Oil Painting! WOW!

I have just finished  a week long workshop–Classical Portraiture. I love taking workshops. They are inspiring and great to kick start the creative juices. This workshop was even more amazing than I imagined it would be. Kathy Speranza, our instructor, is an accomplished portrait painter and a wonderful teacher. After this workshop, I have to put her up there with my top three teachers from Simmons College. She has a passion for classical painting and is teaching us a highly researched palette used to create classic flesh tones and more naturalistic colors.

The palette

After what I learned about the palette, I now can say I would have taken a workshop on just this subject alone. Kathy also included lots of good information about oil painting and the properties of the different materials used. For example, I learned that raw umber is a fast drying color and that clove oil slows down the drying time. I also learned that you can put your painting in front of a hot oven to speed up the drying time. All those little tidbits of information are so valuable  because I have never been able to find an instructor to teach these kinds of things about oil painting before.

The fist day we did under paintings. 
We covered the canvas with a mixture of raw umber and linseed oil. Then we literally scratched the drawing out with a stump drawing tool and wiped the highlights out with a rag. Then we filled the dark area's back in with raw umber.

Kathy's under painting

My under painting

Day two we mixed the palette. 
Then we painted. A week is not long enough to finish a painting using this process. Below is are examples of the stage we got to in class. I will work on my painting all summer long.

Our fabulous model, Rebecca

Kathy demoing

Art in a Cart

A few years ago a friend gave me this cart and I never used it until this class, Classical Portraiture. (more to come about the class this weekend when I have pictures) Now I'm in love with the cart.
I have my palette with wet paint, my box of brushes, liquids, tools and rags, my lunch and my purse all strapped neatly onto the cart. No more fumbling or juggling a million bags. No more searching for pockets or forgetting things in the car.
I did find myself taking the elevator this week, but in a pinch I could just lift the whole thing up and carry it up the stairs. I will need to make some adjustments to the strapping system as I noticed if I don't pack it right, things can slide, but all and all, I'm in love with my cart and the possibilities of a whole new art world about to open to me. I see plein air painting in my future, or as some one once said to me, fresh air painting.

Halfway There with the New Bathroom

OK I know this blog is supposed to be about art, but sometimes life gets in the way of making art. While I love the home improvements and that FINALLY we are getting this bathroom fixed, (old bathroom is too embarrassing to even show) it's disruptive to have things out of place, uncontrollable dust and grime from the demolition, and the small snafu which left us without water for a day.
One more weekend of bathroom work and it should be done.
But this Saturday, 2-4 at Lynn Arts is the opening of the show BUMP which my painting, Electrified Water Beyond the Pines is in.
Till then I will catch up on some laundry and clean up some dust. Can't wait to show my new bathroom.

Gelatin Printmaking

On Saturday I took a gelatin printmaking class at Lynn Arts. Very fun and very prolific for me. I made 18 prints in this four hour workshop. Here are a few. If you really want to see them all, I put all 18 of them on my website, because I learned how to batch upload. janezeeb.com

Electrified Water Beyond the Pines

This is my painting that has been accepted into the BUMP show at Lynn Arts. I'm so excited to see it hanging in a nice white gallery space. I'm also so excited to see how well this jepg looks online and again I want to thank Jeff