20080627
Camille Przewodek Workshop, Day 5.
By now, I was noticing a shift not just in how I painted, but in how I *saw* things. It happens most often when I'm not trying to see that way. When we stare at something and try to see it a certain way, we quickly get retinal fatigue; our eyes try to compensate, and we see the complement of the color we're staring at, which dulls it. Full-color seeing happens most effectively when we relax our vision and almost look through or around a subject, when we see the "big picture" of how vibrant colors are, and how they relate to each other. Many of us thought that there must be some formula or system to this way of painting, but there isn't. Color is represented according to how it appears in relation to other colors, and that is different for each situation and type of lighting.
This way of seeing color is directly descended from Monet (who, once he developed full-color seeing, wished that he could forget the old ways of viewing the world--because they do interfere). William Merritt Chase was Monet's student, and Hawthorne was Chase's student. Hensche was Hawthorne's student, and Camille studied with Hensche. There are several other renowned artists working today who studied with Hensche, though in my opinion Camille has elevated these principles to their highest art form.
Today we're painting the figure, in a very different way. Hawthorne and Hensche developed the "mudhead" study as a way to see the figure and face as a general shape with light and shadow planes, without getting mired in the details of features. The subject is typically backlit or in strong light such that the facial features are not well-defined. Here is the beginning of Camille's demo painting, and the model, who kindly consented to be photographed:
Here is the finished demo painting, about 1 1/2 hours total time:
We had two painting sessions, with different models, a little over an hour of total painting time for each (since models need to take breaks, and we benefited from breaks too). Here is my painting from the morning session, when the light was directly behind the model:
I especially like the light and shadow on the skirt in this one. By afternoon, the sun had moved so that the second model was illuminated from the side; I was disappointed not to have shadow planes on the skirt, but otherwise it was a beautiful pose:
So, the workshop drew to a close, but the real learning has just begun. Anytime new principles are introduced, it's inevitable that one's way of painting is shaken up, going through a new process of definition. And as Camille said, the path of progress for any painter is not linear. Sometimes we have real breakthroughs, and sometimes we take one step forward and two steps back. That's what makes it an engaging, life-long endeavor.
This way of seeing color is directly descended from Monet (who, once he developed full-color seeing, wished that he could forget the old ways of viewing the world--because they do interfere). William Merritt Chase was Monet's student, and Hawthorne was Chase's student. Hensche was Hawthorne's student, and Camille studied with Hensche. There are several other renowned artists working today who studied with Hensche, though in my opinion Camille has elevated these principles to their highest art form.
Today we're painting the figure, in a very different way. Hawthorne and Hensche developed the "mudhead" study as a way to see the figure and face as a general shape with light and shadow planes, without getting mired in the details of features. The subject is typically backlit or in strong light such that the facial features are not well-defined. Here is the beginning of Camille's demo painting, and the model, who kindly consented to be photographed:
Here is the finished demo painting, about 1 1/2 hours total time:
We had two painting sessions, with different models, a little over an hour of total painting time for each (since models need to take breaks, and we benefited from breaks too). Here is my painting from the morning session, when the light was directly behind the model:
I especially like the light and shadow on the skirt in this one. By afternoon, the sun had moved so that the second model was illuminated from the side; I was disappointed not to have shadow planes on the skirt, but otherwise it was a beautiful pose:
So, the workshop drew to a close, but the real learning has just begun. Anytime new principles are introduced, it's inevitable that one's way of painting is shaken up, going through a new process of definition. And as Camille said, the path of progress for any painter is not linear. Sometimes we have real breakthroughs, and sometimes we take one step forward and two steps back. That's what makes it an engaging, life-long endeavor.
20080626
Camille Przewodek Workshop, Day 4.
We convened at Shollenberger Park (on the west side of Petaluma) on this VERY warm day, to paint scenes of the wetlands where Camille has produced a stunning series of paintings. She set up to paint the first demo:
and almost immediately, a family of swans showed up:
Dad, Mom, and six babies. Mom gave us the evil eye, but ultimately decided we were okay, so they spent the rest of the morning teaching the young ones how to forage.
Here's another shot of Camille's setup, showing more of the shore grass which figures prominently in her painting:
Typically, she starts with the most obvious color note, and then lays in the adjacent color notes, so that they relate properly. The Colorist approach is to see colors in relation, NOT in isolation, because it's not possible to relate them properly until they are next to each other on the canvas. That's why we mix and apply color, and then adjust it on the canvas as necessary. The spaces left between colors in the early stages make it easier to do that. That's also why we start with a white canvas instead of a toned support, so that the perception and relationship of the color notes won't be influenced by an undertone. Here, she has finished the initial color notes:
And here is the finished demo painting:
There was not enough room for all 20 of us to set up in the area where Camille had been, so I chose to paint a scene off to the right a ways (no photo of the scene, unfortunately). Here's my painting (which is currently for sale, as of 12/2010):
Shollenberger Slough, 10" X 8", oil on canvas panel, palette knife
Purchase this unframed painting for $135. (No Paypal account required.)
Again in this painting, I had gotten much too detailed and fussy with the foreground. Camille unified it with a few strokes of the palette knife, and then I added more shadow notes. Vast improvement. Each session, morning and afternoon, was three hours long. Camille would paint for about 1 1/2 hours, and we would have about the same length of time to paint. We were strongly encouraged not to get into detail, but rather to see the color relationships and light keys, and paint the light and shadow planes accurately.
The temperature continued to climb, and there was no breeze and almost no shade whatsoever out there. By the time Camille started this second demo at 1:30, it was 99 degrees and we were all standing in the sun on a broiling hot asphalt path which radiated more heat. But she persevered, and we all did too. Here's the demo:
With about an hour left in this session, we all spread out to find a spot to set up. Especially in this heat, my priority was to keep a very simple composition, and to really focus on seeing the color relationships. No details. I found a spot that I recognized from one of Camille's paintings (this one, done under very different lighting conditions). Here's my study:
The whole scene was in the light plane, except for the reeds and their shadow right at the base where they entered the water. The reflection and the whole surface of the water was in the light plane, and Camille pointed out the need to lighten and warm the reflection to keep that water surface in light, not shadow.
and almost immediately, a family of swans showed up:
Dad, Mom, and six babies. Mom gave us the evil eye, but ultimately decided we were okay, so they spent the rest of the morning teaching the young ones how to forage.
Here's another shot of Camille's setup, showing more of the shore grass which figures prominently in her painting:
Typically, she starts with the most obvious color note, and then lays in the adjacent color notes, so that they relate properly. The Colorist approach is to see colors in relation, NOT in isolation, because it's not possible to relate them properly until they are next to each other on the canvas. That's why we mix and apply color, and then adjust it on the canvas as necessary. The spaces left between colors in the early stages make it easier to do that. That's also why we start with a white canvas instead of a toned support, so that the perception and relationship of the color notes won't be influenced by an undertone. Here, she has finished the initial color notes:
And here is the finished demo painting:
There was not enough room for all 20 of us to set up in the area where Camille had been, so I chose to paint a scene off to the right a ways (no photo of the scene, unfortunately). Here's my painting (which is currently for sale, as of 12/2010):
Shollenberger Slough, 10" X 8", oil on canvas panel, palette knife
Purchase this unframed painting for $135. (No Paypal account required.)
Again in this painting, I had gotten much too detailed and fussy with the foreground. Camille unified it with a few strokes of the palette knife, and then I added more shadow notes. Vast improvement. Each session, morning and afternoon, was three hours long. Camille would paint for about 1 1/2 hours, and we would have about the same length of time to paint. We were strongly encouraged not to get into detail, but rather to see the color relationships and light keys, and paint the light and shadow planes accurately.
The temperature continued to climb, and there was no breeze and almost no shade whatsoever out there. By the time Camille started this second demo at 1:30, it was 99 degrees and we were all standing in the sun on a broiling hot asphalt path which radiated more heat. But she persevered, and we all did too. Here's the demo:
With about an hour left in this session, we all spread out to find a spot to set up. Especially in this heat, my priority was to keep a very simple composition, and to really focus on seeing the color relationships. No details. I found a spot that I recognized from one of Camille's paintings (this one, done under very different lighting conditions). Here's my study:
The whole scene was in the light plane, except for the reeds and their shadow right at the base where they entered the water. The reflection and the whole surface of the water was in the light plane, and Camille pointed out the need to lighten and warm the reflection to keep that water surface in light, not shadow.
20080625
Camille Przewodek Workshop, Day 3.
We met in Nicasio, a very small village southwest of Petaluma. This was our first day utilizing what we had learned from the block studies to convey sunlight and shadow on larger forms: houses, trees, fields. This is the first scene we painted:
Here is the first stage of Camille's demo painting--all the main color notes have been stated and relationships established:
And here is Camille's completed demo painting:
The magenta undertones in the sky and trees still show through the touches of local color, and convey the sense of coolness in the shadow planes. The morning sky really did have a violet cast to it. Camille used brushes for her demo paintings today, mainly so that she could work faster; most of the students also used brushes. Honestly I feel that their work suffered for it, because it is so much more difficult to keep color clean with brushes, especially when there is indecision. And there was a LOT of that today. I preferred to stick with palette knives. This is my painting (12" X 9") of the same house, from a different vantage point:
I love the fact that Camille will say exactly what she thinks at all times, and will step in and correct something that isn't working. She helped me immensely with so many elements of my work every day during the workshop. Here, the roadway in front of the house. It was an asphalt road, and I couldn't get past the blue-grey local color of it to depict the sense of the sunlight on it. Camille mixed that warm tan color and laid it in, and there it was, a sunlit roadway! She also uses the same terminology that I've always used to describe painting--it's a language. We learn to express ourselves in that language as we acquire the vocabulary, and that is a long-term process. I understand that very well, since I taught languages before I became a painter. And it's exciting to think of painting as a life-long learning process.
Here's the second scene that we painted today--the early stage of Camille's painting is at the lower left:
Here's a better look at the first color notes in Camille's demo painting:
This was afternoon, and along with the temperature, the sky color had significantly warmed. Her initial color notes here reflect that increased warmth. She used a brush for the initial stages, and incorporated palette knife work in the finished painting:
Her handling of paint with a knife is absolutely incredible to see. There's a subtle calligraphy to it and a perfect mastery of technique that shows in every stroke of her work.
Here is my afternoon painting (9" X 12"):
Camille stepped in and removed some of the fussy-ness that I'm prone to, making the statements of foreground and background much more positive and definite. The colors didn't need much adjustment.
Tomorrow, we paint at the famous Wetlands where Camille produced a series of work that left me speechless the first time I saw it.
Here is the first stage of Camille's demo painting--all the main color notes have been stated and relationships established:
And here is Camille's completed demo painting:
The magenta undertones in the sky and trees still show through the touches of local color, and convey the sense of coolness in the shadow planes. The morning sky really did have a violet cast to it. Camille used brushes for her demo paintings today, mainly so that she could work faster; most of the students also used brushes. Honestly I feel that their work suffered for it, because it is so much more difficult to keep color clean with brushes, especially when there is indecision. And there was a LOT of that today. I preferred to stick with palette knives. This is my painting (12" X 9") of the same house, from a different vantage point:
I love the fact that Camille will say exactly what she thinks at all times, and will step in and correct something that isn't working. She helped me immensely with so many elements of my work every day during the workshop. Here, the roadway in front of the house. It was an asphalt road, and I couldn't get past the blue-grey local color of it to depict the sense of the sunlight on it. Camille mixed that warm tan color and laid it in, and there it was, a sunlit roadway! She also uses the same terminology that I've always used to describe painting--it's a language. We learn to express ourselves in that language as we acquire the vocabulary, and that is a long-term process. I understand that very well, since I taught languages before I became a painter. And it's exciting to think of painting as a life-long learning process.
Here's the second scene that we painted today--the early stage of Camille's painting is at the lower left:
Here's a better look at the first color notes in Camille's demo painting:
This was afternoon, and along with the temperature, the sky color had significantly warmed. Her initial color notes here reflect that increased warmth. She used a brush for the initial stages, and incorporated palette knife work in the finished painting:
Her handling of paint with a knife is absolutely incredible to see. There's a subtle calligraphy to it and a perfect mastery of technique that shows in every stroke of her work.
Here is my afternoon painting (9" X 12"):
Camille stepped in and removed some of the fussy-ness that I'm prone to, making the statements of foreground and background much more positive and definite. The colors didn't need much adjustment.
Tomorrow, we paint at the famous Wetlands where Camille produced a series of work that left me speechless the first time I saw it.
20080624
Camille Przewodek Workshop, Day 2.
Camille, and her husband Dale Axelrod (also a very accomplished professional painter who studied for years with Hensche at the Cape Cod School), did a great job of reminding us that these little block studies were preparing us to paint the landscape. By the second day, all our previous ways of seeing and representing things had been shaken up, but we didn't yet grasp the new ways, so there was quite a bit of frustration and confusion. Camille (very wisely) insisted that we continue with the first stage, seeing and representing the big, main color notes. I didn't photograph her demo that day, but here are some charts which show the progression through the stages of representation and refinement. The top two illustrations show the stage that we were practicing, statement of the big, main color notes.
At the end of this post, there are some examples of more developed studies by Camille and Dale. For now, we were just trying to see the main color notes, disregarding reflected light and variations within the main color notes. Today we had blocks and round objects, to encourage us to find the pattern of light and shadow regardless of the presence or absence of planes, relating the color notes and light keys correctly. Shadow inside an object is invariably a different color than shadow on the outside of that object, even though it is the same local color. And while yesterday I was still trying to create more of a still life than a study, today I focused on the specific color notes and light keys, without worrying about creating a completed painting:
There is white canvas left between the color notes; they are not brought together until later, so that adjustments can be made more easily in the early stages.
Below is a more developed demo painting by Camille, showing the subtle shifts within the main color notes of shadow and light, especially notable inside and outside the pot:
To see how Dale Axlerod applies this colorist approach to still life, take a look at the beautiful work on his website.
Our focus in this workshop is landscape, learning to see most anything as a series of blocks or other shapes in light and shadow. Tomorrow, we get to apply what we've learned to houses, trees, fields and distant mountains.
At the end of this post, there are some examples of more developed studies by Camille and Dale. For now, we were just trying to see the main color notes, disregarding reflected light and variations within the main color notes. Today we had blocks and round objects, to encourage us to find the pattern of light and shadow regardless of the presence or absence of planes, relating the color notes and light keys correctly. Shadow inside an object is invariably a different color than shadow on the outside of that object, even though it is the same local color. And while yesterday I was still trying to create more of a still life than a study, today I focused on the specific color notes and light keys, without worrying about creating a completed painting:
There is white canvas left between the color notes; they are not brought together until later, so that adjustments can be made more easily in the early stages.
Below is a more developed demo painting by Camille, showing the subtle shifts within the main color notes of shadow and light, especially notable inside and outside the pot:
To see how Dale Axlerod applies this colorist approach to still life, take a look at the beautiful work on his website.
Our focus in this workshop is landscape, learning to see most anything as a series of blocks or other shapes in light and shadow. Tomorrow, we get to apply what we've learned to houses, trees, fields and distant mountains.
20080623
Camille Przewodek Workshop, Day 1.
I'm finally back from my travels, to the workshop and then visiting family (and painting on my own) for a week. As for our move to Italy, my husband leaves in less than a week, and I'll follow sometime in July, as soon as my visa comes through.
The workshop was brilliant! By recounting each day of it here, I hope to deepen my own understanding of the principles and renew my commitment to the practice of seeing and representing color in a new way. Our brains are naturally programmed to see only local color; we differentiate objects primarily through line and value, and my past experience in art school did little to change that. Learning to see and represent light and color the way the Colorists do is incredibly invigorating, and is already changing much about the way I see the world. We began with block studies, which Camille demonstrated. This is the setup she was painting:
And here is how she demonstrated a beginner's painting of it (from a more elevated viewpoint):
It's critical to see the relationship between the color notes and the light keys. That's what makes a painting work, to convey a sense of bright sunlight and deep shadow. Every plane on the blocks and the tabletop has a slightly different color, even if they look very similar. In reality, no two distinct planes are exactly the same color, so it's important to represent that. We were instructed to "paint like beginners"--meaning that, for the purpose of the exercise, we were to properly relate all the color notes and light keys, while disregarding reflected light and color changes within each plane--just one color to represent light, one for shadow, within each plane. My first study shows some understanding of representing the relationship of sunlit and shadow planes of Blue, Green, and White blocks on a light pink and light yellow cloth, but there's still reliance on local color and on value:
My second study, White, Yellow and Red blocks on light blue and light pink cloths, went through a lot of adjustments to relate the color notes and light keys correctly:
I need a lot more practice with these.
Tomorrow, more block studies, including some round objects! Days 3 and 4, landscape!
The workshop was brilliant! By recounting each day of it here, I hope to deepen my own understanding of the principles and renew my commitment to the practice of seeing and representing color in a new way. Our brains are naturally programmed to see only local color; we differentiate objects primarily through line and value, and my past experience in art school did little to change that. Learning to see and represent light and color the way the Colorists do is incredibly invigorating, and is already changing much about the way I see the world. We began with block studies, which Camille demonstrated. This is the setup she was painting:
And here is how she demonstrated a beginner's painting of it (from a more elevated viewpoint):
It's critical to see the relationship between the color notes and the light keys. That's what makes a painting work, to convey a sense of bright sunlight and deep shadow. Every plane on the blocks and the tabletop has a slightly different color, even if they look very similar. In reality, no two distinct planes are exactly the same color, so it's important to represent that. We were instructed to "paint like beginners"--meaning that, for the purpose of the exercise, we were to properly relate all the color notes and light keys, while disregarding reflected light and color changes within each plane--just one color to represent light, one for shadow, within each plane. My first study shows some understanding of representing the relationship of sunlit and shadow planes of Blue, Green, and White blocks on a light pink and light yellow cloth, but there's still reliance on local color and on value:
My second study, White, Yellow and Red blocks on light blue and light pink cloths, went through a lot of adjustments to relate the color notes and light keys correctly:
I need a lot more practice with these.
Tomorrow, more block studies, including some round objects! Days 3 and 4, landscape!
20080605
Front Cover (tentative)
Forthcoming book which features my artwork on the covers and within the pages.
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