp_HYHO9UYI/AAAAAAAADSo/xRmxNGfyhjUkOyfRtN8wm5C9mF3yfmYkACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Gagnon_Baie%2BSaint-Paul.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Baie Saint-Paul</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">c. 1914-1917</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clarence Gagnon was born in rural Quebec and studied art first in Montreal. He later also studied in Paris and returned to Europe many times. He lived most of his life in Baie-Saint-Paul, not far from Quebec City, downriver along the St. Lawrence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even though he lived and worked in Europe for long stretches, his subject remained almost exclusively his beloved Charlevoix region of Eastern Quebec.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AUP9_CLRAZg/XqM9bKfznpI/AAAAAAAADTs/HT3aF9NdOLw4auyEnVWiy2j7p-93wYdGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Clarence_Gagnon%252C_1936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="443" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AUP9_CLRAZg/XqM9bKfznpI/AAAAAAAADTs/HT3aF9NdOLw4auyEnVWiy2j7p-93wYdGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Clarence_Gagnon%252C_1936.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcAs-slP4_4/Xp_HY9ipndI/AAAAAAAADSs/uX-3WfQ6p6coIyIKAdY9_PKUeAXYXi-aACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/EN%2BNOVEMBRE%252C%2B1906%2B.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="959" height="276" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcAs-slP4_4/Xp_HY9ipndI/AAAAAAAADSs/uX-3WfQ6p6coIyIKAdY9_PKUeAXYXi-aACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/EN%2BNOVEMBRE%252C%2B1906%2B.tiff" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>En Novembre</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jnk-XPmL-bo/Xp_HZVjtlSI/AAAAAAAADS4/fwGNAdILE4oiJ4LQKsYraFyCKCqdFVMvACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gagnon_Le%2BRuisseau%252C%2BBaie-Saint-Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1366" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jnk-XPmL-bo/Xp_HZVjtlSI/AAAAAAAADS4/fwGNAdILE4oiJ4LQKsYraFyCKCqdFVMvACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Gagnon_Le%2BRuisseau%252C%2BBaie-Saint-Paul.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Gagnon_Le Ruisseau, Baie-Saint-Paul</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just love his work. He had a great color sense and a wonderful looseness in his painting technique. All that, and then I saw his engravings – whoa. They are absolutely stunning and full of mood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/clarence-gagnon">The National Gallery of Canada</a> has a nice biography of him and a bunch of work online.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_QDAjLKZ1XM/Xp_HZbvm5FI/AAAAAAAADS0/rx2PLabdtT8oi7hb0B6hs_vP2cEUisw7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gagnon_Jardins%2Bdu%2BGrand%2BSe%25CC%2581minaire%252C%2BMontre%25CC%2581al.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="1366" height="287" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_QDAjLKZ1XM/Xp_HZbvm5FI/AAAAAAAADS0/rx2PLabdtT8oi7hb0B6hs_vP2cEUisw7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Gagnon_Jardins%2Bdu%2BGrand%2BSe%25CC%2581minaire%252C%2BMontre%25CC%2581al.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Gagnon_Jardins du Grand Séminaire, Montréal</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ZN2Bpc14Qc/Xp_HZcD2uyI/AAAAAAAADS8/RV5C-pYEdjcdkL4U-hlxcL2JZLOzGZK5ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gagnon_Overlooking%2Bthe%2BValle%25CC%2581e%2Bdu%2BGouffre%252C%2BCharlevoix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1070" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ZN2Bpc14Qc/Xp_HZcD2uyI/AAAAAAAADS8/RV5C-pYEdjcdkL4U-hlxcL2JZLOzGZK5ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Gagnon_Overlooking%2Bthe%2BValle%25CC%2581e%2Bdu%2BGouffre%252C%2BCharlevoix.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Overlooking the Vallée du Gouffre, Charlevoix</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ5c3jgVD30/Xp_HarE0IyI/AAAAAAAADTE/n2CsQfs1XmMNVxiaLAZOeUfrNp5ow0S1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gagnon_Summer%2BDay%252C%2BLes%2BAndelys%252C%2BNormandy.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="618" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ5c3jgVD30/Xp_HarE0IyI/AAAAAAAADTE/n2CsQfs1XmMNVxiaLAZOeUfrNp5ow0S1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Gagnon_Summer%2BDay%252C%2BLes%2BAndelys%252C%2BNormandy.tiff" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Summer Day, Les Andelys, Normandy</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C3PLp02acdg/Xp_HafbP0pI/AAAAAAAADTA/jxxOI13ynQID0yKPXOCGoLB4Vh3Zs6-zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Summer%2BScene%252C%2BBaie-Saint-Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1282" height="190" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C3PLp02acdg/Xp_HafbP0pI/AAAAAAAADTA/jxxOI13ynQID0yKPXOCGoLB4Vh3Zs6-zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Summer%2BScene%252C%2BBaie-Saint-Paul.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Summer Scene, Baie-Saint-Paul</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A little analysis of the above painting:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– wide, panoramic format (ratio of 1:3.3)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– cool color scheme of blues overall, with the house being the only overtly warm area</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– groups of blue trees form 3 points of "rest," with the eye tending to move between them</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">– most saturated area of color is foreground center group of trees, also a very high contrast spot from trees to river behind</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next time: Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté</span></div>
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John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-37689118439506688502020-04-21T11:53:00.000-07:002020-04-21T23:07:51.099-07:00Online resources for artists and art-lovers in this cloistered age<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, the world sure has changed since I last posted here in.... November?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last week I did an Instagram takeover of the Lillstreet Drawing & Painting account:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 20.24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/lillstreetpainting/">https://www.instagram.com/lillstreetpainting/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In preparation for that, I compiled a list of new and ongoing worthwhile art-related online resources. Some specifically created for this cloistered age we live in. I never ended up posting them and so they are now a blog post.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 20.24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Enjoy. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HTfkeT8rjUg/Xp87GO2huxI/AAAAAAAADSE/StDywgQWItszI78BQwwx2Si30qAwBvUzACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/streamline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="900" height="244" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HTfkeT8rjUg/Xp87GO2huxI/AAAAAAAADSE/StDywgQWItszI78BQwwx2Si30qAwBvUzACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/streamline.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Free excerpts of Streamline art videos on FB</b>:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/StreamlineArtVideo/videos/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">https://www.facebook.com/StreamlineArtVideo/videos/</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They keep adding more and they are not small excerpts. More like 1.5–2 hours long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These videos are mostly quite expensive to purchase and so this is a great thing. Lots to be learned here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Philip Mould’s Art in Isolation videos on IG</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/philip_mould_gallery/" style="text-decoration: none;">https://www.instagram.com/philip_mould_gallery/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mr. Mould is a gallery owner and one of the hosts of Fake or Fortune on the BBC. In these daily (weekdays) videos, he shows you around his home in the English countryside and goes into detail about pieces in his art collection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><b>Andrei Taraschuk's Twitter art bots</b>:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.08px;">Andrei Taraschuk creates art bots on Twitter. They are code that pull images off the internet and posts them to Twitter. They feed my eyes and brain with tons of beautiful images every day. It's one of the major reasons (for me) to even get on Twitter:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.08px;"><a href="https://twitter.com/i/lists/976556889981906945">https://twitter.com/i/lists/976556889981906945</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Online auction catalogs</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/art-impressionniste-et-moderne">https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/art-impressionniste-et-moderne</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The link goes to “Art Impressionniste et Moderne” at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Sotheby's</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> but there are a TON of these online and a great resource to browse/search for inspiring images. You can look through catalogs of current and past auctions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, there are plenty of other auction houses with great images online. Like <b>Waddington's</b> in Canada:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="line-height: 22.08px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.waddingtons.ca/auction/american-modern-art-feb-27-2020/gallery/?search_sort=price&search_page=2">https://www.waddingtons.ca/auction/american-modern-art-feb-27-2020/gallery/?search_sort=price&search_page=2</a></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Waldy and Bendy's Adventures in Art<span style="font-weight: normal;">:</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/waldy-and-bendys-adventures-in-art-25w56nkkm">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/waldy-and-bendys-adventures-in-art-25w56nkkm</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Waldemar "Waldy" Januszczak (left) and Bendor “Bendy” Grosvenor host this art podcast. Well, not a normal podcast, as you listen in a browser window on the Times site. The plus is, that when an artwork is referred to, the image shows up. In that respect, far better than an audio-only podcast on the visual arts. Both of these gentlemen have hosted art programs I have enjoyed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just the other day, Mr. Grosvenor started a new podcast, <b>Art History at Bedtime</b>.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I have as yet to listen to it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/art-history-at-bedtime">https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/art-history-at-bedtime</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just the other day, I saw an article about the <b>best museum web sites</b> to while away your time on. The author wanted to make a list of ten (I think), but only two (!) made her cut. (I can't seem to find the original article right now.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, the 2 were The Rijksmuseum and The Met. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have spent a lot of time on the Met's site. Not so much at The Rijksmusem's site.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You be the judge:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/">https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/">https://www.metmuseum.org/</a></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Line of Action drawing reference tool</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools">https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Figure, animal, landscape reference site. You can just draw from something you like, or do a timed session to practice starts. Learning to start strongly and with a plan is key.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>RTFIXDaily email sign up</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.artfixdaily.com/afd/sign" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">https://www.artfixdaily.com/afd/sign</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Daily news compendium of art-doings. New exhibits, discoveries, etc. Some days ho-hum, other days quite fascinating.</span></div>
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John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-42514915465240980242019-11-05T11:14:00.005-08:002019-11-05T14:43:43.917-08:00Good advice from John Carlson<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have decided to thoroughly read John Carlson's <b><i>Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting.</i></b> When I first got the modern reprint version a number of years ago, I think I only got through about half of it. I now have a 1950s edition and intend to go through it in depth and take notes as I have for Birge Harrison's and Edgar Payne's books.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But prior to starting that task, I happened upon some passages that really clicked with me and relate beautifully to an exercise I am currently having my landscape painting students do with composition. We are sketching about 4 differently arranged compositions from a single photo. I want to push my students a little to look beyond working verbatim from photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now let's hear direct from Mr. Carlson himself:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 1.38;">(Excerpts from pages 48–49)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Don’t paint “direct from nature” when all elements of organization and beauty or design are palpably absent.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 1.38;">The artist must look to nature for his inspiration, but must rearrange the elemental truths into an orderly sequence or progression of interests. By “sequence” is meant giving primary, secondary, or tertiary importance to such forms and color masses as are needed for an end and leaving all others out. In speaking of composition the use of the word “need” may sound enigmatic to the beginner. Let it be understood, then, that since nature is rarely perfect in design quality, the artist, in rearranging his “natural” elements upon the canvas, is creating a picture. This may involve moving objects to left or right, raising or lowering the horizon, slanting a mountain’s contour in a direction opposite to that of nature, enlarging or reducing various masses, strengthening or reducing certain lines, introducing minor elements such as stones, bushes, fences, flower-patches, etc., to give a desired line; “placing” clouds in a manner to emphasize their sweep and movement to coordinate with the other lines of his picture. He is really using nature and her forms, while he manipulates the natural truths to suit his artistic needs. Were this not so, the man who could slavishly imitate or copy nature as he saw her would be the greatest artist; but he never is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No law or formula can be concocted by which good composition would always be assured. I can only suggest that the student experiment with charcoal and paper (with any given motif in mind) until he feels that one arrangement out of the several made embodies his idea better than all the others combined, and that he then try to decide why it is better."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carlson shows this with some reproduced sketches in his book:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I do this myself as preparation work for many of my paintings:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These were sketched from one photo and I played with format (landscape, vertical, square, etc.) and the arrangement of elements). I personally like the look and quick results of working with white and dark pencils on toned paper.</span></div>
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John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-47136293288139747372019-08-02T14:24:00.000-07:002019-08-02T14:24:47.842-07:00Marc Hanson workshopA few weeks ago I attended a 3-day plein air painting workshop led by <a href="https://marchansonart.com/">Marc Hanson</a>, a painter I have followed online for a few years now. I've wanted to do something like this for a while, but none of the ones I was interested in were held anywhere near me. Marc's was in Lowell, MI about a 3.75 hour drive away, just east of Grand Rapids.<br />
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We painted 2 of the 3 days in a park where a stream fed into the Flat River (which then flows south into the Grand River, which is the Grand Rapids river), and the last day in downtown Lowell. This was a great experience and I'd certainly do it again.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Marc doing his monochromatic study - big shapes & limited values</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Marc's completed color painting</span></div>
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<b>Day 1</b><br />
<i>morning</i><br />
Marc painted a demo - he did a monochromatic study of a scene, adjusting the composition and learning the value structure and then painted a full-color, large version<br />
<i>afternoon</i><br />
We did the same 2 type of paintings as Marc did. I did my 2 on one board, with a taped divider down the middle.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">my take on this exercise</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">oil on 9" x 12" panel</span></div>
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<b>Day 2</b><br />
<i>morning</i><br />
We did the compass rose exercise, wherein we each had a board divided into 4 equal sections. We then painted in each square for 15 minutes, turning 90 degrees for the next one, and so on. Our challenge was to find something interesting in each area.<br />
<i>afternoon</i><br />
We each painted from the same view, a tree on the bank by where the rivers met<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">oil on 8" x 10" panel</span></div>
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<b>Day 3</b><br />
<i>morning</i><br />
We did a memory exercise where we looked at the scene we were painting for 3 minutes and then painted for 12. We did that 4 times. After that, we painted the same scene it for an hour in a normal fashion.<br />
<i>afternoon</i><br />
Marc did another demo painting in the afternoon.<br />
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<b>Major points/lessons learned:</b><br />
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– Marc paints with essentially a <b>split-primary palette</b> and I did so for the 3 days. In recent years I have been "designing" limited palettes for each of my paintings. It was nice to get back to the arrangement I started painting with, and stick with that for 3 days. I think I will work more in that way going forward. Not switching it up all the time helps.<br />
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<b>–Values</b><br />
Marc talked about how paintings can tend to work better if they are weighted towards having more light or dark areas, and not an even split. He suggested about a 70%–30% balance, whether the larger figure is dark or light values. I have been reading Edgar Payne's book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Composition-Outdoor-Painting-Edgar-Payne/dp/0939370115/">The Composition of Outdoor Painting</a> lately and he makes a similar suggestion.<br />
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<b>–Darks/Shadows</b><br />
Marc stressed keeping shadows transparent and "mysterious." Save the opaque areas for things in the light. He generally addressed large shadow masses first and manipulated them to find interesting shapes and simplicity.<br />
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– <b>Process</b><br />
Marc usually paints on a warm-toned support. He began by drawing in the big shapes and wiping and re-drawing them until he had an arrangement he liked. He used a brush with thinned paint for this. Then he addressed shadow areas, and started working on the largest/most critical masses. He found warm colors wherever possible, and stressed them to counter the overwhelming dominance of greens before us. He also emphasized pulling the brushstrokes in the direction the light moves over forms.<br />
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One of the key lessons is that he <i>designs</i> his painting using the worthwhile elements that are before him. He is NOT painting an exact replication of every leaf and branch. The view before him contains raw material that can be used for a painting. It is not the painting itself.<br />
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-17662929180993167152019-05-13T08:12:00.001-07:002019-07-28T08:13:32.238-07:00SynthesisIn one of his excellent newsletters <b>John MacDonald</b> outlined an exercise that intrigued me very much.<br />
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(July/August 2018 issue: <a href="http://jmacdonald.com/s/Start-by-Stealing.pdf">link</a>)<br />
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He combined the color scheme of a painting with the values and subject information from a photo. This struck me as fascinating, and a very valid pathway to an interesting final image. I decided to try it and started working on this painting last fall.<br />
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This past Saturday in class I finally finished it. (It lay dormant for many months – I'm not <i>that</i> slow.)<br />
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My source photo was one I took in Oregon a number of years ago. I am fairly sure it was in the area of Salt Creek Falls. I liked the forms of the hills rolling away into the distance, but the sky was blown out (as often happens in photos) and offered no color or value information to draw from. What the photo is lacking made me think I'd have to look well beyond it to make something out of it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">source photo taken in Oregon</span></div>
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My source painting was <i>LaSalle Street at Close of Day</i> by Alfred Juergens:</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hgIHakLm1ws/XNl9a7R1QbI/AAAAAAAAC6o/d2GQ2mPn9ZIY460Joq7L0NZMsmQRrsuLACLcBGAs/s1600/image%2B%25284%2529%2Bcopy_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="656" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hgIHakLm1ws/XNl9a7R1QbI/AAAAAAAAC6o/d2GQ2mPn9ZIY460Joq7L0NZMsmQRrsuLACLcBGAs/s200/image%2B%25284%2529%2Bcopy_sml.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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I found it in a book of art relating to Illinois put out by the Illinois State Museum in Springfield. (The book is <i>Chicago Painting, 1895 to 1945</i> by Wendy Greenhouse. The painting is actually on the cover.) I believe I chose it because it's a color scheme I've never painted with. I suppose I am not a huge fan of violet, and this is all violet, blue, and orange. Regardless of that, I do love the painting, so something there was attracting me.</div>
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I did a handful of quick sketches on toned paper to move things around and help me better imagine a painting:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SCB9_NaNPTE/XNmCjy3FI0I/AAAAAAAAC7M/3T8L8Q_Myg8LDd1HbC6xxej2hJY83KWPwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1183" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SCB9_NaNPTE/XNmCjy3FI0I/AAAAAAAAC7M/3T8L8Q_Myg8LDd1HbC6xxej2hJY83KWPwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_7268.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
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I also decided on a limited palette of Hansa Yellow Light, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Violet, and French Ultramarine Blue. My assessment of the Juergens painting led me to believe I could get the colors he did with this palette and it worked out fine.<br />
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Here's the final image:</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">oil on panel, 11" x 11"</span></div>
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I further decided (to get me out of my comfort zone) to apply color in a broken, impressionistic manner (except in the lower right shadow area).<br />
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I am fairly pleased with this final painting. I would not have normally chosen this palette. The violets and oranges seemed to push the scene to a late-in-the-day, golden light kind of thing, so I went with that. All in all, a great learning experience, and one that I have suggested to my students to get away from an overly straightforward reproduction of a photo in paint.</div>
John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-42454712133719652702018-09-17T20:27:00.001-07:002018-09-19T11:32:30.295-07:00Birge Harrison, part 4<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Birge Harrison, part 4</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">(conclusion)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>A Puff of Steam</i></span></div>
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Concluding my methodical re-reading (and note-taking) of Mr. Harrison's book <i>Landscape Painting </i>(1909). What follows are my notes from each chapter (I skipped some that didn't really resonate with me).<br />
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All this is me attempting to distill the most important points from this insightful collection of lectures he gave.<br />
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<b>Chapter 5 "Values"</b><br />
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"... the most important thing to consider is the value-key of our picture."<br />
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This is pretty critical. As important as determining the color scheme of a picture, as value has ascendancy over color. I am going to attempt to take this to heart myself in future. (I do make value sketches at the very least before starting any significant painting.) I think Mr. Harrison's point is to ask yourself when making a picture: what part of the value scale best suits your intent? Use as little as is needed (see next quote).<br />
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"An outdoor picture motive is complicated indeed if it cannot be divided into four or five dominant values."<br />
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<b>Chapter 6 "Drawing"</b><br />
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He somewhat surprisingly suggests NOT drawing from the landscape as much as from the human figure to gain precision:<br />
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"The articulation of a limb upon the trunk of an oak. for instance, might start a foot higher up or a foot lower down and still be in character, but the articulation of a knee joint, an elbow, or a shoulder of the human figure must be true to the inch."<br />
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He is correct that drawing the human figure is more exacting, but I would not forgo drawing from nature. Get a feel for the landscape and its components and character. Especially for when the time comes that you need to invent something in a landscape picture. That drawing experience and your familiarization with natural elements will pay off.<br />
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One of his final remarks suggests that "drawing by mass" translates to painting more directly than linear drawing. I can't disagree with that. One of the transitions I had to make from years of drawing to painting, was to think and work more in terms of masses of color and value, instead of linearly.<br />
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<b>Chapter 7 "Composition"</b><br />
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"In my own opinion, about all of the rules of composition which are of any practical value to a painter, are negative rather than positive, and can best be expressed in a series of don'ts."<br />
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I find composition a tricker aspect of art to explain and teach than others, and it always seems to make more sense to show students what to avoid than what to specifically employ in their work. And there are often exceptions.<br />
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"Don't try to say two things on one canvas."<br />
He names some other rules to follow this, but calls this the one rule that cannot be broken, while occasionally the others can be broken.<br />
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"... don't confuse your audience with irrelevancies."<br />
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I would personally say that a canvas CAN have more than one area of interest, but that one in particular HAS to predominate.<br />
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<b>Chapter 8 "Quality"</b><br />
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He discusses surface quality of paintings in this chapter. His overriding point here is that surface quality, whether smooth or rough has to suit the painting and subject/mood as a whole, and not be inappropriate or distracting.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FSgX5Cp0TtY/W6Bu6yr-XRI/AAAAAAAACno/S6w9hRSoxoc88Wty4PbIpp39AVMIN67vgCLcBGAs/s1600/Madison%2BSquare.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="965" height="332" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FSgX5Cp0TtY/W6Bu6yr-XRI/AAAAAAAACno/S6w9hRSoxoc88Wty4PbIpp39AVMIN67vgCLcBGAs/s400/Madison%2BSquare.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Madison Square</i></span></div>
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<b>Chapter 10 "On Framing Pictures"</b><br />
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Birge was a fan of gold or metal leaf on frames.<br />
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He believed in the formula of:<br />
Simple picture, intricate frame.<br />
Intricate picture, simple frame.<br />
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<b>Chapter 15 "The Importance of Fearlessness in Painting"</b><br />
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"Always dare to the limit of your knowledge and just a bit beyond. You must show conviction yourself, if you would convince others."<br />
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<b>Chapter 16 "The Subconscious Servant"</b><br />
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"A picture painted direct from nature must necessarily be hasty, ill-considered, somewhat raw, and lacking in the synthetic and personal quality which is the distinguishing mark of all great art - unless the work is really done from memory while the painter is standing before nature - which might be the case if he had had time and opportunity to ripen his vision."<br />
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"... true synthetic beauty is not within the reach of the mere copyist."<br />
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This is a fascinating chapter and one that I am not completely sure I understand. He talks about the use of memory in painting. One must see through the mind and not just the eye. Painting from nature feeds the "subconscious servant" and stores up information that helps down the line with one's work. So that as an artist matures he or she is not just copying nature but taking in what is there and using and rearranging it to make an effective picture.<br />
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<b>Chapter 19 "What is a Good Picture?"</b><br />
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"Art is natural beauty interpreted through human temperament."<br />
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"The highest form of sincerity is truth to the artist's own personal vision of beauty."<br />
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<b>Chapter 20 "The True Impressionism"</b><br />
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"... technique is not the difficult thing in art ... but it requires many a long and weary year to learn to see."<br />
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"... students learn much more from each other than they do from their masters."<br />
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I have been in classes for which this was true, and many where it was not. I suppose it depends on the quality of instructor, and mix of students you wind up with.<br />
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<b>Chapter 21 "The Future of American Art"</b><br />
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Birge wraps up with an optimistic outlook for American art going forward. As in, this is OUR time now! He also muses about the possibilities of modern structures like steel mills and skyscrapers as subject matter for paintings.<br />
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<b>Summing up:</b><br />
This is a fantastic book, especially if you love American Landscape painting and Tonalist painters like Inness, etc. Birge's words really resonate with me and this book has a permanent place in my recommended reading list. I now want to get a hardbound earlier printing for my library. I wish someone would reprint this with color reproductions, but I also with that about John Carlson's book...<br />
Onward.<br />
I plan to re-read Carlson's landscape painting book as carefully as I did this. Also upcoming is Edgar Payne's <i>Composition of Outdoor Painting</i>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Inn at Cos Cob</i></span></div>
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-26662092907868837962018-09-11T18:15:00.001-07:002018-09-12T05:40:33.141-07:00A Master Copy<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">A copy of Arthur Hoeber's <i>Golden Twilight</i></span></b></div>
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A month or so ago, I wrapped up teaching a painting class titled <i>Landscape Painting in the Studio</i> at <a href="https://lillstreet.com/">Lillstreet Art Center</a> in Chicago. One of the final tasks I set before my students was to execute a master copy. I don't know if doing this sort of thing is somewhat out of date, but I have done a number over the years, and they have done me a lot of good. The effort of <i>very carefully</i> observing the original and then exercising your own technical abilities to render the same effects is a wonderful challenge with real rewards.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">My copy after Arthur Hoeber's <i>Golden Twilight</i></span></div>
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You get deep into aspects of painting such as:<br />
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<b>Palette / Colors</b><br />
You may go as far as researching what colors the artist used and replicating his or her palette, but I think assessing what colors you have that can mix the desired resultant hues is fine. You may find yourself getting only so far with 4 colors and realizing you need a 5th (as I did), but that's part of the learning. (I list my pallet below)<br />
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<b>Value</b><br />
Overall value structure is key. You can mix the right color, but it's essential to put the right value and value relationships down. More important, even.<br />
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<b>Composition</b><br />
I think looking at good work and allowing yourself to be influenced by it can help an artist absorb good compositional structures. What then could be better than making a copy of a work with strong composition?<br />
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<b>Brushwork / Edges</b><br />
How do you think the artist applied paint? How do areas of differing color and/or value transition to each other? All that good stuff.<br />
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I planned to do a copy along with my students, and brought along one of my favorite and most personally inspiring art books: David Cleveland's <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/History-American-Tonalism-Crucible-Modernism/dp/0988902222/">A History of American Tonalism</a></i>.<br />
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I thumbed through and somewhat randomly chose a painting by Arthur Hoeber (1854-1915) titled <i>Golden Twilight</i>. I just liked it, that's all. It's moody, with a kind of contre-jour effect of the light of the recently-set sun facing the viewer and giving the shadowy trees a warm halo. He wasn't an artist I was at all familiar with prior to choosing this image. I thought it best to work from the image in the book, as I figured it would be reasonably well color-corrected and it can be nice to get one's eyes off a lit screen. Also, a printed image in a book works in a reflective light model as does paint on a canvas (as opposed to transmissive light from a digital device's screen). It can help for comparisons to keep things within one realm.<br />
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<b>My Palette</b></div>
After looking the painting over, I figured I could mix the necessary colors with Yellow Ochre, Terra Rosa, Cobalt Blue, and Burnt Umber. (Later on, I added Indian Yellow.) Not sure what he used exactly, but I'll bet an umber would have been on his palette. I would say the one color I didn't quite nail was the green in the middle- and foreground.<br />
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<b>What did I learn?</b><br />
Most of his colors are quite neutralized. The blue in the sky - when I had gotten it mixed satisfactorily close to the original - looked just like a grey sitting on my pallete. The power of context when it's placed by the warm areas of the trees and the warmer clouds make all the difference, and heighten the apparent saturation of both.<br />
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The areas of greatest contrast are right along the horizon where the golden area of sky shines behind the dark tree trunks. Clearly, right where he wants you to look. Everywhere else is softer edges. The line of clouds in the sky and the water in the foreground all lead to the large tree left of center.<br />
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I think he may have done a warm, orange underpainting, or just had his canvas toned. I feel like it peeks through in some areas. I would of course, love to see the original. I think there's some thick impasto in the foreground grasses.<br />
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Here is an image of the original I found online. It differs from the one in the Cleveland book in a few ways. It has a less saturated green in the lower half and more extreme light values. I think the way it was lit for photographing exaggerates the surface texture. Possibly the photo online is before a cleaning and re-varnishing? (I tried to tweak this a little to better match the book version with some success.)<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Golden Twilight</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Arthur Hoeber c. 1895</span></div>
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In conclusion, master copies are good for you. Do one once in a while. That is all.<br />
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You can see some lovely Hoeber paintings here:<br />
http://www.artnet.com/artists/arthur-hoeber/<br />
<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-32104068738181831562018-05-01T20:37:00.000-07:002018-05-09T12:41:53.769-07:00Birge Harrison, part 3<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The quotable Birge.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Grand Central And The Biltmore In Hazy Twilight</i></span></div>
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I have taken notes from some of the passages from <i>Landscape Painting</i> that reveal how Mr. Harrison went about his painting, and his thoughts on art-making in general.<br />
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I find the below to be some of the most revealing.<br />
(These are all from chapters 3 & 4)<br />
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<b>On technique in the service of individualism:</b><br />
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"... one of the chief delights of the art of painting lies in the fact that each artist does, and of necessity must, invent his own technique; for his personal technique is an inalienable part of the personal vision which makes his art his own."<br />
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I take this to mean in practice that one should <i>learn</i> and try <i>many</i> techniques from the masters of the past and your teachers of the present. Some technique, or combination of techniques, is the way forward for <i>you</i> on <i>your</i> path to an individual creative style. The only way to find out <i>which</i> is to work and experiment. A lot.<br />
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<b>On vibration:</b><br />
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"The whole picture in all its exact values can and should be built up in this preliminary covering of the canvas, for the value of the overtone must in every case exactly match the value of the undertone."<br />
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"While we wish to secure broken color, we must avoid broken values, for they utterly destroy atmosphere."<br />
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" The undertone <u>must</u> be warmer than the overtone, and second it must never be brown; and this for the excellent reason that out-of-door nature abhors brown, and never uses it."<br />
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So... broken color was Birge's thing.<br />
There's more than one way to go about that. Birge's way was to lay down a warm underpainting of shapes and values, and then work on top of that with a cool color, not completely obscuring the undertone.<br />
He was after vibration through contrast of hue, not value.<br />
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His whole negative reaction to brown may stem from an over-use of it in the generations preceding him. Earlier artists - and many, if not most of them did not paint outside much - tended to lay down a brown underpainting and/or have brown shadows in their landscape paintings. Shadows outside tend to be cooler, blue or blue-grey, often reflecting some of the blue of the sky. And tree trunks and branches are more often grey, or grey-green than the commonly thought of brown. I myself would never say that there is <i>zero</i> brown out in nature, but there is not as much as people often think.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ncaxcnjdYQc/WuiafReRsgI/AAAAAAAACco/5ZCbX-7HWi863lFGBj3X_x6jbGACu7LmgCLcBGAs/s1600/Lowell_Birge_Harrison_Novembre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1477" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ncaxcnjdYQc/WuiafReRsgI/AAAAAAAACco/5ZCbX-7HWi863lFGBj3X_x6jbGACu7LmgCLcBGAs/s400/Lowell_Birge_Harrison_Novembre.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">November</span></i></div>
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<b>On Refraction:</b><br />
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(I take Mr. Harrison to mean "edges" when he says "refraction.")<br />
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"no picture in its extreme corners should be painted with quite the same vigor of technique or strength of color or of value as in its natural focal centre."<br />
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A pretty obvious concept, but a good one to keep in mind when painting <i>or</i> drawing.<br />
One can become obsessed with rendering detail and over-refining over the whole of an image, but end up doing so at the expense of clarity and focus.<br />
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-65643866994654056062018-04-01T21:44:00.000-07:002018-04-02T09:24:26.724-07:00Birge Harrison, part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETON33JlMn4/Wp9zvwTp0GI/AAAAAAAACWA/I7uPNk1FPnwOHKniRzpbRRL0mTXaBIKhwCLcBGAs/s1600/widescr_harrisonsoaringclouds_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETON33JlMn4/Wp9zvwTp0GI/AAAAAAAACWA/I7uPNk1FPnwOHKniRzpbRRL0mTXaBIKhwCLcBGAs/s1600/widescr_harrisonsoaringclouds_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETON33JlMn4/Wp9zvwTp0GI/AAAAAAAACWA/I7uPNk1FPnwOHKniRzpbRRL0mTXaBIKhwCLcBGAs/s1600/widescr_harrisonsoaringclouds_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="515" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ETON33JlMn4/Wp9zvwTp0GI/AAAAAAAACWA/I7uPNk1FPnwOHKniRzpbRRL0mTXaBIKhwCLcBGAs/s640/widescr_harrisonsoaringclouds_b.jpg" width="505" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Soaring Clouds</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back to Birge</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nD4wIxg5lZI/WpGbFRDujNI/AAAAAAAACUQ/0Ty8xXShMTUlqJb3qRNCpBTX8hI4kXaZgCLcBGAs/s1600/B%2BHarrison%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1262" data-original-width="1290" height="195" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nD4wIxg5lZI/WpGbFRDujNI/AAAAAAAACUQ/0Ty8xXShMTUlqJb3qRNCpBTX8hI4kXaZgCLcBGAs/s200/B%2BHarrison%2B2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lovell Birge Harrison</span></div>
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(I notice many sites have his first name as Lowell. It is actually Lovell, but many have mistakenly assumed the more common Lowell.)</div>
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His elder brother Alexander was also a <i>very</i> accomplished painter.<br />
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Alexander_Harrison">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Alexander_Harrison</a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vYbRRwxJGKU/WsGywlOTnkI/AAAAAAAACYE/iSk6vsIYxj0oV3V1OPCb19ABQJne_uwWgCLcBGAs/s1600/1891_5_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="1108" height="128" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vYbRRwxJGKU/WsGywlOTnkI/AAAAAAAACYE/iSk6vsIYxj0oV3V1OPCb19ABQJne_uwWgCLcBGAs/s400/1891_5_l.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Wave</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Alexander Harrison</span></div>
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They exhibited together at The Art Institute of Chicago in 1913.<br />
The catalog from that show can be seen/downloaded here:<br />
<a href="http://www.artic.edu/sites/default/files/libraries/pubs/1913/AIC1913A_BHarrison_comb.pdf">http://www.artic.edu/sites/default/files/libraries/pubs/1913/AIC1913A_BHarrison_comb.pdf</a><br />
What a show that would have been to see...<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oMbZOo_nqx0/Wp90OM_tvOI/AAAAAAAACWE/3MTbQadtNFkutH6O6R5xYtZHEF3NT_4ugCLcBGAs/s1600/Hidden%2BMoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oMbZOo_nqx0/Wp90OM_tvOI/AAAAAAAACWE/3MTbQadtNFkutH6O6R5xYtZHEF3NT_4ugCLcBGAs/s400/Hidden%2BMoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Hidden Moon</i></span></div>
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At one point in <i>Landscape Painting</i> Birge outlines the 4 distinct ways (as he saw it in 1909) to make an oil painting.<br />
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They are:<br />
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<b>1.</b> The classical approach of making a monochromatic underpainting and then glazing color on top, as Renaissance painters did.<br />
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<b>2.</b> Laying unbroken color in "smooth flat masses" as a house painter does<br />
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<b>3.</b> Painting dabs of differing colors like an Impressionist. The "spot and dash method," as Birge calls it.<br />
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<b>4.</b> Doing what Birge himself advocates (and presumably other Tonalists did?) and painting cool colors on top of a still-wet warm underpainting. "Care being taken not to mix or blend the two coats and not to cover up completely the undertone, rather letting it show through brokenly all over the canvas...." The visual interaction of the cool and warm giving the painting "vibration."<br />
I plan to try this method. It seems to me that it might be tricky to do as he says and not inadvertently mix or blend the warm and cool.<br />
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I think this detail are from <i>Fifth Avenue at Twilight</i> shows the kind of vibration he went after in his work. The turquoise and violet in the distant building contrast and vibrate with their differing hues, but their values are very similar:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xoaf9Rzz070/WsG0GxzwNrI/AAAAAAAACYQ/eMq50m0qHYcAV59slQuFpF5-yNyrZEXAQCLcBGAs/s1600/Fifth%2BAvenue%2Bat%2BTwilight%2Bca.%2B1910_detail2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="316" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xoaf9Rzz070/WsG0GxzwNrI/AAAAAAAACYQ/eMq50m0qHYcAV59slQuFpF5-yNyrZEXAQCLcBGAs/s400/Fifth%2BAvenue%2Bat%2BTwilight%2Bca.%2B1910_detail2.jpg" width="378" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Fifth Avenue at Twilight</i> (detail)</span></div>
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More to come....</div>
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-48769357008116736492018-02-22T21:05:00.000-08:002018-02-22T21:05:06.119-08:00Birge Harrison, part 1<div style="text-align: center;">
Sometimes it can really pay to go back and reread something.</div>
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In my case, Birge Harrison's 1910 book <i>Landscape Painting</i>.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9xtVwJfKc4g/Wo-b9ZfimuI/AAAAAAAACTQ/VnTO1p0rYcsB59akDC3G_SnAZwZI6mReQCLcBGAs/s1600/Fifth%2BAvenue%2Bat%2BTwilight%2Bca.%2B1910.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="648" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9xtVwJfKc4g/Wo-b9ZfimuI/AAAAAAAACTQ/VnTO1p0rYcsB59akDC3G_SnAZwZI6mReQCLcBGAs/s640/Fifth%2BAvenue%2Bat%2BTwilight%2Bca.%2B1910.jpeg" width="489" /></a></div>
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<b>Fifth Avenue at Twilight, ca. 1910</b></div>
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Detroit Institute of Arts</div>
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One of his most (rightly) famous works and <i>they do not have it on display!</i></div>
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I got it a while back and read it. Liked it, but wasn't particularly bowled over. A recent Facebook mention of it got me to start rereading it, and I'm <i>very</i> glad I did.<br />
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Having made a certain number of paintings, and logged many more miles of brushwork in the interim, his concepts now really resonate with me.<br />
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Oh, and his work? Amazingly beautiful. Gorgeous. Rich with atmosphere. I long to see one of his paintings in person.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A_RRwgihfXo/Wo-cimSyazI/AAAAAAAACTY/V2RrgRzw6EgdrOVfsYXW3npSWcuWlyTmQCLcBGAs/s1600/%2527Sunburst_at_Sea%2527_by_Lovell_Birge_Harrison%252C_pastel_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="600" height="370" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A_RRwgihfXo/Wo-cimSyazI/AAAAAAAACTY/V2RrgRzw6EgdrOVfsYXW3npSWcuWlyTmQCLcBGAs/s400/%2527Sunburst_at_Sea%2527_by_Lovell_Birge_Harrison%252C_pastel_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Sunburst at Sea</b></div>
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I made this post a "part 1" as I have not read through the whole thing again and yet feel I have enough for a worthwhile post. There will be a part 2 and maybe more...<br />
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Here are some of his points that really clicked with me:<br />
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<b>on Art:</b><br />
"...this is the test of the highest form of art - that it should stimulate the imagination and suggest more than it expresses."<br />
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<b>on Values:</b><br />
"the best we can do is to translate the infinite value scale of nature into our sadly finite scale of pigments, and endeavor' by most careful balance, to adjust our means to our ends."<br />
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"...the most important thing to consider is the value-<i>key</i> of our picture. Assuming the whole scale of values from the deepest black to the purest white to be represented by the number 100, the question arises as to what proportion of this number we shall use in the particular work which we are proposing to execute.. In this matter the golden rule is <i>reserve</i>. We lose rather than gain in power by forcing the note, and a picture in which the whole scale from black to white should be employed would be absolutely without atmosphere, and without charm."<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WfcBK7Ff20U/Wo-fbr-qzfI/AAAAAAAACTw/0YjNhuGmyf4F34h_wFGBmqugu7qFXUg1ACLcBGAs/s1600/Sunrise%2Bfrom%2BQuebec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="960" height="347" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WfcBK7Ff20U/Wo-fbr-qzfI/AAAAAAAACTw/0YjNhuGmyf4F34h_wFGBmqugu7qFXUg1ACLcBGAs/s400/Sunrise%2Bfrom%2BQuebec.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Sunrise from Quebec</b></div>
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sold at auction in 2016 for $26,000</div>
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For me, his paintings really seem to make color (and value) <i>count</i> by his using <i>less</i> of it.</div>
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You can purchase a reprint of Harrison's book combined with A. Durand's in one volume for $15<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Landscape-Painting-Asher-B-Durand/dp/0980045452/">buy from Amazon</a><br />
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-38903436075913232502017-12-06T08:55:00.000-08:002017-12-06T08:59:42.601-08:00"White Ink"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>My understanding is that white ink isn't really a true ink, as inks are always transparent and so white ink must have something added to it to make it opaque. Like acrylic binder.</i></div>
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<i>With that out of the way:</i></div>
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I add light values to pen & ink drawings in a number of ways: colored pencil, gouache with a brush, and lately I have been trying some white gel pens.</div>
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I want a white I can use with a dip pen and brush, and so have been hunting for something that clicks with me. (Gouache out of a tube won't work well with a dip pen nib.)</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e1jNqJHwS5Q/Wid8mkPWhkI/AAAAAAAACK0/TbIBIvEYuyo4aqXnXMcKd0j-aGzYFIihgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5057_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1600" height="296" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e1jNqJHwS5Q/Wid8mkPWhkI/AAAAAAAACK0/TbIBIvEYuyo4aqXnXMcKd0j-aGzYFIihgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_5057_a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The top "clouds" were applied with a No. 2 Robert Simmons Expression synthetic round brush.</div>
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The linear marks were made with one of my all-time favorite and most-used nibs, an Esterbrook 988:</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mxHRMfeuPrQ/Wid66qVCgWI/AAAAAAAACKo/rdAzP1OWrP0TGJhk0dpjJNymMsjxDLeQQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5060_crp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1038" height="192" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mxHRMfeuPrQ/Wid66qVCgWI/AAAAAAAACKo/rdAzP1OWrP0TGJhk0dpjJNymMsjxDLeQQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_5060_crp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Esterbrook 988 in a Koh-I-Noor holder.</span></div>
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My conclusion?</div>
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They all felt serviceable with brush and dip pen. I could make do with any of them if I had to. I think the Daler-Rowney flowed the best in the dip pen, And the cloud it produced has the most subtleties.</div>
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This drawing shows the effect of a dip pen putting in the light value lines:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59mWyWIyYAM/Wigedfx-GGI/AAAAAAAACLo/EkU3MZG0YmgQRnoHymVoXu66vKy5YfueQCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2BOld%2BLioness_2_smlcrp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="831" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59mWyWIyYAM/Wigedfx-GGI/AAAAAAAACLo/EkU3MZG0YmgQRnoHymVoXu66vKy5YfueQCLcBGAs/s320/The%2BOld%2BLioness_2_smlcrp2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
(I think the dark lines were a fine line marker)</div>
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John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-62660290625867907002017-10-18T21:15:00.001-07:002017-11-02T11:22:44.836-07:00Decoding Pigment Codes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_S7pp656VQ0/WeQ0yhJzKtI/AAAAAAAACDw/0WZcz0ZW4to5g4F4mgSh1mUL8XcALGoAACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4848_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1260" height="304" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_S7pp656VQ0/WeQ0yhJzKtI/AAAAAAAACDw/0WZcz0ZW4to5g4F4mgSh1mUL8XcALGoAACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_4848_sml.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">limited palette painting demo in chromium oxide green and pyrrole red</span></div>
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In the process of working on materials for my limited palette workshop at Evanston Art Center, I came across a number of interesting things in the world of colors and pigments and oil paints.<br />
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Now, I always assumed that a paint's pigment code (such as PB29 for Ultramarine Blue) was absolute. Not so much, really. It is pretty specific yes, but 2 paints from 2 different manufacturers can vary quite a bit even if they have the same pigment code. Also, 2 different-looking paint colors can be made from the same pigment, by varying the grind and including additives.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CR_60jLwnZY/WegmG9zRbgI/AAAAAAAACEY/x_KO2gz7QzUosyzEZJT8CLWCEt1So_e0QCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4923_tng.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="924" height="192" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CR_60jLwnZY/WegmG9zRbgI/AAAAAAAACEY/x_KO2gz7QzUosyzEZJT8CLWCEt1So_e0QCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_4923_tng.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This whole labyrinth came to my attention when I realized that Cadmium Lemon and Cadmium Yellow Deep oil paints (both from Williamsburg) are each composed solely of PY35 pigment. Now, Cad Lemon is a lighter, cooler yellow and Cad Yellow Deep is more like an orangey yellow and darker in value. Pretty different while both obviously still being "yellow." How can they both be the same pigment? I emailed both Williamsburg and Gamblin these sort of questions and got helpful responses from both.<br />
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From Scott Bennett at Williamsburg/Golden:<br />
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<i>"There are many examples of paint colors that have the same pigment ID number but exhibit different colors. Iron Oxides in general have a wide variety of colors due to little tweaks in trace elements and pigment size. Phthalo Blues and Quinacridone Reds can have the same number but with a color and a sub number indicating a variation. How the pigment is ground during paint making will change the color. PR 108,..the various Cadmium Reds, is similar but the differences have to do with the addition of selenium.</i><br />
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<i>Differing hues of Cadmium reds, orange and yellow are made by increasing the percentage of selenium, zinc or sulfur during one stage of production. The range of cadmium pigments, yellow, orange, red are basically cadmium yellow (cadmium sulfide) with some selenium added in place of sulfur (cadmium selenide). Therefore cadmium sulfide can be made in various shades ranging from yellow, orange to red. Mineral pigment produced from cadmium sulphide when heated with selenium becomes red.</i><br />
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<i>So it is not just one variable but a range of variables depending on the pigment. And the same pigment in different binders can look very different."</i><br />
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Another thing I found is that in researching colors, you really have to go to the manufacturer's site's to get accurate information on pigment content. It can seem handy to just look on the Blick site (or some other retailer), but they tend to just assume pigment content based on the name and I have found numerous errors.<br />
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Below, see Blick's pigment info on the left, and Michael Harding's on the R:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uVMAnzMLqF0/WeQyVpy2JpI/AAAAAAAACDk/1BaxKiMOJ2I2f7VGnz6qE2Be7RA_Zn6-QCLcBGAs/s1600/pigments1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1159" height="250" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uVMAnzMLqF0/WeQyVpy2JpI/AAAAAAAACDk/1BaxKiMOJ2I2f7VGnz6qE2Be7RA_Zn6-QCLcBGAs/s400/pigments1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you want to read info on specific pigments read up on:<br />
<a href="http://www.artiscreation.com/Color_index_names.html">The Color of Art Pigment Database</a><br />
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-2437537399915764602017-10-13T12:33:00.002-07:002017-10-19T12:04:17.287-07:00Two-color Painting Explorations | Confounding Expectations pt. 1I recently taught a workshop called "Limited Palette Painting" at Evanston Art Center. Teaching a class (my first time) was a wonderful experience and I hope to do it again soon.<br />
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The goal of the class was trying to concern ourselves with pigment and paint in a deeper way by pushing a small number of colors to do as much as possible.<br />
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To work along with my students, I did a painting and mixing grid for Burnt Umber (Blick) and Indian Yellow (Liquitex Heavy Body) acrylic paint. Working somewhat backwards (it's more ideal to do the mixing grid first), I first made a painting (using a black & white photograph for reference) using just these 2-colors:<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xTkLZFsivqY/WeBC1mgxbgI/AAAAAAAACCU/y7Rl2ESU8msFBkGWFvZzu9mztZoeesX7wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4840_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="783" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xTkLZFsivqY/WeBC1mgxbgI/AAAAAAAACCU/y7Rl2ESU8msFBkGWFvZzu9mztZoeesX7wCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_4840_sml.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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I was rather surprised to find green tones appearing, especially in the upper right. (BTW, I tweaked the photos to look as they do in real life as much as possible. Some subtleties and colors will inevitably be off.)</div>
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I wasn't expecting any greens from 2 warm colors like these. Possibly if I had used raw umber (a cooler color), then maybe yes.</div>
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So to prove that I wasn't seeing things, I then made a matrix of possible mixtures of burnt umber and indian yellow and tinted them:</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q3EgmRyNuV8/WeERIPf-ejI/AAAAAAAACC8/vhAoeJEwSH4GxvDSOvbCjPWbzL9HA6HoACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4843_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1171" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q3EgmRyNuV8/WeERIPf-ejI/AAAAAAAACC8/vhAoeJEwSH4GxvDSOvbCjPWbzL9HA6HoACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_4843_sml.jpg" width="312" /></a></div>
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If you look at the center square and some of the ones around it, sure enough, it appears greenish.</div>
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And because I had originally started using Indian Yellow in oils, I made this comparison between the 2 versions of Indian Yellow I own in oil and acrylic:</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VVCpF0-gpTM/WeBFwiyChzI/AAAAAAAACCg/mwD-vwXqcWwkfCXBBcvzgQXi8n8ArsopACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="513" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VVCpF0-gpTM/WeBFwiyChzI/AAAAAAAACCg/mwD-vwXqcWwkfCXBBcvzgQXi8n8ArsopACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_4844.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
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It may be hard to see here, but in person, the Williamsburg oil version (left column) maintains a richer color as it gets tinted. Out of the tube it is more orangey and Liquitex is more like yellow ochre.</div>
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The real point here is not so much <i>why</i> unexpected results can occur with pigments, but that you <i>should explore and get to know</i> what your pigments can do!</div>
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Pigment codes only tell part of the story, but it is important to be aware of them.</div>
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The acrylic colors I used were:</div>
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<b>Blick Raw Umber PBr7</b></div>
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<b>Liquitex Indian Yellow PY139</b></div>
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And my oil versions:</div>
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<b>Williamsburg Burnt Umber PBr7</b></div>
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<b>Williamsburg Indian Yellow PY83 (Diarylide Yellow)</b></div>
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Given that the Williamsburg Indian Yellow uses a different pigment, you would expect a slightly different result. (BTW, originally Indian Yellow supposedly came from feeding cows a diet of nothing but mango leaves and then collecting and drying their urine to get the pigment.)</div>
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Well, at least Burnt Umber is consistent. Or is it? I also have a tube of Michael Harding Burnt Umber which I haven't used yet, and it lists the pigment as PBr6. I would think that a common earth tone like that would be consistent.</div>
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Be aware.</div>
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-74569408230413496292017-01-15T21:52:00.001-08:002017-01-17T08:53:03.668-08:00Limited palette & a swatch exerciseLately I have been thinking a lot about painting with a limited palette, and the value of doing mixing exercises and making swatch sheets. Also, I have wanted to expand this blog from entries soley focusing on showing my own work, and more into musings on things I have learned as an artist (or are currently coming to grips with). This entry will get those balls rolling, so to speak.<br />
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Using an Amazon gift card I got for my birthday, I got <a href="http://aristidesarts.com/">Juliette Aristides'</a> latest book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Classical-Painting-Essential-Techniques/dp/1607747898">Lessons in Classical Painting</a></i>. It is really well done with a lot of practical information (I have spent time with her other books and they are all worth a look). It's one of those books that I wish had been around when I started painting.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rf9zebdPHg/WHxY0KaKGUI/AAAAAAAABy0/EeoEIew3EKgRuvh-UdCUFu1E25DP6J5lQCLcB/s1600/licp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rf9zebdPHg/WHxY0KaKGUI/AAAAAAAABy0/EeoEIew3EKgRuvh-UdCUFu1E25DP6J5lQCLcB/s320/licp.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
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On page 115, she shows a sample exercise of mixing a grid of 2 colors (a warm and a cool) into each other to create a neutral, and then tinting the results. I have been working on a few paintings lately using transparent iron oxide red and prussian blue, so I decided to try it with those 2 colors.</div>
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Upper left below you see out-of-the-tube transparent iron oxide red and upper right you see prussian blue in the same state. Along the top row are the results of mixing them together, with the top middle square being as close to a neutral as I could get. Moving down are each of those mixes with progressively more and more white added to them.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I did the 5x5 grid (the book also shows a 9x9 one) on a piece of canvas paper.</span></div>
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There's a lot to be learned by doing this. When mixing, right away you get a feel for the tinting strengths and transparencies of the 2 colors. Not surprisingly, iron oxide red was more transparent and has far less tinting power than prussian blue. You also learn of the possibilities available with just these 2 colors. For example, there is possible a nice neutral very much like raw umber there right down the middle. Not really good greens for foliage, but the 2nd from the right column shows some blue-greens kind of like a slightly neutralized viridian green. This combo could certainly make some nice flesh colors and browns.</div>
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Obviously, one misses a true yellow but the variety possible with just 2 colors (the "right" 2 colors) can be pretty impressive.</div>
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I have the idea to next try a 3 color matrix with the 3 colors radiating out from a center neutral area. Stay tuned.</div>
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-77650304786254593092016-12-04T15:16:00.002-08:002016-12-04T15:17:14.875-08:00Middlefork Savanna plein air painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YE_9gtCfi_A/WESi_axoqGI/AAAAAAAABw4/05cXCHVlAPokQ_5EVb3_ZdnrM3HjvqSGwCLcB/s1600/middlefork_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YE_9gtCfi_A/WESi_axoqGI/AAAAAAAABw4/05cXCHVlAPokQ_5EVb3_ZdnrM3HjvqSGwCLcB/s400/middlefork_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">16" x 16"</span></div>
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I did a good amount of plein air painting once my kids started school this year. This was one of the first ones, but needed that extra 10% of tweaking at home to be called "finished."</div>
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Middlefork Savanna in Lake Forest is a beautiful place, and I plan to do more painting there.</div>
John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-86616033031872469272016-11-08T08:19:00.004-08:002016-11-08T08:20:57.360-08:00More Plein Air acrylic efforts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I have been getting out at least once a week for some painting this fall.</div>
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These 2 are both acrylic works, the top one from Skokie Lagoons and the bottom from Emily Oaks Nature Center.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REcIZ48e4Hk/WCH6Y-UgFxI/AAAAAAAABvg/V298XmgnkckkmxPnaXgmejZ-ci8FvB1DwCLcB/s1600/IMG_3138_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REcIZ48e4Hk/WCH6Y-UgFxI/AAAAAAAABvg/V298XmgnkckkmxPnaXgmejZ-ci8FvB1DwCLcB/s320/IMG_3138_sml.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">acrylic on 9" x 12" board</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">acrylic on 10" x 10" board</span></div>
<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-20173013715987143122016-10-11T11:59:00.001-07:002016-10-11T11:59:06.338-07:002 Plein Air acrylic paintings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A1ASXzME8Fc/V_02JJyGBWI/AAAAAAAABt4/LjvnKQSAd-0s0ZgrlXgeXtngi73Sjwp8wCLcB/s1600/SkoLag_09.27.2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A1ASXzME8Fc/V_02JJyGBWI/AAAAAAAABt4/LjvnKQSAd-0s0ZgrlXgeXtngi73Sjwp8wCLcB/s400/SkoLag_09.27.2016.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have been trying acrylic paint for plein air work lately. (I briefly used acrylics when I started painting 4-5 years ago, but quickly moved to oils.) The advantage for plein air work is the quick drying time means you can go over an area without worry about disturbing the pervious layer and getting inadvertent mixes. I think my recent work with gouache has prepped me for acrylics, as they are similar (gouache= matte finish, acrylics=glossy finish)</div>
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(These are both 9x12 on MDF board)</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gs-nGYz2Otc/V_02TLHEmSI/AAAAAAAABt8/iBVwaX9TOWE8navemRzPtaFvXT3JDI2TQCLcB/s1600/IMG_2935_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gs-nGYz2Otc/V_02TLHEmSI/AAAAAAAABt8/iBVwaX9TOWE8navemRzPtaFvXT3JDI2TQCLcB/s400/IMG_2935_sml.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-73279745550729162992016-08-17T22:03:00.002-07:002016-08-17T22:04:36.028-07:00Final 2 from Oregon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I posted one drawing from our Oregon trip in June.</div>
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Here are 2 more:</div>
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Walking up the hill ("mountain" to us flatlanders) my sister lives on to draw/paint, I found this dead animal head in the road. Who could resist?</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">markers and gouache</span></div>
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Heceta Head</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">pencil on toned paper</span></div>
<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-48109738071142772912016-07-29T22:09:00.003-07:002016-07-29T22:13:00.742-07:00Ohio River, Kentucky Shore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">oil on illustration board</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">7" x 2 1/4"</span></div>
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I try to make use of everything in terms of art materials, and have scraps of all kinds of surfaces around. This very small remnant of illustration board was used to paint from a photo I took of the Ohio River Kentucky shore across from Cave-In-Rock, Illinois.</div>
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630759997562095683.post-21761977253983520472016-06-09T21:47:00.003-07:002016-06-09T21:47:22.356-07:00Lincoln Park Zoo visit<div style="text-align: center;">
I went to Lincoln Park Zoo recently to sketch. (Color on some of these was added at home.)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(various combinations of pencil, ink, watercolor and gouache.)</span></div>
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Stork standing over the nest</div>
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Kenya Crested Guineafowl</div>
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<br />John Fleckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15541386500334276297noreply@blogger.com0