Third Session: Getting to the Intermediate Stage

sketch for "Discovery of Moses" after Cavalino

Last time we discussed establishing the "macchia" sketch in sienna, drawing with the brush. We now have to take things to the next stage by blocking in with color while, simultaneously, restating darks and lights.


Painting after Jerome Induno


Painting after Jerome Induno

One needs to block in large shapes and then, within these shapes, block in smaller shapes until entire canvas is covered. Pay attention to color harmonies and values while doing this.

Keep this intermediate stage loose and fight temptation to get detailed.

Class a go?

Looks like the Maude Kerns class might be a "go" -- we will find out Wed night.

Just in case it happens, here are my thoughts for a first session:

My current work has me starting out with a sienna sketch -- somewhat tricky because the wetness has to be controlled so the drawing can proceed "just so."

The Martinsicuro Beach series -- new work:







Lets try that again with a different scene:






Current research that I can share with you during the class has to do with placing figures in natural settings. Not just beaches but, of course, any location, landscape or interior spaces. Here are some more:





And some "finished" work (or am I still working on these?)



(sold -- the one above)



Here are some principles of American Verismo distilled from recent experience:

1. The painting will be more successful if a subtle preliminary drawing can be created

2. However, the drawing cannot be "academic" in the classical sense -- i.e. lacking life and "truth"

3. Rapid painting is possible if the imprimatura is slightly wet or completely dry but gets difficult if the imprimatura is too wet (oily).

4. The preliminary drawing can be a line drawing or a mass drawing but often the best results are a combination of the two approaches. Diagonal and expressive lines create an opportunity for movement of both forms and the eye.

5. The resulting preliminary drawing forms the "macchia" (meaning "pattern") that is the "gestalt" of the painting. Check this macchia for impact and overall design before continuing. If it doesn't pass the check (is uninteresting and lacks "effect"), start over again.

6. Painting then proceeds with the addition of color spots (color "macchia" meaning dabs of color) here and there. Instead of filling whole areas with a single color just make color notes here and there until one establishes the color harmonies one desires to utilize in the painting.

7. Painting is "finished" more or less way before most paintings are considered finished. Originally many of the I Macchiaioli actually painted during battles or between battles of the Risorgimento. Thus the sketch nature of many paintings.

8. One additional thought: One of the most difficult things for beginners of this technique to master is just this: "how to get life into a painting?" Well -- do not overly finish a painting because you will knock the life out of it. Leave the painting somewhat abstract so the viewer can add his or her consciousness to the process of interpretation. The principle of "ambiguity of forms" thus comes into play and helps "finish" the painting by not finishing it.

9. Ultimately the painting needs to have sufficient structure and solidity. The I Macchiaioli painters achieved the spontaneity of "impressionism" without sacrificing solidity, something which was not specifically the concern of the French impressionist until Cezanne. In fact, even some of the Cezanne paintings lack the solidity of the I Macchiaioli because of his poor, almost terrible drawing skills (dare I say that? see his bathers series)).



My sketch for a Venice scene

10. For this one, you will need to come to El Corral Restaurant on Tuesday night and join in the discussion!

Capite?

The Figure in Landscape and Architecture

Risorgimento Scene

Maude Kerns Art Center
Figures in Landscape and Architecture
Jerry Ross
Class ID #1622
SPACE AVAILABLE
START DATE - Oct 14th -- Register Now!


Angela at Monte Antico


Incorporate figures into your paintings as you learn to place the human form into landscapes and architectural scenes. In this comprehensive class, you will review the planning process used when including figures into a composition and develop sketching skills to capture human gestures. Under the guidance of instructor Jerry Ross, you will explore classical Renaissance painting techniques including “imprimatura” and “sketch transfer” and experiment with “alla prima” painting, a method in which the artist finishes the entire painting in one session. Instruction will be in oils, but students are invited to use the medium of their choice. 8 Sessions.


Due Ragazzi

Wednesdays, October 7-November 11, 6:00pm-9:00pm
Members $60 - Non-Members $75 - Model fee $15

Student work from this summer's workshop (Patti McNutt):

Artist Events at El Corral Restaurant

Where the artists gather....

Oct 6th at 7 pm

Arts/Visual Discussion of “American Verismo” & Art Critique w/Jerry Ross, weekly art talk, 7-10pm, El Corral Restaurant, 40th & Donald, 485-9792. FREE, dinner not included. Note: Jim Garcia will sing Corridos on acoustic guitar and Leonard Cerino will read poetry. But art discussions will go on during intermissions and painters are more than welcome to bring a work to be placed on the easel for discussion. Come prepared to eat dinner and have a few drinks to lubricate the discourse.

Code word: "Pancho Villa Rides Again!"

Translation: I am missing seeing my painter friends and past students and am hoping you can participate.

We are attempting to consolidate Tuesdays and Thursdays at El Corral for the time being until someone cn be found to coordinate the Thursday night critique event. During Fall and Winter terms, I can only be responsible for one event per week. This is especially true is the MK class is a go.

Cheers!

---

Color

Review of Step 1 thru Step 4

Step1: Imprimatura (thin light sienna underpainting to tone canvas)
Step2: Establish drawing (via Macchia or line drawing -- establish basic shapes)



Step3: with thin paint, underpaint the dark areas



Step4: with thicker paint, block in dark areas, then the light areas, using "spots" of color. While applying these dabs of color, check for correct values and hue. You may want to use one of the color harmonies we studied:

American Verismo class

Class Poster

Session One

Dinner and Discussion

(see "EVENTS")

Anatomy Class 4-8-09

Welcome to Class:


In this class we will consider anatomy with an emphasis on painting the figure or groups of figures with correct anatomy and proportions.

Major Concepts:

• I have been painting for quite a while but most recently have been working with a burnt sienna or burnt umber ground.




• I prefer to work from life but can also work from photos as needed.




• Students need to "see" with their artistic "third eye" and interpret what they see through "near and far" poetry, their aesthetic sense, and their spirituality.




• We will use traditional procedures that have existed from the Renaissance which include study of proportions, measurement, use of grids, triangulation and angles, and locating key landmarks.




• Begin with placement of the large shapes, quickly establishing the "macchia" or “gestalt” of the figure using a big brush and burnt sienna. Work on paper or canvas. By doing so one can establish the gesture, the composition, and the placement at the very beginning.




• Students should then use a process of working from general gesture to more specific contours, lines, shapes, and values.




• Always keep the whole work in mind by working on all areas simultaneously and never finishing one part while neglecting another.




• Students can try working in reverse by lifting lighter tones out of the darker tones.




• This helps greatly in discovering the largest shapes and controlling the edges of the contours.

Last Week of Class:

Last Class:

What we talked about: It was the last class so the lecture was short: mostly about brushwork, the need to start with a bigger brush and to change to a medium and then to a small brush later.

We talked about looking for opportunities to use mass, line, and point elements and not to rely exclusively on just one element. We talked about working thin to fat -- pu in your darks with thinner paint and to use a lot of paint (impasto) for the lights.

Student work:





























Congratulations class! You did it!
Hopefully see you in the Spring class.


"La Donna2" oil on wood, 2008


"Girl with Berries" oil/canvas 2008

Direct Painting

Direct painting means to begin and complete a portrait with minimal drawing.

Alla prima (direct painting wet into wet) is a method of direct painting in a single paint layer usually on a white ground.

Instead of spending a lot of time drawing and detailing a mass or value "macchia" then doing additional refinement through more careful drawing, one develops "on the fly" a color "macchia" or pattern, sculpting the head's form and features through direct application of paint.

Each stroke of the brush imparts both value and hue simultaneously and has to be correct.

If incorrect, it must be immediately scraped off and re-applied. Paint directly and quickly.

The most famous proponent of this method was John Singer Sargent. But many of the renouned masters of portraiture used this method to some degree, especially Fran Hals and Rembrandt.



Reference

Back to Color in Portraiture

This week we will return to the subject of color mixing for portraiture:


Sorry but time did not allow for me to write much.

We discussed the Munsell color wheel and various harmonies: primary, secondary, etc.



The Munsell system has three dimensions: vertical(value), circumference(hue), and diameter (saturation).

There was a comment in class that the Munsell system did not have orange. Whoever said this was mistaken. As you can see below organge is still a secondary color in the munsell system. However, "orange" is labeled YR (yellow-red) in the Munsell system.

Painting Portrait Features

This week we will concentrate on painting portrait features such as eyes, ears, and mouth.

These features give your painting a finished look even if the overall portrait is painted in a spontaneous manner:



The Ear

The ear can be described as having the shape of the letter "C" with an "S" shape forming the interior of the ear. The two letters face in opposite directions from one another. On the left side the "C" faces backward and the "S" faces in the normal direction while on the right side the "C" faces in the normal direction and the "S" appears to face backwards:

New York Times Anatomy Image of the Ear:

After making the initial "C" and "S" shapes, look for the halftones needed to make the ear appear more natural:


The Eye




To paint the eye, begin by painting a shape that approximates the eye socket with a number six grey or sienna. Paint the iris by twirling the brush using ivory black or a very dark sienna (sienna plus ultra blue). Tone the eyeball area between the lids in a graduated fashion to make the eye ball look round. Paint the heavy dark crease above the upper lid. Paint the lower lid from the corner of the eye down and around to the tear duct corner of the eye (closer to the nose) and paint a a dark dab in the corner. Paint the upper lid using a number 3 value. Slightly cover the black circle of the iris.