New Class Demonstration

"Yum for Breakfast"  Oil on Linen by Randy Blasquez
11 x 11"     Sold

A couple of weeks ago I brought breakfast to class along with my favorite mirrored tray. It was perfect for demonstrating reflections. In this set up, the light was everywhere. I had to be selective and hold off with the lights and when I got to the very end I threw them in. Yes, it takes patience, and that doesn't come naturally! Anyway, this was a fun piece to paint. My goal was to keep some of the transparency showing through the piece after the final stroke. This time it worked out okay. I'd love to do this again with  a different pastry.

Grandmother's China

This is a study/demonstration from yesterday's class using only Burnt Umber and White. The first thing you want to think about as an artist is value. I tell my students to think of value first, and then color.
Draw your thumbnail sketch this way. Design your painting at least 3 ways. Choose the best design from those three. Look for a beautiful value pattern in your design and you can't go wrong.

More Tips From The Classroom

Painting Available
    12x12x1.5"  Oil on Linen
at Gallerie Amsterdam in August

This painting and the other little one from the previous post will be available at Gallerie Amsterdam next month. Both pieces are waiting for the final touches and adjustments. Sometimes I like to wait and look at it for a few days before I finish up.


I'm going to be at Gallerie Amsterdam in Carmel-by-the-Sea on August 18th and 19th for a demonstration from 1-5 pm each day. Saturday evening a reception will be held from 5-8 pm. I'm taking some new pieces to the gallery. It should be a fun weekend.93921

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http://www.quaillodgeevents.com/pages/thequail.cgi
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Now for more tips from the classroom:


5. Make sure you have established a strong abstract design. 
     At the start and throughout, keep the large value shapes intact. This will be easier said than done of course, but the key will be to understand the importance of this step and to know how to construct it. (Refer to the previous post on "Strong Abstract Design" from a couple of weeks ago.)
     I would also suggest that you study from Edgar Payne's book on Composition.
A Notan study will help you out if you refer to it during this stage of your painting.


6. Remember that you are not sending this painting to the Crocker Museum! 
     Give yourself permission to fail, to experiment, to try something new. Fear of the brush stroke will kill your creativity. While you are at it, give yourself permission to succeed! Even if the painting isn't the best you've every painted, if you have learned from it you have succeeded. If you stay safe and do only what you know, you will not continue to grow. Sometimes when we are frustrated while trying something new we need to remember that if we weren't frustrated we would not be growing as an artist.


7. It's a journey
     I tell my students to go on a journey to find the color, value, and chroma of what they are seeing. Take your time when you are mixing color. Begin with the most obvious question. Ask yourself which color on the color wheel is the closest to what you see? Start there. Then ask yourself, is it lighter or darker than that? Make that adjustment, then ask yourself. Is it warmer or cooler? Make that adjustment. Mix and mix and mix until you find it. I've noticed that some students get impatient because they think they should have found right away. No, it's a journey. 


8. Keep some mixed grays on your palette
     I will have at least two or three at all times. You can mix your black and white to make three values, this will help you learn to keep your values where they belong. I like to have a warm and a cool middle value gray on my palette. While mixing, if I need to lighten a color and at the same time kill the chroma (less pure color), I'll reach for my grays. It also helps me stay out of the white. You will have more control of your values and chroma if you always have them available. If you notice that your colors in your paintings are too pure, this will make a difference. 
     You can also use leftover paint to make piles of gray colors. These are a wonderful help in your next painting. Just divide your paints into warm and cool and make two grays! If you don't have enough gray in your paintings, the color will not be brilliant when you want it to.


9. Save what's last for last
      In other words, develop your character by teaching yourself to wait. Be patient. Paint the large shapes first, and at the last stage, you can go ahead and paint those beautiful reflections, bright light highlights, impasto strokes, accents and calligraphy. This is when your painting will come alive. But you must wait.  

About the Original Concept of a Painting

Oil on Linen, 18x18" by Randy Blasquez

I'm texturing my canvases with a heavy layer of gesso and then I throw on some marble dust, after that I move it around and into the gesso and let it dry. It creates a wonderful surface for my multiple layers of glazing. Quite fun and interesting. I came up with this as a way to get myself to paint loose drippy paintings starting with an abstract design.
Design is the most important part of a painting. I've written about the notan study, a simple way of sketching a small number of values and shapes, in previous posts. What I'm looking for when I sketch is a way to create what I want to say with the painting. My goal is to tell the story of contrast while creating movement for the eye to follow. I do this by  paying attention to the melody of the dark pattern. Try drawing your sketches in different formats and pick the one that tells your story in the most clear way. While painting I am working to stay connected to the original response I had to the original idea while hoping and praying that it comes across in the final piece.
I'm working on some new paintings for my gallery in Carmel by the Sea, Gallerie Amsterdam. I'm scheduled to paint a couple of demonstrations on the weekend of August 18th and 19th. Just finished one and thought I'd put it out there.
I'm taking a few new paintings to the gallery next month and I will also post them on the website in a few weeks. Stop by and take a look!