ARThouse Studio School

Watercolor still life demonstration: Gardenia in a glass vase

2012-01-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

For our first class in Still Life Painting in Watercolor, the assignment was to paint a glass vase or bottle, in order to study transparency and reflection. My demonstration painting is below, shown step-by-step. In this first class, I wanted to emphasize that, before painting, you need to ask yourself, "Why am I painting this subject and what do I want to convey?" In this case, the main point is to show the beauty of the flower and internal reflections and incredible smoothness of the thick glass vase, so I wanted to emphasize those qualities.

Here is the original photograph, taken of a gardenia picked from our plant in June and place in the vase on a white denim sofa in the sunlight:

Below is Step 1. The painting was done on a quarter sheet of Arches 140 lb cold-press stretched on a Homasote board. The image was traced onto the paper using graphite transfer paper. Then the entire flower and vase were masked out with Daler-Rowney masking fluid. I have discovered that dipping the brush into a 50/50 mixture of household ammonia and water before dipping into the masking fluid prevents the masking fluid from sticking in the brush. This is because apparently the solvent for masking fluid is ammonia. (My science background came in handy here...). What I love about Daler-Rowner masking fluid is that it can be peeled off in a big sheet. So there are two very useful tips for you!

Also in the above photo you can see the background that I laid in wet-in-wet. Using a mixture of Winsor & Newton ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, plus a smidgeon of W&N Permanent Violet, I flooded in the large shadow on the right on already wet paper. That way I got a soft edge on the left side of the big shadow. Then to do the small shadow, I dried the paper and just painted it in with the same combination on dry paper so that it would have a hard edge.

Here is Step 2: Now I started examining my reference photo very carefully. I decided to apply masking again to the brightest highlights in the vase. Then, observing that the next lightest color was a faint gray-blue like the background shadow, I used the same combination to do a light wash over the entire vase. Also, in order to start getting the streaks and bits of light and shadow on the white sofa, I used a stencil brush to lift out a little paint. For the streaks in the cast shadow of the vase, I used drafting tape on either side to get a hard edge.
Also I painted the lightest color in the stem. Basically I am working from light to dark in this picture. And I painted the lightest color on the leaves, using W&N Perylene Green. The greenish color you see around the left edges of the paper is an artefact of the photography...

Here is Step 3: Again, observing the photo very carefully, I started painting the middle values that I saw in the vase. I simplified them a little, and painted them precisely but not in all their glorious detail! Here are all the colors I used in this painting: ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, permanent violet, perylene green, thalo blue, leaf green by Holbein, and aureolin yellow.

Here is Step 4: Now I have added some of the darkest values in the vase. Strong value contrasts are very important in this picture, and will give the look of the smoothness and transparency of the glass. The thickness of this glass vase is really concentrating the light and causing beautiful patterns. Where do these dark colors come from if the vase is sitting on a white sofa? They may be somewhere in the surrounding room, and are being refracted to our eye as the vase acts like a lens...

Here is step 5, the final photo: Since I was doing this as a demo during several classes, I sometimes forgot to take photos along the way. Sorry about that! The previous photos were taken with a different camera under halogen lights and not the best conditions. This last photo was taken with my professional photo equipment and correct lighting. Huge difference. The colors are more correct in this last picture than the others.
As for the painting process, I worked on the flower, using the same grey color mixture, along with some yellow in the crevices between the petals. I added more darks to the vase and refined it all over. I added the darks to the stem, and painted the very dark part of the leaves. You can see in the original photo of the gardenia that the leaves are much darker than the background. This is important because it makes the sofa look white, even in that dark shadow. I lifted out some thin veins on the leaves by using the "wet and rub" technique: stroke on a tiny bit of water for the veins, blot with a terrycloth towel, then rub hard with the towel to wipe off the softened paint, and voila: you have some faint veins!
Also, I decided to add soft rounded shadows in the sunlit area of the sofa by wetting that half of the sheet and stroking in lightly some of the gray mixture plus a tiny bit of yellow.

"Gardenia in Sunlight" watercolor 9x13" Susan Avis Murphy, AWS

Now for a little self-critique: I think the flower could have been handled a little more delicately, perhaps using non-granulating colors so that it would be smoother; you can't tell what the vase is sitting on--maybe I should put in the crease of the sofa; the background shadow divides the composition in two and could be a better shape...

My students are going to be painting this, or a similar image of their own devising, during the next two weeks. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I will respond as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed our first lesson!

Susan Murphy, ARThouse, Friday January 27, 2012

Still Life class with Susan Murphy starts next week

2012-01-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

Our class Still Life with a Difference starts next week. You may have been wondering, What is the definition of Still Life? Well, according to Webster it is "a representation chiefly of inanimate objects". So to me that would include many possibilities, including the inclusion of flowers in a vase, which are alive but the definition says chiefly of inanimate objects... Which, by the way, makes it hard to understand why they are called Still Life!!!

Still Life as a genre has had a long history in art. The still life paintings done prior to the 20th century were mostly very "academic" looking, to my mind. They are a fascinating view of objects that people felt were important or interesting, and provided insight into those times. Also, they were usually painted meticulously in oil, and often looked a little stilted or mannered, again in my opinion. I prefer the fresh, lively still lifes of contemporary art, with often off-beat compositions, bright color, and a semi-abstract feel. In this course, we are going to emphasize that more modern type of still life painting.

However we still need to learn about rendering the characteristics of objects: their solidity or transparency, their dullness or shininess, their form and texture, and the way light and shadow fall across them. Trying to capture these characteristics in watercolor can be challenging but very, very rewarding. The fun of still life is making something look very real, either with a few carefully chosen strokes and an economy of means, or with the painstaking application of many layers. Whatever is your preferred method of working, we will accomodate you. In creating art, there are never any absolutely correct ways of showing things, which makes it rather difficult to teach. Ultimately the question is whether the results work. What makes a painting "work" will be a constant subject of discussion in this course.

We have 36 people signed up for this course. By now most of you have signed up to receive the blog by email, which means you get an email copy of each posting, including photos, but not including comments. To leave a comment you have to go to the blog itself. At this time, your comment will appear immediately. If you do not have a Google account and "avatar" (picture that represents you), then you will not show up among the "blog followers", but if you are signed up by email, it doesn't matter. I will be communicating with you mainly through the blog, so that your fellow students can see your comments and everybody can benefit from any questions and answers.

We have nametags for everyone in the five classes, and will go around and introduce ourselves briefly when we start the first class. In the first class, we will discuss setting up still lifes and taking photos. I will have several still life photography stations set up around the room for you to play with, so please bring your camera to the first class!! That, along with a notebook, is all you need to bring. Also, I will start a demonstration painting of one of the photos shown below.

If you have any questions, please post them on the blog!

Sue, ARThouse, January 20, 2011

Approaches to still life taken by various well-known artists

2012-01-06T08:03:00.005-05:00

Now I would like to show you some different approaches to still life that have been taken by various well-know artists, mainly in watercolor. Here are numerous examples, and again, please express your opinion about which ones appeal to you most. Please respond by commenting on the blog itself. Your comment will appear immediately. I will be in Florida from Jan 8-15, so I may not get a chance to comment on your comments until I get back.

These are certainly more complicated that what we will probably tackle in class, but they are all examples of still life paintings that I have seen in recent years and admired. Some are from AWS and BWS shows. A few are oils, and are very enticing. Many are tightly rendered and very precise. That does not mean we are always going to paint that way, although we will at least once. If you have any images on file that inspire you personally, please email them to me and I will put them in the next post. Also let me know if there are any still life subjects you are just dying to paint, and we will see what we can do!

--Susan Murphy, ARThouse, January 6, 2012

Keiko Yasuoka "Just Polished"

Jean Uhl Spicer

Shirley Travena "Arctic Poppies"

Shirley Travena "Large Plate of Fruit"

Shirley Travena "Still Life with Yellow Cloth"

Christine Lafuente "Strawberries and Bottles"

Christine Lafuente "Lemon with Eggshells and Teacups"

Christine Lafuente "Sink and Bottles'

Linda Baker "Woven Patterns"

Denny Bond "Rotary"

Keiko Yasuoka "Beautiful Morning"

Chris Krupinski "Pears and Distortion"

Kim Poole "Spice of Life"

Dave Maxwell "Her Royal Majesty"

Judy Nunno "Identity Crisis"

Irena Roman "Shadow"

Leigh Murphy "Morning Light"

Barbara Fox "Blessings"

Raymond Ewing "Bings in a Silver Bowl"

Nancy Stark "A Supporting Role"

Favorite reference photos for Still Life

2012-01-03T11:14:00.004-05:00

Hi Folks,
Many of my students have "voted" for their favorite reference photo to start off our Still Life with a Difference class in late January. The photos were posted in the December 31 blog article. Here are the results so far. You can still post comments to the previous article, though, if you haven't voted yet. When you have to choose how to sign your name you can "comment as" Name/URL. You only need to put your name, not URL (website address) if you do not have one. This is turning out to be an excellent way to find out what you would like to do in class!

14--rooting tulip bulbs
3--white Mellita pitcher with Ikea cups
2--cappuchino with heart
7--watercolor brushes
3--Twinings tea
8--gardenia in glass vase
5--apples in bowl
3--glass ball
4--roses and pink teapot
1--quartet of veggie still lifes
2--pencils in a mug
1--egg shells
1--Chinese food
0--coneflowers on a table with salt and pepper
4--wineglasses and candles
0--black-eyed Susans in a round vase
0--coneflowers on a table with orange juice

Ideas for still life painting

2011-12-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

In preparation for our upcoming Still Life class at ARThouse, I have been going through the photos of possible still life arrangements that I already have on my computer. We will also discuss taking photos in class and create some of our own arrangements to photograph and paint from. But to help get you started, I am posting some ideas below. Please leave a comment at the bottom about which of these inspires you most for painting!

Winter 2012 Watercolor Class: Still Life with a Difference taught by Susan Avis Murphy

2011-12-17T11:50:00.000-05:00

We are offering a new course at ARThouse in winter, 2012, called "Still Life with a Difference". It is intended for intermediate-advanced watercolorists who would like to get some practice and ideas for still life painting. The "difference" refers to the fact that we are not going to paint your typical stodgy, academic-looking still life! Instead we are going to try some fresh perspectives. Here is the registration form for the class. There are still a few openings. Click here for the: Still Life with a Difference registration form

We are going to be using this blog as a way to communicate during the course, so I am going to ask all class members to "follow the blog" using your email address to be alerted to new postings. To do this, please sign in on the right where it says "Follow by Email".

Here are some of my own still life paintings to give you an idea of the kind of things we are going to do:

I am really looking forward to teaching this course. It should be a lot of fun for all of us! If you have any ideas or suggestions for subject matter, please let me know by commenting below. The course will culminate with a student show in April here at The ARThouse Studio School!

Susan Murphy, ARThouse, 12/17/11

An Innovative Textural Background for Watercolor

2011-09-20T17:57:00.002-04:00

I have occasionally used an innovative textural background in my watercolor paintings, which has the effect of giving them a timeless sepia-toned look. I have used this technique primarily for portrait paintings and my construction rubble series. In fact, I discovered the effect accidentally years ago while trying to get an interesting, clay-like background for my rubble paintings. I would like to describe it for you here, especially for my students, who are currently using this technique. I call it the "rivulet technique"

Here are some samples showing the "Rivulet Technique":

This is a close-up from part of the above painting:

My students are ARThouse are currently exploring this technique. It is tricky to do and relies upon utilizing the correct earth colors, such as raw or burnt umber. Actually I wrote an article about the technique for "The watercolor Page" of American Artist magazine back in 1986! For old times sake, here is the original article, click on a thumbnail, and then click the "Image From" text near the bottom to be able to zoom in to read them.

How to build an art collection you can be proud of

2011-02-21T10:06:00.003-05:00

Art reflects style. The kind of artwork you have on your walls is a reflection of you, your interests, your tastes, and your personal history. Let your artwork tell your story. More than any other element of home decor, artwork attracts the attention of visitors, and many are drawn to examine it minutely. It is just as important to invest in good artwork as in a new couch. Here are 15 tips for building an art collection you can be proud of:

Buy originals whenever you can afford it. Original paintings contain subtleties that no reproduction method can completely duplicate. They are inherently more valuable, and in today's economic climate are often a bargain. As a second choice, buy limited-edition giclee prints. These can look excellent, and can be a good addition to your collection for places in the house where you don't need an original.
Buy from accomplished artists. Research the artist and look for a track record of accomplishments and credentials. That way you will be able to speak confidently about the artist and know they are not just a "flash in the pan". Do consider supporting early-career artists, though, if you feel strongly about their work.
Buy artwork you love that speaks to you strongly. You will enjoy the painting for a long, long time if you really love it, and it will be worth every penny. Beautiful art in your environment can be very uplifting.
Have the paintings framed well. Proper framing can really enhance an artwork, while the wrong framing can hurt it. We call it "the framing effect". The right proportions of mat to image, the right colors, and a frame that belongs on the painting are all elements of a classy design.
Smaller works are easier to collect and to hang. Of course you need several large paintings for prime locations, and those should be originals if at all possible. But smaller originals can be "little gems" that can be hung almost anywhere, regardless of your decor. The eclectic style of decorating popular today allows us to tuck a favorite artwork in any small space.
Build your collection around something that reflects you. What kind of things do you love? If you love the outdoors, collect landscape. If you love animals, collect paintings of the animals you love. If you love flowers, collect beautiful flower paintings!
Build your collection around an unusual theme. Here are some quirky themes for an art collection: music, bicycles, coffee cups, Adirondack chairs, food, china and crystal, sunflowers...
Include figure paintings and portraits in your collection. There is such a strong tradition of collecting these subjects, which are of inherent human interest. People are drawn to paintings of people, and at least one classy figure painting is a wonderful addition to any art collection.
Collect works in a variety of media. A sophisticated collector considers all art media to be worthy and broadens their collection to include original oils, watercolors, pastels, acrylic, drawing media, original prints such as etchings, and sculpture. It takes time to build such a collection, but your heirs will appreciate eventually owning some of your valuable works of art, especially if they lived with them as children.
Collect more than one artwork from certain artists. For artists whose work you really admire it is nice to own a small sampling of their work. Doing so will help promote their career and you will develop a relationship with the artist. Believe me, they will appreciate this tremendously!
Own several large "showcase" artworks for prominent areas of the house. There is nothing like a spectacular large artwork to "make" a room. Of course you want to consider this purchase very carefully, because it will be expensive and probably only fit in one spot. We can help you with this. Most artists will allow you to take artwork home "on approval" before you commit to purchasing.
Consider commissioning an artwork. For those special large paintings you might be able to commission a piece if you cannot find exactly what you are looking for. Be prepared to pay a little more, though, because commissions are risky for artists (and for you!). Some would be willing to work with you on colors for a certain situation, especially for a large abstract piece.
See the artwork in person before you buy it, especially if it is large. Some people are willing to take the risk of buying sight unseen through the Internet, but be careful. You really need to experience the scale and impact of the piece in person. Far better is to visit the artist in their studio or visit a gallery. Don't worry about feeling "trapped" --artists understand that it takes time to commit to an artwork. You may need to see it several times or take it home on approval.
Get documentation about the artwork from the artist. The artwork should come with an artist biography, title, and hopefully date of production, and perhaps a word about materials and their archival properties. (Be wary of buying art that is not made with lasting materials--paints that are not lightfast, for example, or collage materials that are not acid-free. You should ask the artist about this.)
Take good care of the artwork you own. Keep it on the wall so it stays away from dust and humid places. Be sure the framing is in good repair. If the dust cover on the back is ripped, tiny insects can get inside. Be sure the art, if matted, has archival quality materials around it and behind it. If you need to store it, place it in a sturdy plastic bag first, and store it upright, not sideways.

25 Ideas for the Working Artist from ARThouse Students

2011-01-31T09:14:00.001-05:00

On the last day of our ARThouse Student Show, we had a "Take-down Party". I asked everybody to contribute an "art idea" to the Idea Basket. The artists came up with lots of excellent tips and ideas, some practical, some philosophical, for the working artist. Since this was primarily a watercolor group, many of these apply to watercolor, but there is lots of "meat" in here for everybody!

25 Ideas from ARThouse students for the Idea Basket: (Sue Murphy's comments in [......])

Purchase an inexpensive mat cutter (A.C.Moore, Michael's, Plaza Art or online) as a reasonable one-time investment. This makes it easier to give paintings and prints to friends and relatives.
When trying out new techniques or approaches, such as abstraction, buy some cheap paper so you don't feel so pressured about wasting paper!!! I purchased a pad of Strathmore 100 lb cold press paper (11x15”) which costs less than $1.00 per sheet. That way I can experiment without blowing the budget. [Plus sometimes cheap papers give you unusual effects!]
Whenever you go out, take your camera and/or something to sketch on. [Keep an old camera in the car]
Keep several painting projects going at once and have them nearby for 15 minutes of work.
When deciding on your composition, always keep various size mats to help select the area to paint.
Mr. Clean “Magic Eraser” will lift nearly any paint color. Just cut off a small part of the sponge, wet it, and rub.
Here is an online discussion between two artists about their different styles. There are slides explaining their views, but no video: http://artistsnetwork.com/artists-network-online-event-joyce-and-guy. It is very interesting [as they compare their approach to the same painting].
Have a group tour and critique of selected paintings from the BWS Mid-Atlantic show. [We might do this—will let you know]
At the end of a painting session, jot down a few notes about things you are thinking about doing next, like “soften edge of left arm” or “darken shadows under tree”. This will help you get into the swing of things when you return to the painting next time.
Trace your sketch onto your paper before soaking and stretching. This way, when the paper is dry the pencil lines are essentially permanent, so small details won't wash off as you work. If you want to make changes, you can remove the pencil lines with a Mr. Clean magic eraser before you paint that area.
Learn more about depth of field and perspective using various means (color, line. etc.)
Your paintings are YOUR ideas. It is OK if others do not view your work with the same understanding.
Thumbnail value sketches are excellent prerequisites before using your “good sheet” of paper, allowing ideas in placement, value, main focus and light direction to be developed before you paint.
The degree of finish for a painting has to be a personal choice.
Consider changing the date of the ARThouse Student Show from late fall to spring. Advantages: 1) less pressure and competition from holiday events with their obligations, travel, gift buying, baking. etc., 2) after April 15 when taxes are paid, it is easier for customers to budget their expenses, 3) the weather is nicer with more people apt to be attracted to the show. [Will consider this, but spring is very busy too!]
A word to the wise...never express how much you as a watercolorist ALSO enjoy painting with acrylics!
Take classes with a variety of teachers to avoid copying only the style of your original teacher and develop your own personal style.
Unwanted paintings can be used as “underpaintings” for new ideas using another media, OR collages. Try, try again! [Stick failed or unfinished paintings in a drawer somewhere—they might be useful...]
If you really don't like your painting, wash the paint off under the faucet, dry and re-use.
White, smooth packaging cardboard pieces [or scrap watercolor paper] make good practice sheets to use before you made a new stroke on your painting.
Work hard on rescuing failed paintings! [Try finishing every painting—you can usually turn it around!]
Go to the library and check out art books. I have learned so much from the books and have been introduced to many styles and techniques.
Paint your inspiration! Paint with inspiration! Let your painting be an inspiration!
Explore different surfaces.
Don't be afraid to use mixed media, such as watercolor and pastel.

Seven Characteristics of a Good Juried Show Painting

2010-09-20T08:13:00.014-04:00

What are the characteristics of a painting most likely to be accepted in a juried show and possibly win an award?

This is the question many artists ask themselves. I have thought about this a great deal, having entered quite a few juried shows during my 30-year painting career, and here is my analysis of the seven characteristics of an award-winning juried show painting:

•

–Intentionality: the artist’s intentions are clear and have been fulfilled—it looks like you knew what you wanted to do and did it with passion

–Universality: the image has universal appeal and is something we all can relate to; it should not require too much “decipherment” or be so personal we can't figure it out

–Execution: the painting shows a mastery of technique, whether it be abstract or realistic, tight or loose; the artist has confidence in the handling of materials

–Conciseness: the painting tells one story, poignantly, without unnecessary components

–Composition: a good underlying abstract design exists, the composition is balanced with no glaring mistakes in design

–Creativity: the subject is not hackneyed, and if common, an uncommon viewpoint or treatment has been selected; the artist is getting us to look at things in a new way
Timelessness: the painting's subject matter would intrigue us at any time in history--it makes us stop and think about life and the universe

Here are some paintings that won awards in the BWS Mid-Atlantic Exhibition juried by Jean Uhl Spicer last spring 2010. What do you think? Do they meet some of the criteria mentioned above?:

The Maya of Chichicastenango by Jan Ledbetter, Silver Medal

Stuck at the Top by Susan Stuller, Bronze Medal

Green Gloves by Jeannie McGuire, $250 award

Voyage by Denny Bond, $133 award

Charleston Market by Patricia Herlihy, $100 award

Between Us by Nancy Stark, $200 award

Old Fishmarket Close by Dale Sheldon, $133 award

Here is what some juror's have said they were looking for in selecting the pieces for the show:

•“In choosing the paintings for the exhibition, I have kept three things in mind: exciting design, paint quality and strong values.” Frank Francese, juror of Baltimore Watercolor Society 2009 Mid-Atlantic show

•“My challenge was to select those paintings that best conveyed creative approaches and displayed a personal concept regardless of technical ability. I also rely on the emotional resonse I feel at first look.” Jean Uhl Spicer, juror of 2010 Baltimore Watercolor Society Mid-Atlantic show.

•“I looked for paintings that exhibited a very personal connection between the artist and the work”. Carl Purcell, juror 2009 National Watercolor Society show

•“I responded to those works that made me think or see in a new way. Interpretation, a personal vision, strength of design, content, and authority in the use of materials were important as I made my choices.” Carol Pickle, juror of Adirondack National 2010 Exhibition of American Watercolor

•“Before looking at any work, I decided on a further criterion for awards: I would reward original thinking—artists who took risks and pushed their media beyond traditional standards of execution.” Michaele Harrington, juror for awards of Kensington, MD “Paint the Town”, 2010

Here at ARThouse, I am currently teaching a course called "Art Professionalism and Independant Study". We are looking at questions like this with the aim of developing artwork that is professional and likely to succeed in the highly competitive art world. Juried shows serve a very important role in the art world: they help "raise the bar" on quality and inspire artists to do their very best work.

What do you think are the most important characteristics of a good juried show painting? What have I missed?

Susan Murphy, ARThouse, September 20, 2010

Painting portraits in watercolor

2010-08-10T07:33:00.012-04:00

We held a portrait painting course here at the ARThouse Studio School this past summer, and I would like to share with you some of the things we learned about painting a portrait in watercolor and some of the results obtained from students! First, here are some samples of the demonstration paintings I did during the course:

"Oscar Wilde" watercolor painted in neutral tint, 10x13"

"Sasha" watercolor, 10x13"

"Chloe with Red Poppy", watercolor, 20x14

"Dad", watercolor, 14x18

Here are 10 tips for portraits:

Make some decisions before you start: How loose or tight is the painting going to be? How are you going to handle the background? What do you want to convey about the person? How can you make this a more compelling portrait? What colors are you going to use?
The face is basically a three-dimensional sculptural form. Give it form by concentrating on the shadow shapes and their values. Then worry about the features and details.
Use a Masquepen to preserve small white areas that would be difficult to paint around, such as strands on hair or beard.
A good color combination for flesh tones is brown madder, new gamboge, and cobalt blue medium. You can use any combination of these to produce different shades of skin, in light or in shadow. Beware of rose madder genuine since it is not really lightfast, and beware of cobalt blue dark because it granulates too much.
Be aware of the soft edges of many shadows on the face. You can either try to obtain them directly by softening your edges with a damp brush after putting them down, or gently soften the edges with a stencil brush after they are dry.
Be careful about using blues and purples in the flesh tones. Only use them in the shadows--in the light they can look like bruises.
The value contrasts in your picture will help convey the type of light. In bright clear sunlight, the value contrasts will be very dark, while on an overcast day they will be subdued.
Depending on your style, you may not want to over-emphasize certain things: teeth, if showing, should only be suggested, eyebrows made fairly light, hair painted mostly in tresses.
Create a soft transition from the top of the forehead into the hair.
Work from the general to the specific. Then, when you have added a certain amount of detail, you may find that you are done sooner than you thought!

And now, last but not least, here is a sample of some of the paintings students completed during the course:

"Charles Dickens", watercolor by Carol Riddle

"Chloe", watercolor by Jean Perretta

"Louisa", watercolor by Evelyn McKay

"My Little Girl", watercolor by Louise Jung

"Little Boy and Dog", watercolor by Donna Moeller

"Oscar Wilde" watercolor by Tanya Rostovtseva

"Man from Manassas" watercolor by Donna Moeller

"Checkered Hat" watercolor by Sally Drew

"A Little Girl I Know" watercolor by Mimi Hegler

Aren't they great!? We had a lot of fun painting these portraits, and many more will be on display at the ARThouse student show this December 4 & 5--stay tuned.

Susan Murphy

Come see! Our ARThouse Spring Show June 19-Sept 26

2010-06-18T08:59:00.005-04:00

I hope you can come to our annual Spring Studio Show this weekend! If you miss the opening event, you can still see the show--it is on until September 26. However some of the paintings might be missing--we hope to sell a few! The opening, which is June 19 & 20 from 11-5 pm both days, is quite a gala event. We will have beautiful refreshments, including our May Bowl (Rhine wine flavored with home-grown sweet woodruff and decorated with flowers and strawberries), and lots of fancy finger foods. If the weather is good, the show will take place partially "en plein air" on the front lawn of ARThouse.

I am thrilled to introduce artist Roberta Staat to our ARThouse community. She is our new drawing instructor at ARThouse and I have invited her to join me in our annual studio show. Your invitation is above!

Roberta is a life-long artist who has lived in the Olney, Maryland area for about 20 years, and is well-known in these parts. She is co-organizer of the "Plein Aire Olney" outdoor painting event that will take place in September. Please see the ARThouse website for more information about this--www.arthouseart.com.

Roberta is one artist who loves to draw! Especially cows and farm critters! She also paints beautifully in oil, using a bold, painterly style. You can see many of her paintings at the show.

Roberta has been teaching beginner and intermediate drawing classes at ARThouse this past year, and is starting a new class on June 21, "Drawing the Face and Figure". You may still be able to sign up--again, go to our website at www.arthouseart.com to find a registration form.

Hope to see you at the show!
Sue Murphy

I attended an amazing conference: "Art of the Portrait"

2010-05-17T06:19:00.020-04:00

Hi Folks! Just wanted to fill you in on an amazing 4-day conference I attended in April: "The Art of the Portrait" 2010 annual conference sponsored by the Portrait Society of America and held in Reston Virginia. I am so glad I went to this event--it was worth every minute and every penny! My sister, Doris Murphy, from Pennington, NJ, came with me and we had a lot of fun.
The organizers, who are some of America's best artists of portrait and figurative art, invited 15 "faculty members" to come and give talks and demonstrations before an audience of about 800 artists from all over the country. For more info and list of the faculty, check out their website at www.portraitsociety.org. Also, for some live material, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Portrait-Society-of-America .

For me, some of the highlights were the "Face-off", where the 15 invited faculty members painted live models for 2 hours in a setting where you could walk around and watch them up close. I was particularly interested in watching Robert Liberace paint the model "Ellyn", because the next day, Doris and I would be taking a drawing workshop with him. Here are some photos:

Another highlight was a special event they had called "The Mystery Panel Sale". I have never seen such an art buying frenzy! The Portrait Society asked 140 respected portrait artists to paint and donate a 6x9" masonite panel to be sold at this event. Each painting was $225 and none were signed, so you did not know who the artist was, and some were very famous... The paintings were all covered with a black cloth, except for a 10 minute period when hundreds of people were present, and they were unveiled. You had 10 minutes to decide which one you might like to buy. I had my eye on #48, which I suspected was by last year's Grand Prize Winner, Joseph Todorovitch. Wouldn't you know, about 20 other people wanted that painting. So we all put our name badges in a hat, and they drew mine! And lo-and-behold, it was by Joseph Todorovitch! I was the happiest person around, and everybody was so jealous! I was introduced to Joseph, and here is my photo with him and his beautiful painting, "Corina":

Joseph is a truly amazing painter and very nice person. You should check out his website at: www.onejoseph.com. Here is a close-up of his painting after I framed it:

And my sister Doris bought this beautiful painting by Maryland artist Sam Robinson--here she is posing with the artist!:

Another highlight was the watercolor demonstration by Mary Whyte using Burt Silverman as a model! They had three huge video monitors in the ballroom, so that anyone in the huge room could get a good view of the demonstration. Here is Mary talking with Burt and the split screen image we were watching as Mary Whyte did her portrait:

Taking this conference served me very well, since I have been concentrating on painting people lately. In fact, it was an excellent preliminary activity for the course I will be teaching at ARThouse this summer, called "Painting the Face and Figure in Watercolor". We are also having a drawing class this summer called "Drawing the Face and Figure" taught by Roberta Staat. See my website www.arthouseart.com for information about classes at ARThouse.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Let me know if you have a comment! --Sue

I took a great workshop with Jean Uhl Spicer

2010-04-14T10:21:00.022-04:00

Hi Folks,

I just got back from a great four-day watercolor workshop in flower painting with Jean Uhl Spicer. Jean is a wonderful artist from Philadelphia who has been working professionally as a artist all her life, and recently published a book with North Light called "Bright and Beautiful Flowers in Watercolor".

The workshop took place at the Howard County Center for the Arts in Ellicott City, Maryland, and was sponsored by the Baltimore Watercolor Society. Jean was the juror for the BWS' 2010 Mid-Atlantic Watercolor Exhibition this year. The show starts Saturday, April 17, at Strathmore Hall in Rockville and is an absolute must-see!

Each day in the workshop we took a different approach to painting the incredible fresh flowers she brought in. Below I am going to show you some examples of the paintings she did, and the paintings I did, and try to explain her technique a little bit.

Below is a picture I took of Jean demonstrating, and also some examples of Jean's paintings from the workshop.

Below are some of the paintings I did in the workshop (the last one is not finished yet), and then I will describe Jean's approach and palette of colors:

To me, Jean's flower paintings are characterized by an incredibly vibrant, cheerful look in which the flowers have a lot of personality and look almost cute and perky. She really simplifies and stylizes what she sees so that the main subjects of the painting are really color, shape and value. You appreciate the beauty of her paintings, not only for their depiction of flowers, but for the way the gorgeous colors flow and the interesting shapes interlock.

One key to her success with color is the palette of colors she uses. For yellows, she uses aureolin, Hansa yellow, and quinacridone gold. For reds, quinacridone red, cadmium scarlet, permanent magenta, and brown madder. And for blues she uses cobalt blue, French ultramarine, cerulean blue, and Antwerp, and occasionally Payne's gray. She doesn't have any greens or purples on her palette, but creates them with beautiful mixtures of the above colors.

Another key is the fact that she always squeezes out fresh paint. Her manner of application is very wet and juicy with lots of rich color. She encourages colors to blend together on the paper from one flower to another, creating interesting watercolory effects. Later she glazes with still bright, but darker colors in order to pull out details and negative shapes. These are just some of the ideas she conveyed in the workshop.

Other students in the workshop did excellent work and everybody had a great time. Jean Spicer is an extremely nice person and very capable teacher. Check out her website at www.jeanuhlspicer.com

I hope you enjoyed this posting, and please let me know your thoughts.

Painting on watercolor canvas

2010-03-26T15:51:00.027-04:00

Painting on "watercolor canvas"

I have always wanted to try that "watercolor canvas" sold by Fredrix, because I thought it might produce some interesting surface characteristics, especially a nice "woven" look. Painting watercolor on canvas didn't make much sense to me, I admit, but I am always looking for unusual textures. So I bought a bunch and had my classes experiment with it. It cost about $5.00 for a 12x16 inch piece, and comes with a nice brochure explaining its use.

At the same time, I have been painting a lot of portraits lately, and have always wanted to paint from old-fashioned photographs of ancestors, etc. One nice thing about watercolor canvas is that the paint wipes off with water extremely easily, so it lends itself to my favorite technique of putting the paint on and then taking it off! That is, selectively removing the paint to get the light areas of the picture without laboriously having to paint around them or mask them out. I like to use this technique for portraits and have been doing a series of paintings in this style.

So we all brought in old black & white or sepia-toned pictures and had fun selecting. We discussed the importance of painting from your own photographs first, though. In this case, we did not take the photos, but it seems like they should be fair game because after all, they are pictures of our own family members and we should have a right to paint them. I am referring to the dilemma of borrowing subject matter that has been gathered by others before us. This is a tricky subject in the art world. Generally, you would not be able to submit a painting based upon someone else's photo to a juried show, where the premise is that the artwork is completely your own, from start to finish.

There is a large "gray area" here though, in my opinion. Of course, for your own painting, you can paint anything you like. For the sake of your integrity, though, you shouldn't try to pass it off as your own if it is based on someone else's photo. It is not just a matter of copyright, but of the fact that a lot of creative effort goes into choosing the subject matter and circumstances of shooting that photo, and you had little to do with that creative effort except in choosing the photo as a reference for your painting. What about cases where you incorporate just a little bit of someone else's material, or abstract it a lot? A rule of thumb is that if a non-artist should look at your painting next to the source material and be able to say that "this is a copy of that", then it is too close. All artwork is derivative to some extent. We are all influenced by other work and subjects we see, but our work must not be so derivative that it is obviously a copy.

That being said, however, I chose to paint a picture of Charles Dickens as a demonstration of painting a portrait on watercolor canvas. I would not submit this painting to a juried show. But I think the image, which I obtained from the web, is fair game for a painting. The image is about 150 years old and Charles Dickens died in 1870. Why can't I paint him? What do you think?

The other painting is of my great-great-grandmother, Lydia Hurlbut Loveland. How do you like that name? She was married in 1850 to Robert Packer Brodhead, I believe, and they lived in Kingston, NY. The painting on the wall in the picture is one of my paintings of my son Paul. So it is my great-great-grandmother sitting in front of a painting done by her great-great-granddaughter of her great-great-great-grandson! How's that for time travel?

The paintings were both started with a wash of burnt umber, and then paint was both removed and applied after that. It is a fun process and the surface is highly re-workable, similar to an oil painting. I think I really like this watercolor canvas! Let me know what you think...

Sue

Painting watercolor on gessoed board

2010-03-16T12:09:00.011-04:00

I am teaching a course in my studio, ARThouse, this spring about painting in watercolor on different surfaces, other than the usual Arches 140 lb cold-press that so many watercolorists rely on. Last time we painted on gessoed illustration board, something I hadn't done in a while, and the results were very interesting. If you've never tried this, you really should! Above are some of the demonstration paintings I did for the classes.

On this surface, you end up seeing the brushstrokes made when applying the gesso. It has an interesting effect--almost like an oil painting that is actually a watercolor. But it depends on how you apply the gesso. Here is how I did it:

I took a sheet of 4-ply Strathmore 500 illustration board (acid-free) and cut it up into the desired size (the mug is on a 6x6 inch sheet, while the painting "Beach Boys" is on a 12x19" sheet. Then I taped the edges with 1" drafting tape to get a clean edge at the end. I then applied acrylic gesso with a 1" flat brush, using about 1 Tbsp for every 6 sq inches of board. I applied it evenly and then created interesting brush marks in the wet gesso, similar to one of those old-fashioned plastered ceilings. I let this dry for several hours.

When you paint on this surface, it is kind of weird. The watercolor beads up at first and just lies on the top. The great thing is that it is almost completely removable when dry. So this surface is extremely "re-workable". My painting style relies a lot on selective removal or paint, so I love this attribute. Try it--you'll like it!

--Sue

ARThouse Studio School

2010-02-17T10:03:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the ARThouse School Blogsite!

Hi, I am Susan "Avis" Murphy, the creator of this blog, an artist, and owner and operator of the ARThouse Studio School in Sandy Spring, Maryland. In a nutshell, ARThouse is my personal studio/gallery for creation and display of my watercolor paintings, and it also is a venue for art teaching and workshops. Hence we are now calling it the ARThouse Studio School.