July 9, 2013
Today's Tuesday Tip: WHEELS
July 6, 2013
A Musing - "Old Age"
Actually not so amusing to we who have reached a certain age. I won't be painting this weekend as we are hosting a celebration of no less than three birthdays here at the studio. Two of the birthdays are milestones. My brother-in-law, Jim, is turning 50 and my niece 13. Her father is also celebrating a birthday and I think next year he bests Jim by a decade. Having reached that pinnacle myself last year, I think we may forgo the black balloons and gag gifts like Geritol and Depends as tasteless and too near the knuckle. I have for years shared breakfast every Wednesday with a group of six or seven retired art professors who range in age from 75 to 84. At 60, I am the baby of the group. The "breakfast club" is a lively bunch of merry men who rotate around town to five or six favorite haunts. We arrive after the breakfast rush, around 9:30 and linger over coffee, telling oft repeated jokes and stories of past triumphs and defeats. I say "oft repeated" but I was informed of a standing rule when I was brought into the fold - you were only allowed to tell the same story three times (you got a warning on two.) I remember the first time, after regaling the others with one of my more amusing anecdotes, Bob smiled seraphically and gently raised two fingers. So much for being the baby of the group. We tip extremely well and the waitresses are glad to see us and keep the java flowing. My wife asked me once what we talked about for all these years. That is a good question. What we don't talk about is our health, recent operations or the inevitability of the next phase of the journey, if you catch my drift. After this year I could almost keep up with them, what with my faux heart attack, cystoscopy and the hernia operation to name a few, but no, we keep it light. We are a think tank of creative intellectuals and, like Picasso's group at the Quatre Gats, discuss our latest work, what's happening at the museums or galleries around town and what is wrong in the world. It may move on to who won last night's Orioles game and the lousy bull pen. I have to say that I have learned a great deal from these men and look forward to each Wednesday. What I have really gleaned from them is a revelation that age truly is just a number.
July 5, 2013
"Cloche to you"
Got cats? Miss having cut flowers on the table? This may be the answer. Susan pinched back the coleus yesterday and had in her hand a small nosegay of colorful leaves. What to do? Throw them in the compost? Put them in a vase and take a chance the kids will scatter them all over the kitchen at first chance? Enter the large cloche - the perfect foil for curious cats. We found these huge cloches at Home Goods for 15 bucks. Problem solved. Hey - I said this is the new, improved blog, chock-a-block full of life lessons, fun ideas and who knows. I'm making this up as I go. Heck, I may post my favorite recipes before the dust has settled. Stay tuned.
July 4, 2013
"Vincent on a Director's Chair"
Oil on Canvas 22" x 28" (best guess) 1978
I said I would try and post something everyday. Yoda admonished - "Do or do not, there is no try," so here is a flashback from the old theatre days. Back in the 70's, as some of you may know, I was working with members of the Towson Mime Troupe and the All American Mini Circus. Those were fun times and many many canvases came out of the studio back then. This was (and still is) Vincent Valenti resting on a director's chair painted back in 1978.
July 3, 2013
"Chloe" - redux
"Chloe redux" 2013 Oil on panel 6" x 8"
Say, haven't I seen this before? Well, yes and no. It's true many artists return to an image now and again to explore new possibilities or variations on a theme. As artists, we (hopefully) never stop growing and one way is to look at something that worked, or didn't work, in a new way. So it is with little Chloe here. I had multiple reasons for returning to this image, one was a long ago faux pas that I am trying to set right and the second is academic. This painting was perfect for me to see the different effects between my old dutch palette with its myriad of umbers, ochres and siennas and my new limited "Zorn" palette of just white, black, cadmium red light and yellow ochre. Is there a difference? I'll let you decide. Personally, I find the new piece richer and more "late nineteenth century" than the older work which, while not without charm, lacks a certain je ne sais quoi.
"Chloe" 2009 Oil on panel 6" x 8"
July 2, 2013
Today's Tuesday tip: BEANBAG ASHTRAY BRUSH HOLDER
There are two kinds of painters out there - those who sit and those who stand while working. I fall into the later category. I suppose I kid myself into believing that this makes up for a daily exercise routine. No matter which you group fall into, you have to put your loaded brushes down sometime. I used to keep four or five charged brushes in my hand at once, fencing with the canvas and switching tools as needed. When I started painting on a smaller scale I found holding many tiny brushes confusing and unnecessary. Necessity being the mother of invention, I discovered the beanbag ashtray close at hand was perfect for holding wet brushes. For as long as I can remember I've smoked a pipe while I work, or at least while I step away and reflect on my work. A pipe is the perfect tool for artistic contemplation - just ask Norman Rockwell. I suppose if you don't smoke, you could put art supplies or candy or small change in the bowl. Another use it serves is a pin cushion. Why on earth do I need a pin cushion near my easel, you may ask? The answer is as near as the closest cat, and there are four in the studio. Forget analyzing the pigments to authenticate my work, the historians will be analyzing the cat hair. Siamese hair?...this must be from the 1980's or 90's, etc. Besides, beanbag ashtrays are back! Very mid-century modern.
They can be found on Etsy and eBay. Vintage ones just feel better so try and find an old one. Here's a sample link: Beanbag ashtray
July 1, 2013
"Rally Girl"
Oil on canvas 22" x 28"
Welcome to the new and improved "Mark Adams Studio" blog! Henceforth, I will attempt to post on a (almost) daily basis my latest work, older paintings that you may have missed, tips about my process, things I have learned along the way and general musings. What brought this revelation about? Perhaps it was losing a very close friend last month that reminded me that life is precious and you never know how much time is left on the clock to say all you have to say.
This painting - "Rally Girl" is something am I playing with at present- model, Amy astride Susan's old 1970 Vespa Rally 180. I have become quite the scooteristi lately. I still love my Harley, too.
December 17, 2012
December challenge painting - "Old Age"
Self portrait with Sammy
Oil on panel 6" x 8"
This month's challenge is particularly apropos, as I am turning 60 in two weeks. To all my friends who have blown by this milestone years ago and scoff, I say - "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to." (and I'm old enough to have heard Leslie Gore sing that song on the radio.) Actually, I have more or less come to grips with 60. Although I haven't done nearly enough with my life and my art, my friends in their 70's and 80's give me hope that I still have time to change that. I am looking forward to a new year full of promise.
I am taking a sabbatical from the challenge group for a while. It has been I great experience brain storming with these talented artists and I am going to miss them. Here is their take on old age:
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"Mary and Delys in Salzberg"
Pastel on sanded paper 20"x16"
©2012 Vicki Ross
November 15, 2012
November challenge painting - Adulthood
"Father Frederick Hanna"
Oil on canvas 24" x 36"
This month's challenge was "Adulthood" carrying forward the theme of last month's "Adolescence". It may come as no surprise to anyone that the final challenge this year will be "Old Age." Rather apropos, as I am turning 60 next month. Though I am tempted to paint a self-portrait, I fear my septuagenarian and octogenarian friends might scoff at the idea. I almost copped out again this month and thought to use a snippet of a self-portrait I did back in 1990 called "Marks on Canvas." There, within the trompe-l'œil collage-like painting, is an image of me holding my infant daughter Holly. Probably the first time in my life that I considered myself an adult, with all the responsibilities that go along with parentage. I had finally made it.
Detail - "Marks on Canvas"
40" x 60"
1990
Alas, it was not to be. My profession and indeed my very nature prevented me from fully realizing adulthood. I'm not implying that I suffer from a Peter Pan complex, however my first wife's name was Wendy. Just sayin'.
My next idea of what to paint for this challenge was to revisit a painting I did of my daughter and her youngest child. Why is it that having a child seems to be the absolute personification of adulthood I wonder? Can it be the childless remain forever young? You may remember this painting from 2009.
"Holly and Jonahven"
Oil on panel - 6" x 8"
Instead I looked to my dear friend and recently departed Father Fred Hanna. I have been working on this painting for over a decade. I was loath to finish it as I have a very odd superstition that has haunted me for years. From the time I first started painting, I found that if I painted someone that I loved, they soon vanished - poof - gone. They didn't necessarily die, but they were gone from my life. This happened time after time. I purposely left the chain holding Fred's cross unpainted until he finally was called home last year at 86. What a sweet man he was. He married my wife and me, as well as my daughter, a myriad of other friends and relatives and buried a few as well. He was the father to us all. You can click Fred's obituary from the Baltimore Sun to see what a great man he was. What the article fails to mention is during his tenure as associate rector at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Mount Vernon, he allowed the aspiring directer John Waters to show clandestine screenings of his notorious "Pink Flamingos" in the under-croft when a venue could not be found. Indeed, John calls Fred his first distributor.
My fellow artist's work this month:
"New Family"
October 15, 2012
"Adolescence" - The October Diana Moses Botkin Artist's Challenge
"Self portrait 1968"
Oil on Canvas 18" x 27"
This month's challenge, choosen by Suzanne, was "Adolescence," so, call it a cop out or inspired, I decided to post a painting I did in my adolescence. Painted when I was 16 and in my Dutch Masters phase, this piece hung in my parents' house for years. Only a naïve 16-year-old would cut those hands off at the knuckles. You may note that Justin Bieber has nothing on me. I was way ahead of my time, and quite the heart-throb in my day.
I also want to say welcome back, Suzanne!
September 15, 2012
"Childhood" - The September Diana Moses Botkin Artists' Challenge
"Willow - May Day"
Oil on Panel - 8" x 10"
It's been said that you're never too old to have a happy childhood. I take this as an axiom. If I didn't, I probably would have become an electrician like my father, instead of embracing this crazy artist's lifestyle. This is also why I have ridden motorcycles for over 40 years - it keeps me young. Starring down the big 6-0, I am more aware of my own mortality and am attempting to become (slightly) more health conscious. Having grandchildren also puts one's years in perspective. My three live in Oregon, so I don't get to interact with them all that often, but they are all sweet kids. This is Willow, the middle child, on May Day.
My fellow challengees, as always, had a different take childhood:
August 15, 2012
"Statues" - The August Diana Moses Botkin Artist's Challenge
"Nymphs and Satyr"
Oil on Canvas - 22" x 28"
This month's artist's challenge, picked by member Vicki Ross, was "statues." This particular statue lives at the bottom of our spiral staircase. My wife and I bought it years ago on Royal Street in New Orleans. Many models have leaned against this sculpture, the latest being Sebastien. I tried to keep this loose, warm and free. It was refreshing to use 1" bristles once again. I was losing my eyesight painting all those little panels.
All the work for this month are very strong and varied:
All the work for this month are very strong and varied:
"Love"
16x12" Oil on Panel
© V.N.Ross
July 25, 2012
"Sammy"
Oil on panel - 8" x 8"
It seems odd to sit here knowing there is no place to put my
work anymore. Well, to be fair, there is still facebook and this blog. I was speaking more of an internet commerce site. Five years ago I became involved with the daily painting
movement - a collection of artists motivated to paint and post a painting
every day of the week and some weekends as well. Those familiar with this
blog know that I failed miserably at the "daily" part. I did post 149
entries in 2008, less in 2009 and continued to fall off from there.
It's not that I couldn't have done something everyday but I didn't merely want
to dash out a piece just for the sake of saying I showed up. I think it's
like Cal Ripken's continuous 2131 game streak or better yet, Lou Gehrig's. It
may be blasphemous to say but I suspect there were days when the manager put
them in for one "at bat" just to keep the streak going. I am going to miss my fellow painters at www.dailypainters.com. Some of them were stellar and did manage to produce quality work on a more or less daily basis. I endeavor to become more disciplined in the coming months. Hopefully, with better time management, I can do both gallery work and some small pieces.
It's fitting that my farewell piece is my boy Sammy looking wistfully out the studio window.
July 19, 2012
"Two Fox Hounds"
Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel - 8" x 10"
Still picking at this but I wanted to post something tonight.
July 15, 2012
"Hands" - The July 2012 Diana Moses Botkin Artist's Challenge
Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel - 8" x 8"
Challenge indeed! This month's theme is "hands" - the bane of many a painter, myself included. Upon seeing this month's challenge theme, I had half a mind to paint the face of a clock. After all, Diana didn't exactly specify what kind of hands. I suppose if it wasn't difficult or slightly "out of the box," it wouldn't be a challenge, would it? Why is depicting the metacarpus so difficult? Why are our paws so hard to portray? I have often heard that the expression, "that will cost you an arm and a leg" was based on early portrait painters who charged the least amount for a bust, more for a painting that included the arms and hands, and yet more for a full length portrait. Further research on the internet seems to debunk that explanation, but I am sticking with it.
Here is another theory:
Adam told God he was lonely, so God
said, "I will create a perfect companion for you who will always look after you,
do all the house work, cook all the food, carry your
children, look after you when you are sick, love and cherish you always. When
you have an argument your companion will always be the first to say "I'm sorry
because you were right."
"That sounds too good to be true," said Adam. "How much will this cost me, God?"
And God said, "An arm and a leg."
Then Adam said, "What can I get for a rib?"
And the rest is History.
"That sounds too good to be true," said Adam. "How much will this cost me, God?"
And God said, "An arm and a leg."
Then Adam said, "What can I get for a rib?"
And the rest is History.
Hands, often even more than faces, express a lot about a person. Why is that, I wonder? My mother was a particularly expressive, theatrical talker - her hands waving and gesticulating wildly as she spoke. Yet even at rest, her slender hands proclaimed her style and grace.
I would have loved to have had even just ten minutes with John Singer Sargent while he was painting the hands on one of his portraits. Painted with an exiguous amount of strokes, they are almost abstract when you get right up on them. The fluidity and expressiveness of his hands are almost too much for this artist to bear.
Here are my fellow challengees' mitts:
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June 28, 2012
"George"
Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel 6" x 8"
It's been a while since I was standing at my easel. A motorcycle trip to upper-state New York and a plethora of domestic stuff have kept me away. As you know, cold starts scare me, but to paraphrase Professor Higgins " By George, he's got it, I think he's got it." Apropos, as this venerable Jack Russel is named George. I have painted more than a few Jack Russel terriers and they have all been wonderfully sweet. George was no exception.
June 15, 2012
"In the pit - Dress rehersal for Washington Summer Opera's 2002 production of Ariadne aux Naxos for the June Diana Moses Botkin Artist's Challenge - Chiaroscuro"
Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel - 7" x 10"
Quite a title, eh. I was trying to outdo Turner for longest title. His "Snowstorm - steam boat off a harbor's mouth making signals in shallow water, and going by the lead." has been imbedded in my brain since Studio class back in '69. Each week our instructor, Charles Wagner, enlightened us with what he called "The story behind the painting," the back story of various famous paintings through the ages. But I digress. This month was my turn to pick the theme and I chose Chiaroscuro. This sketchy little study isn't quite as I had envisioned it in my mind when I chose the challenge. I was hoping for more Caravaggio and less Lautrec (I should be so good).
Here are my fellow challenge artists work:
"Basque Dancer"
oil 7" x 9"
oil 7" x 9"
May 21, 2012
"Artist Reference Photo Challenge - May"
Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel - 8" x 8"
Not much back story on this guy. I stumbled upon an artist challenge on facebook and thought this looked like fun. The facebook page is called "Artists reference photos." It's a site that shares imagery - very cool.
May 17, 2012
"Penny"
Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel - 8" x 8"
I'm finally getting back into the swing of things and what better way than with a hound? We had a beagle named Emily when I was growing up. She was a sweetheart and certainly earned her keep. Not that anyone had an alarm system back then but it would have been redundant with Emily guarding the fort. Her Ahooo, Ahooo alerted us (and the neighbors) to impending visitors, both wanted and unwanted.
This little girl is Penny. She and her cohort Chloe, who I painted back in March of '09, happily accompany her owner to work most days. Since he owns the company, no one seems to mind, with the exception that Penny has a penchant to abscond the lunch off anyone's desk who is foolish enough to turn their back or go off to get a soda. Her malfeasance is so notorious that the head of the company has vouchers for the local deli just in case she is successful. With a face like that and those soulful eyes, who could stay mad for long?
May 15, 2012
"Dogwood and Azeleas" - The May Diana Moses Botkin Artist's challenge
Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel - 8" x 10"
- THINK that I shall never see
- A painting lovely as a tree.
- A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
- Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
- A tree that looks at God all day,
- And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
- A tree that may in Summer wear
- A nest of robins in her hair;
- Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
- Who intimately lives with rain.
- Paintings are made by fools like me,
- But only God can make a tree.
- Forgive me Joyce (Kilmer) for taking liberties with your poem. This month's artist challenge was to paint a tree indigenous to your area. Perhaps I'm not a big picture guy or maybe I just like the intimacy of these dogwood blossoms set against a backdrop of crimson azaleas. They remind me of Andy Warhol's "Flowers" circa 1964.
- I don't know if there were dogwoods in the forest of Arden, but there should have been. This artist's life, my studio nestled in bucolic woods, pleases me well. [My] life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brook, sermons in stones, and good in everything. ~ William Shakespeare
- As for my fellow challengers, some have acquainted me with their woodland endeavors but alas, not all. There is an slight abatement of imagery. I fear this forest is but a glade.
- "West of Healing Springs"
11x14" Oil on Linen Panel
© Vicki Ross - "Palo Verde Sunset"
- 14"x18" oil
- Becky Joy Fine Art
April 30, 2012
"Grace"
Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"
One of my fellow internet artists, Dominique Eichi, was kind enough to send me some reference photos of her chocolate lab, Grace, back in 2008 when I was looking for grist for the creative mill. Four years later her long wait has paid off (I hope). You can see from her blog; http://artbydominiqueeichi.blogspot.com/ that Grace is very much her constant companion. I saw today that she, too, had a go at painting her in September of 2010. Thanks, Dominique! She was fun to paint.
April 23, 2012
"Baby O"
Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 6" x 8"
I was going to title tonight's entry "Burn Out" - not because I am burned out, far from it. Because, once again my painting light has burned out. It is now nearly impossible to buy a high wattage flood light. Thanks to those good folks in Washington, we have to suffer the cold pallor of CFL bulbs. Yuck!! Today I was experimenting with a tandem light source - a supposedly "full spectrum" CFL and a warm 100 watt "Reveal" bulb in a clip-on lamp just below. I am not unhappy with the results. That said, I am not thrilled with the reproduction of this painting. It is much, much nicer in real-life. The reds of her pigtails on the right got lost and there is a bit of glare on the left. C'est la vie.
April 15, 2012
"Laissez les bons temps rouler!"
Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 8" x 10"Attention shoppers! Yes, this month's Diana Moses Botkin's challenge is shopping. I was in New Orleans recently, which is why there has been no new work here lately, NOT because I've lost the spark. These girls were in a souvenir shop trying on masks and boas and were kind enough to acquiesce to an impromptu modeling session.
My fellow challengees had some fun takes on the subject:
My fellow challengees had some fun takes on the subject:
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