Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
It’s a Merdonna and Child. Or something. When this buoy arrived in the mail a few weeks ago, certain members of my family were flummoxed. âWho sent us an oversized dreidel?â Since I was expecting it, I recognized it for what it was, but then wondered whether it was supposed to go dreidel-side up or …
“Joep Nicolas worked on these windows during the last twelve years of his life. Although he was a mature painter and a master glazier, it was evident his work evolved during the tenure of the project. This window is the greatest, in my opinion. It is a presentation of what was transpiring in the heavenlies …
Durand-Eastman in early Spring, 11X14, oil on canvasboard. I am not that keen on early Spring colors, which to me often look clichĂ©d, and I didnât like this when I painted it. I like it a lot more now. Itâs brassyâjust like me. Marilyn Feinberg was raised in Irondequoit, so it is no surprise that …
My first successful nude in a naturalistic style, as a student in Cornelia Foss’ class. Foss intentionally arranged the model to make her insecurity apparent. I draw much better now, but I still like this painting. I received an email yesterday asking, âWhat do you mean your house is full of paintings of âwomen commodified, …
Gesture drawings are just so cool. My son is curled up in a chair making skins for Minecraft. He likes animating, drawing, electronic music, writing games, programming, andâof courseâvideo games. Heâs a kid, and kids have an ability to slip into activities with no regard for their value. Itâs a trait that usually eludes us …
As-yet-untitled landscape of New Mexico by Cindy Zaglin, acrylic on canvas. Light, bright, abstract, and ultimately it looks like the place felt. The working art worldâas much as any cliqueâtends to be insular. Art markets are provincial communities that are inclined to distrust outsiders or new impulses. To really break out of the corner into …
Spring really is just around the corner, I swear. I think the dead of winter is Godâs way of telling me itâs time to paint the figure, so I generally lay off plein air in the coldest months. The last day I painted out-of-doors was the day before Thanksgiving. But watching spring snow falling outside …
The above cartoon has been making the rounds among my musician friends this week, and for good reason. Maya Angelou said the caged bird sings for freedom, but in fact birdsâcaged or freeâsing because their songs are hardwired into them. The mother of a young performer said to me recently, âShe has always been a …
He’s fifteen… I asked him. I had the good fortune to have lunch yesterday with two of my former sidekicks, Marilyn Feinberg and Matthew Menzies. A good sidekick is a beautiful thing, and these two are among the best. In some ways, they’re polar opposites: she is a middle-aged intellectual; he is a rather rowdy teenage …
Continue reading “Of sidekicks and teenagers who sleep in class”
“Bras,” oil on canvas, Kamillah Ramos, 2012. This was painted after five months of study. Every year I seem to get one kid who draws wonderfully. Sometimes, this kid has managed to decode the rules of drawing on his own. More typically, he has studied outside of school. But however he does it, to the …