I have painted five acrylic portraits this semester. Throughout
the semester, I have been thinking about what I am trying to say with my
work. I believe that my best paintings are those with which I can somehow "connect".
This semester, my subject matter was those moments which are closest to my heart. I want my viewer to look at my work
and then look inside themselves. Everyday so many people get up and
run. Run to work, run to the store, run around cleaning and doing laundry,
mowing the yard, running to the bank and the post office. This is my
life. I am one of those people who get so busy and in such a hurry, that
I tend to become blind to the most important, yet sometimes subtle elements in
my life. The daily grind tends to cause us to lose sight of what is really
important. I want my viewer to look at the work I did this semester and
then look at the precious moments and people in their own lives. The
quiet, simple times that are abundant, but rarely recognized.
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Emma and Dillon
Acrylic Painting
16x20
This is a painting of my daughter Emma and a family
friend. The very first painting this semester, and my first
painting for this program. I started out feeling really confident, working with bright color and expressive brush strokes. But I
think sometimes when you are too close to your subject it is easy to
"over-work" your painting. So I left it alone for a week
or two and came back and brightened the hair and framed my subjects with
the rope that holds up the swing. I am hoping to establish the
innocent and accepting way that allows children to make friends
instantly.
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I love the Impressionism Style of art and I
especially admire the work of Mary Cassatt. Her consistent theme of mother
and child is something that I, along with millions of other women, have related
to. But beyond that, I really love the way she
painted flesh. Her paintings have bright skin tones and her brush strokes
are expressive and loose. This semester I have kept
a print of "Young Mother Sewing" hanging up in my
classroom. I love the warm skin tones in this piece and the use of
complimentary colors. Cassatt's paintings are beautiful because they have
that simple, spontaneous feel that I have been working so hard to achieve in my
own work. Cassatt's paintings remind me to keep my color bright and not to
labor so much on my brush strokes.
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Horse Shoer's Daughter
Acrylic Painting
36x24
I wanted to capture a warm, tranquil feeling in this
painting of a child waiting patiently for her father. I used tight
details and contrast to pull the focus into the girls face and then down from her gaze. I
like how the complimentary blue and orange color scheme balances with the
warm brown in the negative space. I wanted to keep my brush
strokes free and expressive and capture that feeling of a stable on a
summer evening. I enjoyed working on the large canvas, it forced
me to step back and look at my work. Also, I didn't seem to have
as much of an issue with finishing this piece. Painting this girl
went rather quickly, compared to my first painting. It was easier for me
to capture the emotion of this piece, maybe because I was not as close
to the subject.
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About two months into this unit, I read an article in
"The Artist's Magazine" about watercolor artist Jessica Zemsky.
She paints portraits of children in watercolor and gouache. Her paintings
are brilliant and colorful. Her children are active and natural in outdoor
environments. In her January
2003 article entitled, "Eternal Youth", Zemsky discussed some
important tips that I tried to execute in my acrylic work. One was not to
use black or gray in the tones on flesh. Zemsky says that, "Black
makes a hole in the painting, and it is instant death if it gets in the
fleshtones." ( It was soon after I read this article that you
mentioned basically the same thing!) She also says to avoid making the highlights pure white,
and it is important to give them a little color. This summer I want to
read her book, "Capturing the Magic of Children in Your
Paintings". I may even work in watercolor next semester.
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Emma and Hank
Acrylic Painting
24x36
This was the most difficult piece for me. I
struggled with value, and foreground. Finally, I added the post
to create a division between the foreground and background and I
warmed up Hank and lightened the value. I also brought color from
my background into the color on the horse. The horse was still looking
so plain, so I added more yellow and some pink and I warmed him up a
little. I wanted a thick
expressive background and tighter details on Emma's face and Hank's
head. The view point is looking down at Emma,
emphasizing her small statue compared with the size of the horse.
Best friends come in all shapes and sizes.
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Another artist I admire is Frederick Brown.
His series on portraits and figures of jazz musicians is painted with large,
bright, colorful, fun patterns. He often outlines his figures, and
his patterns compliment his rhythm/musical theme.
His work reminds me to have fun, and once again avoid overworking the
piece. Frederick Brown's flesh tones are bright and colorful. His
paintings are expressive and he makes it look so easy. I tend to
"labor" over my paintings, but when I look at one of Brown's paintings
I am reminded to relax and concentrate on emotion and expression, and
let myself be a little more free.
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Jesi and Kody
Acrylic Painting
18x24
In this composition I wanted the area of emphasis to
be in the face, and the rest of the piece very loose and
expressive. This is a painting of my nephew and my parent's
dog. Jesi and Kody became friends when Jesi worked on my parent's
farm. This is painted from a
photograph of Jesi taking time out of his day to visit with a new
friend. I cropped the edges and I left out the background
details, yet I am still trying to get that country feel to this piece
with warm colors and suggested grass in the foreground. Jesi is holding a halter and getting ready to help with the
horses.
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Another artist that I like is Georgia O'Keefe. I am
inspired by the simplicity and the freshness of her work. My
favorite paintings are O'Keefe's large flower
paintings, with the bright color and the extreme close-up view and abstract
design. O'Keefe forces you to really look at her flowers, and then to go
away and really look at your own garden! She makes an impact with her
work. O'Keefe forces you to look at her flowers in a different way...her
way. Looking at one of her paintings is cerebral to me. It makes me
wonder what I am trying to say with my work, and whether or not I am clear.
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Tristen and Kody
Acrylic Painting
36x20
Here I have tight details in the face of my little
nephew, Tristen, but I am keeping the rest of the painting colorful and
expressive with my brush strokes. I am working to show more detail
in my area of emphasis, and keep the rest of the painting loose. Tristen is relaxing on the patio with a sippy cup and Kody.
Children enjoy the simple moments. As adults we need to observe
and learn. I am pulling the viewers eye into the area of emphasis,
and down from the shadow on Tristen's shirt to Kody. I like my flesh tone on this piece,
especially the brush strokes on the legs and arms of Tristen.
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To be honest, I feel like I could go back and work more on each one
of these paintings. My biggest struggle this semester has been
keeping myself from over-working and re-working my paintings. I have been
teaching art at the high school level for 12 years. Now, I am back to
painting for myself at an academic level, and it is a huge challenge.
I sincerely appreciate the input and advice that I have received this
semester. It has helped build my confidence, and I have applied what I
have learned in my classroom as well.