Murmurings from the Cellar

The section "Murmurings from the Cellar" is a collection of entries about art-related topics. It is entirely random with no real forethought. This fact will become immediately obvious as I flit from here to there much in the same way I flit from one place to another on my canvas and paper. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own and for which I accept responsibility.

Click here to Show all Murmurings from the Cellar entries

or click below for a specific category of entries:
Introduction
Backgrounds
Color
Composition
Drawing
Edges
Shape
Texture
Watercolor

Flesh and Earth Tone Colors

One of the things that used to be very annoying was returning to my palette to find that the colors had begun to skin over making it necessary to do a small slit in the covering to get at fresh color. Then I began a practice of just adding fresh paint to each color pile. I didn't clean off the palette each time except for the mixing area. That method kept all the colors in a given spot and made it easier to go directly to the color I needed. Over time, however, my palette began to look like a sculpture as shown above. It dawned on me finally how much paint I was wasting. Paint is very expensive and getting more so.

My solution was rather simple. I do a lot of portrait work and believe that most skin tones are grays tinted with the primaries for color and white for value. Since the primaries constitue the basis for all colors, it seemed reasonable to me that by mixing all the leftover colors on my daily palette in to one big pile the result would be neutral colors ranging from cool to warm to an unidentifiable non-color. The non-color being one that could not be categorized as being in the yellow, blue or red family and could not be considered to be warm or cool with any certainty. I began to place this left-over paint in tubes which are available in various sizes in most good art supply stores. The result was that I was no longer wasting left-over paint. Soon I had a wide variety of grays that were very useful as earth tones in landscapes and other subjects. These neutrals also were also very effective in reducing the intensity of a color without changing a color. As green (the compliment of red) is useful in reducing the intensity of red and vice-versa, the same effect could be achieved by with a touch of a neutral to the red.

I experimented more with these neutrals as the base color for skin tones. I would take a warm or cool neutral and add a dominent color such as cadmium red and white using the red and the neutral to establish the darkest value of the color and white to raise the value to the desired level. The resulting color would be be put in a tube. I did this using a wide range of dominent colors from warm to cool and before long all that left-over paint that once was wasted was transformed in to a spectacular range of skin tones. A small example is shown above.

So began a practice of collecting all the left over paint from the palettes of my students at the end of each painting session to be put in a common mixing jar (baby food jars are ideal). When the jar is full it is mixed to its natural color and tinted to a desired dominent color before being placed in the tube. These tubes of color are for the use of the painting group so they can pick and choose for the session. At the end of the day, the process is repeated.

Murmurings: Introduction

Art is simply that, art. I wish there were formulas to make my work easier or a magic brush from which glorious paintings would automatically flow, but, so far, I have found none of the above. So anything I put down here is drawn from experience which never ceases to expand as each drawing or painting is successfully completed or tossed. There have been a shameful number in the tossed category. There are also quite a few "unfinished" works that hang around in hopes that I will get back to them and give them life. However, most of them are on life support with little hope of recovery. It's been said that good paintings come from experience and experience comes from a lot of bad paintings. Becoming a good artist is a journey. One should rejoice even in the less than successful paintings as they are stepping stones to better works.

Drawing is non-negotiable. It is either right or it is wrong.

Many years ago I studied with a very well known painter and muralist named Jay Datus. One of the many things I learned from him was the importance of white when doing portraits. He would never use pure white but would rather mix his own white. I have premixed my whites ever since. Squeeze out a generous amount of Titanium White. Add small amounts of raw umber and viridean and mix thoroughly until a cool ivory color is attained. This is an excellent color to use for tinting turning planes or planes in the shadow. Conversely, using the same process mix until a warm ivory color results. Works very well for those planes of warm light.

Gesso is normally used as a canvas primer. I use it fairly regularly in my watercolors. The effects of gesso can be seen in the watercolor paintings, "War Dance", "Force of Nature", "Summer to Winter II", "Navajo Girl in White Dress" and "Cabo". Sometimes I paint out unsatisfactory passages with the gesso and repaint the area. However, I usually use if for effect. In "Cabo", the exploding wave is gesso flipped on with a toothbrush and razor blade. In the other paintings mentioned, I poured thinned gesso into wet paint and allowed the mating to take place. It can be quite messy but the effects are sometimes breathtaking.

Here is a good way to experiment around with backgrounds when you are unsure of what you want. Using your digital camera, take a picture of your painting. Print two or three copies of the painting on glossy photopaper. Now, you can paint on the photo with your oils. Do several different background plans. Choose the one you like best and use it as a reference in doing your painting. Saves time and a lot of overworking and wipeouts.

Good paintings and drawings are simple in nature. The artist should try to make a maximum impact with a minimum amount of effort. I remember in my younger days being told the "golden rectangle" was the basis of all great compositions. To draw the "golden rectangle" one drew a square then extended two opposing sides then found the mid-point of one side of the square then using a compass draw an arc from point b to point c and on and on and on. From there, you could draw lines from here to there and back again to find the ideal place for a center of interest. That always seemed to me to be like running a high hurdle race. Miss one hurdle and you've lost. I think too many "artists becoming" look for formulas that they can follow and certainly there are no end to authors who will try to provide them. However, somewhere along the evolution of artistic growth, the artist skirts those kinds of roadblocks and becomes more responsive in his or her approach. Simplification and interesting arrangements of positive and negative shapes within the rectangle become almost second nature. A few minutes scribbling on a small sketchpad with the stump of a pencil and , bam, a composition is developed! The artist at that moment can see in his minds eye what the final painting will look like. From that point, the job becomes one of developing the shapes and poses and the real work begins.

I seldom use a hairdryer. It stops the watercolor dead in its tracks. I believe the watercolor should have the opportunity to fully express itself. Patience is a virtue.

Is learning how to draw a waste of time? It's a lot faster to scan, project, trace or use computers to do the work. It's an argument I've heard a lot especially from students who can't draw. The final product justifies the means. Who cares how the artist got to the finished painting? Besides, it takes an awfully long time to become a good draftsman, and in the end it's hard to sell a drawing. I guess those would be a defendable positions, but, to me, they are just cop-outs. Drawing, in my view, is the Number 1 principle of sound representational painting. It's been said, "Well drawn is well painted". Every artist should tatoo that to the back of his or her hand. The rub is that the work and time involved to become proficient in drawing is quite daunting. It is easy to say, "I just don't have the time". What's really being said is the passion isn't there. If the desire were strong enough priorities would have a way of sorting out. I've been drawing for nearly 60 years and am still trying to improve my line. It is a constant exercise the artist must do. Drawing is not like riding a bike. You can't lay down your pencil or brush for six months and expect to keep your skill level high. It always amazes me to find art students so reluctant to take drawing classes. Usually, it is a painting instructor that nudges the student towards a drawing class by telling the person not to come back to painting until they've learned how to draw. I have all my drawing students buy a 3" by 5" sketch book and urge them to make 5 or 6 quick drawings each day. Any subject is fine. They are told to spend no more than 2 minutes on any drawing. I know doing all those drawings is a big burden. Afterall, that is 10 to 15 minutes every day! How can they ever find the time. The point of the exercise is to train the eye and hand to work responsively without too much interference from that pesky brain. Learning how to see is paramount to being able to draw. Looking at something is quite different from seeing something. Once the real joy of drawing is an important part of the artist's life, drawing becomes as habit forming as the strongest drug! It is an addiction that will lead to better and better paintings. To me, drawing is grand fun!

Watercolor is a partnership between the artist and the watercolor. It is very different from oils in that regard. In oils, the painter is truly the master. Oils will do exactly what the painter tells them to do and nothing more. Try to mold watercolor entirely to your will and it will rebel. It must have its say if its true beauty is to be revealed. That's not to say the painter can't participate in the process through the application of sound principals (drawing, composition, shape, value, texture, color, etc.). However, the unexpected should be the norm. Watercolor is just colored water and by definition very fluid. It chases any moisture on the paper and will produce random effects totally unexpected by the painter. Such results are often unsettling to the novice watercolorist and produce an "urge to purge". The painter becomes panicky or at least overly concerned with "correcting" what they see as a blemish on their preconceived idea of what their painting should look like. More often than not matters are made worse by attempting corrections. I have learned to live with these surprises. Just press on. As the painting develops, these expressions by the watercolor usually become insignificant or make wonderful additions to the composition.

Tree bark must feel and look like tree bark.

Shapes are either positive or negative. Positive shapes being the shape of something and negative shapes being the shape of nothing. Negative shapes are the neglected step-child. Get the negative shape of the space between the bottom of the eye socket and the fold of the cheek and nose wrong and the entire face is wrong. All the shapes have to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. If it doesn't fit you must acquit.

The way I usually begin to draw a portrait is to let my pencil or charcoal lightly wander responsively into every nook and cranny of the head without stopping to focus on details. In this way, I get a feel of the attitude of the head and the location of the features. Then I begin to develop the eyes beginning with the eye that is closest to me. I really focus intently on that eye with no consideration of any other feature. I look at the small shapes of the whites aroung the iris and examine how they relate to each other reletive to the orb of the iris. Is one corner higher than another? What is the horizontal alignment of one end of the eye to the other. I then move the other shapes surrounding the whites and the iris and carefully develop each shape until all the shapes within the eysocket are completed to the satisfaction of my eyes. I then move to the other eye paying close attention to the space between the eyes using the eye I just finished as as a measurement guide and complete it in a similar manner. I pay close attention to how each eye lines up with the other horizontaly. I compare the size of the second eye to the first until I am satisfied that they are correct. I now have a series of shapes that I can use to align and measure the rest of the features with. I work outward toward the sides of the head. This gives me the relief from being cramped within a fence. From there a good likeness is almost assured.

Paintings and drawings are usually rectangles consisting of length and width. Depth is an illusion. Every square inch of the rectangle is part of a shape. The sum total of the shapes cover the rectangle. Pretty elementary when you think of it. How the artist arranges the shapes and gives them color and value determines the the overall effectiveness of the final work. Creating interest should be the artist's goal. Reduce the number of shapes, trap the lights or the darks and make sure the abstract patterns are interesting from across the room.

Good edgework provides smooth pathways for the eye to move from shape to shape preventing that cut-out, pasted-on look. That being said, Winslow Homer never saw a hard edge he didn't like. Soft edges are hard to find in his paintings and one is hard-pressed to find fault in his work.

I keep all my old brushes especially the long filberts because, over time and much use, the tips wear down and get ragged. I find these old "friends" have an afterlife for making excellent edge transitions. Another brush I really like is Langnickle's long flat, 5590 Series, all sizes. It is kind of half way between sable and bristle. While some oil painters may characterize the brush as "wimpy", I find they make very interesting brush strokes. They are excellent for edge work and for softening the features in portraits. The brush is fragile and becomes a filbert very quickly and that is a good thing.

Students often ask me, "What color should I use for the background?"
Background colors can be analogous to the subject in which case there is usually good harmony resulting in a somewhat monotone painting. Neutral colors are also good choices as they will recede bringing the subject closer. Opposite colors are the third choice. Opposite usually refers to temperature (cool vs warm). Careful consideration must be given to dominance. In other words, from a compositional standpoint one would not want equally dominant warm and cool colors. Variety is more interesting.

Yesterday my student, Janie, and I had a discussion on backgrounds. Janie likes to do her backgrounds first before getting too envolved with her main subject matter. I usually go straight to my chosen center of attention and develop it rather completely first adding just notes of backgound while I work. I find when I do that my back grounds remain secondary in importance and are more supportive to the composition. Backgrounds are akin to choosing a good frame. I believe you frame a picture rather than picture a frame. So many otherwise good paintings are greatly diminished by poor framing. Likewise, lack of attention the the background can be the demise of a painting.

Black, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber and Sepia. These are colors I rarely use. They are not part of my regular palette. My reason is that they are too convenient when placed on the palette. I especially do not recommend that they be used by beginners. In my classes, I have seen my students turn their paintings into muddy messes through inappropriate use of these nasty colors. Sepia, in my opinion, is the ugliest color ever devised and a total waste of money. Stunning blacks can be created with mixtures of primary and secondary colors (ex. Alizarin Crimson and Thalo Green; Transparent Oxide Red and Indigo; Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue). Earth colors like Raw Umber and Burnt Umber are easily mixed using combinations of blues and Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, and Transparent Oxide Red.