At today's meeting Loretta, Thomas, Tim, Charlie, Mike, Jeanne, Kay, Tom C, Kristina, Betsy, Stephanie, Jim, Susan, Tedd, Eunice, Bhavani, and me, Celeste
Today's suggested table topic: high key. Have you painted in high key? If not why not?
Celeste: I brought in a book by Charles Sovek. He shows high key, middle key, and low-key on these pages. For myself I have painted in high key a couple of times. It seems like beaches are often high keys situations. Sovek says in the book that adding a few judicious middle or dark values into a high key painting can heighten interest. I brought in a plein air painting that is pretty much high key. I also brought in a sketchbook cover that I painted that seems high key.
Kristina: When I first started painting and I wanted things to be light I mixed too much white into my paint. Everything was too chalky. I've since learned to be more careful with adding white and to lighten with light pigment. I brought in a painting that I did that is high key and also another plein air painting that I did recently in a cemetery.
Betsy: I don't have any examples of anything that I have painted in high key. I did bring in a painting that is interesting because it was done with oil wax.
Stephanie: I also know that high key is not simply adding white to your paint. I brought in two paintings that I did recently. I painted at elk rock. It is a beautiful place. When we visited the Tacoma Museum we saw a Georgia O'Keeffe painting of a white flower. It was a big painting. I got a reproduction of the painting and it's reproduced small. It really doesn't seem to work as well in the small format as in the large format!
Jim: This past weekend I went to the Tilbury event in Washington. I had a really great day. All the models were in beautiful costumes. They also had horses and chickens and livestock! I took my sketchbook. I took lots of photographs that I will paint from. This is a yearly event. It is a 3 hour drive, but it is so worth it. I hope that some people from Portland will go next year. I brought in a painting that I did where I made the background quite high key in order to showcase the figures in the foreground.
http://tilburycamp.webs.com/events.htm
Susan: I don't think about things like high key. I just think about values. So I don't think I have done much painting in high key. This past weekend I went with Gretha Lindwood to the Northwest pastel society juried exhibition. I sold a painting there. (Applause)! Greta and I painted plein air (with pastel) at Nisqually. I brought that painting. I also got a commission recently for a dog portrait. As I worked on this dog I started to really sense his "personality".
Eunice: I don't think about "key" either. If I have painted in high key it would be because what I was looking at was light in value. I brought in three paintings that I've done from photographs of Smith Rock.
Loretta: All I know about high key is that I am drawn to it. I have painted many paintings that are high key.
Thomas: In my opinion what makes French Impressionism Impressionism is the use of high key. Imagine an accordion in your hands with one side (like the left hand side) representing black and on the other (right hand side) representing white-- as you move your left hand toward the right side, you'd be compressing the values. Everything would get closer together. It gets harder to distinguish values as they get closer together. The French impressionists used temperature in order to make things read correctly and in appealing away. For example a French impressionist might modify the scene to use purple and yellow (in light values). People really like high key so it is worthwhile to look into it.
Check the artist BATO for great high key examples.
https://www.facebook.com/BatoDugarzhapov
I also went to the Tilbury event. I did these two paintings. One is an homage to Sargent's "traveling" paintings. Sargent would go on trips and while he was waiting for transportation he would paint the people around him as they were relaxing waiting for the train or whatever. In this painting of a person (at Tilbury) I added a large secondary element (of a basket). It wasn't there...I added it. I had painted that same basket earlier so that is why I was able to paint it and put it in where it did not exist!
Tim: I have been trying to learn how to paint inside my car. It has been a challenge. I brought in this painting that I did from inside my car.
Charlie; I brought in a piece that I did just for myself.... of Central Oregon.
Mike: The eye sees so much differently than the camera does. In a regular digital photograph or regular photograph you will see that shadows are always too dark. But if you use HDR it is much better. You'll be able to paint from it and have it be more true to what what you see. Pro HDR is an excellent app with a whole range of lights and darks and no shadow problems.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pro-hdr/id347104281?mt=8
Jeanne: for myself I have a natural tendency to see and use a lot of darks. But what I am painting is mostly a gray world or a green world--with not so many darks. I have to work on all of the values to try to lift up my values so as to not paint too dark.
Bhavani: I have been painting indoors because of the rain. I have been doing still life. I brought in a small painting of a still life. I generally use the full value range when I paint.
Kay: I seem to see everything in high key! But, to me, the wider the values the better. I recently went to the De Young Museum. Lady Agnew is mind-boggling! I brought into paintings, one a still life and another a plein air.
https://deyoung.famsf.org
Tom: I grew up deprived of any kind of an art education. I come to art today from the professional graphics world. When I first heard the words "High Key" I actually thought that it meant something to do with hippies! (laughter)! I brought in a study that I did following along with Khanh's video and notes. I also brought in a cloud painting. The figure is painted on panel that I bought at Cross Cut hardware. I spent a little more than Tedd did (as reported last week). The panel I purchased has a wood grain surface that I am thinking might be cool to paint onto.
http://studiobuda.com/workshops/techniques-intermediate-beginners/
Announcements:
OSA had a demonstration today with Steve Kleier (and the Strathmore Rep).
Mark your calendar for Susan Kuznitsky (June 11) demo at OSA:
http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com/brushmarks/brushmarks.pdf
Thomas Kitts is giving a three day workshop (with the focus on temperature) Friday Saturday and Sunday the 14th through 16 (June). Thomas is offering a scholarship to this workshop for three young people 18 - 26. The details about this are on his blog:
http://www.thomaskitts.com/2015/05/announcing-three-portland-area-plein.html
Thomas Kitts is the Juror for the Lake Oswego Plein Air competition beginning May 29 (the artists have been selected):
http://www.artscouncillo.org
Jim King is taking Jennifer Diehl's workshop this weekend: (There might still be room for you if you are interested)
http://www.oregonsocietyofartists.com/workshops.htm
Joanne Kollman is offering a workshop in Vancouver June 13 and 14 (Portraiture)
http://societyofwashingtonartists.com/PDFs/workshopReg0615p1.pdf
George Broderick has issued a call to artists for a show called "regional art". Deadline for applying is June 1. (No restriction on size of paintings)
http://broderickgallery.blogspot.com/2015/05/call-for-artists-regional-art-june-1.html
O'Connors won't be open for breakfast except for Fri, Sat and Sun beginning in June. So, we'll change our day to Friday 9am. That might be a bit of an adjustment, after all these years of Thursdays--but we're on board (and it doesn't happen until the First Friday in June).
We met for sketching today at Medley tea...photos on the front page.
Next Meeting: Thursday May 21, 2015 Suggested Table Topic: ."Being Yourself"....what do you think makes your work .....uniquely "you" ?
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