Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
Barnyard at G and S Orchards, by Carol L. Douglas. 9X12, oil on canvas, $450, framed. During Saturday’s class at G and S Orchards, my goal was to solidify the lesson from the prior week about painting into a monochromatic grisaille. This was something I used to do but had abandoned until I painted with …
Winter Lambing, 48X36, oil on canvas, by little ol’ me. Critiquing a painting this week, I focused on the concrete: there isn’t any texture in the background, the yellows are too cool, the vase is too busy. A few hours later, my student looked at my Winter Lambing and said, “I’m playing it too safe, …
Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic Muse, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1783. A Welsh former lady’s maid, Sarah Siddons went on to be recognized as the greatest tragedienne of her age. As an actress she was outside social mores. She was painted by both Gainsborough and Reynolds, whose portrait of her is more typical of a …
Reverse of Branch Hill Pond, Hampstead, oil on canvas by John Constable, about.1821-22. Recently discovered during relining at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. As everyone knows, the Barbizon and Impressionist painters invented plein air painting—except, of course, that they didn’t. An Italian trip had long been a requisite of study for the best European …
An Everyman moment for the modern world, from Amy Stein’s Stranded. Every once in a while an artist comes up with an idea that’s so universal I wish I’d thought of it. Amy Stein photographs people stuck at the side of the road. Stein’s artist statement demonstrates the disconnect between what we say we’re investigating …
Charm bracelet by Jennifer Jones Jewelry. Jennifer Jones makes handmade statement jewelry from vintage brooches, pins, buttons, and the occasional Tabasco sauce bottle. Since she’s my former painting student and friend, we frequently talk shop. Recently, she’s been telling me that Etsy, the e-commerce website focusing on handmade craft items, has started allowing the resale …
Continue reading “Etsy’s just another craft fair that’s now allowing resale.”
Banksy—as everyone in the world knows—was recently in New York. While there, he submitted the above screed to the New York Times (which, recognizing a publicity stunt, didn’t print it). Apparently Banksy never saw the late, lamented Twin Towers, or he’d know better than to call the new buildings an “eyesore.” Since that ghastly day …
My personal favorite will always be codfish, here served with polenta with kale. But it’s equally likely to be grassfed beef, or a curry, or chicken stew. This week, I’m taking a look back at my summer, both in Maine and in Rochester. Fresh greens with nasturtium blossoms. When I arrived at Lakewatch Manor at …
Portrait of Ann Douglas, by John P. Douglas, pastel on paper, c. 1969 Last week I wrote, “My father loved Maine, painting, and sailing wooden boats. Several times this week when I signed my paintings I thought of how amazed and happy he would have been to see his daughter getting paid to stand on …
Summer Sky, by Marilyn Fairman, oil on linen, 9X12. It’s another entry in Rye Painters on Location’s silent auction, and a darn lovely one, too! If I had more time, I’d see Marilyn more than once a year, right? A few weeks ago I talked with a wonderful New Hampshire-based painter who is busy raising …
Continue reading “Desperately seeking the Immaculata (and other things)”