Updates from Terri on Her Art Journey
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Hurricane Henri visited us this past weekend, but by the time it got to us in northwestern Connecticut, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm. Still, it dumped a lot of rain and made it very damp around here. But it didn’t deter me from my daily painting because, thankfully, I’ve switched to watercolors (acrylics are hopeless in this weather!).
Under the instruction of Jenna Rainey’s “Everyday Watercolor,” I’m back to watercolor basics. Above are the assignments from this week’s daily lessons, which include tutorials on techniques such as wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, layout, pattern, cast shadow, angles and folds, and complementary colors. As I’m rediscovering, watercolor is wildly uncontrollable and at the same time containable. Colors explode and burst into surrounding strokes, creating texture and depth that can’t be found in acrylics. So, while it’s challenging, I’m enjoying the process. Of course, many of the basics of understanding watercolor apply to all media. Color theory and the use of value scales, for example, are the same for acrylics, oil, gouache and/or watercolor. They all have primary, secondary and tertiary colors, and they can vary in value, intensity and temperature. Similarly, the rules of composition are the same for watercolor. Even watercolors can have a focal point which should be placed at the intersection of one of four points on the paper (the so-called “rule of thirds”). And elements on the page should be grouped in odd numbers (not even numbers) to help create movement through the painting. But that’s more or less where the similarities end. Unlike with acrylics or oils, where you normally start with dark colors in a painting, with watercolors, it’s typically better to begin layering with the lightest colors. And there are painting techniques that are unique to watercolor, specifically the wet-on-wet (WOW) and wet-on-dry (WOD) methods. WOW is the technique of applying wet paint to a wet surface to create a soft, diffused edge or bleed. With WOD, on the other hand, you apply wet paint to a dry surface when you want to give a subject hard, clean edges or add dimension and depth with layers. These are just the basics, of course. And I have a lot more to learn. I hope you’ll follow my progress.
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Now that I’m back on the East coast, often traveling between Connecticut and New York, I’ve returned to painting with watercolors because they’re easier to transport than acrylics.
My first watercolor instructor, Joan Iaconetti of New York City, recently told me about another art teacher who specializes in watercolor and in 2017 wrote a book that promises to teach you how to paint watercolor in 30 days. The name of the book is “Everyday Watercolor” and the author is Jenna Rainey. The back cover of the book promises that “This contemporary paint-every-day watercolor guide is perfect for creative people who have always dreamed of picking up a brush.” The author/instructor presents thirty days of watercolor projects, starting with basic strokes and patterns and culminating in gorgeous finished art. Each day’s piece builds on the foundational skills of the days before it. Supposedly, I will gain the expertise and confidence to develop my own unique style. We shall see. My goal for this month is to complete the 30 watercolor projects prescribed, and I will post my results here. Follow along if you’d like. Just finished reading this novel by Christopher Moore. It’s a fascinating read, particularly for any aspiring artist or art historian, and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re interested in Impressionist art and/or the color blue.
The expression, “Sacre’ Bleu!,” is a mild French oath, often believed to refer to the traditional color of the Virgin Mary’s cloak as depicted by artists since the 13th century. The sacred blue was not just any blue, but ultramarine blue, the rarest and most expensive color in the medieval painter’s palette, made of a rare gemstone, crushed lapis lazuli. With this rare, sacred color as his theme, Moore takes us on a magical realism tour, combining art fact with fiction, jumping back and forth in time from Paris in the 1890’s to Michelangelo’s Renaissance and all the way back to cave paintings of 39,000 BC. The novel is accurate when it needs to be, yet quite imaginative and even supernatural in the storytelling. The story begins in July 1890, when Vincent van Gogh went into a cornfield and shot himself. But was it really suicide? That’s where the mystery begins and this novel seeks to resolve. (Yes, if you’ve been following me, you know I have a Vincent obsession, which is why my sister gave me this book to read!). Vincent’s friends, including bon vivant Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, doubt that van Gogh’s untimely death is suicide and are determined to answer some puzzling questions—like who was the crooked little “color man” Vincent claimed was stalking him across France . . . and why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue? I’m not going to spoil the mystery, but what follows is a surreal odyssey and brothel-crawl deep into the art world of late-nineteenth-century Paris, as told by Christopher Moore. Moore brings art alive in this novel by recounting interesting moments in the history of the color blue and telling the Impressionist story, combining intrigue, passion and art history. Based on his research, Moore has concluded that every artist faces a wave of hubris, followed by self-doubt, when they reach a moment when they believe they are a complete fraud. (I’ve felt that way at times, have you?). Another of Moore’s observations that stuck with me is his formula for art: SACRIFICE, SUFFERING and LOVE but especially suffering. “You have to pay a price for great art,” the book concludes. So, I won’t divulge any more of the story. But here are some questions posed by the author and for you to consider: Do you think that Vincent van Gogh was simply insane and that is why he committed suicide, or was there more to this story, as Moore’s book suggests? During the time of the Impressionists, many people in Paris were beginning to argue that painting was just color, nothing more. Do you think that was the case in 1890? Is that the case now? If you’d like more information on the story behind “Sacre’ Bleu,” the author’s research, the Impressionists and/or the color blue, you may want to visit www.SacreBleu.me But first, you should read the book; I highly recommend it! This is my fourth commissioned painting. It’s from a reference photo of Septenary Winery at Seven Oaks Farm in Greenwood, VA. My husband asked me to paint it for his childhood friend, Vincent Mazzola, who occasionally works at the vineyard; so I call it “Vincent’s Vineyard.” This winery has an interesting history. Situated on 109 acres of rolling hills surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is located just 15 minutes from Charlottesville. The storied tradition of Seven Oaks Farm began in the 1700’s with the opening of one of Virginia’s first taverns. The estate is a Virginia Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Perhaps the most intriguing story about Seven Oaks Farm is of the seven white oaks that once stood on the south lawn in front of the manor home. These majestic trees were each named for a Virginia president (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Zachary Taylor.) Actually, Virginia has produced eight presidents (the most of any state), but Woodrow Wilson was born too late (1856) to be included. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel destroyed all but one of the oaks. The Septenary website says, “Given the estate’s ties to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, it seems fitting that the lone surviving tree was the one named for Thomas Jefferson. That oak tree stands proudly on the property to this day.” Someday I hope to visit Vincent at his vineyard and paint that tree! |
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 |