pittore

Theory Behind "The Macchia"

2012-01-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

"Oregon landscape: macchia-based landscape"

Jerry Ross

Please consider joining me for a 13-day plein air painting workshop in Seggiano, Italy (Tuscany). My name is Jerry Ross and I have exhibited widely in Italy and am known for my "verismo" school of painting that promotes the painting theories of the I Macchiaioli (Tuscan School) who stressed "dal vero", painting from life, and the establishment of the foundational "macchia" (stain) as the compositional structure of a painting.

The cost $2950 covers transportation to Seggiano from Rome airport and all ground transportation to Tuscan hilltowns, room and board at a Tuscan B&B, and instruction. Students are welcome at any level, using any media although instruction will be in oil paints. Daily demos will inform students of how to begin a painting using the ideas of the I Macchiaioli school. The workshop will be limited to 17 students. Groups are welcome. Details:

http://jerryrosspittore.com/Workshop/Seggiano.htm

The Italian art critic Imbriani declared "the macchia is the sine qua non of the painting, the indispensible essential which can sometimes make one forgetany other quality that may be absent, and which can never be supplied by any other."

(19th Cenury Theories of Art by Joshua C. Taylor)

"Macchia sketch: The Gianiculum Veduta"

The emphasis on the immediate visual effect of a painting gave acceptance to the bold painting styles of Rembrandt and Rubens, "the picturesque and inexplicable quality" of19th century sketches, and the observations of Leonardo and Michelangelo that looking at stains on walls could actvate the imagination and provide ideas for compositions.

"Charcoal sketch: Macchia depicting Gianiculum Hill, Rome"

There is a story regarding Filippo Palizzi who spread his unused colors on his canvas both as an underpainting but also to produce interesting patterns (stains) that could be the starting point for the next day's work.

"The macchia is the pictorial idea, just as the musical idea is given accord of sounds that the maestro calls a motif...and this organization of light and dark, this macchia, is what really moves the spectator...the macchia is...the portrayal of the first faraway impression of an object, or rather, the scene , the first and characteristic effect that is impressed on the artist's eye..." (Imbriani).

"Macchia skech in burnt siena -- underpainting for a landscape"

"To this first indeterminate, distinct impression that the painter affirms in his macchia, there succeeds another, distinct, minute, particularized. The execution, the finishing of a painting is simply a continuous coming closer to the object, which extricates and fixes that which has passed under the eyes in a dazzing procession. But, I repeat, if it lacks that first fundamental harmonious accord, the execution, the finish, no matter how great, will never succeed in moving, in evoking in the spectator any sentiment, while on the other hand, the solitary, bare macchia, without any determination of objects, is most capable of arousing such sentiment."

"Macchia sketch in oil paint"

"At first, the Macchiaioli called themselves Effettisti, probably
deriving the term from the French effet, used to describe the results of
light and shade distribution in paintings and photographs. Their
painting technique eschewed half tones; they claimed that ‘effect’ was
achieved with broad patches of color, macchie, which moved abruptly from
dark to light.

Macchia translates as spot, blot or daub. In 1862 a
Florentine critic dubbed them Macchiaioli, or spot-makers, ridiculing
them as daubers who left their paintings unfinished; the name was then
adopted by the group.

Because the theories of the Macchiaioli were not
written down until the 1870’s and 1880s, its contemporary historians,
Martelli, Signorini and Adriano Cecioni, may have shaped their
descriptions of the early movement to conform with later experiences;
thus Martelli saw Fattori’s works as ‘impressions’ after becoming
acquainted with Impressionism.

According to Martelli, the Macchia was
‘the theory of chiaroscuro and the relationship of one color with
another, whether they were found next to one another on the canvas on
the same perspective plane or … juxtaposed on the canvas but in
different perspective planes’.

Cecioni wrote: ‘Il vero [nature, as we
see it] results from macchie of color and of chiaroscuro, each one of
which has its own value, which is measured by means of relationship. In
every Macchia, this relationship has a double value: as light or dark,
and as color.’ Cecioni also spoke of the use of a black mirror, or
‘Claude glass’, to help establish color values and relationships.

Such theories and research were inspired by two 19th-century concerns, the
search to understand color through science and the revival of interest
in the Italian artistic past.

"Macchia based painting: capturing Italian campagna from train"

"Macchia based under-painting interacting with plein air oil sketching"

http://www.wiw.net/pages.php?CDpath=3_5_6_237_420

I find invaluable the plein air (fast) sketch -- the "line and mass macchia" --. One should take this sketch into the studio and work directly from the sketch and memory. Here are some recent examples from a trip to Val d' Orcia, tTuscany.

"Valiano"

"Val d' Orcia"

The Sentiment of Truth

2011-11-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

The "scent" (or in a more sophisticated sense, "sentiment") of truth in art is instinctive and intuitive. Here a brief sketch provides elements of a nautical scene without embellishment with color. The native artists' instinct for truth is alone his or her guide.

"Mt Pisgah"

In this painting, the pastel colors of Fall provide the poetics of seasonal change and the beauty of nature when contemplated spiritually and not thought of in a utilitarian manner. Nature in her grand manner is always deeper than any representation and yet even the cursory oil sketch, if done honestly and directly, will capture some of the depth and profundity of the scene.

"Mt Baldy"

Painting from high above the scene in "veduta" tradition gives emphasis to the vast horizen and distant mountains and we seem to float above the valley below that opens out to a vastness, an expanse that delights the eye.

"Amazon Park sketch"

Sometimes the "sentiment of/for truth" (verismo or il vero) demands complexity of form wherein the scene itself is very complex with overlapping forms and directional lines. Here a large park with its paths and distant hills provides the opportunity. But working "al aperto" (in the open air), one has to work quickly as the changing light first reveals and then conceals forms that exist only for as long as the light that falls upon them.

"Garibaldi"

In portraiture as well, the sentiment for truth demands simplification of form and an economy of work that provides for a statement revealing the personality and the importance of the sitter. This is especially evident from historical figures when working from fixed photos.

"Oregon Evening Veduta"

Sometimes when the sun goes down and color gets eclipsed, one can still reveal the truth of the scene in contrasts in value in the darker areas and also above, in the illuminated sky where forms provide a structure perhaps more important as the source of the diminishing light.

Axiom: Truth must be captured spontaneously in the moment when "everything-is-happening-at-once"

Some corollaries:

1. If the sentiment of truth is realized, a work is "finished" at the moment that tuth is captured, even in sketch mode.
2. Further embellishment, at this point, may actually diminish the truth value of the work although conventional wisdom, often wrongly, insists on covering all areas of the canvas.

The structure of autumn and its chiaroscuro

2011-10-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

"Amazon Park"

The canvases discussed in this post were painted yesterday in one marathon session outside in what was a glorious, sunny autumn day.

"Rattlesnake Road"

The countryside in autumn is a special challenge and, at the same time, a delight to be there painting. I chose a variety of locations, vistas really, that provided an element of linear perspective and, well...nature provided the light and the color.

The riot of colors can best be captured, in my opinion, with spots of color set down immediately or as quickly as is possible, assuming, of course, that the linear perspective lines, assumed or explicit, are guidelines that create a great space, an opening as it were, with depth and distance.

"Mt. Baldy"

I prefer to perch high above the scene, like a bird on a mountain branch, to see if I can capture at least the feeling of a great expanse, a distant valley, or the thin slivers of light illuminating the horizon. Sometimes this is a great effort, the nearby tree formations are concealing their true structure, the light changing rapidly, playing hide and seek.

One has to retreat and concentrate on light, always how the light plays over the visual field. Or go back to the darks and state and restate the structure that might not be as strong, in reality, to make this a good picture. The need to exaggerate and punch the darks harder or the need to scrape them away several times until one discovers their true identity.

"Amazon Park"

Sometimes if I concentrate on the larger shapes and their shadows, I get more productive faster. I force myself to begin with a large area of color, the horizen all the way to the bottom of the canvas, and then to try to find, within that dark, the largest shapes, differentiated only by a dab here and there for their cast shadows.

"Amazon Park"

Another consideration is structure that encompasses the entire scene. Take an enormous park view with winding paths and distant hills. Here the structure is very complex and breaks down into many separate zones of color and shape.

"Amazon Park"

Remember that the sky is the primary illumination of a landscape setting its mood and tempo. The sky brightness and its shapes also sets up a beat or synchopation of shapes, a vibration if you will, that carries through the scene.

The colors must remain luminous and expressive despite the overall concern with structure and accuracy. Here the bright sunlight and blue sky give an upbeat appearance and an attempt is made to capture the light of a "glorious day" in the autumn. Poetry takes over from fact and becomes fact, becomes the feeling and the situation, the scene understood in this manner is not something that can be captured in a camera, but only through the lens of the artistic temperment transferred to arm and hand and brush. Even the photograph would still have to be translated again, through paint and interpreted via paint, at least this my way of seeing things.

The painter, setting all of this down as quickly and as spontaneous as possible, is the witness and recorder of natural beauty and in capturing it as it surrounds and encapsulates the viewer, is both at the same time an impossible and a necessary task that can be accomplished by working directly from nature.

"Amazon Park"

Drawing is the Key to Success

2011-10-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes drawing will be your key to successful plein air painting. Spending time making thumb nail sketches is an important part of the overall process. the idea is to quickly produce a drawing that has compositional strength and structure. If your drawing is too weak or lacking in statement, then just draw another with the goal of simplicity. The simple and direct statement is always preferable to complexity and a lack of simple, large shapes that give the composition anchor points, eye movement, and harmonies.

This shows the relative size of the thumbnail sketch. Here a small 4 x 6 inch bound sketchbook is used.

Note that simpler is better. Try to be as minimalist as possible. Pay attention to the pressure of the pencil on the paper to vary the values.

Paint Directly From the Sketch: Here is a tip. Since the sketch has helped you "discover" your composition and value rangle, why not paint directly from the sketch? You can rely on memory, photographs, or, if you are sketching on location with paints ready, when you start to paint, lay down your composition by copying the sketch! You can glance at the scene but try to gtet the gesture of the sketch onto your canvas first!

Try to keep the sketches calligraphic and poetic. Be lyrical and try to convey both mass and line in your macchia sketch.

now for some laughs:

Plan for "American Verismo" T-shirt. Might have to make the Cinghiale look more fierce and fonts much nicer. But this is an idea waiting for instantiation.

Issues from the Workshop

2011-08-24T11:02:00.001-07:00

One thing we didn't have enought time to discuss (more deeply) was "Sir Joshua Reynold's Riddle" which posed the contradiction between the particular and the universal in landscape painting.

One way to "resolve" the riddle is by bring the universal elements into one's painting -- what can be called "the undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" or what th Chinese call Tao. You can see this, at least in part, in this work:

Several things to note: The "macchia" in this painting is very simple:

The 2-value pattern consists in a small light area at the top and a bigger, dark area below. Capturing this simplifies 2-value macchia is the critical first step. But beyond that, only the simplest depiction of light areas from flower blossoms inside of the dark area creates an "aesthetic atmosphere" wherein the focus is the aesthetic field or continuum itself, not any particular object or objects.

The Workshop emphaized ideas in landscape painting: macchia, 2-value studies, 4-value studies, color and line macchie, and "grand theory" in the British tradition. We linked to Japanese and Chinese ideas about landscapes, especially via Zen and Taoism and we did some T'ai Chi, QiGong, and "pushing hands."

Saturday was "tree day" and we studies approaches to painting trees. starting with the 2-value macchia:

Then adding darks:

Elaborating:

Adding color:

Then the all important "scrape out" stage:

Note: trees-as-a-mass are treated as one large shape. Also abstract elements are not sacrificed. Trees remain gestural and still reveal their individual personalities, a bit.

Seeing the Macchia

2011-07-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

Both art and science is about pattern recognition and discovery.

Seeing or "discovering" patterns in nature is the most fundamental practice in the visual arts, especially painting, that seeks to combine nature with one's imagination.

In this Madonna by Raphael, the macchia is meant to convey the essence of the madonna and child, in the foreground, mostly through gesture, but also the landscape elements in the background.

Perhaps there is no better place to practice the art of seeing macchie (pl) than the ocean. The rapidly changing circumstances of sea and rocks provides ample opportunity for new compositions each second.

A landscape:

This exemplifies "Reynold's Riddle" in that "how far can a landscape painter move towards generalization, when the depiction requires representation of the particular location and scene." -- or something to that effect.

As Buddhism states, mostly in its Ch'an manifestation (Zen) as noted in the Platform Sutra, emptiness is the realm of the Dharma. The macchia must have the element of emptiness and spontaneity. That is its conjunction with abstract expressionism as well:

This Eastern point of view combines with Western European ideas of macchia, the notion that grand manner history painting showing individuals and social relationships in the context of landscape:

This very European notion of pastoral beauty and the ideas of Jonathan Richardson the elder regarding composition are important to landscape painters. But the "undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" is the more powerful idea, more deeply articulated in the East by Buddhists and Taoists and picked up by the impressionists, that provides the big idea behind paintings that sing of light, life, and natural surroundings.

Perhaps as one gets older one wants to pull more into this "emptiness" of the Dharma and "pure realm" in the Taoist sense, that is into the vast realms of the poetics of nature. The Tao is always depicted as dark and feminine and mysterious in the East:

While in the West, this is usually flip flopped with scenes of light-filled warmth symbolizing the goodness and sensuous aspects of nature:

This is the "valley spirit" of the Taoists but with the lights turned on. The floating clouds symbolize impermenance and the valley and its warm grasses are the feminine aspect of things, the receptive.

Preparing for Workshop

2011-07-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Doing a little painting at Angels Flight to get ready for the upcoming workshop.

Note use of a large brush (painting over an old canvas in this case) to establish the "macchia" with attention to chiaroscuro from the very beginning.

Adding more darks, still working with the same (largest) brush available.

Now paying attention to the sky, working in large areas of light, indicating some cloud formations.

Almost done now, establishing distant blue and mauve areas of mountains. Adding in some line to define the horizen.

Defining shapes of trees better, enhancing darks with thalo green and raw umber combo to deepen dark greens.

Note that painting doesn't "pop" into existence until this last step because without deep enough darks and more work on expressive brushstroikes the overall effect remains weak.

painting trees and a distant vista

2011-06-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Registrations for Annual workshop now in progress:

Painting today on a hill overlooking the city

1. begin with macchia in sienna establishing chiaroscuro
2. add color right into wet sienna underpainting

3. looking for distinct shapes in painting's objects, establishing composition
4. establishing movement of light throughout scene using macchia strokes

5. establish foreground and shadows on road, grass
6. weather conditions suddenly change
7. postpone additional work until later (in studio or back to site)

Painting with Calligraphic Brushstrokes

2011-06-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

The grand startegy (ideas) used in this case are

1. macchia --> pattern --> chiaroscuro

2. calligraphic brush strokes -- moving "spots" of color

3. creating spaces through distinct shapes --> linear perspectve

Note: macchoa is created with burnt sienna using some ultra marine blue mixed in for darker areas (or just more sienna paint) plus some titanium white mixed in (for ligher areas). The pount is to create the macchia with chiaroscuro from the very beginning. This also provides a reddish underpainting.

Begin to add color immediately. Note that the underpainting combines and interacts wit the color paint, both transparent glazes and opaque pigments, giving interesting chiaroscuro effects that you need to pay attention to as you go forward.

Here I have added calligraphic brush strokes in titanium white (ranging from pure white to slightly off-white) . Here is the "big idea" : Any painting, no matter how complex, is basically a sequence of applied calligraphic brushstrokes. call this "Ross' Theorem" !!

This simply means that the light moving through the composition is established in this manner. More soon...

Sloshing it out

2011-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

"View From Rest Haven", oil on canvas, 2011

Getting outside again. The day was sunny yet cold with a strong breeze coming in from the coast. I am beginning to prepare for my plein air workshop in August by painting small landscapes each day, looking for that magic ingredient known as "structure."

"View From Mount Baldy"

Painting today from Mount Blady. Some great linear perspective to figure out, namely, how to create a large space behind the near hill that integartes with a distant vista of mountains and farmland.

The Next Step

2011-06-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

Ron Ford playing his guitar at the opening of my current exhibit at "The Moon Upstairs." The exhibit opened June 7th and will continue until June 30th at the Springfield location.

Current painting promotions:

http://jerryrosspittore.com/PromoItems/promoitems.html

View From Janiculum Hill, Rome

Between these two different paintings (each in its own stage of development) exists the "next step", namely going from the oil sketch to the finished work. Maintaining freshness and sponteneity.

Coburg Hills

So what is this "Next Step?." Frankly, I would like to know. Mostly it is hard work and painting, paying close attention to value: very subtle changes in value within the same hue is the challenge, namely, how to make these changes visible so they provide structure, texture, and glue (cohesion) to the composition.

Moreover, this is the subject of an upcoming workshop in August. As I prepare for that workshop, I will be posting notes on this blog.

Painting with a Loose Brush Part2

2011-05-24T18:21:00.001-07:00

In this blog post I am reporting on some plein air painting that I have been doing of late. Here in Oregon the weather doesn't cooperate much and one has to take advantage of whatever sun breaks occur. Yesterday I was in the Coburg area and painted from in front of the high school.

Painting on white canvasboard (unprimed) gives an immediate effect, very much stronger than when painting on a toned ground. The colors and the darks are more intense.

Here is another oil sketch on white canvasboard. In this composition, wet in wet painting is done using thick paint and not bothering to draw at all. Everything is massed in with brushes and I am working as fast as possible.

This painting is more finished but was still completed in one session.

One in my Italian beach series. Here the loose brushwork is actually calligraphic drawing that is used for a minimalist rendering of the scene. The idea is to keep the painting minimalist and fight the temptation to finish it to death.

The painting above was completed in several sessions at a location near my home. Note that painting in Oregon is somewhat delusional. The sun comes out but the sky is always full of grey values. This tends to deepen the greens which are truly lush.
On the other hand many plein air artist have difficulty with the sky and they tend to make it too muddy and too grey.

It is important to get enough blue into the sky and to use violets and violet-blues to represent dark areas in the clouds.

Painting with a loose brush

2011-05-13T10:27:00.001-07:00

"View from Spring Boulevard"

Sorry, if you were looking at this page a few days agao. Blogger had closed down for "maintenance" for one hour which because one day, then the page completely disappeared. As time allows, I will recreate some of the writing I did on "loose brush" which was posted here before.

"View from Owen's Trail, Eugene"

Oil sketching involves making quick paintings in full color but just capturing structure, leaving out details and finish. the idea is to capture the composition and to use loose brushwork doing that. Work quickly and sketch out the painting in any size, preferably small, and then move on to the next location.

"Loiano, Italy"

Pay attention to value when you are sketching. The goal is to achieve an interesting "macchia" or pattern of darks and lights. A misconception of making the "macchia" is that it has to be a strong 2-value (black/white) or at most 4-value pattern. It can be that but perhaps in the most ideal form it should be more complex with all sorts of gradations of value. The criterion for a good macchia is somewhat indefinable but might be described as subtle complexity with strength as values tend to form patterms that move the eye in and out of various locations. Macchias cannot be discussed intelligently without simultaneously talking about eye movements.

Why most landscape painting go bad

Students have always remarked on how difficult landscape painting is to accomplish. Things can go very bad quickly. Often the result is not satisfying. The problem usually comes from trying to paint at "high noon" when the values go flat and it is almost impossible to see contrasts. A very common problem is that the range of values is too simplistic and/or not interesting enough to keep the eyes moving around the composition.

This sketch might be borderline but you will have to be the judge. As long as eye movement can be brought into the canvas and then move laterally and then takeoff into another direction, it might work out.

Sometimes the result is dictated by the location. In this painting (above) the eye moves along a nearby diagonal and then shoots out to the horizon and then the sky. There is enough of interest in the sky with lazy soft clouds and a variety of values in the blues that keep the attention there for a moment and then the eyes can slide back to the ground.

How Sketchy Can You Get

Exercise: see if you can get really minimalist in your oil sketching. Just put down the barest getsure to create a mark, an object represented by that mark on the canvas. In this sketch made today at an Alpaca farm, see if you find the animal with no legs, just the body indicated?

Back to Blogging

2011-05-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the interuption but after returning from Rome, I had to prepare two painting shows, one right after the other. Now back to blogging!

This was the first portrait I painted after getting back. The face is invented, just to practice a new technique which consists of painting the entire canvas black and then scrapping it all off with a razor blade, leaving a thin black background then painting wet into wet with flesh colors.

Note that the subject's left eye isn't finished yet. something wasn't quite right and I had to scrape it out again. Perhaps I left it this way because of the problems I have been having with my own left eye.

This technique comes somewhat from Sargent who used no painting medium, just oil paint out of the tube and who scraped out the face or areas of the face to make corrections. More on this later.

Remember seeing this gal?

She is from Napoli but I found her working in the Loiano area when visiting friends there. The technique here is the direct opposite of the man because here the background is the pure white of the canvas and the paint is a light sienna used to draw the face. Both works are linked by another dimension of painting, loose brushwork and expressive portraiture where the face tells a story, hopefully an interesting one.

After returning to Eugene the rain was coming down almost every day. Only now, in the last few days have I felt like going outside to paint en plein air. Its going to take me some time to warm up properly but here is a first attempt from Mt. Baldy.

I have shown the following Rembrandt study before but have recently been working on it again, so it has changed. I know I am supposed to have more color in the face but have been spending time instead on the subtle value changes in white and grey:

Painting in Milan

2010-12-24T00:18:00.001-08:00

the sketch for "Italian campagna"

the painting (of same)

A composition study for a painting on the risorgimento...influenced by Milanese style.

oil sketch for "Garibaldi"

Paiting in Rome -- Part 2

2010-12-11T14:33:00.001-08:00

Establishing the "macchia" takes concentration and attention to spatial relationships.

painting directly on white canvas from the color pool enhances color clarity and allows for more freedom of expression and color mixing on the fly.

As per usual, looking for strong 2-value contrasts simplifies the task while you sketching, especially in unfamiliar locations.

Keeping a sketchpad for small thumbnails is a good way to set down notes for paintings to be completed (or at least started) in the studio.

Here I have been very fortunate to have a studio based in the Gianicolo. Here is a picture of our apartment building followed by a painting made from th studio window.

That last one was on canvas paper. Do you remember me discussing "painting as discovery" ?? Well here it just happened -- using poppy oil alone without any thinner. The paint is very fluid and dries fast. Who would have thunk it?

Painting in Roma Al Fresco

2010-12-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

Painting for me has always been based on "discovery." Especially when I have been traveling and away from the paint brush for several weeks, I "forget" how to paint, in a sense, and have to rev my engine for a while before I can accomplish anything.

The "remembering" process always, at least for me, begins with the macchia and establishing patterns, usually drawing with the brush.

"Macchia Uno"

"Macchia Due"

Here at the American Academy, it is customary to leave a small self-portrait for exhibit at the bar. I have been working pretty casually on one for the past week. I have some changes to make but here is what I have so far:

As you can see, it needs some color which I intend to add after it dries a bit. I am using terpentine and poppy oil as an experiment. The local art store had poppy oil which I have wanted to use for some time now. So I went for it. It takes a little getting used to. It is thicker than linseed oil but shows brushstrokes a bit more dramatically.

As per usual, my interests focus on the "veduta" or distant view. More on this soon.

Gesture and Figuratives

2010-10-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Try to begin your figure studies with gesture and abstraction:

Pay attention to 4-value macchia principle:

In your landscapes, the same ideas hold true:

Maintain fluidity and expressiveness:

Next report: from Milano

University of Oregon Demo This Saturday

2010-10-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

The talk at the U of O Bookstore will be a two-hour demo and discussion of theory. As the painting above hopefully shows, painting with creative brushwork and gesture is more than just technique but is often the means necessary to unite the particular and the general and to explore, experimentally, the art of seeing nature.

painting table:

pittore: Getting Ready for Studio Tour Sale

2010-10-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

pittore: Getting Ready for Studio Tour Sale

Getting Ready for Studio Tour Sale

2010-10-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

Regarding going from the onsite sketch to the in-studio painting:

"Waving Hands Like Clouds", oil/canvas 2010

Description: This one is a bit complicated. I intended the painting to maintain the essence of the sketch, that is opposing hills and a distant valley, shown in linear perspective but the sky took on a strong dramatic energy with clouds and atmosphere. This is also conveyed through color (violet). I titled the painting "Wave hands like clouds" after the tai chi movement with that exact name.

Here (below) I am returning, for a moment anyway, to the "macchia" concept (or pattern) which is applied in sienna:

This is very characteristic of my work which often just plays with this macchia idea and then, perhaps, a slight note of color. But color can also become the principal consideration as in this landscape of Italy:

But the macchia concept can also be approached in color itself with a proper underpainting in sienna -- sometimes a bit darker to bring out the macchia painted on top in pure color. My goal, in this instance, was pure sponteneity to convey the fresh spirit of the sunlight and the scene:

Sometimes the color of green has to be carefully calculated to convey the warmth of summer and the feeling of being outside, among the :

Use gesture sketching to speak the language of landscape

2010-09-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Here is an event coming up at the U of O Bookstore in Eugene. You might want to mark your calendars.

Some students from the workshop have been asking me for some post-Workshop coaching. My first advise is to develop your "language" capabilities visa vi landscape by sketching in soft pencil or charcoal. Here are some examples. Make sure you are sketching everyday prior to painting.

Workshop Recap and Self-Critique

2010-09-02T09:37:00.001-07:00

"Coburg Hills" (2010)

A landscape should exhibit a profound structure, mostly based on value transitions, not just pretty colors. I am pleased with this painting that approaches such structural forms.

"From Eagle's Vantagepoint" (Workshop retreat, 2010)
self-critique: Some nice value transitions at top of painting but mountain lacks the structural forms in the first painting.

"View from Up Top" (Workshop retreat, 2010)
self-critique: ditto

"Demo piece" (Workshop retreat, 2010)
self-critique: a ligher key, lovely colors and forms, very fresh and spontaneous but not much structure. View had little opportunity for perspective.

"Demo piece" (workshop retreat, 2010)
self-critique: this one is barely started but was intended to demo use of big brush to block in shapes.

"Demo piece" (workshop retreat, 2010)
self-critique: shapes maybe too central. Also just getting started but shows use of big brush to indicate colors and forms in gestural fashion.

"demo piece" (Workshop retreat, 2010)
self-critique: demo of painting a landscape from imagination. Lacks plein air authenticity but result is still somehow satisfying in capture of memory of strong color and value contrasts.

Note: some of these paintings can be seen (and purchased) at Soriah's restaurant on 13th this month (September, 2010).

Fishing and Painting -- Getting Ready for Weekend

2010-08-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

We will be discussing color theory. There will be a very quick review of the principles of composition and the value studies we have been doing. I will talk about the need for doing color macchie. Then onto color theory in depth.

"Imaginary Landscape" 2010

"Loiano, Italy" 2010

Agenda:

1. Use and mix complements correctly
2. Understand values and saturations for various hues
3. Use color in greys and middle values
4. Identify and use color harmonies
5. Use special color techniques to enhance a painting

Fishing and Painting -- Part 2

2010-08-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

"View From Angel Flight Road" (2009)

August 23rd: Preparation for Next Weekend's Fishing and Painting Workshop:

Review and Assignment: We emphasized composition and "macchia" or pattern during our first weekend. Please continue to create macchia (both mass and line) and exporatory drawing with the large brush. Example:

Note: This can also be done in a very subtle way. Keeping the pure sienna color and going light (mix sienna with white) and spending more time drawing until your composition and "concept" comes through. Example:

Practice: Keep trying to use color pool mixing. Use the palette knife or brush to "drag" colors into one another as shown:

We also talked about the importance of studying "old" masters like Constable and the need to strike a balance between realism and abstraction. Here is one of my Constable studies:

Try some line macchie:

Or attempt a line macchia and then add some watercolor notes for colors as shown below in this example;

Some quick work done last weekend:

"View From Up High", finished in studio from plein air notes (2010)

We will focus on color next weekend!

"View from Y-Fork Road" (2010)

"Mount Pisgah" (2010)

Plein Air Class -- Fishing and Painting

2010-08-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 21st -- Learning objectives

Describe historic phases of landscape painting theory

Use mass macchia and creative space divisions

Use large brush drawing with expressive strokes

Use eye movement and focal point techniques to create compositions

Use counterpoint and other line techniques to create compositions

Create basic color pool mixtures based on seasons

Narrative:

Although landscape painting has a long history, we will arbitrarily begin with Corot and the French school. Corot mixed his colors and utilized value changes very skillfully, his colors were muted and soft. He anticipated impressionism and introduced a high level of romantic naturalism. A Corot study:

Constable introduced a more impressionistic style both based upon the Dutch tradition and, at the same time, exploratory techniques of abbreviated statements and expressive brushwork. His oil sketches were very avant-garde for his time and his mastery of freedom and observation unexcelled. His work represents the beginnings of abstraction and expressionism in landscape. A Constable study:

My own work is highly influenced by both of these painters. Here is a recent plein air painting in progress based on painting sessions off of Willamette Street (cemetery near 43rd Street):

One aspect of this approach is color pool mixing (described below) in which broken color is created by dragging adjacent colors into one another in a circular color pool. Highly saturated browns and reds intensify in relation to the greens and ligher areas.

New POEM Blog

2010-07-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

http://poempnw.wordpress.com/

Is a link to a new POEM (Post Office to Eugene Museum) blog.

Cheers,

Jerry

Post Office to Eugene Museum (POEM)

2010-05-24T19:13:00.001-07:00

Current blog posts will be dedicated to a project aimed at stopping the US Post Office from selling the Eugene downtown post office to private interests.

Instead, the POEM Committee seeks to establish a federal Pacific Northwest Art Museum in the historic building occupied by the post office and thus preserve the WPA-era murals by Carl Morris.

http://lanecc.edu/library/don/morris.htm
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2010/04/15/coverstory.html

Abstraction Class

2010-01-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

Just in case the abstraction class is a "go" at Maude Kerns:

Issues to be discussed in this class:

abstract figurative

abstract portraiture

abstract landscape

pure abstraction

Third Session: Getting to the Intermediate Stage

2009-10-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-24T20:42:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

Class Poster

Session One

Dinner and Discussion

(see "EVENTS")

Anatomy Class 4-8-09

2009-04-07T21:55:00.001-07:00

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:

2009-03-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

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.

height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_lWFAfwnrVM0/Scqkf5s4DzI/AAAAAAAAGls/gXd2ABInFeA/s320/La_Donna2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317243178036236082" />
"La Donna2" oil on wood, 2008

"Girl with Berries" oil/canvas 2008

Direct Painting

2009-02-26T09:43:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-15T10:28:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

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.

Colors in Portraiture Continued

2009-02-03T18:38:00.001-08:00

Again, the purpose of color is to add emotion, excitement, and impact to your portrait:

Review: We begin with a good sienna sketch of the subject, taking care to add shadings:

Then we add the color according to a system that I will detail below:

It is important to note, even before we start adding color, that getting a really good fresh and spontaneous sketch of nthe subject with accurate values is very often more important than adding color. Also, we need to observe that the monochrome underpainting in sienna already has a subtle kind of color:

(Portrait of Corle LaForce)
This being said, very often the modern portrait implies a vibrant use of color:

(Portrait of Carlo Bianchi).
Here color is combined with expressive brushwork.
The process we want to follow is this (Sandon method:)

add dark colors (state shadows)

add transition halftones)

add halftones: lower, central, upper third of face)

add lights: central, upper, lower third of face -- that order

restate colors: do reflected light, restate darks, halftones, lights)

particularize: eyes, eye details, nose, nose details, mouth, mouth details, hair, hair details

Let's consider the colors used in this portrait:

First of all, we notice the changes in color are subtle. More important than color is value and the modeling of planes that create surfaces for light to flow over the face.

Nevertheless, the colors bring life and drama to the portrait. In this case the dark and light greens of the background complement the reds and pinks in the complexion of the subject. Note the ample use of white paint to create the needed highlights.

The colors in this instance were limited: alizarin crimson and titanium white, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and yellow ochre. In some areas I used veridian and cadmium red light. That was the total list of colors used.

Next I will discuss some of the theory surrounding use of color in portraiture.

COMPLEMENTS

The Munsell Color wheel is a modern approach to color mixing:

This is the one found on Wikipedia.

There are five primary colors: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The secondary colors are: green-yellow, yellow-red, red-purple, purple-blue, and bluegreen.

Here are some notes on how to use all of this information:
Color Harmonies: Try to paint with any of these color harmony schemes:

primary harmony: use only red, yellow, green, blue, and purple (Munsell)

adulterated harmony: use primaries mixed with adjacent secondaries -- you make secondaries by mixing two primaries. The traditional secondaries are orange, green, and violet

use just the secondaries on the color wheel
tertiary harmony: use all six teriary hues -- teriary hues are formed by mixing a primary with a secondary

tetrad harmony: use four evenly spaced (any) hues around the color circle

1. state shadows: Use a mix of dark1 (burnt sienna, viridian, cad orange) either cooled down (add more viridian) o5 warned up (add cad red light or burnt sienna or alizarin or cad orange or a combination of any of these). This dark1 should be a brown-red-slightly green color.

2. Transition halftones: at the edge of your darks start to add a warmer and lighter color. A micture of halftone 2 and cad red light. Halftone two is a mix of white, yellow ochre, cad red light, chromium oxide green, and cad orange)-- it can be cooled or warmed pretty much the same way as withj dark1. It is basically a burnt sienna looking color, a warm red brown. It helps make the transition from your dark shaows to the light areas of the canvas. Use on the nose and the cheekbone areas.

3. Halftones in the lower third: Warm halftones. On male faces use a cooler version to simulate beard beneath the skin. this is a redish-brown color cooled with green. Note that the lower third is darker than the other two thirds.

4. Halftones in the Central third: Like a band of lighter, more orangy and ruddy colors. This area covers the nose and extends to the sheeks and other areas. Paint violet neutrals around the eye sockets and shade one side of the nose. When yoiu paint, use just a few brishstrokes with a big brush to state this band of bright colors: a few strokes to the left of the nose, on the nose, and to the right of the nose will suffice.

5. Halftones in the Upper third: Haltone2 plus cadmium orange. This should be a warm golden color. On the shaed side of nthe forehead darken this mixture with a neutral to introduce a greyer aspect of this mixture.

6. Halftones in the hair: merge hair and forehead forms using a neutral color.

7. Lights in the central third: Alizarin and white. Again just a few strokes here and there. Keep the eyes loose by adding a few strokes to provide general statements.

8. Lights in the lower third: Halftone 2 with a neutral color. Use a few strokes to define light falling onto area above the upper lip and on either side of the mouth.

9. Lights on upper third: Use impasto by mixing alizarin, cad yellow, and white. A few strokes should suffice.

10. Add lights to the hair with a neutral. Keep brush strokes visible.

More to come...

stay tuned.

Adding Color to a Portrait

2009-01-23T23:24:00.001-08:00

Colors have these dimensions: Hues, Values, intensities

Popular portrait colors:

UB Ultramarine Blue
CB Cerulean Blue
Ver Veridian
COG Chromium Oxide Green
AZ Alizarin Crimson
BU Burnt Umber
BS Burnt Sienna
CO Cadmium Orange
VR Venitian Red
CRL Cadmium Red light
YO Yellow Ochre
CYL Cad Yellow Light
IB Ivory Black
W White

D1 Dark One : BS+Ver+CO ( a brownish-red warm dark color)
D2 Dark Two : BS + Ver + CO + W

N1 Neutral3: W + IB + YO ( a grey)
N2 Neutral5 same lighter
N3 Neutral3 same still lighter

HT1 Half-tone One: W+YO+CRL+COG+CO (orange)
HT2: Half-tone Two: W + YO+CRL + Ver (yellowish)

L1 W + YO + CRL (bright pink)
L2: Light Two: W + YO + CRL + CB lighter
L3: same still lighter

This week (first week of February) we will continue our study of colors used in portraiture.

Later we will study direct painting with very little or even no preparatory sketch, but for now we follow the more traditional, academic approach.

At my reception Friday (Springfield Museum, 6 - 8:30 pm), I will have some of my portraits on exhibit similar to the following:

This painting, "The colonist (Monroe)" , is in the academic style of the British School which influenced the early American school of portrait painting.

Also, one academic Italian portrait that was created using a four-step process shown below:

Portrait Class Lesson 2

2009-01-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

We will continue to emphasize drawing. This time we will work from a live model. You should concentrate on the head and face not the entire figure. We will also add color in a controlled manner:

Step1: Use tone as well as line. This indicates areas of shadow. Sometimes it is ok to use just line but painting will be easier later if you use some tone and shadings here. The point is also to leave some of the underlying canvas showing through the drawing, either pure white canvas or the toned ground.

Step2: Use big brushes to mass in the larger forms. Use alizarin crimsin plus white for the pinks on the cheeks and nose. Use ultramarine blue and white plus alizarin crimson and white for light highlights on nose and forehead. Use warm colors for highlights (cad red light plus yellow ochre plus white.

Establish color mixes: one pale rose and the other pale olive. The first is cad red light, raw sienna, and white the second is green, yellow ochre, and white for the olive.

Establish a color mix for shadows: Below the chin, green, yellow ochre, cad yellow, and white. Under the nose, raw sienna, burnt sienna, and white. Dark parts of the hair are alizarin and black plus ulta ble and biurnt sienna.

Note: In class this week we would like to get to this stage within one hour and then switch to another pose and try to get to the same stage on another canvas or board. The goal is to practe the sketch and then the large block in. Here is another example:

Portrait Class Begins

2009-01-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the portrait class (started up at Maude Kerns 1/14 on Wednesday evening). Looks like we have a full house at 16 people signed up!

Announcement: Everyone is invited to my opening reception at the Springfield Museum.. There will be some portrait examples.

The outline for the class:

Equipment and Set up

Basics and Concepts of Painting

Classical Academic Painting

Direct (Alla Prima) Painting

Demonstrations

Working from live models

Looking at Good Examples

I talked about two different ways of establishing your preliminary drawing: the Renaissance style and the Modern style. The Renaissance approach uses a moe or less complete drawing with very little white canvas showing. The modern approach is more sketchy leaving a lot of white canvas.

(The Renaissance Style)
Note that using this style the artist spends a significant amount of time developing the Grisaille(F r. "Grizz-eye: grey")I prefer Sienna to traditional grey but either is good. Traditionally it is a monochromatic underpainting (imprimatura) in grey or brown.

(The Modern Approach) This is a more limited (sketchy) drawing done with the brush
Using a #4 bristle filbert If possible.

We started by concentrating on drawing with the brush trying to create subtle, soft edged likeness. The drawing has to leave a lot of white canvas showing. I emphasized that we need to spend at least two weeks drawing and re-drawing until we master this idea. The drawing, when properly exectuted, has half-tones as well as the full range of values from zero to nine.

To get ready for painting you will need brushes and colors:

Use Graham paints
Use a limited palette

Ultramarine blue

Alizarin Crimson

Cadmium Red

Cadmium Red light and/or Cadmium Orange

Cadmium Yellow Medium

Burnt Sienna

Thalo Green

Yellow Ochre

Titanium White

Ivory Black

In this class we will learn how to combine the Renaissance and modern portrait painting techniques. The modern approach calls for spped and direct painting. The older Renaissance methods call for careful drawing and slow, indirect painting, often building up the portrait over time, using glazes. Both approaches and/or a combination of the two are taught in many academic settings today.

Preview of modern approach: We build a portrait in four steps:
Step1: the sketchy drawing shown before that positions the head and establishes relative distances for key features (this process is called "mapping").
Step2: indicating the darker areas of the drawing:

Step3: add color: Pay attention to warm and cool colors and keep values in mind when painting in color. Also get masses right first, not a focus on details:

Step4: Add halftones and detail eyes, nose, mouth, hair

Looking at Examples: What was just shown was a very quick, rapid fire demo. In actual practice, taking more time with each step, results are much more refined. How much "finish" to give a portrait depends on the painter's goal. We shall discuss this in future classes. Here is a "finished" portrait of an Italian soccer player completed using this 4-step method:

Starting to paint again

2008-12-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

It has been a tough two weeks with final exams, grading for three classes, and getting a show hung. Anyway, now with a two-week break I can finally get some painting in:

Recently sold this figurative work, "The Art Class":

Now working on larger group scenes, some more abstract than others. This one is "Serie di rivoluzione quadro uno":

And another, "L'ultima Cena":

In these recent works, preparations for a show at the Springfield Museum, I seem to be moving even more into abbreviation of form and seeking a connection with unknown narratives. Perhaps the narrativeare really known, its just not yet clear how the innovation in expression will link up with more explicit, more detailed areas of the canvas, if that becomes necessary.

Last Week of Narrative Class

2008-11-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

We will have the model again but this will also be a chance to rap up certain concepts and review the fundamentals.

We have talked about a goal of producing large, classically inspired academic narrative paintings while remaining modern and informed about the principle of abstraction.

Narrative Painting unfolds intuitively

2008-11-06T08:16:00.000-08:00

Well...its November already and I have to get ready for my DIVA exhibit at the end of this month and, I have just confirmed my exhibit at the Springfield Museum for January. The DIVA show will mostly be landscapes but I hope to include some recent figurtive experiments, perhaps work done while teaching this class, the narrative painting course at Maude Kerns.

This was painted last night:

"Untitled"

News flash: Because of a family emergency, I am forced to sell a much cherished painting as soon as possible. This is my "View of Florence from the Effizi Gallery"
which I need to sell for approximately $8000. If you or anyone you might know is in a position to acquire this work, please have them get in touch. The work was completed in 2001 and, as far as I know, is a totally unique vista of Florence. At least I have never seen anything like it. My wife Angela loves this painting which hangs in our dining room, but not it seems it must find another home.

Narrative painting -- 4 value chiaroscuro continued

2008-10-22T15:03:00.001-07:00

Last week in class we used the 4-value chiaroscuro as a technique to improve the overall impact of our painting. On can use the computer and photo editing software to view the artwork in grey scale:

Those like the late Albert Boime, the famed art historian who has recently expounded on the phenomenon of abstract romanticism, have been inclined to appreciate a pure abstraction without significant figurative content. I am not as interested in pure abstraction but rather in gestural marks with the brush that indicate figures and "placeholder forms" that can be elaborated further, into narrative and or realism while maintaining their romantic character:

"The Judgement of Paris"

In this I consider myself closer to the original program of the I Macchiaioli group, namely using the "spot" or "gestured spot" and the element of spontaneity to achieve an esthetic that has life and texture but not to betray the revolution, in particular, depicting unadorned social reality as being the principal focus of visual production.

"Esther Before Azureus"

Nevertheless, history and mysthological (include biblical) narrative provides an opportunity for a kind of playing at forms and romantic color to evoke a feeling of grandeur as well as a certain gravitas, regarding the profound story, the playing out in fantasy and imagination, some deeply mysterious yet beautiful portrayal.

"Tintoretto Study"

Here is an interesting note on Tintoretto.

in color:

The Bozzetto for Painting Narrative Scenes

2008-10-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

To plan your narrative paintings try to paint in the value range 5-7 when creating the bozzetto which is usually a much smaller canvas:

Getting ready for the Fall class

2008-09-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Start thinking in terms of groups of figures in the context of some sort of narrative. The narrative can be from literature, history, mythology, etc. Begin by sketching and drawing the scene(s) you are planning to use:

TBC...

Onwards and Upwards

2008-09-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Well, Mayor's Art Show and the Salon are both up and open. I can never really look at anything until the crowds thin out, which should be around Tuesday.

I am getting prepared for my art talk at DIVA:

The next class:

Figurative Painting with Narrative Themes

Jerry Ross Class ID #

Using a classical painting approach, you will explore the art of capturing the human form in a narrative style. Review drawing and painting skills to help you create compositions based on historic or literary themes and learn to effectively incorporate the human figure into a scene. A live model will be provided for some sessions and students will focus on incorporating multiple figures into a variety of interior and exterior environments. You will also develop your own painting style as you explore both “dal vero” (working from life) and abstract techniques. Instruction will be in oils but students are invited to use their medium of choice.

Wednesdays, October 1-November 19, 6:00pm-9:00pm

To register contact Sabrina Hershey, Associate Director,
Maude Kerns Art Center, Phone: 541.345.1571 and Fax: 541.345.6248

This Thursday: We will try again for 4:30 - 6:30 at Sunset Hills.

Session Sei (6)

2008-09-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

ATTENZIONE! CHANGE IN PLANS: DUE TO OPENING OF MAYOR'S ART SHOW i HAVE TO BE DOWNTOWN AT 5:30 pm and so will NOT be at the Sunset Hills site this Thursday but plan to be there the following week (9/18). Sorry for this but you are of course welcome to go there and paint anyway or join me at the Hult Center.

Again, thank you for your participation in this class.

Topic for Last Session: Eye Movement and Linear Perspective in Relation to Concept of Verism

Lets start with a blank canvas:

We will use an underpainting in sienna utilizing gesture brushwork. I notice that most beginners establish their "macchia" exclusively in line. You see here that mass is used and also some line but the idea is to paint at the onset, not as an afterthought. This is in the true spirit of the I Macchiaioli, our "spiritual" forebearers:

The focal point for eye movement will be the small house and the main, central tree. But we are also attracyted to the road which winds down the hill.

Use of expressive brushwork in the folliage of the tree will provide resting places for the eye as it moves throughout the composition.

This is an oil sketch, so we must remember to keep it as such. Too many beginning students insist on a "finished" painting and they ruin the sketch by making it such. The oil sketch in the tradition of the I Macchiaioli and Constable is closer to the modern spirit of the abstract expressionists and keeps the painting fresh and spontaneous. Develop a taste for these oil sketches and begin to collect them.

Every painting needs a logical focus, a place where your eyes can land in the pictoral space but it is also important, perhaps more important, to supercharge the entire visual scene with verism (an sense of unadorned realism) as is probvided in the work of Giovanni Fattori, as one example:

http://www.italica.rai.it/index.php?categoria=art&scheda=fattori_epopea_vero

For example, in the following set of images, I am trying to show the progress made using this approach: beginning with a rooftop view intended to move the eye into the center of the picture (focal point the near rooftop) and then provide two alternative routes for the viewer to travel. The first goes out and up into the distant sea and mountains, the other goes to the right into the adjacent houses.

To be continued...

Session Cinque (5)

2008-08-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

We will be meeting at Sunrise Hills Cemetary off of Willamette 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm (sun is setting earlier).

Note: Exhibit at Silvan Ridge Winery is being held over through September if you still want to see it. Also this Sunday, 2 pm - 5 pm a big crowd is expected for wine tasting and Richard Quigley's art exhibit (watercolors of Tikis), if you want to come out.

Before starting this session's lesson, let's review again the color pool concept with the benefit of some photos taken by Hugh:

Note the use of an old canvas as a palette which is sometimes a good idea because you have a bigger surface to work on and the colors show up nicely when you create the mix. By placing white somewhere near the top of the pool you can access white and mix it into the pool as needed.

THIS WEEKS' TOPIC: Creating Atmospheric Perspective

Each of these works creates a distant view, an added perspective, through the use of atmospheric perspective. To give the works a sense of the third dimension, colors become cooler in the distance and an object becomes lighter in value.

Many plein air painters say they are not really painting objects but rather air and atmosphere. The idea is to try can capture the atmosphere present and not to attempt to make a cloudy day into a bright cloudless one...try to capture the moment as it really is before you. Many of the works of Signorini and other great I Macchiaioli painters are depictions of merky or very atmospheric days. As Fall approaches and we have rainy or overcast days can actually be opportunities for you to paint atmosphere. Here is another example of a painting done from our last painting location at LCC that has an interesting cloud-filled sky:

"View of Mt. Pisgah" (featured in DIVA exhibit opening Friday, Sept 5th)

If you are painting on a grey day, it is more important to present thr mood and feeling of that kind of day than to draw too much or paint too much detail. Use large and simple masses. Simplify shapes into a few brush strokes. Mute your colors and crreate soft edges by paining wet into wet and value into value. You can paint the sky first and then paint the distant hills into the wet sky. The two layers of paint will interact bluring the sharpness of the brushstroke and lightening the values.

Assignment: Go out painting on a cloudy day and try to emphasize these techniques of atmospheric perspective. Remember that it is much more than painting the distant hills blue or using lighter values. Don't let your large masses and shapes break up into myriads of little dabs. Group your lights and darks so that the painting has a focal point. Try to direct the viewer to one or two spots on the painting. But as you do this pay attention to the difference in colors near and far away. Use greys and smaller brushstrokes for the distant areas.

"Amazon Park"

"Oregon Coast"

Note: the exhibition at Silvan Ridge has changed -- thanks to all who made it out there -- you can see the Tuscan landscapes, however, during the DIVA studio tour in October.

FYI: In case you haven't seen it yet, this months Alternatives Magazine is featuring my artwork on its cover. Its a portrait not a landscape, but you might want to pick up an issue. Here is a link that shows the cover:

http://www.alternativesmagazine.com/47/fall08.html

Session Quatro (4)

2008-08-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

We will meet at LCC near welding shop one more time:

In case of heavy rain head for Maude Kerns.

Firstly, to review color poolo mixing concept:

The exact placement of the colors making up the color pool does not matter that much. In this picture you can see I have switched the location of yellow and red.
The idea is to have two separate mixes of complements (warm yellow and cool blue, on he one hand, and warm red and cool viridian on the other end). If you switch locations of red and yellow then the mixes are different (warm red and cool blue, on the one end, and warm yellow and cool virdian on the other). In any case, you get a lot of neutrals in the mix of complements, especially when you add white.

Note that the pool is dominated by the two different complement mixes. Each os the mixes creates a set of neitral tones that can be made warmer or cooler by addition/subtraction of an appropriate amount of the complement involoved in the mix.

New Topic: Gesture and Perspective in Landscape Painting

In order to create an interesting landscape painting in plein air, it is important to capture the gesture and perspective of a scene quickly. By "gesture" I mean the same thing as when painting from the nude when we capture the gesture of the body in a few strokes. Landscape also has its gestural movement which can be captured by paying attention to main diaglonals, horizontal, and vertical lines:

Note: eye movement and gesture are created at the very start when a very simplified drawing is created. In this initial sketch we are still looking for "effect" or the dramatic (dal vero) impact of nature as well as your feeling and your own sense of empathy for and with the scene:

Note: look at the diagonal movement indicated by the arrows. One must keep an awareness of the overall slope and movement of the scene by discovering the main pivot lines, horizontals and verticals and sweeping diagonals which aid in recreating the energy and power of the scene.

When sketching like this, deliberately exaggerate and emphasize the dramatic elements, especially shapes of the cloud masses that give the scene movement. Even on a cloudless sky I sometimes introduce clouds that are not there for this purpose:

After we study and discuss these preliminary sketches we shall look at painting examples along the same lines. Your success as a plein air painter will depend on your ability to capture the gesture and movement (energy) of the scene.

Example in painting:
Here is how I approach creating a Tuscan landscape with eye movement and gesture in mind:

Note the diagonal created with paint -- the brush comes right out of the color pool mix and does not have a single color on it. Notice the "point/counter-point" with the two opposing diagonals that play with one another and give the painting tension:

This diagonal is strengthened by adding some dark green accents:

Starting a painting of the Tuscan town Cetona, with gesture:

Assignment for thursday: When you arrive on the scene please try to begin with gesture painting without preliminary drawing this time. Paint wet in wet and try to discover the scene through gesture and movement. Look for strong diagonals, verticals, and horizontal formations. Piant with as big a brush as you can and avoid any details until later. Establish your color pool first.

Session Tre

2008-08-15T00:32:00.000-07:00

We will meet next Thursday, August 21st at the LCC parking lot. Turn at the traffic signal and go straight until you reach the Welding/Industriual Arts building...look for my red pickup truck.

In case of bad rain we head for Maude Kerns -- bring a photo to work from.

I intend this post to be about color mixing, the subject for the third class session. But first and until I can get to that, let's discuss the idea of alla prima, painting wet into wet paint. If you were in class tonight (August 14th) you saw me painting in this manner -- and I was recommending students give it a try, which most did. Here is the idea:

Use an underpainting (imprimatura)of Titanium White and and Burnt Sienna -- mix it into a light pink consistency and apply it with a brush using either pure thinner or the mix of linseed oil and thinner. The latter may give the best results because some oil seems to help the process.

The general idea is that the wet into wet technique helps unify the painting and makes the sketch more like a "finger painting", namely loose and free. Here you can see the beginnings of a sketch made with a #1 filbert brush using a slightly darker sienna mix.

Next, carry out your sketch:

Further elaboration:

A more finished version (re-started):

Although this wet-in-wet approach can produce more "painterly" results, one often has to pay close attention to colors, which can get too muted when too much sienna is present in the primatura. By using less sienna in the underpainting and the proper amount of medium (not too much oil) one can get exprssive colors as well as expressive brushwork, but it takes some practice to get it right:

The theory of color pool mixing comes from Charles Movalli and Roger W. Curtis, two east coast plein air painters, who wrote the book "Color in Outdoor Painting" (Watson-Guptil c. 1977). Their idea was basically this: analyze the colors in the scene you are painting, select pgments from your paint box to produce those colors you are seeing, arrange these colors on your palette using overlapping rings of colors that form a "color pool" in the center of the palette, slowly working the colors together but not blending them into one color.

Assignment: Prepare a color pool as indicated and attempt to paint from it. Arrange your palette like this:

Notes: Place your colors across the top of your palette with warms to the left and cools to the right...ultra blue will go to the right and burnt sienna will go to the left. You can place white down the side.

Then in the middle, select the colors you want to use for the pool. If your subject is mostly warm (say a lot of warm greens) then try to paint the scene with just the three pigments indicated plus white. Pick up yellow with the brush and place it in the center of the palette as indicated. Clean the brush and do the same with ultra blue and also with cad red. It is recommended to start with th "weaker" colors first. These are the ones with little tinting power. For example Alizarin Crimson and Verdian and Burnt Sienna are strong and dominate other colors.

Slowly working the colors together they will mix accidentally (do not blend them into one homogeneous color) and the result will be a variety of different colors (for example many different greens if you mic yellow and blue). The colors nearest blue will be blue-green and the colors nearest yellow will be yellow-green.

The Importance of color: I have already stressed the importance of value, that is, darks and lights. Next in importance to painting is color. Colors will differ depending upon the season and the time of day. Therefore the color pool will come to be domainated by different colors depending on these factors. After establishing the macchia (principal masses and values) you next need to establish the warm and cool relationships of the colors.

When blocking in the big divisions (zones) of your design, use broad areas of color:

Beginning oil sketh of Fiesole, Italy

As the painting progresses, these main areas are changed by seeking out the variations within each zone through careful observation and painting from the color pool. Often trees are painted last, worked into the wet background and sky. Here is an example of a finished wet-in-wet painting:

"Tuscan Winery" oil on canvas 2008

Thanks to all the students who were able to come to class last night (8-21). Here are some additional notes regarding what we discussed in the field:

Note that in my actual demo I may have modified this a bit, switching the locations of the red and yellow. Also note that you can have yellow ochre and alizarin crimson on the periphery as needed. Also you may need a separate place on the palatte or a separate palatte to mix sky color to avoid any muddiness.

My work done on site yesterday:

-- Jerry

Session Due

2008-08-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

We will begin session two outdoors at the Brackenfern Street site (drive past the Lane County dump entrance heading south past the new Hotel at the end of Glenwood Drive. Go straight ahead on Brackenfern until you come to the first interesection). I'll try to add a map below. In any event, we will begin at 5 pm on August 14th and will go until it gets dark (around 8:20 pm). Bring a jacket and a cap in case weather gets difficult. In case of rain we will meet at the MK Art Center.

Drawing and Composition:

I will begin this post by discussing drawing and composition. Here are a series of drawings I made on a trail near Spencer's Butte:

Notes: Hold your pencil to the side when you draw and try to make the overall drawing light. As you can see above (pencil on paper), try for subtle changes in pressure as you press the pencil down...lighter for distant areas. You can see some subtle colors added as well.

I will add a more thorough discussion of drawing and composition here on my next update of this post.

Now back to establishing the drawing in paint (remember the macchia?):

Adjusting the drawing and adding color:

Starting over using direct painting (little or no underpainting Macchia, just remembering previous drawing and [painting directly with colors):

The importance of drawing cannot be emphasized more. If you cannot produce an Accurate plan for your painting (drawing) you will probably struggle while attempting the painting. Here is another example, this time the location is the view from Silvan Ridge Winery. The first sketch is very loose and scribbly and the second is more detailed. They are both done with graphite pencil on paper:

Next, let's look at the resulting plein air painting. Firest I will show the black and white version so you can study the values:

Next the color version of the same painting:

By the way, this and other works will be on display at Silvan Ridge Friday, August 29th, 5 pm to 8 pm at the winery. Music...wine tasting and buying...paintings.

Assignment:

Look at some web sites on Constable, with an emphasis on his drawing:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/school_stdnts/schools_teach/teachers_resources/constable_resource/index.html
When you get to the plein air site on Thursday, spend the first 30-45 minutes doing a pencil sketch on paper before attempting the painting.

Here is a Constable study I did recently:

And the painting after Constable:

Session Uno

2008-08-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

Introduction to plein air painting: basic concepts and materials

The goal of the plein air painter is to create an original and accurate rendering of the scene (called the motif) one is facing with sufficient interplay of dark and light areas as to be aesthetically interesting and dynamic, revealing a limited number of basic forms and an appropriate atmosphere as to be a convincing landscape while at the same time a poetic statement.

Tentative class schedule:

s1: orientation and materials and some painting (Maude Kerns)

s2: design, composition, sketching, and "macchia" concept (Brackenfern St.)

s3: colors and color mixing (LCC Parking Lot)

s4: gesture and perspective in landscape painting (location TBA)

s5: creating atmospheric perspective (location TBA)

s6: simplifying forms and establishing eye movement (location TBA)

Any appropriate paints and supports can be used but instruction will mostly be concerned with oil painting. A small pochade box is recommended with a limited palette of colors. Below is a photo of my french easel, I will post a photo of my pochade box later.

cadmium red light and medium

cadmium yellow medium and yellow ochre

ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, thalo blue

viridian or thalo green

alizarin crimson

titanium white

burnt sienna

We shall begin by discussing drawing, typically with the brush using a burnt sienna thinned with the medium (50% mineral spirits and 50% linseed oil). Walnut oil can be substituted but drying time wil be greatly extended. Students are encouraged to draw with charcoal, red chalk, and pencil whenever possible and to maintain a sketchbook of landscape notes at all times.

Demo: Beginning with a burnt sienna sketch:

Key concept numero uno:

Although the beginner is rightly concerned with just learning sufficient techniques to cover a canvas with paint and create a reasonable painting, too much focus on technique alone results in the "schlock" phenomenon: all plein air paintings resemble one another and seem to be painted by the same artist. Most "how to" books and web sites seem to be going in this direction.

The fallacy of this approach is evident whenever you visit the impressionist section of any good art museum. All the best impressionists broke every rule in the book and their paintings are wonderfully individualistic. Too much of an obsession with rules and techniques will ruin you. Think of them as guidelines only. Seek your "own voice" and identity. Put on your "schlock-o-meter", so that you can detect schlock when it begins to appear in your own work. Walk into any fancy art gallery and see what they are selling. All those "sheep paintings" and idyllic, highly detailed works are 90% schlock. Now go and look at a real Van Gogh. My case rests.

"Near Mount Pisgah"

"Glenwood"

What to look at?

I recommend looking at Constable, the early Mondrian, Corot, any of the I Macchiaioli but especially Signorini, Fattori, Abatti, etc., any of the French impressionists and post-impressionists, Americans like John Singer Sargent and Childe Hassam.

Assigment One: On location at Snowberry Street (off of Brackenfern), paint the vista of Springfield:

Note: Begin your study in monochrome using burnt sienna. Paint a study in values at first disregarding color. Try to keep the overall sketch light (avoid an overall dark sienna sketch...however, this may prove difficult as the evening becomes dark) and only gradually add color:

Remember to paint in architectural elements rather than deliberately painting them out. Look for "base lines", that is, horizontal or diagonal line sthat sweep across the entire vista. This helps give the painting structure and coherence.

Basic Concept: "Macchia" -- to the I Macchiaioli it mant "spot" or "dab" but also "underbrush" or "outlaw". The metaphorical meaning was clear, given the historic context, that macchia meant "seed" or "germinal cell", the underlying sketch that spontaneously and quickly grasped the essence of a scene in as few brushstrokes as possible. The idea was that if you got this macchia wrong, no further elaboration with color or further drawing would help.

A related concept is "alla prima" or direct (immediate) attack wherein each brushstroke is left where it hits the canvas without any attempt to blend it in.

We will discuss these ideas further in subsequent classes but the notion of "outlaw" and "hiding out in the underbush" (of, say, Maremma, Tuscany) was also a metaphor for sneaking up on nature and catching her "by surprise." This, to emphasize the spantaneous and rapid manner of painting to catch the fleeting changes in nature, the subtle light effects that are very subtle yet essential to the scene.