Today suggested table topic: "What you leave out is as important as what you put in". What does the statement mean to you? What has been your experience?
Celeste: We learned how to make things really clean and simple in order to get an idea across as quickly as possible (as graphic designers). I like simple things and I don't put in too many things. I think what the statement means is that it is good to suggest things instead of completing every single thing in the scene… you have to give the viewer something to do. I’m showing a recent figure and a sketchbook cover that I painted.
Loretta: You have to leave some mystery. It is like poetry. You have to get to the essence. It is a matter of "less is more”.
Diane H: The more I think about this subject the more complex it is. We frame everything that we are going to paint. What is left (after what we make choices) is the essence. It is the choices of what we do that is the heart of what we do. I brought in three paintings. The third painting is an abstraction of the others.
Joey: I wrote down some ideas about things that I consistently leave out of my paintings. Here are a few things: straight-lines, square marks, overly blunt symbols, photo-real (I leave that out). I also try to leave out impatient feelings. (Laughter)! I leave out white.
Mike: This statement means "communicate what you feel". In keeping with Tim's idea to paint sketchbook covers... I painted mine! You are also welcome to look through my sketchbook. This sketchbook is from some of my travels.
Editor's Note: Mike read us a good quote from Broderick McIver (sorry, but I didn't get that name right…?)
Charlie: I remember hearing a quote that I think is really interesting: "Don't be a slave to the beautiful". Perhaps sometimes some of the things we feel we should leave out we should put in! (Laughter)!
Jeanne: I often try to capture too much. But on the other hand, sometimes I will back up and clearly see that I should leave out some detail I see. I will sometimes actually leave something that I had considered an important element…something I thought was a key element! I went to the coast recently and painted these two paintings. One is of Depot Bay and the other is a near Boiler Bay. I like what Thomas said last week about how color can sometimes be a crutch... I think size can sometimes be a crutch too. I was painting big outside, but then I painted smaller. It was a relief—but I learned from painting big too. It's a good idea to change up different sizes.
Annie: I had a book about Andrew Wyeth. There was a painting that he did of the woodpile in the book. It was a woodpile and a log. Apparently Wyeth had originally had a dog in this painting, but he took the dog out. Initially the entire focus was on the dog but Wyeth realized that the painting would be much better without the dog! (After learning this I always referred to that specific Wyeth painting as "….the one without the dog”! (Laughter)! I brought in a painting that I painted at Sauvie island... it is acrylic and pastel.
Betsy: I will pass today.
Diane M: I am showing a painting that I did in Za's class. This was when we were doing the Zorn palette. I obviously didn't finish it, but you could tell who this is without any niggling details. Just the gesture alone or just the framework alone can indicate who someone is. This makes me realize how we can pare down the elements and be more succinct. I don't like my work to be hyper-real, but I want proportions etc. to be correct. I strive to be "in charge" but I am not quite yet. (Laughter)!
Eunice: I leave out telephone poles and birds (Laughter)! I don't have a painting today... I have been busy doing another creative project and I will bring it in next week.
Tim: I also leave out cyclone fences, telephone poles and telephone wires (Laughter)!
oh…. I also did a painting once where I left out an entire freeway (Laughter)!
I am showing you my sketchbook cover that I recently did and also another painting that I did in the studio.
Jeanie: I brought in a painting that I did that will be going into the Lake Oswego open show.
Susan: When I was in art school in Chicago (a long time ago) one of my drawing teachers put a piece of masking tape directly on the models face. This was during a life session. We didn't know what to make of that at all... and he didn't explain it. So eventually later when we all saw each other's work it was notable that about half of the class put the masking tape on the drawing and half of the class did not! I have always remembered this.
I took Amiee Erickson's workshop. She uses Instagram and other phone apps to help her decide on things for paintings. For myself, I really love detail! I won't apologize for it (Laughter)! I am a big fan of Richard Schmid and he does a lot of detail without it having it look like a lot of detail. I strive for that type of thing. I brought in a painting that I did of a photograph from Nepal. I will put this into the Lake Oswego Open Show. I have work in the Lake Oswego Chronicle too.
Announcements:
Lake Oswego Open and Chronicle (end of June):
https://www.lakewood-center.org/pages/lakewood-Festival-Date-2015
Lake Oswego Open and Chronicle (end of June):
https://www.lakewood-center.org/pages/lakewood-Festival-Date-2015
Susan did a demonstration at Oregon society of Artists. She reports that she enjoyed doing it and that she has a four week Pastel class at OSA coming up in August. More information to come.
http://susankuznitsky.com/events
http://susankuznitsky.com/events
Susan and others will be at R. Blooms tomorrow, July 20
Lavender Paint out:
Peoples Art Don Bishop Reception June 20th 5-9
Portland Art Musuem Rental Gallery New Member Reception Don Bishop, Sandra Pearce
(Tonight, June 19 5-8pm) https://www.facebook.com/PAMRentalSalesGallery
Portland Art Musuem July 11 Bastille Day Eduardo Fernandez demonstration, (Free Day)
Jef Gunn First Light, Last Light 4 day workshop: http://www.jefgunn.com/news-1/2015/5/2/workshops
Joanne Mehl portrait workshop: July 28 and 29 https://www.facebook.com/groups/408762309299376/?fref=nf
Other workshops:
Next Wednesday...paint with Brooks:
Wednesday the 24th at the OMM Portland Steamer at SW Naito and SW Pine. We can paint from the riverbank or from aboard the steamer. Brooks there from 11-2pm.
Tuesday Painters:
Friday Drawing Club after the meeting today results here
Thank you for your ideas and paintings --- it was great to see everyone!
Next meeting June 26 Suggested table topic: Painting titles….how do you choose your titles? Do you think a good title is important? What are examples of good titles...or ineffective titles? Tell us what you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment