July 15, 2017

Last week, we mentioned how many of us use sketchbooks in our painting process. To be more specific, we don't just do sketches—we do value sketches. Here, for instance, Alan begins with a value sketch of a landscape. He learned this in a class and has found it useful ever since.

Notice how the values he established in the sketch translate in the painting? And how values, even more than colors here, focus the viewer's eye?

Alan has finished the painting he began on Yupo last week. Again, he uses value to define the center of interest.

Another painting on Yupo. Alan revised this to remove the pink "Peeps" from last week. In the process, he's added more depth to the forest and drawn attention to the beautiful tree trunks.

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See what we mean about sketching? Bill did this value sketch to clarify his intentions around his pigeon painting. While the values are closer together than Alan's, the sketch is just as important.

Notice how Bill used his value sketch to establish the pigeon as the center of interest among all the leaves? Subtle—yet it allows us to enjoy the soft colors in this gentle scene without getting confused.

Bill did this low-contrast abstract too. It's different than the low key painting above, but he started with a sketch here too.

Even Ken started with a black & white sketch of this jewel-toned cat eye. Yes, no matter how many times he's painted Annie's eye and how well he knows it, he finds value in a preliminary sketch. No matter that the end result is a riot of color as far removed from grayscale as it can possibly be.

 Like Ken, Beth concentrates on texture in her painting below. The watery background and foreground wall really makes the tulips and vases stand out on the shelf. The vases and shelf sparkle as the sun streams through in this lovely painting of light. 

Madeleine has a bit of a series going.  She's added a lot of layers, texture and depth to this walkway in Ireland.

And this scene, also from Ireland, uses the same technique to draw us to the light in the distance. Here, though, the shapes are arches instead of squares. Still the feeling of depth and movement is the same.

Greeta paints her beautiful garden. The scene is at night so the final painting will have a totally different feel, but we love the texture and layers. The blue wall and greenery reminds us of Ireland... but it's really Chicago!

Also in Chicago is Greeta's granddaughter, playing soccer in a park with skyscrapers in the background. This is the last painting in her Book of Faces. As you recall, it's a single sheet of paper, folded into a smaller booklet.

This is what the booklet looks like, unfolded (well, not completely unfolded, but enough to give you the idea). You'll notice that it's a single sheet of paper.

Pat has a similar book, but it's much smaller and made of sketch paper instead of watercolor paper. She's been doing a collage spread each class. Here's today's homage to Magritte. 

As you know, Susan's been painting a food series—and making us very hungry in the process. She found the perfect background for her platter of crabcakes and lemons in the pattern on Pat's dress. The color and pattern were perfect, wouldn't you agree?

Here's another of Susan's favorite subjects... a fish! This fried fish was styled by her husband Tony on a bed of  shaped green onions. Don't they look like waving seaweed? And notice the background. It's a flying fried fish!

Here's the same fish after it's been cooked in a sweet-sour sauce with peppers and pineapple. Look closely at his eye. This fish has some serious personality!

As if that weren't enough, here's a dish of noodles with chicken, pork, vegetables and shrimp. Susan doesn't have a background yet, but come back next week to see what she decides on.

We had a very special event last week, but we didn't have a photo commemorating it. Susan sold a painting and, as part of the transaction, she received this lovely painting by Sara. It's of Susan at one of our exhibitions, standing in front of a group of her paintings. We love this—the paintings, the brick, Susan and the stripe of Sara's signature lilac at the baseboard. It's just like the Impressionists who often gifted each other paintings of themselves. So very cool, isn't it?

Sara's begun a portrait and already, we're in love. There is so much personality in this painting of her husband and sons. The formal composition heightens the humor of the subjects' interaction. And the soft blue and beige colors (someone called them manly colors) make for a perfect background.

Elaine is using those same manly colors in the portrait below, but with higher value contrasts. While we confirmed the identify of the subject today, it still counts for the People I Don't Know series. It's very close to being finished too.... the portrait, not necessarily the series.

Come back next week for the last class of summer. Then, we'll be off for a while, so you'll want to keep up with us until we return in fall.

July 8, 2017

Once again, we have a theme going—sketches! Most artists carry sketchbooks. In fact, John Singer Sargent once said, ""You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh." Same with us. Today, you'll get a glimpse into some of our sketchbooks and see how we use them. We begin with Tony. He's maintained a sketchbook for years, but has kicked the habit into high gear thanks to a class he's taking at the Art Institute. Here's an action-packed pencil sketch.

Can you tell that Tony's been at the Art Insitute? This is the beginning of his take on a Gauguin from the current exhibit. We love the composition and the colors—which are completely Tony's, but with a heavy Gauguin influence.

Alan's works on Yupo have the same Fauvist flair. He's finished his trees from last week. We debated the addition of the hot pink figures. What do you think? Do they enliven the painting? Or do they distract from the wonderful trees and forest floor?

At any rate, Alan isn't finished with trees. So he did this sketch to clarify his intentions around his next treescape....

... and began to paint. Look for more to come on this!

Of course, if you have trees, you need something in those trees. Like Alan's finch. Done on watercolor paper, we love the way the center of interest pops out from the watercolor-y background.

And if you have a bird, there is bound to be a cat nearby, eyeing her prey. In this case, Ken's unabashedly exuberant cat's eye sparkles with its jewel-like mosaic treatment. Ken also had a preliminary sketch of this; we just didn't get a photo.

Susan is still painting food, but balancing her lovely desserts with a decorative background. Like this pie and drink in banana leaf serving dishes, with a small custard tart to complete the scene. All of which is presented against a dynamic background (in a complementary color, of course!).

Susan's found her niche—painting delicious food and making everyone hungry. Look at this beautiful fruit salad and note how the colors are mirrored in the layered background stripes. 

 Bill is also a prolific sketchbook user. Here's a page from his sketchbook of Jacob's dream....

... and here is the finished painting he developed from the sketch. Isn't it interesting to see how his idea was refined?

Moving from the dark nighttime scene above, Bill sketched this high-key pigeon.

... and began a painting from the sketch. We're eager to see how this develops.

 This Michigan scene has been finished from last week. As you recall, it was also a result of an earlier study by Bill.

Nothing says summer like "green." Madeleine used green for this lovely foliage covered walkway in Ireland. All the soft leaves and vines and the textured gravel path contrast beautifully with the square framework.

More Ireland.... but this time, it's blue. Madeleine paints an energetic gathering of clouds, reflected in the shimmering water below. And then, it's perfectly complemented by the shoreline, the grass and the road.

 

Sara is known for carrying (and using) a sketchbook. Go back and you'll see how she progresses from sketches to studies to paintings. She's also known for her color sense and this scene from her back yard proves that point. The picture doesn't do this justice, but she's juxtaposed red and blue in the foreground to achieve that luminous, electric blue that some blue plants (lobelia, for instance) exhibit in shadow.

Greeta is finishing up her watercolor sketchbook. It's made from a single large sheet of watercolor paper, folded to be a book. The entire book is dedicated to learning to paint faces. So the pages are diverse, the only qualification being that each page must contain a face. Here Greeta finished her
friend's sweet portrait...

... before beginning the last page with a portrait of her grand-daughter in her soccer uniform. Like most of us, Greeta is saving the face for last as it's the hardest part.

Greeta painted this lovely memento of a house/shop in Ocean Springs. It's now a tattoo parlor and Greeta plans to present this to Myrtle, the  former owner. She's going to love it!

 

Elaine wasn't satisfied with her Terra Cotta Warrior from last week. And so, in a bold move, she added a dark wash to the entire background. It certainly adds to the drama and draws focus on the subject. And while she likes the way the underlay colors peek through, she wishes she used a less separating blue in the glaze.

This is the beginning of another portrait in Elaine's People I Don't Know series. Come back to see how it turns out.

Meanwhile, Beth did some urban sketching. This is a scene at a diner where she stopped for waffles and it totally captures the energy of the place. We love the movement, the coffee and the beautiful wood. And yes, it was a quick sketch that didn't require a long camp-out, but Beth still tipped well. 

What better way to leave than with these beautiful flowers in raffia-tied bottles? Beth's loose style is perfectly suited to watercolor. We love the composition, the colors of the bottles and the way the light caresses the backlit flowers. Welcome to the Old Masters Club, Beth!

See you next week.

July 1, 2017

Another beautiful day, and we had another theme going today! You'll probably be able to spot it yourself—duos. Yes, we painted in twos—we even dressed in pairs (although in different intensities of the colors). Greeta and Tony wore pink and khaki; Elaine and Alan wore blue and green; Sara and Susan were visions in purple. We just needed Steve to balance Pat's hawaiian dress. But on to our paintings. As you know, we love our trees! Sara has been enamored of trees for years. Here is a view from her back yard. The wavy lines and lush colors undulate around rooftops and fences, making this the very essence of verdant summer city landscapes.

 

 

Alan has fallen in love with trees and color, too. So much so that he's done the same grove of trees on watercolor paper in two pairs of two, first on watercolor paper....

...again on watercolor paper, but closer ...

... then moving even closer to his subject and switching to Yupo for these beauties.

 

Bill is also painting in pairs. In this case, he starts with a study of this lilypad covered Michigan lake and forest,

 

and then begins the final painting.

Bill also painted this delightful abstract cityscape. It's a jazz painting!
 

Madeleine completes the cityscape pair with this wonderfully quirky and colorful Irish building.

And then, she matches the compositional lines on this wonderful Irish cloudscape. The white stripe will be water and maybe there will be dolphins beneath the surface.

Tony looks to the sky too, and to the upcoming holiday to paint two flags, Puerto Rico's flag....

... and the US flag.

Greeta looks to a past holiday to revisit two prior paintings of pairs. The holiday is Father's Day and it's inspired these sweet Daddy/Daughter paintings. Here's Greeta and her father.....

... and a friend's niece and her father.

Still working on her booklet made of a single sheet of folded watercolor paper, Greeta begins another painting of a subject with a face. This statuesque blonde is an old friend.

Elaine's subject is simply a statue. This is one of the terra cotta warriors from the Field Museum exhibit.

Susan's still painting delicious food. In this case, two crabs—one cooked and ready to eat and the other still alive.

Ken's on his second (or maybe third) series of cat's eye paintings, but he's combined the familiar subject with his jewel-like "geegaw" style from his Ten Cat series.

Even Pat's gotten into the act! She brought in a small sketchbook in the style of Greeta's and has been doing a collage a day. But in keeping with our theme, she couldn't stop at one and has moved on to a second spread.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend! See you next week.