I first met Dawn Whitelaw quite a few years ago, at a Portrait Society of America conference, when I showed her the one and only oil portrait I had ever done. Dawn was very encouraging and I immediately decided I would move heaven and earth to get the chance to study with her one day.
Dawn is a knowledgable and talented instructor, and a prize winning painter, who is down to earth and well organized. Upon arriving for a five day workshop with her, participants are not only graciously offered refreshments, but also presented with a binder containing favorite inspirational quotes, books and websites. The binder includes a supply list, easel positions for the week (to make sure you have a variety of lighting situations) and even suggestions about where to eat lunch! There are also tips on drawing, value, procedure, color mixing, varnishing, brushes, stretching canvas, and cleanup. You are also provided with a CD with images to view on your computer.
For painting people, Dawn uses grey acrylic in a thin, watery wash to stain her alkyd primed canvas. She uses a warmer stain for landscape outdoors, because of all the green. Dawn tones her canvas the value of her hand, the general value of skin in light or sometimes a darker tone for a low key painting.
The palette Dawn uses consists simply of Winton Red #6, French Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Yellow Light. That’s it. She mixes the secondary colors herself and lays out the colors from left to right, on a large wooden palette, starting with 4 “worms” of white and then yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green. The advantage of using just these three colors is that color harmony is easily achieved and at the end of the day you can mix what you have left and save it in the fridge on a paper plate to use the next day as a useful gray.
Dawn occasionally may add lemon yellow or cerulean to her palette to achieve aquamarine (perhaps in a tropical setting), but she would make sure to use that color throughout the painting to ensure color harmony.
Dawn does color charts, by taping out squares on 18x36 foam core which has been treated with acrylic matte medium to seal the surface. It is surprising how great a range of colors can be obtained with this palette. Dawn likes inexpensive Winton paint because it has less pigment and is more oily, so mediums are not necessary.
With regard to composition, for plein air, Dawn spends a lot of time walking around to decide on what to paint. When painting a model, she tries various lighting situations for maximum interest and flattery and talks to the sitter while she is doing this to obtain information. Thumb to middle finger is approximately the face length. You need to take your time when doing this and look carefully at the negative space.
Dawn writes notes immediately after a meeting with her subject in order to record her impressions and she tries to describe the subject succinctly so someone could pick them up at the airport after hearing her description. This helps her to find her way back to her original intention if things begin to go astray.
Some notes on Dawn's procedure:
To begin, you can draw in paint or charcoal. Gesture and measurement are both important, so work on your weakest area!
Start with the darks. While you have paint on your brush, look for other areas that are that color and value. Simplify – mass the shadow on the side of the face with the hair at the start. First, separate the light and dark. For dark colors, keep mixing in the same pile of paint, variations of color.
Hold your palette up to the model and compare the value of the shadow – can the palette stand in for the shadow or is it lighter? If the shadow is darker, you mix a color that is darker than your palette. Trust your palette. Reserve your darkest dark. Work in the middle range of values. Accents of the darkest dark and lightest light finish off a painting.
Mix light colors separately. Light areas have to be calibrated. Most skin is neutral. A close up of pixelated photo shows many colors in skin, but they are all muted. To identify color in light, start with white, add a speck of color and then neutralize it. You can either use the mosaic method of placing spots of color or you can mass in light areas and then vary with color temperature, which is sometimes easier to maintain the correct values. Don’t rely on value when modeling in the light – use temperature and color changes. Turn form with temperature.
Use thin paint and keep your options open. Lay in paint with sides of brush.
Bounce color from clothing into hair and skin when you see it. For a highlight on the lower lip, instead of white, use an intense, pure color in a light value. Hold the palette up and look for what is the exactly the same tone.
Painting is really just correcting mistakes. Fear of getting things in the wrong place is paralyzing, so just put something down and know you can fix it. Is the color neutral? Put something up and then adjust the value. Don’t hyperfocus.
The range of values in reality is greater than what we have in paint. We are limited by our materials – lightest light and darkest dark. Painting is all about relationships.
To finish, ask yourself: What do I need to simplify? It’s not just about detail. If the face is rather rough, the hair cannot be finely rendered. If you keep simplifying, the details will take care of themselves. Finish with a big brush, pull things together and take things out. And remember that no amount of detail will correct wrong shapes and proportions.
When working from photographs, set up a slide show on your computer instead of using just one photograph. For studies – staple alkyd primed linen to ½” gatorboard. Keep your studies – you can use them when painting someone with similar skintones.
Dawn is a fantastic teacher whose methods and materials are very accessible and yield beautiful work. It is somewhat of a revelation to see her achieve these results with just three colors.
(To view examples of some of the paintings I did at Dawn's workshop, go to www.laurelmcbrine.blogspot.com and scroll back to the portraits of "Bruce" and "Erin", both posted on April 29, 2007.)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
EXCITING NEW BOOK FOR ARTISTS!
Many artists are clueless when it comes to marketing their work, but thankfully we now have a great resource from art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com.
Books about marketing usually present ideas for self-promotion that I just would not feel comfortable using. The strategies that Alyson presents feel sincere and natural, not pushy or forced or artificial.
Alyson talks about how to share your work directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets. She addresses all the excuses we use that lead to our lack of success. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about putting together the dreaded artist statement.
I truly believe this book will be invaluable to any artist who wants to be more successful in promoting their work. It is accessible and easily understood with ideas and suggestions that are realistic and easy to implement.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
THANK YOU TO SCOTTSDALE ARTIST'S SCHOOL AND THE WINDGATE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION!
From a letter to a young artist in 1901 . . .
“You say you are studying to become a portrait painter and I think you’d be making a great mistake if you kept that only in view during the time you intend to work in life class, for the object of the student should be to acquire sufficient command over his materials and do whatever nature presents him. The conventionalities of portrait painting are only tolerable in one who is a good painter.
If he is only a good portrait painter, he is a nobody. Try to become a painter first and then apply your knowledge to a special branch. But do not begin by learning what is required for a special branch or you will become a mannerist.”
John Singer Sargent
These words were shared with me by one of my teachers, Everett Raymond Kinstler, and I have taken them to heart. The idea that a painter should work to become well rounded and be able to paint anything, in any situation, led me to request an oil painting class of any type when I applied for a scholarship from the Scottsdale Artist’s School. I had the privilege of studying at this fabulous school the previous spring, when I took a portrait class from William Whitaker and I hoped to have the opportunity to continue my artistic growth. I wished to branch out and challenge myself with new ideas and practices. I believe it is particularly important to work from life and plein air landscape painting requires all the skills and perseverance a painter possesses. You are dealing with the elements – wind, rain, cold, bugs and sun, for instance. You are lugging heavy equipment into rugged terrain and ignoring your hunger and thirst at times. You need to decide on how to render the huge range of value before you. You need to work very quickly to capture the essence of the scene before the light changes too much. You need to convey depth and enough detail without ruining that effect. However, you are also enjoying the beauty of nature and the zen of flow while becoming absorbed in your work.
The class I was awarded, was with Gabor Svagrik, a young artist who specializes in outdoor scenes. I think representational painters naturally gravitate to what they are good at and landscape is a whole different cup of tea from portraiture. When painting the figure, most decisions are made when you set up the pose. What you paint is right in front of you. You certainly don’t change the position of the person’s features, but in landscape painting that is exactly what you do. You must edit and include only part of the panorama you are confronted with. You must simplify the complexity that nature presents and choose the best, most interesting and commanding features of the grand scene before you.
The week spent painting Tucson vistas was exciting and inspirational. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone. I will take what I learned and apply it to my outdoor portraits and continue to work outdoors as much as possible.
I want to sincerely thank Scottsdale Artist’s School and the Windgate Charitable Foundation for their generosity, which has enabled me to continue to expand my abilities. Becoming an artist is a lifelong process, which is why the never ending fascination with painting is such an obsession for many students of art and I am very grateful that they have made it possible for me to advance a little further on that path.
“You say you are studying to become a portrait painter and I think you’d be making a great mistake if you kept that only in view during the time you intend to work in life class, for the object of the student should be to acquire sufficient command over his materials and do whatever nature presents him. The conventionalities of portrait painting are only tolerable in one who is a good painter.
If he is only a good portrait painter, he is a nobody. Try to become a painter first and then apply your knowledge to a special branch. But do not begin by learning what is required for a special branch or you will become a mannerist.”
John Singer Sargent
These words were shared with me by one of my teachers, Everett Raymond Kinstler, and I have taken them to heart. The idea that a painter should work to become well rounded and be able to paint anything, in any situation, led me to request an oil painting class of any type when I applied for a scholarship from the Scottsdale Artist’s School. I had the privilege of studying at this fabulous school the previous spring, when I took a portrait class from William Whitaker and I hoped to have the opportunity to continue my artistic growth. I wished to branch out and challenge myself with new ideas and practices. I believe it is particularly important to work from life and plein air landscape painting requires all the skills and perseverance a painter possesses. You are dealing with the elements – wind, rain, cold, bugs and sun, for instance. You are lugging heavy equipment into rugged terrain and ignoring your hunger and thirst at times. You need to decide on how to render the huge range of value before you. You need to work very quickly to capture the essence of the scene before the light changes too much. You need to convey depth and enough detail without ruining that effect. However, you are also enjoying the beauty of nature and the zen of flow while becoming absorbed in your work.
The class I was awarded, was with Gabor Svagrik, a young artist who specializes in outdoor scenes. I think representational painters naturally gravitate to what they are good at and landscape is a whole different cup of tea from portraiture. When painting the figure, most decisions are made when you set up the pose. What you paint is right in front of you. You certainly don’t change the position of the person’s features, but in landscape painting that is exactly what you do. You must edit and include only part of the panorama you are confronted with. You must simplify the complexity that nature presents and choose the best, most interesting and commanding features of the grand scene before you.
The week spent painting Tucson vistas was exciting and inspirational. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone. I will take what I learned and apply it to my outdoor portraits and continue to work outdoors as much as possible.
I want to sincerely thank Scottsdale Artist’s School and the Windgate Charitable Foundation for their generosity, which has enabled me to continue to expand my abilities. Becoming an artist is a lifelong process, which is why the never ending fascination with painting is such an obsession for many students of art and I am very grateful that they have made it possible for me to advance a little further on that path.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Reilly Palette (Mattelson Version)
As you can see, this palette consists of four strings of color with 9 values plus black and white. The rows of paint daubs consist of:
1. Neutral greys, made with Raw Umber and black with white.
2. Yellows, made with Yellow Ochre and Raw Umber plus black and white.
3. Oranges, made with Terra Rosa, white and black;
4. Pinks, made with Indian Red, white and black.
Make sure when you mix any of these colors together you stay within the same value.
Mixing the palette is rather time consuming and tedious, but it allows for efficient painting and is good practice for anyone struggling with values, the foundation of all realist art.
These colors allow for natural and realistic skin tones. The grey is used to lower the chroma.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
WIPE-OUT!
I often start an indoor sitting with a wipe-out. It is an easy method to quickly establish the masses of light and shadow and get the drawing done before complicating matters with color.
I was introduced to this method by portrait artist Marvin Mattelson, at a workshop where he covered a huge amount of information. After doing a drawing with the wash-in method, he utilizes a prepared palette similar to the one developed in the past by Frank Reilly, except Marvin eschews the use of cadmium pigments. Frank Reilly was an instructor at The Art Students League in New York who trained many artists to paint realistic skin tones in this way. A good book to try and find on the Reilly method is entitled, “The Fine Art of Portraiture: An Academic Approach” by Frank Covino. I believe it is out of print, but can be found in libraries and sometimes for sale.
To prepare for the wipe-out, when using standard acrylic primed canvas, you need to apply a couple of coats of extra acrylic gesso well ahead of time, letting the gesso dry and sanding lightly between coats. The gesso is applied across the canvas both horizontally and vertically to smooth out the brushstrokes. If you use an oil or alkyd primed support you can skip this step.
Before beginning the drawing, the canvas is covered with an extremely thin layer of cold pressed linseed oil. The amount of oil used has to be just right, as too much will result in the paint coming off too easily and not enough will make it difficult to remove the paint right down to the bare primed canvas. Sprinkle the oil over the tip of a palette knife, rub in with a rag and then wipe off most of the oil with another clean rag or paper towel. Test to see if it is ready by rubbing a clean finger over the surface. The finger should not be shiny! Check that the oil is distributed evenly by holding the canvas at an angle to the light and looking carefully over the surface to find any dry areas. Having a thin, even coat of oil is very important to ensure that you get an even layer of paint in the next step!
On a white ceramic tile, Winsor & Newton or Michael Harding Raw Umber oil paint (a 4" strip squeezed out of the tube) is then mixed with one drop each of cold pressed linseed oil and Distilled English Turpentine, plus half a drop of clove Oil (to prevent the paint from drying too fast) and applied evenly to the support with a large brush. Try to get the paint to approximately match the skin in shadow, usually Munsell value 3 or 4, depending on the complexion of your subject.
To remove the paint, gradually rub the paint off with a rag wrapped around your finger. For more detail, you can use stomps (usually intended for drawing) or just wrap the rag around a pencil. You can also use a clean brush to remove paint from the canvas.
For darker areas, apply the paint with a brush, rubbing the oil off the canvas first for the darkest darks.
Since raw umber is a fast drying pigment, your wipe-out will most likely be dry the next day and you will be ready to start applying color.
I don’t always use this method, as I sometimes go right in with color and paint in an alla prima fashion. When I decide to start with a drawing, however, this method is a really unique and fun way to begin. It is especially good for someone just learning to paint, as it breaks down the process and makes it much easier to obtain results in an organized fashion. It is a disciplined approach that simplifies things a lot.
I was introduced to this method by portrait artist Marvin Mattelson, at a workshop where he covered a huge amount of information. After doing a drawing with the wash-in method, he utilizes a prepared palette similar to the one developed in the past by Frank Reilly, except Marvin eschews the use of cadmium pigments. Frank Reilly was an instructor at The Art Students League in New York who trained many artists to paint realistic skin tones in this way. A good book to try and find on the Reilly method is entitled, “The Fine Art of Portraiture: An Academic Approach” by Frank Covino. I believe it is out of print, but can be found in libraries and sometimes for sale.
To prepare for the wipe-out, when using standard acrylic primed canvas, you need to apply a couple of coats of extra acrylic gesso well ahead of time, letting the gesso dry and sanding lightly between coats. The gesso is applied across the canvas both horizontally and vertically to smooth out the brushstrokes. If you use an oil or alkyd primed support you can skip this step.
Before beginning the drawing, the canvas is covered with an extremely thin layer of cold pressed linseed oil. The amount of oil used has to be just right, as too much will result in the paint coming off too easily and not enough will make it difficult to remove the paint right down to the bare primed canvas. Sprinkle the oil over the tip of a palette knife, rub in with a rag and then wipe off most of the oil with another clean rag or paper towel. Test to see if it is ready by rubbing a clean finger over the surface. The finger should not be shiny! Check that the oil is distributed evenly by holding the canvas at an angle to the light and looking carefully over the surface to find any dry areas. Having a thin, even coat of oil is very important to ensure that you get an even layer of paint in the next step!
On a white ceramic tile, Winsor & Newton or Michael Harding Raw Umber oil paint (a 4" strip squeezed out of the tube) is then mixed with one drop each of cold pressed linseed oil and Distilled English Turpentine, plus half a drop of clove Oil (to prevent the paint from drying too fast) and applied evenly to the support with a large brush. Try to get the paint to approximately match the skin in shadow, usually Munsell value 3 or 4, depending on the complexion of your subject.
To remove the paint, gradually rub the paint off with a rag wrapped around your finger. For more detail, you can use stomps (usually intended for drawing) or just wrap the rag around a pencil. You can also use a clean brush to remove paint from the canvas.
For darker areas, apply the paint with a brush, rubbing the oil off the canvas first for the darkest darks.
Since raw umber is a fast drying pigment, your wipe-out will most likely be dry the next day and you will be ready to start applying color.
I don’t always use this method, as I sometimes go right in with color and paint in an alla prima fashion. When I decide to start with a drawing, however, this method is a really unique and fun way to begin. It is especially good for someone just learning to paint, as it breaks down the process and makes it much easier to obtain results in an organized fashion. It is a disciplined approach that simplifies things a lot.
PAINTING WITHOUT SOLVENTS
As published in Curry's Artwise Newsletter, March 2007:
I spent many years painting with watercolors and acrylics because I was scared of solvents. I didn’t want to deal with something so toxic on a regular basis. This was a real shame, because I now paint almost exclusively with oils and I love the buttery texture, lack of color shift (the color, when dry, is exactly the same value as when you put it down, rather than darker as in the case of acrylics, or lighter when using watercolor) and ease of revising my work. Of course, you can always use water soluble oils, but as a professional portrait artist, I prefer traditional oils. It came as a revelation to learn that solvents were not necessary when painting with traditional oil paints, in fact, for archival reasons, it is actually preferable to not to use them at all in painting mediums. Another benefit from painting without the use of solvents is that there is no need for complicated ventilation systems and no worries about the fumes affecting the health of yourself and family members.
I use paint straight from the tube and do not usually use a painting medium, other than a very small amount of cold pressed linseed oil or walnut oil if the paint is too stiff. Sometimes, when adding a second or third layer of paint, I will “oil out” the surface by adding a microscopically thin layer of oil before beginning to paint again. After sprinkling the oil over the area with a palette knife and rubbing it in with a rag, it is a good idea to use a small makeup sponge to remove any excess oil. Using the “oiling out” technique accomplishes the same thing as retouch varnish, without the solvents, by bringing back the original appearance of the piece, refreshing any dry or sunken areas and facilitates matching colors. It also helps the paint flow on more smoothly due to the wet surface.
While I am painting, I try to use a lot of brushes, keeping at least one brush for each value so I don’t have to rinse clean the brush in solvent as I paint. I have a brush holder, which is fairly easy to make, that holds 3 rows of 11 brushes (yes, you read that correctly, 33 brushes) but I don’t always use that many, sometimes making do with just one row of 11 brushes, for 9 values plus black and white. The system, inspired by one of my past instructors, Marvin Mattelson (who teaches at The School of Visual Arts in
For final cleaning of the brushes, walnut oil can very successfully be substituted for mineral spirits, as the texture of this type of oil is thinner than other vegetable oils, which are usually too viscous to allow the pigment to fall to the bottom of your brush cleaner in a timely manner. M. Graham, a company that also makes very nice paints, supplies walnut oil specifically geared for artistic use, as opposed to putting it on your salad! Beware that using vegetable oils from the supermarket may compromise the integrity of your paintings, as most oils are non-drying and traces may remain in the brush after washing with soap and water.
To begin cleaning my brushes, I first dip them in the oil and then wipe them on a page from an old phone book (which is a great way to reuse and recycle, as it cuts down on the amount of paper towels used and ultimately trees as well) until most of the pigment comes out. Simply tear off the page when it becomes too full of paint. The next step is to rinse the brush in the oil in the same way you would use solvent. I have a fancy stainless brush cleaner, but I also use coffee tins with a tuna size tin, punched full of holes and turned upside down in the bottom (hammer holes in it using a big nail) on which I rub my brush to get out the last remnants of paint before washing with soap and water. When I feel that my bar of soap isn’t getting all the paint out (sometimes I neglect to clean the brushes promptly, making it more difficult to get them thoroughly clean) I use “The Master’s” soap instead of my usual bar, letting it stay in the bristles overnight if they are really gummed up, and that does the trick!
Finally, I am going to share with you a tip for cleaning brushes that was passed on to me by William Whitaker, a wonderful artist with decades of experience. This tip alone was worth the price of admission to his workshop at the Scottsdale Artist's School. After getting soap into the brush, grab the end of the bristles with your left hand and, while holding the brush handle with your right hand, wiggle the brush handle back and forth several times - doing this helps remove the stubborn paint that is close to the ferrule and will extend the life of your brushes.
Painting with the method I have outlined is better for your health and the environment. If you have always wanted to use traditional oils, but hesitated because of concerns about solvents, this is your chance to experience all the joy of painting with oils with none of the drawbacks!
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