Recent Inspirations - A Fun Little Study - Paintings 13 & 14

 Yesterday I had a single student in the studio and we worked on learning value, color mixing and brushwork. It was a fun little exercise. I enjoyed playing around with the brushwork on the little black and white study. As I told my friend, you can get away with almost anything when it comes to painting, as long as the VALUES ARE CORRECT.
 I use a value scale to teach my students this very important concept.  The value scale should be only five values, and we name them, starting with the MIDDLE VALUE - and to the right of that is MID-DARK, then DARK. To the left of middle is MID-LIGHT and the first one is LIGHT. You can paint your own value scale on a piece of canvas about 3 inches by 16 inches. Carry it with your painting supplies. Use it to compare each color you mix. If you mix a color, using your palette knife, hold the knife with the mix over the value scale while squinting. When the knife disappears, you have landed on the value of the color you mixed.
We design our painting with a notan, and NAME THE VALUE OF EACH SHAPE, (L,ML,M,MD or D), before mixing our palette to begin our color study.
If you want to learn more about values, paint lots of small studies, and maybe one or two before you begin any painting......

 A small sketch notan should look something like this (above). I did three of these as I was exploring my DESIGN. After this I chose the best one before I began my painting. (I like #3) In it there are 5 values - do you see them? Can you tell the difference between the mid-dark and middle value? Do you see the darkest value? Notice that the eye connects these value shapes. This is how you want to paint.

A small painting notan should look something like this. I ignored any detail here. I was deciding on how big to make the darkest value shape. This is the design process before you begin to paint. 

I know it will take patience to do these studies but it will pay off BIG. As you continue to do them you will find freedom in your paint brush!

ps, I'm leaving town for a quick trip to Sacramento for a dr's appt. so I'll be back in the studio next week. See ya then.

PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING.....

"Patterns in Light"

 by Randy Blasquez
Oil on Linen, 16 x 20"
Available $1200

Let's talk about preparation. Do you know what I'm talking about? Well, many things really. First I want to say that preparation is work, it's an investment of time and effort. Is there anything in life worth doing that doesn't take time and effort in preparing for a good result? Okay enough with the questions, let's get to the point.
I touched on this topic a few posts back when I shared some tips with you from the classroom. Now let's dig a little deeper.
I think this began to hit home with me last year when I went to Idaho to study for a week with Ovanes Berberian. I went with my dear friend Renee'. It was conversation outside the classroom that I was part of, well I was kinda listening in. But anyway I heard Ovanes tell Renee that it was important to make a date with your canvas. He was talking about the time he invested in setting up his still life that morning and that he was looking forward to coming back to it at another time to paint it.
He must have spent hours setting this up and he told us how much goes into something like that. Creating the still life set up is part of the creative process and it has to come from the artist within. This takes time. I know that because I learned it the hard way while painting live flowers for my gallery in Carmel. By the time I was content with what I set up I was exhausted! So anyway, Ovanes was telling us that he finished his set up (with about 30 objects!), and was looking forward with anticipation to beginning his painting. That is a date!
So what I'm saying is that we must take time before we begin. Let me tell you the ways.......

  

• Notan - The painting above was the first of two paintings I demonstrated last month at the Gallerie Amsterdam. The night before I picked what I was going to paint from a photograph. I didn't want to copy the photo, I wanted to paint my idea from the moment that I took the photo.  I then started with my notans. It took me three tries before I was happy with the abstract design and value pattern.  I have posted about notans in previous posts. It is simply a quick thumbnail value sketch. I am using these wonderful little brush pens from Faber Castell that work great and save time. They come in different values of gray. Or use a Prismacolor dark colored pencil. What is important is that it is a 3 or 4 value sketch in a simple design. I have talked before about the importance of design in a painting and this is the most important step in beginning a painting. A painting without a strong abstract design is most often unsuccessful. Take the time to design your painting before you ever pick up the brush. 

• Concept. The above illustration establishes the design and the value pattern. It also demonstrates the concept. Concept is the original idea that you want to express. It is usually what you like most about the scene, what attracted you to it and made you want to paint it. 

• Materials - This tip includes materials as well as a mindset when you walk into the classroom. I hear this one a lot from Ovanes Berberian. He can't stand it when you are not prepared. I don't really blame him. If you are going to spend the money and make the trip to take a class for learning purposes, doesn't it make sense to come prepared? What does preparation entail? For me it means investing in the best materials that I can afford. In my opinion paint brushes and oil paint are the two most important tools of an oil painter. After that, a sturdy easel. The surface you will be painting on is very important. When you have a supply list from a teacher, do yourself a favor and go out and buy as much as you can.

• Packing - Now, you have the materials. Pack them up in your car the night before class. This will save you having to try and remember everything when you are in a rush in the morning. Try to organize things so that you have a compact bag that will carry what you need. One of the first things I do when I get a new student in my class is to help them with their materials. As a beginner I think it can be very intimidating when you walk into an art supply store and see all those materials. Most people end up buying the wrong thing and wasting money. I've set up a basket on the ASW website for my students for this reason. It's in the Teachers Cart under Randy Blasquez School of Light and Color.

Concept, large value shapes, dark and light patterns - these are the things that matter. When you walk into a gallery or museum and see a painting from across the room that pulls you to it, this is why. You cannot paint that kind of painting without preparation. That is why it is everything!