Monday Morning Art School: scaling up a field study
“I’m wondering if you would do or have done a blog post about transitioning from in-the-field studies to larger studio paintings of the same subject. Or is it better to paint larger in the field?” a reader asked. If you have the time and stamina to do a large field painting, they’re a great experience. …
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Obsessed by baby trees
There were three titans of fin de siècle realism: the Spaniard JoaquÃn Sorolla, American ex-pat John Singer Sargent, and Swedish Anders Zorn. They were almost exact contemporaries and all three mined the same material-figure and landscape, heavily larded with the society portraits that paid the bills. Each was known for the assurance of his brushwork …
Slipping the bonds of mere technique
I drove from Paul Smiths to Saranac Lake, NY, in a morose mood. Here is the gulch where Kari Ganoung Ruiz parked and painted; here is the cemetery where Laura Martinez-Bianco and Crista Pisano clowned around; if Chrissy Pahucki were in town, we could go to Donnelly’s for ice cream. I was on my way …
Monday Morning Art School: quiet passages
I’m in Paul Smiths, NY, teaching for Saranac Lake ArtWorks. Yesterday, student Mark Gale asked, “What should I do about this passage,” gesturing to a dark line of spruces. He was, at the time, bookended by Beth Carr and me. She’s been my student for several years, and is a crackerjack painter with impeccable judgment. …
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Intimations of Autumn
Here in the northeast, we’re seeing the first intimations of autumn-the earliest scarlet leaves starting to drop on the forest floor, staghorn sumac sporting red velvety fruit, goldenrod and fireweed popping up in unmowed fields. There is a subtle difference in the color of leaves. In a dry summer, that’s exacerbated, but by the third …