Lesson learned from making mistakes

The past two days have been busy here. Yesterday nothing was posted so I wanted to get something quickly done this afternoon. Quickness in watercolor is a must during certain steps but not for my entire process. It leads to many disappointments and lots of frustration. Thankfully today's trials lead me to a new discovery about my thought processes.

This painting was derived from a thumbnail I did of photos from Mt. Baldy looking toward Lake Michigan. Like the recent dunes studies I was trying to get a good map for a larger painting. The first step of this painting was getting all the shapes in there mid tones and leaving the large middle tree white because it stuck out in front of the rest. It was what drew me to do the sketch. The next step was putting in the fencing and darks among the trees. I messed up and got everything too wet which caused runs. Then to make matters worse I tried to soften the hard edges as they dried only to smear and lighten the entire mass. I took a step back and let it dry for a bit, then got to the dark tree trunks and branches. The trunks and branches didn't turn out that great. When that was done I didn't know what to do with the white trunk that I had painted over. I remembered that I had gouache so I got it out and put it on the palette. Gouache is opaque like oil and that got me interested and decided to go for it. What has kept me from using things like gouache in the past has been people telling me that some how it is inferior. It is in the same tune that I've always heard that you shouldn't add black or white to your watercolors or any other supposed rule.
Lately I've been using new methods and refining others. Sometimes it is easy to forget that what other people tell you in a field like art is nothing more than a personal preference. If you are trying to mimic or achieve similar results as someone else then you should listen as closely as possible, seeing as how there are guiding principles in art. But as far as I can tell there are no set rules. I constantly search for new artist online, in books, magazines, galleries, shows, and museums and it always amazes me how many possible styles and ways there are to do things. The amount of styles would equal the amount of artist if everyone took the time to explore and develop there own path.
Anyway I used gouche to take back the middle tree trunk and while it wasn't outstandingly successful it did give me the courage to use it in the sky and dunes which I liked. I also learned that by mixing the gouache with a watercolor you can tint it and get it closer to what you want. Now instead of looking down at gouache or any other medium for that matter, I see it as another way at getting the results you want. Will I always use gouache in my watercolors? Probably not, but it does open up new possibilities if I want the luminosity of watercolor and the opaque qualities that it can bring to the painting.

Oil Class

Recently I started taking an oil class at the Indianapolis Art Center. (http://indplsartcenter.org/) This is my first real experience with oil outside of my two winging it experiments. I have to say that Oil is actually a lot of fun and much easier than I've heard some make it out to be. Granted this painting isn't finished or great but I definitely got a feel for the medium. The local colors and the mid-light and light values need to be placed in. This photo is not near as dark as painting is in life. I think it will start to come together with some lightening up and highlights. The teacher is Pam Newell. (http://www.pnewellart.com/index.html) She works in pastels and oils. I'm a big fan of her pastels and first noticed them last summer when taking a watercolor course at the center. Now she is teaching me oils and it looks to be a good learning experience.

Anyway I would say if you enjoy pastels and haven't tried oil painting, you might like it. It seems like something that you could easily get lost in and spend way to much time doing.

Painting at Garfield Park

This morning I went to Garfield Park and painted. I got there around 8 this morning and there were only runners and people walking their dogs around the park. The wind was strong and while waiting for the first painting to dry the wind caught it and ripped it off of the easel. Thankfully I caught it before it went across a large parking lot. That would have been a good way to ruin the day before it began. For the most part it was calm the entire time I was there. I got a few questions like typical but nothing wild or rude. There were actually a few people that had some interesting stuff to say about the park that made me want to return later on.

This first painting was of a group of trees that overlapped and stacked on each other from an angle that I liked. The front tree was lighter and naturally stuck out, so it seemed fitting to showcase it. The spacing and rhythm of the trees from this angle was pleasing to me and the hill they sat on and the path in front of them all fit well together. There were a lot of things I would like to paint in this park so look for more paintings in the future from Garfield Park.

Lazy weekend
This weekend hasn't been the most productive but it has been a good one. Last night I went to Madison for their artist reception to the Madison Art club annual exhibit. One of the reasons for entering this exhibit was Jerry Smith being the judge. I'm a big fan of his work and seeing as how he has been painting for so many years and been prolific in his production of great art work, I couldn't let the opportunity to put some of my work in front of him to critique slip bye. Sadly he wasn't there at the opening but he did have a judge's comment he left before heading out.

Judge's Comment: "What a great variety of technique and expression! I thoroughly enjoyed viewing and studying all of the entries in the show. Entries in the PASTEL and oil painting categories were particularly strong.(Emphasis mine)

Assigning awards is always difficult. However, that was my job so here are some of the questions I asked and the criteria I used in making these decisions. Does the work have a well-stated concept or objective? How well does the execution of the work, including technique and control of medium fulfill this objective? Does the work engage me, move my eye throughout and hold my attention? In the final analysis decisions usually come down to those subjective, intangible qualities that set some works apart from the field.

Congratulations to all who take the risk, bear their souls and share their talents! The Madison Art Club, particularly those involved with organizing the show, and all participating artists should be proud to offer this exhibition to the Madison community!" 
-Jerry Smith, from the Madison Art Club 13th Annual Art Competition and Exhibition

On Friday night before the show I was told that I would be receiving an award through an email. When I arrived on Saturday I walked through the show and filled out my peoples choice award. (and I didn't vote for myself) After looking at everything I went and ate supper with my fiancee. When we set down we started talking about all the art in the show. We started talking about all the watercolor and pastel paintings at the show because those were the two categories I was in. We both ruled out that my pastel had got an award because there were so many great pieces. The watercolor had by far the better odds because there were fewer people in that category, but there were also some really strong watercolor. So we ate and I started getting nervous.

When we got back to the show for the announcing of the winners everyone was facing the podium and the speaker was getting up. They went through their thanks to those that helped set up and make everything possible. Then they started announcing winners. They started with honorable mentions and that's when I realized that's probably what I had won. When they got to the last winner in that category I was about to walk up there when they didn't call my name. After I realized I had about made a jerk of myself I got super excited. I turned to Cristina and was all smiles. At that point I was nervous as could be of walking up there but was so happy that I couldn't stop smiling. When they got to best of show pastel, they called me up. It was one of those happy feelings that is hard to describe. I had thought there was no way with all the great pastels that were there. I'm still riding from the high of that moment. Then not a minute later, Donna Shortt who is my pastel mentor gets called up for best of show! I thought it was wonderful seeing her win and then me (her student) get an award. As my uncle Mike says, "that raised her stock." I just hope she doesn't raise her teaching prices on me. After the awards ceremony was over I read through Jerry Smith's words again and began to think I am on the right path. Since that painting that won I have been getting more and more paintings that I think are better than the one at the show. It makes me think that I am on the right path.
Anyway it was a great night and that night was followed by a gray rainy day that didn't lead to any paintings.

Tomorrow I will get back to work and have something up.

Best to you.
Roy