I do not associate Albert Handell with nudes, or even with figure studies for that matter. Several years ago I had the benefit to attend one of his workshops. For years, like many artists, I’d been following Richard Schmid, and trying in vain, to find a workshop with him. Alas! I read that an oil and pastel painter by the name of Albert Handell would be offering a workshop in Putney, Vermont, and that participants could hang around an extra day to paint en plein air with the famed Richard Schmid. I signed up immediately.
I signed up for the workshop because of Schmid, but my admiration upon my return home, was focused on Albert Handell. This is not to minimize the greatness of Schmid. But there was something so profoundly intellectual about Handell’s approach to his artwork. Many of his incredible landscape paintings border on almost abstract non-representational paintings. I bring this up with the study of my nude, because Handell also does studies that are very accurate. He does studies, however, of trees. I don’t mean simply tree studies; I mean tree portraits. With the same discipline and observation that a great portrait artist might give to the likeness of his/her subject, Handell does tree studies. I find this amazing. I’ve been drawing trees, like many artists, since I was a kid. And if there is ever a place where one might get by drawing something willy-nilly (to fake it, so to speak), trees are it! Not Albert Handell!
I am beginning to believe that all representational artists, regardless of how loose their style, must have it in them, the ability to draw realistically, to observe to the point of obsession. As every respectable painting must have a good abstract underneath it, every respectable abstract painting must have as its base, a solid skeletal structure. I’m still working on this conclusion, so please share with me your thoughts.
Yesterday, I left you with the question, why would I paint a red amaryllis on a gold background when something so similar has already been done? First, what I thought was a painting by British artist William Say is actually a reproduction of his hand-colored botanical engraving. Who put his engraving on a gold background, I do not know. There are hardly any new ideas out there when it comes to art. If it’s brilliant enough to be done, chances are, it’s already been created. This may explain how the concept of avant garde art came into being.
Furthermore, I went ahead with yesterday’s red amaryllis only after I’d decided to paint today’s pink amaryllis. It made for too good a pair, not to do both, but also, the pink flower, I wanted to see on a mid-tone background before I completely left it. Followers of my Brenda’s Gallery 100 newsletter have the full story behind my quest to paint the perfect bloom of Amaryllis Hippeastrum. If you’re not familiar with Gallery 100, you’ll find there, four more renditions of the flower commonly known as amaryllis. Just click here to enter the gallery.
Strange, where we might find the inspiration to do a painting in a particular way or technique. Sometimes, we artists can’t even explain this. Having completed four other red amaryllis paintings, I was not anxious to do another one. However, I kept seeing images in my head of this beautiful red flower on a gold metallic background. I’ve done oils prior to this where I’ve used a gold metallic for a base coat, so this was not new to me. But to use it as a solid gold field behind a sharply defined shape was not yet in my repertoire. And then, just after the New Year when we start receiving all kinds of after-Christmas catalogs in the mail, a catalog arrived in the mail that succeeded in confronting my creative muse. The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a beautiful holiday card with a red amaryllis by British artist William Say (1768-1834), and wouldn’t you know it, his botanical depiction is reproduced on a solid gold background? See the card (now on sale, incidentally) by clicking here.
You may ask why I proceeded to do a painting so close to what I know has already been done. Please catch my blog post tomorrow and I’ll proceed to explain.
Here’s the pink amaryllis a fourth time. The first time, it was only a bud. See “This bud’s for you” in Brenda’s Gallery 100 in the Artworks collection on this web site. Simply clicking here will take you there. Here again, is the result of my attempt to bring some life into the pink amaryllis. I enjoyed watching the watercolor do its own thing — dripping and melding into its adjacent colors. This brings me back to a saying I have, Watercolor’s like a horse, a beautiful animal, but it is only when you set it free, out of its corral, that you can see its full beauty emerge.
In hopes of bringing my pink amaryllis more luminosity than a white background was giving me, I explored a different approach. Much lifting was done here, a watercolor technique that is done by actually “lifting” paint out of a darker background of color. More information about the painting, including pricing, can be found in the Original Watercolors Collection of this web site.
Amaryllis Countdown. Day 1.
If you're not a subscriber to my newsletter, you might want to be. I haven't determined yet where the story behind the amaryllis paintings will be, in my newsletter, or here on my blog. I hope you'll stay posted, regardless.
“Progression”
Watercolor, outer mat dimension: 24 x 12"
All the amaryllises you see here
were first sketched in pencil. Now this is tricky. Number one, if you look with
one eye and switch to the other, your subject jumps. Try it here by looking at
this WORD with only one eye. Now, quickly shut that eye and see the word jump as you
switch to the other eye. Try this exercise repeatedly and quickly, switching
back and forth between eyes. Then there’s the thing about flowers, they
continue to open as you’re sketching/painting them. I’ve decided, no more large
tight watercolors from life. Hence forth, my larger watercolors of flowers
will be painted from photos. By the time I finished sketching the amaryllis
blooms, everything had changed. It wasn’t me; it was Mother Nature. She waits
for no one, nothing. It’s really kinda nuts. The blooms had changed so much
overnight that the next morning, I had to redraw the ones I had not yet painted.
The bird in the painting is actually a Great Blue Heron. And as plentiful as this species is where I live in North Carolina, I actually found this magnificent creature perched on a log on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Walking along the bank of the river, my intention had been to get some good views of the city’s skyline. When I noticed that the heron perched on the river below was fairly stationary, I quickly switched gears, and chose the bird as my subject matter.
A similar painting, “Heron” went at auction last year for a considerable amount at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. See it on my website in the Original Watercolors Collection. Back to the irrelevant question, “How long did that take?” - in reality, not very long. But then, it doesn’t take Tiger Woods very long to hit a golf ball either. I won't labor the point.
Did you grow up hearing about all the starving children in Africa? Well, I'm here to talk about “starving artists,” and how little most of them can afford to give their work away.
Artists are vulnerable people. We have our egos and our self-esteem all tied up in our work. When we are asked to donate a piece of our art to charity, we are flattered that someone thinks enough of our art to ask. After about seventy such charities, we begin to ask if we can really afford to be giving all this art away.
Yes, the charity auctions give us visibility. If they believe there is any kind of equity in our name, they’re likely to publicize the heck out of the fact that we are going to be contributing a piece of our art at their next fundraiser.
I have had the good fortune to be involved with some non-profits that know very well how to show their appreciation for the art that is donated to their causes. And, I’ve had the misfortune to work with some folks in charitable organizations that are just downright rude and ungrateful. I won’t go into the nightmares, but these people need to go to finishing school.
As a guest attending an auction that includes artwork, I encourage your participation, not because you'll find all kinds of bargains there, but because you plan on making a contribution to the organization and will be rewarded for doing so with a beautiful piece of artwork or other such item(s) that have been so generously donated.
You’d think that someone who’d done three paintings of this trail would know by now why it’s called “Double Running Trail.” I’ll find out eventually. I’ve been too busy blogging and painting to make the necessary inquiries. And you’d think I’d run out of things to say for paintings of trails. Each experience is different, the time of day differs, the sky changes. Nature has a gestalt kind of life of its own. Everything in sight is either living or has died, but the entire scene seems to be breathing in unison. Enough trail talk. I invite you to see the painting of a plein air buddy of mine at my other blog, On the Plein Air Trail. Also consider subscribing to my newsletter where I’m doing a hundred hundred-dollar paintings, one a day. Just double-click here. We’re coming up tomorrow on Day 39.
September is such a perfect time to paint en plein air in North Carolina. The August heat is behind us and there’s an autumn crispness in the air. Both of these paintings were done Thursday near Clayton, NC. “Through the Pines” is a contender for a silent auction event taking place at Portofino on Sunday, October 18. Please click here and scroll down for more information about the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Celebration. Everyone’s welcome to attend.
Just over a week ago, I noticed the lovely delicate fennel plant in my garden was stripped of foliage. About a dozen or more caterpillars were feasting on its delicate leaves. When I went out to photograph the caterpillars two days later, they had gone. A single chrysalis was left in their place. I brought the chrysalis inside and proceeded to paint it in its first stage of development. Showing the chrysalis to a friend this morning, I notice it had turned much more brown in color. Next thing I knew, I had a wonderfully still model for as long as it took me to do the painting above. Almost as if he knew, he slowly waved his wings, letting me know it was time to go outside. As we were waiting for the sun to give him strength, I cautioned him about flying into cars and to be on the lookout for birds. The end of my story, I feel sure, is the beginning of his. The Black Swallowtail butterfly nonchalantly fluttered off.
A portion of a new community’s trail system is being incorporated into North Carolina’s Mountains-to Sea Trail system. Portofino is a newly developed gated community about five miles east of Clayton, NC. I was invited to participate in a paint-out there on Saturday. The luxurious Equestrian community offers a plethora of opportunities for plein air painting. Participating artists in two separately scheduled paint-outs are being asked to focus on the trails in the community in support of the “Mountains-to-Sea-Trail Celebration and Art Benefit” that will take place at the development’s Equestrian Center on October 18.
Following are two other trails I painted there on Saturday.
This painting was finished just in
time for today’s holiday. It was created especially for Brenda’s Gallery 100, a collection of 100 paintings, being offered one day at a
time, for 100 consecutive days.
Iconic Lighthouse triptych
each gallery-wrapped canvas, 8x24"
Hey folks, I made reference to these lighthouses earlier when I’d finished the first one. This weekend, all three paintings will be going to Carolina Creations in New Bern, NC. They will be in a show there that opens September 11. More information is available in the EVENTS section of my website.
Went to Raleigh and Chapel Hill the past couple days, and painted two iconic landmarks, The Old Well at the University of North Carolina; then, Krispy Kreme in Raleigh. If artists sold paintings like Krispy Kreme sells doughnuts, there would be no such thing as a “starving artist.” Maybe I can figure out a way to do edible art. Back to the painting . . . See the jogger? He was an afterthought. Just as I was finishing the painting, he went jogging by. I took a couple mental snapshots, and decided to put him in the painting. See more about my Krispy Kreme plein air adventure at my other blog. Just click on brendabehr.blogspot.com/
The painting above is in a
gallery and priced at $500. This includes a 3" gold frame, which brings
the size of the piece to 14x17". If you purchase the same painting
directly from me, in the same frame, the price will be $500.
“To Buy or Not to Buy from a Gallery” might be a better title for this
newsletter. The answer is, it doesn’t make any difference. A gallery is
essentially an art consignment shop. The gallery has not paid for the art.
Unless the gallery or the artist pulls the work, the artwork will be there
until it sells. When it does sell, the gallery will take a commission. Two of
my galleries take 50% commission, the rest take 40%, and the Arts Councils I’ve
dealt with [in North Carolina] take 30 or 35% commission.
This may sound steep. Why would an artist take that big a cut on their work? A
gallery is a business. It’s in the business of selling art, just like an artist
is in the business of making art. And so, if it’s a reputable gallery, it
probably has developed a relationship with a certain clientele. The gallery may
also be in a geographic location that is highly trafficked. Having art in a
gallery can bring exposure to an artist that the artist may otherwise not have.
So, if you approach an artist to buy direct, you may ask, shouldn’t I be able
to get this [artwork] for less? No, I say, turn your head around! Ask not what
you can do for your budget; ask what you can do for your artist. Yes, the
artist will make a higher profit; won’t this make you feel even better about
the purchase?
I am not writing this to discourage sales at galleries. I am writing
this to
diminish hopes that you’ll get it for less if you purchase artwork
directly from the artist. An artist who “cuts you a deal” is hurting
the very business that supports him/her. It’s called undercutting your
gallery. Anyone in the
retail/wholesale business knows how this works.
A “friend and family discount” of 10% is pretty much standard. So if
you are friend or family, don’t hesitate to remind me when it comes
time to make a purchase.
Speaking of friends, I hope you’ll share my newsletter with your
family and friends. Thank you for your interest in my art, and for
subscribing to my newsletter. What you’ve read above was the newsletter that went out yesterday to my email list. I invite everyone to subscribe. Sometimes the newsletter will be all about my art and/or current events; other times it will be my thoughts on art, or things I want to share with those perhaps less informed about the making and selling of art, but always, it will be about my stimulation of choice, which is Art. If you care to subscribe, just click here.
There must be an anology between the subject matter an artist paints and the way that artist lives his or her life. Mine has definitely lacked planning. I said yes to trips when I should have said no, I quit jobs when I could no longer tolerate the politics, and I married a man knowing he had cancer. Overall, I went for the gusto and for the moment. Last weekend, out exploring places (not animals) to paint, I stumbled upon a magnificent white egret. I always feel the bird is posing for me, and that I only have so much time to capture it. So, voila! Three more birds to add to my collection of very calligraphic bird paintings.
The lighthouse paintings, I’ll resume tomorrow. My neighbor, Barbara, has a condo at Topsail Beach, a community on Topsail Island just north of Wilmington, North Carolina. Even though my lighthouses are a priority, I couldn’t resist her invitation to join her for a weekend at the beach. Lots of long walks, beautiful sunsets, and painting between thunderstorms kept me entertained. I took 452 photos. I’m mesmerized by the sea, the sand, and all its visitors; [I] always have been.
Picasso had his blue, black and rose periods; I’m having my triptych period. This is the first of three that will become a North Carolina lighthouse triptych, headed for Carolina Creations in New Bern at the end of the month. Please see more information about The Iconic Lighthouse show in the Events category of my website. The paint in all three paintings will be applied with a palette knife in an impasto manner. For those unfamiliar with the term, impasto is a technique by which the paint is applied in a thick and textured way. I’ll post all three lighthouses when they’re complete, and remind you again about the upcoming show. Carolina Creations, if you haven’t been there, is the premier art and crafts gallery in historic New Bern, NC.
Don’t I wish? I just read something somewhere that reminded me to “Dream Big.” Many friends believe that I already have. And wow! I just mailed three commissioned paintings off to a Fifth Avenue address NYC. It feels good, believe me, but it sure doesn’t mean that I’ve “arrived.” I just hope the package does.
So here’s the Big Dream. I want my art on the cover of the New Yorker magazine. If any of you have any contacts, please direct them here. (insert smile face) Some people want to be on the cover of Rolling Stone; I want my art on the cover of the New Yorker. I suspect the owner of Woody’s does as well.
I encourage all of us to Dream Big. Dreams build hope. Hope destroys despair.
See the full size original painting below. Read more about the process of painting Woody’s at my other blog by clicking on brendabehr.blogspot.com
