Portrait of Emmett

It is difficult to sit still for 20 minutes at a time and to do that for 6 hours is impossible for a young person.  Emmett at 14 was okay about photographs but not oil portraits from life.  His grandmother provided the photo and we painted from the photo in the recent Portrait Workshop at the Tennessee Art League.  There is no substitute for painting from life.  Having experienced painting from life makes it possible to paint from a photo and to understand what adjustments are necessary. 

Portrait Demo

This portrait of Richard was done in 3 hours at the LeQuire and Company Gallery in Nashville, TN.  He was a wonderful model and I enjoyed painting him.

Another exciting Portrait Painting Workshop was completed over the last weekend.  Students concentrated on painting a portrait in the traditional representational style.  This is my painting of John Cranshaw, our model.  I call it "All Hat and No Horse".  There will be another workshop focusing on painting portraits in oil to be held sometime this Spring.  Watch this blog or the Tennessee Art League web site for details.

Portrait Painting Workshop

If you ever wanted to try your hand at portrait painting, now is the time.  I will be teaching a Portrait Painting Workshop on September 21, 22, 22 at the Tennessee Art League.  Here is a little information about what you can expect.  With some instruction, achieving a likeness is easier than you might think.

Class size:     maximum of 8 students
Location:       Tennessee Art League, 219 Fifth Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37219
Dates:            Friday, Sept. 20, 2013           6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
                      Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013       10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
                      Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013         1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Cost:              TAL members:                      $200
                       Non-members                       $250
Contact:         Jean Gauld-Jaeger      jrgjaeger@aol.com

Students may expect to learn the principles of portrait painting, including color mixing for a variety of skin tones.  Students will paint from a live model and will concentrate on head and shoulders only.  The Friday evening session will consist of a demo and instruction by Jean.  The remaining sessions will have students painting from a live model with individual help as needed by the instructor.

OBJECTIVES:

• Learn to SEE differently
• Learn the composition of the HEAD
• Learn to SIGHT-SIZE
• Learn to mix SKIN TONES
• Learn to identify VALUES
• Learn about EDGES
• Complete a PORTRAIT FROM LIFE

Not being a techie I'm not sure what to do with the new blog format.  Hoping that this image will post, nevertheless.  This is a recent painting done in a pleinair workshop taught by Matt Smith.  He is a terrific painter and teacher.  The scene is one that is recognized by everyone in Leipers Fork, Tennessee.

"Singing In The Rain"

Those in Nashville will recognize The Bluebird Cafe on a rainy night.  Rain or shine the Bluebird is the place to hear good music.  Whether established musicians or newcomers, writers and performers always shine at the Bluebird.  This painting was done in preparation for an exhibit at the LeQuire & Company Gallery at 3900 Hillsboro Pike. The opening reception will be on Friday, February 15 from 5:30 - 7:30.  The theme is "Nashville Nightscapes" a nocturnal journey through the city.  Hope to see you there.

New Portrait

Sharing a new portrait painted last Monday at Open Studio at the Factory in Franklin.  Each Monday eight artists paint a model from 9:30 AM until 2:00 PM.  This is Reisha.  She frequently models and is very creative about costuming and posing.  In this one, we asked for a pensive look.

Recent portrait of Danielle

This portrait of Danielle was painted in an Open Studio session at Southgate Studio in The Factory in Franklin, TN.  We begin painting at 9:30 AM or a little after, and stop painting at 2:00 PM. Danielle is one of our favorite models.  I previously painted Danielle at an Open Studio session last year, photographed her, and completed the painting in my studio.  That portrait won a first place ribbon at the Tennessee Art League Juried Show.  She is a beautiful girl and so much fun to paint.

Completed Cornice Repair

This beauty is completely repaired now and I only wish I could keep it. It's so big that I would have to add a room and I'm not sure just how I would use it. Two of them could support a table but, alas, there is only this one. It was in 4 pieces when I got it and I was asked not to do a complete restoration because the owner likes the signs of wear and tear. It does have the original paint which is simply beautiful. I used a combination of dental castone and elmer's glue to put it back together. I used common window screening material as reinforcement on the back side. The original reinforcement was straw and horsehair mixed with plaster. You can see by the yardstick leaning next to the piece just how big it is. I'll miss it.

Buffalo Girl

This week I traveled to Cleveland, Tennessee with fellow Chestnut Painter, Sandra Harris. We visited Gregg Vital's buffalo farm. Gregg placed his farm in the Land Trust so it will forever be as beautiful and untouched as it was this week. Gregg has six buffalo on his property. There is one bull named Bill, three cows named Peanut, Butter, and Jelly and two calves as yet unnamed. This photo is a painting of one of the cows. She has a beautiful head, so ancient and so magnificent. The second photo is a painting of early morning on the farm while the fog still covered the ground, a most beautiful time of day. Gregg's farm manager, Steve, was very helpful and informative as he introduced us to this beautiful property.

Completely restored heirloom plate

Heirloom Plate Rescue

You may remember a previous blog that displayed an image of a broken heirloom plate. Many weeks later and much sanding and painting have produced an image of the same plate as it must have looked prior to being broken. It is fully restored and ready to be displayed along with its' three matching plates. If you didn't know that the plate had been broken you would never know. After restoration, items may no longer be used to serve food but may still be displayed as the lovingly cared for heirlooms that they are.

Help for broken heirloom plate

You may remember an earlier photo of a badly broken Limoge plate, a highly valued heirloom. You see now the first stages in it's restoration. The photo on the left shows the plate after it was glued, cracks filled and sanded. It is now ready to paint. The photo on the right shows the back side of the plate. The cracks have been filled, but not yet sanded. There are some large missing pieces that must be replaced before sanding and painting can occur. You see the curved blue latex piece that is leaning against the plate. That is a mold of the plate rim. A product called "fast tray" will be used with the mold to fill those large empty spots. When dry it will be as hard as porcelain and may be sanded smooth to make a continuous unblemished rim after the back of the plate is painted. Be sure to watch this blog for photos of the finished plate.

Portrait of Brenda

Last week I led a portrait class for which Brenda was the model. Brenda is a well known and very talented wood turner. She is a lovely lady and was so much fun to paint.

Still Life Inspiration

These two still life images were painted last weekend in a workshop scheduled by the Tennessee Art League in conjuction with the Central South Art Exhibit with Instructor, Joseph Sulkowski. Joseph rarely teaches so I was very pleased to have the opportunity to watch him paint and to learn from him. His topic was the effect of light on a subject. He was truly inspiring and I was able to paint, with his help, the two paintings pictured here. I am trying to apply his methods and those of Lori Putnam to my portraits and landscapes as well as other still life paintings.

Children's portraits

Meet Richard and Alex, my grandsons. Both portraits were painted from photographs as neither boy is capable of sitting still long enough to be painted from life. They're both grown up now and active in all sports. The challenge of these portraits was to paint those young faces without "overmodeling". I learned that sometimes a "color shift" is all that is needed and not a "value shift". That seems to be especially true when painting by only north light.

What I learned from painting the boys was especially useful in painting "Grace" yesterday during Open Studio at Southgate Studio. I painted Grace in north light only which required tight values and high value key. I'm trying to "think more and paint less" which seems to be working.

Can This Heirloom Plate Be Saved?

This lovely Haviland plate was accidentally knocked off a wall where it had been displayed with three other companion plates. The owner inherited the plates from her husband’s mother and they are of great sentimental value. There is a process by which this plate may be restored to it’s original beauty. First the pieces must be washed in order to remove any dirt or oil from handling that might interfere with good contact when glued. Then it must be carefully glued. This can be tricky. When two pieces fit tightly together unglued, the glue will take up some very miniscule space between the two pieces when glued together. When multiple pieces are glued together it is easy to see that the total space taken up by the glue can be significant. This additional space sometimes makes it very difficult to achieve the original shape of the piece. After the plate has been glued the tiny visible crack made by the glue must be filled with porcelain filler. Then the fill has to be sanded smooth. This often takes several applications and lots of sanding. When I have completed the process of washing, gluing, filling and sanding, I will post a picture of the plate at that point in the process. An explanation of the next steps in the process will accompany the photograph. Check back in about three weeks for the rest of the story.

The Straw Hat

Last year the Open Studio group at Southgate Studio painted a very lovely lady in a marvelous straw hat and red scarf. She has always been one of my favorite portraits. Several weeks ago she appeared again as our model. She wore another lovely straw hat with a yellow and blue outfit. It was such fun to have another opportunity to paint Mary. She’s a lovely and gracious lady. Her photograph appears in the image on the right. The other two images are photos of my paintings of Mary

Snack Attack

I attended a Fat Tuesday party yesterday sponsored by the Tennessee Art League as a fundraiser. It was a great party hosted by Laura Turner and planned by Elizabeth Scolkin. Laura generously offered some of her "rescued and restored" old movie posters from the 1920's to be auctioned. Bidding was active and the TAL was the beneficiary. Many thanks are due to the partygoers and the hostesses. Upon leaving the party we were given a box of donuts. I ate them, of course, but not before I painted this picture of the donuts and Starbucks coffee. I call the painting "Snack Attack".

“EARLY SPRING”

I have just returned from Memphis where I attended Lori Putnam’s Still Life Workshop. The painting, “Early Spring” was painted with advice from Lori. She is an excellent teacher and I am anxious to continue painting in this impressionistic style.