Mon, Nov 2 2009 04:07
| fruit, watercolor, Cezanne
| Permalink
A VISIT WITH CEZANNE IN MY KITCHEN. My watercolor class recently spent a session "painting with Cezanne". Instead of reproducing one of his works, and rather than paint the Still Life we set up for our class, I chose to do my own "study", pretending he was looking over my shoulder as I sipped my mug of Earl Grey and had a TCM marathon day. Even though I may see things differently than Cezanne saw them, his techniques and treatment of ordinary kitchen elements definitely challenged me to expand my personal style.
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INTERMEZZO LADIES. Fall Colors!
Our centerpiece project this week was a pumpkin, picked up at a local fresh market. An excellent values study. An opportunity to contrast warm/cool yellows and figure out how to add those light green smudges on some parts of the skin. Discussed background and shadow color choices, including the use of complementary colors. And Voila! Two artists sitting next to each other "modeled" the Blue & Orange complementary color principles!
A visit to the produce market and I get carried away with the bounty of Fall colors! What am I going to do with all of these watercolor Gala apples after I get the Cezanne urge out of my system? If I continue to eat An Apple A Day. . . how many days are going to have apples in the house?
Sun, Sep 28 2008 04:32
| fruit, sketchbook
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MONDAY MONTAGE. Fruit Sketchbook."Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Edgar Degas
I have been playing around with my same palette, recently going for darker tones and more layering of color washes. In this one, my swirly mosaic background was inspired by Seth's imaginative shoe-fish assignment in my middle school art class this past week. [note to teacher: scan S's fish into my iPhoto gallery]
My students know that I love to paint fruit, especially pears. My husband knows that I love to eat fruit, too. I'm a fanatic about an apple-a-day, and I frequently substitute a crunchy or a juicy pear for a Gala apple.
This gathering of pears came about over a period of time. From week to week I would quickly sketch another cool-shaped pear onto this sketchbook page. And from time to time (like during commercial breaks on NUMBERS, a favorite TV show) I would add more layers of color. Finally, yesterday, I said "Basta"! Enough!
Presenting: Jewel-toned Renaissance Pears!
Sun, Jul 27 2008 04:26
| art tips, fruit, Warm-ups, mondaymontage
| Permalink
MONDAY MONTAGE: WARM-UPS. With any project we endeavor, we can benefit greatly from making an effort to get off to a good start. I'm finding that an appropriate kick-start seems to help me generate better work.
No matter what kind of painting project I'm starting, I like to paint a piece of fresh fruit first. Like a musician or an athlete, artists also do warm-up exercises.
Sketching and/or painting seasonal fruits offers me endless variations on a theme. Painting a single pear, for example, before I move over to my easel, is a great way to experiment with elements of design and color techniques. Later it can be recycled as a thank-you card---IF it turned out good! Otherwise I'll turn it over and try another piece of fruit on the back!
This week it's Southern Peaches. I can smell them sitting in the blue pottery bowl in front of me. Small rectangles of 140 lb. paper torn and ready. Paint box open, jam jar filled with water, and brushes in hand. Golden yellows and rosy pigments combine to create a peachy keen glow.
In the process of painting a peach or an apple, I usually get inspiration for my current project. Just by experimenting with a new color triad, or practicing contour drawing, my creative juices start flowing. The enthusiasm generated by this initial process seems to energize me for tackling the larger project at hand.
And once the mental wheels are turning, I'm able to concentrate on the more complicated elements of a larger painting. What helps you think and work more creatively? What resources do you draw on to get a fresh point of view . . . ? What kind of warm-up exercises help you get going . . . ?
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Fruits . . . like having their portrait painted
"Fruits . . . like having their portrait painted. They seem to sit there and ask your forgiveness for fading. Their thought is given off with their perfumes. They come with all their scents. They speak of the fields they have left. The rain which has nourished them. The daybreaks they have seen." ---Paul Cezanne
I'm back to painting fruit. Warm-up exercises for the waiting-to-be-painted pages in my new Kilimanjaro Bright White wc paper block. A calming break from my tedious lesson plan sessions.
I'm back to painting fruit. Warm-up exercises for the waiting-to-be-painted pages in my new Kilimanjaro Bright White wc paper block. A calming break from my tedious lesson plan sessions.
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