Oil Painting

OPA wishes everyone a happy and art-filled Mother’s Day.

“How do you find the time to paint with small children?” This is a question I am frequently asked by friends, family and followers on social media. Perhaps you are struggling with the same issue. The good news: as a creative parent, you will find a way! We’ve all learned that when you’re passionate about something, you will make it happen. 

I’d like to share a few tips and tricks that have worked for me. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Ashlee Trcka and I’m an award-winning impressionist oil painter, visual inventor, and proud Mom of three small children. My life revolves around my art and my children. So how do I make it all work? It comes down to time management skills, something I learned in both grade school and in business classes at university. Before children, I could paint at any hour, any day of the week. After my children were born, I had to learn to utilize my time in a very precise way. It’s important to block in creativity slots in the day for both myself and my kids. Having a daily agenda that includes time dedicated to working on one’s craft is crucial. What will the kids do while you’re painting away? Let them join you! Establish a routine where they feel involved in the creative process alongside you. Whether they’re painting or crafting with paper and glue, it’s important to have a “creative hour” where everyone feels connected to their art.

For example, a one-hour painting session with my daughter consists of her painting at an easel next to mine. I’ll set up my plein air easel next to my studio easel so that she has her own workspace. My son prefers the kitchen table, so you can use that instead of an easel if you don’t have a spare.

“Yes but what if the children can’t keep focused for an hour?” I hear you say. As an artist parent, you must plan for this. Planning is the key to success. Kids may not what to paint every day. I always have crafts put aside and new fun things for them to do when they tire of the usual routine. 

If a one-hour block is too long for either of the kids to maintain focus painting, I have dollar store crafts ready to access so I can get my work done. Children love sensory play, so my go-to items are kinetic sand, modelling clay and Play-Doh. 

Another important factor in prioritizing your painting practice is to be intentional and focused with your time. Where there is intent comes productivity!  If you can devote one hour per day to your painting, you can actually get a lot done.  I think we can all relate to the fact that it’s easy to procrastinate and take time away from the easel.  To help avoid procrastination, I have a large wall calendar in my office with “creativity hour” penciled in on days we are painting. As a visual person, seeing it written out makes me stick to the schedule. I use that hour to create by either planning a new painting design through small studies, or by applying paint. Setting the goal of working creatively for an hour and achieving it is incredibly rewarding for both myself and the kids. 

You may ask, “Is an hour-long enough?” It sure is! One of the benefits of being an artist parent is you’ll perfect your Alla Prima skills. (Alla Prima is a method of painting in which the paint is laid on in a single application instead of being built up in layers.) Some of my best, award-winning paintings were created using the Alla Prima approach. You will amaze yourself with how quickly you can work once you give it a try. So set a timer and paint away!

Lastly, if you are dedicated to your craft, you will inspire and influence your children. When they see you “doing your thing” they respect and appreciate it. My kids think their artist Mom is pretty cool! So my parent artist friends, set an agenda, stay focused and plan! Happy painting Moms and Dads!

A few years ago, my brother’s beloved dog Calvin died. My brother was so saddened by this loss, I asked him to send me photos of Calvin so that I could try to do a portrait to immortalize Calvin for him and his family.  

I had never painted pet portraits before.  Also, I generally do not paint from photographs and prefer to paint from life. My best work of flowers, still-life, portraits, and plein-air paintings are always painted from life or on location, which I enjoy so much. Nonetheless, I made an exception and proceeded to attempt a portrait of Calvin from the photographs provided.  Years of training and painting from life enabled me to create from these photo references, and I painted two portraits of Calvin. My brother gave one to his wife as a surprise gift, and upon opening the package, she cried.  The other portrait became the image used for pet portrait workshops I was invited to teach during this time.

This brings me to the reason I am sharing this story.  Around the same time this was all happening and I was trying my hand at pet portraits, my sister became seriously ill and could no longer take care of her beloved dogs and they had to be given away. With my newly discovered ability to paint pet portraits, I proceeded to paint a portrait of each of her dogs, framed them, and hung them in her living room.  She said that every night she would sit on the couch and stare at them – it was as if her dogs were actually in the room with her – the portraits had such a lively lifelike quality about them.  A few weeks later when my sister went into hospice care, the portraits were hung within easy eyeshot of her bed before she passed away. 

I am so grateful that my painting journey includes all of these portraits – they mean so much to me and my family. 

Sometimes I have wondered:  What is the meaning of a painter’s life?  We are not saving lives or curing cancer.  I do know that there is power in art, and it can bring solace and comfort during times of sadness. 

(Essay excerpt from book published 2021, Beauty Unites Us, by Rick J. Delanty)

Artists are revolutionaries, to some degree. Their responses to crisis, confusion, and condemnation in social situations can often be seen in their artworks. The creation of an artwork itself is a statement that the human spirit has a creative voice, is inspire-able, worthy of development, and capable of transforming others and life itself. Artists can allow the light that is within them to shine outwards, to touch those who are depressed, downhearted, or even despairing, especially in challenging times like these. A woman in San Clemente, California, has made the news by bringing her piano outside to play it in the driveway for her neighbors. In Italy, singers project mini-operatic presentations from their balconies. In our neighborhood, kids are doing chalk drawings on the sidewalk for fun.

 My own paintings of the natural world are celebrations of all that is good in life, and in heaven. An artwork that celebrates beauty is more than a symbolic shaking of the fist in times of trial–it is a blow for freedom of the spirit, and a bugle-call against both oppression and depression. Inspiring artworks encourage us to believe, rather than bend or break in times of crisis. Art and Nature encourage us to look within, and Beyond. (end of excerpt)

“You can look anywhere and find inspiration.” —Frank Gehry

The chaos and confusion of the pandemic was whirling about the world when I wrote the above words in 2020. As an artist, I was wondering what I could do to help defuse the despair.  I thought I might create Facebook posts with a written message, accompanied by a painting, pointing out that Beauty and hope for the future still existed, despite evidence to the contrary.

My idea had its roots in the concept of the Hebrew words “Ab’ra ke’ Dab’ra,” meaning “I will create as I speak.” Though we may be more familiar with this term as it relates to magic and magicians, I believe that it has much more significance to daily life: the concept that it is entirely possible to create the reality we want through our thoughts, which when we speak them and act on them, become reality. Doing good and creating meaningful work is made possible through positive thoughts and intentions.

Art comes from a life lived consciously and fully, and not necessarily one in which everything is known, safe, and easy to master.   –Christopher Volpe, artist

For an artist, this is why intention, mindset, and attitude are all-important in the creative process.

Like building a house, the desired result (a meaningful artwork) is achieved only through mindful preparation.

Regarding the pandemic, we learned that a misinformed, confused and panicked mindset yields chaos, hopelessness, and widespread contagion. But as artists, we also learned (or were reminded again) that Beauty, goodness and truth are necessities — like water, food, and air. We were reminded that artists perform a very real function in our society. The work an artist does may be considered the very foundation of civilization; the fruits of our labor has the power to inspire those who appreciate it to live at their very best. The thoughts and mindful creativity of an artist can divert, calm, and create a better world for all of us who need it. Ours is a profession that points to the heavens, during times of crisis when all eyes are blinded by dust.

“Great art is the outward expression of the inner life of the artist, and this inner life will result in his (her) personal vision of the world.”  -Edward Hopper

The artist who seeks and creates Beauty in her work receives a dual benefit: first, her vision of the world has the potential to bless the audience, and herself. Secondly, the artist’s audience receives a more positive vision of reality that the artist thinks, speaks, and paints into existence. Artists have the ability to make the world a better place.

The first thing I do when starting a new painting, is ask myself three questions:

1. What is this painting about and why am I painting it?

2. How can I use design, color, and value to express #1?

3. What can I edit out, or add in, to the original subject to better express #1?

Since everything depends on the answer to question #1, I think carefully about it. For this painting, my answer is stillness, quiet, a state of static tension, and lastly, a girl reading a book. For question #2, I decide to use a “L” composition, dark cool colors (blues for example), and mostly horizontals and verticals with a minimum of diagonals to best express my intentions. A flatness in the picture plane seems more appealing, so I keep overlapping shapes, and over rendering, to a minimum. To answer question #3, I decide to eliminate a tree trunk that appears in the background of my reference photo because it doesn’t benefit my story.

Next, I place a simple grid of lines at the quarter and halfway measurements on the canvas using vine charcoal, and on the digital image as well. This helps to place the overall subject at an interesting distance from the edges of the picture plane. 

I then create an accurate drawing, again using vine charcoal. I stress an “accurate drawing”, because starting out with a weak drawing holds back the progress of the painting. I don’t want to spend my effort on questions like “is the nose in the right place?” When I begin painting, I want to be free to concentrate on color, design and movement.

I use vine charcoal because it can be changed and erased without a trace. Using pencil or even paint to do the initial drawing can leave ghostly versions of the drawing on the canvas, which I find distracting.

Once the drawing is how I want it, I use a kneaded eraser to knock the lines back until an even simpler version is left with only essential key reference points.  I then spray this with workable fixative to help keep the drawing intact, so it does not get wiped away when I begin painting.

Since there is going to be a dark background and a lot of blue in this painting, I start with a wash of Ultramarine blue to get rid of the white canvas and give myself a head start on the background.

I always begin with the background. I consider it to be the air she breathes and the light she is surrounded by. It will greatly influence every aspect of the main subject. Remember, the young girl reading is only the literal subject. I keep going back to question #1—what is this painting really about?  The answer — stillness, quiet, static energy — keeps circling in my head as I work though the painting.

After the background is in, I paint her face into it, having the two react to each other. I continue working down her blouse, keeping it simple and on to the arm and hands. The book goes in after the background is dry. This is the easiest part of the painting since I have a very clear idea of how I wanted to paint them. The skirt, however, is another story.

The skirt is a swirling mass of shiny satin fabric. Whenever I’m faced with something like this that I can’t quite wrap my head around, I get out the sketch pad and do a three-value sketch of the area to decipher what I’m actually looking at. When I understand it, I move on to design it in a way that benefits the other elements in the painting. It’s not important to match the appearance of the skirt to the original subject, but rather to make it work as a path to lead the eye around the painting in the right direction.

I can see at this point that the visual movement in this area is not going to work with the rest of the painting. The high contrast plus the snaking direction takes too much attention away from the area of interest, her face. So, I decide to simplify the skirt, giving it a more subordinate role. When areas go totally off script like this, I have to rely on my intuition as to what it should look like. 

One of the things I like about oil paint is the way it lends itself to experimentation. If it doesn’t work, just wipe it off. Now that the skirt is working, on to the book. 

Many times, I will paint over a dried, dark area. Before painting the book, a bit of a drawing would help with placement. I’ve discovered one type of white chalk that works well for this. Tailor’s chalk, something about it will grab onto the smooth surface and stays there until erased with a kneaded eraser.

In this painting, I’m working from the foreground to the distance. I’ve learned to be flexible in the way I construct a painting, never wanting to fall into a formula, it keeps everything a little unpredictable and gives me a fresh outlook.

And now, the painting is complete!

We’ve all heard of the Golden Section, Dynamic Symmetry, the rule of thirds and harmonic armatures. And we’ve always been told to do a value study before we start a painting. However, in our rush to get started painting, many of us disregard it all and jump right in to putting brush to canvas.

Six years ago, I made a pledge to NEVER skip a value study before plein air painting. Soon after, I learned how to design my pieces with a “thrust map” as well. This is a simple 2” study done on a 4”x6” index card with pencil or markers. I indicate the Dominant Vertical (DV), Dominant Horizontal (DH) and Dominant Diagonal (DD). Ideally where all of these lines meet will be my focal point.

Around the same time, I started studying Dynamic Symmetry with Victor Vargas of the Academy of Composition near Reading, PA. I studied with him for six months.

I had heard of the Golden Rectangle, and knew about the Golden Spiral, but I never learned WHY they were important. I received a BFA from Kutztown University in graphic design, and studied at PAFA, and never did a professor do more than mention them in passing.

DYNAMIC SYMMETRY AND THE FIBONACCI NUMBERS

After studying with Victor, I started using Root Rectangles, which I will explain later, and an underlying grid system. 

In 2016 at the RMPAP event in Jackson, Wyoming, I painted the piece below using the new knowledge I had gained. During the opening event I received numerous satisfying comments from notable artists along the line of “I love the design of your piece”! They were comments I had not heard before. The piece also won an Award of Excellence. I was THRILLED and encouraged to delve more into this system of design.

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

I learned about the Fibonacci sequence and how it relates to the Golden Ratio. I am NOT a mathematician and could not relate to the algebra, but I was intrigued by the history of it, dating back thousands of years to Greek vase design and the Egyptian Pyramids. Visually, I understand the idea. 

This sequence shows up constantly in nature. The number of petals on flowers are a Fibonacci number. The proportion of our bodies are in this ratio. For example, both the distance from our shoulder to our elbow, and the distance from elbow to tip of index finger is a ratio of 1 – 1.6. 

Michelangelo was said to have been obsessed with the spiral and used it in designing his paintings in the Sistine Chapel. Vincent Van Gogh wrote a letter to his brother Theo mentioning the simple grid system he used to design his paintings. He said he could paint with lightning speed once he had the design down.

Root rectangles are made from the Fibonacci sequence to form the basic rectangles shown above.

The problem with using Root Rectangles in our artwork is that they are not used in today’s standard size canvases and frames. Why not? It’s a controversial subject and you can read endless articles on the internet.

In today’s world neither movie screens, iPhones, televisions computer screens, etc. are using Root rectangles. (Perhaps we have become too out of tune with nature?) Only a few standard sizes fall into root rectangles and they are shown below.

5×7 – Root 2

8×10

9×12

12×16

11×14 – Root Phi

12×24 – Root 4

16×20

18×24

24×36

For some of my larger studio work, I use root rectangle-sized canvases and have custom 22K gold gilt frames made for them. However, for quick plein air paintings and studies, I do not want to cut my own panels or order custom frames. Therefore, I decided to adjust the grid system to standard sizes for plein air painting. After learning how to design the grid, I adapted it to 8” x 10, 9” x 12” and any other size I chose to use.

DESIGNING THE GRID

The only tools you need are a pencil, ruler and T-square or triangle. It seems complicated at first, but after a while, it will come more easily. You can adapt this grid to any size. Below is the grid for 9 x 12, 12 x 16, 18 x 24, etc.

For the first time this year, I taught back-to-back workshops at the Booth Art Academy (GA) and the Center for the Arts in Bonita Springs (FL). I decided to attempt to teach this grid system because so many artists were inquiring about my grids shown on social media. Each class was full with 15 students and most were having a hard time understanding the process. When class was over, I asked them to vote if they would have preferred the class with or without the grids taking up a lot of their time. The grid system had not been on the class description. Every single student said they loved learning this new system and were anxious to try it out on their own!

While at the Booth Western Art Museum, I gave a PowerPoint presentation on how I use this system in my work. The presentation, which goes into more depth about gridwork and thrust maps, is available to view on the Booth Facebook page or on my YouTube channel which you can find at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPV4cDXFzoI&t=746s

EXAMPLES OF PIECES CREATED USING THIS SYSTEM

Shown below is a plein air painting I did this past September in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

(The rough value study is pictured at the beginning of this blog article.) There was a grid drawn on the 14” x 11” (root phi) panel before I started. The grid helps with placement. After I establish the placement in the under painting, I am free to let loose and have fun.

“Sunlit Street of Rome” – 12” x 9” was painted as a demo during an online Zoom class I taught last year. The much more detailed value study shown above (at the beginning of this article) was done to show the students exactly what I had in mind for the piece before I started.

The grid is a great help when painting the underpainting in my studio practice. It also helps when drawing complex scenes like cityscapes.

This piece won the IMPRESSIONIST AWARD at the OPA Salon Show last year.

You may think this is a lot of unnecessary work, too complicated and not for you. I probably would have thought the same thing 10 years ago. 

It’s a few extra steps in the beginning I must admit. However, I draw the grids on my standard-sized panels the night before painting.  Having a grid helps me decide the placement of compositional elements such as the horizon line or mountain. In cityscapes, a grid helps me decide where to put the vertical side of a building, or where to place the figure. For me it sets a starting point. Once I start passionately painting in the thick juicy paint, the grid disappears. Only I know It was ever there.  I’ve used the grid so long now that even when I don’t have a grid on the canvas, I can still visualize exactly where it would be.

Understanding the Fibonacci Sequence and root rectangles, and using the grid system has strengthened the design of my paintings, which my collectors and galleries appreciate.  And I love sharing this knowledge with students so they can produce stronger work as well.