As promised, we started with people. Vivian's dual portrait achieves great depth despite its apparent simplicity. And look at the sliver of background. This is going to be wonderful!
Here, Vivian takes an old portrait and overlays it with an organic mesh pattern. We're eager to see how it ends up. Another experiment gone right!
Bill continues to do studies for his dual portrait. And each study adds something new to his portraiture skills. Here, he tries an alla prima sketch, drawing with his brush and moving very quickly from there.
Today's attempt has Bill beginning with a pencil sketch. The faces are skillfully shaped with washes of paint, looking very natural and consistent with the feel of the fabric and hair. This is getting better and better with every study.
Ellen's painting of a deer in Wisconsin gets high marks (that is, if we got marks in this class at all) for composition, brushwork and color. Beautifully composed to draw our focus to the deer/dog, the painting engages us everywhere we look. The reflections, the birch trees, grass and pine trees are all energetically painted; but overall, the feeling is one of serenity and quiet.
Madeleine paints another location dear to our hearts...Montrose Harbor. She's made good use of her new liner brush to add grass to the foreground. From there on, we love the graphic quality of the buoys and cement and the softer feel of the city as it recedes beyond the trees.
What artist hasn't tried their hand at sky? Here, Madeleine does the same, filling her canvas with an active rendering. Nothing but sky!
Rosemary finished this atmospheric beauty in one class. We love the sky, the water and the misty horizon, not to mention the gentle shadows. We also can't help but love the boat... inspired as it may have been by our discussion of Boaty McBoatface. Yes, we're into current events!
Ken's finished his rework of a train against an atmospheric background. He's added texture to all the surfaces of the train, as well as the ground, sky and background...
...before switching to a new series based on.... corn. That's right, corn! Below is the beginning of his first Corn painting. He's using yellow ochre (either that or raw sienna) to explore the structure of corn in this origami-like painting.
Susan's exploring a new subject and style too. She's still using painting to document her life events, but here she's zooming in closely to commemorate a lone red tulip from her yard. Especially worth noting are the beautiful colors!
Yes, it's spring, so of course we are painting living, growing things. And of course, Sara is painting a tree. Here she is trying to capture the green veil of buds against the strong stark trunk and branches of a tree silhouetted against the morning sun. We love the halo of light surrounding the foliage.
About halfway through, Sara stopped to do the quick sketch below in which she tried to capture the essence of her vision of the painting before proceeding. It's an experiment in "responding" to our paintings as we do them. More to come as we understand the concept better.... or maybe not.
Finally, Elaine's study after Sargent is finished. It's been quite educational as she tried different techniques—from slavishly copying the master's brushstrokes to painting the thing itself in the master's style. No, she's no Sargent.... but who is? Nonetheless, this is why copying the old masters is such a venerable technique.
And now for the news of the week. If you joined Ellen last night at Will's Northwoods Inn for the keg party, you know you had a great time. If you weren't able to make it, keep watching for other invitations. We can't promise free Leinies, but it's always fun to hang with us.
And now for some invitations!
You're invited.... Open Sketch date It's an open sketching/photography session on Saturday, May 21 from 11:30–2:30pm at St. Gregory the Great Church and we are invited! Bring your cameras, sketch pads, pens and pencils. A docent will also be on hand to answer questions.
Where:
St. Gregory the Great Church
5545 N. Paulina
Church entrance is on the corner of Gregory and Paulina;
one block west of Ashland and one block south of Bryn Mawr
When:
Saturday, May 21
11:30–2:30pm
Also, if you are interested in plants and/or animals, there will be a church tour on May 15 after the 10:30 mass (beginning about 11:30am). The tour will be all about the animals and plants depicted in the church and its art.
You're invited.... Blick Father's Day Art Show
If you remember last week, Susan exhibited at the Blick store downtown. They run regular contest/exhibits and we're all welcome to participate! The prizes are great (we love their supplies!) and it'll be fun to attend the reception. The next show has a theme of "Dad" for Father's Day. See the note below for details, but submission photos are due by May 30, so don't delay.
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