Facebook Post from Dan McCaw A painting should say as much about the artist as the subject he or she is painting. I exaggerated and simplified.... I will try anything that will help better express my own voice, for me its all about the search. You should never paint a truth that is not your own, the journey is to find your own truth. It exists within all of us, the model is only our excuse to search for it

beginning  by Randy Blasquez

I love today's post from one of my favorite artists....  Dan McCaw
We are all on this journey, to find our own truth in paint. I love this!
I want to express my truth. Oh how much easier said than done. This is where I am in my own journey. In the beginning, I was a copy cat. I painted mostly from photos, or should I say I copied from them. I did not learn from this much in the way of good art, but more in the way of how NOT to paint. This was a good lesson.
Now I teach what I want to learn. To SEE the truth and express that truth to the best of our ability. I wish it didn't take so long to get that into my brush.....

CABIN WORKSHOP SUNFLOWERS

Sunflowers & Cup in Window

Oil on Linen 16x20"

by Randy Blasquez

Well, I learned something from this little demonstration. I liked my painting a lot more at the earlier stages. I would not have noticed had I not taken all of those demo photographs. I might still go back in and move some edges around. Too many edges!
Anyway, at the workshop a couple of weekends ago, Kenzi snapped the photograph for this painting. We all painted it in last weeks class. It's funny because the more I paint from life the more I realize that I don't like painting from photographs. Even after this many years I tend to "copy" the photo instead of relying on my memory and the feel of the subject. Good reasons to paint from life.

I began with a wash of odorless mineral spirits and two paint colors. I used alizarine crimson and hansa yellow orange. I wanted a very warm and transparent wash to begin my lay in. No drawing here, just noting location of the subject and looking for a pleasing composition.

Here I just added my darks, using transparent red oxide, alizarine crimson and some blue for a dark. Still transparent.....

Also, you may notice that I wiped out my lights with a paper towel dipped in mineral spirits. I almost always use this technique.

I started adding color and some opaque colors. I relied on my premixed grays that I always add to my palette these days. I also mentioned to the class to continue to use your piles of paint and the grays that come from them. Use them all the way through the painting. Mix the colors that you've already been using into each other. This will insure that your painting will be harmonious.

Now, some local color, keeping the paint thin and almost dry on the brush at this stage. No medium or mineral spirits. Continue to lay in the LARGE value shapes of color until you have covered the canvas. It is easy to get too involved in one area of the painting that you like, and forget to continue covering the canvas. It is way too early to get involved......

After you have finished covering the canvas, re-evaluate and use your mirror. Walk away and come back to take another look. Is it a good time to make any changes in your composition, and to look at the music of the piece. Think about what you are trying to say. Look for the darks and lights to lead you through the painting. Is anything too centered??

Use more paint now. Use the most paint in the area of interest, in this case, the large sunflower that faces the viewer. Now, I need to go back and handle those edges!

Just a Few Tips

By doing a few things different while painting, you can save yourself a lot of trouble and who needs trouble when painting is hard enough?  (It's not that I"m an expert on these matters, but along the way I have learned ways to make my life easier.)

It may seem like a small thing but cleaning brushes correctly is going to save your brushes. This goes for me too! If you want your brushes to last, it's important to take the time to keep them clean and conditioned. There are many ways to go about this, and I'm not saying mine is the best but this is how I do it (with very good results):
When I'm painting in the studio I use my brushes starting with the large ones and moving to the smaller ones. When I clean them, I start with the smaller ones and move to the larger ones. When I'm finished painting, I wipe each brush and squeeze out the paint with a paper towel. Then I dip it into the mineral spirits. The first dip (and this goes for during painting also), doesn't touch the bottom of the can. It will get the brush wet enough to get more paint out of it with another squeeze of the paper towel. The next dip is the swish into the tray inside the spirit can. Try to  gently wipe the brush back and forth inside the can to remove the paint. Wipe again with a paper towel. Do this one more time. Now dry the brush with the towel as much as you can to get the mineral spirits off. Mineral spirits, when left in the brush will dry the brush and make it brittle. After a brush gets brittle, the hair will break, and you will be buying another new brush before you know it. If you are going to clean your brushes with soap when you get home, you can put them away. If you are not going to get to it, take another step before you pack up. Invest in some walnut (or other)  oil and dip your brush into it, wipe again with your paper towel. As you wipe shape it and put it away. This will keep your brushes conditioned until you can soap them. When you use soap, use a gentle soap. http://www.brushflush.com/
I use brush flush. It will get paint out of anything and everything, even dried paint. It is very important that you don't let the paint dry in your brush. When cleaning with the soap, dip it into the soap and a little water, suds it up in your (gloved) hand, rinse. Repeat this until there is no more color coming out in the rinse water. Now wipe a little bit of the clean suds onto the bristles, shape with your fingers and lay flat to dry.

I am always trying to find ways to keep my mineral spirits clean while I'm painting. This in turn will keep my painting clean because my paint will stay cleaner. Also, if my mineral spirits aren't too mucked up, my brush will be cleaner and I can paint a brush stroke with clean color.
So let's say I've been painting in my studio, as I'm painting I wipe my brush after every brushstroke or two with my paper towels. I use as many paper towels as I need in order to keep the paint from getting all over everything. It is well worth going through a bunch of paper towels in order to get good results. It does you no good whatsoever to continue to try to use a paper towel if it is covered with paint! So, don't hesitate to throw away your paper towel, even if it is not half way used. You won't be sorry and your paint won't be all over you and your hands. (And everything else!)

It is also very important to keep your palette clean. After I've laid in my painting, I clean my palette. Scrape it with your palette knife, save your piles so you can use them in your painting, and wipe it down. If you need to you can dip your paper towel into your mineral spirits and wipe. A baby wipe works well to, but be careful because it may leave a little residue on your palette. Now you are ready to continue painting. This will save you considerable greif! Repeat as many times as you need. At the end of a session, use your razor blade scraper and scrape down your palette. I move my piles of paint at this point, into a clean area, clean underneath the area where the paint sits, and them put the paint back in it's place. I am now ready for my next session with clean juicy paint (and brushes). Put a lid on your palette. If you don't have a lid, wrap it with saran wrap, tightly. When you get home, put it in your freezer. It will last longer and be fresh the next day.

Photos from July in Paris. Isn't she beautiful? Tomorrow I'm driving to the Bay Area again for my Plein Air class with Brigitte Curt.  http://www.classart.org/  I'm hoping for a good painting day, and I'm beginning to feel like maybe I can really be an artist some day!