Jerry's Art of the Carolinas...

So glad to have been a part of the Jerry's event at the North Raleigh Hilton this past weekend. The students were great!  My classes were really interesting  - for both of us!...a lecture on The Color of Light, creating color charts for The Color of People, building better portraits through clearer understanding of the individual features in Parts and Pieces, and the busiest class, Great Faces! Special thanks to all the manufacturers who sponsored my classes. Go look at http://www.ampersandart.com/  http://www.savoirfaire.com/ and http://www.sennelier.fr/ and http://www.strathmoreartist.com/ and http://www.richesonart.com/   I love working with your materials...your materials make my art the best it can be...   And those students had such talent and enthusiasm, all ages, all backgrounds - their energy just gave me more energy.  I love, love, love demonstrating portrait sketches. It is always so much fun...really magical... to see an image develop from nothing on a blank canvas. Come back and see me...every one of you!

Looking back at the oil sketch...

Here is a oil portrait sketch I did of a lovely fellow who modeled for one of my workshops a few years ago. I think this is still one of my favorites.  Have you ever noticed how the more spontaneous the work - all while talking, explaning color, value, placement, lighting -  is the real ticket!  All that chatter you are pouring out to the students helps somehow to keep part of your brain occupied so that you don't overwork the painting.  You just do it! And this character study is all in the eye and the corner of the mouth..not to mention the rakish tilt of the hat! I guarantee that you would recognize him in a crowd.

The two hour oil sketch...

Today I would like to share this 24 x 20 oil sketch with you today.  Dana was one of my interns two years ago. She came to me to learn more about figure drawing as she was preparing to go on to the Savannah School of Art for fashion design. We have a great internships program here at Artspace http://www.artspacenc.org/  that works in conjunction with our scool system and the local colleges.  We train them in the business of art, all aspects of creating art, stocking the studio, difference in materials, difference in techniques, the basic daily life of the studio....and in return the students help us with daily work of all types and occasionally assist us with our workshops or classes, deliveries, etc.  This sketch was done in about two hours...note the unfinished hands... but it really caught her in a great spot under the sky light.  Please call for pricing.

I'd like John Singer Sargent's opinion...

When I painted this sample oil portrait, I needed a solid, showy artwork for a faculty show in another state.  In my mind, the real key to this appealing painting is in its simplicity, elegance, and debonaire quality of the gentleman.  Happily, when people see this 40 x 30 oil in my studio, they often say how it reminds them of John Singer Sargent. Well, flattering as that may be (and whether they are educated enough in art to truly make such a comparison may be in question), I wonder what his opinion would be on this comparison? We too often hear something referred to as Sargent-esque.Wouldn't it be wonderful to have an opportunity to talk with a master painter just for a quick critique?  Let me know what you think. What makes a painting timeless and appealing...and maybe - Sargent - esque?

A good lesson...

Try to keep your paintings, sketches, sketchbooks in some version of order. As you keep in touch with past clients, you may find that they wish to purchase historic materials.  Because I do so many compositional sketches for a portrait assignment, there are always more options for paintings than I will end up doing for the client. The parents of this little girl contacted me to purchase several pieces from that earlier project - graphite compositional sketches or watercolor color plans/studies. This is a detail from the final painting - a large double pastel of this little girl and her older sister. I should tell you a secret now...this was painted 17 years ago! It is still one of my favorites. How nice to hear back from those clients...

Working studio...

Welcome to my working studio.  Of the two rooms, this is the back room where the skylight gives me as much good light as I can hope for in an historic building.  My working wall is full of heightened chacoal sketches that I am using to work out sizes and compositions for paintings.  These three are 24 x 30 and 30 x 36. You can see tables with boxes that have just arrived, a couple of oil paintings in progress, and a large ink drawing on newsprint testing out the size requested by a client for their double portrait...the usual jumble of things that move in and out of the space as I work.

Rocky Stream...

Happy Halloween. I thought I might have some Halloweeners visiting the studio today. But instead,  the 76 degree weather must have taken them out doors to enjoy this lovely fall day. It reminded me of a day last month, before the leaves began to change, when we found this lovely rocky stream not far from our house on the north side of town. This is a 5 x 7 watercolor on Aquaboard that I did that day. A really pleasant day...I want to go back and explore some more. $150/$5/NCSTx

Quick sketches...

The best thing I can recommend over and over again is to do lots of sketching.  Some of my students have told me the last few days that they enjoyed seeing these little quick sketches that I do all the time.  I was also reminded of the time I accompanied my daughter to Vienna when she was singing with a group that was performing there.  I sketched everything! The buildings, the interiors, the singers, the hotel... I had my sketchbook with me all the time. Good or bad, fast or slow, I was indelibly etching these images on my brain in a way that a momentary snapshot never would.  Now get out the pencils and get to work!  This quick sketch is graphite and watercolor... $50/$5shp/NCSTx

Vienna Boys Choir...

...and so in the middle of the recuperation and cabin fever what should come to Raleigh but the Vienna Boys Choir.  What a treat... All along the audience had the delight of hearing these angelic voices. What we were surprised with was the behind the music notebook antics that caused the giggling to ensue.  Our friends and my husband and I had the good fortune to have been given these lovely seats 8th row center orchestra, so we were privy to all the on stage shenanigans.  They were after all a bunch of little boys... and how they managed to travel with 25  7-12year olders I'll never know.  The littlest and the biggest were teamed on the front row...whatever it was that set them off - it affected the front 10 rows or so as well.  This was a little memory sketch in graphite and watercolor I dashed off when I returned home...  $50 /$5shp/ NCSTx

The cafe series...in the piazza

Continuing the cafe series, I want to impress on my students that the graphite/watercolor sketch is the fastest possible way to collect ideas.  Seated, and sometimes standing, just about anywhere for a very short time can give you movement, placement, rough shapes and the basic idea and feel of the place. Use dozens of these to create the painting later int he studio if you are not comfortable with the "street show" you become as an on site plein aire painter. This is 5 x7. $50/$5sh/NCSTx

The cafe series...the red dress

This is a quick 7 x 5 watercolor sketch of a lovely, tall woman in red... on a cell phone.  I thought the burgundy of the dress matched the cabernet she was enjoying. Back when I was doing a series of cell phone paintings, this was among the quick sketches. I love that we have these wonderful outdoor cafes even here in Carolina now. It has taken years, but I am so happy that Raleigh has added our wonderful cafes and this lovely way to enjoy food, friends, and the beauty of the day.  $50/$5sh/NCstx

The cafe series...near the villa

I think that this was a very interesting juxtaposition of the cafe near an amazing palazzo behind the wall. The building of the cafe is off to the left out of the frame of my 5 x 7 inch watercolor sketch.  But in this series of cafes in Italy, I was surprised at how many of these I collected over time in many different media. These little ones are easy to do in your lap or on the table after expresso and biscotti. Families, sunshine, great food, a little vino make up a great great day...
$150.00/ $5shipping/ NCSTx

The cafe series...

A wonderful artist Johanna Spinks is off to France to do a five week residency. Love the idea. She will have a marvelous time.http://portraitpaintingbyjohannaspinks.blogspot.com/ to see her things. She will certainly have time to enjoy the scenery in the villages as well as the famous towns and their museums. In the meantime, I thought I might bring out my cafe series from Italy for you to see. This is a 7x5 oil called "Waiting." Just a little something fun.  There will be some more later this week.

A portrait warmup....

This young lady was the perfect subject for a quick warm up. You know that painters, like dancers, singers, pianists, etc., really tend to to warmups before beginning a long day's work. Many of us do tiny 5x7 paintings as a warmup or preliminary. But sometimes it feels good just to do as I did today and grab a 20 x 16 canvas that had a nice thick palette knife layer of texture onto which the painting could fly out of the brush... And this one really did. Let me know what you think...

N. C. State Fair...

One of my fondest memories, biggest challenges, and favorite people in a non-typical work environment is the 25 years I spent as the Superintendent of the Art Department of the North Carolina State Fair. I was on contract with the state to produce a state-wide art exhibition every fall in Raleigh at the State Fair. When I arrived, we took in about 300 snap shots and art pieces in a WWI warehouse building on the fairgrounds near the RR tracks. We gave out a small amount of prize monies in $10, $20, $30 increments. What a joy it was to become a part of this crazy family of administrators, full time workers, and part time helpers who came together once a year to put on this great family oriented party! Logistically, it was a nightmare. We used to take in, catalog, tag, wrap, store, judge, hang, label, ribbon, and open the show all in 6 days. We were up for 10 days and reversed the process in 1 day at close. Whew! Over time the department grew to take in nearly 2,600 pieces of art and award $23,000 in cash, college scholarships, and products. By that time, we were the featured show in the nicest building on the fairgrounds...the Governor Bob Scott Building where the big Jim Graham Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture would move his office for the length of the fair. He sat over us with a wall of glass windows looking down on us like God. It was a great challenge and great fun...and a LOT of work. But at the end we had wonderful judges coming from all over the US and wonderful museums in DC and up and down the east coast. And the artwork was better and better with each passing year...it was quite the show to be in. I have not been a part of the fair for a number of years now. But this year, I was asked back to Judge a category that was added... it is for a deserving portrait or figurative piece. The ribbon and award are called, "Luana Luconi Winner Faces of Carolina." what a nice, full circle feel that has... Thanks guys! http://www.ncstatefair.org/2009/

Sketch to final oil portrait...

The sketch I shared with you earlier was completed at as oil portrait. This posthumous portrait is nearly complete and may have a change or two requested by the family concerning the necklace. If we decide to make a change, I will share the final version with you.

With great disappointment...

I have no artwork to share with you tonight. It is a great disappointment that I am unable to be in Pasadena to teach my classes this week. When I broke my leg last week, I still fully intended to make the trip. But due to complications, it was recommended that I remain home. I particularly want to thank the folks at SilverBrush.com, Ampersand.com, RichesonArt.com, StrathmoreArtist.com, and Sennelier/ Savoir Faire for their continued support.

Portraits in progress...

The sketch stage is so important to me. I feel that I might not be able to move ahead as easily without the study of the head and body language that is accomplished during the drawings. Here is the full graphite sketch of this lovely lady...

Portrait of a lady...

I enjoy waking up everyday looking forward to the work I do. Meeting new people, becoming a part of their lives, and creating an artwork that will last long after the person and the family are gone. This is a posthumous portrait...much more difficult to produce for me. I rely on the personality, the humor, the voice, the visual physique, the movement of the person to dictate how the painting should be completed. With the posthumous portrait, I must gleen all that informtation second hand from family and friends of the subject. This is a graphite detail from one of the sketches we are considering...

Take time for a break...

Okay that was a deceptive title... in reality, I have broken a leg and found that keeping up with most tasks this week to be somewhat more difficult. So I took time off for the break...oh, you get it, right? In the meantime, here is a little watercolor of acorns on the deck. Fall has arrived. The weather is wonderful. Enjoy the days ahead!

Portraits and birthdays...

This is my husband's and daughter's birthday. When Doug was 40, I painted him in a three piece suit and tie and hung the sample portrait in the board room of our office. In recent years, he hit another milestone, and I suggested we do a more casual portrait. He said,"Yes, but this time paint the real me...the beach bum!" Well, although he grew up on the coast of Carolina, he hasn't lived there permanently in over 50 years! But one day, the light was right, the pose was accidental, and everything fell into place. This is a 40 x 30 oil portrait... I have as a sample in my studio now. Our children said it was "so Dad...in his story-telling pose." The Son of a Fisherman...

Drawing - college prep class...

Back in Raleigh I met with my college prep class tonight. These are all high school students 14 to 17 years old...all such talented, interesting kids. What a great bunch! I wish I could have more time with them. Tonight we worked heightened charcoal drawings from white statuary with single light sources...a great way to begin good habits. Here is the 15 minute demo I did...and a wall of most of the students' work tonight. Loved it. Looking forward to next week with everyone.

...so much for nearly daily posts...

All season I have been filling you in on travel and activities as they happened. This month there have been some family events with the older generation that needed a great deal of attention. Painting, business, communication has virtually stopped for the past two weeks. Things are on the upswing now. I will be leaving Florida to return home to Raleigh, my husband, my studio, my activities early this week. But right now I am watching the most beautiful sunset over Clearwater bay on the west coast of Florida and can finally feel the juices flowing to start working again. This is a 20 x 16 oil painting still life I did here some time ago. A view of one of my mother's tables with pearls, teacup, and Italian mirror. Elegant. Quiet.

Beach Beauties and Blogs...

A wonderful artist friend, Mike Rooney, the North Carolina coastal artist who encouraged me to start this blog, offered to share some notes about using blogs in the art business. I am the speaker at the Pastel Society of North Carolina program this coming Saturday ( a week from today) and plan to include his information in this presentation. He's a great guy...just got back from painting in Cape Cod. You need to check out his site at http://mikerooneystudios.blogspot.com/
And so in his honor I am going to run this 5 x 7 oil of a beach beauty digging mussels one more time...
$150.00/ $9shipping/ NCSTx

Ballerina backstage...

This theme was helped along by a lovely young ballerina who posed for me in my studio. We had the opportunity to try a number of things including this 7 x 5 oil painting of a Ballerina on a Box. I love the backstage work. So many wonderful shapes and colors to play with...

Reflecting...

Do we love these little 5x7 oils of ballerinas because of their pensive qualities? Or do we love their poses because they are consumate athletes and are as graceful at rest as they are on stage...

Pastel Portraits and Children...

Like all women I am many things...wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend. As I walked through a building today, I observed a 4 year-old happily shadowing her father - who she clearly adored. I remembered that time when I was that little girl. Later in the day, a family came into the studio. The preteen hanging on her mother enganging her in adult conversation, sharing a girls' moment. "Oh, Mom, look how lovely the dress is in that painting. She looks so beautiful." I remember being that girl, too. I hope that when all is said and done, that my paintings will help the families I paint remember those moments. This is a detail from a pastel portrait of two sisters...the younger one shown here was the flirty, precocious one. I hope that comes through...

Silverpoint drawings...

Today was full of arranging plane flights, preparing papers for classes, and pulling together some images as examples. I was working on two of the classes I will be teaching at Jerry's Art of the Carolinas in November in Raleigh. One is this great "Mr. Wizard's Color of Light Bounce Effects - Physics for Artists Painting Light 101"!! Okay so that's not really the title, but that will be the real point of the class... or show, in this case. I was also working on the class about drawing and painting hands and found one of my old silverpoint drawings that I will be including in the powerpoint explanation. Silver is used... Drawn on clay coated Italian paper 4 x 3 inches. This was done in Florence from a statue in the Medici Chapel.

The Perfect Day...

Today was the perfect day. The weather was at its very best. The sky was incredibly beatiful. I managed to study this morning, write a little, paint without a deadline, cook a great meal, and enjoy it leisurely on the patio over looking the lake until the sun finally set. Perfect. There have been few days like this recently. I am grateful for it. It reminded me of another day in Italy in Panzano near Florence... It was much like the day in this 24 x 30 oil painting. Can you feel the sunlight?

Splendid First Friday...

The evening started off very slowly. So all the artists thought that everyone had gone to the beach for the holiday weekend. Not at all. We had a stunning crowd by 7:30 and it never let down all evening long. Shoulder to shoulder, it was a massive group, all ages ranges. Great interest in the artwork, great questions, great fun. Here is an 11 x 14 pastel on Ampersand board to toss into the mix...

Italian Landscape - Vicino Panzano - the next step...

This project was begun by an invitation to do a show with five other artists for a gallery in Raleigh, NC. Judy Jones, the gallery owner and a marvelous printmaker, decided that it would be interesting to see the results of a show called "Painters under Pressure." This intaglio print that I posted yesterday is of a location near Panzano, Italy. The print image is 4 x 10 with the sheet size being 10 x 16. To hand tint them, I simply used a watercolor wash. Each print then became individual and unique. I did left a few untinted because I loved the pure simplicity of the print and the texture of the paper. Our show opens tomorrow night for Raleigh's First Friday Art Walk.

Italian Landscape - Vicino Panzano

This is an intaglio print that I created this week. The image is a location near Panzano, Italy were we stay frequently when we go - a serene location with lovely rolling hills and vineyards in every direction. The print image is 4 x 10 with the sheet size being 10 x 16. I used a rich chocolate colored ink on creme colored Italian paper...hmm, I must be hungry... Here is the full image and a closeup detail. Tomorrow I will take the prints and hand tint them.

Carolina Coast - One more time...

Here are a couple of closeup images from yesterday's post about the unusual restaurant at the coast of Carolina. Thanks for the calls and emails about this image. I agree with you - it was a most memorable place and it had to be painted. This is a pastel 20 x16 on Ampersand board, and here are two of the interesting areas.

Jolly Rodger, Kill Devil Hills, NC

This is the Jolly Roger Restaurant in Kill Devil Hills. Pastel 20 x 16 on Ampersand. This is a joyful, goofy, eclectic mix of wait staff in pirate costume, Christmas ornaments hanging from every nook, cranny, and ceiling, and this amazing stained glass solarium. We were staying at a quaint motel on the beach, and it included breakfast…but you have to go down the street to the Jolly Roger for that breakfast. Plate-sized pancakes, waffles, eggs, grits, bacon…the Carolina heart-stopping breakfast. The yuppies and northern invasion had not gotten hold of this property yet. It was obviously a small diner that had expanded three or four times with rooms that didn’t quite fit one another, doorways that didn’t quite match up, and vacationer-tacky knickknacks everywhere. However, the bar area/ solarium was just a tremendous surprise at the end of a serpentine walk through the other “memorabilia.” What fun...

Memorial Auditorium at Sunset

After doing a series of quick sketches in graphite, charcoal, or watercolor like the one on yesterday's post, I can more easily decide which composition I prefer for the final work. Yesterday's sketch was a 10 x 8 watercolor and ink. From the group of those sketches, I chose a more elongated design at sunset. This oil painting is on a 36 x 24 inch canvas. Because I wanted a fuller, textured effect with different attack of paint in the columns, the greenery, the glass wall, and the sunset sky, I worked only in palette knife.

Love quick sketches...

It always amazes me when I have spent the day sketching...so many can be done in such a short time. In graphite, in charcoal, in watercolor, in pastel... even in oil... the ideas just flow. When traveling, it is the best way to record ideas. But even at home, we should do more, but we tend not to do our own towns, our own backyards enough. Here is a little watercolor of our Memorial Auditorium. It anchors our main street in downtown Raleigh. At the opposite end - our state Capitol.

Small Oil Portrait

This is a sweet, high key 20x16 oil portrait that is another of those timeless faces,crisp Peter Pan collar,and velvet suspendered knee shorts...sattleshoes, too! Cute, isn't he?