Tis the season

Plein air season has officially started begining with a study from the tulip festival in Oregon. An overcast but pleasant day at the Wooden Shoe, I found almost all the tulips up and at peak viewing... it was a gift to be able paint such beauty. -GA, bursting with color.

Something to think about

   Many people think that doing a master copy work is a waste of time but I disagree. I have done quite a few and always feel as though I have gained something more than just a nice replication of a superior artist created by my own hand. In this particular instance I was minimally motivated to work on my own piece because I was struggling with something as elementary as getting foreshortening completly  accurate on an element in a still life. I decided after repeated failure that a little eye/brain/hand coordination needed to be enforced and for me master copy work is about as disciplined as I know to specify such accurace. In the beginning it was more like penance (An act of devotion performed voluntarily to show wrongdoing) but as I kept forcing myself to invest the time each week, I gained better pressure control over the drawing tool, reminded myself of some anatomy ideas and recalled that nothing is too sacred to not correct what you know is wrong. Having one more session with this study, I am determined to correct my own still life, reguardless of the time or effort it takes; it's so much better when it is right. G.A.- glutton for punishment.

Art being auctioned in Seattle

Greetings fellow art enthusiasts. I am proud to report that both of the works Gig Harbor Lighthouse (12x16 oil painting) and The Power of Three (27x36 ink media) have been accepted into the juried art exhibition/auction in Seattle. The "show and sale" will be May 4th and 5th (see www.pratt.org/happenings/artauction.html for more detals ). It inspires me to get more serious work done and always helps to clear work out of the studio to make room for more. In the meantime here is the Kiblinger (12x16 oil) a 20 hour study I finished in February. -G.A. with 2 works on the easel and plein air season begining next weekend.

Little Jewels

In an effort to do a little "cross training" I thought to accomplish 2 things at once. Practice the ear, an often missing (due to hair coverage) or neglected part of the portrait as well as render the same subject in 4 approaches. What I thought would be a boring exercise actually yielded 4 nice little jewel renderings. G.A.- geeking back to how things work in the art world...

Autumn falls

Although it has been an odd summer, with it comes change and growth. Mainly is the addition a fresh body of work- a plein air collection to mark 2011. Included is a study from 3 hours (over 2 visits) painting session at Alki Beach in Seattle. I dedicate this piece to Phoebe, a light that will always shine in loving memory.

Break Point

"Break Point" a term in tennis, is used to describe when a player is one point away from a break in score. Lately this seems to sum up what I have been going through as an artist... work and work up to a important moment then start all over again. This month I present a drapery study painted in closed grisallie over about 40 hours worth of effort. While seeing plenty of room for improovement, I find this study as a significant example of many well orchestrated choices that have brought me to this "break point". The game is well in play, the score building but the match nowhere completed and it's still anybody's game. G.A.... making a point to take the break.

Ups and downs

The last 3 months have been a rollercoaster of progress and failure which is a good thing- it means I am growing as an artist! In struggling with a full figure painting I fought to get something out of the work that was not working. Through embarrasing amounts of time of "no, that's not it... nope not that either" I took a break to watch a master painter work on the other side of the room. I watched closely trying to understand what she was doing, how and why and asked her questions every time she stopped for what I was not certain about. The next day I went back to my side of the room, took out a new panel and did a portrait as if I had been doing it for years. At the end of the session I went to get my glasses and came up on the panel thinking 'who's work is this?' As I stood in disbelief at the jewel before me (not even a done work with detail as I had no small brushes that day) I felt like I had gained ground in my uphill climb and was amazed at just what a difference one day with a master made for my own work- a much wiser choice to spend the day tring to listen then to try to speak. G.A. progressiong.

What a difference

So this is a progressive look at the evolution of a painting I did from a 7 session still life. The main point being (image #1) the drawing and layout, (image #2) the warm and cool with a massing of values,(image #3) the final stage with it's color and highlights. In the same breath I note the material and their importance being just as critical as the process of a well planned proceedure.

In the final of Raven's boots you can see that the colors have held strong, the shadows rich and the highlights setting up nicely without the thickness of putty paint. I contribute this to an accidental discovery of a more superior material I found in a discount remenant bin at New York Central art supplies. In conversation with fellow artists they suggested the material to be linen but I knew that the white back and weave told me this was not the source. This weekend I hunted the wonder material down to see what made such a difference to learn that it was a double lead primed portrait duct with a rabbit skin glue base- the way the masters used to do it... only they probably used linen. So although I haven't used the "cream of the crop" yet, I am glad that I am working large in studio (30x35 & 30 x60 currently) so I can get rid of all this yucky inferior product and get down to some real work on the weekends when I do my own studies! G.A looking at a new lead primed canvas on the easel... just across the room with hope for me yet.

An I for the eye

It has been an intense summer that I mark with printmaking and road trips. After completing 25 wood and lino blocks in the last 3 months, my 1st book of proofs (a 3 year project) is finished. I have already cut 25 pieces for the next book which I plan to theme as miniitures (4"x5" as the largest). I hope to acheive 50 proofs in a year. To balance the scales, drawing and painting goes to a larger size begining with 24"x "36", more than 2x the size I painted last year... stay tuned!
After visiting lighthouse # 9 this summer on record breaking heatwave, with a short tide table schedual down a 5 mile spit, I have determining that there will be one more road trip of the season before returning to studio. Poor weather is predicted for the weekend on the coast, it may proove to be a hopeless effort for lighthouse painting... but often the reward is not the painting but more the adventure. -G.A. packing that long sleeved white shirt and hat one more time.

Lost and found

Greetings art enthusiests,

Absence makes the heart grow fonder but right about now my loss is in time to commit to a serious project of lengthy significance. It is a summer of short studies and 'scaping with a theme toward lighthouses so here is my first study of the summer... in watercolor for irony.

G.A. checking the map to find the next destination.