Renoir Copy

Renoir Copy (Detail)

7x5in oil on canvas board  $90.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) painted Madame Georges Charpentier and her Children in 1878.It is at the Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.
 My detail can be seen on the top right of this large painting. I can remember looking at the painting and being totally drawn to the still life portion...and the dog. As the painting is about 5' tall and over 6' wide, that dog is pretty close to being life sized.
When he painted this piece Renoir was at the stage of dissolved outlines, so this may look pretty fuzzy to you, but it holds a lot of appeal for me. I am pretty sure he must have used a round brush as it was the only way I could capture some of those nuances of light and shadow. His color was beautifully luminous and his brushwork, skillfully varied. Renoir painted quite a few roses but this one attracted me as it is different from the previous techniques I have copied.
Renoir spent the last twenty years in a wheelchair, crippled by his arthritis. This required him to develop new painting methods, which he did successfully, but he did require an assistant to place the brush in his hand each day. Amazing...the artistic drive.

On the Way to Socorro, NM

On the Way to Socorro, NM

Yesterday I joined a couple of artist friends to travel to Socorro for the final day of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, PAPNM. We left at dawn for the two hour drive so we could arrive for the beginning of the "Fast Draw."
I have devised a system to paint with oils in the car so I was able enjoy trying to capture the bright, early light of the desert with a palette knife. The bumps from the road make for an interesting blob here but with a knife it is easy to either remove the offending mark or use it to advantage.
The drive is truly beautiful and I am always surprised when I hear people complain that there is nothing to see. The long stretch of I-25, shown here, is full of the arroyos filled with sand created by the rain water draining down from the  distant mountains (hills...all depends where you are from!) The desert grass and bushes are abundant at this time of year (after our rainy season) and some have small golden flowers on them.
We enjoyed watching the artists paint, followed by an exhibition of the week long painting event that was high caliber. It was completely satisfying for our artist's souls. We also managed to get an hour of painting time in for ourselves and we came back to Las Cruces in a contented mood.

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Manet Copy

Manet Copy

8x6in oil on canvas board  $100.

This rose study (detail) by Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was completed in 1882, one year before he died. Like the previous two artists, Sargent and Sorolla, Manet studied the work of Velasquez and the similarities of the brushwork are apparent in all the early works. 
I picked this piece to copy simply for the reason of the close up view of the roses. It is easy to get a magnifying glass to study the strokes and edges. Unlike the previous pieces I copied I found I was not enamored with this piece. There was an awkward aspect I could not understand so I did some research only to find out how very ill he was when he painted it. I am full of admiration for the spirit within him to continue to paint under what must have been painful circumstances.
Less than a year later his leg was amputated and he died 10 days later. He is buried in the cemetery at Passy, France.
Several artists held the flag which covered his coffin. Monet was one of them.

Sorolla Copy

Sorolla Copy

8x6in oil on canvas board  $100.

White Roses from the (Artists) Garden. Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923)
A Spanish artist who enjoyed success in his own lifetime. He was a contemporary of John Singer Sargent and was influenced for a period of time by Sargent's portrait work. As they were both influenced by Velasquez  it would be normal to have a period of similarity. There is a marvelous book Sargent & Sorolla which I wish I could afford. sigh...
I have seen a copy and the reproductions look spot on.

I chose to copy this piece immediately after the Sargent one because of the totally different approaches to the same subject matter - roses. Well, at least I thought they were different until I copied them and found the only difference was in the paint application and colors of the backgrounds. Both artists used very slight and gradual value changes with the white roses. Edges were soften with a transitional value and the paint quality appears to have a similar, buttery consistency. No impasto. Both used warm and cool colors although if you look at the wonderful shadow on the right side of this painting you will see Sorolla used a warm light which casts a cool shadow and in Sargent's roses from yesterday, the reverse is true.

Sorolla became hailed for revealing joy, light, sunshine and life in his canvases. I love his work.

Copy of Sargent's Roses

Sargent Copy  (Roses, 1886)

6x8in oil on canvas board  100.

John Singer Sargent is so popular today it is hard for me to come to terms with my art school teachers who put him down as a mere illustrator with flashy brushwork!
Born 1856 in Italy to American parents, he hardly ever lived in this country though some of his finest paintings are located here. When I was doing the research I found that he did several paintings which included roses during the 1885-86 period of time. The most famous of course is
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. Tate Museum, England.
I have found a lot of artists have also been influenced by his painting Roses and Chair painted during the same time. (The one I copied this painting from is next to the image.)
For my actual learning experience I needed something substantial I could get up close to examine so I chose Roses.
The painting is sublime and I wish I could see it, but it is in a private collection.

10 Minute Challenge

10 Minute Challenge

8x6in oil on canvas board  nfs

The Daily Paintworks group I belong to has Carol Marine's 10 Minute Challenge, this week.
Since I have been painting a series of roses I thought it would be easy and fun to participate by painting one. Well, it was fun at least, but easy?  Nope.
 The Challenge is open to everyone who wants to participate. All the Challenges are stimulating because they push you out of your comfort zone. For this one ( very abbreviated) you set a timer for 10 mins to do each square. The last one you paint should be better than the first one.
If you cheat and keep on working on it (the temptation is strong) you are depriving yourself out of a wonderful learning experience. I didn't get to finish the backgrounds on my first two squares and because the rose was opening up under the hot light, the last one was fuller, but it is the most complete one so I feel the system works.
 I really wanted to go back and fix up everything, but am giving myself a gold star for staying true to the rules.

Roses with a Touch of China

Roses with a Touch of China

8x6in oil on canvas board  100.

This was a demo I did in class today. My friend Pam came for a visit and brought me a bunch of roses...she follows my blog!
First I showed everyone how Qiang starts his paintings. After the demo everyone got a rose to paint and there were some very lovely results.
This is a low key painting.

Thayer Copy

Thayer Copy (detail)

6x6in  oil on canvas   85.

Roses by Abbott Handerson Thayer is one of my favorite flower paintings.
It is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in D.C. The surface texture is quite wonderful with layers peeping through both thick and thin paint. Thayer had a remarkable ability to describe the essentials of a rose with loose strokes and perfect values.
Thayer is known for painting beautiful, idealized women. Angel is one of the most famous of his pieces. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but the way he painted it is fabulous.
He had a very contemporary way of handling the paint.There is a story that he once used a broom, not brush, on a wet painting to make it less rigid. He also experimented with additives to his paint...like adding soil for a landscape painting.
His theories about nature's use of concealing coloration (to protect the Animal Kingdom) are worth reading.

Good Book!

Good Book!

8x8in oil on canvas board  125.

The Plein Air Painters of Southern New Mexico (PAPSNM) were invited to the Mesilla Bosque yesterday morning to join a varied group of exhibitions. I was painting the wonderful adobe buildings when I saw this gentleman who was fully engrossed in his book. It was fun doing this quick study and afterwards I managed to get a couple of different women in at the back of him. Everyone is moving in a situation like this so I think it is an excellent memory exercise.
I remember at art school we had a course where we had to study the model in one room and then go and paint from our memory in another room.
As you can imagine - this was a complete break from the roses and very brave of me to show you something not quite up to par.

Rose Study #6

Rose Study #6

6x6in oil on canvas board  85.

One of the things Qiang Huang taught us was to try and and use value conservation - as few different values as possible. Dark, medium and light. I thought I would try it with this study. Using white roses helped. Another was to use value as a design tool and you can see I used the white roses, linking them at an angle across the canvas.
I think this is my final study of roses. I can see that I am starting to get familiar with the shape of a rose.  I am going to paint a larger piece and see if I can remember the many things  Qiang taught us in the workshop.

Rose Study #5

Rose Study #5

8x6  oil on canvas board  100.

Painting white roses is all about the values of the shadow areas. My brain tells me white is very light but the principle of white in the shadow being very close to the same value as black in the light, really does remind me what to look for. For some reason this can be very hard to grasp. In my case I would toss a white and black cube on the ground in front of me when I went plein air painting so I could see how light black went in the light and how dark white became in the shade. Then lo and behold, Miss Perseverance here, finally 'got it.'
Someone asked me what I meant by 'juicy paint.' in Rose Study #3.
It is when the paint consistency is creamy not stiff or runny. The brush becomes a little shovel to scoop it up and then it is laid on the canvas with a nice loose and sometimes, swift motion. This places enough paint on the canvas to be manipulated for soft edges or blend a value with a little zigzag motion.

Rose Study #4

Rose Study #4

6x8in oil on canvas board   $100.

Roses...roses...I am going to be dreaming roses!
It mercifully only took one attempt at painting a rose today. I am getting better at remembering to only use one brush stroke then go back for more paint. I used the same brushes as yesterday and managed to stop piddling around so much. I used a cooler gray in the shadows to emphasize the color of the rose.
It occurred to me that the leaves need the same amount of attention as the rose and I remember Qiang Huang working on his leaf paintings. He would do beautiful little studies which would make my jaw drop and then I would read his blog where he would say he still needed to learn by doing some more. What a humble man and how encouraging to know someone of his ability keeps working at something to improve.
Here is a little beauty showing Qiang's  rose leaves. Scroll down until you reach June 8th. There are several other leaf paintings for you to enjoy as you scroll.

Rose Study #3

Rose Study #3

7x5in oil on canvas board  $90.

Today I was concentrating only on the brush strokes. Qiang usually does one beautiful stroke and then goes back to his palette to pick up more paint. I am at the stage where it should be easier but it isn't. This is actually the sixth rose I have done. I tried to paint a white rose this morning and I made the mistake of going over parts I had already done - a common mistake - and it lost the glow. Paint quality is very  important and I am trying to break this habit.
I used a number 8 (flat) bristle and a 1/2 inch (bright) synthetic and tried to do single, straight strokes with juicy paint. I found I was using the side of the brushes to do the smaller areas and was full of admiration for Qiang and his skill with large brushes.  At the end I did some swift edge work. Qiang breaks up some edges with quick flicks using a soft brush. His skill is knowing where to do this and I will have to learn by trial and error. What fun!

Rose Study #2

Rose Study #2

8x6in  oil on canvas board  100.

I have actually done three rose studies today and only this one survived. I found I was gradually going into my comfort zone and not keeping to the principles Qiang (Chong) stressed.
Today I kept forgetting to have only one point of interest (focal point). This area has to have the sharpest edge and value contrast - all other areas have to be subservient to it. My focal area is the larger rose with the lower, inside center petal having the sharpest edge. There are other sharp edges but the value of what colors are placed next to them softens the contrast. On my computer the dark areas around the leaves appear a little darker than what they are in the painting and this is good for me to see. If they were that dark it would mean I would have to soften the edges more, especially the one over the main rose.
Tomorrow the focus will be on brushwork.

Rose Study #1

Rose Study #1

 6x8 oil on canvas board  $85.

I did this painting before I left Albuquerque to return home after the Qiang workshop. The rose was in a tiny water bottle and I loved the quirky juxtaposition of the soft beauty of a rose next to a commercial, plastic container.
I will be doing a series of the rose studies so I can incorporate what I learned from Qiang Huang while it is fresh in my mind.

Qiang Huang's Workshop, Day Three

Day Three

8x6in  oil on canvas board - not for sale

This is another high key painting. I feel this painting captures more of what Qiang was teaching us both in brush use, paint application and theory.
The last day was very full. Qiang gave another amazing demonstration ( by popular request) and also went through a very informative session on the business side of blogging. The information packet he provided was full of step by step information which he emphasizes by using a powerpoint system. Great stuff and easy to follow.
So... you get a wonderful, generous man who is a gifted teacher as well as an amazingly talented painter. You also have the added bonus of Qiang attracting serious artists of all levels (this one was filled with high caliber painters) which makes a very stimulating environment.
I highly recommend his workshops.

Qiang Huang's Workshop, Day Two.

Workshop - Day Two

6x6in  oil on canvas board -  not for sale

Qiang did another fabulous demo in the morning, this time it was on 'high key' painting.
He told us it would be harder to do than the low key painting and I found out he was quite correct. A Low Key painting has dominant dark areas... and they hold a painting together. A 'High Key' painting  means dominant light, so with a high key painting you have to design with color. As you probably know, light washes out color so that means your middle tone and shadow will be where the color is. I found that difficult to do. This is the painting I did and because I found it so difficult I will try another one today hoping to avoid the mistakes I made.
Check out Qiang's High Key demo here to see his beautiful color.

Taking Qiang Huang's Workshop

Qiang Huang Workshop

8x10in oil on canvas  

I am in Albuquerque for the Qiang Huang workshop. Last year I hosted the workshop for Qiang in Las Cruces and this year I am co-hosting it here with a wonderful artist and friend, Peggy Jones.
She provides the brains - reservations etc, and I provide the brawn - setting up the 16 still life stations and crawling under tables getting light cords to them all.

This morning Qiang explained his personal philosophy and generously credited his influences/mentors. He then proceeded to blow us all away with a fabulous demonstration. I recommend you go to his blog
to see the demo he did.
In the afternoon we all painted from our own set-ups. Mine is above and not quite finished.
Qiang came around as we were setting up, advising each of us and, in my case, he asked what the focal point would be and suggested the lightest apple be moved to that area. During his demo he had carefully shown us how to gradually move the values towards the light(est) area which is the focal point. He paints the LIGHT!
He made several excellent suggestions each time he came around. Qiang is a marvelous teacher and takes time with every student. I am one happy camper. I love to learn. Tomorrow we do 'a high key' painting.

Chardin Copy

Chardin Copy

6x6in  oil on canvas board   $85.

Detail: The Silver Goblet 1768


Jean-Baptiste Chardin was born in Paris and lived there his whole life.
He is acknowledged as one of the greatest Still Life painters in the History of Art.
Chardin found beauty in everyday objects and had an amazing ability with the single human figure. Placing them in silent, motionless yet profoundly human environments.
I was fortunate enough to see his exhibition, Chardin in 2000. There was a painting which brought me to tears. Glass of Water and Coffee Pot. Very simple and perfect.
The reason his work has stood the test of time with contemporary artists is because his work is perfectly crafted with the abstract of: shape, color, value texture and composition.  Chardin simplifies. Shadow and empty space are important. Colors abandon mimicry and move in close harmony.
His influence can clearly seen on todays artists.

Chardin said, 'He who has not felt the difficulties of his art does nothing that counts.'
Bless him - that makes me feel better!

Another one of his quotes I like:
'One makes use of pigments, but one paints with ones feelings.'

Bonnard Copy

Bonnard Copy

6x6in  oil on canvas board   $85.

Detail: Table in Front of Window 1934-5

What a difference to go from the previous painting by Zubaran to this one by Pierre Bonnard.
I actually had started this one earlier and had to wait for the first layer to dry because Bonnard's method was to paint on top of paint (layers) and I wished to see what I could learn from this method. He worked in a loose painterly manner without three dimensional modeling and conventional perspective. How freeing! His beautiful use of color is pure eye candy.

Bonnard was a member of group called Les Nabis (prophets) and they believed that color should be used independently of objective reality. His lifelong friend Vuillard, was also a member and I find his work amazing too.
As a former Brit I do know that Bonnard was one of the few foreign artists to be elected into the Royal Academy in London.

Zurbaran Copy

Zurbaran Copy
6x6in oil on canvas board  $85.

Detail: Still life with Lemons, Oranges and Rose. 1633

Francisco de Zubaran (Spanish) has a couple of amazing still life paintings and this detail is part of one of them. There is no way I could duplicate the perfection of his work. This painting is in the Norton Simon Museum, CA. and I stood in awe looking at the skin textures on these lemons, the oranges and oh..that rose is perfection.
I have also loved Zubaran's  painting of fabric since I first saw his work and on the wall in my studio I have a copy of his  Saint_Serapion_1628.
I have never seen this masterpiece in anything but reproductions but it helped me understand how deep a value, white can go and how the weight of fabric follows form.

Zubaran was the appointed painter to Phillip lV; who reportedly said, "Painter to the king, king of painters."

De Chirico Copy

De Chirico Copy

6x6in oil on canvas board  $85.

Detail: Le Reve Transform 1913

What a pleasure to paint such straightforward bananas. BUT are they really what they seem?
If you look carefully at the shadow area, middle bottom you will see a male eye and nose - lying on its side. The bananas reportedly represented exoticism. The full painting this detail is from is full of symbolism.

If you are not familiar with Giorgio De Chirico's work he was an Italian painter and best known for founding the Metaphysical Movement with Carlo Carra. This was, perhaps, the most original and important movement in Italian Art of the 20th Century. His work had a great influence on Surrealism to the extent that both Dali and Margritte acknowledged de Chirico as a forerunner master.

Years later this artist reverted to academic painting.

Monet Copy

Monet Copy

6x6in oil on canvas board  $85.

Detail: Flowers and Fruit, 1869

This  is a detail from Claude Monet's early period. I picked this piece for the chance to study how he  worked on grapes and the basket. I was quite surprised to discover that it is a lemon he has standing up on its end at the back of the grapes.How did he get it to balance? Was it important repeating the other upright fruit positions? I kept wanting to put it on its side!
I am not as fond of this particular period with the exception of The Magpie. I saw it a few years ago at the Musee d'Orsay and the wonderful paint quality (was not quite so dibby dabby) flowed into amazing value and color changes.
Many years will pass before Monet produces the amazing Giverney pieces which are some of my favourite paintings.
We do owe a debt of gratitude to Claude for he was a founder of French Impressionist Painting and actually, the term Impressionism is derived from the title of his painting, Impression, Sunrise.
Cezanne described Monet as 'only an eye, but God, what an eye!'.

The Magpie

Caillebotte Copy

Caillebotte Copy

6x6in  oil on canvas board   $85.

Detail: Fruit Displayed on Stand.  1882


Gustave Caillebotte ( ky-yuh-BOHT)  was mocked when he exhibited this painting. Why? It was the viewpoint - the birds eye view. He was the first to publicly use it and the critics were NOT very complementary. It is hard to comprehend because in this day and age it is used by so many great artists. I find this painting and the handling of the paint very up to date and it boggles the mind to think this is the guy who painted the amazing ' The Floor Scrapers,' 1875. Completely different.
This painting is in the Boston Museum of Fine Art and because of the story behind it I spent quite a bit of time in front of it.
He must have been a truly good person because he helped and paid for Monet's rent many times and purchased many of the Impressionists work when they needed sales to be able to keep painting.
For those of you who are familiar with Renoir's, Luncheon of the Boating Party, Caillebotte is the guy in the straw hat on the lower right.

Courbet Copy

Courbet Copy

6x6in  oil on canvas board  $85.

Detail: Still Life: Fruit.  Gustave Courbet.

I chose to do a small detail of this particular painting because I had seen the original in the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. (The same museum as the previous piece by Manet.)    I can clearly remember seeing it across the room never guessing it was by Courbet, and  making a beeline right to it. It was brighter than anything I had seen by him but the strong paint handling and some texture was unmistakably his work. To my taste, a lot of his work was rather gloomy so I really liked this one. The set-up for this still life was in front of a window.
As a Realist he believed and and stated that the only possible source for living art is the artist's own experience. He stayed true to this belief all his life, painting only from direct observation.


I can remember his painting, The Origin of the World, made me gasp with shock when I first saw it as a teenager.

Manet Copy

Manet Copy

6x6in  oil on canvas board   $85.

Detail: Still Life with Salmon  1866

Doing this Copying Master Artists series started because I wanted to see if I could learn how they all handled painting fruit. When I got to Manet I wished I had chosen flowers as my subject matter because I love the flower paintings he did.
I picked this painting to do a detail from because I have seen the original. It is in the Shelburne Museum, Vermont.

 I have always admired Manet's work, mostly because his painting, Olympia, made a huge impression on me when I was an art student. I responded to his bold brushwork, use of contrast and there was a sophisticated modernity of subject and attitude.
Manet was crushed by the rejection of Olympia by the public, not knowing that a hundred years later it would be declared a masterpiece and the start of modern art.
Gauguin reportedly said, 'Painting begins with Manet.'

Picasso Copy

Picasso Copy

6x6in oil on canvas board  $85.

Detail:   Bread, Fruit and Table.    1908.

This was painted one year after Picasso's breakthrough masterpiece, Les Demoiselles d' Avignon.
The influence can still be seen from his African/Tribal period although this piece was obviously painted during the early stage of his intellectual experiment with structure. (cubism)   After 1909, Picasso with Braque began a more systematic study of deconstruction which we know as Analylitical  Cubism. (1909)
Not one of my favorite art periods!
When I was painting this copy I was amazed to find the meticulous cross hatching and small gradations achieved by layering of slight color changes. I doubled checked by using a magnifying glass to make sure I was seeing correctly. In other parts of the same painting he used a more casual application of paint.

In 1980 I flew out to New York City specifically to see the retrospective of Picasso's work at MOMA and I still remember how blown away I was by the sheer power of not only his paintings but by the diverse methods he employed. This artist's work has never bored me. His 'Woman in White,' in the Metropolitan Museum, NY, is one of my all time favorites.

Matisse Copy

Matisse Copy

6x6in oil on canvas board   $85.

Detail:  Still Life with Oranges ( Nature Morte aux Oranges ou Corbeille d'oranges) 1912

Doing this copy by Matisse - the greatest of all the Fauves - reminded me of what a master he was of pure design. Every area of the painting I made this detail from, is perfect.
Doing the research for this small painting I was interested to learn that when he was hospitalized as a young man, the other occupant in his room was copying etchings in color so Henri asked his mother for colored pencils so he could  try his hand at it. He loved it and the rest is history. He started his art career at 20 years of age which was late in comparison to  Picasso, (his future rival)  who, when at the same age, will have already completed almost a thousand works.
Like Picasso, Matisse was a great experimenter with paint application but he knew early on the basic structure the direction his art would go and wrote: " Everything that is unnecessary in a painting is detrimental to it." He was true to this principle from his first to the last of his works.

Matisse used the flat color technique  and would often repaint these areas in another hue. It may look simple but the complexity is profound and I value what I learned during this research.