People perhaps just hacked a chunk off the cave wall and started noodling, or charred a bone from last night’s dinner, or took a stick from the fire and began to make marks. The earth itself for thousands of centuries has created a harmonious palette of archival and readily available colors to create some of the most beautiful and enduring art in the world.
This topic has become a passion for me over the recent years, and I have experimented with most of the available historical pigments in one way or another, creating several in-depth projects that involve both artistic and cultural research. The most profound characteristics discovered are that these pigments are splendid to work with and endlessly beautiful.
To my eye, the modern cadmiums are so highly saturated they overpower my canvas and are difficult to handle on the palette. I find this true also of other modern colors such as phthalo greens and blues. Occasionally, when my mad-scientist self gets restless, I break out of this mold and experiment with some of the modern azo, turquoise, and quinacridones, but I usually will spend time muting or graying them down in some way.
It really is a process of elimination. I use just the colors that are safe after they are encased in oil and toss out the fugitive (many of the plant-based colors) or toxic colors. I use caution and strict hygiene habits while painting. Most importantly, the mere fact of having a few select colors on my palette to deal with allows easy and quick decision color mixtures.
More and more interest in hand-ground paints made from natural pigments is surfacing lately. I invite you to choose a few colors, (even if you do not grind the paint yourself, purchase the ready-made), and experiment. Do some studies and see the difference in the surface quality of your canvas. Make that connection between you the painter, the aesthetic of your art, and your materials. The results just might be profoundly gratifying.
Oil Painting
Is There Anything Oil Painters Can Learn From Apple?
Can Oil Painters Learn from Apple?
1. Everything starts with a great product. Take the ipod for example. I think it’s a great product. A great product has the power to make a name, or a brand. Once you build the brand, it is easier to present your new products. It doesn’t happen overnight, in fact it may take years. Could we change out the word “product” for painting here? The oil painters you and I admire most didn’t paint their best stuff while they were still wet behind the ears. They put in the time right? They painted quality paintings over a period of time and built up their skills and their name/brand. An oil painters name can be compared to a brand. Your name, or your brand, is a precious asset, be sure and treasure it just as a fortune 500 company would.
2. Turn something ordinary into something beautiful. A cell phone, a music player and a tablet are usually not something that comes to mind when we think of beautiful. Neither is an old, aging building, a fence, rocks, or plenty of other things. But in the hands of a person with vision, or an exceptional painter, or both, common everyday items can become so much more than ordinary. They can be made to be extraordinary.
3. Ignore the Critics. Apple has been criticized plenty of times, as most large corporation have. Most people don’t realize that the ipod was a flop for about the first three years. But they continued with their vision to build the products they wanted to build the way they want to build them. Most oil painters face criticism at one point or another. In fact if you haven’t, you probably need to try harder. But how oil painters respond to the criticism is what matters. If you want to paint juggling elephants en plein air, do it! Who is anyone to say otherwise? Realism, impressionism, cubism, criticism. Learn from criticism, don’t bow down to it. What if Apple had given up on the ipod?
4.Communicate in the language of your audience. Apple doesn’t go out of their way to tell us about all the tech specs in their gadgets. They tell us about the clarity of the screen, the speed, the design, what this great product will do for us. They tell us about the benefits. I am of the opinion that oil painters should do that as well. Tell your collectors or gallery reps about the benefits of your work. Stories, awards, travels, what makes the piece special, and so on. Build it up a little bit. Help them relate more to you and your work. What you tell people about your work is what they will tell others, so give them plenty of benefits instead the technical or instead of nothing at all. I don’t know about you, but I have found that no matter how unimpressed I am with my own work, someone else finds it fascinating.
5. Justify the Price. Apple products are not cheap, and they seldom if ever go on sale. Yet, millions of people including my wife have just got to have an iphone. How do they do that? First of all they build products that their audience loves passionately. The use of premium materials, the design, the quality of the experience and the immense personal value that people feel while using those products. Benefits. Their products also come with extras, and they don’t provide a low-end option. Can we as oil painters figure out a way to incorporate some of this attitude into our work?
6. Extend the Experience. Call it a presentation, an unveiling, a reveal, unboxing, whatever you want. But hundreds of people have even filmed themselves opening their new Apple gadget box and thrown it up on YouTube. The opening of the box is that big of a deal. An experienced framer told me several times how he would sometimes “present” art to the client. He would wrap it in paper, then take his time and unwrap it in front of the buyer, talk about the art, and build up the whole thing to make the art and person feel special, with great results. He didn’t do this all the time, but he did work me a couple of times, and it was the anticipation and the expectation that I felt that makes me remember the experience fondly.
7. Build your Tribe/Find your people. Apple has their very large and engaged tribe and it continues to grow. Oil Painters can have a tribe too. Your tribe are those people who accept you for who you are and want the best for you. They support you and encourage you to pursue your dreams. Your tribe can be friends, family, artists, collectors and whoever else might drive you to make full use of your talents and abilities. Listen to your inner voice and trust your instincts, and find your people. Oil Painters of America might be one place to start…
8. Become the Name. Most people don’t ask for an Apple for their birthday. They ask for an ipod, ipad, or an iphone. But when you say those names, everyone knows who makes them. Maybe if we keep painting and build our tribe, one day someone will want more than a painting, they will want a you hanging in their collection.I don’t necessarily want a painting of Italy hanging in my living room, iwant a Hulings.
Thank You Oil Painters
Thank you oil painters for inspiring me and teaching me through your work and your words. It is my honor to have this post on OPA. This was not meant to be an advertisement for Apple, they don’t need any help from me. In fact, my phone is a droid. But if there is even one thing to learn from the attitudes and ideas of a company that has had such an impact on our world, why not?
Personalities and Temperaments in Art
Do Artists’ Personalities and Temperaments dictate the Styles and Subjects they choose to express themselves?
I usually do not think about things like this question on a daily basis, unless it comes up in a discussion. I am not a big fan of over analyzing and over thinking reasons for painting certain things. I usually prefer to react to the subject and be as honest as I possibly can and let it be what it will be. When I was asked to contribute to this blog, I tossed around a few thoughts and came up with a question that has come up before, and some of this I have skirted around on my own blog.
I have had this conversation with artist friends and particularly students in classes and workshops many times in the past, as well as very recently. I truly believe that painters, like me, who paint an array of subject matter, and work in a particular manner, do so because of a personality, or temperament need to do so. I also find it interesting that some artists are drawn to a varied , and very eclectic subject matter, while others are perfectly content to explore only one subject…..different temperaments and personalities…..I believe.
I personally choose to paint as directly as I possibly can, because I believe my temperament/personality dictates it. I am by my definition, somewhat impatient….. I guess. I feel as though I want to see things happen very quickly in the beginning of a painting. Then, there seems to be a time to slow it up a bit….. unless I plan to complete the painting in one session…..but always being deliberate and doing my best to avoid time consuming errors, which seem to inevitably occur. Some artists work on a painting over a long period of time. They glaze and layer paint. They do not mind a slower process….. and some even relish this method of working. This is a choice based on temperament or personality. There is no one best way to paint a painting. Beautiful paintings result from a multitude of styles and approaches. Over the years, I have tried many, and possibly all methods of applying paint to surfaces, and I still remain open to the possibilities in this never ending learning process called painting. I know artists who have painted in a particular way that was easy, or seemed natural for them, and were apparently never happy painting in that manner. They are now making changes, and pursuing a different path with their work. This is in my opinion, a temperament/personality decision. Many artists from my generation, including myself, made their living in the early years as illustrators painting things and solving other’s problems that might not have necessarily been their personal choice of things to paint. Sometimes one does what they have to do at that point in time. Sometimes pressures, be they economics, providing for family, etc., forces one to make concessions and one is forced off of their desired path in art.
This style or manner of working discussion is also important in regards to what is taught in workshops, painting classes, etc. Many workshops and classes on painting teach, or try to teach a style, technique, or manner rather than stressing good principals. I think this might be, in my opinion, a disservice to the student. One size does not fit all in painting. Everyone wants to be an individual, and should. I believe one’s own style evolves out of practicing good solid principals of painting. Again, addressing the topic issue, one chooses a method that suits one’s own temperament, not that of an instructor. The instructor’s responsibility is to open up the possibilities with choices…..in my opinion.
The eclectic subjects some artists, like myself, choose as opposed to those who paint only one subject and are known for that subject alone is a choice based on ones temperament/personality. I love painting certain subjects possibly more so than others….for instance, I probably would choose the figure over a still life, but I would not want to be limited to just figurative paintings. That is in my opinion, a personality/temperament choice. Eclectic subject can possibly have a consequence. Not sticking with one subject, that an audience can identify an artist with, can make it more difficult to become known broadly for painting that one subject. I personally would find it maddening to have to get up every day and paint the same thing or subject. I can only speak for myself when it comes to this or any matter that has to do with painting. Many artists probably do not feel that way….and that is wonderful. It certainly would be less interesting if everyone had the same attitude towards everything. This again speaks to the topic issue, temperament/personality.
The aspects of an artist’s life that are effected by this issue are far reaching….. another example is how some artists have tidy, neat, everything in it’s place organized studio spaces, while others like me, are borderline slobs, and seem to be able to function, and are reasonably comfortable in messy studios spaces that might not be acceptable to some. I had an artist friend back in the illustration days who would not come past the doorway of my studio. The mess of reference books and files spread across the studio floor that I functioned in was disturbing to his sensibility toward neatness and organization. This is a personality trait of this particular artist. I was perfectly content being on the messy side of it.
I think many artists paint what they are comfortable painting. Most do not go out of their comfort zone regularly. This is also a personality/temperament issue. I like to think that I take some risk, and wish I were even more adventurous, when it comes to trying new things. One of my favorite contemporary painters, Quang Ho OPAM, is a great example. He is a great painter, and also a fearless experimenter. He not only paints a varied subject, but he takes it further by continuing to experiment with his work, as it relates to paint application and things of that nature. He successfully does this while remaining a traditional, representational painter. I hope that I never lose that desire to shake it up every now and then….. even if it is just a little bit. That is my main reason for not painting only one subject. I think by being interested in a variety of subjects, it possibly keeps one fresh and keeps one from relying to much on tried and proven solutions. To some degree, one must do what they know will get the job done, but one does not want it to become familiar to the point of it being a formula.
Unfortunately, in many cases, the fine art market chooses what subjects some artists paint, and in some cases how they paint. To a great degree, it is subject driven. There will always be those who want to categorize artists by subjects they paint. I still believe and hope that good painting is appreciated by those who recognize it, no matter what the subject or style.
I am honored to have had the opportunity to participate in this Oil Painters of America Blog. This post is my own personal observation of an aspect of painting that I find interesting, and does not reflect that of the OPA, or any universal opinion or idea about this subject. Thanks for reading this blog post and feel free to comment or express your views.
Best regards to all, and paint what you want, not what someone else wants!
Practicing Art
It all began last fall as I was planning a trip with some artist friends to Italy to paint where Edgar Payne captured those marvelous orange-sailed boats in the early 20th century. I was really nervous. I live in the desert. I don’t know a halyard from a square knot and I knew I’d better start “practicing” painting boats. Two months before the trip, at the OPA conference in Idaho, I went to a demo by Ned Mueller and he advised us to get up every morning and, even before that first cup of coffee, head into the studio and paint a small study for exactly 15 minutes. No more, no less. So, I did just that, except I had my coffee in hand, for 64 days before my trip to Italy. Most of the 64 little paintings were done in black and white to help me with the values, but it also helped me to became familiar with the perspective and beautiful curves of the boat and the sails. It helped me so much that I still do it. Ok, sometimes I miss a morning, but it’s become such a habit that I actually feel guilty when I don’t do it. What do I paint now that I’m back on solid sand? Anything I want to paint. It’s just practice, after all. Although I can tell you that those little, 15 minute studies have grown up to become some of my best paintings. Besides being a great way to warm up my painting muscles (both physical and mental) this is a practice that really pays off.
1. I made an effort to find an art “support group.”
I remembered reading Art and Fear, Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, by David Bayles and Ted Orland which describes a study about those artists with/without support groups. They studied art students for 20 years and discovered that the ones who had connected with other artists were more likely to still be making art. This connection was more important than talent in the long run.
I think that a good support group, with artists who you trust, is like a marriage that works: when you’re “up” you help them, when you’re down, they help you. Not often in the same place at the same time, but it works. Now I meet with artists at coffee or in one of our studios at least once and usually twice a week. We share show information, frame suppliers, etc., congratulate each other or commiserate and talk about anything that we’re thinking about art-wise over coffee for about 2 hours. We artists, like writers, lead very solitary lives, so this is an incredible way to leave the studio and still feel like we’re “working” and, of course, learning.
2. I rediscovered the joys of getting back to basics
I took a workshop with Skip Whitcomb and he had us working with an extremely limited value palette–white, black and one grey very close to either the white or the grey. Wow. Talk about challenging you to simplify!
Then I did some new color charts with a four color palette I was interested in trying. These exercises really helped me to find new ways of saying what I wanted to say with the paint and reminded me to just enjoy the process of painting, without always having a specific painting or show deadline in mind.
3. I remembered the importance of making mistakes–it’s how we learn.
“You make good work by (among other things) making lots of work that isn’t very good and gradually weeding out the parts that aren’t good, the parts that aren’t yours.” Art & Fear, p26
4. I set some new goals for myself–at least two paintings a week, good or bad!
I revisited old “friends”: some books are more dog eared than others–you know which are your favorites. I also made myself reach for the books that I’d never really spent any time with–I wanted to try new ideas on for size, taking the lessons of other artists and trying them for myself
6. I started to thumb through my old workshop notes.
I wondered, “Why do I keep writing down the same things?” I paid to attention to that and decided to work on those areas. In some cases when I revisited the lessons, lightbulbs went off! I was in a better place to understand some of the ideas now and actually put them to use in my work.
The short version of this is: keep practicing and find artist friends, even if they’re only in blogs! And, as my friend (and fellow artist) Joan Larue always says, “keep your brushes wet!” I’m reminded of the old joke, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!” Just substitute “How do you get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art” and you’ll get my point.
Thanks so much for listening and please let me know how it goes for you!
How deep is your space?
At one of my always stimulating dinners with my late friend Zyg Jankowski, he said to me that the first decision a painter has to make about his work is a spacial one: how “deep” do you want to make the picture? John Carlson felt that every foot into nature counted; Ed Whiney had no interest in such realistic depth and recommended a student plan the composition on-site but walk around a corner to paint it. Over the years, I’ve been schizophrenic about the question. Under Emile Gruppe’s tutelage, I naturally followed Carlson’s path. Later, I experimented with a flatter approach , one which, carried to an extreme, can make the subject disappear in a series of flat planes.
Note: for a further discussion of these points, check out YouTube: