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.

The Art of Christmas Show

Art & Soul Gallery, housed in the lobby of Folsom’s Oak Hills Church, is calling local artists to submit work for the 4th annual “Art of Christmas Show”.


Community is a vital part of the arts at Oak Hills Church. This year our show will be hosted by the Covenant Artist Group. Any artists interested in participating will meet together biweekly for inspiration while considering our works for the show. Based in prayer and scripture, our hope is to create a show that will convey the Spirit of Christmas in a Sacred Space. We will talk about what this means as we encourage each other along the journey to create our own inspired pieces.

Our goal is to include many forms of expression; fiber arts, painting, sculpture, clay, photography sketching and others.

Join us 7 PM at Oak Hills Church Lobby for these special times of gathering to explore our role in God’s plan for our gift from Him, the Creative Spirit.

August 5th August 19th September 2nd September 16th September 30th October 14th & October 28st

If each of us committed to one piece of work for this project, we could fill the gallery & bless many people. It is my firm belief that this is what God would have us do & I'm praying that all who are called will respond obediently.

Even if you don't think you can participate or are not sure, you are always welcome at these creative sessions - we will all be looking for fresh insight, inspiration & new eyes to help us evaluate. (Plus you would get sneak peeks into this process & might be inspired yourself.)

While we want everyone to come as much as they are able, don't let having to miss a couple meetings keep you away from this endeavor - this will be a wonderful time of sharing the creative Spirit of God, no matter what the products may or may not be.

So let’s meet and see what God has in store for us this Christmas.

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.

Green Vase and Oranges

Today I went down to the studio at the Capital Art Center in Sacramento. It was open session and I wanted to paint this new vase I found. I will be demonstrating for my class tomorrow so I wanted to get some practice in as well.

We just got back from Hawaii and I got some great shots there. I might have to paint the ocean soon......

New Demonstration, Class Study, "Ready to Eat"

"Ready to Eat"

Oil on Linen, 9x12"

I painted a demonstration for my oil painting class yesterday at the Capital Art Center. I decided to post the progression of the work, since I had to finish it up from a photo at home today.....

I blocked in the shapes and values FIRST. This has proved to be the best way to achieve success for me. Keep it simple, 3 to 4 values and shapes, a happy composition.

I added more saturated color. I was able to compare the value of the under painting to the colors that i could "see". I went for the rich shadow colors of the grapes first.

At this point you can see that I continued to add more color to the grapes and worked some on the plate. I adjusted the perspective of the plate also.

I'm using more paint! I added the grape in the shadow. I worked in the "light" areas of the painting and tried not to get to much into the idea of painting little grapes. I redefined the shadow areas and put more color in to light of the table.

The plate is looking better. I adjust the shadows on the grapes themselves. I added more light.....

I 'dusted' the painting - "used my paper towel to swipe at it very softly". I like the way it makes the edges softer and makes the light bounce around.....

Here you see I added the stems and just a few more highlights, and a touch of blue in the shadows on the grapes.

New Painting in "Paris" Series....

"The Well Dressed Street Man", Paris Series

I sneaked a photo of a man on the streets of Paris last summer. He just looked so different than the people you might see on the streets of San Francisco or New York. My thought was "wow, even street people in Paris dress well!" If I didn't see his belongings sitting there in a basket I wouldn't have believed that he lived on the street.....

I was so embarrassed to take the photo that it is a "moving photo" which was good for the painting because it left me with very little detail. I might make a few adjustments now after seeing the photo. What do you think?

This is a picture of my son Joseph Tate who is also an artist, and a very good one. Above is some of his artwork.

I'm just sharing a few photos from last weeks Art and Wine Festival for Women Realtors in Old Sacramento. It was a fun event.

contact Joe at : josephtateart.com

916-601-9612

Paint Mobile

Today I went to Livermore to pick up a car load of oil paint. It was better than paying $225. for shipping about a 100 miles. I bought a lot of paint. I've decided I want to have it available to my students for their convenience. Classic Artist Oils is very good paint for the price, although the prices have gone up considerably. I ordered enough to get a discount that I can pass on to the class.
I've been painting a little and socializing a lot, but that is what I have felt lead to do lately. God calls me. I respond. At least I am trying to do His will. He is in charge of EVERYTHING!
Here is a quick bad photo of the replica I'm demonstrating for the class. I'll try to finish it tomorrow and take photos of the class paintings tomorrow and post them for you.
God Bless!

Birth of the Impressionism Tour

Last week my class and I traveled to San Francisco to the de Young Museum to view the "Birth of Impressionism" Tour. It was the first time for everybody, except myself, to see these works from the Musee' D'Orsay in Paris. I visited the exhibit last July while in France and wanted to share the experience.
Everybody loved it. On our way home we decided to paint from some of the prints of Monet, Degas, Renoir, and others.
It became an opportunity today to teach the value of learning to see "values". We did a small value study in only 3 to 5 values, then after our lunch break, began the larger works. Everybody did great and I'm looking forward to getting some photos up soon.
If you haven't visited the exhibit, it is very worthwhile! We plan to go in September for the Post Impressionists Show at the same museum.

ART ON THE BOULEVARD

Friday night turned out to be a lot of fun at Hang It Up Gallery in the Town Center, El Dorado Hills. I was having so much fun I forgot to take pictures!

I ended up finishing the demonstration before I went home. Here is a quick shot.

"Must Be Love" 16x20" Oil on Linen

"Cherry Me" 10x20 Oil on Linen

Another Class Study I'm Working On....

"Juicy Fruit" by Randy Blasquez - STILL LIFE DEMO

After the initial lay in you can see in the previous post that I wiped out the lights, being sure to keep the shapes very simple while looking for the lights and darks, and very importantly the movement of the darks through the painting.

At this point I checked to be sure I was happy with the lyrical feel of the piece. This is very important, and this is the time to get it right. The basic structure has to be pleasing to the eye or you will be building a painting "on the sand".

I began to lay in the color, shadows first, then the lights (opaque colors).  At this point I mixed some "general" color piles on my palette, using plenty of paint. I was keeping in mind that I need not go too light until much later in the process. I am always keeping in mind that when I'm working in the light I am staying the the light values- and when I'm working in the darks I am staying in the darker piles.

I am using a more transparent approach in the darks and more opaque paint in the light and middle values. Although the middle value at this point is still a lot of the under painting.

Here I have continued to work in color while adjusting shadows and lights, comparing one to the next, adjusting again.

More paint, more juicy cantaloupe color. I used as much "rich" color as I could, staying away from adding white. I used hansa yellow/orange, mixed with cad red, rose, and naples light.

 

I added the reflected lights on the table, being careful to keep the edges soft and the color muted.

A few more lights.....

and adjustments....

 and final touches....

I really laid on the paint at this point, scooping up the paint from my mixed piles. I added some lines and edges, and softened some areas.

"JUICY FRUIT"

Oil on Linen  16x20"

by Randy Blasquez

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.

Don Hatfield Still Life Class at Capital Art Center

Don's Demo

I started this 4 week class last week. When I heard about it I jumped. Don is an amazing teacher and painter, so I made time for this. I am teaching still life to my students on Wednesday, so I knew I could learn something (a lot!) from Don that would enable me to be a better teacher myself. As a teacher I want to give my students what they need to succeed.
We were very blessed today to witness this beautiful demonstration. Don paints in a manner that resembles Sergei Bongart, whom he studied with 8 hours a week for two solid years. It was exciting to see this painting come together from start to finish. Even though Don complained about how things were not working out, it is obvious that things worked out very nicely!
He talks a lot about large color/value shapes. I cannot stress this enough. I still want to paint smaller value shapes way too early in my paintings. But Don says just wait, and it will pay off. He starts with a lot of grayed down color where as I usually start with more color. I find it interesting the way he "finds" the value/color, by studying his subject and "comparing one value next to another". I saw it work right before my eyes. It was wonderful to see his subject come alive when he found the correct value! I want to paint this way and I feel very fortunate to be able to work with Don here in Sacramento.
Don just put out a new video, so go to his blog and find out more.....
http://hatfieldfineart.blogspot.com/

Sunrise on the Vines

Commission Piece
Sunrise on the Vines    30x48     oil on canvas

I think it's finished. I wanted to moody early morning feel for this piece. In order to capture the colors that the couple wanted for their family room, I decided that a sunrise scene would work the best. I might make a couple more slight adjustments, but it is finished for the most part. I took this photo in very bad light, so it is not quite this dark, but you get the idea.........