Painting Blog

This blog has moved sites.

2011-03-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

As of this date, March 20, 2011 my blog has moved to my website at this link:

http://www.nancyreyner.com/blog/

Please visit it for all new articles.

Thanks!

Nancy Reyner

Shipping Unstretched Paintings in Tubes

2011-03-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

An artist just emailed me a question about shipping her acrylic paintings, highly textured, and large sized (5’ x 8’) from California to India, and wanted to save costs by shipping them unstretched rolled in tubes.

Rolling and shipping in tubes will not hurt the paintings, but its best if you don’t fold them. Since her shortest measurement was 5’, here was my advice:

(1) take all the paintings off the stretchers, and place one on top of the other using plastic in between them. DO NOT use glycine as that will stick to acrylic (not to oil and that's why shippers often mistakenly use it on acrylic) and do not use wax paper. The best plastic to use are the rolls of painter's plastic (its officially called HDPE plastic but often is not labeled like that) you find in home improvement stores. The plastic is usually cloudy whitish - not clear - and comes in thicknesses like 4 ml or 6 ml. You can use any thickness, but probably a 3 or 4 ml is best. Stack the canvases so that the painted side faces down towards the floor. You can also use garbage bags, cutting them at their edges to create a big sheet of plastic from them.

(2) Get 2 cardboard mailing tubes - one that is larger than 5' and is very wide in diameter - probably something around 12" or more. This will be the outer mailing tube. Then get another tube that is 5 ' in length but narrower in diameter, probably around 6" in diameter. This will be your inner tube. Place the inner tube on top of the stack of canvases which are now facing the floor, near to an edge. Now roll the canvases altogether around this "inner" tube so that the painted images are facing outwards from the tube. There should already be plastic between each of the images. Once they are all one big roll, wrap it all in plastic and tape it closed. Place this into the larger outer mailing tube.

Tip: If you just buy the inner tube first, then roll your canvases around it, you can measure the final diameter to make sure your outer tube is the right size.

Another tip: Measurements are different between the US and India. If you plan to restretch the canvases when you arrive there, you may not be able to purchase stretchers the correct size. You can either hang the canvases tapestry style without stretcher bars, or you will have to ship another tube with just the stretcher bars. If you plan well, measure ahead of time, and can get hold of very wide shipping tubes, you may be able to pack the stretcher bars inside the inner tube.

And another tip: If you need to fold them because you can't ship a 5' tube, then fold them around some bubble wrap so that the fold isn't pressed down creating an indent. Make sure the bubble wrap is on the back not the front of the image, or you may get bubble impressions on your paintings.

Balancing Happiness Over Painting

2011-02-04T07:34:00.000-08:00

A painter friend, thinking about her next career moves, just wrote me this morning saying,

“I thought about what my priorities were, and decided that now is not the right time for really pushing for sales. I am at a really happy place for developing my art and style, accumulating inventory, and enjoying a good balance between work, family, and me time. Does that sound not very ambitious? It is kind of silly, but I am really loving my life right now, so I thought I just keep things going a bit until something is nagging at me to do otherwise. What do you think?”

Impressed by her honesty and boldness I replied, “I do not think of you as unambitious, in fact quite the opposite. Your decisions are right on regarding timing. I don't know if you remember, but I have taken this entire year of 2011 for a sabbatical. I tell everyone it’s to paint, but actually its more about finding a new balance in my life. This month I have discovered new ways to be happy, and relax, and have not painted much. Making great work is always a self-reflection. If we are not happy, or are bored, this is what the painting will reveal, no matter what subject matter we paint, what materials we use, and how technically proficient we are. Painting is a mirror of our soul. And good painting allows the viewer to go deeper into a higher vibration. Loving life, as you put it, is the priority for everything, especially great art. So....we are on the same track and I applaud you for not only doing what you feel is right, but admitting your choices in a society that usually encourages production over happiness.”

So, what do you think?

Mounting Paper onto Canvas

2011-01-25T14:57:00.000-08:00

Often artists will create a drawing or sketch on paper, and then want to adhere it to a stretched canvas to create a stronger support, or continue adding subsequent layers of paint. Here below is a method I learned from painter/instructor David True, who taught a workshop I attended years ago at Anderson Ranch.

Start with a canvas that is stretched and primed with gesso so it isn't too absorbent. It should be the same size as the paper drawing, and the paper drawing should have extra border room so about 1/2" of its edges all around can be chopped off later. Apply a new layer of gesso (not diluted with water) onto the canvas. While the gesso is still wet place the paper over it. Put a piece of tissue or clean sheet of paper over the drawing so you can smooth it out without smearing the drawing. Using your hands smooth the paper into the wet gesso starting from the center and moving outwards towards the edges. The paper will stretch as it gets wet from the gesso, and will move over the edges, so you end up losing about 1/2" of the drawing along the borders. When it is all smooth, let it dry. After it's dry you can easily trim the excess paper by running a single edge blade along the outside edges. This technique gives a very clean edge so you can't tell the paper has been glued.

Extra Tips: place masonite or something under the canvas to prop it up and give it some stability so that when you rub the paper to smooth it out it won’t sink down in the center with the canvas. Another tip: the most important thing is that the gesso is still wet everywhere when you put the paper drawing over it. If the gesso dries in spots you will get wrinkles there. When you are working with a large size, or in a dry or hot climate, and you have difficulty doing this technique keeping the gesso wet, you can first apply a gloss medium or gel to the primed canvas. When the gloss layer dries, the surface is less absorbent, and then when the gesso is applied it will stay wet longer.

Using Acrylic with Other Mediums

2010-12-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

If you use mediums other than acrylic, such as oil, watercolor or gouache, you can still use acrylic to add new effects to your work. Acrylic pastes or gels can be applied as a first layer to any substrate, such as canvas, wood or cardboard to create a new surface ground. A surface ground changes the way paint gets accepted onto the surface. First decide whether you want the ground surface to be absorbent or non-absorbent. Absorbent surfaces are usually matte and will create a soft muted effect, with the paint sinking into the surface. While non-absorbent ground surfaces are usually glossy, and the paint will glide and settle on the top. Both types of surfaces are valid. Once the acrylic gel or paste is applied let it dry overnight. Now paint with your favorite medium but heavily dilute with the appropriate solvent to allow the ground to take effect. For example, if you want to paint with oil, heavily thin the oil paint color with turpentine or mineral spirits so the oil paint becomes runny. Now apply it to the acrylic ground. Scrub the paint in with rags, wipe it off in places, try brushes and knives to get a variety of effects.

Variety is the Spice of Art

2010-12-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

How often do we change our art, style or process? Is it better for artists to cultivate variety or consistency? Galleries tend to encourage artists to keep creating the same thing (that sells) over and over again. While artists, in general, like variety to stay motivated and inspired.

There are two schools of thought here. The first is consistency. Consistency in our work allows us to keep experimenting on one theme and to go deeper. Chuck Close is my favorite role model for working an entire lifetime on one theme – close up portraits. The span he covers with this one main theme is incredible. Click on this wikipedia link for more on him and his work.

Variety, however, is an important ingredient in our work, helping to keep our ideas fresh (see my previous post July 22, 2010 “Keeping Your Ideas Fresh”) and other important aspects of being an artist. If we are so consistent that our work is repetitive, we do not grow as artists and the work will eventually weaken. Yet, when we are so insistent on variety – the “never repeat yourself” syndrome, then we may flit around from style to style and never allow ourselves to take a concept deeper, to a more personal level, and to a more meaningful one .

The answer is always that tricky term “balance”, and the key to successful personal balancing is paying attention to how we feel. As our needs change, our feelings will let us know. Sometimes we may need to allow variety and experimentation to take us out of a rut, and re-energize our work. At other times we may hit on something that really gets us excited. These are the times to stretch 10-15 canvases all at once and create a series to see how far we can take the one idea.

Here is an interesting take on our ability for variety, taken from a quote from Robert Anton Wilson in his book “Prometheus Rising” (New Falcon Publications, 1983, p.125). Just prior to this, Wilson describes the human survival instincts that involve both consistency and variety;

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

Thanks for the award

2010-11-29T13:49:00.000-08:00

OnlineGraphicDesignDegree.com

My blog was just voted as one of the top blogs for painting by website onlinegraphicdegreedesign.com It's something I really enjoy. It's a blessing knowing someone is out there reading it.

Art is a Gift

2010-11-28T10:44:00.001-08:00

I was watching a dancer friend of mine perform a very demanding and complex dance piece. I remembered how hard she worked on it, for over a year, practicing every day until she got it perfect. You could tell the audience was riveted. The technique was perfect. The passion she expressed while dancing it connected everyone in the audience to her and towards an inner focus of appreciation. It made me think about this performance as a gift. For surely one who works so hard to create such perfection is in actuality creating a gift. She will never see her performance. And once the performance is over nothing remains but the memory. It was for the audience and therefore created as a gift.

It made me think about my art medium – painting, and how this plays a part in our process as an artist. Perhaps a work of art is successful or has the chance to be very powerful when the artist is so obsessed in the making, that the artist loses a piece of themselves in the artwork. This art then is a precious gift or offering, and equipped with an important ingredient – a piece of the artist themselves.

And so the opposite may be true as well. If the art is made for vanity alone, to show off the artist’s skill as a means of ego enhancement, or for profit and sales alone, then it may lose the opportunity to contain this “essence of artist”, and to be a gift that carries that awe, the mystery of human life itself.

What to do with Painting Edges

2010-10-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Contemporary paintings sometimes look better without frames. In these cases, the sides of the painting need to be considered. I often get asked how to handle the edges or sides of paintings. I noticed that as I approach a painting hanging in a gallery or museum, I will usually see the sides before I can view the front of the painting. The sides, then, in my opinion, need to be considered as a “foreshadowing” or segue into the picture’s image.

I work on panels that are cradled 2” deep, which means they are made with 2” deep sides. The front of my panels are usually made of thin plywood, while the sides are made with basswood, since I am interested in keeping the panels as lightweight as possible. Some artists I know use hardboard or masonite, which is much heavier than the woods I use. These 2” sides allow the painting to jut out into the space from the wall, and create a different presence than if the painting was sitting flatter against the wall. I like this effect and feel it often adds to the contemporary flavor of the work.

Some artists paint the sides, some leave them raw. There is something called “wrapping the image” where the artist continues the painting’s image along the sides. Sometimes this makes the painting look like wrapping paper so I usually avoid this approach. Something else I avoid is painting the sides dramatically different than the image. Let’s say the painting is very subtle in color palette and the sides are painted stark black or bright red. This gives a jolt to the viewing experience that may take away from the artist’s desired effect. I like to paint the sides with a color that is harmonious to the painting’s color scheme, therefore I wait until the painting is complete before contemplating the best approach to painting the sides. If there are drips on the sides I sand them down by hand with waterproof sandpaper before painting them. But I also wipe off the sides after each painting session, so they usually are fairly smooth at the end anyway. You can also apply masking tape along the sides before working on the painting. Then when the painting is finished, you remove the tape which has left the sides clean.

Is Using Water with Acrylic - Good or Bad?

2010-10-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a myth that you aren’t supposed to use water with acrylic, and then there’s another one that you should always use water. This issue about water was something that really intriqued me when I first starting using acrylic paints.

I address this issue in my book, Acrylic Revolution. The book has lots of recipes and techniques and the idea of when to use water and when not to use water becomes more clear. But here I’ll write about it more specifically and in depth.

Basically water is not a bad thing to add to acrylic. However, there are some basic issues that when understood will help you decide when to use it and when not to use it - when it helps your work and when it works against the effects you are trying to achieve.

First, lets look at what makes paint. Generally, all paint is made of 2 basic components: pigment (for color) and binder (to make the pigment usable as a paint). The binder is what identifies the paint. For instance, take some pigment and add oil – now you have oil paint. That same pigment mixed with milk makes casein, with gum Arabic makes watercolor, and with polymer (or plastic or acrylic) you get acrylic paint.

So there’s pigment and binder, and then there’s the solvent. Each medium has a solvent that will break it down. For acrylic the solvent is water. Acrylic without water (just pigment and polymer binder only) will produce a paint film layer that looks juicy, glossy and substantial when applied over any surface. The surface could be absorbent or non-absorbent, colored or white. It doesn’t matter, because once you apply the undiluted acrylic on top the paint film will all look the same. You can add up to 20% water to acrylic paint and it will still have that glossy paint film, it will just get a bit thinner.

However, it’s a very different story when you add A LOT of water to the paint. When you make a 1:1 ratio (equal parts of paint and water) or even more water that that (I like 80% water to 20% paint color), we can call this “overdiluted” paint. Once acrylic paint gets overdiluted with water it will look totally different depending on the surface absorbency that it is applied to. For instance, a diluted acrylic paint applied on an absorbent surface like watercolor paper will have a matte, soft, muted evenly applied layer of color. This same diluted paint on a non-absorbent surface will look very crazy, puddling up in places with some interesting effects. (All this is in my book). So it’s TWO things that work together to create the interesting water effects – overdiluting the paint with water along with changing the absorbency of your surface. To change the surface you first apply some type of paste, gel or ground that makes it more or less absorbent than just the plain old gesso primer usually found on store-bought panels and canvases.

So, here are some key ideas: (1) use acrylic without any water at all for a rich, glossy, plastic, high coverage layer. (2) Use up to 20% water in acrylic paint to slightly loosen the paint, make it a bit more fluid to get evenly applied linear effects and decrease texture (3) Combine 80% water to 20% paint to get an “overdiluted wash” – and now use this on a selected surface (absorbent, non-absorbent, textural or smooth, colored or uncolored) to get a specific effect. (4) Use retarders and glazing liquid or the new “Open” slow drying acrylic to keep the acrylic from drying fast. Do not use water all over your palette to slow the drying or you won’t be able to control how much water is going into your paint.

I do think the whole water issue with acrylic is a bit confusing. Adding water is not bad. Its just that when water is used haphazardly and uncontrollably (spraying palettes with water to keep it wet, or not blotting the brush after washing it) this reduces the range of possible effects you could otherwise obtain. Again, the most important thing to remember is determining how much water you want in your paint depending on the type of effect you are looking for. The more water you add, the more important your choice of surface is to get certain effects.

Keeping Your Ideas Fresh

2010-07-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

My recent on-line seminar, entitled
Keeping Your Art Fresh: Ideas and Inspiration with Nancy Reyner
Was presented on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 1 pm EST

Click Here to play a recording of the seminar.

Thank you Jennifer. And thanks for pulling it all together for this event. This is my first on-line seminar and I am really enjoying it so far. Thank you everyone for spending this hour with me. I do hope to hear from some of you at the end with questions. I’ll start with a brief introduction of who I am, and then we’ll get to the heart of the program: How to stay inspired and get new ideas.

I am a painter, and have been painting for over 30 years – wow that sounds like a long time – but in that time I’ve also been exhibiting, teaching workshops and giving lectures. I have a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, and an MFA from Columbia University. I lived in NYC for almost 10 years and am now in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That’s a picture of me working in my studio. As you can see in that picture I like to work standing, more like dancing around my paintings and have it set up so I can work on the wall, flat on the floor or table. You can also see that I like to work on several paintings at the same time. Anyway, that’s me and the cover of my new book Acrylic Innovation, that will be out next month.

My Background
Some artists I know like to keep long studio hours pumping out quantities of work. In one workshop that I took with artist David True he said something that made me feel good about the fact that I have a different approach. He said he believed we as artists only have 4 good painting hours in us each day. If we keep painting after that we just reverse whatever we had accomplished up to then. I think we’re all different and so we all need to find what works best for each of us. I found that by having a life, living and enjoying a diversity of life’s experiences I am a happier person, better artist, with more to say in my work, and actually more productive in less time. Pictured here are some examples of my diverse art career. I spent several years running a puppet theater company where I learned how to create in a team, we made puppets, sets, costumes and performed together. I like to dance and spend time in ballet classes (sorry no pictures of me in tights) but because I like dance my puppets were mostly large scale body puppets. Moving clockwise to the top right there’s a picture of me in my studio with a film crew filming an instructional DVD, then of me teaching a workshop. On the bottom left, is a photo of my last exhibition at a museum in Phoenix. I like spending time in my studio, but also enjoy getting out in public and being with other artists.

Diversity of Styles & Mediums
This diversity is also reflected in the variety of styles and mediums I like to work in. Here are three paintings of mine that vary in style and mediums. Some are more abstract, while some look more like a landscape.
And here are 2 more. I like to work realistically, abstractly and combining the two. I like working with drawing materials like charcoal, and painting mediums like acrylic, oil paint, oil pastel, gold leaf, collage and mixed media. Not every artist likes such a broad sweep. What’s important is that you allow yourself to keep experimenting and playing enough to keep art FUN (that’s the key word) and exciting for yourself.

What We’re Going to Talk About

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
- Albert Einstein (1930)

...and so it is with our creativity. To keep the passion in our work we must keep the ideas flowing.

I want to start with a premise that what makes a work of art great or powerful is when you as the artist can express your own magic, spirit, passion through your art. This usually happens naturally. When you make it a goal to copy or reproduce someone else’s art, even copying nature itself, that intent to replicate alone will restrict or restrain your expression coming through. When I talk about copying I am not referring to using reference material, like several photographs you might have on hand for a portrait. There’s a big difference between using a photograph as a reference and allowing yourself to exaggerage, shift and change it, verses copying it like a xerox machine. And if you restrict yourself to just copying you’re holding yourself back from being part of the work. When we have a desire to make something new it gets us motivated, out of bed in the morning, excited about what we’re doing and also implants that same excitement into the work.

I can probably venture to say, then, that producing fresh work is generally our main concern or goal as artists. Therefore, change is one of our main tools.
Let’s talk a bit about change. I read a funny anecdote the other day, that when a farmer sees his cow standing in a different spot by the fence he knows something’s wrong, maybe the cow isn’t feeling well. Animals like routine to feel secure and safe. We have some of this in our own physical makeup – this animal notion that routine, habit, sameness feels secure and safe. We all have this same tendency to play it safe. We paint something on the left we immediately want to add it on the right. If your art is always the same and you start repeating yourself most likely you’ll get bored and your work will become boring too. It will lose that spirit that special magic that comes from our excitement about something new. I feel as artists our biggest challenge is to consciously work against this innate hardwiring animal instinct that keeps us from enjoying and allowing change. By inviting change, and constantly renewing our passion for experimenting and new challenges, our work will take on this energy, the work will stand out, be noticed more. And this is especially important - to have the work stand out from the visual onslaught we all get in our everyday lives.

The notion of how artists stay original, get ideas, self motivate is the main focus of my new, 2nd book, Acrylic Innovation. Instead of a textbook or scholarly version I wanted to create it as a handy artist’s resource. Several years ago I wrote Acrylic Revolution, a compilation of techniques with acrylic. I was trying to encourage artists to move away from copying so this became a resource for inventing techniques. It’s written like a recipe book, each page is a different technique. Since acrylic works well in layers I often paint by using a different technique for each layer, then the final result is surprising, something unique. With over 100 techniques in the book you can combine a few in any order and come up with a whole new look, something never seen before. I also made a DVD which shows this process where I create a painting from start to finish, using 10 of the techniques from the book each one used in a different layer. So Acrylic Revolution, my first book, is the recipe book of techniques. While my new book, Acrylic Innovation is a resource of ideas, styles, processes and then I couldn’t help myself, I added more techniques too. Both of these books and the DVD are an extension of how I work as an artist. I like variety and to keep growing and inventing. By the way, there’s a new magazine coming out called Acrylic Artist Magazine in Sept. and my work will be featured in it.

How to Stay Inspired?

Paint in a variety of styles to expand your idea of space
Try new mediums and techniques
change your process
Get inspired by other artists
Take time to play and enjoy other activities

Here are 5 ways to stay inspired. Let’s look at each one separately. But before we move on I want to mention something else about change. Its not helpful to feel pressured to have to change, or to make every work of art very different from your previous one. It’s simply about paying attention to how you feel. If you are on a roll, happy about what you are painting and cranking out paintings right and left, then why change it if it works. However, after awhile, even the best work you create gets old and when you notice feeling reluctant to get into the studio, or get out your brush, that’s the time to change something, and not just the subject matter. So these 5 items here are ways to reevaluate what you’re doing and figure out what needs to change at those times when you feel uninspired. If I find one way to get unblocked it might not work the next time, so it’s nice to have several ways or concepts of change up your sleeve. My new book is one resource, and/or keep a journal or file of thoughts for yourself on this.

The first area we can look at is changing our style. We often spend years to develop a style that works for us, then often we are so entrenched in that it is hard to change. You can keep the same subject matter, say landscape, still life, portrait, abstract, whatever you like to paint, but change how it’s presented on the canvas. This is where style comes in. Here is the Table of Contents from Acrylic Innovation. The styles are grouped in terms of their perceived spatial qualities. Often styles are labeled by abstract or real, but here I am taking a different approach. The book spans a broad range from photorealism to minimal color field and everything in between. I even made up some style names. But lets talk a bit about the experience of space that a painting conveys. Just look at the first two images and picture yourself physically entering the painting. The experience of space is very different between the two. And also between say, the first and third images. I like to think about a painting as presenting to the viewer this experience of space. Some paintings, say from the Renaissance, are like viewing through a window, encouraging a feeling of deep space going back far into the picture plane. While other more contemporary works use texture, sheens and other methods to direct your attention to the front surface. The late author, teacher and painter Hans Hoffmann used a term called push-pull to refer to the combination of both types of spatial experiences, where the viewer is pushed towards the painting’s depth and pulled back out towards the front. There are 64 artists and their work represented in this book, all contemporary, working in acrylic, and working with a style that looks and feels unique.

In addition to playing with different styles another way to reinspire is to try new techniques. So let’s say you like what you’re painting, and your style, but you just want to bring a feeling of play back into your work. Sometimes you get so skilled at what you are doing it gets boring. One of my friends is a very good draftsman – she can really draw! After years of drawing with her right hand (she’s right-handed) she started to lose the “edgy” feeling – it felt too slick for her, so she spent a year drawing and painting only using her left hand. Now that’s extreme – but it really gave her work and motivation a boost. New techniques are fun to try. Sometimes you can just take a break from what you are painting, take some time to paint something different, then go back to what you were doing and something has shifted. In other words everything you play with doesn’t have to become your new direction, it can just be a playful break.

Here are 2 technique pages from the new book, Acrylic Innovation.

Here’s a closer look at one of those techniques. This technique shows how to change a mood. Here I’m adding a romantic feel to the painting. In Image 1 you can see I have a painted landscape and the sky feels light airy and expansive compared to the dark ground. I like that there’s a contrast between the two, but I wanted to make them work better together, to integrate the sky and landscape or ground a bit more. So I mixed some very transparent glazes of earth tones, (there’s my palette in Image 2) and using a rag I apply these glazes to the edges to darken them. So there’s the finished example and it really made a visible different. Sort of holds the sky or the sky feels more contained, more intimate.

Image 1 shows a painting that I was working on that felt too busy, too complex. I wanted to hone in on one form as a singular focal point. So image 2 I have masked off a shape that looks like a leaf, and Image 3 I’m using a spray of light and very transparent paint color. Then I remove the mask and the leaf really stands out. I softened the other forms pushing them back in space and pulling the leaf form forward.
As a reminder if you like to experiment with new techniques my first book Acrylic Revolution is 100% about that. Here are 2 pages from that book.
Here’s a close-up shot. This technique uses molding paste in 2 different consistencies – right out of the jar shown in step 1, and a diluted mixture with water in step 2 where in step 3 its splashed on creating an organic looking ground or surface.
After it’s dry, paint color with lots of water is applied in Step 4 to enhance the surface texture.
This is a very cool way to create an interesting background for a still life, landscape or portrait. Or you can use this technique in several repeated layers to create an underpainting or great jumpstart for an abstract work later building up color, shapes and forms. Trying new techniques can feel playful and often produce abstract looking imagery, but these are not limited to abstraction. New playful techniques can be used for visual effect in all types of styles and subject matter. I find it interesting when I go to museums that have old masters works in their collection. Some of those Renaissance paintings that appear at first glance to be super-real, when I go up close there are areas that I find in draped fabric, foreground garden areas, even hair that are very abstract.
Here’s another example of a technique from Acrylic Revolution. I call this “hatched-line texture” so it starts with a wet layer of acrylic molding paste applied in step 1. Then using combs I create a linear pattern through the wet paste in step 2. This textural ground, when dry, is enhanced using watered down paint color in step 3, this part is just like the previous technique we saw. On the bottom right is a painting by a friend of mine Pat Forbes who uses this technique for her backgrounds, but instead of the blue wash or diluted paint color I used in the technique she works with washes of metallic paints to show off the line patterns.

My Painting Process
Beginning: An Act of Freedom
Continuing: An Act of Faith
Completion: An Act of Healing

Many years ago I discovered something about my painting process that has really helped me tremendously. It started when someone asked me a question. They asked me if I go to my studio everyday or do I wait until I feel inspired to go. It got me thinking. My first response was to say that I go everyday anyway, no matter how I feel at first. Because I never know how I will feel later that day, and there are ways to jumpstart myself into working creatively. But it got me thinking about my process and how I felt at different times in my studio. I realized that for me there were 3 distinct phases Beginning, Continuing and Completing, and each phase required a different type of energy, a different approach and method, different techniques and attitudes. For me this was very empowering and I have been much more productive, and happier since I figured this out.

Beginnings require an act of freedom, continuing requires acts of faith, and completion requires an act of healing. So, I go to my studio (almost) every day, regardless of how I feel. BUT, when I get to my studio, I decide what to work on depending on how I feel. Let’s say I am feeling very free, high energy, I want to try out new things, new experiments. I would be better off getting out some new canvases. The problem comes up for me when, lets say, I have several paintings almost finished. I might feel pressured to work on these instead, especially if one of my galleries is waiting impatiently for new work. If I force myself to work on these paintings that are almost finished and just needed small touches, I’ll most likely destroy them, or make wrong decisions and take away what was working already. So, I always have lots of extra canvases and surfaces around (even a stack of cardboard will do) and I may launch several to a dozen new underpaintings or start-up paintings in one day. In other words, I go to my studio every day but what I choose to work on that day depends on the type of creative energy I feel.

Sometimes I go into my studio and get excited about the work that’s already in process there, and just want to get into a sort of meditative or hypnotic working state, and keep painting on those. That’s the second phase – continuing . In my studio I work on several at the same time, but when I’m not actually painting on them at the moment they are all turned around with the backs facing out so I can’t see the images. I’ll pick one of these to work on, and just focus my attention on that one particular painting. Then I can concentrate. This “continuing” phase has some challenges. Often the work has lost its initial surprise excitement, and hasn’t yet become something cohesive, so I just need to trust and have faith that by working on it one step at a time, one area at a time, it will start to move forward. So that’s my second phase.

Let’s say in a typical two month period of time, for me, 60% of my painting days are spent doing beginnings (most of my energy loves fresh starts and new experiments), 35% of my days are spent doing the “continuing” part, and only 5% I work on finishing. That’s the last of the three, the completion phase. This takes a very particular type of energy. On these very valuable and rare days, I can see clearly what each painting needs to make it really work. I will give that last finishing touch to several on one day – finishing them all! Then I go out and celebrate. It’s more difficult for me to work on one painting continuously through all its cycles by itself. For me, having lots of other paintings to work on simultaneously takes the “attachment” factor out of working on just one. And then I can put my energy to its best use. When I have a commission to paint, I WILL paint it all the way through, but still take breaks to play on some other ones to keep the juices flowing. I find it easiest to work on one cycle for the whole day, and not switch. For instance if I spend several hours flinging paint in a freedom engaged session of “starts” I will not be as adept on that same day to try to finish a painting or two.

So basically, understanding how much energy flows and paying attention to how I feel I can choose the most productive way to work that day.
We can gain alot from looking at other artists processes and here is a spread from the new book Acrylic Innovation. We previously looked at techniques from this book but in addition to techniques this book features contemporary acrylic painters offering their processes, ways they stay motivated, and how they developed their particular unique style. Here is Jylian Gustlin from California. You can see on the right an example of one of her paintings and she is in her studio painting on the left. It was really important to me to show the artists in their sutdios to see the variety of set-ups, spaces and ways of working. Jylian uses the figure as a main focus in her work, but distilled in such a way to produce what grabs me as compelling imagery. In the text I share her artistic process, other artists who inspire her, and other artists who work in this type of style. Then I include variations or ways to use the figure to get different results.
Here is another artist in the book, Daniel Smith from Montana, who shared his intriguing stories of how he gets his animal reference material. This photorealistic painting of an elephant and two lionesses is used from several photos that Daniel photographed on a trip to Africa. I was glued to my seat when he told me about the lionesses charging his jeep. The dust in the background was invented by Daniel to emphasize the animals. I like how he uses photographs but invents his own composition and space to move away from the tell-tale camera curve produced by camera lenses. This has a photographic look to it but it would be hard if not impossible to get a shot like this from a camera.

Here is Sherry Loehr who lives in California but just had a show of her work in my hometown Santa Fe a few weeks ago, and I got to meet her in person. Her paintings are magnificent. I love how she combines a real classic still life with abstract backgrounds. She uses many of the playful techniques I list in my books and these add a real contemporary flavor to her still lifes. Now that I think about it writing this book was my way of reinspiring myself. Talking and meeting 64 artists whose work I found daring, inspiring, and different will no doubt fuel me for years. And that’s what I’m hoping this book will do for you and your work.

Also forming a critique group or artist group will provide lots of feedback and support. Taking workshops from instructors you like and admire. Visiting galleries and reading books are all ways to get inspired by other artists.
While I’m working I pay attention to how I feel. If I start to get frustrated, angry, depressed I immediately stop and ask myself how I am restricting myself – how am I holding myself back? What do I really want to paint. This is a good time to change something about my process, style, subject matter, technique or even attitude. Or sometimes I just need a break from art and I go out and do something non-art related and fun like swim, dance, watch a movie, read a book, take a nap, listen to different music, swing on a swing, have an icecream cone. During these times I get my best ideas. Ballet class is my favorite diversion. This feeling of moving through space and the mind-body connection you need to dance gives my work an extra boost. Its during these non-art times when we often get our best ideas. I always carry a small notepad and pencil with me so I can jot them down on the spot – very important. I have one in my purse, one in my car and a few scattered around my studio and home. I may realize I want to work big instead of small, paint from outdoors instead of from my imagination only. I often transfer the ideas from the small notepads or restaurant napkins to a larger journal that I have in my studio just for ideas. Not every idea deserves attention. I found that it takes jotting down many ideas in a row before one in particular strikes me and I just have to do it. The rest I don’t bother to take action on.

And speaking of non-art activities, the topic that comes up most often with my artist friends and colleagues is how much time artists now need to spend doing the business aspects of our career: photographing, inventorying and digitalizing our paintings for the galleries that represent us or our own website. Then there’s blogs, showing up at openings, price lists, framing….the list goes on and on. This business or career part of art making is optional. There’s nothing wrong with painting for pure pleasure and our own need for experimenting and inventing. Sometimes we feel an unnecessary pressure from family and friends to make a living at it. I like to think of art making and the career part as separate activities, with the career part optional. There is a great deal of satisfaction we get as artists, though, to show our work. I believe that art is a form of communication, and that we really do want to communicate. There are so many ways of showing our work without pressure, such as having a party, tea or dinner and inviting friends for fun to show our work. For those of us that do want to make a living with our work, it’s important to balance the business aspect with art making. Find your best time to paint and keep that time unscheduled for painting. Make a commitment during that time by turning phones off and other potential distractions like hanging a do-not-disturb sign on the door. What’s helped me the most is a decision I made to make the business part of art as fun as painting. If I am bored I change my business plan or process. Sometimes galleries can add pressure to keep you from changing your work, as they like consistency which helps them market and sell your work. As I am working on new work I like to invite my agents to my studio so they can gradually get used to the change in the work. My work and my ability to keep changing, though, is priority, so if they don’t like the new change in my work I’ll change galleries. Basically I make a commitment to myself to keep life fun, interesting, and allow myself opportunities to keep growing as a person and artist. By the way, here is a picture of a puppet show I did for friends – it took several months to create – and the show makes fun of the business part of art. It really helped me get a better attitude about the business aspects. There’s a clip on my website of the whole show if you want to see it.
So I will stop now so we have time for questions.

Pouring Resin-like finishes

2010-07-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

How do you get that surfboard finish so popular on paintings? You know, that super clear, glossy, smooth top coat. The best results can be obtained using commercial resins. They come in two parts – a resin and hardener. They are, however, very toxic to work with. I prefer to use acrylic non-toxic fine artist alternatives that may not look as perfect, but will also last without yellowing or cracking.

My favorite technique is to lay the painting flat and very level, and propped up on containers to get it lifted off the table or floor. By the way, it is easier to work with rigid surfaces like panels. If you are using a stretched canvas then you need to prop up the center of the canvas to keep it from sinking downward while laying flat. I then pour Golden's GAC800 without diluting it with water onto the painting’s surface. I spread it out evenly with a plasterer’s knife, and then immediately spray lightly with isopropyl alcohol to eliminate any bubbles. This takes a day or two to dry but has a smooth glossy finish.

The GAC800 is the only pourable acrylic that I know of that can be poured in deep layers without crevising. So you can also take duct tape and tape around the outside edges of the painting creating a wall that stands out from the top surface of the painting. By applying a small amount of a thick acrylic gel where the tape and painting meet you can keep the pour from later leaking out. While the gel is still wet pour the GAC800 into the pool or well that’s created by the tape. You can get a very thick poured layer this way. The thicker the pour, the longer you need to keep the painting level and flat while drying – which may take weeks if it’s more than an inch thick. When the GAC800 is used thickly it will appear slightly yellow and cloudy, not really visible in a pour with no walls or duct tape, and is favored by artists that like the "wax" or encaustic appearance.

If you don't like the cloudy look of GAC800 you can use other pourable products but you can't pour them thickly in one pour, or they might crevice as they dry. Instead pour several thin layers. My favorites for these are Golden's Clear Tar Gel and Self Leveling Gel.

Stillness in Art

2010-03-28T11:56:00.001-07:00

A recent inquiry regarding the idea of stillness in a work of art got my thinking juices flowing. For me, stillness is when we allow ourselves those moments to be connected to our higher self, or a higher place or source. This connection allows us to leave the realm of physical, material, emotional and instead flow into the universal vastness of “God” (or our own concept of the nonphysical). When we have this connection to our true source, it feels like stillness as we are in a timeless non-physical realm.

True stillness in a work of art comes from the artist and their process – when both are also connected to this higher source. Stillness in a work of art will rarely, if at all, come from a process that is overly mental, overly emotional and too thought out or controlled/contrived. That means there are no real tools, techniques or formulas that would allow this powerful connection to come through the work. Instead, overly mental processes, pinched off from source, create a blocked type of static. A painting is 2 D which by itself encourages a stillness, a time away from the normal reality viewing of our physical world, and propels the viewer into an alternate reality. This is a 2-way street. Artists can make the best work possible, and yet unless the viewer allows a certain amount of time and focus for viewing it, could miss out on all the rich potential in a work of art. So the stillness in a painting requires the connection of the artist in process as well as the viewer.

Transparent Layers - Glazing vs. Washes

2010-03-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

There are 2 ways to apply a transparent layer of acrylic color. One way is a "wash" or "stain" which is made by using a mixture of water to colored paint in a ratio of about 8:2 (this isn't an exact science, but the idea is to add enough water that the acrylic binder is completely diluted, usually at least half water to half color). This makes a very diluted color which sinks down into the surface of the substrate. Washes and stains are usually made on absorbent surfaces. If your surface is matte (not glossy) it is absorbent. I use the word "wash" to signify alot of this diluted mixture sitting on the surface puddling up. While I use the word "stain" when the diluted mixture is applied, then quickly rubbed into the surface with a dry rag, so only a hint of the color remains - like a "stain".

The second way to apply a transparent layer of color is by glazing. A glaze generally does not involve water in any way, but instead uses a mixture of medium to paint color in a ratio of 8:2. (again, not rocket science, so feel free to play around with the ratio - but again at least half the mixture should be medium). By using medium in the glaze (instead of water as in the washes), glazes will sit on top of the painting surface and need a non-absorbent (or glossy) surface to apply evenly and easily.

At any point in a painting's process, when you feel the need to apply a transparent layer, take a moment to look at the surface absorbency. If it is matte then try a wash, if it is glossy then use the glaze. If it is matte and you would rather use a glaze, then first apply a coat of a gloss medium. Let it dry, then apply the glaze. The reverse is true too. If your surface is glossy and you want to apply a wash, then use some product that gives a transparent grit. My favorite for this is to use Golden's Acrylic Ground for Pastel, diluted at least 1:1 with water. If you don't dilute it, it will be opaque and may slightly veil or obscure the paint layers underneath.

Other tips: I like to apply glazes with a brush in very small areas at a time, then using a rag I spread the color thinly and evenly, which works better than using a brush for spreading.

One more idea would be to first apply a thin layer of the Acrylic Glazing Liquid over the surface, then while that is still wet, you can apply colored glazes, which will glide a bit easier.

Additionally, Golden's new Open Acrylics have a very long drying time, and make glazing very easy. You might want to try them instead of the traditional glazes with the more fast drying regular acrylic line of paints and mediums.

Writing an Artist's Statement

2010-01-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

I paint. So why do I find myself writing so much lately? I have noticed how important writing has become to my career. In addition to painting, I take time to write artist statements, press releases, letters to galleries and clients, descriptions of my work, and of course, articles for my blog (oh yeah – and my new book due for release August 2010). I happen to enjoy writing. The more I do it the better I feel about it. Sort of like painting. Both mediums - painting and writing - are a form of communication. After a private period of experimentation, building technique and finding our own voice, we can relish the next phase where our work goes public – for better or worse. It’s the true test. Will viewers or readers get our message? What will they feel from our work? And the big existential question – will our work make a difference? I do believe that art makes a difference. Faith in this idea gets me through the rough spots, creative blocks and hard times.

I have written and rewritten my artist statement hundreds of times. As my work changes so does my statement. This may be one of the hardest tasks we have as painters, to describe in words what we create in a mostly non-verbal medium. In the past I tried to describe the images, but now I write about how I feel about the work and why I paint. Here’s the first paragraph of my current statement “Call me an optimist, but I believe that man has the powerful ability to dream, to create better worlds and new realities. And images play an important role in this. Our history begins with images, which go far back in time, even farther than language, and are cross cultural. We are united through images. I keep this in mind daily as I am barraged through news and media with sensationalist stories and events of world crisis. Part of me wants to join the peace corps but instead I paint. I paint with the conviction that my images can heal. I paint my versions of heaven; places that are beautiful and meditative not found on earth. Click here to read the full statement on my website.

Recently I found a cool new blog about art for healing. Manhattan Arts International's "Celebrate The Healing Power of Art 2010" is based on the belief that Art is a natural force that promotes heath and well-being for the creator as well as the viewer. Renee Phillips, Director of Manhattan Arts International, is organizing an online exhibition of positive art that uplifts the spirit, plus collaboration with others who share this belief. Interviews and articles reflect the contributions of Art & Healing leaders and causes. Click here to visit their web site: www.manhattanarts.com. Click here to visit the Blog: http://HealingPowerofArt.blogspot.com

10,000 Hours of Painting

2010-01-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

10,000 hours of painting sounds exhausting. Yet, according to Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers this is the amount of time it takes to make your first real masterpiece. While I was pondering this theory of Gladwell’s, another artist coincidentally emailed me with the following request:

“Can you can tell me how you got to where you are with your work. I mean, my art is all over the place. I don't know where to begin or when to finish. There's no commonality in anything I am making. How do I make paintings like the ones that you do?”

In Outliers, Gladwell looks at famous people from many sectors, such as athletes, musicians, physicists, financiers, etc. The common factor for each success story was putting in 10,000 hours which pans out to about 10 years working in a specific field. Many of the successful people he investigated and interviewed had been educated early on, and were skilled and passionate in their area of expertise. Yet it was right at that 10,000 hour mark where they “hit it big” or created something unique, something never seen or created before.

My email response for this artist was to just keep creating, and eventually consistent personal work will emerge. If you could see my work from 20 years ago you would not believe it. I started out as a realist, first mimicking artists and styles I admired. This was different than just copying, even though my work then did reflect the qualities of these artists and styles. Through this period I changed styles, images, mediums, sizes, brushwork, you name it, quicker than you can imagine and I built up quite an array of techniques and tools. At some point after many years of this, I found myself going deeper into my own ideas without looking at other work for inspiration. One thing led to another, and then I realized my work felt different - like work I had never seen. It really felt good to be creating work that held more closely to my own personal ideas and desires. After that point painting took on a whole new quality for me. It became a vehicle for my own transformation (some call it self-therapy - but I like to see it more magical than mere analysis - because for me it is more).

A friend who runs marathons recently told me there was a 20 mile mark where all runners hit a wall, no matter what. He noted that it’s those who continue past that wall that succeed. Perhaps Gladwell is right, that there is a specific hallmark point in time allotted to something that creates a shift.

To create personal work, something unique, an artist embarks on a journey, which according to Gladwell is a lot of hours. This should not discourage us. We all want to get to our final destination, but the real meat of the journey is to enjoy each step - not to find a quick trick to get to the finish. It’s the enjoyment of each phase of the journey that creates the final result. By the way, Gladwell’s other two books, Blink and The Tipping Point are both favorites of mine. And another “by the way” – I just finished writing my new book Acrylic Innovation: Techniques & Styles Featuring 64 Visionary Artists. Another coincidence, perhaps, but in this book I interview artists whose work I find exceptional, offering processes and tips on how they got there. The book is due for release August 2010. Now on retrospect, perhaps I should have just counted up their hours.

The Mysterious Radiant Palette

2009-12-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

So what is this “radiant palette” all about? I received an inquiry recently asking about this term, used by Thomas Kinkade and other artists, referring to luminous colors, and an increase in middle tones that shift in light.

In my opinion, there are two ways to get this effect.
First, lay out your palette so that it contains both modern and mineral colors (also known as organic and inorganic). The modern pigments are much more intense, brighter, and yes, I guess you could say radiant. They have only been around for 60 years or so, so the old masters wouldn't have used them. My book, Acrylic Revolution, has a section dedicated to these.

Secondly, adding iridescent and interference pigmented paints to your palette will greatly enhance the colors ability to shift in different light and at different viewing angles. (Both of these are also covered in my book.) You could mix either of these types of paints to your colored paints to make them more refractive - catching the light - and changing accordingly. The iridescent are made with microscopic mica chips to add refraction, and pigmented color to simulate metals such as bronze, gold and silver. The interference are very different. They refract different portions of the color spectrum. They appear milky when applied thickly over light colors and will flip between complementary colors when viewed at different angles. These same interference will shift to a specific color when applied thinly over a dark color, or when a small amount of dark color is added to them. These are very fun to play around with, and to try various combinations on your mixing palette. Use the modern pigments with the interference and iridescent to keep them refractive.

A New Look at Creativity

2009-11-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

I found this 19 minute video incredibly inspiring.
Here is a link to view it:
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1472

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the well-known book "Eat, Pray, Love", speaks from her heart about creativity. She has an unusual viewpoint, which I embrace, that creative genius is from a universal outside source, and that we all have access to it. That showing up and doing your work is our most important responsibility.

Gold Leaf and Acrylic Paint

2009-10-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

A recent email inquiry regarding gold leaf and acrylic paint just came to me, so I thought I would share the question and my response for anyone else using this cool combo. By the way, my book "Acrylic Revolution" has a full step-by-step of this technique, but my response here adds a few hints. (Click here to order the book if interested, or use this link http://www.nancyreyner.com/book.htm)

Question:
Your website popped up after I googled “acrylic paint over gold leaf”. I am using a similar technique to yours but with very different imagery. My technique: rigid panels primed with sandable gesso, sand gesso to eliminate wood grain, gold leaf size, gold or copper leafing, then as many as 30 layers of acrylic glazes. Finish with multiple layers of acrylic gloss varnish. Here’s my dilemma: I accidentally dinged a finished piece down to the gesso level and I was able to peel the entire painting off the support! So now I’m disturbed about the integrity of my finished pieces.

Have you encountered this problem? How have you resolved it? Thanks for any info you care to share and I like your work very much!

Answer:
It sounds like you have an adhesion problem. But also, after you dinged the piece and were able to get a grip on the layers you pulled at it - so this can also create a problem. Sometimes layers can be stable in a painting, but if you get just the right grip and angle you can still pull them up. This doesn't necessarily mean the layers are not stable.

But, here are some things you can do to help adhesion at 2 crucial points: the first layer of acrylic that touches the substrate, and the first layer of acrylic that touches the metal leaf.

(1) I don't know whether your painting came off after the gesso or before, but here are some tips. When using a wood panel clean it with denatured alcohol to remove any grease. If the wood panel is very smooth lightly sand the surface to get a grit. Apply a thin layer of Golden's Gesso (or another brand that is high quality meant for acrylic adhesion). The cheaper gessoes are OK for oil, but not acrylic. Now apply anything else you want - multiple layers of gesso are fine, but I wouldn't water the gesso down too much (not more than 20% water).

(2) After you apply the leaf you need to apply a coat of something that will help the acrylic to adhere. In other words, acrylic will not adhere very well to metal without extra help. By using any clear glossy mineral spirit based acrylic in a layer between the metal leaf and acrylic you help adhesion. I like to use Golden's Archival Varnish in a spray, or their MSA Varnish (same thing in a can that you can brush apply).

Also, if you apply the same archival varnish over the finished painting at the end it will help with dings.

Acrylic paintings need to fully dry for 2 weeks before wrapping them up. This 2 week period is crucial for curing the layers and during this time the painting should not get below 50 degrees, and should have air circulating around it.

I hope this helps.
If you have any more questions you can find great advice by calling Golden at 1-800959-6543 and asking for the tech department.

Break Through to New Ideas

2009-10-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently described a break-through experience she had. She was having a creative block and went to a well known artist/teacher for some help. The teacher gave her 10 small sheets of glass, about 8” x 10” and told her she had only one hour to complete a painting on each piece of glass during that time. After the hour was over, the teacher took out a hammer and told her to smash them all. After shattering the paintings she was then instructed to create something using the shattered pieces. This exercise had momentous results. First of all, creating many small paintings in a short specified time period gets your creative juices flowing, and you can work through many ideas quickly. By smashing the paintings, it creates a powerful ritual to let go of attachment. My friend did remark how difficult it was to destroy something she just made and liked. Then, by using the pieces to create something else she was creating something new from something destroyed, which shifts the painting process to a cycle rather than a linear process. This reminds me of something I like to use for myself and students in my workshops. I have an idea that I want to use for a painting. As a metaphor I think of this first idea as an “egg”. I use the initial idea to get something going on the canvas. After awhile I get to a point where I can feel a resistance happening. This is the time where the egg needs to be broken to make an omelet. In other words, I need to let go of the initial idea, by removing my reference material from sight, or letting myself paint over sections, or introduce something very new. It’s a point where I need to let the paintings start to have some say in the process, and by letting go of some of the control, not pushing so hard to get that end result I had in mind, I will most likely end up with something very new, maybe surprising, but most definitely more powerful than if I had forced the painting to continue in the same line of thought as in the beginning. I like to let the process change my mind. And in this way painting never ceases to be inspiring.

A Key Ingredient for Painting

2009-08-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

To make a powerful painting I believe you need to form a direct channel from your inner self onto the canvas. Sounds easy – but there are many distractions or “static” that can get in the way of this process. Here are some ways to help keep us directed and not distracted: Technical mastery over your tools and materials, having a clear and organized set up for your process, spending time organizing and preparing for painting, clearing the space around our painting area to include only those images and items that are part of our idea, clearing clutter so we can think, avoiding distractions such as phones ringing, deliveries to our door, and unexpected visitors. Staying centered throughout the day is a big plus. Meditating in the morning helps me. Also, all those non-painting tasks we are required to do during the day such as going to a day-job, child care, household chores, computer correspondence, business details and errands could be accomplished with focus, and good-natured intention. If we practice that we can show up for our painting time already warmed up with a good attitude and focus. For me, its better to stay clear and make the most out of limited painting time, then force myself to paint for long “factory worker” hours without preparation and centeredness.

Reduce Fading of Printed Papers

2009-08-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

A recent inquiry came to me regarding the archival nature of commercial papers and other additions of non-fine art products added into paintings. There is something you can do to reduce the fading of printed papers. Golden has two products which both have UV protection, and are made especially to help increase the longevity of inks and other colors. There is a UV Gel that comes in Gloss or Satin. Apply this over the papers. The more layers of this you use, the more protection. There is also a spray varnish called Archival Varnish, which comes in gloss, satin and matte. Several sprays would equal one brush application of the gel, in terms of protection, so I recommend spraying at least 4 times.

Is Abstract America Lost on its Viewers?

2009-08-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a short video on the Abstract America show currently at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvtDXfCQ0_0

I am wondering what you may think of it. I thought it was extremely well made, and I especially liked the subtle point of view conveyed without any narration or voice over. Perhaps this is just my impression, but it really seemed to be saying that art is not accessible to people, that it is so departed from reality that it has no effect or power anymore. Any opinions out there?

Why Paint?

2009-07-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

Painting takes me in emotional cycles. Have you ever had moments of doubt where you plaque yourself with annoying questions such as, “Why am I painting?” or “Why bother?”. Those moments can strike at any time. I can be painting the best work of my life, have a steady flow of sales, and still come to those moments where I wonder if I really should be looking for that full time job. Every single one of my artist friends has come to those moments at various times in their lives too. Fortunately for them and me, it usually doesn’t last too long. All we need to do is check in with a fellow artist, whine a bit and tell them our thoughts, and we get the usual burst of laughter and a pat on the back. They take us lightly because we have all been there. Cycles are important. Each time I question why I am painting, I cycle back to a clearer more potent answer, and continue painting with revived fervor. Perseverance, I think, is the most important ingredient in success as a professional artist. Not to let those down times keep us from getting back in the saddle, and continuing to paint.

For those of you who were born before the 60’s, you must remember psychedelic trance-induced author Carlos Castaneda. I recently dusted off an oldie but goodie “A Separate Reality”, where I fell into a trance myself over a part where his guru/teacher Don Juan tells him that everyone has their own predilection. And this predilection is what each of us uses to “know”. Don Juan’s idea of knowing is more of an inner truth, a yearning to keep evolving, rather than an intellectual search. For instance, a fellow sorcerer in the book dances when he wants to learn a new truth… “and he dances with all he has when he wants to ‘know’.” Don Juan’s predilection is to “see” or use his eyes to glimpse alternative worlds. I love the idea of using your predilection to evolve by throwing yourself into it. That is when it hit me that painting is my predilection, my way or tool to evolve, to “know”.

While painting, and also involved in the business or career aspect of making a living as an artist, its easy to fall into the trap of thinking we are painting to create products. Or we try too hard to make something truly unique that will stand out in the crowd. I believe that a painting traces and records all our thoughts, aspirations, desires. If we think about the painting as a product for a specific market, and think about this obsessively while painting, the work may lose its spirit, and take on a restricted feel. If we try too hard to be different, the work may end up doing the opposite, by losing our individuality and soul.

I like using this idea from Castaneda, using the act of painting to evolve, to be a better person, to create in the larger sense. Perhaps some of this will rub off in the work and be an inspiration, not just another product.

Bubble, Bubble,Toil and Trouble

2009-06-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

I recently received an inquiry on how to keep bubbles out of that last acrylic varnish layer or finishing coat. I thought other folks might be interested in my answer: (by the way, the title of this article is from my favorite Shakespeare play – does it ring a bell for anyone?)

Acrylic has a tendency to cause bubbling in paint layers, unless you take care to avoid them. Here are some sure-fire tips to keep your paint layer bubble free:

(1)Always pour liquid from one container into another very slowly and carefully from a low angle to keep the fluid from coming out too fast and bubbling.

(2) Mix and stir solutions the day before so the solution has time to rest and the bubbles can pop.

(3) Always use a soft bristled brush (this is usually the main culprit for bubbles). The bristles should be soft enough that you wouldn't mind using it on your face for applying makeup blush. (Yes, I mean VERY soft) Hogs hair brushes will usually stir up bubbles.

(4) Lightly spray alcohol over the surface before or after applying an acrylic layer and the bubbles will disappear. Spray right after applying acrylic, so you should have the spray bottle ready before applying the varnish

(5) Make sure the surface you are applying the varnish to does not have texture (textured surfaces need to be sprayed not brush applied) and that it is all glossy. Any matte areas will create an uneven absorbency, which can create defects in your varnish application.

(6) Spray applying varnish will eliminate bubbles altogether.

Shock Art Gets Boring

2009-05-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

We’ve had many years of shock art getting all the attention. You know what I mean by shock art – just look at what’s been canonized in major international art magazines, and elitist Biennales. Shock Art is work that uses shocking imagery (usually sexual in nature) or bodily fluids combined with religious icons (sound familiar?) Now this trend is finally losing steam and allowing a deeper art to shine through. In fact, I believe the entire era of shocking, mysterious, incomprehensible, and elite art is coming to an end. Let’s get real. How many decades can something that was once shocking still have the power to create any emotional response except boredom? There has always been throughout history a human need to make art, to share it, and to experience it. Art has always been important while trends come and go, circle around.

Great art for me, is work that offers an experience - an experience that goes deeper than intellect, deeper than a surface shock, evoking emotions that connect to the human experience. When I look at an artwork, my immediate response usually tells all. The work, if successful, will draw me into it deeply, invite me to peruse its elements, enjoy it on many levels, and keep me rooted in my viewing spot. I hesitate to leave it, like a new lover. Work that has these qualities is usually work created un-self-consciously, with no agenda to report, with joy and a certain ease - not trying so hard. Great art is hard to find, and takes guts to make.

At recent artist gatherings, this topic seemed to come up quite frequently. One of my friends recently wrote about this phenomena in her blog: http://www.destinyallison.com/art-blog/index.htm
Then only days later, a curator friend wrote something very similar on her blog:
http://www.trevisan-international-art.com/artistsblogs.html

The Joys of Working in Series

2009-05-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

Having just completed a group of 12 paintings for my latest show, I am ruminating on the benefits of working on many paintings at the same time. Having a show or exhibition already scheduled not only gives incentive to working in multiples, but also helps to push artists into new heights with their work. I highly recommend trying it if you haven’t already. First of all you need to book a show. If you don’t have a gallery representing your work, then consider picking a date to have an exhibition in your studio. A few days before clean it up, hang your work, get some great food, and hopefully you have already invited friends, and put a posting in the local paper. You can also easily get shows in restaurants, banks and other venues that enjoy the public, art and someone else putting in the labor and expense. For more information on getting shows check Art Calendar, http://www.artcalendar.com/home.asp
a great monthly informative artist magazine.

So, now you have a show booked, and hopefully you scheduled it a few months away (at least) to give lots of time to paint. I like working in stages. First I decide on how many paintings I think I can do in that time, and how many will be needed to fill the space. Then I make all my supports (canvases and panels) at once. I make a third of them large sized, another third medium, and the last third small. Some are vertical, some horizontal and don’t forget squares. I stretch canvas, seal it, and gesso (prime) them all at once. Doing everything in stages saves a lot of time, and is easier to focus on each task at hand, because each stage requires different tools, products, and a different way of working or energy/focus. Once I have all my supports ready to go, I allow a few days (at least) to sit and think, going through favorite images I collect in folders, flip through books in the library, write ideas down, and sketch. Eventually a vision begins to form – not specific finished painting images, but a general “feel” or look that I want to attain.

For my latest show the paintings are all acrylic on gold leaf, so I first gold leafed all 12 supports. That took over two weeks, but it was great to be able to just focus on one thing at a time. Then I began to paint on each one of them. Since I work in layers, each layer takes less than an hour to apply, but needs a day to dry. So I can put one layer on 6-8 paintings each day. This is the fun part for me. I get to try different things for each one, and watch them all grow together.

A real benefit for me is to have all the paintings fueling each other. If I am not working on a show, then each painting leaves my studio as its done, and doesn’t get the chance to influence me and the next one as much. This time I had them all hanging as I worked on them, and each one played off the next. By working on many at the same time, I was able to go deeper into an idea, and have it played out more fully than if I had just worked on one at a time.

Here is a link to preview my latest exhibition, Afterglow, acrylic on gold leaf paintings.
http://www.nancyreyner.com/preview.htm

And now a nice break from my routine, and then on to another series for my next show in October.

Ask a Question to Jumpstart Your Art

2009-05-01T20:20:00.001-07:00

I recently received an email inquiring how to create atmospheric effects in a painting, similar to historic masters such as JMW Turner or Ryder. The student further defined his interest in “atmospheric effects” with obtaining a sense of mystery, “soft energy” and an ethereal look to be used in his abstract works. Before offering some technical methods on obtaining these effects I offered the following advice that I thought might be of interest to others as well.

When you ask a question about art - any question - regarding techniques, effects, ideas, you have a gold mine of opportunity. Asking is a great way to begin a series of paintings. Almost every series of paintings I create begins with an investigation into some sort of aesthetic question. My favorite starting line is to ask myself “What would happen if ...” or “I wonder what it would look like if I ....”.

Instead of searching for "the answer" or "the perfect method" before you put paint to canvas, my advice is to search for the answer through the act of painting. Create paintings using the question as a starting point. This is what, in my opinion, art is truly about. Its not about how perfect your technique is, its more about the discovery of techniques through your own investigation while creating. In other words, no matter how many technical tips and advice I can offer, it is the searching (in paint form - not in the mind or books or writing) that you will not only find an answer, but create a valid body of work. It is through this type of investigation that adds a sense of integrity, meaning, and soul into your paintings.

Now that I’ve said how I really feel about this question, I will offer some technical tips on getting these effects just so you know I am not avoiding the question. However, if you want to try some of my methods below, they must still come from your own inspiration. Following someone else’s “recipe” only works when you feel free to keep reinventing the process.

(1) “Atmosphere” usually has a rich sense of space, or has the illusion of many planes in space. A figure on a flat background would only be 2 planes (figure and ground) - while a painting with a variety of forms that vary in size, edge, color, and overlap will create a richer depth - or many more planes. See Jackson Pollock, for instance, or Mark Rothko.

(2) Look at real paintings in a museum (or photos as a last resort) and find some that have what you would call "atmosphere" and write down any mechanisms you can identify which are helping to create that.

(3) Acrylic that is made matte generally contains matting agent, which looks like talcum powder, or very small white flakes. These white elements create a veiled look when used generously over an Underpainting. A layer of matte gel or many layers of matte mediums can push a painting back in space, creating a sense of depth and atmosphere. Make a painting, then cover it with a generous amount of matte gel (at least 1/4" thick). Then repaint some of the forms again from the first layer on top of the matte gel. Repeat, repainting less and less forms. This will give your painting many spatial planes, and a richer atmosphere.

(4) Using compositional and aesthetic tools (edge, value, chroma, hue, etc.) and their oppositional counterparts, (edge has soft and hard edges, value contains light and dark values, chroma involves bright and dull colors, etc.) will add richness to a painting. But it is the PROPORTIONS of these opposites or counterparts that are used that create certain moods. For instance, every painting usually has sets of opposites (this creates a dialogue - without which no illusionary space exists, and it is more like wallpaper than a “space”). If all the opposites in a painting are in equal amounts, it lessens the visual tension, and also creates wallpaper. The key is in the proportions of opposites. So for a Turner or Ryder you may have 85% muted tones, soft edged forms, dark tones while lesser percentages would be intense colors, hard edge and light areas.

I DO NOT recommend using formulas to create art. Yet, sometimes it is helpful to take time out to give an analysis of the tools that are used, how and where they are used.

Time Out to Clear Out

2009-01-31T11:02:00.001-08:00

There’s this myth that to be a good painter we need to be painting 12 hour days 7 days a week. So when we take time to do other things guilt raises its ugly head. But, hey, we’re artists. We need time to gather resources, let life soak in, think about things, see art in museums and galleries, commiserate with other artists, take long walks and meditate. This last month I have been cleaning out my studio. I filled a trash dumpster yesterday with over 20 large size garbage bags filled with all types of junk I could have sworn I would include in a collage, painting or some art project. Holding on to lots of STUFF just feels claustrophobic, and is not helpful to creativity. I decided that I wanted to really focus on painting. So everything in my studio that doesn’t fit will go. I donated 20 years of fabric collecting to an arts organization, and boxes of craft items like glitter, clay, fringe and buttons to a children’s art group. I feel lighter. I feel like I can focus. I feel GREAT – except for a few moments each day when I realize its been awhile I haven’t painted. I cleared an area around my painting spot today and will be able to get back into painting within a few days. All this clearing around me will definitely make a difference in my work. I will start with a fresh, new, LARGE canvas and see what happens – unplanned with no expectations.

Tips on Pouring Acrylic

2009-01-21T08:36:00.001-08:00

I get a lot of requests for tips to pouring acrylic. To get a very smooth glossy finish, pouring acrylic mediums is a great way to accomplish that “surfboard finish”. Pours are also cool ways to get smooth evenly applied glazes or transparently colored overlays.

My favorite pouring mediums are (these are all Golden products) Clear Tar Gel, Self-Leveling Gel, and GAC800. The Clear Tar Gel and Self-Leveling Gel both need about 20-40% water added if you are pouring in a dry warm climate – like out here in New Mexico. You don’t need to add water in wet cool climates. Adding water will enable a thinner layer to be applied. If you apply it too thickly, the top part of the layer will dry first, then the rest of the acrylic will dry slower and shrink down in volume, creating crevises or cracking on the top. Its better to pour a few thin layers, one on top of the other after they dry, then one thick layer that may crack. GAC800 does not need any water added, as it is made especially for pouring, and can be poured very thickly without crevising or cracking. The GAC800 is the easiest to pour, but has a slight yellow or cloudy look to it, that is more noticeable the thicker the pour. I like to use this in thick layers to simulate a wax or encaustic look. When I pour, I pour very gently, from a low height and a soft angle. If you pour from a high height, or vigorously, the medium may jolt out of the container creating bubbles. A light spray of alcohol on the surface before pouring, or even after pouring while the medium is still wet will eliminate bubbles too.

My book, Acrylic Revolution, has several pouring techniques with step-by-step demonstration photographs – some add color to tint, while some are just used plain to create a smooth surface. Here is a link to purchase the book.

Making Your Artwork Last

2008-11-30T04:53:00.000-08:00

The word “archival” is tossed around quite a bit among painters. Archival can be a process, technique or material - when used or added to your artwork, helps extend the length of time that your art will look the way you intended. Some common aging defects in artworks that develop over time are yellowing, cracking, or dust embedding into the top layer and graying the colors. As professionals, it’s helpful to know there are a handful of easy inexpensive ways to keep those things from happening, or at least keep the odds on your side of keeping your artwork intact over time.

Here is a list of some key archival methods. I am sure there are some not included, but these are the main, most important ones. Please feel free to add other ones if you think I’ve missed any.

Before reading on….its important to note that it is not necessary to do every single one of these archival procedures. Adding any one of them will add longevity to your work. Feel free to select only those that work for you and your art.

(1) Selecting a Substrate or Surface:
Use a rigid and sturdy painting surface. A panel isn’t as flexible as canvas on stretchers, so with less movement, there’s less chance of cracking. There are many great commercial panels on the market. I like to use Ampersand’s Hardbord (http://www.ampersandart.com), but they have many other types available. I also use a local cabinet maker to create customized panels when I work large or need an unusual size. I still enjoy working on stretched canvas, but I find the panels are a joy to work with.

(2) Stain Sealing & Priming:
Stain Sealing:
Before priming, there is an important step called “stain sealing”. Stain sealing is not necessary for oil painters, but is essential for acrylic painters, especially anyone working thickly or in several layers. Start with an unprimed surface if possible.

(*If it is already primed, then the primer is usually of cheaper quality - OK for oil painters - but not OK for acrylic painters. The cheap gessos can create adhesion problems later. Lets say months after your painting is finished, you send the painting to Florida where its moist and hot, then it goes to a cold climate, then back again. Your adhesion layer, or primer, is what keeps the paint sticking to the surface during all the fluctuations that happen, and if its of bad quality, your painting could flake and peel off.)

Stain sealing keeps any impurities from being absorbed into your acrylic painting layers. These impurities can create stains or cause your paint to yellow. The more thickly acrylic is applied, the more likely it is to pull any impurities up through the support and into the paint layers. There are two choices of products to use for stain sealing. Commercial stain blockers such as Kilz, are available at paint, hardware and home improvement stores. Kilz, similar to most commercial stain blockers, is formulated for walls and other rigid supports and should not be used on any flexible artist’s support, such as canvas. Golden has a stain blocker called GAC 100 which is specially formulated for fine art work, and can be used on canvas and other flexible surfaces. GAC 100 will work well on any surface and would be the more archival choice.

Priming:
There are many reasons to prime your support. Oil painters need to prime canvas and other supports to keep the oil paint from destroying the natural fibers in those surfaces. Acrylic paint, though, is safe to use on most supports and can be painted directly without primers. Priming for acrylic painters is still recommended, though, for other archival reasons. Priming will increase adhesion, or the bonding of paint to support. Priming, then can make your painting last longer and ensure its stability. If your painting gets caught in a flooded storage area, or ends up moving frequently to different climate zones, the primer will strengthen the bond between painting and support, reducing cracking and other possible defects that can occur.

There are reasons you may not want to prime. For instance, let’s say you are painting over a beautifully patterned piece of fabric. You wouldn’t want to prime, or you would be covering over the pattern with the white primer (and clear primers aren’t a valid substitute – in my opinion).

(3) Using Light-Fast Pigments:
Select paints with a higher lightfast rating. The lightfast rating for each paint is often listed on the product label. This lightfast system was developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). If the rating is I (Excellent) this paint will be a great choice for outdoor murals and other archival painting needs. A lightfast rating of II (Very Good) means this paint should last for over 100 years and is therefore well suited for archival painting needs. Paints with a lightfast rating of III or more should be avoided in a painting, unless longevity is not desired. If you are working on a mural outdoors, then this is an important factor. When selecting the colors you will use on this mural, you can easily pick the most light-fast ones by using the charts available.

(4) Using Professional Products:
Cheaper products have filler and low quality ingredients. That means they may not look the same even a year after your work is complete. As an example, home improvement products, like paints from Home Depot or other home improvement stores, sell acrylic or latex paint that is much cheaper then fine art products. All paints are made of pigment (for the color) and binder (makes it into paint). So even though Home Depot paint is acrylic, the manufacturers know you will be painting on a rigid surface, and only need it to last about 5 years, whereupon your house wall gets repainted. Yellowing, flexibility and longevity are not factors for commercial paint manufacturers. By selecting professional “fine art” quality products you are adding a great benefit to the longevity of your work.

(5) Varnishing with UV Protection:
It is important to know about varnishing, as it is one of the best ways to protect a painting. It is also the only way to insure that the painting can be cleaned later. This is true for oil paintings as well as acrylic. First of all, due to environmental factors, paintings on any surface will expand and contract over time. Acrylic will soften in warm temperatures and stiffen in cold. This amount of movement will not crack or otherwise harm the painting, however, it will encourage the collection of dust on the painting’s surface to merge into the top layer of paint. The dust dirties the painting causing yellowing and haziness. The dust cannot be removed from this top layer of paint. An archival varnish, one that is appropriate for fine art paintings, is non-yellowing and removable. When applied as a final layer over a painting, this clear removable finish will collect the dust and being removable, offers a way to clean the painting. To professionally clean a painting in a museum, conservators remove the old varnish and apply a new coat.

Avoid using a varnish from a commercial paint store (generally formulated for household use like wood porches and patio furniture) which is not removable and will yellow over time. Using this type of varnish will ruin your work of art and you will not be able to remove it. Be wary of acrylic products labeled “varnish and medium” on the same container. A medium is permanent and a varnish is removable, so it is impossible for one product to be both. The paint companies that make these products are using the term varnish loosely for a craft market to mean “sheen”. Check the product label to see if there are any instructions on removing the varnish. If there are none, then this is not an archival varnish.

Damar Varnish, which is produced by many paint companies is a traditional varnish which can be used on oil or acrylic paintings. Damar tends to yellow slightly and is only available as a gloss sheen, but is removable, so it is a good choice. I prefer to use Golden’s varnishes, as they offer several advantages over Damar. They are available in varying sheens such as gloss, matte and satin; and have UV protection which will help protect the paintings from fading due to light exposure, making them a great choice for outdoor murals. The UV protection also makes these varnishes a good choice for ink jet prints which fade quicker due to the inks used. They will not yellow or crack.

Varnishing can be very easy and it can also get quite complex. Visit Golden’s website at www.goldenpaints.com for a great detailed instruction sheet on varnishing with lots of how-to details. I recommend reading this information before starting to varnish. I also recommend experimenting and testing on scrap work before trying it out on an important finished painting. Varnish should be applied over a non-absorbent surface. Applying an isolation coat on your finished painting before applying a varnish will insure that the finished surface is non-absorbent.

(6) Care & Storage
To properly care for your acrylic paintings after they are completed it is important to understanding the paint’s drying process. Acrylic is “dry to the touch” when the top layer of the paint skin has dried, but the acrylic is not completely cured until the entire thickness of the paint layer is dry. This may take several days to several weeks depending on the layer’s thickness and environmental factors. Until the painting is fully cured, waiting at least two weeks to be sure, do not wrap it up too tightly or store the work in a closed environment. In addition, especially during this curing phase, do not expose the painting to extreme temperatures below 35 degrees Fahrenheit. If your painting freezes during this curing phase it may never recover enough for the paint to form a strong paint film and bond. Even after this curing phase there are still some considerations to handling an acrylic painting. When wrapping your painting, be sure that you use smooth wrapping materials. As mentioned earlier acrylic paintings will soften in hot temperatures and stiffen in cold. Let’s say you use bubble wrap with the bubble side of the wrap in direct contact with the painting’s surface. If it gets hot while in transport the acrylic may soften and take on the impression of the bubbles. When the painting gets hot and softens it also may stick to other surfaces with which it comes into contact. Use a non-stick plastic such as HDPE in contact with the painting’s surface. When the painting surface is glossy it has more of a tendency to get tacky in hot weather and stick. Be kind to your paintings, they are worth it. Occasionally wipe the painting off with a damp cloth to remove dust and any other elements which may come through to the upper surface long after the painting is cured.

Making Money as an Artist

2008-10-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Since I am fortunate enough to be supporting myself as an artist, I am often asked for advice. Here is a list of things I do, not in any special order, but they all help me stay profitable and create a life I enjoy.

(1) Have a Variety of Revenue Streams: Its more stressful to have all my money come from only one source. If I relied solely on painting sales it might put pressure on me to compromise my art. Instead I have money coming from teaching, book royalties, commissions and speaking engagements.

(2) Stay Open for Possibilities: My portfolio is small and portable. I carry it with me everywhere I go. I use the on-line publishing sites to create an inexpensive and dispensible book.

(3) Continually seek New Venues: I am always on the lookout for good galleries, dealers, and agents who are interested in selling my work.

(4) Do the Best I Can: I strive to make the best work I can. Not only with my painting, but all aspects of my business, such as website, writings, my portfolio, showing up on time for appointments, following through with commitments, etc.

(5) Get Advice From Experts: I like to work with specialists involving areas I need help. On occasion I like to hire a coach to keep me clear, focused and expand my current business ideas. Recently I enjoyed a session with art coach Renée Phillips, Here is a link for more info on her coaching: http://www.manhattanarts.com/ReneePhillips/consult.htm

(6) Stay in Touch with My Dealers: I keep in touch with those on my "team", people who help sell my work. I like to visit, or at least call or email periodically.

(7) Have a Vision: I recently gained a lot from reading "The Answer" by John Asssaraf, who encourages readers to create a vision. Here is a link for his book: http://www.amazon.com/Answer-Business-Achieve-Financial-Extraordinary/dp/1416561994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225075356&sr=1-1

(8) Stay Positive: This is more work than it sounds. It takes a lot of effort to keep from whining, complaining, getting stressed and being negative. But once I created a habit of positive thinking it gave me an enormous amount of energy, confidence and power.

(9) Meditate: This helps me to stay positive and have a strong focus.

(10) Eliminate TV: By not watching television I am able to get plenty of time to make art and take care of the business end. It is also the best way to stay positive.

(11) Be in Control of My Money: I read Suze Orman’s book "Women and Money", and followed her plan exactly. I also started putting 10% of all I earn into an emergency account. Here is a link for her book: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Women+and+MOney&x=10&y=17

Outdoor Painting with New Slow Drying Acrylics

2008-10-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

On a recent outdoor painting trip I decided to try out the new slow drying acrylics from Golden called Open Acrylics. Usually I use oil pastels when working outdoors for portability and ease. However, I was surprised to find painting with these new acrylics even easier and much more fun! I spent time preparing and planning, and since it all worked out so well, I thought I would post my list of supplies and a few things that worked for me to see if anyone else might want to try it.
I bought the following items (I went for inexpensive here, so feel free to go all out – but these worked perfectly fine.)

(1) A Masterson acrylic palette (12" x 18" or 30 x 46 cm) with airtight lid. I took out all the insides (sponges, etc) and just used the bottom as a palette. I followed directions and put Vaseline around the lid edges. It kept the paints wet for days. I even left globs of paint on the palette in between sessions, and placed the palette vertically in my back pack, and the paint did not run. I attached 4 small 1 oz. plastic containers with lids (the cheap kind you get from restaurant supply stores) on the inside along one side of the palette with masking tape. I labeled each one as follows: water, thinner, medium, gel.

(2) An easel. I bought a lightweight portable very simple metal easel. The only drawback to this one is that it only works well with thick (1” depth) canvases. To remedy that, I bought one masonite cradled panel that was 1 ½” thick. I used this as a backing board, and could tape paper or cardboard surfaces to this.

(3) A folding umbrella. My umbrella (not pictured here) folds compactly and I keep it in the zipper pocket of my folding chair.

(4) A folding chair with carrying strap. The chair has zipper pockets to hold important items like sunglasses, tissues, drinking water bottle.

(5) A medium to large size comfortable back pack. This was big enough to place the Masterson palette inside. I also put the following items inside the pack: apron, camera, small container with a bar of soap (to wash brushes), paper towels, masking tape, some brushes and a palette knife in a fabric brush carrier, a baggie of paints (I kept my colors to a minimum of 10 paint tubes), a baggie with Open Medium, Open Thinner, Open Gel. A small fine spray bottle with Open Thinner inside. An 8 oz empty jar and lid for rinsing brushes while I work. A 12 oz container of water to refill the brush rinse jar, several small plastic grocery bags for trash (I tied them onto my easel hooks while working for an easy to reach trash can).

(6) Painting surfaces. As I mentioned earlier, I used canvases and panels that had a depth of 1” or 1 ½”. I also used one of those panels as a backing board for inexpensive surfaces like paper. I painted a bright red color on all my painting surfaces before I left. This was very handy – to have a medium value and bright color already on there.

(7) Other items good to have: a hat for sun or hat for cold weather, (also if it is cold - ski liners or gloves you can paint with), lunch and/or snacks, a watch.
I was able to hike about half a mile carrying all this stuff, before I realized the view looked fine, and if I kept walking I might get too tired to paint. I had on the backpack, with my chair strap on my shoulder, and carried in my hands my painting surface and easel. I set up in the shade (which kept my paints wet even longer and was easier to see colors and what I was painting). I put a few folded paper towels on my lap, then the Masterson Palette on top with the paper towels still accessible in front of it. I put all the brushes I wanted to use at first in the empty 8 oz container, filled it halfway with water. Then filled the small 1 oz containers with each of their fluids: water, thinner, medium, gel (I didn’t actually use the gel – so next time I might just skip it). I squeezed all my paint colors out, going from light to dark along the outside circle of the palette, leaving room in the center to mix.
One day it was humid and slightly drizzly, so I painted under a porch. The paints stayed wet all day. The next day it was very hot and dry, and the paints stayed wet for my whole painting session, but did get a bit tacky (still usable, though) after an hour or so.

After painting for awhile, the areas with paint on the canvas dried to the touch, so I could layer paint on top without a gooey mess. However, if I wanted my second layer to blend into the first, all I had to do was to place some Open Medium on top of the dried area and let it sit for a minute. Then the layer got usable again. I could do this for up to about 24 hours.

That's it for now. Please feel free to add anything that worked for you.

Do Something Different

2008-10-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article about Robert Rauschenberg in last month’s Art in America (Sept issue page 38) and it left a lasting impression. Charles Stuckey, who wrote the article, mentions …”that he made something odd and extraordinary nearly every day for 60 years” and that “Rauschenberg had fun.” Now here’s my type of guy! I remembered it slightly different, and it became my motto for the week….”make something different every day and have fun”. Well, OK, just a slight rewrite. But it really gave me a new boost in my studio work. When I got to my studio each day last week, I gave myself as a first task to do something different. It took the pressure off of finishing my current work for a bit, and I got to take a creative break. I definitely had fun coming up with new things. I painted some bold shapes over a very languid peaceful seascape that was boring me. I drew on top of gold leaf panels, then poured transparent paint over them. Even though I am not sure about the results of those experiments, I highly recommend trying to surprise yourself, as a first task routine for a few days. This week I am heading up to Ghost Ranch, Georgia O’Keeffe’s old hang out in Abiquiu, New Mexico. The fall leaves are still brilliant, and I am going to try something different. Instead of my usual plein air (outdoor landscape painting) gear of oil pastels and small sketch pad, I am bringing along the new slow drying acrylic paints by Golden, called Open Acrylic. They have a long open time, staying wet for over 24 hours. Here in DRY New Mexico under the hot outdoor sun I am guessing I’ll have a few hours instead. But, hey, thanks to advice from Robert - its something DIFFERENT!

An Easy Way to Think About Acrylic

2008-10-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

I often get asked the same type of question regarding acrylic paint, whether to use mediums or water, and how much of each. A good way to think about acrylic is to organize all the techniques into two categories. Almost all techniques deal with acrylic sitting on TOP of the surface, or sinking DOWN INTO the surface. To use acrylic on top, or to layer, keep the use of water to a minimum, and only use mediums and gels. This way your acrylic paint will not be diluted, so the “plastic” binder will still “plastic coat” the surface, and your paint skin will be glossy and rich looking. To use the acrylic sinking down into the surface you need TWO components. The first component is to add lots of water to your paint (about 70% water to 30% fluid paint) and the second component (and this is the important one that most people skip or don’t understand) is to apply this washy paint onto an ABSORBENT surface. Gessoed canvas is not very absorbent and so using washes on this will not look that great. However, if you first apply a ground to your gessoed canvas, then washes will look more interesting. Some of my favorite grounds to create an absorbent surface are Golden’s Light Molding Paste (not to be confused with their other product called Molding Paste), Absorbent Ground, Coarse Molding Paste, and Coarse Pumice Gel. Using a palette knife, apply a layer of any of these products about 1/16th or 1/8th inch thick on any surface. (If you apply this too thinly, acrylic shrinks down in volume by about 30%, and will not be substantial enough to make a difference - so apply the grounds liberally). Let this dry overnight. Now the ground is ready and you can apply the diluted washes of paint. With some of these grounds I like to spray them with water first before applying the paint, to increase the bleed effect. If you don't have my book, Acrylic Revolution, I highly recommend purchasing a copy. It has a whole section on grounds to apply to create an absorbent surface. Click here to purchase.

A Positive Look at Negative Space

2008-09-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Some of you might remember that well-worn phrase “positive-negative space” from art school days, representing the form and background in a painting. When I taught a basic drawing class many years ago I got a renewed interest in this concept. I noticed that our eyes could focus on positive space or negative space but not both at the same time. For instance, if you place your hand palm down on the table and spread your fingers out a bit, the fingers and hand are the positive space, and the space in between the fingers are negative space. Try it out. I can make my eyes focus on one or the other, going back and forth between the fingers and the space, but can’t really get both in focus simultaneously.

To the left is a painting by M. C. Escher who used this optical trick idea as the basis of his work. In my class I noticed that figures would get out of proportion if students only focused on the positive form – the figure – but when they consciously drew the space around the figure – the background or negative space – the figure would improve tremendously. The phrase “negative space” must have seemed too negative to some, because I noticed other teachers referring to it as “Figure-Ground”. My favorite phrase was “Figure and Arena” which reminded me of a performer in a circus. When I started teaching abstract painting I liked to use the term “charged space” instead of our old buddy “negative space”.
A friend of mine gave me a refreshing look on this subject. He would look at someone’s painting, and analyze it by seeing the background as the artist’s “inner” self, and whatever forms were painted (objects for a still life, brushmarks in an abstraction) symbolized the artist’s projected personality – what parts of ourselves we allow visible to other people. I decided to look at my work retrospectively in these terms and was surprised to find that in fact, there must be some truth to this.
Here to the left is a painting I did years ago. There are many floating forms, and it has a crowded or busy feel to it. At the time I painted it I was trying to deal with lots of obligations in my life – not enough time spent alone.

Then I painted the one below. It’s hilarious to see that I have actually pushed the forms off the canvas, but still hanging on "stage" at the far right edge. At that time I was spending more time alone in my studio.

Now I am meditating much more on a daily basis, especially before I paint, and my current work feels like its all “charged space”, and in fact I like calling them “energy fields”.

Bad Photos Add Inspiration

2008-09-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

A good painter and friend of mine, Ines Kramer, told me she likes to take bad photographs. She actually plans a few long distance trips each year just to take them. I thought she was just being self effacing, until I realized the full impact of what she was saying. Ines uses the photos in her work, by photoshopping them, cutting them up and collaging them onto a surface as an underpainting, and then adds paint on top sometimes obliterating the images, often changing their shape, color, etc. She said that if the photographs are too good she doesn’t feel as free to change them. A good photo keeps her from adding her own ideas, while a bad photo just asks to be changed, rearranged, and given personality. Another artist friend of mine, Martha Kennedy, paints beautiful landscapes with (as she puts it) “mouth-watering colors”. She showed me her photographs she uses as reference. They are really downright BAD! I mean, these are photos with no contrast that look like the camera missed the boat on light exposure. These are the ones I would throw away. The difference between her paintings and the original photo are so vast that it’s hard to even imagine a connection. When I look at her work, the colors are truly “mouth-watering”. (By the way, even Martha’s car is painted a mouth-watering apricot – very cool). I was just pondering these strange methods from my friends, as I spent the last two days in my studio going through piles of photographs I had taken over the years, to get some new ideas. One of my favorite things to do is to take some time to look at images and recrop in new ways. I have a scissors nearby and cut up parts of photos that I shot, and combine them with other parts of other photos – sort of mixing up images to create some new ideas. I kept gravitating towards the beautiful photos. Photos from the Bosque del Apache, a bird reserve in New Mexico, with gorgeous sunsets, skies and mountains – just bursting with beautiful color palettes. I only went for the GOOD photos. But while painting from them, it’s a bit more difficult to change what already works so well. I find myself in a “copy” mode – instead of using the skimpy weak references, like my buddies, which beg for more. I see that when there’s something missing in the photo, it just begs us to add our own inspiration.

Low-Tech Moments

2008-08-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

Everyday something happens to make me appreciate painting even more. Early this morning, while sewing, my machine gave out a high pitched squeal. I got out my manual (only 20 pages long and in one language – English), and quickly found the page with instructions on cleaning and oiling the inner parts. The page had a full photograph of the inside of my machine. Removing only 2 screws, I opened the top, got out my needle nose oiling bottle, and dropped some oil into the holes indicated by arrows on the photo. Ten minutes later my machine was oiled and sounded just like new. “Wow,” I thought, “this was more fun than I’ve had in weeks.” Let’s compare this with yesterday’s saga - electric mayhem at home. In one day (I’m not kidding) our TV cable box blew, the house alarm’s 5 year battery went dead, and my computer refused to work properly. I needed to call the cable guy and the alarm company to send a repair person. Fortunately the computer got working after a small amount of my own prodding. This got me thinking about how appreciative I am that painting is low-tech. No repair man is necessary to help me with my painting. I feel a certain pang of pride when I whip out my drill to wire the backs of my paintings, or haul out the electric sander for smoothing surfaces. I do like machines. But now everything is so high-tech, manuals are incomprehensible volumes of worthless garble. Gone are those prideful “do-it-yourself” moments. My sewing machine and drill are both made of metal, are both over 22 years old, and still function wonderfully. Well, it’s a long shot that brushes and tubes of paint will ever get high-tech. I like my job. And just to celebrate my low-tech appreciation day, I ignored my car and walked to the neighborhood market for groceries.

Making an Acrylic Painting in Layers

2008-08-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Scroll down to the next posting and press the play button to see a video demonstration of me creating an acrylic painting in layers. Here is a unique way to paint a landscape using new acrylic techniques and unusual layering approaches. This video was taken from my presentation on Home & Garden’s Television Network (HGTV) show “That’s Clever” in October 2006.

Click here for step-by-step explanations not contained in the video.

Making an Acrylic Painting in Layers

2008-08-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

Getting Feedback

2008-08-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

It’s so great to get good feedback on your work! That’s why I like having a critique group. I asked a few artist friends to get together once a month to share current work – finished or not – and to get some comments. This group has been continuing to meet for the past 3 years, and we have all gained so much from the interaction. Most artists are comfortable seeing and commenting on work-in-process, while non-artists tend to have problems understanding the “in-process” part unless the work is finished. By meeting regularly everyone gets to see your work over a long period, and so the comments get even more worthwhile and valuable.

The advantage of having a critique group is that you no longer have to get those worthless comments on your work – like from relatives, non-artist friends, gallery owners, and spouses or significant others. These comments from those who do not understand visual language will not be helpful at all. The disadvantage is that too many comments may block your progress, so it’s important not to bring work that’s still in infancy, and to wait until it has coalesced into a substantial image.

In my group we have a system that works well for us. There are about 6 of us, and we meet for about 3 hours in the morning, once a month, at my studio. Each person takes a turn by putting one piece up by itself. If an artist has several pieces to show, each piece is still seen separately unless it’s part of a series. We set a timer for one minute for everyone to be silent and just look at the painting. We found that without this step some fast reaction folks yell out their comments before someone else who needs more time can formulate their own opinion. It also keeps the artist from feeling like they need to talk about, defend or otherwise comment on their work. In our group the artist doesn’t need to tell their story – the “critters” aren’t interested in it, at least at first – and don’t want to cloud their view. After all, if you want feedback on your painting wouldn’t you prefer hearing what someone thinks without your influence? After the one minute beeper goes off we just take turns, one person at a time, saying opinions. We avoid comments such as “I like it, I don’t like it, It needs some red over there”. Instead we concentrate on the overall impact, and any visual impediments to movement and focus. Each person has vastly different work than the next, and it doesn’t matter whether you prefer that type of work or not – it only matters whether you think that artist has succeeded in doing what they set out to do. The BEST part of this whole process is that we end up “mirroring” our own individual creative needs by commenting. For instance, when an individual from the group makes a comment on another artist’s work that’s on display, it almost always turns out to be a key issue in their own work.

Art Attack Puppet Show

2008-07-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

My Broadcast Puppet Theater presented "Art Attack", a comic performance satirizing the "art world", in July at my Santa Fe studio. For those of you who missed it, here it is below!

"Art Attack" Puppet Show Video

2008-07-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

My Painting Process Cycles

2008-07-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Someone once asked me if I go to my studio every day, or do I wait until I FEEL creative. It got me thinking and I came up with an idea about my creative process. I discovered that there are three different cycles in my process: Beginning, Continuing and Completion. (This may seem oversimplified – but identifying them really helped me get more productive in my studio.) The trick for me is that each cycle requires a different type of energy. Beginning requires an energy about freedom, continuing requires faith, and completion requires an energy about healing.

So, in answer to that first question, I do go to my studio (almost) every day, regardless of how I feel. BUT, when I get to my studio, I decide what to work on depending on how I feel. So the feeling of creativity takes on many guises. Sometimes I want to try out all new things, or I have lots of active energy and feel like doing many experiments. I always have lots of extra canvases and surfaces around (even a stack of cardboard will do) and I may launch several to a dozen new underpaintings or start-up paintings in one day.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed that I have too many projects, and just want to get into a sort of meditative or hypnotic type of working state. Then I turn all my canvases around so I can’t see the images, pick one of these to work on, and just focus my attention on that one particular painting. I can stay in one spot and just concentrate. This “continuing” phase is the toughest for me. Often the work has lost its initial surprise excitement, and hasn’t yet become something cohesive, so I just need to trust and have faith that by working on it one step at a time, one area at a time, it will start to form. Therefore, this stage requires faith.

Let’s say in a typical two month period of time, 60% of my painting days are spent doing beginnings (most of my energy loves fresh starts and new experiments), 35% of my days are spent doing the “continuing” part, and only 5% does the finish. That’s the last of the three, the completion phase. This takes a very particular type of energy. On these very valuable and rare days, I can see clearly what each painting needs to make it really soar. I will give that last finishing touch to several on one day – finishing them all! Then I go out and celebrate. It’s more difficult for me to work on one painting through all its cycles by itself. For me, having lots of other paintings to work on simultaneously takes the “attachment” factor out of working on just one. And then I can put my energy to its best use. When I have a commission to paint, I will paint it all the way through, but still take breaks to play on some other ones to keep the juices flowing. I find it easiest to work on one cycle for the whole day, and not switch. For instance if I spend several hours flinging paint in a freedom engaged session of “starts” I will not be as adept on that same day to try to finish a painting or two.

Choosing Gels, Mediums & Pastes

2008-07-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

I often get emails asking about the differences between acrylic gels, mediums and pastes.
First, it helps to understand a general principle behind all paint and painting products.
All colored paints are made with basically two components: pigment - for color, and binder (also called medium, vehicle, and in the case of acrylic paints - polymer) which turns the pigment into a usable paint.

Any other product is usually some form of plain binder without any pigment, and is created to help customize your paint. These are used to change some characteristic of the paint itself, or to change a quality of your painting surface. The gels, mediums and pastes all fit in this category. Let’s start with gels and mediums. Gels are basically thick, while mediums are thin and pourable. Acrylic binder is naturally very thin and pourable. Most people assume acrylic is naturally thick – but it’s not. The thin quality of acrylic or polymer is not made by adding water or diluting. It just is naturally thin. So the gels and thick acrylic paints have thickeners added, while mediums have less thickener, and in the case of Golden’s specialty mediums, have none. (Golden’s specialty mediums are labeled GAC100, GAC200, etc. The GAC stands for Golden Artist Colors). All gloss gels and mediums are clear, while matte products have a finely ground white powder added to them, so they are often slightly cloudy or translucent. Pastes are thick and opaque.

Let’s look at how we could use them:

To change the consistency of a paint mixture you would add up to 30% medium to make it thinner, gel to make it thicker, and a specialty medium (GAC100 or GAC500) to eliminate texture altogether.

To make a colored paint more transparent you would make a mixture of paint with binder, but much more binder than color – about 90% binder and 10% color. You would add gloss gel (if you like texture) or a gloss medium (if you want minimal texture). For a very smooth enamel look use GAC100 or GAC500.

To make any color opaque you would add paste.

To cover over an area in your painting you would apply paste to the area (or white paint).

To create a textured ground use a gel with a knife. Gels have lots of thickener - and you have a choice of varying amounts of thickeners in the soft gel, regular gel, heavy gel and extra heavy gel (which has the most and therefore is the stiffest in handling).

To pour acrylic you would think of using a medium, since these are all pourable. However, there are 2 gel exceptions that are better for pouring: Self-Leveling Gel and Clear Tar Gel are both gels, but are pourable. I add small amounts of water to either of these, and pour over a painting to create a clear, glossy “surfboard” finish. I use minimal handling with these, in other words, I don’t use a brush or knife, but tilt the surface to move the “pour”. GAC800 is also a great pouring medium, and is the easiest to use since it isn’t as finicky as the other gels I mentioned, and will give the smoothest surface as it won’t crevice in fast drying climates – like out here in New Mexico where I live. Adding color is an option to any of these ideas.

My book, Acrylic Revolution, has over 100 acrylic painting techniques using gels, mediums and pastes. Click here to read more and/or order the book at a discount from Amazon. To see some of my work using a combination of pastes, gels and mediums click here.

Creative Over-Thinking

2008-06-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

The most common complaints I hear from students and fellow painters have to do with too much thinking. Our minds are so creative. Individual thoughts and experiences are utilized by our mind to make our artwork unique and personal. But that same mind can sometimes get in the way, creating mental static and keeping us from creating. It’s sometimes hard to distinguish between a valid need for a rest break and plain old stubborn mental static. Generally when my mind is acting like a lawyer making convincing arguments that create a stuck feeling, then that is the time I need to override the thought patterns. The best solution is to grab a paintbrush and paint anything – just paint – doesn’t matter what. The act of painting changes the program.

Here are some examples of my mind’s favorite arguments. “Sales are not happening right now so why bother? My work isn’t good enough so why bother? I’m too tired. There’s not enough time today to get anything done. I have too many other pressures that need my attention.” Well, all these arguments at the time might have had some validity to them (our creative minds only use good arguments). But there is always some time in the day to paint – even if only for an hour. And in that one hour generally all the arguments fall apart.

The over thinking mind uses its best legalese at choice moments in our process. When we are at the brink of something new and big, ready for a change or to expand, the mind gets a bit nervous (as it is wired to keep status quo and avoid change) and launches its best attack in the hopes of keeping us from taking action. Each of these times feels like frustration or creative blocks, and represent a prize moment in our passage towards the next momentous step. We can choose to give in to the arguments and stop our progress, or override the arguments and enter a new phase in our creative work.

As I mentioned before, the best way to end this nasty phenomenon is to paint anyway. But here are some steps to help switch the program. First, just notice that you are using legalese-mental static. Then gently acknowledge to your mind that you appreciate it's efforts to help, but that you are OK painting and that new changes in your creative process are not life threatening. The more creative we are as artists the better the overthinking mind can use convincing arguments. Acknowledge how crafty our mind is but let it know you will be taking over.

Recently a student emailed me with the argument that she doesn’t have enough technique, so she isn’t painting. She wrote a whole page about it. This student has been studying painting for years and has more technique then most artists I know. Her argument should have received a prize it was so good, but what gave it away was the over arguing. If, however, she had asked a specific technique question – like how do I make this color more opaque – or which colors will give me a certain effect – then I would know she is searching for real information. But I could tell this was just another over-thinking moment, and that she just needed to paint to change the thinking.

The “not enough technique” is one of the most common arguments. I honestly believe that we only need a small amount of technique to get our message visible and understood. It’s in the process of painting that we discover the next technique, and add that to our creative “toolbox”. Even though workshops are good to take, and there are instructors with great advice, the next technique that we need is usually discovered on the spot with paints in hand. I like to take one or two week-long workshops a year to learn something new, but I have seen some students use workshops as an excuse to avoid working on their own, and making their personal mark. It is important to take time – several months at least – to create work on your own without any teacher or group influence. Too much technique is often overburdening (trust me on this one). All you need is a few paints and a brush and a clear mind, and a joyful spirit (usually found by turning off the thinking mind) and you can create the most superb paintings of our time.

Key Word - FUN

2008-06-12T08:01:00.001-07:00

Making art is fun, right? Isn’t that one of the main attractions to any creative activity? When you take on art as a career, though, the business aspects can easily bog you down with extra responsibilities not normally considered as fun. The career artist needs to be a photographer, web tech, marketer, publicist, writer, accountant, sometimes framer, shipper and self-motivator. Even if all those hats you wear are fun, the pressure of switching daily and still keeping enough energy to paint can wear down the fun part.

Several years ago I decided to make it my motto to keep everything I do fun. It’s not always easy, but worth the effort. By keeping everything fun, it doesn’t require numerous breaks from what I am doing to grab an ice cream cone and find the nearest swing set. (Actually one of my favorite pastimes). Instead I try to make what’s required next from me to be fun. If I notice that I am not looking forward to an important phone call, or a few hours working with digital images for my website, then I stop for a few moments and ask myself to think about it differently. It’s the thoughts that make all the difference. Once I switch from a negative thought about a situation, I can easily find a positive one to replace it. For instance, let’s say I need to call my gallery to find out where my check is, or some other touchy subject, and it gets me nervous or frustrated. Instead, before the phone call, I take a moment and think about how much I like some of the staff, how professionally they handled the last show, etc, and then I get excited about the call – like I am calling a good friend. And the results are often better then I anticipated.

I have spent many hilarious moments with artist friends comparing rejection letters and interviews gone haywire. Odd situations like a former gallery owner who wouldn’t return my unsold paintings a week before the gallery was due to close. (I had to send in my husband and they almost got into a fist fight). I’m not proud of those moments, but they happen. We can choose to let them get us down, or keep us in good humor by our thoughts about them.

Recently, I wrote a puppet show making fun of all those “odd” artist moments. My “Broadcast Puppet Theater” will present “Art Attack” a short 30 minute puppet play on July 4th weekend at my studio here in Santa Fe, along with comic performer/artist friend Barbara Mayfield. It was very empowering making a gallery director puppet, famous artist, collectors, etc. and acting out several of these scenes. Above is a photo of the cast.

One of my friends on a recent visit to my studio, stood in amazement at the stage, puppets and props I had made, and remarked “I have never known anyone who spends this much effort just to have fun”. I am so proud.

So Many Ideas, So Little Time

2008-06-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

I think for most artists, scarcity of ideas is not as big a problem as too many ideas. Here is how I came to this conclusion. The other day I was browsing through my “idea book”, a purchased blank book that I vowed to keep updated with all my painting ideas, allocating one page per idea. Once I started, I found ideas popping up during car rides, outings with friends, reading books and in restaurants. I planted mini-notebooks in my purse and car so I could record them on the spot, then transplanted them into my official idea book after so many got accumulated.

I felt confident that this system of idea recording would keep me happy, knowing I would never run dry of good original ideas. After awhile, and since I decided to number each idea page, I discovered that I had recorded well over two hundred ideas. Now the feeling of confidence turned into dismay. How the heck was I going to find the time to do all these? I began to notice, though, that not all these ideas still held an interest for me. The feeling of dismay now turned to guilt. What kind of artist was I that I couldn’t keep up the excitement, and bring each into fruition? Where was my artistic integrity? Isn’t it important to keep up the pace of production with the fountain of inspirational ideas?

I grabbed a brush and began to paint in a successful attempt to keep myself from over-thinking. I got back to a happy place by painting, and put my mind to it again. Soon I came up with an idea about ideas. I realized that not all ideas are meant to be born into the physical world, even if they really excite us in the moment of discovery. Some ideas, by staying in the non-physical (just writing them down, or allowing them to simmer in our thoughts) became stepping stones to the BIG ones. I figured that if I tried to keep up with them all, and paint each and every one of them, I might miss the BIG picture. I noticed that for every 20 or 30 ideas I would write down, I would get inspired to actually paint and bring to fruition the next idea in the chain. And that one would in a way reflect or contain all the others.

After writing this, I am now finding an uncanny correlation to my to-do list for today. All these errands, phone calls, food shopping…how the heck can I find the time to do everything? Well, I had better grab my painting brush before I start over-thinking again.

An Art Affair; indulging in another discipline

2008-05-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

There are many artists I know that enjoy a second artistic discipline as a way to assist or add a creative burst to their primary art career. For instance, author Natalie Goldberg, who lives in New Mexico (best known for her book “Writing Down the Bones”) mostly writes. She has written a ton of books by now, (I count 14 on her website, but I am sure there are many more) and teaches writing. She also, according to some of her audios I have listened to, paints. She even wrote a book about her painting, and how it helps her write. Some of my friends who paint like to write, dance, play an instrument. By taking a creative break from our primary medium – one that we strive to master, make a living from, and/or turn our career into - we get a different perspective.

My career or profession is painting. And once I chose that primary profession, I am then even more specifically labeled; by a certain style of painting, and often by the use of certain mediums – acrylic for now. And all that labeling can sometimes feel a bit confining. While cramming to produce enough work for my galleries who represent me, and my clients, I crave ways to expand my thinking. My “affair” or art on the side, is ballet. Often it is while doing ballet that I get my new inspiration. In ballet, there is a constant striving for a certain ideal or perfection, that is impossible to reach due to the limitations of our own human body. But yet, in ballet class everyone, no matter what level of expertise still strives to get better. And unlike an aerobics class, in ballet you need to use EVERY part of your body, brain, spirit. My teacher, who is excellent at taking each person to their next step, will comment on where my eyes are focused, while I am struggling to keep balanced on one leg with my arms in the correct position. Sometimes its annoying but it does keep me in gear.

I have found that even cooking in the kitchen, and creating a new dish can improve my painting.

Sometimes I find myself feeling guilty that I am taking “time off” from what I SHOULD be doing (painting) as I am heading towards my ballet class. But every time I get myself to that ballet barre I am glad. My painting sessions afterwards run smoother, I feel better, and much more expanded in my thinking. I guess the word “should” is a clue. Let’s stop feeling guilty and do what we LOVE – and let that freedom take on a wide variety of forms. One of my teacher’s David True, once commented that we only have 4 good painting hours in us each day. If we keep painting after that we just ruin the work, or go backwards on our progress. I think about that often, and it helps me get over the guilt of taking precious time during our day to “have an affair”.

Warming Up with The Brain Gym

2008-04-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

I first learned about The Brain Gym at my son’s elementary school. A visiting counselor was demonstrating exercises from a book of the same name, that help coordinate the left and right brain hemispheres, created especially for helping children learn better. I started using some of these exercises in an adult figure drawing class I was teaching at that time. Over the course of several years I would alternate, introducing the exercises on some days, but not on others, and I noticed a huge difference. During the days when we did the exercises the students had sharper focus, better stamina, and were more satisfied with the quality of their work – 100% of the time. Here is a link to the website, http://www.braingym.org/ and a book of the exercises is certainly available. But here are the exercises I like the best, and use in my classes. I may have changed the names by accident, as I remember them best with the names I listed below. I am sure the book describes them in even better detail, but here is my interpretation.

I like to do them in this order, starting with the person’s favored arm (right handed people start with the right arm, while lefties start with the left) and accomplished while standing. This should only take about 5-7 minutes total.

Lazy 8: Starting with your preferred arm, put your hand in a fist and extend the thumb out and upwards, and extend the arm fully straight out in front of you, so that the thumb is level with your nose. Draw a lazy 8, or otherwise known as the infinity sign, which is the number 8 on its side, as large as you can, as if your thumb were drawing it in front of you. Your whole arm is still straight and extended and moves from the shoulder. Begin the first loop of the lazy 8 going upward to the right, then down and around and back to center to form the right side of the loop. Repeat for the left in one continuous movement. OK, that was just practice. Now here is the important part. Before you start the next loop cycle, fix your eyes on your thumb and do not let your eyes go faster than your thumb so that your thumb is always in your direct vision. Do not move your head to favor one eye over the other. BOTH eyes need to track the thumb for the whole lazy 8 loop cycle. Repeat 2 more times, for a total of 3. Left handed people start with the left arm, but still start the loop moving upward and out on the right. This exercise helps sharpen perception and focus. Don’t forget to breathe during all these exercises.

Trombone: Using the same arm, keep the fist and thumb the same as before, extending the arm straight in front of your nose. Stare fixedly at your thumb. Pull your thumb towards your nose almost to touching, while still staring, so your eyes feel slightly crossed. Then extend it back out to original position. Breathe in when you pull your thumb towards your nose, and out when extending it back out, so it feels like you are playing the trombone. Do a total of 3 trombones. This is helpful for “near-far” perceptions. Good for figure drawing, or any type of art making from real life, like plein air painting or still life painting.

Repeat the first 2 (Lazy 8 and Trombone) for the other arm

Hot Dog: Extend your pointer finger on both hands and make the rest of the hand into a fist. Face palms towards your face and allow your 2 extended pointer fingers to touch each other at the finger tips. Place them about 7” from your face. Stare at the fingers where they meet. Continue staring until a small hotdog – or illusionary mini finger – is created in between them. Now look beyond the fingers about 10 feet or more in front of you so the small mini-finger disappears. Repeat looking close, then far 3 times total. This also has benefits for near/far perception.

Brain Points Accupressure: There are 2 points on either side of the top of the rib cage which, when pressed deeply will activate the brain. Press both points simultaneously with your thumb and third finger for a minute or more, while breathing, going deep without being painful. Then repeat switching hands.

Energy Release: wrap your right leg over your left at the ankle. Wrap your right hand over your left at the wrist. Fold fingers together like you are holding hands, and turn the hands inward and upward while still clasping the fingers. Stay in this position. Mouth is closed, tongue is touching the roof of your mouth. Breathe deeply and continuously for a minute or more. This balances your energies.

Drink a whole glass of water immediately.

Size Matters

2008-04-09T18:19:00.001-07:00

There’s a tradition among some Native American ceramists that I know, which I have always admired. These artists consider the selection of materials as the actual starting point of their art making process. The location they choose to collect their clay is just as important, as the making of the clay pot, and is in fact a deciding factor in how the final piece turns out. Modern artists are fortunate to have most ingredients and materials pre-made and ready-made. Paint comes in tubes, canvases are pre-stretched and even primed. But we still have choices, and the choices we make right in the beginning are an essential part of the process of making our art. Sometimes we just take it for granted, but what we choose pre-determines the end result. Before the first brushstroke is even considered, an emotional “content” is already inherent in the choices we had made.

Take, for instance, selecting a painting surface. Large, medium or small sizes each carry a different emotional weight. Anything painted on a small surface will appear to the viewer as a “gem” or a precious object. Something medium sized ( any side measuring about half a person’s height) will be more directly personal. The viewer is imagining looking in a mirror if it is vertical, and looking out of a window if horizontal. Any size that is our height or larger will evoke a “cosmic” or grandeur of the universe appearance.

Some artists use this emotional content regarding size to their advantage. Here is a painting by New York artist Chuck Close, who paints close-up intimate portraits on super large scale formats. The jolt between what you expect and what you see adds a dynamic quality to his work.

Once we establish size and orientation, where we place forms within that painting space also carries different emotional expectations. For instance, something placed near or on the bottom of a painting needs to be large and “weighty” (either physically or emotionally) because this is the pedestal which holds up the rest of the imagery. Our continual relationship with gravity still holds sway when we look at a painting. And how about this new craze with square formats? A former teacher of mine, David True, would call a square canvas the “boxing ring” because of the energy battle contained in the square shape.

At times, I have found small surfaces to be more difficult to paint on than larger ones. This is because, for me, a large canvas is like writing a novel. I can paint a large variety of things in an aggressive way. While a small surface is like writing a haiku. I need to be more precise and execute it simply and directly. When I embark on a new series, I will often begin with several large works, then as I clarify my thinking I more easily move into the smaller pieces. Below I included a small and large image from my latest “ocean” series. The large one feels more like a grand ocean, whereas the small one focuses on one wave.

Here is my latest small painting, measuring a mere 8” x 8”.

While in comparison, here is a larger painting, measuring 46” x 36”.

Color Control with Acrylic

2008-03-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you have noticed that as your acrylic painting dries, the colors change. They get darker. Actually what is happening is the acrylic paint appears lighter while it is wet. All paints are made of two basic components, pigment (which looks like colored dirt before it is used in the paint) and binder, which holds the pigment particles together and turns them into a usable paint form. Other terms for binder are vehicle or medium.

Polymer or acrylic is the medium/vehicle/binder for acrylic paint. It is white when wet, but dries totally clear and glossy. There are no white additives in the binder, but the white appearance is due to a microscopic bubbling that disappears when dry. So when you paint with acrylic it is lighter when wet, due to this whitish phenomenon. Then when the paint is dry, this binder turns clear and the color turns into its true hue. Here is an interesting comparison from music that helps me when I paint. Musical scales consist of the same note patterns, but they change in octaves. So just like I would transpose one octave into another, I paint about 10-15% lighter then what I want it to look like when dry. In other words, I go up one octave in value when I paint. The more gels or mediums you add to your paint color the greater the difference between it’s hue when wet as opposed to dry.

If this is bothersome to you here are some other options. If you don’t mind working with the paint a bit thick, then try adding at least 50% Golden’s Light Molding Paste to your paints. The paste is white when wet, and stays white when dry, so there is no change (or at least very slight) in color between wet and dry.

Another option if you don’t like the hue change, and don’t want to work with pastes, is to use the acrylic in washes like watercolor. This technique is best accomplished using an absorbent surface such as watercolor paper, or some of the unusual acrylic grounds that are available (like Pumice Gel, Light Molding Paste, and Absorbent Ground). Add at least 50% water to your paint. After painting with these diluted washes, the color stays pretty much the same hue when dry. This is because most of the acrylic binder has been diminished with the addition of water.

Pictured here is one of my paintings that uses all three techniques (1) acrylic painted lighter while wet, (2) washes on absorbent surfaces and (3) adding Light Molding Paste to the paint)

My new book, Acrylic Revolution, North Light Books, contains over 100 techniques including step by step detailed descriptions of the above methods. Please click here for purchase information.

Artist as Curator, Curator as Artist

2008-02-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

A recent article (Art in America February 2008, pgs 122-129) features the work of artist Francis Alÿs. Reading about his work, which I both like and admire, reminded me of an ongoing trend I have noticed for quite a few years - artists turning into curators and curators being appraised as artists.

In this article the writer/critic Gregory Volk, discusses his latest show “Fabiola” at Dia and the Hispanic Society in New York. Here Alÿs exhibits 300 paintings depicting the same saint, all by other artists, mostly amateurs and unknown artists that Alÿs has collected over the years. This intriguing idea inspires me to take a trip to NY to see it in person, but what interests me the most was how this installation was discussed in the article, which I found to be almost identical to the way any writer would comment on a curator’s exhibition.

As the article so aptly begins “In a current arts situation marked by proliferation, with more and more galleries, exhibitions, biennials, collectors, art fairs, art consultants, art blogs and, well, artists….” it only seems natural that there will be a tremendous cross-influence between all these art world aspects.

There are many artists who use appropriation in their work, by copying or incorporating images by others, and then rearranging it somewhat to be seen in a different context. This appropriated work is used as visual commentary by the appropriating artist, and then claimed new ownership. This is not what I am talking about here, as I believe appropriation is just another tool an artist can use. What I am finding more and more are instances where artists actually become curators. Alÿs’s example above is one way. His curating is being used as a vital part of his commentary and vision. There is another type of example that I also see from artists who do not have Alÿs’s stature. Some artists become a curator to show their own work in the context of their choosing. For instance, an artist will gather together other artists work based around similar themes and directions to their own, then submit this as a proposal for a group show to museums, art centers and university galleries. I find this a refreshing solution for an emerging or young artist to get their work into the appropriate show and location.

The counterpart to this cross influence, is that of curators becoming artists. It used to be (many years ago) that curators would travel worldwide, meeting artists, visiting studios, and using their writing, administrative, and exhibiting skills to let the public in on what the artists were doing. New “schools” would be coined to indicate what they found. Now, it seems, that curators are on the fast track to their own stardom. By freelance curating the vast number of emerging biennales, they can gain a reputation for creating unusual, attention getting ideas. Now curators come up with the idea first, then seek exhibiting artists to validate their idea. Current exhibitions, therefore, comment more on what curators are thinking, rather then ideas originating in an artists studio.

Take Site Santa Fe for instance, who’s 7th Biennale will open July 2008. Each of Site’s biennales features a different curator, selected from their proposal submission. Most of the post exhibition publicity, articles and criticism in the past were centered around these curators, often leaving the artists and their work unmentioned. The same thing is happening with the next curator Lance Fung. His idea is to bring artists from around the world to Santa Fe for two weeks, to research the locale and to then create their piece based on this visit. The idea has many other components, and is quite brilliant, actually. But when I go to the exhibition I know I won’t be able to look at the work alone, without the overriding question of how successful was Lang’s idea, perhaps putting a spin on how I view the individual work on exhibit.

What it comes down to is this: The image of an artist slaving away in his or her studio, with no contact to the outside world, no demands or pressures to act as an administrator for their own work, has long gone. Artists are now in competition with not only curators, but galleries, museums and critics. Most of my artist friends put in just as many administrative hours as painting; such as writing proposals, contacting venues, photographing their work, using computers, websites and digital portfolios to attract new clients, setting prices, working with Paypal and other technical applications.

With artists unable to dedicate 100% of their creative time to making their art, has the act of creating become somewhat diluted? I see this trend in the US but is it also true in other countries? Because of this trend, is our country missing out on the production of passionate, powerful new directions in art?

The Sensuous Paint Skin

2008-01-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite painting teachers, Phyllis Bramson, had a great analogy for painters, by comparing the paint to human skin. When a painting is finished the paint layers all cure together to form a tactile paint surface. This surface, according to Bramson, can be compared to skin. It can be thick and palpable like a baby’s skin, or thin and transparent, like the skin of someone elderly. When I first heard this it confused me, because at that time I was a new mother. My son was only 2 years old, and his skin was very transparent, not thick and palpable. I could see veins on his face just below the skin’s surface. But, hey, it was a cool analogy, and I decided to stop trying to figure it out, and just use it.

So now when I paint I often take the time to just look at the applied paint, and think about how it makes me feel. Just the paint. Not the images, colors, composition…but just the paint. If it’s thick and textured it feels tactile or sensual. If applied thinly, then I want it to feel silky, soft, veiled, vaporous. While wandering in galleries looking at art, I will search out paintings that intrigue me. Maybe I like the colors, or imagery, and will walk up really close to it. When I get right up there nose to paint, I want to feel the paint. If it looks too thin and skimpy I lose interest.

Here in Santa Fe we are lucky enough to have a Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Her work is a perfect example of what I call “the sensuous paint skin”. (Please note that you can’t see the true nature of her painting surfaces in a photograph, only in person). In almost every oil painting of hers, there are two contrasting ways of handling the paint. Some areas are barely covered by a thin layer of paint, and you can still see the texture of the canvas coming through, while other areas use heavy impasto (brushy or knife applied texture) showing off her luscious brush strokes.

Just to clarify, there are thin applications of paint that I feel can still look sensuous. A powerful painting is created when the artist allows the medium itself to speak through the work. And what better way to let it speak then through it’s own physicality, by expressing itself through a tactile quality in the final surface.

Report from the 6th Florence Biennale 07

2008-01-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

Having just returned from exhibiting at the 6th Florence Biennale in Italy, held December 1 – 9, 2007, I thought I would post some of my opinions. I found the caliber of work excellent, and the event first class. (Click here to see an example of my work on exhibit.) This was an unusual type of biennial art exhibition, in fact they reported this event as the largest artist supported biennial in the world. Other art events are more like art fairs which emphasize sales and resemble trade shows. And most biennials are curator driven – selecting only the work from artists who can substantiate a certain look or style that the curator wants to illuminate. For this (and past Florence Biennales) there were several curators involved in the selection process, who chose works of high quality, but left the range quite broad. This exhibition was unique in that the work was incredibly diverse, which makes sense considering there were over 800 artists, representing over 76 countries. Click here to read more about the Florence Biennale.

The Healing Power of Landscape Paintings

2007-11-22T12:37:00.000-08:00

I recently found an uplifting and interesting tidbit for those of us who enjoy painting landscapes. According to Dr. John Diamond, in his 1979 book Your Body Doesn't Lie, when a person looks at a landscape painting it will raise their level of well being, balance their right and left brain hemispheres and increase their life energy. The book describes Dr. Diamond’s research and practice for Behavioral Kinesiology (BK), which uses muscle testing from Kinesiology to test for factors in the environment that raise and lower a person’s energy or life force. He muscle tested patients for music, electronic devices, picture symbols, food, just about everything, as well as paintings. He found that a photograph of a landscape or an actual view of a landscape did not come close to the life giving qualities from a landscape painting (!)

Here is a quote (p. 76 in Dr. Diamond’s book) “…The results are not nearly so satisfactory with line drawings or with photographs. Looking at a beautiful scene in nature may or may not be as effective, depending on the ability of the viewer to abstract certain qualities from it, which is, after all, what a good painter has already done for us. I have found that if people take an “energy break” every so often – just to recite a verse or two of poetry or to look at a picture postcard of a painting, stress and tension will be considerably reduced……and the Life Energy will be high…”

How cool is that?

Going Beyond Technique

2007-11-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

The learning curve for most artists generally takes a similar path, which I see consisting of 2 parts. The first part is mastering technique. Not all techniques in all mediums, but the ones that will best suit the artists needs. The technique is mastered when the artist has enough tools to say what they want to say. Then comes part 2. This is a key point where the artist rises above technique, and the message or content or voice of the artist takes precedent. Here it gets tricky because a successful work of art contains not only the voice of the artist but the voice of the medium as well. The artist must create a balance between mastery and surrender. Mastery of the technique, while surrendering to the materials and message, as well as being a conduit to the collective energies/concerns of the times.

As a teacher I often see a tough spot happening between parts 1 and 2. This is the “leaping off” step. Sometimes students will keep taking class after class long after they have enough technique, but it’s a bit scary at that point to realize you have enough technique and then to use those techniques to say what you want to say. My suggestion is that students take a few technique classes, then take a year off with no classes and no teachers to just paint on their own. From then on sign up for a short workshop once a year to add something new, get reinspired.

I recently received a comment regarding my book, Acrylic Revolution, wishing that more of the examples in the book were finished paintings, and here is a good opportunity to add some clarity to my intent. This book is a collection of techniques. My intent in writing this book was to inspire artists to make that leap from part 1 to part 2, and to create their own unique style by combining techniques. To do this I decided to give final examples for each of the techniques but only going as far as a technique can go without becoming a painting. I put finished paintings at the gallery at the end of the book to show that powerful paintings are a combination of many techniques. It is this combining that encourages creating your own style. The techniques are purposefully left in a state full of potential, just for those purposes, to get your own creative juices flowing – not to imitate.

Turn Up the Volume on the Inner Voice

2007-10-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

I discovered an easy and surprisingly beneficial painting warm-up exercise. This 20 minute exercise, performed daily for one month (or even less) will do wonders for increasing your creativity, getting rid of artistic blocks, and finding new styles or shifting your work. I came up with this after reading “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg, a popular book for writers to increase their writing and creative abilities. Natalie suggested that writers should “clear their head” by filling notebooks, and write in a stream of consciousness fashion, by writing without thinking, very directly, and not editing. I decided to transform this freestyle writing exercise to something that would work for painters. This is how it works: First get a pile of inexpensive painting surfaces that don’t feel precious to you. I gessoed some scraps of canvas that I had lying around. Gessoed sheets of paper, or cardboard work well too. Just don’t get too small in size. My scraps were actually around 16” x 20”. The night before you start set everything up for painting so that you can just jump right in without any preparations. Pick a time, preferably first thing in the morning, and stick to a schedule for a length of time. Pick what works for you, perhaps trying one week to see how it goes, but you need at least 5 days in a row to make a good assessment. Make a commitment to acting out your very first thought. Now here is the key. Your first thought is the inner voice. Your second thought is the “parent”. We are so accustomed to paying attention to the second voice that the first is sometimes faint and barely there. This exercise will strengthen that first voice, sometimes called the “inner child”. I like using the phrase “first voice” better or I feel like I am in therapy.

Here is a common example of what may happen. You get all set up the night before and come in excited and energized the next morning ready to start. You look at the blank white surface and your first thought is “I want to splash the heck out of that blank white with a bright orange paint”. Your second thought sounds like “Are you out of your mind? That orange paint is expensive, and that sounds like a stupid idea. How about a nice green landscape instead?” Your job is to tell your second thought to take a hike, and follow your first directive – to splash orange all over the surface. Then after the splash, which may only take a few minutes, take a look at it. Your next first thought will come right away, and might be “Wow, that could use a couple of dark green marks”. The second thought says “this is dumb. I have some pressing errands to do and should stop now”. Again your main task is to always take action on the first thought, and tell the second thought or voice to take a hike. On this same painting surface, add some green marks, take a look at it, quickly listen to your next first thought. Repeat this process all on the same surface for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes take your exercise painting down from your easle, wall or table and put it away – out of sight so you can’t critique it. It’s only an exercise. Leave it alone and just keep piling them up one after another each morning. Now work on your regular studio work and forget about the exercise. Repeat each morning. This will strengthen your ability to make good clear painting decisions for your art – the paintings you are currently working on. The idea is that the inner or first voice is always right. It is just so used to being ignored that it isn’t coming in as strong as the second. The second thoughts are usually critical, judgmental, the parent voice, the one that keeps us from painting.

Please let me know how this is working for you if you decide to try it. You will know if it is helping by how your studio work progresses. Perhaps you will see an increase in production, or less creative blocks. The exercises themselves aren’t meant to turn out to be great masterpieces. I ended up throwing most of them away, and cutting up the rest for collage pieces. I am interested to know what comes up for you if you decide to give it a try.

Acrylic Revolution

2007-10-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

I had no idea there were so many people interested in acrylic painting. My new book Acrylic Revolution sold out of its first printing (over 10,000 books) in the first 7 months. The second print run has been available since November 2007, and is the same version as the first - no changes made. To purchase a copy, please Click here for a link to Amazon's discounted price. There are several new workshops and free acrylic lectures recently scheduled. Please click here to see my updated teaching schedule.

Exhibiting at Florence Biennale

2007-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

I will be exhibiting paintings at the Florence Biennale 2007, from December 1-9, 2007, and will be attending all the events there. I have posted one of my paintings for this show on my website. You can view it in the acrylic techniques section.

The Best Times to Paint

2007-09-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

I get up at 4 am, get to my studio by 5 and begin to paint. Most of my friends think I am nuts getting up so early, so I usually don’t mention it anymore. Getting up early started as a necessary ritual. For over a decade I have had to pick up my son at school by 3 pm. He always needed me for something, and if not, there were errands, phone calls, etc. And so my studio time came to an abrupt end by mid afternoon. Now that he is 16, driving and fairly independent, I was shocked to suddenly realize I no longer need to get up at an insane hour to get in enough painting time. So lately, the last few weeks, I have been playing around varying the timing of my daily rituals. Habits are hard to break. I get up later, and feel unenergetic all day and out of whack. But today, as I was taking a walk around 7 am, enjoying the cool air and brilliant sunrise colors I came to realize that there is a benefit to working so early in the morning. Just like freshly baked bread tastes incredible the first hour out of the oven, and changes flavor as it cools, the early morning contains a freshly baked energy, appreciated only by us early morning risers. I have noticed that not only do I have different energies during the day, but the day itself carries its own variety of energy potential. We are all different individuals, but it is my theory that by paying attention to the 2 energies: that offered by the day, and that of our own mind/body mechanism, that we can maximize our productivity and general feelings of well being, by taking advantage of that energy awareness and scheduling ourselves appropriately. I know that I can think and paint most clearly before the sun, noise (and everyone else) wakes up. I do my best office work, phone calls, bills, general left brain stuff around lunch time. And get a good second wind of painting energy late afternoon/early evening. So now I will go back to getting up insanely early. Except now I know it’s not out of necessity but a personal wise choice.

Using References & Staying Original

2007-08-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

To start a painting I sometimes spend time looking at images for a jumpstart. These images could be photographs I took on trips, pictures from art books, drawings and sketches, postcards, or magazine advertisements – just about anything that makes my eyes happy. If I find an image that is particularly exciting I will pin it up near my easel to keep it as a reference while I work. There is a danger, however, in working too closely from a reference image. If I stick too closely to it, the work will look tight and lack spirit. One of my favorite artists, Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917) said "Imitation is not inspiration, and inspiration only can give birth to a work of art." Here is a trick I like to use so that I can refer to other images, but still keep my painting fresh and original. I try to pick out at least three images for reference, not only one. I will then use each for a different inspirational aspect. For instance, one image may have a color palette that inspires me, while another image has a composition that looks enticing. The third image might have certain forms or shapes that I like. By using and combining all three at the same time, my imagination feels free to add, edit and transform the images in front of me, and my painting ends up a complete surprise, as well as extremely different from any of the original references. In creating my newest painting, Think of Something Fun, I used several of my landscape photographs and some sketches I had created on hiking trips in New Mexico, especially several of Georgia O’Keeffe’s favorite spots in Abiquiu, New Mexico.

The Objective Eye: Keeping Your Artwork Alive

2007-08-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

You’d think being a Santa Fe painter surrounded by beautiful skies and bright light, would be enough to keep me inspired for every painting session. There are plenty of times, however, that I need to work at it. Energy, spontaneity, clear focus as well as inspiration, are qualities I need to create my work. Sometimes these qualities come to me naturally, while other times I need to work to get them activated. The key for me comes from using what I call my “Objective Eye”. This Objective Eye is readily available during the first hours or days working on a painting. But after working on the same painting for a long stretch of time, I lose it, and may get bored, side tracked and have difficulty making the new decisions that had been abundantly flowing a short time ago. My Objective Eye helps me see the work fresh, make good painting decisions, and continue being inspired. I have several tricks to keep it on. To start a new painting series, I begin by preparing 8-10 canvases at a time. I rotate working on each of them separately, painting on about 1-3 of them each day. Whatever painting is currently being worked on, I will have hanging on my wall easel. The rest of the works are lined up along the floor facing the wall. That way I cannot see them in my periphery. By focusing on only one painting at a time I don’t get overwhelmed by looking at the entire group of work, each of which would be calling for attention all at once. My motto is to only look at a painting-in-process with my brush in hand, and paints ready to go. As soon as I look at the work, after not having seen it for awhile, my first impression, my first decision, is the most accurate because it comes from the “Objective Eye”. By sticking to this plan, I am able to take action as soon as I see the next step. No time lags. There’s a three time rule in play while painting. If you see something that needs fixing in your painting, but don’t take action, and you do this 3 times, you won’t see it again, and the mistake stays. The Objective Eye starts to edit. Take advantage of your Objective Eye. It is the artist’s best weapon.

Opaque Painting Techniques Using Acrylic

2007-08-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Using contrasts or opposites is an important painting tool. Pairing warm with cool colors, or hard edges with soft, or simple spaces with complex ones, adds intrigue, focus and power to the image. Since I like to use glazes and transparent layering in my work, an essential contrasting technique then, is the use of opaque painted areas. Not all colors are opaque right out of the tube. The newer colors, which often have unusual names like Phthalo or Quinacridone, are naturally transparent. The more common colors such as Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and Cadmiums are naturally opaque. (More information about pigment differences is included in my new book, Acrylic Revolution.) To paint opaquely, I start my painting session by adding a large lump of acrylic Molding Paste in the middle of my palette. Pastes in general are opaque, and will whiten colors as well as thicken the textural quality. To the paste, I add about 15% retarder and some water, mixing thoroughly, and keeping the paste mixture in a close clump on the palette to keep it staying wet longer. As I paint, I make smaller mixtures on the palette using 1 part colored acrylic paint to1 part of the paste mixture. I usually apply it with a painting knife. A painting I recently finished, called Koi Pond, uses this acrylic technique, using the paste mixtures all applied with a knife. My paintings currently on exhibit in Santa Fe use a combination of the opaque pastes with transparent glazes.

Glazes with Texture

2007-07-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

Glazing is a technique commonly used in many mediums such as oil and acrylic to create transparent layers of color. Since acrylic can be used thickly with no cracking or adhesion problems, it also has the benefit of offering some more unusual painting applications. By using a thick acrylic gel, and adding this into regular acrylic colored paint, you can create a thick but transparent subtly colored mixture. Apply this mixture over previously applied dried and painted layers using a variety of application tools to create some unusual effects. There are many acrylic gels available for purchase. Gels are actually an acrylic medium, with the addition of thickeners, to create a thick or stiff acrylic that can be easily manipulated in a sculpting manner. I like using painting knives, rubber shaper tools, fingers, sticks, etc, as well as brushes to get my textural effects. The main point to keep in mind, is to use a clear acrylic gel to get the transparency, instead of an opaque paste. And to use a small amount of color into a larger amount of gel. I like to use a 1:10 ratio of color to gel.

The Best Time to Use Glazes

2007-07-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

A glaze can be considered a delicate layer of color. Delicate because it is so subtle and transparent. Therefore, a glaze is best used on top of a stronger base color. A common Old Master's Technique used a grisaille, meaning grays, which is an underpainting composed of dark and light paint colors using combinations of grays or neutrals. This "gray" underpainting allows the artist to concentrate on patterns of dark and light and general composition concepts, without thinking of color just yet. When this grisaille, or first layer of paint is dry, the artist applies glazes of color over the grays, shifting the hue, and turning the gray painting into a colored painting containing a variety of values or tones. There are many ways to create underpaintings, and the use of grisaille tends to evoke an Old Master's realism. As an abstract artist, I like to apply bright opaque areas of color as my underpainting and then use glazes over those to shift them in tone and hue. This contemporary use of glazing has many advantages, including creating the illusion of solid form from the previously flat underpainted color shapes. Here is my favorite example of when to use a glaze. Let's say you were commissioned to paint a realistic portrait. After painting for quite awhile you finish the portrait in all its full gloried detail. It's fabulous! However, the client upon seeing it feels the skin tone is a bit too yellow. To repaint the portrait would take a long time, and feel like a waste of time. Instead mix a glaze of violet (yellow's opposite or complementary color) to tone it down. Apply a single even layer of this violet glaze over the entire portrait. If the glaze is too strong the skin tone in the portrait will turn violet. But if the transparency is correct, the yellow will get just enough violet on top to neutralize it towards a more acceptable skin tone. I like to mix a glaze and then test it on top of a small area first. I keep playing with it and testing it until it's just right before applying it all over.

How to Create Glazes Using Acrylic Paints.

2007-07-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

A glaze is a transparent and subtle color application. Glazing in acrylic is best accomplished by using a slow drying medium. You can make your own slow drying medium by adding an acrylic additive called retarder to any regular acrylic gloss medium. Add up to 15% retarder to the medium. You can also use Golden's Acrylic Glazing Medium, which already contains a good proportion of retarder and medium. I often add a small amount of water to this retarder & medium mixture to help eliminate brush strokes and to ease the application. To this slow drying medium, add a very small amount of colored paint to make a colored glaze. I like to use about 1 part paint to 10 parts medium. Mix well with a knife. This mixture of medium, retarder, water and colored paint is now a glaze. Apply the glaze using a very soft brush, over an area you want to shift in color. Keep the glaze application very thin by wiping off excess glaze from your brush onto paper towels. Work quickly, and do not go back over an area once it starts to get tacky. This layer now needs to dry to work any further, or to add a new layer. When working on several layers, put a fan right next to the artwork to quick dry the freshly applied layer of glaze. To see examples of paintings using acrylic glazes go to my painting page and/or acrylic techniques page. For more information on glazes and other acrylic painting techniques see Nancy Reyner's newly released book, Acrylic Revolution, North Light Books.

Calendar of Events
Acrylic workshops, lectures and book signings for Nancy Reyner have just been scheduled in Scottsdale, Arizona and Silver City, New Mexico. For details visit my painting workshops page.

Join Nancy's Mailing List