AFTER PAINTING IN PASTEL for years I wanted to try a picture using pastel pencils only. In 1988, a friend gave me a few sheets of 7×10 inch heavily sanded cotton cloth. It was very stiff and had a great deep gray color. Not wishing to take normal painting hours to try the pencils I did a work-around. I grabbed a small box of pencils, the new paper, a little white eyelet doily that was on my end table, and a little bowl purchased at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest (in VA). Voila! My husband and I hopped on an airplane for vacation. Once in the air, I pulled out all my little supplies and opened my snack tray. For the next few hours, I sketched a couple of little vignettes with the two simple elements of fabric and the bowl. My light source was the plane’s tiny double paned...
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THE GREAT Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was a master engraver who most are familiar with. While viewing some of his delicate, incredible engravings at the Museum of Fine Art Huston, I read a few of the tags written beside them. “Dürer based his landscape on meticulous studies he drew from nature.” The notes went on to say, “This interest in close observation of the natural world set Dürer apart from previous artists.” Why have I brought this up? For the simple reason that artists from many ages have drawn from life. Yes, we all can come up with a decent tree from memory. But, it would be a symbol of a tree, not an actual portrait of the tree. It is comforting to know that masters from earlier times than expected have done what many of us are doing today. As we study old masterworks, we can learn how they...
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FOR COLLECTORS: TODAY I AM ROLLING-OUT A PREVIEW of my latest collection, inspired by a small piece I painted years ago of a shop window filled with mannequins adorned with summer belts, tops, bags and hats. I am known for painting the landscape on location or in the studio, however, every artist needs a break to explore other genre when the subject strikes. And strike it has! For over a year, I have been collecting and painting ladies hats from the 20th Century, primarily 1920s through 1960s. Thus, HATS: A Fanciful Fling, got underway. At first, I thought I’d paint each hat like a portrait, but found that they revealed an opportunity to experiment and explore their individual characteristics. What fun!! No doubt, I wanted to paint these little beauties without figures/people to let them take center stage. Perhaps I got carried away; the more I painted, the more interesting the concepts...
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FOR ARTISTS: SOME OF THE MOST FREQUENT QUESTIONS I receive is about pricing one’s art. Just yesterday another came in, so I decided to elaborate on the topic for the benefit of all. “How Should I Price My Paintings?” Q: “You’ve probably been asked this before, but I have trouble when pricing my pieces. What do you do? Years ago, someone suggested using the size of the canvas (sq inch) and multiplying by dollar amount. Others claim there is no formula for doing this, just set an amount (off the top of your head?) Sometimes, I feel funny about setting the price. It varies with work/time/energy/amount of initial cost , i.e. canvas or paints, so I do price considering the variables. What works for you?” Many artists simply throw out a price and hope it sticks. Some painters price by the inch (I’ll address this more later.) Still others...
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ON PAINTING: ALL MY PAINTING LIFE I HAVE CREATED by pastel stick, or by the brush. When teaching workshop participants about how to mix a particular color I generally use a mixing knife (not to be confused with a “palette knife”, which is more for painting than for mixing.) In any event, I usually mix my paint (wet media such as acrylic or oil) I use my brush then apply to the canvas or board. However, within the last few weeks, I have started doing something I never thought I would do. That is, mixing then applying all paint via the knife. I am not generally given to using a knife to paint with, however, sometimes we do a “switcheraroo” on ourselves. I have found myself with the last three pieces created grabbing my mixing knife to paint with! At first, I questioned then put it down…the usual self-talk,...
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