Updates from Terri on Her Art Journey
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It seems that my “art journey” has come full circle—I’m back to photography. Autumn in New England is just incredible and the perfect subject for any camera. These are scenes from Lakeridge and Burr Pond on top of Burr Mountain in Torrington, Connecticut.
As you know, if you’ve been following me, my journey began in earnest just about a year ago when I joined Matt Tommey’s “Created to Thrive” mentoring group for Christian artists. It took about six months for me to appreciate how being filled with the Holy Spirit and co-creating with God are the first steps to thriving as an artist. I heard the Lord tell me to “just open your eyes, look and see” and “be an influencer.” That was the beginning of inspiration, and with the help of my daughter, April, we built this website and I started writing this blog about my journey. But, as I learned from Matt, I also need to “be skilled” to thrive as an artist. So, for the next six months I focused on taking painting lessons and reading about master artists, like Vincent Van Gogh. Because we were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and literally in lockdown, I looked for instructors who were teaching online. And I found some incredible teachers, including watercolorist Joan Iaconetti, landscape painter Rod Moore of Learn to Paint Academy, and the husband-and-wife team of Debbie and Brian Miller who taught me the value of painting EVERY DAY. Over the past six months I’ve learned a great deal from all of my instructors. And I’ve posted in my blog every week since March 8, 2021. It helps that I set 90-day goals for myself and, for the most part, have been able to achieve them. Currently, my goal is to build up enough inventory to list on Fine Art America in time for the holiday shopping season. Perhaps you’ll find something you like there? SHOP HERE My most recent additions to my “art store” are the photographs I took last weekend. As I mentioned, I’ve come full circle. Photography was my introduction to the visual arts more than two decades ago. When I get back to my Vegas studio next month, I hope to be able to use some of these photos as reference material for a painting. In the meantime, I’d like to publicly thank all of my art instructors who have brought me along in this journey. Most important, I thank God for providing such incredible subject matter in the nature that surrounds us and for inspiring me to create with Him. Whether it’s through photographs or paintings, A PICTURE REALLY IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. Don’t you agree?
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Fine Art America will reproduce any of my creations on a face mask. My favorite is this: “Red Rose In Camouflage.” What do you think of it? I think it could make a dandy Christmas stocking stuffer. Shop early. Christmas will be here before you know it!
Order now before the rush at: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/red-rose-in-camouflage-terri-thompson.html?product=face-mask One way to learn how to paint is to copy works of the great master artists. As part of my assignment for Rod Moore’s “Paint The Impressionists” challenge, I chose to copy this painting by Australian painter Arthur Streeton. The original, painted in 1890, is called “Near Heidelberg,” and is part of a collection at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Streeton painted this work from the hillside, close to where he then resided in Eaglemont. To the far left of the landscape, Streeton depicted the valley of the Yarra River, and it is to this area that the well-dressed men and women slowly make their way. I love how impressionists are able to tell a story without getting into great detail, and it’s further evidence of my motto: A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.
Before I began studying with Rod nearly a year ago, I’d never heard of Arthur Streeton. Rod is greatly influenced by the landscape paintings of Streeton, so it stands to reason that I might be, too. Born in 1867 (he died in 1943), Streeton was a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Unlike most artists of his time, Streeton’s paintings attracted high prices even during his lifetime. His paintings are among the most collectible of Australian artists and have commanded record auction prices. In April, 2021, Streeton’s “The Grand Canal,” painted in 1908, was auctioned for A$3.068 million. It was an honor for me to study Streeton's work and to copy his painting. Thank you for inspiring me, Sir Arthur Streeton (oh yeah, he was knighted in 1937). This week I will be studying impressionism and participating in Rod Moore’s “Paint The Impressionists” challenge. If you’d like, you can follow along at https://www.LearnToPaint.academy/pti
We will be copying works of painters from four schools of impressionists: the French (like Monet and Renoir), the Australian (such as Arthur Streeton of the Heidelberg School), the Russian (e.g. Isaac Levitan and Konstantin Korovin), and the American (born out of the plein air movement in California). Rod’s first assignment for us was to pick one example of an impressionist painting that we like, and I selected the one I’ve posted here, “Red Poppies” by the American artist Mary Cassatt because it combines two of my favorite subjects, flowers and landscapes. This is a good example of the loose, painterly approach the impressionists use in their paintings. Unlike other forms of representational art, such as photo realism or realism, impressionism does not attempt to capture every detail. Indeed, these paintings indicate rather than overstate the scene. The artists do not attempt to blend their brushworks, leaving an emotive quality that allows the viewer to fill in the gaps. John Cosby, a founding member of Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (of which I’m a member), says it best: “When a person stands in front of one of my paintings, I want that person to feel the wind and the heat I felt when I painted it.” Wow; I’d love to be able to paint like that! For more information on this style of painting, Rod recommends two books: “The Painterly Approach” by Bob Rohm and “Painting Methods of the Impressionists” by Bernard Dunstan. I’ve ordered both books and I’ll let you know if they’re any good. In the meantime, follow me this week as I tackle this painting challenge. |
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 |