Oil Painting

Dancing with the angels – Part 2

Mr. John Pototschnik · Jan 27, 2014 · 1 Comment

Twelve professional artists talk about being “in the zone”, what it means, what it’s like, and how to get there.

There are lots of words for it…”in the grove”, “singularly focused”, “in tune”, “wired in”, “centered”, “on a roll”, and “in the moment”. Some have described it as “going with the flow”.
It is said of Michelangelo, that while he worked on the painting for the Sistine Chapel, he became so focused on the job at hand that he went for days without eating or sleeping until he almost passed out.
That does seem to express the sentiments of some of our twelve artists as they discuss painting “in the zone”…not that any of them have actually passed out…but you get the idea.
I am pleased once again to bring you six more very accomplished artists who will continue our discussion of painting “in the zone”…is it real, what’s it like, how do you get there, and what’s the result? When it happens, it’s like “dancing with the angels”.
Thanks to this week’s participants, as we present Part 2.

Karen Blackwood:
Classically trained, Karen Blackwood initially painted portraits and figurative works before the landscape became her constant muse. While her work gravitates toward the light and atmosphere in the landscape, her artistic pursuit is to convey an emotional response to the solitary beauty of nature and to achieve that perfect state of being that sometimes comes from painting it.. She is represented by Susan Powell in Madison, CT. She’s a member of Oil Painters of America and the Society of American Marine Artists.

Roger Dale Brown:
Roger believes that studying and painting from life is essential to being a good artist. He spends hours painting on location to enhance his ability to see the nuances of a scene, a day, or an object. He considers this one of the elements necessary to create a successful painting both on location and in the studio. Roger captures the emotion of the scene, by drawing on his knowledge and his dedication to art. He promotes art education in many ways, believing that passing along information is an obligation to generations of new artists.

John Cook:
From still life to portraits, landscapes to architecture…and his native-Texas western imagery, nothing is too small or too large for John to attempt as is demonstrated in his diverse range of subject matter. Trips to London, Paris, Bruges, Venice, Rome, Florence, Portofino, St.Marguerite, San Francisco, and New York have inspired many of Cook’s paintings. In 2012, Cook’s 11th annual one-man show was held at the Southwest Gallery in Dallas.

Kathleen Dunphy:
Kathleen’s rapid success in the competitive art world was predicted when American Artist Magazine recognized her as one of the TopTen Emerging Artists in 1998. In the ensuing years, she has earned an impressive and growing reputation with galleries and collectors. A Signature Member of several important art organizations, most recently she has been honored with Signature Membership in the prestigious Plein Air Painters of America. She is one of those rare people who have true passion, dedication, and a gift for transposing nature’s beauty to the canvas.

Daniel Gerhartz:
The powerful and evocative beauty of Gerhartz’s paintings embrace a range of subjects, most prominently the female figure in either a pastoral setting or an intimate interior. He is at his best with subjects from everyday life, genre subjects, sacred-idyllic landscapes or figures in quiet repose, meditation or contemplative isolation. “My desire as an artist is that the images I paint would point to the Creator, and not to me, the conveyor. J.S. Bach said it well as he signed his work, ‘Soli Deo Gloria’, To God alone is the glory”.

James Gurney:
Gurney is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Dinotopia book series. Solo exhibitions of his artwork have been presented at the Smithsonian Institution, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and the Norton Museum of Art. He’s recently been named a “Grand Master” by Spectrum Fantastic Arts and a “Living Master” by the Art Renewal Center. His most recent book, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (2010) was Amazon’s #1 bestselling book on painting for over 52 weeks and is based on his daily blog: gurneyjourney.blogspot.com

We’ve all heard the phrase “in the zone”, what does that mean to you?

Gurney_Dalleos-huge — James Gurney – Dalleo’s Deli – 9″x 12″ – Oil

Blackwood:“The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of high functioning, a more than ordinary moment of existence.” –
Robert Henri. “In the zone” is that perfect state of being I strive to be in while painting, It’s a state of letting the spirit within lead, working from the subconscious mind. Every movement and thought flows effortlessly.
Brown:Being in the “zone” to me means being in a more visceral region of my mind. Being made in God’s image, humans are inherently creative in one thing or another. When an artist creates, we go to a place in our subconscious that taps into the knowledge intuitively, and our emotions instinctively.
Cook:Things are “clicking” when I’m painting productively. Not that it is an easy process, but I know somehow what looks “right”, when the preceding brush stroke, or knife application is placed. I “explain” to myself often audibly, what temperature the next color should be, and what pigment, or mixture is wanted, or what correction is needed in drawing, and so on…Of course the drawing must be correct, and the composition must be worth continuing. Color, whether intense or muted, or purposefully unbalanced, should remain harmonious. The balance of simple patterns vs the complicated textures are becoming obvious to me, due to many paths down that road for the design to be “on”. Must mention correct values. I could go on…I shall…Then the treatment of edges seems to fall in place. I can seem to understand which need to be “lost”, and those that need to show straightness and obvious clarity. I do have much more fun watching an oil sketch fall in place without thinking much, something with a real flair happening quickly…within 45 minutes to an hour and a half.
Dunphy:Being in the zone means being able to paint without tremendous effort, much like hitting my stride when I’m running or nordic skiing. All extraneous thoughts from other parts of my life turn off and I’m solely focused on the task at hand. It’s finding that rhythm when my mind, body, and creative energy are all in sync.
Gerhartz:When the conditions are right and I am accurately translating what my eyes see in terms of the abstract nature of light, shadow, shape, edge and color.
Gurney:Having my conscious mind take the back seat, and letting intuition take over.
If you believe in such a phenomenon, what techniques do you use to get there?

Blog - KB - Winter_Reflections 24x18 — Karen Blackwood – Winter Reflections – 24″x 18″ – Oil

Blackwood:To help me get “in the zone” or at the least, a higher level of focus, I try to approach my subject with great feeling. Taking the time to contemplate before brush touches canvas helps me to let go and paint from a more intuitive place, allowing the information to “flow” through me. In the studio, listening to music and looking through books of a master artist’s work can stir my soul and subconscious, which allows flow to happen. I have been known to listen to the same CD to an insanely repetitive degree. If it works for a particular piece I’m working on, I tend to want to keep that mood throughout.
Brown:It is important that I have an atmosphere that is conducive to painting. In my studio I have surrounded myself with inspirational things and music. This comfortable space helps me remove the “world” from my mind, so I can be more sensitive to the scene I am painting. Also, I problem solve; I imagine being in the scene, or on location again; I assign words to describe the scene; and finally I visualize the finished painting. By approaching a painting this way, it helps me bridge the two elements of painting, the science of painting and the intuitive aspect of painting. When I have a solid image in my mind, I can start painting. All of this helps de-clutter and prepare my mind to paint so it’s easier to sink into that nice warm comfortable place…and create…
Cook:Don’t know how to “get there”. I can’t force anything to get there. In fact last year, because of some very stressful conditions, I was definitely out of the zone for a least six months. I struggled with drawing especially, and consequently painting anything worth showing anyone for that period…well, I won’t linger on this. Tough year.
Dunphy: It’s easiest for me to get in the zone when I’m outside plein air painting. It seems like that direct communion with my subject matter helps me to more easily ignore that background chatter of non-art-related thoughts. I still can get in the zone in the studio but it happens with more effort. I’ve found that certain music helps set the tone – classical baroque music, Italian opera arias, and most especially Gregorian chants.
Gerhartz:Putting myself in the position to be successful, (working from life, distractions minimized, enough rest, approach the subject humbly, and squint!)
Gurney:Ironically, I’ve got to think consciously to get to the intuitive state, and just practice a lot.
When in the “zone”, are you more conscious and aware of what you’re doing…or less so?

Blog - KD -magic-hour, 15x30 — Kathleen Dunphy – Magic Hour – 15″x 30″ – Oil

Blackwood:When I’m in the “zone”, I am more highly in tune to what I’m painting but less self-conscious of my process. It’s a more intuitive state where the painting seems to paint itself. I lose all sense of time, at least until my husband or daughter calls out for food!
Brown:Even though my space is important at the beginning of a painting, once I am in the “zone” I am less conscious of my surrounding, or of time, and more in tune with my creative process. I would say I am less conscious when in the “zone”. Since I worked through the foundational decisions and possible problems with my painting early on, the decisions and process of painting are easier. This doesn’t mean it’s a “walk in the park” for there can still be struggles, and sometimes I still have to wrestle that thing down, but I am less likely to get frustrated and angry. I stay calm and the painting proceeds at a nice pace and rhythm.
Cook:Definitely aware of what I’m doing, as described in the first answer, but not laboring mentally or emotionally.
Dunphy:Both – I’m more aware of the idea and feeling that I’m painting and less aware of the technical aspect of it.
Gerhartz:Not necessarily aware of it. More aware when I am not in it.
Gurney:I’m inside the painting, not thinking of my immediate surroundings.
Are your best ideas and work a result of being “zoned in” or does it make any difference?

Blog - DG - Dawn from Within - 60x60 — Daniel Gerhartz – Dawn from Within – 60″x 60″ – Oil

Blackwood:I am personally more fulfilled when I am “zoned in”. It is invigorating, joyous and feels like a state of being more fully awake. Because the subconscious is flowing more freely, I think there is a deeper level revealed in the work for those able to read it, making it more successful for me.
Brown:All of my planned ideas and crucial decisions about a painting come prior to the “zone”. Once the decisions are made, and I have a clear image of my painting, I am free to de-clutter my mind, and go into the “zone”. The advantage of this process for me, is when I am in the “zone”, my right brain is in control. This opens up the opportunity for some fantastic ideas to arise during the painting. I can realize them and take advantage of these opportunities.
Cook:Can’t answer that my best ideas come “in the zone”, but my best canvases definitely do.
Dunphy:Yes, by far my best work comes when I’m in the zone. It causes a conflict for me because I can only be in the zone when I don’t have the distraction of other people around, even other artist friends. I enjoy the camaraderie of painting with others and need that human interaction, but I end up having to view those paintings days more as “mental health” days instead of times when I get serious work done.
Gerhartz:I believe all artist work is best when focus is concentrated and precise. I believe my best works have almost painted themselves.
Gurney:The two modes switch back and forth for best results, like two different creative characters: The idea man and the refiner.
Is it possible for a “zoned in” person to produce work beyond their normal ability or level of understanding?

Blog - JC - Out to Pasture 30x40 — John Cook – Out to Pasture – 30″x 40″ – Oil

Blackwood:Being “in the zone” is an active, high state of functioning that can propel me to another level. Provided I have acquired the necessary skills, the excitement brought on by a challenge above my current level of understanding awakens my spirit and allows me to reach the higher state within that my conscious self sometimes blocks.
Brown:For me, the only way this whole process works is to study and build my understanding of the fundamentals of painting, understanding what I see and my ability to see as an artist. I have to train myself to see the subtleties of a scene and to understand perspective, atmosphere, quality of light, shade, value and edge. You can’t paint what you don’t know. We are given talent, but passion is the driving force that will develop it. Without putting in the work the emotional part of art has nothing to draw from. Since being in the zone is being more visceral, I don’t think I can paint beyond my ability, but it does make it easier to work from the knowledge that I have collected over the years and it makes me more intuitive with my decisions and not over think and second guess myself.
Cook:Any piece that exceeds my normal ability is a gift from God. Should that happen, I believe I would continue doing even greater things, with a dedicated work ethic. Love this! There are some pieces in the past that stand out as hard to “match the magic”. I wouldn’t continue if I thought it might not happen again.
Dunphy:Without a doubt. I call those works gifts that are given to me in order to let me know I’m on the right track and encourage me to keep going.
Gerhartz:Yes
Gurney:To me, intuition is conscious understanding made automatic. Rarely do I get major leaps of intuition that take me beyond my conscious awareness of solutions.
When “in the zone”, are you aware of it?

Blog - RDB - Old Hickory, 22x28 — Roger Dale Brown – Old Hickory – 22″x 28″ – Oil

Blackwood:I think on some level I am aware that I am “in the zone”. Everything feels so right. When I’m out of it, I still have that lingering “high” that makes me look forward to painting again. It is an addiction, isn’t it?
Brown:I am aware I can go to the “zone”, but I don’t always know that I am there, until someone or something interrupts me.
Cook:Definitely aware when I’m “in it”, however, being in it one day doesn’t necessarily carry over to the next session. Hate this!
Dunphy:Not right away. Usually some time will have passed where I realize I’m in a great rhythm and not struggling so much. Then I try not to think about it to much in order not to jinx myself out of it!
Gerhartz:Not always, the more I think about being “in the zone” the more I can be assured I am not in it.
Gurney:Yes, and I try to abet the mood by means of music or sound effects.

Special thanks to each of the distinguished artists participating in this enlightening discussion. Your comments have been greatly appreciated.

For those that have not read Part 1, I invite you to do so. It also features six elite artists: Kenn Backhaus, Joni Falk, David Gray, Marc Hanson, C.W. Mundy, and Romona Youngquist. It’s also very good. Just click here and continue reading. Thanks.

Dancing with the angels – Part 1

Mr. John Pototschnik · Jan 20, 2014 · 2 Comments

Twelve professional artists talk about being “in the zone”, what it’s like and how to get there.

When Facebook friend, John (Skeets) Richards, suggested I do a blog addressing the issue of whether or not artists are in a “zone” when they paint their best, I thought it was a good topic to pursue. I personally don’t think in those terms, I’m just focused on doing the best painting I can. I will acknowledge that once in a great while some of my paintings have been created so effortlessly and quickly that they seem to have painted themselves…but most of the time it is just tough, down and dirty, hard work…with all the ensuing frustrations.
I guess I never thought of those effortless paintings as having been done while “in the zone”, but maybe that’s a suitable explanation. After considering the opinions expressed below, it’s very possible I’m “in the zone” more than I realize. Having professional artists address the issue will cast light on the subject. It’s hard to deny that something really special can happen when we’re in the creative mode…often unexpectantly. I call it “dancing with the angels”.
I’m honored to have such an elite group of artists address this issue. Here are this weeks participants:

Kenn Backhaus:
After an award winning career as a commercial designer and illustrator, Kenn decided in 1984 to devote more time to his passion for painting and his love of the outdoors. He found that capturing true color, value, atmosphere and the mood of a subject was best done on location or through direct observation. Winner of many awards and a featured artist in a 13-part PBS television program “Passport & Palette”, Kenn is a Master Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society.

Joni Falk:
Joni has lived in Phoenix, AZ since 1960. She has been featured in several magazines and books, and is a popular instructor at the Scottsdale Artist School. Her work is included in the permanent collections of The Cheyenne Old West Museum, The Booth Museum, and The Desert Caballeros Museum. She’s represented by Legacy Galleries, Settlers West…and has participated shows at The National Museum of Wildlife Art and the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma.

David Gray:
An award winning artist, David has made a career of pursuing a pure and relevant art form which has its roots in the Classical Tradition. The resulting paintings reveal a personal and contemporary expression of beauty and order while giving a clear nod to the Old Masters. David’s works have been collected throughout the United States and abroad since 1997.

Marc Hanson:
A Signature Member of OPA and winner of the OPA Bronze Medal for oil painting in the 2011 National Exhibition. He was awarded both Artist’ Choice and Best of Show at the 2012 Door County Plein Air Festival. His work can be seen at Addison Art Gallery, R.S. Hanna Gallery, Gallery 1261, Elizabeth Pollie Fine Art, and the Mary Williams Gallery.

Charles Warren Mundy:
Worked as a sports illustrator for several years. In the early 1990’s he took on the challenge of painting in a more impressionistic style, going out of doors and painting “en plein air” and “from life”. Now a noted American Impressionist, he is a Master Signature Member of OPA. Most recently, 2007, he was awarded Master Status in The American Impressionist Society. He is also a Signature Member of The American Society of Marine Artists.

Romona Youngquist:
Self taught with nature as her classroom and the great masters her teachers, Romona knew at age four that painting would be her calling. Today you’ll find her paintings as far away as Germany, London, and downtown Manhattan. Her works have been published in the premier art magazines including Southwest Art, American Art Collector, and Art Talk.

We’ve all heard the phrase “in the zone”, what does that mean to you?

Blog - ’Sunrise-My Backyard’ - C.W. — C. W. Mundy – Sunrise-My Backyard – 20″x 16″ – Oil

Backhaus: Being in the zone is like a well-oiled machine, you are performing without hesitation, no distractions, and can push yourself and you respond, The challenges that are present or come up during the painting process become solved. The traditional sound principal and foundations guide your skills that you have acquired over the years. Confidence directs the eye and the hand. Everything within you and around you is in harmony.
“In the zone” for me, means my painting seems to almost paint itself…a sense of confidence and satisfaction as the painting progresses.
Gray: To me it means that space in time when everything you do is “right”. In these moments it seems like you can do just about anything. And if you do make a mistake it is corrected with ease and on the spot. It’s a time when everything you’ve learned is working for you. Your background, natural skills, education, and years of hard work are all coming out on the canvas and it’s glorious. You trust yourself implicity and all of your second guessing goes out the window. Ir’s a great place to be.
Hanson: My earliest memories of being an ‘artist’, were while sitting at my parents kitchen table with a newsprint drawing tablet and some pencils and crayons, making action drawings of tanks, soldiers and airplanes at war. Man, was I “in the zone” then. In a place of total imaginative, creative thought, where the question from my mom…”Marc, are you listening to me???”, didn’t even make a sound wave in that zoned world that I was in while the airplanes and helicopters flew over head, while the tanks rumbled across the impossible terrain, and while so many army men became ‘X’s and tanks went up in clouds of red and yellow flames. That is what being in the zone means to me. Being totally absorbed in the act of creative activity, in a heightened state of awareness. Being so absorbed by the painting activity, that nothing else around me has meaning, and time evaporates. It’s letting your conscious mind go to where it needs to go to achieve complete concentration on the task at hand.
Mundy: “In the zone” is a term used by an artist to describe being subconsciously carried along in the painting, making one creative move after another. You may not be aware of being in the zone. The painting experience has mesmerized the artist.
Youngquist: Being “in the zone” is like having a wonderful massage in which you’re conscious but asleep at the same time. It’s the place I want to be. It’s where I reach my optimal creativity and production and where I have the most fun.

If you believe in such a phenomenon, what techniques do you use to get there?

Blog KB - Cotton Wood Beach- 30x30 — Kenn Backhaus – Cotton Wood Beach – 30″x 30″ – Oil

Backhaus: I don’t think you can control when you get into the zone. I feel it happens on its own from one’s focus and enthusiasm of the project.
Falk: Regarding the phenomenon of “in the zone”, I think it is just that…if there were a technique to get there, I sure would like to know what it is…???
Gray: I don’t believe you can force it or make it occur. It just happens sometimes. It comes as a result of years of discipline. I consider that I am highly skilled and have worked very, very hard for many years to develop my craft. I can paint or draw something very well on demand. But that doesn’t mean I’m in the zone. Usually I have to keep my wits about me the entire day of painting and the littlest thing can throw me off. Still I have learned how to fight through and create effectively. Only once in a blue moon do I ever feel like I’m truly in the zone.
Hanson: It’s easiest for me to find myself “in the zone” when outside on location, painting ‘en plein air’. Almost every time that I paint outside, I’m there, in the zone. I think that’s partly why I feel that is the most honest place for me to be painting. Having the time constraint of plein air painting, and the lack of any outside interference, except for the occasional passerby, makes it the ideal situation fo me to find myself in that zone.
In the studio, to help me move into that place of concentration, I choose music to listen to that will help me find that zone once I get a painting going. That changes from day to day, and according to where I am in the painting. At first I like music that is…loud and upbeat. Music that sort of shakes the rafters. Then as I am developing the painting, I turn to music that is softer and less intrusive, that allows me to concentrate. Sometimes I need to turn it off completely and have a silent work zone to zone out in.
Mundy: Problem solving should be the process before ever beginning the painting. The left hemisphere of the brain, the analytical side, is the problem solver. Preparedness in getting everything ready is hugely important. It’s like a surgeon who has everything on the table and ready to go. I also have found in the last six months, that I have more opportunity to get into the zone if I have no music, no distractions. Having the excitement to create, to take on the challenge of a new painting, is a key ingredient and a wonderful start!
Youngquist: The best way for me to get there is to be constantly painting. It’s like a snowball effect and the more I paint the more everything around me disappears (not good for housework). And the ideas just keep coming.

When in the “zone”, are you more conscious and aware of what you’re doing…or less so?

Blog - JF - Taos Winter - 20x20 — Joni Falk – Taos Winter – 20″x 20″ – Oil

Backhaus: I sense that there is a time period that elapses before one knows that you are in a zone. Once you feel that everything is in that harmonious mode, yes, then you realize that you are in the zone. I feel that you are more conscious and aware of what you are doing and you also note that you are doing it according to your truths and beliefs. There is a sense of honesty that abounds.
Falk: As far as being more conscious and aware what I’m doing or less so…I definitely think I am aware I’m in the zone in that the painting seems to be flowing and coming together more easily – and with more confidence..
Gray: I think I’m just as conscious. It’s just that all my decisions seem to be “right”. All my marks are spot on. I’m still very cognizant.
Hanson: Yes, I’m totally conscious of what I’m doing when in the zone. I paint without thinking about what I’m doing, but on a conscious level. My experience, training, skills, and desires as an artist become one fluid movement when in this place. Like I mentioned above, it’s a heightened state of awareness that I find myself in when there. Being in the zone is very similar to being in a meditative state. I tried meditation as part of a yoga class I was taking once. I realized that when I’m painting…and in the zone…I’m consistently in a meditative place, so the meditation class was kind of pointless for me.
Mundy: It’s a combination of both being conscious of what you’re doing, and less conscious. But if you really “let go”, it can lean toward being unaware of what you’re doing. There’s a connective interplay between both knowing and not knowing.
Youngquist: I’m less conscious and intuition kicks in. And that’s where the fun and passion happens.

Are your best ideas and work a result of being “zoned in” or does it make any difference?

Blog - DG -_arrangementwithselectedsketches_18x24 — David Gray – Arrangement with Selected Sketches – 18″x 24″ – Oil

Backhaus: Yes, definitely my better works come from being in the zone.
Falk: I think some of my best paintings were done while “in the zone”, and I look back on them and wonder “how I did that”.
Gray: I think for me there is a slight difference. In general I would say my best work has been done while “zoned in”, but not always. I’ve done some paintings I’m very proud of that have been a fight every step of the way.
Hanson: This is a difficult place to be if you have interruptions by phones, other people, or errands to run for the day. My best work comes when I’m lucky enough to be able to find that level of concentration. Not because there’s anything metaphysical about it, simply because I’m concentrating and keeping a clear path open as I paint along. With too much interruption, I loose the ability to go deeply within myself and my creative thoughts. It makes sense that a painting wouldn’t get the full store of what I feel and have to offer it if I’m not there.
Mundy: Based on my own results, the best paintings can be painted either in the zone or not in the zone. Nevertheless, for creative explorations, every endeavor and experience is different.
Youngquist: Heck ya.

Is it possible for a “zoned in” person to produce work beyond their normal ability or level of understanding?

Blog - MH - October Flow -10x8 — Marc Hanson – October Flow – 10″x 8″ – Oil

Backhaus: Yes.
Falk: I do think it is possible to produce work beyond normal ability or understanding…it’s as if that feeling of “self-doubt’ disappears.
Gray: I think so. I’m not sure I’ve been there, but I believe it can happen. My process is so controlled that I am very rarely surprised by the result. “Happy accidents” just don’t happen with me. Though highly skilled and a good teacher of my craft, I still don’t consider myself a “Master”. I’m not sure I’ve done a work that completely transcends my earthbound limitations. But I believe it can happen. I’ve heard of these kinds of experiences happening to people working in other art forms as well…musicians, or actors, for example.
Hanson: I’d prefer to say that it’s ‘more possible’ to create the work that you’re capable of making, if you are able to concentrate at the level that being in the zone brings to you and your painting.
Mundy: It is absolutely possible for a “zoned in” person to produce work beyond their normal ability. Retrospective thinking will prove it out.
Youngquist: I think you still only paint to the level of your knowledge, but happy accidents happen. If only I can remember how I did it.

When “in the zone”, are you aware of it?

Blog - RY - October’s End - 24x30 — Romona Youngquist – October’s End – 24″x 30″ – Oil

Backhaus: As I mentioned earlier, for me I may be performing for a time period before I realize that I am in the zone. Believe me, you will know it when your’re there. The results of your efforts should reveal it.
Falk: When I am “in the zone” I am definitely aware of it – it’s that special feeling I wish I could experience more often.
Gray: Yes, I think I am.
Hanson: I think this one was pretty much answered in question #3.
Mundy: In most cases, I am not conscious of being “in the zone” although on the other hand, several times, I think that I have made the realization that I’m in the zone while “in the zone”.
Youngquist: It’s the same thing that happens when getting a massage. Your aware but at the same time not….(using linseed oil instead of lavender).

Next week Part 2 featuring: Karen Blackwood, Roger Dale Brown, John Cook, Kathleen Dunphy, Daniel Gerhartz, and James Gurney. Don’t miss it.

Charles Warren Mundy Interview

Mr. John Pototschnik · Jan 13, 2014 · 1 Comment

I first met C.W. Mundy when I stepped into the back of a limousine one evening in Cincinnati. We were participating artists in the Great American Artists Show and were being transported to the show venue.If you know anything about C.W., you know he is not shy. An outspoken Christian, it was not long before we discovered our common faith. I admire his authentic boldness and fearlessness, and it seems to permeate every area of his life including his work.

The Train Station
36″x 24″ – Oil – 20122nd Place, Masters Division, 22nd Annual OPA National Competition

His painting has gone through a continuous evolution. Always experimenting, never content to rest on his past successes, he is a bundle of energy, continually looking for new challenges. If it’s not painting, it’s music. If it’s not music it’s something else. He’s not one to sit around wasting time.
He just won second place in the Master Division at the 22nd Annual Oil Painters of America National Competition in Fredericksburg, TX., yet on the drive home to Indiana with his wife, Rebecca, he took the time to answer my questions for this interview…just another example of an active mind making every second count.

I’m very pleased to bring you this wonderful interview with Charles Warren Mundy:
As I’ve watched your work over the years, it seems you are always experimenting…trying new things. Are you fearless about experimentation? I’ve always been fearless to experiment because for me it is necessary to have a challenge, otherwise I’d be bored. The quest is the search.
It seems you paint anything and everything, is there any subject you shy away from? You won’t find me painting little kittens with a ball of yarn!…On the other hand, who knows, I might just do that sometime.

In studio creation of All Along the Boulevard

All Along the Boulevard -24″x 36″ – Oil – 2012

There is a certain unpredictability to your work, not in a negative sense, but in that one is never absolutely sure what you’re going to paint next…or how you’re going to paint it. How do galleries and collectors feel about that? I’ve done this from the beginning, so my collectors and my galleries are actually used to it.
What do you see as the future direction of your work? My future direction – more experimentation! Especially right now, I’m experimenting in the area of “paint manipulation”. There’s a multitude of ways that one can make a mark on linen. I’ve figured out that since these things are called “paintings”, the paint expression is very important!

How do your Christian beliefs affect and direct your art career? My wife and I pray about everything! This has directed us in every facet of the career, from conceptualizing, in painting, and in the business aspects.

Prague, Church of Saint Nicholas – 5″x 7″ – Pen and Ink – 2000

I consider you to be a pretty savvy marketer of your work, please explain your strategy. What has been your most effective marketing tool? Taking the leap of faith from answered prayers. (Psalm 32:8)
Early in the career, for 10-15 years, I did much advertising. That’s how I became known in the industry. Currently I use social media, newsletters, exhibitions, website, blog, trying to stay in front of people. You must continually remind people. A quote I’m known for…”It’s one thing to launch your career, it’s another thing to sustain it”.
How do you balance market expectations and artistic growth? I’m more concerned with artistic growth. My galleries allow this and don’t place high expectations on me.

Sailing Into Rockport at Sunset – 24″x 36″ – Oil – 2005

Early Afternoon Light, Williams Creek – 9″x 12″ – Oil

You are heavily involved in music, and for a time, sports. How have these contributed to your ability to succeed as an artist? I’ve always worked hard to achieve my goals, in sports, music, and in art. There’s no substitute for hard work!
The relationship of painting to music is frequently made, could you explain what is meant by that? There are many parallels between art and music. Here are just a few examples:
There must be unity and variety in correct proportions. In music and in art, if everything’s too unified, it’s boring. Too much variety, and it’s fractured. You want to have as much variety as possible, but still have it unified.
You must have an “attitude” about your work.
In music as well as art, you must have a “centrality of focus”. With music, the centrality is in the lyrics of the chorus. Just as in a painting, it’s where you want your viewers (or listeners) to have a resolve or anchor in your composition. The musical verses have to point to the chorus. In art, the secondary and tertiary areas have to support and not challenge the centrality of focus in the painting.
The dynamics of when to be loud and when to be quiet.
There are music notes and color notes – how do you want them to play out or speak?
Why did you select art over music as your career? I was in a great 5-piece band in L.A. in the late 1970′s. We wrote all our own music, and were getting ready to record with a major music recording company, when one band member became very sick and then passed away, and the band dissolved. Our dream ended and I was dejected, not only at the loss of our friend, but because of the investment of time and effort for the band. I felt that God really spoke to me at that time and told me to go back to art and painting, where I didn’t need to rely on other people to make a living, just my own hard work.

Emily with Basket at the Beach – 9″x 6″ – Oil – 2012

Red Striped Umbrellas, Santa Margherita Ligure – 16″x 20″ – Oil – 1996

Silver Coffee Urn – 12″x 9″ – Oil – 2011

Why, at this time, is there such a move in America toward realism…even the classic kind? The pendulum swings! The American Impressionism of the last several decades has had a good run, but that continues as well.
How do you decide on a dominating color key for a painting, and how do you maintain it? If you’re concerned with color as opposed to tonality, one might take advantage of playing up complementaries. There is a reason why colors have their complementary. In the history of art, the greatest colorists had a sophisticated usage of color and chroma. Painting straight out of the tube is OK for modernists, but to me it’s like “finger nails on a chalkboard”.
What part does photography play in your work? When subjects move and it’s your only option. Sometimes as well, it’s very advantageous to record spots where you can’t be around such as Europe or other travel destinations, although 90% of all my European Collections of paintings were painted en plein air. If I have to paint from a photograph, I often paint it “upside down” which is much more right brain and creative and helps me stay out of the mode of just painting “things”.

What are the key points one needs to know when creating a true sense of atmosphere? It mostly really boils down to “edges” and being very careful with color notes. In a landscape, many times in the distant trees and distant hillsides, I add more sky color into those masses. Value as well has to be adjusted from the literalness of the scene.

C.W. Mundy painting on location in France

What are the main problems encountered when translating a field study to a large studio work? The loss of the human spirited endeavor and the inability to make large masses interesting and exciting with paint manipulation…are starter problems. The problem continues on when unnecessary details are added. Less is always more!
Do you have basic rules of composition that you adhere to? Almost always I go for the exploitation of a centrality of focus, what I call a “resolve” or an “anchor”. I gravitate toward compositions that have a strong primary, a supporting secondary and supporting tertiary. The Equalization theory which is the exact opposite invented by the modernists was to exploit the eye floating randomly everywhere in the composition with no “resolve” or “anchor”.
How does your work reflect your personality? I’m a charismatic person and I’m too old to have any interest in rendering anymore. I’ve grown into becoming a child trapped in an adult body. I’m like a child wanting to experience things that I’ve never experienced.

What is your major consideration when composing a painting? First of all, composition rules over all the other tenets in painting. You can do a great job with value, color, edges and paint manipulation, but if the composition is not good, the painting will still “circle the drain”. Your composition will support and explain your love for the subject.
I hate formula painting; it’s the death of an artist. So each experiment in composition in many ways is unique to itself. In a series however, the variables in composition are more consistent for research purposes only. Doing an experiment is different from doing experiments.
What advice would you have for a young artist/painter? You have to become a painter and understand the “science” of painting before you graduate to becoming an artist. Study, hard work! There’s no substitute for mileage.
What advice would you have for a first-time collector? If you really love a painting and can afford it, you’d better purchase it! It only takes one or two regrets to learn your lesson.
When you become discouraged and feel the well is dry, so to speak, what do you do? The first and most important question you need to ask yourself is “why is the well dry?” The second question is “Would it be more productive to work through this or take a break and get a fresh start”.

Kinderdyke, European Collection — Kinderdyke (European Collection 2002) – 24″x 36″ – Oil

If you could spend the day with any three artist, past or present, who would they be? Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and DaVinci.
If you were stranded on an island, which three books would you want with you? The Bible, a Hebrew concordance and a Greek concordance!
What’s your opinion of art competitions and how do you go about selecting paintings for these shows? Art competitions are only relative to the judge and shouldn’t be taken too seriously by the participant. These competitions have probably destroyed the enthusiasm of the participants in the same proportion to the careers they have resurrected. My selections for shows…Find an artist who is very experienced and has your best interest at heart, and allow him or her to be more objective concerning your entry.
Who has had the greatest influence on your career, and why? To say one who has had the greatest influence would be very misleading and not include the many who have inspired me. It’s always a compilation of many.
Thank you C.W. for a very interesting interview. We’re going to look forward to all those interesting places your continual experimentation with paint will take you.
Mr. Mundy is a Master Signature Member of Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society,and a Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists. He is also a member of the Disco Mountain Boys, an Indianapolis based bluegrass band. They just released their debut CD, Road Trip.
Further Reading: view Charles Warren Mundy’s website

Artistic Goals

Roger Dale Brown · Dec 30, 2013 · 5 Comments

The First of Three Elements of One Artist Goal Plan

By Roger Dale Brown, OPA

This article is the first of three, in which I will outline the way I set goals for my business. My goals include: artistic, marketing, and business. Setting these goals gives me something to strive for, they help me stay organized and they hold me accountable to myself.

Artistic Goals, for me, are the most important of the three categories. It helps me to improve what I have to market, my art. Subcategories under these three elements help me compartmentalize specific areas I want to concentrate on. They are:

Get better
Painting from life and on location
Seeing better as an artist
Continue developing a critical eye
Expanding my boundaries.

These will put my goals into action.

(1) Get Better:

How do I get better? I acknowledge an area I am weak in and study that area. It is important for me to schedule time to do this. I am easily distracted with life situations and business. I also take advantage of an opportunity when it arises. I keep a drawing pad with me so I can draw anytime. Studying is not limited to painting. Drawing helps improve hand–eye coordination, seeing value and developing an intuitive response to my subject.
I also adhere to the theory of frequency, intensity and duration. If you do something often, you will get better at it. If you study with intensity there is a higher chance of retaining what you study. The longer you work on something, the more likely your task will become intuitive.
It coincides with a quote I read in my classes:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
– Calvin Coolidge

(2) Painting from Life and on Location:

I decide how many on location or from life study paintings I want to paint that year. I schedule the time as much as possible but many times it is spur of the moment. Realize that every painting is not started with the idea that it is going to be a finished masterpiece. Most of the time I paint on location to study. I can read, study, take workshops every month, but if I don’t put theory to the test I will not grow. Most times I paint from life with the intention of studying a specific problem area or theory, not to create a masterpiece. Paint with a plan!

(3) Seeing Better As An Artist:

Before I touch my canvas, I try to see the subject in its’ simplest form or as an abstract. Then I mentally build the scene back up and visualize the end result of my painting. I have discovered when I visualize the end result of my painting, the likely hood of succeeding increases.
Sometimes I leave my paints at home and observe how light falls over a subject, how things reflect off each other. I look through the detail and see large simple shapes or masses, the value of those masses, patterns of light and color within those masses and all the other nuances. I simply practice seeing and remembering.
The ability to “see as an artist sees” is one of the most important elements of learning and developing. Cicero once said, “Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature”.

(4) Continue Developing a Critical Eye:

It is very important to become a student of art, to develop a critical eye. I have collected a library of art books, I look at magazines and visit museums whenever possible to study. Having a group to critique each other’s work regularly is also very helpful to start understanding what makes a good painting. To know a good painting when you see one, you also have to see the mistakes. The old masters, contemporary masters and our piers make mistakes. It’s just as important to see what they did wrong as it is to see what they did right.
Frank Dumond told his students: “I am not here to teach you how to paint, I am here to teach you how to see”. He did not just mean seeing the subject your painting and the nuances within but also the ability to know what a good painting looks like. By developing a critical eye you will develop the ability to critique your own work intelligently and then you can take the necessary steps to correct the problems.

(5) Expanding My Boundaries:

I put a lot of importance on being a well-rounded artist. My passion is landscape panting. I love the outdoors and the beauty of nature. But, I also like other subjects and I know that one of the ways for me to grow is to be diverse in what I paint. I also venture to try new techniques, new mediums and tools and I even make tools and equipment to help in certain situations. At the end of the day I always bring something new back to my art.
The idea of being a well-rounded painter has been important to the masters for centuries. In 1901, John Singer Sargent wrote about it in a letter to a student.

“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 a 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 nobody. Try to become a painter first and then apply your knowledge to a special branch or you will become a mannerist.”

This is how I start each year. I set my goals and come up with a plan to put them into motion. You have your own temperament and know what works for you. Develop a method to get better and never compromise on quality and most of all enjoy the process of being an artist.

Pigments, Painters and Thieves

Nancy Boren OPA · Dec 16, 2013 · 3 Comments

A Random Guide to Entertaining Books, Fact and Fiction, that Reveal Minutia, Mysterious Happenings, Tangled Webs, and Outright Larceny, all Engendered by What You May be Creating at this very Moment: Art.

While we are all familiar with the lavish coffee table books, artist biographies, and how-to books which most artists stockpile in their studios like hoarders with empty pickle jars, there are countless books in other categories for the curious art reader.
For the history-loving art reader there are books that trace the evolution of a single pigment: Blue: The History of a Color as well as Black: The History of a Color, both by Michel Pastoureau or The Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield. You will never take your colors for granted again. Instead, you will be grateful each day in the studio when for example, using alizarin or scarlet that you are not in Mexico in 1560, laboriously scrapping tiny cochineal bugs from prickly pear pads.

For the true-crime-loving art reader there are books that read like fast-paced thrillers. Two art forger tell-alls approach the forgery challenge from opposite points of view: In Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware), Ken Perenyi reveals his methods to create as perfect a fake as he could. You’ll forever be skeptical now of every Butterworth yacht painting appraised on Antiques Roadshow. Read along with him about the day he accidentally figured out how to fake the unmistakable green florescence of centuries-old varnish when seen under a black light.

In Provenance by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo, the mastermind’s plan was to use fabulous faked provenances to pass off often sloppily painted copies of modern paintings by Giacometti, Graham Sutherland, and Ben Nicholson. This London con man went so far as to corrupt archived catalogs by inserting made-up pages with photos and information about the fakes. The Forger’s Spell by Edward Dolnick, chronicles a frustrated Dutch artist who faked Vermeers and then had the nerve to sell them to WWII Nazis as they plundered their way through Europe. Perenyi claims the Dolnick book inspired him. Take all the tales with a grain of salt; after all, the authors are professional con artists, but riveting reading it is.
The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel details daring art rescues during WWII. The George Clooney movie version is due out in early 2014. Other Edsel books: Saving Italy and Rescuing Da Vinci.

The Lost Painting, The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr is the true story of a Caravaggio discovered by a museum art restorer in Ireland at the same time a University of Rome graduate student began tracing it from its first recorded appearance in a dusty Italian archive.
The Art Detective, Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures is by Phillip Mould OBE, a British art expert who appears on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and Fake or Fortune?, a London- based show about authenticating antique paintings.

The true 1990 story of one of the world’s biggest and yet unsolved art thefts is told in The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser. Still missing in Boston: several pieces of Degas, a Vermeer, and two Rembrandts, including Storm on the Sea of Galilee. Empty frames hang on the wall of the museum to this day. Robert Wittman discusses numerous crimes in Priceless; part of his career was spent on the FBI Art Crime Team.
There are several books about the life and mysterious 1934 disappearance of American artist-adventurer Everett Reuss. Last seen in the Utah canyon lands at age 20, Ruess was acquainted with Ansel Adams and Maynard Dixon, but his solitary search for beauty ultimately was his undoing.

For behind-the-scenes loving art readers, there are two books that explore the surroundings of single paintings: Strapless by Deborah Davis deals with John Singer Sargent and Madame X, who in real life was Louisiana-born Virginie Amelie Gautreau and Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O’Connor chronicles the creation of Klimt’s masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.

Winston Churchill wrote Painting as a Pastime and tells a hilarious tale about his first dramatic confrontation with THE BIG EMPTY WHITE CANVAS. He says, “Just to paint is great fun…Try it if you have not done so – before you die.” His work is on display at the Dallas Museum of Art and in the studio at his home, Chartwell, near Westerham, Kent.

For the mystery-loving art reader, there is In the Frame by Dick Francis. Francis is known for his series about English horse racing, but here he incorporates a horse painter and a fake Sir Alfred Munnings. Another of his books, To the Hilt, features an artist living in Scotland.
Masterclass by Morris L. West intertwines two stories – one of a brutally murdered Manhattan artist and one of an unearthed Italian masterpiece. Double-crosses, commissioned fakes, Swiss bank accounts, and international art dealers abound. Chasing Cezanne by Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence) is a fun art romp from France to the Bahamas.
More art mysteries include The Art Thief by Noah Charney and The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro, which is inspired by the Gardner heist.
For the romantic, fiction-loving art reader, a personal favorite is The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. A three-generation saga set in England and the Spanish island of Ibiza, The Shell Seekers describes a fictional painting of the same title done on the beach in Cornwall, obviously inspired by the Newlyn School, an art colony established in the early 1880s near Penzance. Real artists there included Lamorna Birch, Elizabeth Forbes, Stanhope Forbes, Laura Knight, and Alfred Munnings.
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Costova is also delightful: a modern day obsessive painter unlocks the secret surrounding a fictional female Impressionist’s abandonment of her promising career. Contains star-crossed love, stolen letters, and a painting that makes it all clear when you know how to decipher it.
Vermeer fans will enjoy The Girl With the Pearl Earring (basis for the movie) by Tracy Chevalier and The Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. The latter traces a fictional painting’s journey through the centuries.
A graphic, dramatic description of a fictional painting is found in Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street. A portrait painter set up a large canvas to paint a “tiny, crabbit man, (from the Wee Reformed Presbyterian Church [Discon’t]), sitting there in his clerical black suit and staring with a sort of threatening disapproval.” The artist found himself sketching in a “tiny portrait, three inches square, right in the middle of the big canvas…a picture which set out to express all the sheer malice and narrowness of the man…I had boiled down his spirit and it came to a tiny half-teaspoon of brimstone.”

duchamp-nude-descending-a-staircase-1912

For the poetry-loving art reader, there is When Earth’s Last Picture is Painted by Rudyard Kipling.

“…and those that were good (is that behavior or technique?) shall be happy
They’ll sit in a golden chair
They’ll splash at a ten league canvas
With brushes of comet’s hair…”

If you prefer happy endings, skip over The Painter Chap by Robert Service (of Yukon fame.) The Painter Chap starts with despondency and despair over his daubs and quickly sinks to knives, a hissing gas jet, and a sad goodbye to Paris. Nude Descending a Staircase by X. J. Kennedy cleverly mimics the painting by Marcel Duchamp with words,

“…We spy beneath the banister
A constant thresh of thigh on thigh –
Her lips imprint the swinging air
That parts to let her parts go by…”

Rory Ewins at speedysnail.com has even composed a group of limericks about famous artists like
Michelangelo, artist of feeling,
Is known for his Vatican ceiling:
The Pope saw some faults
In its featureless vaults
And said, “Paint over that, Mike – it’s peeling.”

Whatever your area of art interest, gentle reader, you would be advised to purchase another bookcase. Life is short, read fast; here we have barely scratched the surface. You are invited to share your favorite art books in the comment space at the bottom.