Paint Out Today

Today was beautiful and a great day for plein air painting. I hooked up with a few artist friends and headed to Calistoga for the quarterly CAC San Francisco division paint out.
I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a while. I should do this more often. Is there a better way to spend the day? I don't think so. Besides, I need the practice!
This is a little 9x12 study I didn in about 2 hours. I will not get better nailing those values unless I get out there. So, yes, I guess I need to do this way more often.

Value is Everything

"Fun With Shoes" Oil on Linen
20 x 20" by Randy BlasquezAvailable   $975

This week in both of my classes I set up a few new still lifes for the students to chose from. I chose my new shoes. I painted most of this in class while demonstrating my technique. It took me another couple of hours at home however, because it wasn't a simple painting and I needed some time to live with it and I took my time to add the finishing touches.
The big struggle with this painting was the value. In a painting, value is everything. You might think I am exaggerating but I am not. I always look for the value pattern, large shapes of value that are a simple design so that 4 or 5 shapes make the painting. Simplicity is another big one. I want a simple design that doesn't distract from the focal point.
These concepts in painting are the ones that every artist, seasoned or beginner, has to think about.
So, when I got home and looked at the painting the next day, it was a matter of adjusting the values until I was satisfied with them. Of course, if they had been spot on the first time around, I wouldn't need to adjust. But that rarely happens for me. Most often, I am struggling to the end with getting them right. When one large value shape changes in value (because you adjusted it), then everything else that is related to it might need an adjustment as well. It is a matter of comparing one to the other. Then, step back and look at the whole.
My studio is not so large that I can step back very far, so sometimes I will bring it downstairs and look at it. Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy I'll take a photo. Just looking at it through the photo will tell me if something is off. It really works.
Another thing we are working on in class is preparation. Preparation is so, so important. I will talk about preparation in my next post.

Practice Your Art by Keith Bond

Tulips in the Window by Randy Blasquez
Gallerie Amsterdam

Practice Your Art

by Keith Bond

Neither musicians nor athletes perform without a lot of practice. In most cases more time is spent practicing than performing. Yet, many visual artists think that once they reach the professional level, they no longer need practice. Many have the false idea that they can perform each time they enter their studio to create. [...]

Read the rest of this article at:
http://faso.com/fineartviews/48409/practice-your-art

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This excerpt appears courtesy of FineArtViews Art Marketing Newsletter by FASO,
a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,
collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).


For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.faso.com/art-marketing-newsletter

The Pitfalls of Painting from a Photograph

Studying the Impressionists, Louvre
Oil on Linen   16 x 20"
Gallerie Amsterdam

The Pitfalls of PAINTING FROM A PHOTOGRAPH
(and how to avoid them)

By Randy Blasquez

Recently in class we had a quick lesson on the differences between painting from life and using a photograph as a reference tool. This is something that you don't want to learn the hard way. And believe me if you don't use care, people can tell you painted from a photo. 

Read through the notes below and let me know your thoughts and perhaps your own experiences with using photographs to paint from. 

The Pitfalls -

Shadows are too dark

Lights are washed out

Photo is distorted

Everything is in focus because a camera does not see like the human eye

It’s very tempting to copy a photo and then your painting will look like a photo

A photo doesn’t see correct color and temperature (this is why we paint plein air studies)

How to make it work -

Sketch a personal design using a notan

Create a beautiful of dark and light pattern that is your own

Remember the reason you took the photo and what inspired you (why it’s best to paint from your own photos)

Try turning the photograph and paint it upside down

Crop your photo to correct the format

Bring light into those shadows, but remember to keep the shadows and light separate

Use color in your shadows

Take notes or use a sketchbook as an additional reference

Remember the rules of creating depth and distance (value, edges, temp, chroma) that the camera doesn’t see

Use care when using multiple photographs to create your composition

Exaggerate when necessary

Some savvy advice from Robert Genn

Manhattan Bistro
Oil on Linen  12x12" 

Another good blogpost from Robert. I can truly relate to this one as I have been taking more time to paint even small paintings. That's because I am layering with glazes. I do have to put my heart into it and I guess that's good. The challenge is like Robert says, to paint it slow and keep it fresh.....

http://www.robertgenn.com/

Slow down to speed up

August 3, 2012

Dear Randy,

It's warm and muggy beside this froggy pond. I'm the shiny guy wearing the Deep Forest Off. Nearby, an Oregon towhee rummages in the undergrowth. In the distance, a barred owl is being harassed by resident robins. With no immediate obligations and practically no guilt, I'm moving slower than a spotted slug.

After years of jumping directly into painting, these days I've been casually drawing things out with a soft pencil. Also, trying to please myself, I'm judiciously glazing work in progress with red oxide--a colour I've previously found unpleasant.

Funnily, Irene Feeney of Roscommon, Ireland, just wrote, "I'm one who struggles to be pleased. I'm also speedy; I complete a painting in a day where another person might take weeks. It may be that my attention to detail is not so accurate, but I like to work fast. I find it hard to work at one section; I look at the whole painting as I work. Maybe this is something I need to harness. Do you think this may be my downfall?"

Thanks, Irene. I'm not going to comment on your downfall, but I do have a few thoughts on fast and slow. The virtue of a painting may not be accuracy, but feeling. Further, taking your time to feel what you're painting is more important than speedy delivery. In both feeling and execution, some folks are naturally faster than others. That you have identified yourself as one of the speedy is just great.

Speedy painters tend to do fresher work than pokey ones. On the other hand, they are also responsible for a lot of the messy stuff you see out there. Just for the sake of change, you might try forcibly slowing down. It's the "extra time" concept. It has something to do with gently living in the present and focusing on the potential of the work at hand. It can be done at the edge of a froggy pond or in a studio sanctuary. One needs to become aware of the relative time between stroking and contemplating. "Look three times, think twice, paint once," is a time-honoured shibboleth. Here's the ploy: Make a work of art that looks like it was done freshly and quickly--but take a long time to do it. 

Best regards,

Robert

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

If you like cars, this week in Carmel is the big event!You can check out these websites to find out more-
http://www.motorclubevents.com/
http://www.concorso.com/
http://www.quaillodgeevents.com/pages/thequail.cgi
http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/pages/about-events-driving/index.htm#tour_d'elegance


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!

Let's Talk About Abstract Design

This is a subject that is dear to my heart. I'm not sure why, maybe it is because that is what I'm seeing in great works of art.


Ovanes Berberian sure has had an influence also I must say. This past May while in the France he took us to Paris by train from the Burgundy region, to see his favorite works in the Musee' du Louvre, and Musee' D'orsey. Before that I took my class to see the Edgar Payne exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum. We practiced this concept by sketching his paintings in Notan. But before that, when I began to understand the concept, it really affected me, and my work. I began teaching this way a while ago. I'm not sure how long.

I believe that our eyes are drawn to this abstract design. Or maybe it is our heart that sees it first, through our eyes. For example, if you notice a painting from across the room, and you are compelled to walk towards it and get a closer look, it is because it has a beautiful abstract design.


What is an abstract design? I'm not sure I can describe it perfectly, you see, it is rather ah, should I say, abstract?


When I first began to see the importance of this concept I was finally getting the idea of the Notan Sketch. I heard the term first mentioned in some reading material I acquired from Barry John Raybould. This was the beginning and I think a very helpful concept. These past few weeks I have begun to teach the Notan sketch to my students. (Peggy Kroll-Roberts also talks about the notan design.)


When you take the time to do at least two or three of these during the initial design of your composition you will begin to see the abstract design of what you are trying to say. You will begin to see the pattern of light and pattern of shadow. I think of this pattern, this design, as a description of the musical sort. (Think of musical notes, moving in a rhythmic pattern, not a concise design.) Never should it be less than, or more than that. Hint: This is what our eye sees across the room.


A Notan is divided into large value shapes, using only 2 or 3 and not more than 4 values.

Study this concept and put it into practice. You will see the results.....




After my trip to France, I had a wonderful week with my husband in New York City. It was my first time to the Metropolitan Museum. I was blown away by the paintings of John Singer Sargent. Can you see the abstract patterns of design?

More Bourgogne, France Photos and some Studies.....

 

 This painting is from a photo I took inside the Musee' du Louvre in  Paris. My friend Joan is at the left, Ovanes Berberian, (my teacher), center and the tall one Nancy on the right. This is just the under painting. I loved the figures, the way they are so involved in the paintings. I hope I can convey this with the finished piece. At this point it truly is all an experiment!

 

This is a study of my daughter, Lindsay.I loved the reflected light in the mirror and how it tells the story of her stance and emotion.

Now as promised, more photos from France. On our first workshop day we traveled a few miles to a nearby village in the Bourgogne Region to paint with watercolors.

 Renee

 Alison and Laurie

Susan with Ovanes's quick sketch of the area. 

Kathryn

Photos From France Trip

Market Day in Beaune, Burgundy

 This is the little river that runs through town. We walked along and took photos on our first day. This is very Monet like!

 The river led to this beautiful pond.

 An evening stroll after dinner. The sky was really that beautiful and amazing.

 The little River again. 

 Market day on Saturday's

I know most of you want to see photos from France. I've been digging through them the last couple days. I guess I'll continue with the Beaune photos because we started there. It was such a lovely little town. I want to go back and paint there next year.
I'm already planning our next trip. We didn't paint this time, but there was so much to paint I want to make it one of our primary destinations for my workshop next year in France.

Beaune (French pronunciation: [bon]) is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Cote d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Parisand Geneva.

Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France and the annual wine auction of the Hospices de Beaune is the primary wine auction in France. The town is surrounded by some of the world's most famous wine villages, while the facilities and cellars of many producers, large and small, are situated in Beaune itself. With a rich historical and architectural heritage, Beaune is considered the "Capital of Burgundy wines".

It is an ancient and historic town on a plain by the hills of the Cote d'Or, with features remaining from the pre-Roman and Roman eras, through the medieval and renaissance periods and up to recent history and modern times.

Beaune is a walled city, with about half of the battlements, ramparts, and the moat, having survived and in good condition, and the central "old town" is extensive. Historically Beaune is intimately connected with the Dukes of Burgundy.

Landmarks in Beaune include the Halles, the Hospices, the Beffroi, and Notre Dame.

There is a comprehensive "traditional" shopping area clustered around the central square with a focus on gourmet food, fashion, and wine, while large supermarkets, business parks, etc., are situated on the outskirts of town.

Beaune is the center for wine industry services (such as tractors and equipment for vat-rooms) as well as a number of wine-related institutes and education facilities. The train station is served by TGV, through Dijon or Lyon.

Beaune has a major fine food market on Saturdays, where there are a large number of stall holders supplying a broad selection of products and specialties from Burgundy and the surrounding regions. For example, Bresse chickens, Jura cheeses, small goods, spices, produce of every variety as well as seasonal specialties such as truffles.^[1] There is a smaller market on Wednesday, and special-event markets and fetes are held throughout the year.

Although Beaune is not primarily a tourist town but one centred around the wine industry, it nevertheless attracts a large amount of tourism. About five traditional smaller hotels are located within the city walls with around five chain hotels on the outskirts.

Technically Beaune is a commune in eastern France, a sub-prefecture of department 21, the Côte-d'Or department, in the Bourgogne region.

The Bell Tower in Beaune, France

This past month I have been in France. I went with a couple of friends and to begin our trip, we staying in a little village in the heart of Burgandy called Beaune. In French it is pronounced "bone". Or something like that. We went to take a 2 week plein air painting workshop with painter Ovanes Berberian. I have studied with him over the years, but this was his first workshop in France and I just couldn't pass it up.
We started our trip with a 3 day stay in Beaune. I am hoping this little video of the Bell Tower outside our bedroom window where we stayed, in an old Abbey built in 1500, will give you an idea of the beauty of the area.
I will follow with pictures from our trip and share some of what we learned and experienced. It was truly life changing. I just returned home last night so I will post as I settle in and get organized. Can't wait to share more!

Letter to the Student of Painting by Charles Philip Brooks

Folsom View South - Oil on Linen Panel - 12x12"

If you don't subscribe to 'The Painter's Keys', you are missing out on some wonderful writings about art. Here is one example:

"Letter to the Student of Painting"

"Your day contains a great measure of freedom. Your responsibility as a painter is here within the walls of the studio and in the setting of the landscape. You have the opportunity to exercise genuine mastery at every step, and it is in this spirit of grand possibility that I hope you will reflect on the advice made plain here.

Do not grieve too long for the troubles of the outside world. There is important work to be done here. We can best express our care for all others by attending to our work well.

Allow yourself the peace of purpose and the knowledge that to make another attempt with the brush is a noble thing. If you accept the discipline of the truest principles of art, then yours is the reward of an unbroken line of tradition.

Therefore, you may earnestly free your mind of all heartaches, sadness, and transitory despairs. Creation is above these things.

Your vocation is as real and as true as any other. Those who denounce the artist as idle manifest a deep ignorance of the nature of art. Have faith that the civilized will somewhere, at some time, value your well-wrought works. It is a miracle that the world keeps its havens for art and yet it does. Know that to create art is to do a necessary piece of work. The most noble pleasures and measureless joys result from such endeavors. True art is undeniable and it is a gift for all humanity.

The threefold responsibility of the artist is: to creation, to individual talent, and to humanity. For creation - the whole of nature - we must cultivate prayerful awe. This is our source of work and our refuge as well. We should seek harmony with nature. For the individual talent - long hours and years of steady industry hope to find our abilities fulfilled, our minds, hearts, and hands put to valuable service. In this way, we maintain the sanctity of art. Lastly, we make to humanity a willing gift of all we do. Our control over the material world lasts only a lingering moment and it takes a generous soul to build the ambition of a lifetime and then to hand it over in trust to the future.

Painting requires the bravery of solitude. Painting requires disciplined labor. To be a painter is to search the world with a benevolent eye for every subtle beauty that the infinite world offers.

Here is the opportunity to give your honest effort and to add in any small way to the legacy of art. Cultivate patience in your heart and you will improve. Learn to see well and your hand will become sure.

No pain or doubt can invade the honest soul engaged in the communion of creation. We artists must love the world with our deepest selves and forgive it at every turn.

To paint even a little passage with a measure of quality is to achieve a life's triumph.

Spend your days wisely with the best thoughts and works of those who have walked the road before you. Search their paths, their timeless inspirations, and the lineage of their genius. Learn your craft well and your talent will mature into its full possibility. Keep an obedient heart before nature. She is the master above all other masters. Nature is the concrete manifestation of all that remains true and sublime. Let us always be thankful for her abundance and hopeful that we might approach her in our art. Nature will renew every generation of painters, ready to illuminate the minds of those who practice the art with what is calm, rational, beautiful, sublime, and eternal.

Such is the purity of your vocation. Treat every moment before the easel as a quick and tender opportunity. Invest your most noble self. Give your most noble self. To be a painter is to enjoy a precious state of life." (Charles Philip Brooks)

To subscribe go to: http://painterskeys.com/

Color Mixing Exercise

A couple of weeks ago in my beginning oil painting classes at SLC we learned more about mixing color. Most everybody struggles in the beginning to get their mixing skills to a point where they can easily mix a value and color for the painting they are working on. This usually comes with just lot's and lot's of painting, but you can do a few color mixing exercises to help you learn.
This exercise is one of the many simple tools out there to get you started. In some art schools you do this kind of exercise using many colors, for weeks and weeks, before you even begin to paint. We used the everyday paint tube colors that are out on our palette, starting with the warm and moving around to the neutrals. You can do it any way you like. Just begin at the top with white, then, using your first color (yellow) paint the block along the top in the same order and along the left side. The idea is to meet the color in the middle, then add white. Continue with the next color, only this time and on all of the following colors, you will be mixing the color next in line, going across and down first. Then again mix the colors down the left side with the ones along the top, only this time you add white to the mix. You will find that the lower colors at the diagonal line from the starting point and below will be your tints and above that pure color mixes.
After a while you will really start to enjoy the process and look forward to what the next tube color will do when mixed with the next.
You will find yourself getting to the value and color you are looking for faster the next time you paint. Try it! **If you paint your graph on a piece of loose canvas you can roll it up after it dries and easily carry it with you to class.

Using a Transparent "Wash"

Wash Study 

This is a recent painting from a demonstration using a transparent wash. I started the painting using this medium that I make that is glossy and dries quickly. I learned this technique from Brigitte Curt and Ovanes Berberian.

I have modified the wash that works best for me.

In addition to the wash I used a very textured canvas. It is a heavy duty linen. I bought a few of these years ago and never used them. Recently I've begun to texturize my own canvases using gesso and a palette knife. I have enjoyed the texture and decided to give these canvases a try. Turns out it took the varnish wash very nicely. I just dip my brush into the medium and then dip into my clean tube colors, touch it to the canvas and let it run. 

After I finish covering the canvas I let it dry for about 20 minutes and I'm ready to paint. It is very challenging and exciting and fun at the same time. I love how it allows me to approach the painting from an abstract design. The textured canvas gives it a more abstract look and allows me to loosen up and let go of the details in a bigger way.

Staying Connected

This is the first little study I've done for a new series I will call "Staying Connected". I took the photo for this study down in LA a few weeks ago. When I got home and took a look through the photos from the trip I realized that just about everybody in the photo's was on their cell phone. Crazy huh? 
Anyway, this is just an idea right now, but I'm enjoying the idea. Don't know if the idea will come to completion, but I hope so. 
I've been talking about the importance of studies with my students. In my intermediate classes I am teaching them the importance of the study process in making a large painting. I have learned the hard way that it will always pay off if you take the time to draw your sketches in order to create a successful design before starting any painting. Before I was doing this I was just too darn excited about getting started and I didn't take the time. But I was only creating problems for myself and in the end would decrease the chances of a good outcome. So now I do the sketches. When I am designing the painting during the sketching process I  look for a beautiful dark and light pattern. This is what makes the painting strong in design. Next is the color study. I paint a very small color study before I start the large piece. It is important that I stick with the value plan established with my sketch. Don't forget to do this.
So again, the sketch will establish the light and dark pattern for the piece. Very important. Use the color study to set your idea or "concept" while also keeping the value in tact. 
What I learned from this study is that I like the value sketch much better than the finished piece. Now I'm re-thinking the final piece and I will probably not go for that much color. You'll just have to stay posted....
This process will set you up for success...!

School of Light and Color Plein Air Wednesday

Last Wednesday at the School of Light and Color it was a beautiful day to paint outside. Nine of my brave students faced the challenge for the first time. They all did great! I wasn't sure what the weather was going to be like so I set up a still life outdoors.
I demo'd this piece, but finished it at home from a photograph. It would have been much better for me to finish outdoors in life, because you canNOT see the color in a photograph. In addition the values are not the same at all. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
As in last month I took some wonderful pics in the Los Angeles area that came out well, but it was impossible, of course, for me to paint on the spot. (I was on a family trip).
So when we have to paint from photographs we do. It helps if you have spent some time painting outdoors. After I spent a lot of hours out there (and painted a lot of failures), I began to understand the differences in painting outside and painting from a photograph. Because I spent those hours outside painting, I can now judge better what the camera missed, and adjust. But it is very difficult (if not impossible) to do this otherwise. If we don't learn from experience, we have a tendency to copy the photograph. When we copy a photograph, it looks like a copy of a photograph and not a beautifully constructed painting.

Kathy finished up and was heading out, so I asked if I could take a picture. Beautiful painting Kathy!

Looks like we might be painting chickens and hens in the near future!

Now that everybody has had a taste of plein air painting, I am inviting you to join me at the Horton Iris Farm on Friday April 20th for a demonstration and instruction. Please email me and let me know if you are interested as the class is filling fast!

In my next post I'll share with you a study from a photo in LA. I'm considering a series called "staying connected", because almost all the people in my photographs have an iphone in their hands......