Sunflowers Finish.....

Sunflowers by Randy Blasquez
Oil on Linen  16x20"

Sunflowers II  by Randy Blasquez
Oil on Linen    16x20"

I made just a few adjustments on the sunflower paintings from last week. I used a photo reference because my poor sunflowers didn't make it. Because they were painted from life I was able to throw in the few finishing touches without loosing the fresh feel. At least that is what I hope.
I started painting still life paintings when I started to teach at the Capital Art Center in Sacramento because I didn't want my beginnger students at the time to get stuck copying from photos. It's now been about four years and I've learned to love the whole process. Painting still lifes from life is a great way to grow as a painter. By mastering the still life you will be ready to paint anything!

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.....

Pacific Grove Pics

I have missed you! Been busy traveling and getting organized for this year with shows, workshops, and lot's more. Life has been good. I am hoping to have a workshop in Pacific Grove later this year, so I HAD to make a trip and pick out some spots. It rained for two days, but finally, sunshine. Then this past weekend my family and I made another trip to San Francisco and toured the Academy of Art University for the second time, getting ready for my daughter to be a student in the future. My son and his wife and my granddaughter also went and it was wonderful to share time with all of them. My son is also an artist and his wife in the business, so we had fun with the tour.

I will put out a newsletter soon with the events that are coming up. Soon I will post a little more about Sergei Bongart. In my art classes at the School of Light and Color, we are painting a copy of a Sergei still life painting. I forgot to get pictures last week, but wanted to share our progress. All the students are doing wonderfully! It has been another eye opener for all of us. I noticed how much it has helped to "loosen up" some of the students brush strokes and that is huge!

I will post some pictures later this week but for now just wanted to share some beautiful sunset photos of Pacific Grove, enjoy......

Christmas Week in Truckee

Every year my family spends the week between Christmas and New Years day up in our family cabin in Truckee California. It is usually a quick drive from Folsom. This year a little longer with the recent snowfall. It is amazingly beautiful up here. Last night we got at least 2 feet of new snow. It has been a wonderful few days so far, and I've been catching up with my twin sister Candy and her daughter Ashley.
Last night I was ready to paint. It has been too long.

It was late in the afternoon yesterday when I got started on this scene in France from a photo. The lighting in the cabin is not good at night so I wanted to just lay in the under painting. It started snowing last night and stormed until this morning. I couldn't believe the amount of snow we got overnight.

It looks like a good day to stay in and finish my painting!

Lindsay Outdoor Study

Lindsay Outdoor Study

I took about 85 pictures of my daughter and 65 of my niece Kimberly. My plan is to do a new series of paintings - classic romantic poses out of doors. I'm going to take more photos of my friend Jennifer this week. This is new for me and will be a good learning experience I think. I'd love to paint the figures directly out of doors, if they had the time. Anyway, I am continuing to read and re-read Hawthorne on painting and he has plenty to say about painting the figure outside.
I'll share some tips, and continue with the small studies until I am more comfortable with larger pieces. That is if all goes as planned.
See you soon!

Why It's Hard to be a Women & An Artist

Class Study from CAC

I love my life, I am not complaining! I am so blessed to have the gift of painting in my life. It has been a journey and a blessing.
So why is it hard to be a woman and an artist?
Well, it has to do with a lot of things, but the number one reason for me is because I don't have to make a living and support myself and my family. Um, okay, so maybe that 's not a drawback. I have the freedom to paint when I want and to take time off and it's okay. But what I'm dealing with is the balance of it all.
Don't get me wrong, the biggest problem is myself and my own lack of self discipline. Let me put it another way.
I don't have a "job" and I don't have to pay my household bills. My husband does that. Of course I'd love to get to a point where I am contributing, and I could be right now, if I wasn't busy buying art stuff and taking workshops. But that is another issue. My struggle is dealing with how to find a balance in my priorities, and still invest in my long term art career.
It would be so easy to slack off. And I do. But mostly I give my all, with limitations. I don't have a regular schedule, I don't have that many deadlines, I don't work as hard as I could and should. I do work hard and I love it. It is my passion and my desire to work hard. I want to study and learn and do what it takes. It takes a determination to succeed. Painting well does not come easy, and that is what I'm trying to say. Okay. So to be a good artist, to be a good art teacher, to learn, we have to work hard at it. That we all know. Or at least we find out. I don't have an issue with that. My struggle is in the area of balancing these goals and passions with the other obligations and priorities in my life.
To be a good mom and wife, to take good care of the household, to invest in the important relationships in my life and to be invested in my spiritual growth is all a real balancing act. It takes a commitment in each area of my life. But when I'm in the middle of one of these things, I'm still thinking of the others. I get overwhelmed thinking about it all at the same time. I feel like I'm pulled in so many different directions. So I need to change some things.
My goal for the rest of this year is to get better organized, physically and mentally. And to start separating and delegating and prioritizing my spiritual growth, my work, my relationships, my exercise activity and fun activities, my family, my household chores and getting that in place. I need accountability in order to stay on track. Fortunately I have people in my life for the personal stuff, but not the business stuff.

First, I need to start getting my paperwork organized. My filing and records are a mess! I will create a task list on line and check it frequently. I want to get on a schedule, and I want to start a new painting series. So those are my goals for starters, and now that you've read this I guess I'm really accountable to give you a report of my progress and time goes by. I'll keep you posted. Ouch!
I am excited about a couple of things in particular. I'll be adding a new evening class in January so my students who work during the day can learn to paint at night. And, I took some wonderful photos yesterday of my daughter Lindsay, and I'm going to start painting them. I want to paint a series of romantic female scenes. Thursday I have another photo shoot planned with a very good friend, and then I'm going to shoot my niece next weekend.
So please stay with me and please send me your comments, and also your tips and advice on how I can get my act together. Now you are also responsible to e-mail me if I don't report to you on my progress of course! So now you have to be accountable......

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!

That Time Of Day

That Time of Day

Oil on Canvas  30x40

by Randy Blasaquez

 Available

I started this painting months ago. It is from a small study I painted a couple of years back. It is never as easy as I think to take an 8x10" piece and enlarge it to 30x40". I had to get away from it for a while, and then I lost interest until this week. I'm going to let it dry and do a tiny bit of glazing over the sky and land in the background. Do you have any suggestions? It has taken me some time to get the feel of the light coming through the canal at sunset. I am finally almost satisfied with my efforts.

More about the Napa Valley Art Festival

I mentioned in my last post about the generous words of wisdom shared by so many of the artists showing there. Well I've been thinking about one particular comment from  Brent Jensen. He first heard it from Kevin Macpherson. "Paint one small painting everyday for a year and see your abilities jump". He said to limit your time on these small pieces to maybe half an hour.

My plan is to challenge some of my students who might be ready to take this exercise and commit. I will share in a future blog about our specific plans. I want to start soon, but it may have to wait until January.

So, what do you think? Are you on board?

In the Mood for Poppies.....

Coming Up Poppies       Oil on Linen   24x24x1.5"

I decided to post a new photo of this painting that I did on Tuesday. It was such a whirlwind experience that I quickly snapped the photo I had up there and went to bed. I was tired and had class yesterday so now that I took a second look, decided to post a better photo. Although it still isn't coming out that good.
You might know that I've been working on a new series of paintings from the streets of Paris, France. Still consumed by my experience last summer in France. Anyway, I was struggling with these street scenes, (all new to me), and needed to let loose! This painting is the result.

In other news....
Life is good, and busy. Classes are going great on Wednesdays at the Capital Art Center. I also just hung new paintings at the Smith Gallery in downtown Sacramento. Come by for second Saturday if you can! Click on the link for more info.

Also, I want to thank all of you who have been coming by the blog and leaving your comments! This is really fun, and I'm enjoying your blogs as well. Check out some of them on the right side of the blog, by scrolling down.

I am also really looking forward to my first workshop/retreat! I am bringing a few students up to my second home in the Lake Tahoe area in September. This will be a special time to share tips, do a couple of demos and perhaps some plein air painting in beautiful Lake Tahoe. Not only that, I want to take time to relax and just paint or play, watch some how to videos, cook for one another and hike.  Good times ahead.

Soon after that trip I will be traveling down to Los Angeles to take a workshop myself! More on that later.

Hawthorne on Painting - More Good Stuff

New Painting - "Plein Air Garden, Paris"
Oil on Linen, 20 x 16 "
Available

If you read my blog regularly you know I am re-reading my "Hawthorne on Painting" book again. It is hitting me as though I had never read it before. Maybe I'm just ready to hear it this time.
Anyway, it if filled with so many tips about color and light that I feel I have to share.....

It is divided into sections and right now I am reading from the INTRODUCTION & LANDSCAPE sections:
INTRODUCTION:
pg 18 - Everyone knows what a man looks like, or a tree or a house, but it is our job to tell the world something about these things that it has not known before, some impression that we alone have received.
pg 19 - If you are not going to get a thrill, how can you give someone else one? You must feel the beauty of the thing before you start. Good painting is an excitement, an aesthetic emotion--reasonable painting destroys emotion. Painters don't reason, they do. The moment they reason they are lost--subconscious thought counts.
The only way to learn to paint is by painting. To really study, you must start out with large tubes of paint and a large palette and not stinit in any way as far as materials go. If you look into the past of a successful painter you will find square miles of canvas behind him. It is work that counts, experience in seeing color.
Don't try to be an artist all at once, be very much of a student.
pg 20 - Do studies not pictures. Know when you are licked--start another. Be alive, stop when your interest is lost.
LANDSCAPE:
pg 54 - It's the artist's business, the painter's job to point out to the public the beauties of nature.
Try to see them before you paint. Don't try to see a picture--go around and look at the subject until you see something, say in trees or houses, coming together, that inspires you. We do well the things we see already painted in our mind's eye--don't do it until you see it or you are defeated before you begin.
**Look at the view with your head sideways to get better relations, so that you get a sensation of the color spots rather than a perception of objects as objects.
pg 70 - Realize the value of putting down your first impression quickly.

**It seems like this works like squinting. Also Don Hatfield says to look at the value/color of what is next to the area you are painting in order to find the correct color/value. Very valuable information!

This is the way I want to paint. Some of the teachers I've worked with who talk like Hawthorne are Anita Wolff, Jim Smyth, Brigitte Curt, Ovanes Berberian and Don Hatfield. Wonderful painters all.

Hawthorne on Painting

I got out this book again. It is one of those that will never leave you without some new insight....
I have been teaching the Still Life in my weekly classes. I have some very new students and this is very new for them. We set up a simple still life, get out our view finders, and start painting. This is how you learn to SEE!
Excerpts from the book:
The painting of still life gives one the widest range for study--
a bottle is as serious a subject for the portraiture as a person. In arranging, place things so they have color and so that you can see it well. If you cannot decide on color and values in the beginning, move your still life around until you get things simple so that you can see big relations.
Select one light thing against a dark thing--a kitchen utensil and a lemon cut in half--try for spots coming together.
You don't hear me say much about drawing. It is because I think drawing the form, and painting, are better separated. The first thing is to learn to see color. You will draw better a year from now if you disregard for the time being the thing you call drawing. Realize that you haven't yet the painting point of view--after you have got the spots of true color in their proper relations, you have something to draw with and you can then consider it. Don't consciously try not to  draw but do the other thing so well that it will draw itself.
Don't look up at the nature and consider an inch at a time. See what one big spot is in relation to the other big spots.
Search always for more beautiful notes of color, don't search to put more things in.
Study larger spots of color coming together--don't break objects up into too many colors.
Establish big general things. You can't make all the differences you see.
Insist all the time on one spot being right relatively to another. I'm trying to say that when you think straight that thought alone is worth while and when you put down one or two notes that are right that's all that is necessary. You'd be surprised at how little work it takes to make a picture.

This is about a page. There is so much in this book - tons of information. Every time I read it I understand it on  a new level.
I find the above information very exciting. This is what we are striving to do in class, to SEE COLOR.. I learned a lot of this from Don Hatfield who is also teaching at the Capital Art Center in Sacramento.

Wednesday's Oil Painting Class Demo

Wednesday's Oil Painting Class Demo

We had a full class Wednesday and I set up a still life that was inspiring, (to me anyway!)

I loved the beautiful colors and shapes within this set up - also the dramatic light situation.

I wanted to paint bold, expressive shapes and explained to the class how important it is to begin a painting with the abstract in mind. I instructed them to use three values and three shapes only - for starters. This will help you see the beauty in the dark shapes against the beauty of the light shapes........

After you get that far, look at your abstract composition before going further. 

Use a mirror. Walk away and look. Squint at your setup! Look for beautiful flowing darks that move your eye. See the lighted shapes and how they are leading you on a journey. Look for movement in your painting. If your eyes are pleased by what you see, move on to more paint.....

I will post the next stage later today and then the finished piece so stay tuned.

A Look Inside....5 Days in Paris

A Look Inside  

Oil on Linen Panel

12x9"

by Randy Blasquez

I've been painting from my studies and photos of Provence from last summer for months now. Well, I'm moving on....

I've started a new series from my five days in Paris. I took this shot as I was walking by this restaurant in Paris as the Mat re de' stood there and gave me this look as if to say "what do you think you are doing - you tourist!". I'm glad I got the shot, even though it wasn't the one I wanted. The server inside the restaurant turned his back to me while I hesitated. As it turned out, it still worked for the painting.

Here we go, I've got 1200 pictures from those 5 days........

The Art Spirit - By Robert Henri - More Good Reading.....

On Simplicity..and a lot of nevers.....

"NEVER change the course of a line until you have to.
Never change a plane of a form until you have to.
Never change the tone of a  color or from one color to another until you have to."
page 203

I love this passage from Henri's book. This is something I am trying to get into my head, and across to my students.
He goes on to say...

"If you follow these injunctions intelligently you will practice that great economy which is necessary to expression in your medium.
Every change must count, and count strong. there must be no quibbling. You have the observer of your work under control. Through the changes you lead him straight or crooked into your meaning. If you have digressed into triviality he must digress with you. Where you hesitate or are uncertain, he hesitates and is uncertain. If you are a quibbler and a flounderer, and not direct in your purpose, He turns his back on your work unless he is, himself, like you, happier in floundering."

"Because the medium we use in very limited, we must exercise a great economy in its use. No line or form or color must change until you are compelled by the neccessity of the structure you are making to change it."

"The need for change must be great. You only make the change because you must respond to an absolute demand."

"Some painters flutter all about their subjects, others are straight drivers to the essence of things."

"A house has many windows, but a ray of light catches on one. It becomes the window which declares all windows. It is a  builder and a vitalizer. It links with all the other structures - is one of the big factors in making a whole."

So "What is essential?"

"How shall the greatest economy be practised?"

"Water runs down hill consicely. There is no quibbling about it. It does not have to run uphill in order to be entertaining. Man has always followed its course with fascination. The soul of man may reveal its mysteries through direct expression, simple speech, simple gesture, simple painting, just as the soul of the brook is expressed in full simplicity and economy."

"One of the curses of art is art. The filling up of things with decoration, with by-play, to make them beautiful."

"When art has attained it place, sufaces will be infinitely less broken. There will then be millions less of things, less words, less gesture, less of everything. But each word and each gesture and everything will count in a fuller value."

"When we have attained a sense of the relative value of things, we will need fewer things. We will not change a line or color until we have to - and when we do make a change, a wealth of meaning will then fill the world from this new gesture.(italics mine)

"On a face one accent rightly valued in all its powers is worth a thousand little forms. The little forms subtract more than they add. The right accent achieves."

"You have reserved your forces but now you must expend them positively and effectively. A new course, full of meaning is to be taken, and by it the observer is to be carried deeper into your meaning. You have taken a positive step to force his understanding of your motive".


Henri just said a mouthful and to learn this is a lot of learning. But it is important, the essence of the thing that you are saying! Study and learn my friends...and I'm talking to myself here!

Hawthorne on Painting

Last weekend near Monterey

I got my little Hawthorne book out again after having put it away years ago. I remember back then that I didn't really "get it" like I do today. I guess that's progress??

This is one of the books that art teachers commonly recommend to art students. I have them all and then some. This one was put together by Charles Hawthorne's daughter shortly after his death in 1930. It is broken into 4 sections: Outdoor Model, Still Life, Landscape and Indoor Model. It is a bunch of notes put together from his students.
I'll just throw together some of the quotes from the book to peak your interest. It is good stuff!

• Do studies, not pictures. Know when you are licked - start another!
• Stop when your interest is lost.....
• Remember no amount of good drawing will pull you out if your colors are not true. Get them true and you will be surprised how little else you will need.
• You are here to represent by color, by separation of color, by exact matching of color, what you see, and thereby learn to see....
• I don't say much about drawing because I think drawing the form and painting are better separated. Realize that you haven't yet the painting point of view--after you have got the spots of color true and in their proper relations you have something to draw with and you can then consider it.
• Everyone knows what a man looks like, or a tree or a house, but it is our job to tell the world something about these things that it has not known before, some impression that we alone have received.
• If you are not going to get a thrill, how can you give someone else one? You must feel the beauty of the thing before you start.

More later in the week.....

Yesterday's Oil Painting Class

Here is yesterday's set up. We ventured across the street from the Capital Art Center where I teach a beginning/intermediate oil painting class. It was so nice outside how could we not? Some of the ladies in the class want to learn to paint in "plein air", (in the fresh air). We have been painting still life set ups in the studio for a while.

They did very well, in fact, outstanding. I can't begin to tell you how much of a blessing this class is. To see how far the painters have come. It takes a committment to learn how to paint, but what a payoff! Most of the class has started from no or very little experience. I love to see them grow. I am growing right along with them. We all still have so much to learn. 

We set up the still life outside and it was beautiful. Next week we will take our little outdoor studies and begin a larger studio painting, using the studies we painted yesterday, along with a photo reference. The light did change, but the shadows on our set up just got better.

Yesterday 6hr Pose at Capital Art Center

Yesterday was the second in a series of sessions open to artists (who sign up in advance) on Fridays - 6 hours of painting the figure. It was my first time in a long time that I've painted the figure from life. I practiced what I learned in Don Hatfields class last year.

I am not a portrait painter, but it is wonderful practice for me. I have to say, yesterday I was feeling pretting intimidated by it all, but I was fairly pleased with the outcome. I started the day with a migraine to boot, so I wasn't in good form. It is a study, not finished, but not bad. She looks like she has a black eye but I haven't gone in to finish her up yet. If I do, I'lll post it. I'll also try to post the next one on the 19th, I'm going to that session as well.

http://www.s12studios.com/

Who is the Contrarian Art Marketer

"Nightfall, California Coast"

Oil on Canvas mounted on board, 30" x 40"

"Fall Colors, Napa"

Oil on Linen, 20" x 30"

I am the Contrarian Art Marketer

by Clint Watson

This article is by Clint Watson, former art gallery owner/director/salesperson and founder of FineArtViews. You should follow Clint on Twitter here.

"Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful" - Warren Buffett.

Warren questions the wisdom of the masses, and thus wasn't invested in dotcoms in 2000 or residential real estate in 2008.

Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's a good idea. In fact, in investing, it often means it's a bad idea. This is sometimes called contrarian investing.


I'm the same way. I question everything. And the more popular something is, the more I question it. You can call me "The Contrarian Art Marketer."

There is definitely an online "echo chamber" effect out there. And when an idea starts echoing loudly, I start questioning it.

The echo chamber tells artists that SEO is extremely important, but I say it's not all that important. The echo chamber says that you need to develop a USP, but I say you are already developing a Wordless USP. The echo chamber says that having a really professional looking portfolio and image is important, but I say chill out - that's not all that important either. The Echo Chamber goes crazy over Facebook, but I'm not so sure. The Echo Chamber currently loves Twitter, but I questioned that too (and have sort of had to eat crow on that one). The echo chamber thinks a gallery must be in a great high-traffic location, but I used sell tons of art from a location that had zero walk-in traffic.

I'm sure that as the contrarian art marketer, I've missed the boat on some of my thoughts, just as I'm sure Warren has missed some good investments opportunities. But overall, it's served me well.

And it can serve you well too.

When "gurus" give you advice about your art career and ideas about marketing.....question it. Question everything. Especially if you're being charged for the ideas.

Question everything, and if it's an idea that's echoing loudly, or there's money to be made (like, currently, in selling "social media courses") be skeptical. However, try to minimize the chance of discounting an idea too soon (like I did with Twitter). When considering an idea, ask an artist who actually sells a lot of art what they think of it. Or at least ask someone who has a track record of selling art. Trust your gut. Does it make common sense? Can you find an example of an artist who's been successful with the idea? Or better yet, more than one? Will it hurt to wait a bit and see if the idea is a fad? (Waiting has been one of my best strategies. I've watched online services come along, gain traction, get hot and die before I had a chance to "check them out.")

Importantly: does it take you away from creating in your studio?

The most important thing you can be doing is creating your artwork. So even if an idea is "good, you might want to skip it for better uses of your time. You need to focus on the ones with low-time investment and high-payoff...so that you can get back to creating.

Sincerely,

Clint Watson

Software Craftsman, Art Fanatic, Contrarian Marketer
PS - sometimes ideas that were once "hot" fall out of favor, but remain effective or become even more effective: Hence my personal penchant for art marketing with phone calls and, especially, email newsletters. Newsletters are relatively low-time investment and high payoff. For most artists, SEO is a high time investment and a lower payoff.

PPS - "Questioning Everything" includes questioning me too. Everything I just wrote could be wrong. :-)

This article appears courtesy of FineArtViews by Canvoo,

a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,

collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).



This article originally appeared at:

http://clintwatson.net/blog/16163/I-am-the-Contrarian-Art-Marketer




For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.fineartviews.com



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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!