Capturing the Essence

View from the studio window

The clouds this morning reminded me of Michelangelo's ceiling...

"Morning Light"

A recent small 8"x6" painting of the trees right outside my studio

   Someone recently asked me, if I was the last person on earth would I still paint. And the answer was surprisingly yes...even if I had to draw in the dirt.( as I assume there would be no paint without people to make the paint : ) I realized through pondering the question that ever since I was little, I had to express outwardly through my hands in some way the things I absorbed visually from the world, that without doing so I would become like a river damed up and stagnant. It needs to pour it out in appreciation of what is seen and experienced...I think it is the same for many artists, it grabs hold of you when you are young and becomes a part of you like breathing.

Painting is my way of saying Amen visually, to say I am in agreement with the beauty and mystery of this world. That I see the person, really see them sitting in front of me and that I want to know and experience the story of who they are...to acknowledge that everything is profound and very simple at the same time, extraordinary and yet available for every person on this earth to notice and take in to their soul and be changed by it.

And what an immense priveledge it is that we do get to share it with others and them with us...

I can't count the number of times I have stood before a painting and been truly affected by it, felt my soul and awareness expanding and felt that I understood life and painting a little more clearly...

We, as humans and artists in every medium, create from that undefinable spark within, and if we are true to it, it ignites that flame within someone else who then creates in their own way. Maybe through painting, maybe through the simple paying attention of what's in front of them in this moment. I think God waits for us to notice such things, such moments, and take them in, be changed by them for the better and in some way , in our own way, pour it back out into the world...

who knows what an amazing effect it can have on an individual. I am grateful to every artist who has inspired me through giving so much of themselves in their art and sharing how they see the world...It's helped me to see more clearly.

 On a recent trip to Ca I went to the Masters of The American West show with friends and Artists Morgan and JoAnn Weistling and their daughters.Their youngest daughter Sienna and I were looking at a her father's painting...there is something about the purity of children that just puts everything into the right perspective... 

As I held her, I would point to one of the characters in the multi- figurative painting and ask her what she thought they were doing, what they were thinking, where they were going...she started to get so excited talking about what came to life in her mind and imagination from viewing that painting and I was reminded this is what art is really about...

It awakens, enlives the viewer , makes them feel connected to others...Being 4 years old she couldn't appreciate yet the technical beauty of the brushwork and value patterns, but she saw the essence...It reminded me that the essence is what's most important, everything is a tool to point the way to that...

I was unaware that Morgan took a photo of this special moment between Sienna and me until he sent it to me, and when I look at it , I am reminded of the message I received that day and carry into the studio from the enthusiasm of a small four year old girl...

Photo and painting by Morgan Weistling

" Imagination is a very high sort of seeing, which does not come by study, but by the intellect being where and what it sees, by sharing the path, or circuits of things through forms, and so making them translucid to others"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

" Instructions for living a life.

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it."

~ Mary Oliver

" Art is , after all, only a trace - like a footprint which shows that one has walked bravely and in great happiness"

~ Robert Henri

Painting Adventures in New England

Well, It's been an amazing month with many art adventures and since this is my first blog post, be prepared for a long one with lots of pictures! Some Sargent's and Schmid's to name a few...
I travelled to Vermont this April to teach a workshop and do some painting with Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik. Every time I'm there, I feel an immense gratitude for being able to study with these two master artists. Not only do they have an exceptional knowledge of the technical aspects of painting, but they both possess a dedicated passion for the process of creating and what emanates from a steady focus and appreciation of the subject. I am always inspired beyond words at Richard and Nancy's pursuit of the beauty, truth, and authenticity that encompasses great painting...
Actress Jane Seymour and her friend Cheri Ingle (an Emmy nominated costume designer) met me up there to do some painting with Richard and Nancy. Jane, Cheri, and I have been friends for a while and when we paint together, the principles from Alla Prima are always floating about the room verbally so they were both very excited to paint with the master himself.
When we first walked into Richard's studio we were met with the most beautiful painting on his easel that he recently completed...

It was particularly moving considering the recent events in japan..

The head and hands on this painting are so small , but painted with such boldness and the edgework was a delight to the eye...

The light in Richard's studio comes from some large north windows above the easel and is exquisite to paint in...Krisen Thies who represents Richard and Nancy at West Wind Fine Art also joined us for the day...

We watched Richard paint a demo in the morning of his good friend John Adams (who you might recognize from The Captain's Portrait dvd )

                                                                   Richard's Palette

During breaks, Richard often talks about his ideas regarding painting...I hope that one day, he writes another book  expanding upon his insights...something akin to the Art Spirit by Henri

John is such a joyful and thoughtful soul, always with a spiritual insight, an observation on nature, or a witty joke to share..he and Richard get into some great philosophical discussions ...

Which usually end with something humorous!

Jane and Nancy...two beautiful ladies who love art!

Jane, Kristen and Richard looking at some of Jane's work on an ipad...gives a good view of Richard's palette...

A beautiful portrait in the studio...

      This is a portrait of Tim Newton, titled "The Curator". Tim is on the board of directors of the Salmagundi Club in New York  that holds the annual American Masters show. 

                                                     Richard said this is a must have book !

 In the afternoon, all of us painted John in Richard's studio...

Nancy did a stunning little painting that really captured John ...

Nancy's painting

Here is a quick demo Richard knocked out in 15 min from my view to show the importance of a strong initial block in... earlier he stated "Painting is like playing chess, how you begin is very important"

                                            my painting study...a bit of glare on the painting ...

Jane's painting...

Cheri's painting..

Richard, Jane, Cheri and John ( Richard is looking at his lovely wife Nancy here : ))

Happy artists...I can't think of a better way to spend the day : )

After painting, Jane, Cheri, and I went on a walk with Richard. He talked about his thoughts on art...always a treat...

Hearing Richard speak  thoughtfully on the pursuit of art as we walked through the quiet New England countryside at sunset, after a day of painting in his studio, was so enthralling...

As I looked up at the trees while listening, I felt such an immense gratitude and had a profound sense that  I was living in a painting at that moment.. breathing color and moving with painted forms...seeing beauty in each tree's distinct portrait and every shade of grey of the departing winter.

It is a moment I will never forget...

Afterwards, Kristen treated us to a homemade dinner with fresh seafood from Cape Cod...It was a feast and the best salmon I've ever tasted since living in Alaska..thanks Kristen!

The next day we were met with an array of color as we stepped into Richard's studio to find a table pouring with flowers...

Richard graciously did demos for each of us and as I watched him paint a flower for the first time I had an epiphany...I had never painted a flower  until that day...as much as I am intoxicated by the natural world, painting flowers had never appealed to me.They seemed, to me, inanimate compared to painting a person...

Three things happened that morning to change that. First, I saw a small painting that Richard had just finished of wildflowers, they were painted with such expression and so painterly, the way I love to paint figures and nude studies...there was such an immediacy and the painting reminded me of a movement of music... an ascending transition of a Chopin sonata...

The second thing that happened is that I watched Richard paint a pansy.I saw the care and delicacy as he considered and formed the edges and color transitions and when he said painting pansies reminded him of painting children's faces something clicked for me. I saw flowers differently than I had ever seen them before...The last thing that happened was I set up my still life before lunch and when I returned afterwards to paint, one of the flowers was hanging it's head on the table about to die...

I can't quite explain, but at that moment I realized everything is a portrait of something living, something transitory and something precious to behold...

here is Richard's painting of the wildflowers....

 

Detail

My palette with some great colors added by Richard...

Richard painting a demo from my view...

                                                          The view from my easel...

Listening to and watching the master at work...

                                                              Richard's Pansy....

     Richard painting a demo for Jane from her view...

A beautiful small painting by Nancy in Richard's studio

he showed the different ways to blend color....

His favorite palette knives...

Showing us how a palette knife stroke can be laid down and a brush stroke can be placed on top of it without losing the integrity of the initial stroke...

Having fun painting flowers! Nancy walked over and saw what Richard was doing and let out a squeal of delight! : )

Nancy's beautiful start...

I think she did this in about 30 minutes...

Jane did a great job on her flowers...

                                                Cheri also did a fantastic job...

And I forgot to take a picture of mine... It's drying at Richards, but I painted my first flower . I'll post later...

Jane and Richard

A great day of painting was had by all!

 We took a break to go visit Nancy's studio on the other side of the house ...on the way there I photographed this beautiful large painting of hers that was part of the Inspiring Figures exhibition at The Butler Institute of American Art...

the color is amazing in this painting...reminded me of Cecilia Beaux...

Next to it was this waterfall painting of Richards...I saw him paint this from life last May ( for those of you on facebook I have progression pictures of this being painted from life ) This painting is currently being exhibited at the American Masters Show at the Salmagundi Club in New York.

Nancy gave us a look at all she has been working on in her studio, what a treat!

She is as beautiful as her paintings...

Some of her many gorgeous alla prima paintings...

Nancy took the time to talk about composition regarding still life with Jane, Cheri, and me...She is a gifted teacher...

One of her little jems... not finished, she said... I think it's perfect the way it is!

another beauty...

Nancy's alla prima figure paintings resonate with an emotional intensity and always seem to embody a peaceful state of being in the subject...

Jane, Nancy, and Cheri in Nancy's studio : )

A stunning original painting by Dan Gerhartz that was hanging in Nancy's studio...

Detail... It was really hard to tear my eyes away from this...

                                      Nancy and Jane with one of Nancy's recent paintings....

Dinner after a day of painting...we were all so tired, but had fun talking art over a great meal and celebrating both Kristen's and Cheri's birthdays...

Even after a full day of painting and teaching, Richard continued to impart his wisdom in art over dinner....he has such a wealth of knowledge.

On the drive back to the B&B, we talked about how grateful we were for his and Nancy's generosity in sharing that knowledge with us...

   The Birthday girls, Kristen and Cheri

I took these two portraits of Richard and Nancy during dinner and felt that they really captured each of their distinct personalities...Richard, the thinker and very intellectual and Nancy, emanating light and kindness and enveloped by light...

Well, after two fantastic days I felt really warmed up to teach my workshop at the Village Arts of Putney

This is the place where the Putney Painters meet regularly to paint together...a group formed by Richard and Nancy and includes many well known and accomplished artists.

The first time I painted with the group, I was moved by the kindness, humility, and dedication of this close knit group of artists. It's such a special place just to be, I am honored to teach there. I had a great group of students and the three days passed much  too quickly...

Portrait Painting Day

                                                             Figure Painting Day

The view from the barn where the workshop is held...

Thanks to Captain John (model at Richards) and his wife Penelope for organizing and providing this wonderful space for artists to gather and paint together!

John, me, Penelope, and friend, artist Daniel Keys who was also teaching a workshop

Daniel taught a still life painting workshop right after mine. We have been doing back to back workshops for the past couple years in Putney and It's always a lot of fun. It's great for the students, who travel from all over the country and even outside of the US, to get two workshops back to back, one on portrait painting and one on still life. Daniel and I take a very similar approach to painting and many of our principles overlap.I watched one of the demos he did in his workshop and it was lovely...

 Daniel and Lori Woodward Simons are putting together an EBook  of this demo that will be available soon. Lori is a gifted writer, who has contributed articles to many of the major art publications so this is sure to be a great EBook! Here's some more info from Lori's blog 

                                                                         Daniel's demo

The weekend after I taught my workshop was a special two day Putney Painters. Everyone did amazing work. Richard did a large portrait, finishing the face the first day and completing the torso and hands the second day.

Beginning with clean and vibrant color...

               He delineated the necklace with a few deliberate, bold strokes of the brush...

To achieve the initial look of the lace blouse, Richard rubbed out the paint letting the raw canvas show through giving the visual impression of the white lace.

some great brushwork...

We all took time out to watch Richard paint the hands...

Our Lovely model Krystyna...

Sometimes the best poses can be captured when the model takes a break and is unaware that she is being watched...

This is Charlie Hunter's painting, who is a member of the Putney Painters...It had a lovely quality that reminded me of famed illustrator Bernie Fuchs, whose work I really love...

You can see Kathy Anderson's painting on the left side of the picture and artist RoseMary Ladd is painting next to Richard. To the right is Stephanie Birdsall who was visiting from Arizona...
In retrospect, I wish I had photographed everyones work as there were many beautiful paintings, but the blog was an afterthought...

Richard's painting after the two day session...

Richard and Krystyna 

This is my painting from the session, I painted only when Richard was cleaning his palette or putting out paint, I didn't want to miss anything!

Nancy's beautiful painting of Krystyna, which sold right off the easel

Daniel and I studying Nancy's beautiful painting.Artist Lori Larue working on her painting in the forground

Artist Katie Whipple watching Nancy work on her painting...Katie is a 20 year old artist who is studying at the Grand Central Academy in NY...she's amazingly talented. Watch out for her in the future folks!

Katie, Nancy,and me

Although this is a serious group of painters, there's always a lot of fun to be had during the sessions!

Nancy and artist Carol Arnold

After a great couple of days of painting...Nancy, Daniel, me, Katie, and Richard

I had to include this candid shot of Richard and Nancy...they are truly an inspiration in every way

Their love of life, painting, teaching, and of each other inspires us all.

Thank you both for all you give...

My last day was spent in Boston with artist Jeanne MacFarland who whisked me around to The Isabella Stewart  Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It was a quick trip as I only had a few hours before catching a plane...

The Gardner is an amazing museum that houses many Sargents including El Jaleo. There is also a whole room of Zorn's etchings...unfortunately, they do not allow photography...

The museum of Fine Arts in Boston just unveiled a new wing that has an entire room of Sargents, where photography is allowed and the paintings are lit wonderfully...Seeing Sargents well lit, I found myself amazed at the vibrancy of color in his paintings.Here are quite a few pictures to enjoy....

       It was wonderful to see this painting with the original vases that Sargent painted  beside it...

Detail

                                                      The Master and His Pupils

                                                                          Detail

                                                                I LOVE these hands....

I couldn't resist taking a picture of these two girls that were sitting in the museum. I would've loved to paint them ...

Studying Sargent's drawings....

Whew! This was a long post, but I hope everyone enjoys all of the paintings...and may you enjoy each day that you get the wonderful privilege to be alive, appreciate the world and the people around you, and create from the truest part of your being.

Inspirations...

~ Michelle

" Art is the giving by each man of his evidence to the world. Those who wish to give, love to give, discover the pleasure of giving. Those who give are tremendously strong."

~ Robert Henri ( The Art Spirit)

" There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented. Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-posts toward greater knowledge."

~ Robert Henri ( The Art Spirit )