MR. HACKWORTH

This painting is 18" x 24" acrylic on canvas of the father in law of  Nancy Hackworth, our wonderful friend and neighbor when we lived on 12th court in North Bend, Oregon.  It was done from a photograph and hangs in Nancy's house.

LLOYD BEIL

This portrait is 18" x 24" oil on canvass of an old friend of mine Lloyd Beil of Portland, Oregon.  Lloyd was a native Portlander who knew all the best places to go and he drove me to all the best art supply stores and frame shops.  I painted this for him as a present for being a great friend.

GRAHAGM KEENE

This portrait was 18" x 24" oil on canvas.  Graham Keene was the brother of Emily, our sweet neighbor who lived across the street from us when we lived on Oak Street in North Bend, Oregon.  They were old family southerners from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  She really knew how to make old fashioned mint juleps with real crushed mint leaves.  Graham worked as an illustrator/animator for Disney for 35 years and gave me great advice about using color.  Both have passed away but we have fond memories of our friendship.

LYNN COHEN ARTIST

Uniball pen and watercolor on 11"x 15" Canson paper.
This is a portrait of artist Lynn Cohen who is a member of the SBS group.  I love her work and learn so much from it.  In SBS we have decided to run things ourselves for a while until the next term begins.  One of the things we are doing is portraits of each other.  This one is based on a photograph she supplied.

PAINTED LADIES

One of these days I'll get around to visiting San Francisco so I can paint these beautiful old Victorian houses in person.  Until then I have to make do with photographs and add my own touch to it.  This was done using a Uniball pen and watercolors in a 8 1/4" x 11" Moleskine sketchbook.

HEIDI LIKAR ARTIST CLOSE UP

This is the photograph of Heidi Likar that I worked from.  I decided early on that I would leave out the camera strap around her shoulders.  If it was important to her I could always add it in later.  I mentioned this in yesterday's post and I want to be more emphatic about it today...when working from a photograph it is important to use Picasa 3 program or any program that allows you to view the photo zoomed in.  You can really see all the little changes in color on an object as the light travels around it then.

I start with the eyes:

 I only adjust the colors if they are too outrageous but I still want to have an exciting colorful look.  The color of her eyeglasses really throw a lot of purple and purple variations out there and that works to bring attention to the eyes.  In this photo Heidi has a strong penetrating gaze. To me that is what makes this pose powerful. As I study the shapes I apply the colors I see.  I sometimes just use my finger to wipe a color that is too strong. I work across to the other side and downward.  It is usually very normal when I paint to loose the likeness of the subject.  It is very important not to get panicky at that point.  What is actually happening is that you are unable to sustain such focused concentration.  I usually just take a break and come back to it.

 Below is the finished drawing. 9" x 12" on watercolor paper.

THE COLORS OF KATE SIMPSON - ARTIST

Uniball pen and watercolors on paper 9" x 12".  Kate Simpson is a klassmate at SBS and her artwork is terrific.  She views my work as "psychedelic" (whatever that is) and that is fine with me.  She called me the "King of Color" which made me laugh.  A few questions from Donna Schulte and other Klassmates were posed as to how I choose to use colors in my art.
I think drawing and painting are the same thing.  So the first part of the process is to draw.  I use the pen which forces me to really spend a lot of time looking.  I spend more time looking then drawing for sure. There is a huge difference between drawing from a photograph and drawing from a live model.  But out of necessity I use photographs and I don't worry about it the way others do.  No big deal.  Relax...
To me getting a likeness is just that.  A likeness.  I like the drawing to RESEMBLE whatever I'm drawing, but it doesn't have to be photo realistic.  That is all about seeing and trying to get the relative shapes fitting together.  In Kate's portrait I just try to make sure one shape is placed correctly next another. When I'm satisfied with the drawing I brake out the watercolor.  I get asked a lot about what brand I use.  Honestly I think as long as you use artist grade instead of student grade they are all great.  One thing I do differently than other water colorists is that I really lay it on thick.  I may put five or more layers on top.  I don't care if the paper wrinkles or warps.  If that is a concern I will use  watercolor block paper. But I like crinkly paper. I can't over emphasize the need for everyone to just have fun and not drive yourself crazy over things like expensive art materials.  For me it's more about no choice but to make the art.  Show up and get it done.  

When I first started reading about watercolor a lot of artists warned of it's "unforgiving nature".  Sounds like a threat, right.  So, what...  if I put down something on watercolor paper and it's "wrong" that's it...I'm doomed?  Bah, I don't by it.  That's too neurotic.  The only thing I guard against is muddying up the colors.  All the rest are happy accidents that are incorporated into the drawing. As long as I try my best then I'm having fun.  I love being in the uncertainty of the moment.  When things are feeling hopeless and I'm falling, then I know I'm ok.  Instead of feeling bad at this moment, I feel good because I know this is the creative process.  It's not accounting for Pete's sake!

In looking at the photo of Kate I view it in the Picasa 3 program.  I zoomed it up to see what colors I see.  When drawing from a photo I try to see how the light travels around the head.  Remember you are not painting Kate's head, eyes, nose, etc.  You are painting the EFFECT of the light spilling over these forms.  For quick fun paintings like this I just use 3 degrees of tonality: Shadow, halftone and light.  David Hockney (I urge you to look at his work) uses various shades of purple for his shadow areas.  So I did this around the eyes, cheeks and chin.  Anywhere I could see shadow (and I squint when I look) I put a mixture of purple, red, burnt sienna.  I use a piece of bristol board paper or watercolor paper to the side and test out how the color mixtures work and look before I put them on the drawing. (Later if it looks wild enough I draw over this test bristol board and get interesting drawings or just utter crap).  I adjust the colors if I have to on the palate or even on the drawing itself.  I don't worry about it looking too neat. After I put in the shadows I repeat the process for the halftones(cheeks, nose, around the mouth) using a basic skin tone formulas of white, cadmium yellow and red.  Then for the highlights I use white and yellow ochre or naples yellow.  On the background I just put down the colors I thought went well against the head and would reflect what I imagine would make the viewer happy.

So for this kind of sketchbook painting I do play with it very loosely, I do go by my mood and improvise a lot.  I'm not trying to duplicate. Rather I'm trying to re-create . I like it loud, bold and happy!

What I do lot of is copy the work of artists whose work I like.  I don't pass it off as my own, of course, but it is a fun way to get used to using the tools and colors.  I recommend the work of Elaine De Kooning, Xenia Hausner, van Gogh, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, David Hockney just to name a few. Some books on color that I use are:

Color Healing by Lilian Verner-Bonds

Colors For Your Every Mood by Leatrice Eiseman

Artist's Color Manual by Simon Jennings

Vincent van Gogh's letters to Theo

I read that Adolf Hitler said "Anyone who sees and paints a sky green and pastures blue ought to be sterilized."  This made me so mad that I have since gone out in total freedom to paint using whatever colors I wanted to! I try to entertain the viewer and make them feel good.

I hope this explains how I use color.  If you have any questions just ask in the comment section and I'll answer them.