tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14782039222427512662024-03-13T23:45:28.250-07:00terry miura • studio notesTerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-50186716663108068412018-02-04T22:52:00.002-08:002019-03-08T20:41:17.785-08:00Studio Notes is Moving!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi everyone, thank you for reading Studio Notes!<br />
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I wanted to let you know that I am moving this blog to a new platform under FASO. In recent years parts of my website have become more fragmented and it's not as easy to make sure everything is working together, so I've decided to move the whole thing to FASO for a more streamlined experience.<br />
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The move is gradual and as of this writing, the website is not complete. But I've started posting new blog posts over there, and will be continuing to do so from now on, so please check it out.<br />
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I will keep this blog as an archive so you can come back to it if you want to read an older article, but I won't be adding new posts here.<br />
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I hope you'll follow me to the new site - there's already a few posts and the one I just wrote is a process thing (of the above painting I just did today) so you may find it interesting.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://terrymiura.fineartstudioonline.com/blog/129522/my-neighbors-bananas" target="_blank">Here's the link to the new Studio Notes!</a></span></b></div>
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see you there~</div>
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Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-19063033760063395302018-01-26T22:28:00.000-08:002018-01-30T17:32:27.970-08:00Come to the Dark Side...or Not.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZbV9sTl29U/WmwXxaeDlmI/AAAAAAAAB9g/4yEWCmBhttY9Id9vhKfP66vymgTCDAR_ACLcBGAs/s1600/_DSC5351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1437" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZbV9sTl29U/WmwXxaeDlmI/AAAAAAAAB9g/4yEWCmBhttY9Id9vhKfP66vymgTCDAR_ACLcBGAs/s400/_DSC5351.jpg" width="358" /></a></div>
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When I paint the figure with the intention of ending up with a showable painting, I always do a couple of color studies first. They not only give me a good feel for the mood, and a sense of whether the painting is even worth pursuing at a larger size.</div>
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The mood of the painting depends a lot on color choices and the big design elements and these are the things that I pay attention to in the studies, not details.</div>
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One of the first big decisions I have to make is whether to have a dark background or a light one. The value(s) of the background changes the mood of the painting entirely, so I like to see the comparison before I commit one way or the other. </div>
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More often than not, I end up choosing the darker background for the dramatic contrasts and impact, but I still like to explore the light option to see if there's something there that I failed to imagine.</div>
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See how easy it is to see and understand the differences when we have both side by side. And how significant they are. The time and effort put into doing these little color studies is totally worth it. </div>
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If I didn't do them, I would be wondering "what if?" throughout the process of the painting, and I may flip flop several times, trying both light and dark backgrounds on the same surface. Which, as a process, may or may not be a good thing. But on a larger canvas (which sometimes the show-bound paintings are) that is a lot of paint and time and frustration and indecision I can do without. Especially if I have deadlines!</div>
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Here's another pair. All four I'm posting today are 12 x 12 inches. The final painting I will do may be 20 x 20 or 24 x 24. </div>
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After doing both the light and the dark options, and I still can't decide which I like better, I may very well end up doing final versions of both. </div>
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It may seem tedious to do multiple color studies before going to finish, but the benefits are enormous. I highly recommend getting into the habit of doing them!</div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-73279773680081162582018-01-21T20:28:00.001-08:002018-01-26T21:42:59.890-08:00Mules, Cylinders, Brushstrokes and Leaving Stuff Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zZVWQHN2FQA/WmVcGmZHHNI/AAAAAAAAB9E/nIhVsyLv450myV682NekTK3K-HtyV0uRwCLcBGAs/s1600/L1738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1436" height="297" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zZVWQHN2FQA/WmVcGmZHHNI/AAAAAAAAB9E/nIhVsyLv450myV682NekTK3K-HtyV0uRwCLcBGAs/s400/L1738.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Ready for Work</i>, 18 x 24 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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This painting is currently on view at the Harrington Gallery at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton, Ca. The group show is all about the Eastern Sierra pack trips. For the last seven or eight years I have been going up to the mountains with a group of painters to spend a week up in high elevation (10,000 ~ 11,000ft) and painting the Edgar Payne country. </div>
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The exhibition features plein air sketches and studio works by some 25 artists who have been on the annual expedition in the past, and I have to say, it is a privilege to be counted among these great artists.</div>
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So the painting is above is a studio piece that I did using photo references and sketchbook notes. These pack mules haul our gear (art supplies, tents, etc) as well as a week's supply of food, and we hike in with a light day pack on our backs. </div>
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Not being all that familiar with horses or mules, I found it a great challenge to try and capture their gesture without overworking the small forms. </div>
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I was interested in presenting the mood - sunny, dusty and atmospheric. Pushing the atmosphere by flattening out the shadow side and obscuring much of the information - without getting too dark - accomplished this, and at the same time, allowed me to keep literal detail information to a minimum.</div>
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All the visual information of the "stuff" is in the light. I was very careful to modulate the values to show the volume of the beasts. Also I followed the form with my brushstrokes to help with the illusion where necessary.</div>
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On the main mule, the strokes describing the legs go with the form, rather than across it, whereas the strokes describing the drum-like torso go around the form. There's good reason for this; They're both cylinders, but the torso is foreshortened, and the legs are not. </div>
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When painting cylinders, I often prefer to go with the form if I don't have a foreshortening situation, (not a rule set in stone, but my tendency) to describe instead other ideas such as <i>flow </i>and <i>rhythm.</i></div>
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I can show the cylindrical form by modulating values, and most of the time, that's enough. With a forshortened cylinder, sometimes I need more visual cues than just modulating values, so I use my brushstroke direction to help accomplish that.</div>
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In the atmospheric shadow area where details disappear and everything goes flat, my brush strokes more or less go in the same direction, to emphasize the flatness. By not distinguishing the mules' head/neck area from the areas below them, I'm telling the viewer that I'm not painting heads and necks and background - I am painting the veil of dust catching light in front of the said heads and necks and background. </div>
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This is also why the values of this area can't be very dark–because the dust <i>is </i>lit up by sunlight.</div>
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Still, must be darker than the lit parts of the mules if we are to suggest what's behind this translucent veil of lit up dust is all shadow stuff.</div>
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If you look at the legs of the mules on the right, we do see dark shapes within the dusty shadow. I tried obscuring those just like I did with the left side of the canvas, but then it looked like too much information was lost, and it was <i>too </i>simplified. So I brought some distinction back into the shapes. </div>
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It makes sense, actually, if you consider that those legs are closer to the viewer than the ones on the left. And there may just be more dust kicked up over there, too. </div>
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I hope I was able to convey the fact that what look like casual and spontaneous-looking brush strokes have logic behind them, and same with the values and edges. I try to end up with fresh-looking applications, but in reality, you can't do it thoughtlessly. And more often than not, the final look of any given area is the result of multiple attempts.</div>
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The exhibition runs through February 17th. There are some amazing works in this show, so if you're in the area, be sure to check it out! </div>
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More info here: http://www.firehousearts.org/gallery/current-exhibits/</div>
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Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-70998897642181066582018-01-18T18:11:00.004-08:002018-01-18T18:11:51.359-08:00Improv from Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Study for <b><i>The Traveller,</i></b> 12 x 9 inches, oil on linen</div>
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A couple of months ago, we had a long pose session (6 hrs) where we had a clothed model take a seated pose in my studio. He was a dapper fellow, skinny jeans and Italian shoes and all. </div>
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The sketch above is a pretty literal depiction of how he looked. I actually tried to be faithful to what I saw, in terms of colors and values. Making an accurate visual record is not important to me, but once in a while I like to do it if only to prove to myself that I still can.</div>
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So the above oil sketch took about 40 - 50 minutes (2 sets of 20 or 25 min.) and at 12 x 9 inches, it's not very big. My aim was to practice accurate, literal depiction - true, it's not rendered and I didn't paint details, but there's nothing subjective about the drawing and colors. </div>
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As I was painting, I started to think about the narrative. He was sitting on a trunk, and that hat he was wearing suggested to me the theme of a traveller of some sort. May be he's waiting for a train. May be he's just arrived to America, disembarked a ship and is waiting to be processed on Ellis Island, but he doesn't know what comes after that. All kinds of storylines popped into my head, and chatting about them with my fellow painters made for a lively painting session full of imaginative plot lines and character development.</div>
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So in my mind, the model became a new immigrant to America, may be in the 1920s... I'm no historian so I can't claim accuracy of detail, but images from books and movies helped me to make alterations to his clothing.</div>
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The skinny jeans became baggy brown trousers, the stylish shirt-and-jacket combination became tired and careworn, and the snappy new hat became brown and well-travelled. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>The Traveller</i></b>, 24 x 18 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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Once the main character was more or less worked out, I improvised the environment in which he existed. I thought there should be other travellers around, wearing dark cloaks and scarves. Sitting on trunks or just standing around, waiting for.... something.</div>
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I chose to paint it in earth tones to suggest an older time, which helped to pull all the elements together. Grays and browns harmonize without much effort, yet careful modulation of values is necessary to avoid shapes getting too jumpy. A subtler shifts in colors and values within a given shape helps to keep things from looking oversimplified. </div>
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Compositionally, I wanted to group together the figures by connecting the darks. There are darkly clothed figures around the main figure, which sets him up nicely in terms of value contrast and amount of detail. (The surrounding figures get very little detail, if at all.) </div>
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Even though our main guy's eyes are hidden in the shadows, we see much of his face in the light. In comparison, I chose to increase the amount of anonymity of the rest of the group by obscuring their faces by cropping, or turning them away from the viewer. </div>
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One of my favorite compositional devices is juxtaposing a large passive area (foreground) against smaller active areas. The large foreground with the cast shadows is meant to invite the viewer into the picture, and at the same time suggest the presence of still more figures outside the picture. </div>
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I was very happy with this painting - it's 24 x 18, which is much bigger than the original sketch. But I was able to do most of it with the model sitting in front of me, which I think was very helpful in keeping the brush strokes fresh - I tend to not get really tight when I'm painting from life. (Not enough time to overwork it!) </div>
Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-18876451652510769142018-01-16T21:31:00.000-08:002018-01-16T21:31:10.598-08:00Quick Gestures in Oil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy New Year everyone~! Sorry, it's been forever since my last post. I keep thinking I need to post more often but I keep reaching for the much shorter format Facebook and Instagram. I guess I've become a creature of the social media - just thinking about writing something longer than a sentence sometimes overwhelms me.<br />
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...and to think, I used to do blog posts twice a week! Times have changed, eh?<br />
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But I'm not done with this. I will try and do better this year. (One of my resolutions!) And in an effort to keep my resolution without burning out too quickly, I'll keep my posts relatively short.<br />
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Today, I have a bunch of sketches from a figure session last month. These were done in one session, where the model, dressed in everyday street clothes, changed poses every 12 minutes.<br />
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So each of these poses is a 12 minute quick oil sketch. And I have to say, it is a great exercise!</div>
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It requires focus, and quick decision making. No time to noodle form or dilly dally on detail. Just the basics, folks.</div>
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The key is to concentrate on gesture - to communicate what the figure is <i>doing,</i> rather than what she <i>looks like. </i></div>
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We can simplify the form by generally separating a given element (red shirt, for example) into two shapes: light and shadow. Each color element (shirt, skin, etc.) only needs two puddles, see. If you want more variation in the skin tones, you can come back to it after the two-value thing is established. But if you run out of time, you still have a strong structure.</div>
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Darker shapes like hair mass and black pants don't even need separating into light and shadow. If the overall shape is strong, a simple silhouette may do the trick. </div>
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Again, if you have time left (we only had 12 minutes) you can come back and separate it into two values (or more). </div>
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With this last one, I attempted a multi-figure composition by painting one figure at a time, not knowing what the next pose was going to be. The model changed clothes / props, and I was able to combine them in one study as if there were three people at a bus station or something. </div>
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This multi-figure exercise is really challenging because you have no idea if the next pose will fit the context, and there's no guarantee that each subsequent pose will work with the existing image. I didn't have high expectations, but I did commit to try and at least paint them the same scale so that they looked like they belonged in the same environment.</div>
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Connecting the dark shapes of the shadows and pants helped to tie the individual figures together so that they visually read as a group. </div>
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Each figure is about 8 inches tall.</div>
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I used scrap pieces of linen taped to boards. The linen is Claessens No.66.</div>
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I loved this exercise so I'm going to do this again. soon. It's excellent practice for painting figures quickly and gesturally, a very handy skill to have if you like putting figures into environments, especially en plein air!</div>
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'Hopefully, it won't be another 6 months before my next post!!</div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-60642897832229180912017-10-02T23:12:00.004-07:002017-10-02T23:12:50.943-07:00More Color Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ks2a9_zX5y8/WdMoDU_Pp2I/AAAAAAAAB7E/foFdH13VtlcJxzHKC0_N5H1Yvtu_xw4DwCLcBGAs/s1600/cadgreem%2Bhansa%2Bcad%2Borange.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1320" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ks2a9_zX5y8/WdMoDU_Pp2I/AAAAAAAAB7E/foFdH13VtlcJxzHKC0_N5H1Yvtu_xw4DwCLcBGAs/s400/cadgreem%2Bhansa%2Bcad%2Borange.jpg" width="328" /></a></div>
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Here's one with Cad Green, Cad Lemon, Cad Orange, and White. That green isn't as tricky as it may seem. Even with a full palette, one often reaches for greens to mix a cooler part of the skin tone, so there's nothing too surprising there.<br />
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The challenge, again, is the fact that with this set of colors, I can't get a really dark value. So again, I have to work within the compressed value range.<br />
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The Impressionists often worked in a limited range in the higher key, so it's perfectly do-able. Mine isn't really Impressionist in approach, but still, limiting the value range has that atmospheric feel, doesn't it?<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-83413202783077536212017-09-28T23:42:00.004-07:002017-09-28T23:42:48.508-07:00Color Games Part III<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just because you use a specific limited palette, it doesn't mean your paintings will have similar looks. Especially if you have all three primaries represented, we can mix all kinds of in-between colors and values and as a result, two studies painted in the same three colors +white, can look very different from one another.</div>
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Both studies I'm posting today were done with a limited primaries palette of Transparent Earth Red / Yellow Ochre / Payne's Gray / Titanium White.</div>
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In the example above, the colors are very pale and except for the leotard, the values are pretty light.</div>
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Easy to make a good starting point for a skin tone (the lit side) with TOR and Yellow Ochre and White.</div>
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For the shadow side of the flesh, It's the same mix, with less white, and teeny bit of the blue. (Payne's Gray) to cool it down and desaturate. There isn't anything else on the palette, so it is what it is.</div>
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Payne's Gray and White make a nice blue-gray, which is my starter puddle for the shadow colors in this painting. Here and there, I tried to vary it by adding a little Yellow Ochre, or the TOR, or white, in varying amounts. </div>
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Losing edges entirely in the shadows made an interesting–and still identifiable–shape. I even lost edges in some light areas. You can see that it doesn't affect the recognizability of the visual elements. </div>
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If two shapes can be combined by losing the edge in between, they become one shape. One shape is simpler than two shapes. If the recognizability is maintained, simpler is better. It's like using one well chosen word to describe something, rather than two. </div>
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The second example uses the same exact set of colors, but it looks very different from the first.<br />
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Over-all it's much lower keyed - the lights and shadows are both darker in value.<br />
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The greenish tone is achieved by mixing blue and yellow (of course!), that is to say, Payne's Gray and Yellow Ochre. There's probably a little white in there too, to lighten the value a bit.<br />
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Unlike in the first painting, where I pushed the flesh-tone-in-the-shadow toward violet by adding enough Payne's gray and white into the mix, in this painting, the shadow side of the flesh is still very much in the Orange hue range. That is to say, it's just a darker brown. I used the same Payne's Gray to neutralize the same mix of TOR / Yellow Ochre / White, but not enough to alter the hue of the mix.<br />
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You can see a lot of variations in the shadow side, and again, they're just varying amounts of the same limited set of colors.<br />
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It's amazing how much range you can get out of just four tubes of paint, and none of them very intense, either.<br />
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Do you have a favorite limited palette? Do you find it limiting or liberating? Do your paintings start looking similar? or can you get a good range out of it?<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-64555922868096794192017-09-25T20:51:00.002-07:002017-09-27T23:27:11.948-07:00Color Games, Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLn6ERrAF2s/WcnKjiMGaOI/AAAAAAAAB6U/mRPDbzTjolM-Ce21kli7MiNsjuPb0UWkgCLcBGAs/s1600/2017-09-05%2B11.31.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1199" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLn6ERrAF2s/WcnKjiMGaOI/AAAAAAAAB6U/mRPDbzTjolM-Ce21kli7MiNsjuPb0UWkgCLcBGAs/s640/2017-09-05%2B11.31.49.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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So in the previous post I showed a few examples of painting the figure using different sets of primary colors out of the tube. If that's too easy or too conventional for you, here's another tweak on the color game; use only two colors plus white.</div>
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In these examples, I tried complimentary colors; Red / Green / White for the first one, and Blue Violet / Yellow Orange / White for the second example. You can see they're of the same pose.</div>
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The Red / Green was a little easier because it allowed me to mix a pinkish color for the skin tone, as well as a very dark color / value for the clothes by mixing red and green together. I had a full range of values to work with, and easily shift from warm to cool within a mixture by adding more red or more green. The red is Cad Red Medium, and the green is Viridian.</div>
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The drawing is not as good on the second one, and the colors were more difficult, too. Mainly because with this set of colors, I couldn't get a very dark value. It meant that I had to compress the value range quite a bit and put everything in med to light range.<br />
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It does make it feel more atmospheric - one of the effects of dense atmosphere is that the values become lighter and the range more compressed.<br />
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I can't remember what the blue-violet color was, exactly. I think the yellow-orange might be Indian Yellow, but again, I'm not sure. It didn't matter enough for me to remember, I guess. After all these are just games we sometimes play in the studio.<br />
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When you go to a figure session and you're just not inspired by the pose (or whatever), this might be a good challenge to try, to get your enthusiasm going again. Try it with friends and see how similar or different your results are. I think you'll find it eye-opening!<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-2540614727135809552017-09-24T21:36:00.001-07:002017-09-24T21:38:24.824-07:00Color Games<br />
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I host figure painting sessions at my studio once a week, where artists can come and paint from the model. The model is sometimes nude and sometimes clothed - I try to mix it up. Usually we have one long pose (with breaks) so there's plenty of time to study the figure.</div>
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In these sessions, my aim is just to practice. I'm not trying to do a gallery-bound painting because the poses have to be based on what works for a roomful of people viewing the model from different angles. That has to be the priority. I can't just have the model pose based on a concept that I may have for my own paintings, because that usually only gives us a limited range as far as good angles go. </div>
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For example, I may want a reclining figure, but then some artists will end up with extremely foreshortened views. That may be exactly what they want, but usually, nobody wants that. </div>
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So as I said, these are practice sessions for me. I may do a portrait study, or a value thing, or I may focus on a particular approach, or may be I'll do an anatomical study of feet, say. It all depends on what I'm in the mood for and what I feel like I need to work on more.</div>
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Sometimes, I like to set up challenges for myself, and this color game that I do is a great example. Basically, I take myself out of my comfort zone by using colors I don't usually use. I may ask to borrow a red, a yellow, and a blue from the others in the room - to make sure I'm getting colors I don't have. </div>
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The painting above is done in Phthalo-zinc blue / Hansa Yellow / Brilliant Pink / Titanium White. These are colors I don't own, and therefore very unfamiliar to me. But if you have the primary colors and white, you can pretty much pull it off. Theoretically, anyway.</div>
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All three images I'm posting here are from the same session. You can see that they're the same pose. So I spent may be 45 to 50 minutes on each one. Fairly quick and sloppy attempts but like I said, they're studies and I was specifically interested in color games, not in finished paintings.</div>
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For No.2, I believe I had Cerulean / Indian Yellow / Alizarin / Titanium White. It's not quite a scientific comparison because I wasn't trying to match colors or anything. I was just trying to work with unfamiliar colors.</div>
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I could easily have mixed a much more intense green with Cerulean and Indian Yellow, or matched the background green in example No.1, but I didn't even think to try. </div>
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This last one has more colors. I think I used colors from both No.1 and No.2, and tried to push the intensity a little bit.</div>
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It's a fun exercise. When I do this as a demo, I do it to make the point that it doesn't really matter which tube colors you use. If you have a few different colors, you can do a believable figure painting. It's not about specific ingredients or brands, and it's not about recipes. </div>
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I get questions like "which blue did you use?" and I answer "Ultramarine" (or whatever I was using at the time) but then I follow up with "but I could've used Cobalt, or may be Prussian or Phthalo, Cerulean...Paynes Gray..." </div>
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In the beginning, it's probably a good idea to stick to one set of colors and really learn how they behave when mixed with each other. And you do start to have favorites. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but if you really want to learn color mixing and how color works, exercises like these are really helpful because you are forced not to think in terms of recipes and formulas, but focus instead on color <i>relationships. </i>Get good at that, and you will have a lot more control and freedom!</div>
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If you live in the Sacramento area and would like to come to my studio to join our (uninstructed) figure painting sessions. (or short-pose figure drawing sessions on Monday afternoons) , just email me at <a href="mailto:terry@terrymiura.com">terry@terrymiura.com</a>. The sessions are $12 /person</div>
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As of this posting, I also have a couple of spots open in my weekly <b>figure drawing / painting classes</b>. I don't often have openings, so if you've been thinking about taking my classes, this is your chance! Please <a href="mailto:terry@terrymiura.com" target="_blank">email</a> me and I'll be happy to answer any questions!</div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-11626766987002233132017-06-05T22:35:00.005-07:002017-06-05T22:35:50.566-07:00Value Studies<br />
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I like doing value studies. When I'm out in the field, I always do at least one thumbnail sketch in my sketchbook using a ball point pen. It's a great way to visually organize the value structure and think about what's important, and what should be edited out.<br />
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If I'm in the studio, I still do these pen-and-sketchbook thumbnails, but sometimes I like to do them with paint. I have a lot of scrap pieces of canvas which are perfect for these little studies.<br />
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The idea is not to copy the photograph, but to figure out how to simplify the value structure and tweak if necessary to come up with a design which, with very small amount of information, communicates the sense of time and place in the original photo. </div>
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The main challenge in doing these is to reduce the number of values to three or four. Dark, medium dark, medium light, and light. Sometimes a simple composition only needs three values, sometimes as many as five. But no more than five. If I need more than five, I probably won't develop it into a full color painting because it would be too fussy and will lack a clear statement or impact.</div>
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You may see more than four or five values in my value studies, but when I start out, I only have three values. I may end up with a few more due to softening of edges or transitioning one shape into the next, and these "in-between" values are ...not exactly incidental... but just minor enhancements to make a design make visual sense. If you were to squint down, they simplify back (or they should, anyway) to four values. </div>
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In the above example, you can see that the shadows on the ground are much lighter in my sketch than in the photo. This is a decision I made consciously, to make good use of the four values I had at my disposal; since I had to use my darkest value for the tree silhouettes and the windows in the doorways, I wanted to distinguish the ground shadows (and the same shadows creeping up the side of the building) by using a lighter value. A couple of benefits in making this decision - the shadow areas are much more luminous, which is fitting because we are outside where a lot of ambient and bounced light make everything lighter. (the contrast in the photo was looking too much) Secondly, it allowed me to separate the paved walkway from the grass (?) area flanking it.</div>
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So the point, again, is not to copy the photo, but simplifying and organizing the value structure - how best to convey a given light/shadow situation with just four values?</div>
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While doing these studies, I often have ideas about editing that I hadn't considered before starting the study. And this is an excellent place to try these ideas out, because well, these are just quick small studies–most are 5 x 7 or 6 x 8 ish and only take 10 to 20 minutes. If I try out an edit and it doesn't work out? Big deal. I'll do another study or keep working on it. I don't feel like I've wasted hours or days of my life trying things out (which may be the case if I were to be making these decisions on a big, full color painting).</div>
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There's no need for detail, or subtle modeling. It's really easy to see what's going on in the study, even though it's very simple and crude. What does that tell us? We really don't need much to make a scene "believable". So why do we feel the need to put more stuff in a painting? Hmmm. something to think about, eh?</div>
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Painting, especially painting en plein air, is sometimes intimidating and frustrating. Often we may talk ourselves out of trying to paint a certain scene because we feel like it's too difficult. Or we have a hard time seeing anything worth painting, even though we are surrounded by a ton of potential paintings. </div>
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I find that these quick value studies are incredibly helpful in getting over that fear and tackle a task that seemed at first to be too difficult. The reason is that these are first and foremost, exercises in simplifying the problem. If we can simplify the problem, we can simplify the answer, no?</div>
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If you can get into a habit of doing these quick value studies in limited values, you have a great advantage over someone who's trying to paint every little thing in view. Simplifying forces you to consider what's important and what can be ignored. It forces you to make a clear statement, and it forces you to think about hierarchy of impact in your composition. Without the awareness of which, you really don't have a statement. And without a statement, what is the point of painting this scene?</div>
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This last pair shows a value study, and a color one, both done from observation. Thanks to the simplified value study, I was able to maintain a simple structure in the color one, and not get caught up in the little details in the background - and there were a lot of visual activity there which I didn't bother to include. The value study told me it was OK not to paint them.<br />
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I encourage you to do these kinds of studies when you don't have a whole lot of time to devote to bigger painting projects. They only take 10 to 20 minutes, and you only need black and white paints, and scraps of canvas or some other surface. Don't think of them as little masterpieces. Don't even think of them as something to keep. Crappy composition? So what. Do another one and make improvements. A lot can be learned by doing these studies using snapshots as references - photos that were never particularly well composed and were never meant to be made into frame-worthy paintings. They're just studies and practices, much like a musician practices his scales.<br />
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My musician friends tell me it's boring but necessary. Here we artists are better off; <i>these</i> are not boring to do! Far from it. I really enjoy doing these, and you will too. Don't believe me? Just try it.<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-41196061321535349972017-05-30T14:05:00.003-07:002017-05-30T14:05:37.882-07:00Free Demo this Saturday, June 3! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This Saturday, June 3rd, my friend Paul Kratter and I will be doing a dual (duel?) demo at the Holton Studio Gallery in Berkeley! It starts at 2 pm, and the admission is free, so come see us sling paint and divert all our trade secrets! </div>
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Paul is a great painter and we've been friends a long time. We are currently showing our works together at the Holton Studio, and the demo is part of the exhibition. We don't paint the same way, but we often paint similar subject matters, so it's fun to see them side by side.<br />
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If I weren't actually doing the demo at the same time, I'd love to just sit and watch paul do his demo!<br />
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Knowing Paul, I think the demo will be quite entertaining and will be full of good information on techniques, methods, and just how one may think about various aspects of solving visual problems.</div>
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The event is free, so come early and get a good seat. We'll start at 2 pm and take a painting from start to... I don't know, may be we'll even finish. </div>
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Holton Studio Gallery is located at 2100 Fifth St. Berkeley, CA</div>
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Their website is <a href="http://holtonframes.com/">http://holtonframes.com</a></div>
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Paul Kratter's works can be seen on his website; <a href="http://paulkratter.com/">http://paulkratter.com</a></div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-71306970094671153592017-05-25T21:16:00.002-07:002017-05-25T21:16:39.295-07:00Color of Reflected Light <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6UudPSjx68I/WSelQOvsmEI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/OJpQnYyMqJAcU8HL5SrGrpO8LVNqb49NACLcB/s1600/F1704%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1367" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6UudPSjx68I/WSelQOvsmEI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/OJpQnYyMqJAcU8HL5SrGrpO8LVNqb49NACLcB/s640/F1704%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="546" /></a></div>
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I just had this conversation with a student in my class, so I thought I'd do a little post. It's a simple, basic lesson on the color of the reflected light. </div>
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The question was, "what color is the shadow?" The answer: "Depends." On what? A few things. The color of the thing itself, and the reflected light. </div>
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The reflected light is the primary light source bouncing off of some surface and illuminating the shadow side of the object. If there were no bounced light, you can't see anything in the shadow.</div>
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So if you <i>can</i> see anything - color, detail, value changes.... then something is illuminating it. It's either the reflected light, or the ambient light.</div>
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The ambient light is the secondary light that's not obviously a reflected light - say, the blue sky on a sunny day, or the diffused florescent light that's illuminating the studio in addition to the strong direct light on the model. </div>
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One can argue that cool ambient light provided by the sky <i>is </i>in fact reflected light, since it's sun light bouncing off of condensed water vapor and other particulate matter in the atmosphere, but for the sake of simplifying the point, we'll just limit the definition of reflected light to something that's caused by a surface near the object and facing the planes in the shadow side. </div>
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It's not complicated. In the painting above, the direct light hits the red couch, which bounces off and illuminates the back of the model, causing it to appear red. Her leg isn't affected by the red bounced light, because it's not facing the lit up red couch.</div>
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Her arm too, is not as red - it was receiving a lot of cool florescent light, which made it appear more violet. Note her breast is getting a lot more red bounced light than the arm.</div>
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In the painting above, the couch is blue. You can see I snuck some blue reflected light into her arm and the leg that's in front. Her left leg doesn't get the blue reflected light, because it's not facing a blue lit surface.</div>
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I'm not a strictly realist painter so I do use subjective colors a lot, but when I want the shadow colors to make sense, and am looking for luminosity, I pay more attention to the color of reflected lights.</div>
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One thing you have to keep in mind is that sometimes the reflected light appears really light and bright, and you may get excited about the intense color in the area, but the <i>value </i>of that reflected light must be darker than anything in the lit side (of the same surface). The rule is, <i>the darkest light is lighter than the lightest shadow</i>. Or, <i>the lightest shadow is darker than the darkest light. </i>You can also say it this way; <i>Everything in light is lighter than everything in shadow. </i></div>
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Why is that? Because the light bouncing off of something can't be as strong as the original light source.</div>
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It's a simple rule but one that is often forgotten by beginning painters. The next time you're wondering about the shadow color, you might just ask yourself, <i>what is illuminating that plane?</i></div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-940483772515982682017-04-30T20:19:00.002-07:002018-04-09T19:24:29.306-07:00My Current Palette<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been using a variation of this palette for many years. From time to time, I switch out a color or two, just to shake things up, but it's always been a primaries palette, basically.<br />
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I have three variations of each of the primaries, plus white. I don't have any secondaries - I just mix them with this set of colors.<br />
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<b>White</b> - Titanium White. I like the opacity and the coolness of Titanium White. Nothing against other whites, but I got to know Titanium pretty well, and I don't have a problem with it so I haven't really had an incentive to get to know the others.<br />
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<b>Blues </b>- In the picture they all look pretty dark, but they are Ultramarine, Prussian Blue, and Payne's Gray. Ultramarine represents the violet-leaning blue, Prussian the green-leaning blue, and Payne's Gray the low chroma blue. <br />
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<b>Yellows </b>- Cadmium Lemon for my cool yellow, Cadmium Yellow Deep for my warm, and Yellow Ochre is my low chroma yellow.<br />
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<b>Reds </b>- Permanent Red is my warm red. It's a Cad Red Light alternative. It's much cheaper and does what I need it to do. Less toxic, too, which may be a plus, except I use other Cads so I don't have a leg to stand on. Alizarin Permanent is my cool red. I've been trying other cool reds like Venetian, Terra Rosa, Pompeii, etc. But haven't found one that works for what I'm looking for. So until I do, I'll keep using Alizarin. My low chroma Red is Transparent Oxide Red. every brand has a different name for this color and I most often use Transparent Earth Red from Gamblin. It's like Burnt Sienna, but transparent, more intense, and goes down cleaner when doing washes.<br />
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The palette itself is a shot of my 10 x 12 (?) Open Box M, which I love. I use a 16 x 20 surface in the studio, but in the field, I like my Open Box M if I'm traveling or if I have to hike to get to a spot. If I'm painting near my car, I use my Soltek or a half-box French easel so I can have a larger palette to work with (12 x 16).<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-76515702770299332322017-04-23T23:25:00.002-07:002017-04-23T23:25:34.213-07:00A Language of the Land: Landscape Paintings by Paul Kratter and Terry Miura<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Take the Shortcut</i>, 12 x 21 inches, oil on linen</div>
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I have a very special exhibition coming up! My good friend and fabulous painter Paul Kratter and I will be showing our landscape paintings (many, if not most, are done en plein air) at the Holton Studio Gallery in Berkeley, CA.</div>
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As you can see in these pictures, all of the paintings will be presented in these very special frames, all hand-crafted by master frame-maker Tim Holton and his team. </div>
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Each frame is a response to a specific painting. Tim studies the painting, picks out the grain of the wood to reflect something - a textural quality, directional cue, etc - in the painting, and continues on to create a masterful frame for each. Every decision along the way, whether it be the style of the frame or what type of carving to apply, or what color stain to finish the pieces with, is in response to the painting. "Custom framing" doesn't get more custom than this!</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">A Path Through the Woods</i>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen</div>
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I'm really excited to have my own paintings presented in Tim's frames, because they really elevate the pieces to a higher level. </div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Standing Alone</i>, 12 x 9 inches, oil on linen</div>
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As I mentioned, I will be showing with my friend Paul Kratter. If you're interested in landscape painting, you probably know his work. He paints beautiful Northern California (and beyond) views in a very distinct style, superbly designed and with really tasty harmonies. This will be the first time the two of us are showing together (that is, not as a part of a larger group show) and I think our styles look great sharing walls, especially all framed by Tim Holton.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Packer's Trail</i>, 12 x 9 inches, oil on linen</div>
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But don't take my word for it. Come see for yourself! The show opens <b>Saturday, May 6th. The opening reception is from 4 - 6 pm. </b>Come on by and check out this very special show, and say hi! </div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Alpine Meadow (Ediza) </i>, 12 x 9 inches, oil on linen</div>
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And if that isn't enough, Paul and I are doing a <b>"Dual Demo" on Saturday, June 3rd, at 2pm</b> at the gallery. We will each set up an easel, and take a painting from start to (may be) finish. You can watch us live as we each develop a painting, and talk about our approaches. Ask us questions, and we'll answer them. You want tips? We'll tell you how to mix that special shade of green and how to flick that brush to get that flippity edge on that pine tree. </div>
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And did I mention the admission is free? Can't beat that!</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Golden Hillside</i>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen</div>
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So if you are in the Bay Area, I hope you can make it to the opening. And the demo. If not, the show runs till June 10th. If you're a landscape painter, this show is a must see!</div>
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<b>A Language of the Land: Landscape Paintings by Paul Kratter and Terry Miura</b></div>
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Holton Studio Gallery, 2100 Fifth St. Berkeley, CA</div>
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May 6th - June 10th, 2017</div>
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<b>Opening Reception: Saturday, May 6th, 4 - 6pm</b></div>
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<b>Dual Demo: Saturday, June 3rd, 2pm</b></div>
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'Hope to see you at the opening!!</div>
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Terry</div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-81043829710368814972017-03-24T23:20:00.005-07:002017-03-24T23:20:56.318-07:00Same Pose, Different Angle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I host a weekly figure painting session at my studio. It's three hours of the same pose (with breaks of course) so that we can really slow down and take our time painting the figure. </div>
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I do like taking it slow and spending the time necessary to develop a painting, but most of the time, I <i>really </i>enjoy quicker sketches in these sessions. I used to have the model do two or three different poses in the three hour period, which I thought was just great for doing exercises in being decisive about colors and strokes, not to mention there isn't time to overwork the painting.</div>
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But it turns out, most of the artists who come to the sessions wanted more time on a pose, not less. So now we just have one pose. To satisfy my needs, I just move to a different spot each time, and voila! I have a new pose.</div>
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Sometimes I stay at the same spot, but shift my focus so that I'm doing a different study. In this case, I did a full figure sketch, and then a head sketch. </div>
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I may try a different color scheme, or different materials, or a different process. I really think you get a lot of bang for your buck when you do quick studies. </div>
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The above black/white painting and the two following are from the same session. I decided to work only in black and white. The first one is a 9x 12 sketch, using Ivory Black and Titanium White on oil-primed linen. I was basically interested in organizing the values into simple categories. No time was spent on modeling, really. </div>
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And then for the second study, I switched to a 20 x 16 sheet of cheap cotton canvas. This is more of a drawing than a painting. I started out drawing the figure with the brush, liked what I saw, so I stopped there. </div>
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And then I wondered how it would look if I kept going, so I did another sketch, from a different angle. It's still a quickie, may be 40 minutes on this one. Again, the value structure is kept very simple - no time to do anything more than simple.</div>
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Another day, another session. A simple color scheme, simple shapes. It's easy to fall into the trap of overdoing the details, especially of facial features. We feel like we have to make our painting look like the model. How many times have you said, or have you heard others say apologetically, "it doesn't look like him/her, but..." without being asked? Sure, likenessess are important, if you say so. </div>
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But since I'm not all that interested in painting likenesses, it doesn't bother me too much if my sketch doesn't resemble the model. I'm more interested in simplifying the shapes and forms. I'm more interested in <i>not </i>putting in details. I'm more interested in trying to get away with as little as possible. (I often paint only one eye, or omit painting the mouth all together) </div>
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If I end up with a nice painting that doesn't look like the model, that's far better than a poorly executed painting that nevertheless looks like the model. </div>
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Needless to say, a great sketch that also captures the likeness of the model would be ideal, but that doesn't happen to me very often.<br />
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Doing these quickies gives me a lot of opportunities to explore many aspects of painting, and I learn a lot from doing them. Pursuing detail or the likeness for three hours is not for me, unless I have a specific time-consuming problem to solve.<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-579672535302125302017-03-12T17:12:00.001-07:002017-06-25T22:21:31.435-07:00More Maui<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Across the Water, </i>16 x 12 inches, oil</span></div>
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OK so I had more sketches from Maui. After having them spread out in my studio for a week or so, I decided to work back into them. This is what happens to most of my plein air paintings if I hang on to them a while. I start playing the "what if?" game. <i>What if the sky was lighter? darker? smaller? larger? What if the green was yellower? Bluer? Grayer? What if there were more detail? less?</i></div>
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In this way, I think about other ways I might have approached the painting in the first place, and once I have a new idea, I have to try it out. What if it didn't work? Well, that happens a lot and I end up throwing away the painting, but that's not a bad thing because I will have taken risks and tried something. I may have learned something I otherwise never would have. </div>
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If I'm willing to kill it, I can take greater risks, and sometimes I get the best accidents this way. And yes, sometimes, it devolves into a mess. </div>
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I didn't change too much on <i style="font-weight: bold;">Across the Water</i>, but I did add more paint on top and grayed down the water. Sorry I don't have the "before" picture to compare against - didn't think to take pictures. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Honokeana</i>, 9 x 12, oil </span><span style="color: red; font-size: xx-small;">sold</span></div>
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I painted this one from my friend Jean's balcony overlooking the Honokeana Cove in Napili. A beautiful little cove with turtles gliding around in the water.</div>
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This was a quickie - I spent may be 45 minutes or an hour? The green stuff originally was really bright (as in high chroma) which I didn't like much, so back in the studio, I knocked down the chroma quite a bit. At the same time, I simplified the rocks. </div>
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What I like about this little study is the colors in the sky. It's not literal, but a green-bias imposed upon it. The idea being achieving a tighter harmony with the ocean and the bushy stuff. </div>
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The sky right above the horizon is basically just a lighter version of the color of the water. The lit parts of the cloud mass is still lighter, with a little yellow thrown in to warm it up a bit. Essentially a monochromatic structure with a slight bend so that it doesn't look <i>too </i>monochromatic.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">On Island Time</i>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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<i>On Island Time</i><b> </b>changed a lot. It had a road going up the middle of it, with road signs and fence posts and such. Fewer palms, and the mountain mass filled the background, no sky. It's an entirely different painting now. </div>
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The original was just too disorganized. A little too snap-shotty and not designed thoughtfully. Sometimes it's OK to faithfully present the scene exactly, but in this case, I didn't think it worked. I liked the mood though, so I tried to hang on to that aspect. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Passing Rain</i>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen </span><span style="color: red; font-size: xx-small;">sold</span></div>
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I was interested in showing the palm trees lit up agains the dark sky. The painting originally showed a more active, dramatic sky with lighter parts as well as darker areas. I thought it was too busy and took away from the palm tree, so I subdued the activity in the sky. I also moved a few of the secondary palms around, tried changing sizes and how they were lit, etc. before arriving at this composition.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Hotel Street, Lahaina, </i>12 x 12 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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This one doesn't look much like the original, either. This was actually a 12 x 16 panel - four more inches to the left side, on which a brightly lit side of the Pioneer Inn was painted. </div>
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This (the original) was the very first painting I did in Maui, during the kick-off paint out in Lahaina. I stayed fairly true to the actual scene, which, unfortunately was why the composition was problematic. Too many statements competing for attention.</div>
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Back at home, I tried subduing all the other attention seeking elements - the brightly lit Inn, big contrast between sky and the green mountainside (the sky was a lot bigger), light and shadow patterns creating busy notes at the far end of the street, and the parked car with a lot more detail and hard edges.</div>
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Just lessening the impact on some of these elements didn't do the trick, so I decided to crop out the left side.</div>
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I added the figure crossing the street later, because the street was a big passive area after I took away the sunlight hitting its surface (again, too much impact) and I needed something there to break up the space. </div>
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I think I can keep working on this one further. At this point, it's a playground for experimentation, so I'm not overly protective of what I've already done to it. I do like the abstract quality of it. If this painting allows me do this sort of abstraction more readily on my next paintings, that's a valuable "catch", even if the painting itself ultimately bites the dust!</div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-86759034733388865792017-03-08T22:05:00.002-08:002017-03-08T22:05:35.449-08:00Two Upcoming Workshops!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you're reading this blog, you are probably an artist. May be you're a landscape painter, or you work with the figure, or may be your love is for cityscapes? Whatever it is, you know it's all interrelated, and you know painting from observation is an important part of the discipline.<br />
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It's not easy, no. If it were, you probably wouldn't be reading this blog. You probably wouldn't be addicted to painting. But you are. I know I am.<br />
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It took me many years and thousands of paintings to learn some essential principles and techniques in painting, and I have been sharing those little nuggets of wisdom (not <i>my </i>wisdom, to be sure. But of the accumulated, collective knowledge of thousands that came before you and me) on this here blog.<br />
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But there are limits to what I can communicate with a few images and a bunch of typed up words. If you find the information on <i>Studio Notes</i> useful or interesting, but are frustrated because you're having trouble applying this knowledge to your own work, I have a couple of opportunities coming up where I will be able to <i>show </i>you exactly what I mean, and answer any questions that you may have about this painting thing. Or at least, I will do my best to answer them. I cannot tell you what Rembrandt ate for breakfast, but I <i>can </i>show you how to create that subtle edge, or that evocative moody gray sky.<br />
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Here are the two workshops I'll be teaching in a coupla months. They are both three-day plein air landscape painting workshops*.<br />
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<b>May 19 - 21 Bainbridge Island, WA</b><br />
Winslow Art Center<br />
$425<br />
Info and registration: <a href="https://www.winslowartcenter.com/workshops.php">https://www.winslowartcenter.com/workshops.php</a><br />
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Bainbridge Island is a beautiful little island just a short ferry ride away from Seattle. It's very green, and there are boats and water to challenge us. I taught here a couple of years ago, and I loved painting there!<br />
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<b>October 6 - 8 Lowell, MI</b><br />
Franciscan Life Process Center<br />
$395<br />
Info and registration: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/terry-miura-plein-air-strategies-tickets-24439507224">https://www.eventbrite.com/e/terry-miura-plein-air-strategies-tickets-24439507224</a><br />
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Lowell is a picturesque farm country just outside of Grand Rapids. And I mean picturesque! Beautiful barns and silos, gardens and riverscape, old structures with lots of character... And the Franciscan Life Process Center has very comfortable accommodations for very reasonable prices. Gotta love that!<br />
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Both of these workshops are open to all levels, but I highly recommend at least <i>some </i>outdoor painting experience before coming to the workshop. Never painted outside? Hey, you still got time to get out there and see what makes it so hard but addicting! If you're still unsure, sign up with a friend!<br />
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If you missed out on a previous workshop, don't miss out this time around - workshops do fill up, so if you're at all interested, don't wait!<br />
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Hope to see you in Washington in May, or in Michigan in October!<br />
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*In adverse weather, we will be working indoors using photos and sketches for references.<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-92004112059137743242017-02-28T22:52:00.000-08:002017-06-25T22:22:32.391-07:00Sketches from Maui<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Tradewinds</i>, 12 x 16 inches, oil on linen <span style="color: #cc0000;">sold</span></span></div>
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Last week I had the good fortune to participate in the Maui Plein Air Invitational event, where 26 artists from all over the place painted the beautiful island for several days and had a big exhibition at the end of the week. What a blast! As if it weren't awesome enough just to go paint on Maui, but to paint and hang out with good friends –my <i>tribe!– </i>day and night, immersed in artistic energy! Well, it doesn't get much better than that!<br />
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I wanted to share some of the paintings that I did during the week. The ones I'm showing here are the ones I exhibited; that is to say, my better efforts. I had some stinkers too, which I've already scraped or thrown away. A few are still in my suitcase but I haven't bothered to photograph them.<br />
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Anyway, as usual, I'll just share a few thoughts about each painting. The painting at the top is my favorite. I did it standing on the rocks at Lahaina Harbor, at the end of a frustrating day– I think I scraped three that day– The dusk light changes rapidly, so I had about 45 minutes on this one. By the time the light was gone, I had a less-than-satisfactory painting. In my pursuit of rich gray sky, I had made it dirty.<br />
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But I didn't scrape it because I knew at that point exactly what I needed to do to make it work, so I went back the next day, pre-mixed some grays using what I did the day before, but making sure the colors didn't get muddy this time, and waited for the dusk light. As I already had the basic structure down, it didn't take long to finish it off. Another 45 minutes and I had what I wanted.<br />
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The limited time-frame actually helped because I didn't get a chance to noodle out the details.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Giants</i>, 16 x 12 inches, oil on linen, <span style="color: #cc0000;">sold</span></span></div>
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The West Maui Mountains shoot up right behind the town of Lahaina. I was actually set up at the tennis courts next to the parking lot, in the dugout (I don't know what you call it in tennis. In baseball it would be a dugout) </div>
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This was also a second attempt. My first one the day before sucked so I scraped it. I think I was trying to say too much with my painting, which never works for me. Simple statements. Don't try to say everything. That's my advice to myself.</div>
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The clouds covering the tops of the mountains is very dramatic. I'd love to do a bigger studio piece one of these days.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Chillin' in da Shade</b>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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I think it was something of a reaction to the big scale of the mountains. I felt compelled to do something more intimate. I found the truck and the boat by the beach, and they were perfect. I didn't have to alter anything, which is rare for me. I usually move things around a lot to make my compositions work.</div>
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As I was painting, a big, imposing figure of a man approached me and grumbled, "that's my truck." Sometimes we plein air painters have unpleasant encounters, so I braced myself for a "get the fuck outta here," and responded with what I hoped would convey my sincere appreciation, "...and what a beautiful truck it is!"</div>
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The dude just said, "'66 Chevy." and walked off. Whew~</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Done for da Day</i>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen </span><span style="color: red;">sold</span></div>
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Did I mention that I move stuff around to make my compositions? Well, the surfboard wasn't there. I originally painted this without the surfboard. The surfboard was actually blue and white, and it was next door, along with many other surfboards (it was a surf school and board rental shop). </div>
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While I was painting (without the board), the owner came out and momentarily placed a fishing pole against the back of the car. I considered painting that, but then I thought, "you know what would be better? A surfboard! A yellow one!" So that's what I did. </div>
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I was an illustrator for 17 years. Playing with the visuals to manipulate the narrative is something I did to make a living at. I guess I'm still doing it. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Artist and the Model</i>, 12 x 16 inches, oil</span></div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">The Artist and the Model</i>, was painted during a scheduled, timed paint-out at the Montage Kapalua Bay. I wouldn't call it a QuickDraw because we had something like three hours, but same kinda deal. You paint it, frame it, put it up for sale right then and there. </div>
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Some artists painted the beautiful scenery, and some painted the model in traditional island outfit. I decided it was more interesting to paint one of the artists painting the model, so that's what I did. The artist is John P. Lasater - a really good painter, too. </div>
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There was a bunch of other artists painting the model, and many spectators, coming and going, checking out our progress. More often than not I had someone watching John, blocking <i>my </i>view. But I managed. I wanted to include some of these spectators, but they never stood still. At least not in convenient locations. I finally grabbed my sketchbook and went looking for some people I could add. I wanted either swimsuits, or sundresses, or kids. You know, something beachy, rather than golf-attire. I found a couple of kids off to the side and quickly sketched their gesture, came back to my easel and dropped them in.</div>
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By then I was looking directly into the sun, so I couldn't really see anything even if they did actually stood there for me. I love painting backlit subjects. May be I'll do a post on that at some point.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Heating Up</i>, 16 x 12 inches, oil on linen <span style="color: #cc0000;">sold</span></span></div>
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I painted <i style="font-weight: bold;">Heating Up</i> from the public parking lot in Lahaina. Seriously, Maui is such a beautiful place that you don't really need to go looking for subject matter. Just park your car anywhere and look up!</div>
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Where I deviated from the actual view on this, is 1) the palm trees behind the red roof were much closer and bigger in actuality, and 2) the ground was asphalt. </div>
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I changed the palm trees because the masses were too similar to the other big palm tree masses, and therefore repetitive and boring. By making them small, I was able to add variety to the sizes of the shapes, but I also discovered that I had more of a sense of depth, and opening up the sky shape made it a lot more airy. </div>
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This airiness and the harsh sun light, along with my color choices contributed to the feeling of something of the old Hawai'i, so I just went with it and took out the asphalt, repainting it with dirt on the ground. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Cool Blue Maui</i>, 12 x 9 inches, oil on linen <span style="color: #cc0000;">sold</span></span></div>
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Every day, I set out while it was still dark and set up at a location where I thought I could catch a nice morning light. I tried painting at this spot a couple of times and this is the one that came out. </div>
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A few things in this painting where I deviated from the literal. First, the lower palm tree mass was actually more or less right beneath the main one. They were stacked vertically, which I first painted as they were, and later realized that I could create a much more interesting shape if I moved one to the side so that I didn't have one on top of the other.</div>
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Secondly, the lower palm (the one I moved) is pretty much painted in blue. (mixture of paynes gray, prussian blue, white, and a little bit of red to knock down the chroma) This is not because the tree looked blue (I could actually see the local colors pretty clearly) , but because the sky and the water were mostly blue, so in the interest of a tighter color harmony, I painted it blue. Which leaves only the sunlit parts to have obvious higher-chroma, non-blue colors. The blues in the background and the moved tree set up the "star" of this show, you see. </div>
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Third, the lower part of the picture is kept dark. In reality, the ground and the car, and the rocks were much lighter in value. I could see them clearly. But again, I wanted to make a simple statement about the sunlight on the "star", so I kept everything else quiet.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Quiet Morning, Canoe Beach</i></b>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen <span style="color: #cc0000;">sold</span></span></div>
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This was my QuickDraw on the final day of painting. We had two hours, which was plenty of time for a small, simply designed painting. Not a lot of complicated perspective drawing here. Except for the Canoes (which are pretty much just stripes) everything is organic so very forgiving in terms of drawing. </div>
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It was a gray morning and I wanted to keep it that way even after the sun came out. I didn't know whether the sun <i>would </i>come out during the two hours, so I just placed my bets against it and committed to painting the gray day. The sun <i>did </i>come out, but I resisted chasing the light. </div>
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I also decided early on that I needed to lower the key of the sky a little bit, in order to show off the white canoe. It would still have worked if my sky was lighter, but it would definitely have a different mood. I still had the lowered-key sky of the painting I did earlier in the week (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Tradewinds</i>) on my mind, so it was an easy decision. </div>
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That's all I have for now. It was a wonderful week of painting the beautiful island and connecting with old friends and making new ones. I hope I get to go back to do it again!</div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-62746686062972258302017-02-12T22:31:00.002-08:002017-02-12T22:31:24.143-08:00Chapter Four: The Paint Thickens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gpXN5RQJFcM/WIrSq1nOe7I/AAAAAAAABwA/HprLK400xHcz5TqUhqWexsKvs1YRaCLNwCLcB/s1600/_DSC3844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gpXN5RQJFcM/WIrSq1nOe7I/AAAAAAAABwA/HprLK400xHcz5TqUhqWexsKvs1YRaCLNwCLcB/s640/_DSC3844.jpg" width="482" /></a></div>
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Continuing with the series of figures with books, this one evolved from a study done fairly quickly at a life painting session. I liked the natural- looking pose, but the painting wasn't very interesting- it just had the figure on the chair, very thinly painted. And no background props.<br />
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After thinking about it for a few weeks, I decided to use it to experiment with some thicker paint applications. Pushing gooey paint around is a lot of fun, and a great exercise in resisting the urge to overmodel and oversmooth the surface.<br />
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I have been trying to think more abstractly, which is really difficult to do. If I think too much about the anatomy or the accuracy of drawing, it becomes more representational. If I don't think about those things, yes it becomes more abstract, but more often than not, it just looks sloppy and unskilled.<br />
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I'm not sure if I'm looking for a duality, or a balance, but as I struggle with this some thoughts keep coming back;<br />
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<li>Drawing is paramount. Without solid drawing, A painting just doesn't hold up.</li>
<li>But I can't overthink the drawing.</li>
<li>I have to be practicing drawing all the time, so that I can trust my hand to deliver solid drawing-based strokes without having to focus my mind on it.</li>
<li>By not focusing on it, I can think more abstractly.</li>
<li>Still, if my hand fails and the drawing is bad, I got nuffin'</li>
<li>In which case try, and try again. Each time, trusting my hand and not focusing.</li>
<li>I don't want a passage to be an accumulation of small drawing fixes. That only moves the area towards the literal and the predictable.</li>
<li>Think and make decisions about color and value of a given stroke <i>before</i> I put the stroke down. If it's decided on the palette, I don't have to think about it when I actually apply the stroke on the canvas.</li>
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Above is a sketch I did very quickly on gessoed cotton canvas. I don't like this surface very much, but sometimes I use it just to experiment and play around - if I'm lucky I might make some small discovery, which is always exciting. </div>
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This time around, I limited the time I had to 25 minutes - essentially not allowing me enough time to dwell on details or modeling. I focused on the gesture, and simple color/value relationships. The little desk she's leaning on, and the chair she's sitting on actually were fairly ornate antique pieces, but I chose to not describe any of it - no time! I really had to be clear about what simple statements I could make, and how simply I could make it. </div>
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You may find it surprising (or not) but the strokes in this painting are actually very slowly and deliberately applied. There are some quick strokes, but those are very few, and they too are deliberately executed. </div>
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If you want to paint faster, use fewer strokes, not faster ones. And if you have to do it in fewer strokes, those strokes had better be of correct intended color and value, and they need to be put down exactly where you want them. And that requires drawing skills. So yeah, it all goes back to practicing drawing all the time. </div>
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There's no way around it. </div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-74572030283608628862016-12-17T21:10:00.001-08:002016-12-17T21:11:15.603-08:00Jazz in Oil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In case you missed it, there was a nice article on my work in the December issue of Southwest Art Magazine. The writer, Norman Kolpas, did a fantastic job making me sound a lot more interesting than I actually am. ( Haha~) Thank you Norman, and Southwest Art for the great exposure!<br />
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You can read the article online here; <a href="http://www.southwestart.com/featured/miura-t-dec2016">http://www.southwestart.com/featured/miura-t-dec2016</a><br />
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Happy Holidays!<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-21314057048924656062016-12-09T22:46:00.001-08:002017-06-25T22:24:24.690-07:00Lettering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Alfredo's Too</i>, 24 x 30 inches, oil on linen </span></div>
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A reader asked me about painting signage; "How do you do your lettering on store signs and awnings? Mine never looks right. If I try to do it free-hand, it's wonky, and if I try to get it perfectly with a thin sable brush, it just looks pasted on. Do you have any advice?"</div>
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Lettering is tricky and has to be done carefully, to say the least. I typically paint the scene without any lettering first, working out all the color and value issues. Except for the lettering, the painting would be 90% resolved. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Pizza Pasta Pesce</i>, 12 x 12 inches, oil on linen </span><span style="color: red;">sold</span></div>
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And then I lay a straight edge on the surface, and draw two thin guidelines with a sharp pencil. One line across the bottom, one across the top. You can actually see the lines in the painting above.</div>
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The spacing between the letters is eyeballed. I use a small round brush (a synthetic) to carefully draw<br />
each letter. If I have the time I let the background dry at least a little bit, but if I'm working on a wet surface, it doesn't come out too precisely. So I clean and reload my brush often, and after I have all the letters in place, I go back with the background color and refine the shapes a bit. Sometimes it takes going back and forth a few times.</div>
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In order to place the words so that they fit in the space I intended, first I draw them on paper at the size I want - the width between the two guidelines on paper must match that on the canvas exactly - so that I have a very good idea where the first letter starts and the last letter ends.<br />
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Using this "rough", I can place the letters reasonably. Often, I like to start at the center and work outwards. In the case of <b> </b><i><b>Pizza Pasta Pesce</b>, </i>I started with the letter S in PASTA and worked outwards. This way, even if my spacing is a little off from the sketch on paper, the margin of error is halved.<br />
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When the letters go vertically, the guidelines obviously go vertically, too. With this painting, the letters T, E, and L are the same height, so I just divided the space equally (eyeballed), blocking out a rectangle for each letter, and using a small brush, draw each letter on the red surface. I went back with the red to refine each letter afterwards.</div>
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I let the lettering dry at least partially before going back and integrating it some more by adding more surface texture. Using a brush or another tool (knife, scraper, paper towel, etc) I bring in the surrounding colors into the letters, sometimes completely obscuring them. I can then wipe or scrape away some of the new paint and reveal the letters once again. (if the letters are dry, the new paint won't mess them up) I repeat this a couple of times until the letters no longer look "pasted on". </div>
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One of the first classes I had to take in art school was Lettering, in which we had to learn to hand letter Caslon, Bodoni, and Helvetica fonts. I was never very good at it, but it did make me appreciate the subtle, teeny differences in the shapes of the letters. The letters in my paintings are way too generalized and heavy handed to be considered "lettering" by the old-school designers, but I do try to apply what little I remember from school. And in this context, they work OK I think.</div>
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-76998882140231389212016-12-06T22:56:00.000-08:002017-06-25T22:25:05.257-07:00Red Carpet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Red Carpet</i>, 16 x 12 inches, oil on linen </span><span style="color: red;">sold</span></div>
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I started this painting in a model session at my studio. As is typical of my process, it began as a fairly straightforward oil sketch, and at the end of the three hour session, I put it aside and let dry for a few weeks. I have a bunch of these figure studies from life sitting around the studio, and when I have some time, I pick one up and start playing with abstraction. Sometimes the focus is on paint handling, other times I'm more interested in investigating color and edges. </div>
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I consider these explorations, so they're not meant for specific exhibitions and they don't have deadlines. I'm free to take risks without any pressure to end up with a show-worthy painting, and often I do end up with big mess of nothing. Sometimes the risk-taking pays off and I come away with something I really like. </div>
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This one had a couple of exploratory sessions after the initial "live" session, one or two hours each. So all in all, I spent about six or seven hours on it, I'd guess. </div>
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Someone commented that the red looked really luminous and asked what colors I used to mix that red? It's a mixture of alizarin, permanent red, a bit of cad yellow and yellow ochre, plus a bit of white. It probably has a tiny bit of blue mixed in there too, to knock down the chroma here and there. </div>
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The ingredients aren't all that important, though. You can mix this pinkish red with other pigments. What makes it <i>luminous </i>isn't because this red is of specific shade. It has a lot more to do with the fact that it is used in the flesh as well as the floor. </div>
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Essentially, the light reflects off the floor and bounces into the shadows of the figure itself, making some areas much redder than they would be if the floor were another color or not so high in chroma. </div>
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What I did was to amplify the effect of this red bounced light by pushing it into the figure more aggressively than if I were to render it literally. The red permeates the shadows on the figure, more so where the planes face the floor, and where the shadowed areas are very close to the lit floor. (Her leg is affected much more than her torso and arm. </div>
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In fact, her right lower leg is affected by the red even where the planes are not facing the floor. What that suggests is that the red reflected light is influencing the atmosphere around that area (more specifically, the particulate matter in the atmosphere). Which normally wouldn't happen unless you had dust floating around or if you had a fog machine or something, but borrowing that atmospheric affect and imposing it here makes for an interesting <i>luminous</i> result. </div>
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If you were painting an atmospheric night cityscape, you'd paint not only the tail lights of a car red, but the air surrounding the tail lights as well - it's the same idea. It's just that in an atmospheric night cityscape, it's expected and in an ordinary interior scene it's a little less so.</div>
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I pushed it even more by losing some edges between the figure and the floor entirely. It's like the red color is jumping off the floor and invading the skin. </div>
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This lost edge thing is made more effective by introducing the super sharp edges in other places. The juxtaposition is jarring, but it works, I think, because the comparison amplifies the sharpness of the sharp edges and the softness of the soft / lost edges. </div>
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I didn't have a plan worked out for this painting - as I said earlier, it's an exploratory kind of thing. I actually had a very light background at one point, and experimented with having lost edges on her back and sharp edges on her legs against a much darker floor. Didn't quite work because the focus became ambiguous, and so the statement was kind of wishy washy.</div>
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I'm really happy with the end result. As they say, no risk, no glory!</div>
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Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-75014313788237274962016-11-29T23:39:00.003-08:002017-06-25T22:26:55.036-07:00Sketches from Havana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last month, I had the good fortune to spend a week in Cuba with some artist friends. Wow, what an incredible experience! Havana is a vibrant city rich with history and culture, from old American cars zipping around, to people dancing in the rain, to magnificent crumbling architecture... a paradise for painters. </div>
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I can't possibly describe all that I saw and experienced and felt in a blog post, I'll just share with you the plein air sketches that I did during the week. </div>
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We were on an organized tour, but each afternoon, we had two to three hours blocked out so that we could paint. There was just so much visual interest everywhere we looked, it was a challenge to just to decide on something.</div>
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The first one I did - the painting of the blue corner above - I was set up on a sidewalk, and there was constant flow of traffic and pedestrians. The Cuban people are very friendly, and curious of what we were doing in their neighborhood. I had a small crowd behind me almost the entire time, talking to me and with each other in fast Spanish....most of which I didn't understand, but it was still fun to show them what I was doing. </div>
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The light and shadow pattern changed very quickly as the foreground shadow grew, and crawled up the building. The light on the building and the ground was gone in about 30 minutes. This was anticipated, so I basically established the light / shadow pattern very early, and continued to work on the drawing / value / color refinements long after the light was gone. </div>
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When painting en plein air, you can't chase the light, or you'll never finish a painting. So deciding on the pattern from the get-go and committing to it, is an important strategy. I typically work this out in thumbnail sketches before I put brush to canvas, so I had a very good sense of how the finished painting would look. Knowing where you want to end up makes the journey much more efficient than just following paths without any idea where it leads, right?</div>
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The one thing I didn't work out in the beginning, in terms of design, is where to put the little figures. I knew these would be there, and that they provide crucial accents in the composition, but didn't decide <i>exactly</i> where I'd put them until I had the environment worked out. I placed the brightly lit figure in white as the primary focus, and the others around it to create a "tempo" of sorts, making sure that they varied in shapes and colors, but none overpowering the first figure. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uz0fDzyRoko/WD5jI95O0aI/AAAAAAAABs0/NEH81rAlEXAygsZf53DtogUzIpLUwGJ6QCLcB/s1600/_DSC3814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uz0fDzyRoko/WD5jI95O0aI/AAAAAAAABs0/NEH81rAlEXAygsZf53DtogUzIpLUwGJ6QCLcB/s640/_DSC3814.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another afternoon, another painting. I started out painting a parked car, but it drove away before I got very far so I started over with another parked car. That drove away, too. After that, I just resigned myself to painting a moving target. I would wait for a car to drive into the shaft of light, (there were many old American cars) tried to memorize some aspect of it (shape, placement, angle, etc) and put it down on my canvas, then repeat. Many times. Consequently, my yellow car is a composite of many Chevys, Fords, and Plymouths, and not a specific model. Still, I hope I managed to capture something of a character of the old American automobile. </div>
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Everything else is just loosely suggested. The car isn't all that tightly rendered either, for that matter. </div>
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<i>This </i>car, on the other hand, stayed put, so I was able to get more of the details accurately. I'm not a car guy so I have no idea what year / model this one is, but hopefully I didn't butcher it too badly. </div>
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This was painted in the "poorest neighborhood in Havana" -according to our guide. Indeed, the poverty here seemed even more dire than some of the other neighborhoods we visited. Still the people came over and talked to me with big smiles, very interested in seeing this car materialize on my canvas. </div>
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A fruit vendor parked his cart next to me and he wanted to trade me a bunch of bananas for my painting. I might have made the trade but at that time I was only halfway into the painting and it looked terrible. By the time I was done, he'd moved on. </div>
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This painting is different from all the others in that the scene is all in diffused light. There are no strong light and shadow patterns to define the structure of anything, so I really had to pay attention to the subtle value shifts to carve the form. Drawing was obviously tricky, so it took a while before the painting started to work. The surrounding environment is, again, merely suggested. However the strokes that describe the linear perspective–the curb–were laid down very carefully. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NxKoQGiJUvs/WD5jJQolMoI/AAAAAAAABtA/CY_8auSVkP0duSFuzTW2BJ3Ww78kMVNHwCLcB/s1600/_DSC3816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NxKoQGiJUvs/WD5jJQolMoI/AAAAAAAABtA/CY_8auSVkP0duSFuzTW2BJ3Ww78kMVNHwCLcB/s640/_DSC3816.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This painting was done in Las Terrazas, a rural village outside of Havana. Nestled among the densely forested hillsides, it was a peaceful, sleepy place. I was able to find a great vantage point that had a nice view with interesting shapes, angles, and contrasts, and in nice open shade, too, with a pleasant breeze and a little village cafe nearby where I could get espresso.</div>
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I really liked the variety of greens, the perspective, and the juxtaposition of the man-made structure against the organic mess. The red roof provided a ready-made focal point in the sea of greens. </div>
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Drawing the house in perspective wasn't as tricky as one might think - it's just a matter of making sure all the parallel lines converge to a single vanishing point. The tricky part, for me, anyway, was painting the palm (banana?) fronds. I wanted them to be gestural, but with just enough sharp edges to define what they were without getting too tedious. Pretty happy with the result.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-inoQshQurno/WD5jJj64VMI/AAAAAAAABtE/LCV2914c0wwo_48FvnPIj-RFxjH2inkJgCLcB/s1600/_DSC3817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-inoQshQurno/WD5jJj64VMI/AAAAAAAABtE/LCV2914c0wwo_48FvnPIj-RFxjH2inkJgCLcB/s640/_DSC3817.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the beach outside of Havana. The water was beautiful. The view reminded me of some of Winslow Homer's paintings. I decided to make the palm trees a little bit more expressive than they actually were - a little more wind.</div>
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Here's a shot by my friend Liza, of the sketch in progress. I worked on loose pieces of linen taped to a piece of board. The wet paintings were taken off the board and taped down to pieces of foam-core, and stacked with spacers in between paintings for transport - a pretty good system when you want to reduce the weight of your suitcase. I still had to pay extra because my suitcase ended up being over 50lbs. That bottle of rum pushed it over.</div>
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This is the last sketch, done on another beach. I was standing next to my friend <br />
Tim Horn, and we pretty much painted the same view. Interesting watching him work on his painting while I worked on mine. I could see that we have different approaches to solving the same problems.<br />
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the color of the sky had a slight violet tinge to it, which threw me off a little bit. I don't normally go for literal translation of the colors I see, but I was very interested in the sky color here because it was not something I was used to.<br />
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Anyway, we only had an hour and a half to paint here, so I didn't get too fussy.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">When in Havana... Cigars and rum, and music at the fabulous Hotel Nacional with artist friends. From left to right; me, Amy Williams Beers, Tim Horn, and Philippe Gandiol</span></i></div>
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All in all, Cuba was amazing and I would love to go back and spend more time exploring and painting. 'Hopefully the new administration won't make it more difficult to visit!<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-20520547195948351632016-10-01T00:58:00.003-07:002017-06-25T22:27:27.169-07:00Mixing Greens<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">At the Orchard's Edge</i>, 14 x 16 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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Mixing greens is, obviously, a huge part of painting landscapes. If you don't have control over your greens, you can't get very far, can you. When I teach landscape painting workshops, this is one of the topics that gets a lot of attention. It's basic, and one of the big hurdles that a painter must overcome in order to make his painting look believable.</div>
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One of the problems that I come across often with beginning painters is the expectation that there is somehow a <i>recipe</i> for mixing greens. We need to get past the thinking that there are specific ways to mix greens for an oak tree, and another for grass, still another for eucalyptus trees. </div>
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If a student has the mindset that he just needs to mix the greens that he sees regardless of what type of tree, he's better off, for he's thinking in formal, abstract terms and not recipes. And if he can learn to differentiate one green from the next, and mix any subtle variations that he sees, that's a worthy skill. </div>
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But painting is not about copying what you see. It's about expressing what <i>you </i>see / think / feel about the view in front of you or in your head. On the other hand, the skills required to paint a specific shade of green that you want to see on your canvas is absolutely essential. Does that make sense? You don't want to <i>copy </i>what's in front of you, but the skills necessary to do just that, is absolutely essential. It does <i>not </i>mean it's OK to mix thoughtlessly and rationalize it by saying that you're expressing what you feel. Of course you really <i>could </i>be expressing the green you see in your mind's eye, but only you know if you're being absolutely honest with yourself, and if you're trying to paint representationally, the painting still need to be convincing.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Still A Few Remaining</i>, 14 x 18 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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I don't mean to go into a rant on this post, but I just wanted to make that point clear. If you have to have really, really good control over mixing colors, you have to do it carefully and thoughtfully. If you've seen your favorite painter mix his greens haphazardly, it may just be because he's done it a million times and can achieve a specific result very quickly. It doesn't mean we should match his speed! You'll get faster as you gain experience, but speed should never be the goal.<br />
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Please pardon my lecturing tone - I just had a big discussion about this with a student, and I'm still in the mode and I just wanted to get all this down before I forget. <br />
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Let's get to some practical stuff.<br />
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I have the same tube colors on my palette, whether I'm painting a sunny scene or a cloudy one. I have the same set of colors, for that matter, if I'm painting a cityscape, or a figure, even. My strategy to painting varied greens is not to have specific greens out of the tube. No Viridian on my palette, no Sap Green. Instead, I have three blues, three yellows, and three reds, and I just mix all my secondaries from these. My palette looks like this;<br />
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<li>Titanium White</li>
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<li>Ultramarine Blue</li>
<li>Prussian Blue</li>
<li>Paynes Grey</li>
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<li>Cadmium Lemon</li>
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<li>Yellow Ochre</li>
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<li>Permanent Red</li>
<li>Alizarin Permanent</li>
<li>Transparent Red Oxide</li>
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If you'll notice, it's a primaries palette, with three variation of each of the primaries; warm, cool, and low chroma. Whether the Prussian is warmer or cooler than the Ultramarine is up for debate, but I just think of them as green-leaning, and violet-leaning. </div>
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A couple of things to note; Every brand has a different name for Transparent Red Oxide. It's essentially a synthetic red oxide. Most of the time I use Gamblin's <i>Transparent Earth Red, </i>but other brands' versions are similar. </div>
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I sometimes substitute Ivory Black for Paynes Grey. </div>
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I sometimes use a mixture of Cad Lemon + Transparent Red Oxide instead of Cad Yellow Deep.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Napa Farm</i>, 9 x 12 inches, oil on linen </span><span style="color: red;">sold</span></div>
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May be the most obvious thing I should say about mixing greens is that trees are darker than grass. Seems obvious, but may a beginning painter get this wrong. It's because they forget to compare the two. It isn't <i>always </i>true, to be sure, but it's true most of the time. Just observe and you see that there's a big difference. Not because Carlson said verticals are darker than the ground plane, either. (though that's true most of the time) It's simpler than that; the local values are significantly different. At least where I live, most of the trees that I see are either evergreens, Live Oaks, or Eucalyptus. Aspens and Birches can be very light in value, so it's not an automatic decision. You simply have to look and compare. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Take the Shortcut</i>, 12 x 21 inches, oil on linen</span></div>
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I tend to mix greens by identifying the hue-direction and relative value at the same time. If it's a dull, dark green, I might reach for Ultramarine + Cad Deep. Since Ultramarine is red-leaning, the resulting green is grayed down. </div>
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If I'm looking for a lighter green that still leans toward blue, I may add white to the same mix. </div>
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If I need it to be warmer, like in the late afternoon, I would first mix the local color green (the green of the thing itself) and start adding the color of the light - more yellows and reds. </div>
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If I need a really intense green, I'd use a green-leaning blue (Prussian) + a green-leaning yellow (Cad Lem) and leave the reds out of it. </div>
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I almost always mix a little bit of white in the lit areas, but not in the shadow areas. <i>Unless</i> I'm doing a high-key painting where there are a lot of colors in the shadows.</div>
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You have to be careful with the white, because while it helps to lighten the value, it also cools the color. You don't want to have a cool light - warm shadow situation when the opposite is called for. </div>
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The deepest, darkest greens are so dark that it almost doesn't matter whether it looks green or not, as long as it's harmonious and transparent. My favorite mixes here are Ultramarine + Transparent Oxide Red, or Prussian + Transparent Oxide Red. The latter actually looks green, so it's very effective.</div>
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The darkest darks are essentially where the light doesn't reach - not only the sunlight, but no ambient or reflected light reaches either. If an area is so dark that you can't make out any detail or color information, I paint it transparently. If I can still see detail or identify color, I paint it opaquely even if it's in the shadow - I don't <i>paint</i> details, but being able to see them is a deciding factor. </div>
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All the greens you see in the paintings I've posted today, are mixed from the same set of tube colors that I listed. By combining different yellows and blues, and may be some reds (to warm up the color or to dull it down), you can get endless variations on the color green. </div>
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You might jsut take an afternoon to see how many different greens you can mix with palette. You should easily be able to mix dozens of them. Just take your time, observe, and practice mixing. Once you become familiar with what kinds of greens are possible with these tube colors, the greens will become power tools for expression, rather than nasty problems to overcome each time you face the canvas!</div>
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Happy Mixing!</div>
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Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1478203922242751266.post-45182135523793885742016-09-15T22:12:00.001-07:002017-06-25T22:27:52.761-07:00Chapter Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Chapter Two</i>, 16 x 20 inches, oil on linen </span><span style="color: red;">sold</span></div>
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This painting just came back from a show, so I thought I'd talk about it a little bit. It's one of a series of paintings depicting a figure reading a book. I noticed that when someone is reading a book, they really can't stay in a contrived pose. Soon they all get into a comfortable position that they're accustomed to. And these poses tend to be very natural looking.</div>
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The color scheme is pretty simple. A blue couch, white dress, flesh. And none of them have tricky variations. </div>
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I did make an effort, however, to integrate the hues from the three main colors. For example, the blue of the couch is used in the shadows of the dress, and in the flesh tones as well. You can see it in her thigh, and it's also mixed into the shadow colors of the flesh, which gives her face a slight blue-violet tint. The white of the dress is obviously used in all the lit areas, and in darker colors too, for the most part. The flesh tone has red and yellow in it (makes for a peachy color when mixed with white). You can see the yellow in the warmth of the light on her dress, and red mixed into the blue couch, which makes it a little bit violet. </div>
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All this is in the interest of creating unity through color harmony. It's reasonable to define harmony as two (or more) colors containing a common denominator. The more they have in common, the more harmonious they are. So in theory, and in practice, if you have a very limited palette like I did with this one, and make sure every mixture contains at least two of the tube colors on the palette, all mixed colors will have something in common with all other mixed colors. It's very difficult, in fact, to get <i>out </i>of harmony. I probably had the following tube colors for this painting;</div>
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<li>Titanium White</li>
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<li>Ultramarine Blue</li>
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<li>Cadmium Lemon</li>
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<li>Yellow Ochre</li>
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<li>Alizarin Crimson</li>
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<li>Transparent Oxide Red</li>
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One blue, two yellows, and two reds. The darkest darks are a mixture of Ultramarine and Transparent Red Oxide, and these are kept very thin and transparent, and for the most part, on the warm side.<br />
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I tried to use a full range of values, from pure white, to the darkest color I can make with my limited palette. Turns out, Ultramarine + T.O.R can get very dark.<br />
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The textural treatment creates a lot of visual activity in an otherwise large flat areas where not much happens. It also contributes to the overall sense of unity because it becomes another common denominator throughout the picture.<br />
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How I get the textures vary, but the actual texture of the linen plays a big part of it. (I use Claessens No.66 oil primed linen.) I may drag a loaded brush lightly across the surface of the linen, like dry brush, or paint an area with thicker application and then scrape it off with a palette knife or a squeegee. I sometimes use a rubber brayer, or may be press textured paper towel into a wet surface. Anything is fair game.<br />
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There are a lot of lost edges in this painting. The seat of the couch connects with the shadows in the dress, the dress in light (stomach area) connects with her forearm, her hair connects with the dark background. The one area where I went back and forth between losing and keeping the edge was that of the hem of the dress against her thigh. Not only did I decide to keep the edge, but I chose to emphasize it by giving it a sharp edge, essentially making it the primary focus.<br />
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To shift the focal point from something predictably important – the facial features in a figure painting, or the book, in this case – to something that seems to not have any relevance in the narrative itself, is something I do often. I think it can make a more compelling design, and a lot of the times it implies that theres more to the narrative than the obvious. I'm not sure why that is, exactly. But it's kind of like noticing something that's easily overlooked and what if, this insignificant thing, actually was important? It changes the narrative entirely, and takes it in a completely unexpected direction.<br />
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....or not. I don't think the viewer necessarily contemplates what that narrative is, but I like to think that this shifting of the focal point somehow contributes to the sense of mystery, and invites the viewer to linger a little longer.<br />
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<br />Terryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100904448552432396noreply@blogger.com8