Uncle Bud's Art Colony

Monday, August 14, 2017

This Picture I did for grandson Jake. I thought the shadows and setting sun add a unique composition to this painting.

I have shown this several times but as I look at the shadows I tried to show the hills and valleys in the fore ground. I let the shadow wash break up and follow the dips in the forest floor.

I feel it is interesting also the use of the yellow and green with a mottled leaf pattern. Birch trees are so attractive in a painting, and I remember seeing them in Michigan on vacation as a kid.

As artist we paint what we know. We should expose our minds and soul to as much as we can stand. Learn and read and go to places. Take pictures and draw little sketches of what we see and what we do.

Most of all keep our brushes wet!

Deep Shadows

8:04 AM

Kathy

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Of all the processes of painting I like this as much as anything. The under coating of the canvas. I like to paint out the white and give myself a gray canvas to work on.

Gray is the white in acrylic painting. That is not to say there is no white but the gray light and middle tones add depth to your piece. Then you can use white white for highlights.

I remember many years ago a photographer had a back drop with this mottled back ground for his subjects. I loved it!

I made these two with ultramarine blue and van dyke brown plus a touch of white gesso. Depending on the strength and mixture of which color you use as the base is the difference in the final product. The more you blend and mix it up the more change you get in your final product.

This is a true case of keeping your brushes wet! Don't rush the brush!

Under coat in Gray

10:31 AM

Kathy

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So I get on a kick of painting a thing or subject into the ground. I hope to improve with each drawing or painting. Sometimes it works and then other times not so much.

In the chemo room I am hooked up to my IV for several hours so I set and read and draw. I sometimes get good Ideas. I try to pick up the best of the drawing. This hit me with the pen to outline and show the patchwork ground the quiet floating in the air.

I think the balloon first made an entrance in the late 1600's and early 1700's. By the 1800's the Balloon ride was unusual but not unheard of. In 1860 during the Civil War Balloons were used to spy on the other side as to troop movements and plans of attack.

I remember in art school I did a patch work ground like this only with the WWI airplanes rather than balloons. I like the distance, ground moving and changing. I like how the earth with mans help is a quilt of different crops and woods.

So Today lets quilt a patch work of earth and sky keeping our brushes wet and pens and pencils moving!

Pen and Pencil Balloon

9:39 AM

Kathy

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Okay not my best masterpiece but it was a learning experience. Pastels are kind of new to me it is a soft medium on this grey paper. The key is for your substrait ( paper or canvas) have a tooth. ( raised up grain )

This is a study or a throw away just to learn the blending and sketching quality's of the project. I like the idea of a balloon floating over the earth quiet and graceful.

Edgar De Gas (he said Degas) was a master with pastels. You may remember the ballet dancers and women in the bath. He made the Japanese product of pastels a major player in Impressionism and art in general. Even though he was an old grump.

I used the pastels with the chalk like style first, I don't think I want to try the Oil based kind yet. They are very messy the chalk is bad enough. Learning to draw is the first step in most painting or art like we do around here. Degas said, " Painting is not what you see but what you make others see." The same thing in drawing it is what others see of your drawing.

Okay kids don't rush the brush, try pastels and if it works all the better.

Balloons and Pastels

10:05 AM

Kathy

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Yesterday I talked about the light and color wheel. Today I want to bring tone and value to your attention.

Value is the color for example the green is the value in this picture, and the tone is depth or intensity of the color.

In school we did a value system of the red to green. You can also do a value system of light color to a dark color all of one value. This will teach you to know light and middle tones to the darkest tones.

In drawing with pencil or charcoal all you have is the depth of pencil tone, drawing darker or eraser of the light areas. With color you have the same thing only you use the depth of color to create the tone and value, distant things are lighter in the distance and the closer things are the darker they are.

The artist then uses these rules or ideas to make their art, but then we turn around and break these rules for other types of art. This creates great art. And the master of all these elements begins to expand into other venues of their art. Comes to mind Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh, or Cezanne all who changed art.

Well gang lets get our brushes wet and tone on!

Tone to Value

7:58 AM

Kathy

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Okay kids let talk color and therefore color wheel. The Wheel is a way for experienced and novice artist to pick color matches and opposites

The color wheel is rather old discovered many centuries ago but we still make use of it and how color relates to our moods ( in painting and graphics) as well as in our homes. Nothing better than a bright yellow kitchen, or a pale blue bedroom.

I saw several hot air balloons and did they ever use the color wheel. I am going to show some balloons in a painting coming up soon.

I find it very interesting that the more we find out about the light spectrum (color wheel) and the how the various colors are reflected in our eyes and the world around us the less we seem to know about how its all put together. The good Lord in all his wisdom must have had a good day when he dropped a little color on us.

Anyway lets keep an eye out for colors and keep our brushes very wet, in case we want to make a rainbow.

Light Spectrum and the Color Wheel!

2:43 PM

Kathy

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If you have followed me more than a few month you know I like lighthouses. This one is a special favorite, The Betsie Point light house.

Over the years these scrub trees have filled in the sand and turf area. This is one of the Great Lakes many light houses. I have painted this one several times and I am sure I have told you all I know about it. But to me the Light house represents a special time in our history. I know in Roman times, and even the Greek history talks of great lighthouses. They would build rock formations and keep oil and wood burning at night for the sailors to find the coast line.

The romance of the modern times on the rugged coastline with the keeper and his family braving the elements is special. I think when I paint this scene it is what I am trying to capture. That struggle of the human condition.

This picture has not changed in many years, the trees are a little bigger the sky a different color blue or gray, but it is the same. Timeless for us all.

Well get your brushes wet and paint on!