Updates from Terri on Her Art Journey
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Last week, I continued to experiment with both oil paints and watercolors. The moody seascape is my second attempt at painting in oils; and as I promised myself, I went bolder than the pastel colors I used in my first oil painting. The butterfly was done with watercolors and to give it some texture, I sprinkled a little sea salt on it. It was fun to try something new and different. Even the colors I used in these pieces were a departure from my usual palette.
In the meantime, of course, I continued posting my sunflower paintings on Facebook every day. Tomorrow I will share my final painting in my SUNFLOWERS28 series . . . 28 sunflower paintings for the 28 days of February. It’s been a challenge to paint and post every day, but it’s also been rewarding to get feedback from my FB friends and to find folks willing to buy some of my artwork. So, after taking off the month of March to study some new techniques and to develop and hone my painting skills, I will probably do another series of paintings during the month of April. Since April has 30 days, it will be a series of 30 paintings. Subject to be determined. And depending on what I learn next month, I may even mix up the media I use. I hope you’ll continue to follow me on my art journey and watch where I go from here.
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In his book, “The World According to Garp,” John Irving coins the term “gradual student.” That’s what Garp’s son calls his father’s graduate students. Over the years I’ve come to see myself as a gradual student, too, and have made it a life of gradually learning.
Indeed, one of my goals for the first quarter of this year was to hone my painting skills by taking courses from a variety of artists and painters. So, in the first seven weeks of this year, I’ve already taken five online classes, one in-person class and a three-day virtual workshop. And I’ve got two more classes lined up for later this week. The above seascape is a result of my very first oil painting class. It was taught by Paul Pinion in his introduction to oil painting workshop held at the Las Vegas Artists’ Guild at the Galleria Mall. Paul uses water mixable oils (WMO), and the technique is quite similar to what I’ve been using with acrylics. I was a little tentative and timid with my first painting, but I hope to get bolder as I continue to study with Paul. You can learn more about Paul at this website www.paullorinartworks.com I also took watercolor classes (all online) through the Nevada Watercolor Society and Laguna Plein Air Painters. And I’ve been studying again on zoom with my favorite watercolorist, Joan Iaconetti. This month we’ve been painting birds and butterflies. Here are examples of what we did last week. To sign up for any of her classes, go to www.watercolor.joanweb.com For a little artistic inspiration, I took Nick Wilton’s Art2Life three-day workshop (also live online via Facebook). He discussed the basic principles of design, value and color. He reiterated the importance of using contrasts in composition and the lights and darks in a painting. He noted that even more than color, value (the lightness or darkness of a shape or color) is the most important component because CONTRAST is what we notice first in a piece of art. I’ve heard this principle before, of course (“color gets the credit while value does the work”), but it’s always good to hear it again. If you’ve never heard of Nick, it’s well worth checking out www.art2life.com Last, but certainly not least, I’ve continued to keep up with my acrylic painting lessons with my wonderful mentor, Rod Moore. As a lifetime member of his Learn To Paint Academy, I have access to hundreds of courses and painting projects. It’s a good thing I’m a lifetime member because, as a gradual student, it will probably take me the rest of my life to complete his program of study at www.learntopaint.academy Yesterday, while most Americans were probably preparing for a big Super Bowl Sunday blowout, I was having fun at City Lights Art Gallery in Henderson, NV, at the annual Valentines Day Art Fair Pop Up.
Considering how the football obsession might have distracted visitors, we had quite a nice turnout. It helped, of course, that one of the gallery’s finest artists, Chris Mazglad, hosted a wonderful reception at the gallery that attracted lots of friends and art enthusiasts. Chris is an amazing artist who enjoys creating art across a wide spectrum, using oil, acrylic or any medium that will create an eye-catching piece. Much of her work will be on display at City Lights for the rest of this month, but if you can’t get to the gallery, you should visit her website at www.MazArtDesign.com The art fair gave me the opportunity to display (and sell) the paintings from my SUNFLOWERS28 series. These are the paintings I’ve been posting one-day-at-a-time for the entire month of February. I did manage to sell a couple of things and made a modest $50, which is more than I made at last year’s pop up fair, But the real payoff was hanging out with my arty friends, especially Sujata, Stephanie and Winston. It was a real fun day at the fair! Last week, on February 1, I began my SUNFLOWER CHALLENGE, posting on Facebook one of my sunflower paintings every day for the entire month of February. I’m calling this series of paintings “SUNFLOWERS28.” In case you missed them, these are the first five I posted.
If you’ve been following me on my art journey, you may want to ask me why sunflowers and why a series? WHY SUNFLOWERS? For one thing, I believe the sunflower is one of the most beautiful flowers God has created. They’re certainly a happy flower. And during the dark, cold days of winter, I paint these lovely creatures to brighten my day. Here are some fun facts about sunflowers: Thanks to Greek mythology and the story of Clytie and Apollo, sunflowers symbolize loyalty and adoration. According to the myth, the water nymph Clytie fell in love with the god of the sun, Apollo, who dazzled the earth as he drove his golden chariot across the sky each day. When he rejected Clytie’s affection, it nearly drove her mad as she searched the heavens, waiting for Apollo to appear. In the end, Clytie was transformed into a sunflower, a plant which turns its face toward the sun as it moves across the sky each day. I have to confess (God, forgive me), I am a bit of a sun worshiper, and so apparently are sunflowers. Young sunflowers actually search the heavens for light for photosynthesis in a process called heliotropism. The sunflower’s internal (circadian) clock acts on growth hormones that cause cells on different sides of the plant’s stems to enlarge or contract. Meanwhile, older sunflowers mainly face east, warming themselves early in the day to attract pollinators. Native Americans grew sunflowers for their edible, nutrient-rich seeds. Today, American farmers produce nearly 3 billion pounds of sunflower seeds a year. Sunflowers make a lovely subject for artists. I especially like them because most of them are some version of yellow ochre (my favorite color). In 1987, Vincent van Gogh’s “Still Life: Vase With Fifteen Sunflowers” sold to an anonymous buyer for $39.9 million, a record at the time. I’ll be happy to sell any one of my sunflower paintings for $25! (Let me know if you want one of them). WHY A SERIES? During my art journey, I’ve learned that most artists who’ve become good at their craft, have evolved by working in a series. Van Gogh, for example, painted in multiples of series, starting in 1881 with a series of still lifes. He moved on to a series of landscapes in 1882, and started painting the heads of peasants in 1885. But van Gogh’s main subject in 1885 was probably the potato. He painted not only the eating of potatoes, he also did a number of still lifes of potatoes in baskets or crates, and he followed the growing of potatoes from the planting to the lifting in a series showing people digging up potatoes. He painted his masterpiece, “The Potato Eaters,” in April 1885. Van Gogh considered this to be his best work. It was aided, of course, by the many studies he painted in various series. Painting a series conveys commitment to a concept, theme or subject, and it demonstrates the artist’s creative abilities and the depth with which they can explore their chosen direction. And it tells a story, making a deeper connection between the artist, their work and the viewer. While some artists may resist painting a series because they worry they’ll get bored or limit their creativity, I’ve found the opposite to be true. Painting in a series is both challenging and freeing. Working on my sunflower series has given me confidence and painting for me has never been more enjoyable. And, by the time I finished this series, I was painting sunflowers in my sleep (I mean, in my dreams!) So, I think I shall continue to paint in a series of series. Whether those will be about a particular subject, place, color, theme or medium, who knows? Just keep following me, and we’ll find out together. |
AuthorTerri Thompson is a journalist-turned-visual artist, who is on an "art journey" and exploring how to tell her stories through her watercolor and acrylic paintings and photographs. Categories |