I'm almost ready to leave on another trip: my second stay as one of the Artists in Residence, sponsored by the Clarksville Historical Society. My partner in residence is the wonderful pastel landscape artist, D.LaRue Mahlke: www.dlaruemahlke.com, who is prominently featured in the current issue of Southwest Art magazine: http://www.southwestart.com/featured/mahlke-d-mar2013
The last time we were there, we did a public demonstration on the veranda of the historic Lennox House. Our model was a local girl, posing in a lace dress that belonged to the original owner of the house.
It was a wonderful thing to be inserted into the timeline of Clarksville, known as the Gateway to Texas. To meet the people who descended from the original settlers and hear their stories, to stay in the home of a family who has been so influential in the history of the area, and to become part of its legacy is a wonderful thing to me. The last time there, we witnessed the changing of the seasons, from summer to fall. Now it's time to catch the first blossoms of spring!
Here is a double post with a double meaning-title.
The first picture is a backstage glimpse of a painting in progress of a showgirl, which is the second picture: a painting of a showgirl backstage.
The artwork taped behind the model is from a children's art class that took place earlier in the week. I never did put those into my painting, choosing to work exclusively on the girl while I had her in front of me. This is a lesson I learned from a master painter, who humiliated a couple of painters in his class that were working on the background first, while the model was fresh. More important for me, on these painting days when a group of us hires a model, is the awareness that we only have 3 hours with the model, including breaks. PAINT FAST.
Once I got back to my own studio, I made up posters to go behind her from my imagination. Then I set up a mirror to counterbalance the composition, which was heavy on the left. The model and the mask are looking toward the right; the mirror is sitting in the sweet spot, looking toward the left. The unicorn is also facing the left and that helps. Overall, I think it works.
This week I'm finishing paintings started on my trip last week to the Gulf Coast of Alabama. I'm also doing color charts for my class, and I'm finishing paintings that will be part of my upcoming Artist in Residency in north Texas. In short, I'm busier than a one-armed paper-hanger, to quote my dad. Thanks a lot for visiting and come back soon!
Some of the OP-101 students are seen here working to capture the likeness of Skully, my skull model. Half the class chose to work on Plane Jane, who models the planes of the head. The students are studying drawing, paint-handling, edges and especially value, with only one color on their palette, plus white. We are learning that there is wonderful freedom in boundaries, and there is great beauty to be found in values. If an artist can control the value, the color will control itself.
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