Being Judge and Jury: Selecting Artwork for the South Carolina Watermedia Society’s 39th Annual Exhibition
I was just recently down in South Carolina visiting the SCWS to teach a workshop, but also, to jury their 2016 members show.
This was the first time I’ve done this – being the sole juror responsible for selecting awards winners. I was flattered to be asked – but talk about pressure!
Judging another artist’s work is a delicate topic. I wouldn’t want to be casual about any decisions. That’s not respectful of the artists’ time and commitment. Read more…
USK Instructor Interviews up on YouTube
This just in: my Urban Sketchers ‘Meet the Instructor” video just went up :)
It’s kind of fun to browse all these miniature interviews with your favorite Urban Sketchers!
Spend a little time getting to know us, and see what we might be teaching next year at the 2017 International Symposium in Chicago. (You know, assuming we get in! Everyone is encouraged to send in their own proposal, here’s the call for entry).
I hope some of you come and teach. If I make it in, 2017 will be my seventh year. It would be fantastic to see some new faces on this page.
Suddenly, Compositions are Easy. Weird.
Recent life drawing session at Syn Studio. Sketching on half-sheet (15×22″) with a pointed round and limited color.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned, in the past, I used to make collages by taking a stack of individual drawings and designing the page in photoshop.
(Here’s a little how-to on that process).
Weirdly, in an example of the way the brain works, I’ve suddenly become able to simply sketch a collage right onto the page – and basically be satisfied with the ‘un-planned’ page design. The first one (below) is a little less perfectly planned. But those were the fast poses.
Kind of neat how some skills just unlock by accident.
Book Review: The Capillas of San Miguel de Allende
Every so often an inspiring project is brought to my attention. The Capillas of San Miguel de Allende: A Legacy of Faith by Lorie Topinka and Linda Whynman is exactly the kind of sketching narrative that I love to hear about.
Their book is an excellent resource for anyone inspired to try an off-the-beaten-path sketching adventure near San Miguel, Mexico.
I was pleased to get a copy from Lorie, and am excited to give everyone a peek inside.
Some time ago, these two painters began a personal project to visit and paint as many of the local Capillas as possible. They have taken their ‘treasure hunt’ for these historic brick and plaster chapels and expanded it into an informative guide for other travelling sketchers. Read more…
Urban Sketchers Montreal in La Presse
If you download today’s issue of La Presse (Sat Nov. 12) available for free on the Apple App Store, you’ll find a terrific feature in the Voyage section all about Urban Sketchers Montreal! Read more…
Watercolor Figures Wet-into-Wet
A few weeks back I’d been sketching at the UQAM intensif. Maybe you remember me saying I felt those paintings were ‘over drawn’? Relying too much on the pencil line.
The other day I dropped into an afternoon session at the CCGV, and this time – left the damned pencil at home! It’s the only way to break myself of my drawing :)
Or, more honestly – to make myself draw with the brush, rather than the line.
This was a different model, and shorter poses – but just look at how interesting the washes are, (above) as compared to when you’re tinting a pencil drawing. (below).
I was also determined to work faster, and wetter. These two are the same pose. Instead of using all my time striving for perfection, I went back to the art school approach, and did multiple sketches, trying to get as many as possible in the available time.
The other advantage of working two (or three) at once – you can just keep moving. While the paint is wet on one – skip to the other. Here’s a pose and a re-take on the head. I was trying for a better likeness – but also a more interesting figure/ground.
So, that’s the way it goes with this strange pursuit of watercolor painting. Back and forth between direct brushwork and more precise drawings, continually looking for incremental improvement :)
A Marathon of Miniatures in Watercolor
A few weeks back, I had the urge to do a major painting expedition. I was in the middle of an illustration deadline, and all that picky computer work was making me crave some watercolor. I wanted very badly to take a week off and just paint every day. Sadly, there wasn’t time for anything like that.
So what’s the solution?
The Ladies’ View at the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor
This is my watercolor of the Ladies’ View. (Half sheet, 15×22″, on 140lb Fabriano, painted in studio).
This is a well-known spot in Ireland, overlooking a series of small lakes leading into the Killarney National Park. As the story goes, Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting arrived at the top of the pass and declared it the best view in Ireland. Maybe they were simply done with the harrowing mountain roads. This was as far from Muckross House as anyone wanted to go:)
Beautiful as it is, there are certainly great spots all over the five peninsulas – most popular being the Iveragh Peninsula (the Ring of Kerry). But to be honest, every high spot has a view, every coast has cliffs, and every valley has misty mountains. The best view in the southwest of Ireland is wherever you’re standing at the golden hour.
I did this quick sketch on location but I don’t really feel it’s a successful piece. We only had a narrow gap between rain, and I got too fixated on the lakes, and somehow lost the sense of scale.
On our return I decided to redo my field sketch in the studio, and it’s a good thing – as it has been accepted in the 2016 Open Water exhibition of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor, which opened last night at the John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto.
I’m pleased to say, The Ladies’ View has won me the 2016 S.J. Sloan Award, and – (this just in!) – I’ve been elected to lifetime membership in the CSPWC – which is a rather nice bit of encouragement.
I consider myself a beginner when it comes to studio pieces. I haven’t really done that much work at home, being more of a plein air painter. But this is something I’ve been interested in taking more seriously.
Here are a few of the other pieces, done back home in Montreal. These are all warmups for the Ladies’ View. There’s a common theme here – which is, going back for the sketches that I couldn’t get on the spot. Some, like this one, I simply ran out time. The fog closed in and this view across the inlet vanished.
Or, in this case, we were perched dangerously on a curve in the road, looking at the mist rolling down onto a little harbor town, The clouds were moving so fast, and I was a little paranoid about delaying our drive and ending up still on the mountain after dark. So I didn’t sketch on the spot -but I knew I’d be returning to this image.
I rather like the 9×12″ sketch above. It has a lot of dynamic brushwork. But here below is a half sheet, attempting to do a better rendition.
I think the difference between the smaller sketch and this 15×22″ version illustrates exactly where I’m ‘stuck’ with watercolor right now.
You can get very used to the behavior of pigments at a certain size, and on your favorite paper. I have an instinctive feel for how fast to work and how much a given pigment will float. When I scale up, I think I lose that freshness, that ‘untouched’ manipulation that I get from watery blooms and pulling edges.
This is just a temporary problem I’m sure:) Anyone who knows me can guess my feeling about this challenge.
All I need to do is paint 100 half sheets, then a 100 full sheets and I should have learned what I need to along the way :)
Given how these recent experiments turned out, I have a few things on my list to try next, starting with larger brushes. I have some large (1 and 2″) flats that I’ve been wanting to try out. I intend to try mixing in jars, and pouring paint, and doing more work with atomizers. I’m determined to grow the size of my studio paintings, without losing the spontaneity of the watercolor.
This last one here is a great composition found by accident while walking across an un-named field. I’m very happy with this piece – but I feel like I’m looking at the same size of brushstroke as I use on a miniature, simply propagated over a larger sheet. My self-critique is – that is too many strokes! It is in danger of feeling over worked. Watercolor should have an element of controlled accident. I never want it to become labored.
But anyway – we’ll see what happens with these theories soonish. For now, we’re off to Toronto to see the show! If you know anyone in the area, here’s the details:
I just want to also say – it’s neat to see my Urban Sketching co-conspirator Shari Blaukopf’s painting used for the Open Water announcement :) (Well, the sky anyway). Congrats to her for also making it into the show! It’s kind of fun to have both of us in there at the same time.
~m
Announcing my second art book: Designing Creatures and Characters: How to Build an Artist’s Portfolio for Video Games, Film, Animation, and More
Order Designing Creatures and Characters from Amazon
( US | CA )
Hey everyone! I’m excited to announce: my second art book is on sale now at bookstores everywhere!
This is my second hands-on workbook for artists. This one is full of practical answers to the question “How can I get a job as a Concept Artist in video games or animation?!”
If you know an artist who’s a fan of fantasy or science fiction. Who reads comics and plays video games, and would love to become the creative genius behind all those monsters and heroes – this book is written just for those beautiful dreamers.
I feel lucky to have a unique perspective on the topic, having worked on both sides of the job. I’ve spent 20 years working in entertainment media, first as an Art Director, hiring and managing teams of artists, but eventually succeeding in becoming a full time Concept Artist. This was always my goal – there’s no greater luxury than getting to draw from your imagination, then helping teams of talented 3D artists and animators bring your ideas to life. It’s incredible to think this can be a lucrative professional career!
The book brings you my real-world answers to the questions; “How do I build a portfolio without having actual experience? What do art directors look for in a candidate? How do you come up with ideas day after day? What do I have to do to get this awesome job!? and once I get it, how do I become amazing at it?”
Find out more about what’s in the book, over here in my books section. Or just head over to Amazon and order a copy today!
Order Designing Creatures and Characters from Amazon
( US | CA )
Travel Sketching in Ireland Part Two: What did I learn?
Let’s try a different approach for this post. Here’s the rest of my recent paintings from Ireland. With each one, I’ll try to distill down the main thing I learned from it.
(Note: This is part 2/2 – the first half of the Irish paintings are over here).
Muckrose House, Killarney: Get further away to see the real picture. It helps you remove unimportant detail.
Portumna Castle and Gardens: Don’t avoid backlit subjects for fear you can’t see details. They make for strong silhouettes. The French call it contre-jour / against the day.
Starting up Valencia Island: Design Don’t Document really works. The blue valley in the far distance is a better backdrop to this table land. Bringing it forward / scaling it up – that worked. Those little houses are fascinating. They deserve more prominence. Paint what’s interesting, not what’s real.
View from Valencia Island: He who hesitates is lost. When you see a composition – grab it. You never know how long it will last. It was only about twenty minutes from sunny day to zero visibility.
Compare these two hey? Only a few hours and 5 minutes down the road.
Dingle Peninsula, 11am vs 4pm: Bad Weather makes for Great Paintings. Felt great painting in the sun that morning – but the result is empty calorie candy floss next to the afternoon’s sketch. Don’t accept the easy views. Keep looking. Get out early, take a break, stay late.
(Note: This is part 2/2 – the first half of the Irish paintings are over here).
