Stand On Your Head

Looking at a painting from a different vantage point helps you to see mistakes in composition and value.  I don't literally stand on my head, but sometimes I turn the painting upside down.  One of my favorite artist/authors is Lori McKnee and this article describes the advantages of doing that.  Turning the painting upside down allows you to see the composition differently.  Turning your head to the side can sometimes do the same thing.  Can you still see the focal point?  How does your eye enter the composition and move around?

Here's a work-in-progress, from a series of city scenes.  I can see the negative shapes of the sky better when it's turned upside down as well as how the composition is working.

My favorite method, though, of checking on how I'm doing is taking photos and looking at them on my computer screen.  I suddenly see mistakes in drawing or in value a lot better by looking at a photo.  Some artists use a mirror to do the same thing.  I don't really stand on my head (I never could do that!).  Do you use these methods to assess your progress?

Words On Paintings

I see cute little works of art everywhere, usually mixed media, with words on them.  Usually they're inspirational words or phrases.  Very popular.  So, for an upcoming art fair I decided to join the trend.

This is a little 6" x 6" painting I did awhile ago.  I added the words with photo shop.  I had it printed, cut it out and adhered it to a hardboard panel.  I varnished it, about three coats.

Here's another one - it turned out cute!  I'm going to sell them with little easels.  I thought this would be a good way to use the work I've already done - in a new way.  I've see other artists create magnets, book marks, journal covers, etc. with their work.  Have you done this?

To Watermark Or Not?

Ok, I decided yes.  I read a tutorial on Fox Hollow Cottage blog and it didn't seem very difficult.  I decided not to go back and put watermarks on all of my colored pencil paintings.  So, I'm starting with this one:

                                                        Old Courthouse, Old Glory 8 x 10 nfs

Not for sale, yet.  I'm entering it into the Midwest Color 2012 exhibition sponsored by the CPSA Chicago district Chapter.  This painting of the old courthouse in downtown St. Louis, MO. is a reflection in a nearby window. .

I've been taking photos all around the St. Louis area, for a series on local landmarks.  Here's my current work-in-progress:

I'm saving working on the Gateway Arch last - I want to make it stand out.  I fiddled with the watermark on this image, making it larger.  Do you use watermarks?

I'm In A Mood

It's been one of those weekends.  My husband and I have been talking about some business decisions and I'm exhausted.  You know how when you're in one of those moods you just think about the same thing over and over?  Anyway, this book that I ordered arrived!  I've already read most of it..  I'm starting to feel better!

 

I've been thinking (over and over) that while my colored pencil paintings are good they're lacking in emotion. Watercolor and mixed media artist Gerald Brommer gets right to the point:

An artist who makes pictures that look good but express nothing is like a writer whose words sound good but have no meaning.

Cheers to emotion!  Meanwhile, here's my latest work-in-progress:

Any thoughts about how to communicate through art?

How Do You Sign Your Name?

 I've seen a few paintings that don't have any signature at all.  The last time a Monet exhibit was in St. Louis, I learned that the family signed for him.  I thought those signatures looked too perfect (they were a stamp)!  When I began doing my colored pencil work and framing them for the gallery I signed my whole name:

                           
                                                  Three In A Jar 6 x 6 Buy this painting on Etsy

Lately, I've been playing around with my signature.  I looked at a lot of other artists - wow, what an array of styles!  Initials only, last name only, first name only, you name it (sorry for that).  I thought about a qr code:

                                                 
How cool would that be?  But I finally decided on using my initials:

                                                 Blue Butterfly 8 x 8 Buy this painting on Etsy

How do you sign your name?

Your Website: An Important Art Tool

The first thing I did when I jumped into my art career was get a website.  Lucky for me, my daughter the computer genius made my website.  We narrowed down what sort of pages I wanted.  I set my goal for the website, which is to display my work.  Some folks sell their artwork on their website and give information about their technique (not me).

If your goal is to display your work, you ought to have these five pages:

•  A home page: this page gives an overview of the website and lets visitors know what’s in store for them. You can include news items such as upcoming exhibitions.

• A bio page: toot your horn!  Talk about collections your work is in, awards you've received, your solo and group shows, and other “credentials”.

• An artist statement page:  the artist statement can be a stand-alone page, or can be included as a section of the "About the Artist" page. The decision is yours, and will depend on how much focus you want to bring to the statement.

• A contact page: this page lists all of the means of contacting you. 

• A gallery page: there are as many ways of presenting artworks on the web as there are website designers. In general, the gallery page will contain thumbnail images of your artwork. 

If you have a website, take a fresh look with some of these ideas in mind.  If not, consider getting one!

 Meanwhile, check out my new piece available on Etsy.

                                        Grape Reflection 8 x 10 colored pencil all rights reserved
                                        by Susie Tenzer   BUY THIS PAINTING

Painting Inside And Outside The House

I spent the weekend painting inside and outside the house.  I saw this lovely dining room on Houzz:

So I decided to do it in my dining room.  Wood Icing Gallery, where I sell my colored pencil paintings, also sells wood refinishing products.  I decided to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Everything I've heard about it is true, I didn't sand or prime (I did wipe it down, but that just took a minute).  I did the first coat in about an hour.

I'm on to the second coat today, then the wax.  I'll show you the finished dining room next week.

I also did a house portrait, a lovely home with spring plantings.  I enjoy doing these house portraits!  If you're interested in having one done of your house or a special place (maybe the church where you were married or the your childhood school), you can order one here:

                                Custom House Portrait 5 x 7 $170 8 x 10 $250 But It On Etsy

When Creating Art Sometimes You Have To Just Walk Away

I learned this from golf:  when you're in the middle of a swing and it just doesn't feel right, stop and start over.  It's hard to do.  Recently I posted a painting with two ducks and some fish  that I spent three weeks working on.  Last week, though, I stepped back from my drafting board to check the tonal values and I knew it was time to quit. One of the ducks looked stiff to me.  The water wasn't showing any movement.  I couldn't get the fish to disappear underneath the water.  I realized I'd used the more textured side of the Stonehenge paper. So, even though I invested three weeks of my precious art life in this painting, I'm glad I quit.  I learned I love the smooth side of Stonehenge because of the way it takes color.  I was trying to change the photo too much and it just didn't work for me. I just finished a new painting and I love the reflection of the grapes in the silver bowl.

Grape Reflection by Susie Tenzer, 8" x 10" colored pencil (all rights reserved)  Buy this painting

I'm participating in a blog hop this week.  What's that?  It's a fun activity where you can visit a lot of wonderful blogs.  Click on the Blog Love Therapy below & start hopping!  See you in a couple of weeks, I'll be out of town visiting my adorable grandkids.

The Secret To Staying Young

Be honest, the title grabbed you, right?  I do have a secret to staying young - try new things.  For example, I love to move my furniture around.  (My husband is always looking for something that I've put in a new, better place.)  I love to try new art techniques.  Right now I'm using a lot of gray/neutral tones with pops of color in my colored pencil pieces.  I'm getting further along on my painting with ducks and fish.

                                                                 Any title ideas?

 I've been trying new cooking ideas.  My daughter sent me a Tajine, a middle eastern cooking pot.  It's ceramic, so I had to season it before I could cook anything.  The directions said to soak the bottom and the lid in water for 24 hours.

 

Now I'm ready to try chicken tajine.  Some recipes look a bit complicated, but I'm cooking chicken legs with onions and garlic.  I bought a stove top heat diffuser so the ceramic pot doesn't crack.

Hey, not bad!  Have you tried anything new lately?  Anyone else have a tajine?

Playing With Paintings And Children

Ahhh...the sound of silence.  I love my grandchildren, don't get me wrong, but after a week of preschoolers, I'm happy about my silent house.  My two grandsons from Seattle visited over the Martin Luther King holiday (no school) and when they returned home, it snowed (no school again).  My daughter turned her house into a mini art studio!  They painted on the glass patio doors and made cookie crayons.  So adorable!  I think they had a great time playing with art.
Meanwhile, I'm playing with my own painting.  Awhile back I took a lot of photos of ducks and koi fish at the Missouri Botanical Garden, so I had one enlarged.  I usually try to take excellent photos and pretty much draw what I see.  This time, though, I'm changing things around because the photo is awful and I think I can do better.  I cropped it so it will be 10" X 10".  I'm kind of into the square format lately.  I want the water to be grayish blue (not yucky green).  I'll make one bright orange fish as the focal point.  The two ducks are Mallards, but I'm making them male (mating season) so they have more color.  I found some nice reference photos online so I can get the colors right.

                                        I'm using my photo (above).  Here's my drawing (below)

                                             

I tend to work all around the paper, doing some background, then some of the focal point, adjusting values along the way.  So far, I've done a bit of the upper left corner of the water, with some of the orange fish.  I've laid in some blueish green for the Mallard's distinctive head.  Back and forth it goes.  What's your process?  I'm off to check my inbox, maybe there are more photos of my grandkids playing with art...