Week 6 or 7 :-) Abstract Landscape

There is only 1 abstract painter in our class, but we all decided to paint abstract landscapes during the week. The above painting is the only one of mine that didn't die on the cutting table. Here are few others from class.

Kathryn Sharpe painted these two gems. I LOVE the texture and depth.

Corina Linden, who "identifies as a value painter" create this painting, which explores the relationship between color vibrancy and reduced value contrast. Here's a link to our teacher Mitch Albala's blog if you're interested in learning more about the topic.

These are the studies that I did that also illustrate the relationship of value and color vibrancy. The black and white version in the top row shows the value contrast. The far right study has the least value contrast and the most color vibrancy.

OK, I'll stop geeking out. My first gallery show (a group show) opened today. Yippee!

Week 5: Color and Depth

We start class by discussing the work each student has completed during the week. This was one of the paintings I showed and our discussion focused on depth vs. flatness. In this painting, there is depth from the perspective, overlap, and scale of elements, but the color does not contribute to the sense of space.

After class as an exercise, I studied the effect of various color palettes applied to the same composition. I copied the color palettes from one of my new favorite artists Irma Cerese. You can see that using lighter less saturated colors as you move back in space does create a greater sense of depth.

Week 4: Short, but sweet

This was a short week because I flew to SF to get my haircut with my mom. Haircuts and lunch with my mom is something I would not want to miss. I did get to paint in Holly Park (painting above) while I was in SF with my friend Maura Carta, check out her great work.

The sweet news is that my paintings were accepted to the Studio Gallery Show, "Tiny and HUGE."
Thanks to Maura, I applied! The show runs from November 8 to December 23rd.

A quick note about the painting above. One of the joys of painting on paper is you can easily crop the painting after it's complete. I wasn't crazy about the original composition. Here is the original and cropped version:

Class at Gage was canceled this week, so I got to paint in the studio all by myself. 

Until next week. May you be happy. Donna

Week 3: Gouache Breakthrough and Color Strategies

After 4 months of painting with gouache, instead of oil, it finally happened — gouache and I bonded for life! This week I found the key for me —TEXTURE; the painting above shows the technique: layering analogous colors with expressive strokes to create interesting textures. Experimenting with underpaintings also added to the fun. For the painting above,  I tried two different underpaintings: warm and cool.

My painting adventure has two tracks -- hours and hours to paint on my own and academic study at Gage Academy. This week’s “school” topic focused on developing an intentional color strategy. Imagine you are going to start a painting, instead of diving in and painting, you explore palette options (e.g., neutral, cool dominate, complementary). For you artists out there, here’s an exercise worth doing. Start with a simple composition, a few major shapes, and then paint it in various color palettes. Here's my exercise. I would probably never paint with pastel colors, but it was fun to experiment. 

Or if there's an artist whose color palette you adore, try applying it to your composition. The Diebenkorn Matisse show at SFMOMA was based on this exact idea. Diebenkorn spent years studying and using Matisse’s color palettes in highly original paintings. Here’s an example, Matisse on the left, Diebenkorn using Matisse's palette on the right. 

Week 2: Amazing Workshop with Mike Hernandez on Whidbey Island

I learned so much from my 3-day workshop with Mike Hernandez. Until this summer, I painted exclusively in oil. I decided to spend the month of July focusing on gouache, opaque watercolor. I loved it and learned this weekend that I barely knew how to use it.

The most fundamental thing I learned -- squirt your paints out on a wet sponge cloth so they don't dry up. I've been spraying and spraying my dry paint to loosen it up. Having paint stay at the right consistency during your session is like baking at the right temperature, makes all the difference.

Mike paints like he is conducting a symphony. Every stroke is intentional and interesting. He talks about rhythm, notes, and accents. The brush doesn't hit the canvas without an intention of exactly what he's trying to accomplish -- the right gesture and color. To see his amazing use of color, look at his work.

Here are a few of my paintings from the workshop:

Like many great teachers, Mike said he believes the fastest way to improve is quantity! Paint a lot every day. To that end, I'll be starting my day with a 12 painting warm-up exercise. Tiny paintings encourage experimentation and learning. Some, like the first on the upper left, won't work. Others provide a new discovery, like the third on the upper right which taught me how much can be said with just a few brush strokes.

Week 1: The Highs & The Lows

As with many weeks, this week contained both highs and lows. The good news is that I've developed strategies to manage the lows, times when I think I'm wasting my time and have no talent. This week's strategy was to copy a painting of an artist I admire. I always learn from the process and because it's a copy, it looks great when it's done and raises my spirits.

This week I copied a Mike Hernandez. I applied what I learned and painted Carmel Cliffs, which is from a photograph I took in Carmel this summer. I'm very happy with the painting and plan to submit it to the Studio Gallery for their "Tiny Show, " which opens in November. Fingers crossed.

Wow.. 9 weeks to just focus on painting!

Somehow everything came together -- time off work, a rental house, and a dog-sitter (my daughter Sammie) -- to allow me to study with the fabulous teacher Mitch Albala at Gage Academy for 9 weeks! I'm in the Advanced Landscape independent study program.

There are 8 students in the class. Here are some pictures of students presenting their work on the first day: