Inspired by Botticeli

While attending Auburn University I had the opportunity to take lots of art history classes.  I couldn't get enough honestly.  In fact, I bet there are enough art history classes on my transcript that I could've been a dual major in printmaking and art history.  9 classes at least under the belt....all of which I made high A's in (toot...toot).  Sitting in the dark theater with images of our rich cultural history projecting screen after screen is what motivated me to continue down the path of being an artist. 

And this artist was one of my very favorites:

 Oh Botticelli.  Your dreamy skin tones and eloquent hands...you had me at first slide.

This week in Studying Under the Masters our artist inspiration is Botticelli.  Yummy.  I know, I'm weird.  His work has truly inspired me to seek the artist deep inside me I know I can be.  I've used the whimsical crutch.  I have.  Deep down I've always wanted to paint figures, not necessarily realistic ones.  But rather images that reflect the joy I receive from knowing people. 

Here's my progress with yesterday's painting:

 

If you read my post from earlier in the week then you saw my first attempt at a figure Saturday night.  Since then, I've watched another artist's technique which made a light bulb turn on.  I can't wait to try another tomorrow!  This is so exciting for me.  I truly was feeling a tad lost and quite honestly bored with my current work.  This.....this is bringing back the joy to my paintbrush.  In fact....I painted this one during school sitting at different tables with the kids.  They were all like, "OH MY GOSH Mrs. Horne.  Where did you learn to do that?"  My response...."Can you believe this is all new to me?  And that by practicing I'm getting better and better?"  What an amazing lesson to teach these kids.

Since I wasn't sure how any of this was going to turn out the ones I done here at school were literally painted on this surface:

Yep.  This is good old fashioned cardboard.  It came out of the IKEA boxes that held Mailey's new bed.  I knew it'd come in handy one day for something special.  I've got to work on lips.  They started great with the drawing...but slowly got pursed a bit too tight.  She looks persnickety.  I love that I've taken lots of photos of the process.  I can totally see where the lips lost their luster.  Next time I'll attempt a smile!!

So...are you trying anything new lately with your paint brush?  I hope so.  It's a lovely feeling.

The Art of Practice

Do you ever just feel like trying something completely different/new with your art?  I do.  In fact, usually this shift in my work means something new and amazing is coming.  This is the feeling I got before deciding to paint bikes and trucks.  It's what got me started painting to begin with.  A deep need resonating throughout my bones to just paint.

Proof that there is an ugly....ugly stage to all paintings.  Matisse started all his paintings with a charcoal sketch.  I started my composition this way and loved it.  I love the smudges and lines it leaves behind.  I usually use a black primed canvas but this time had Home Depot tint my primer gray to create a softer base.  I am loving the way all my work in translating with the gray instead of black base.  And by canvas I mean wood.  I always paint on wood.  I am not a lover of the canvas texture.  Or "boinginess" of canvas.

I'm taking the class led by Jeanne Oliver called Studying Under the Masters.  I'm still percolating  some ideas from week one.  We are already on week 4 by the way!  Good thing I have a year to look back at the material because this is good stuff I tell ya.  The figures in Matisse's work have been kinda haunting me.  I had a little time to fast forward through this weeks videos and it turns out this week is Botticelli.  Oh sweet cream filled donuts he is a favorite.  His portraits are dreamy.  So now I am more inspired to paint figures!

I'm also peeking in at Christy Tomlinson's She Art class.  That girl will get you inspired to do all sorts of things you didn't know you needed to even be inspired about!  So Saturday I decided to get into the studio and first clean it up.  It was a ridiculous mess!  And then I grabbed a board, primed it, and just started.

To my little eyes she is beautiful.  She is tender, and sweet and just perfect.  I know figures and angels and this sort of subject are kinda saturating the artsy market right now.  And I didn't want my figure to look anything like theirs.  It's funny.  I tell my students in class that a brushstroke is kinda like your handwriting.  Everyone's is different and unique to the person holding the brush. 

And even though she was brought to life from an idea sparked by Matisse and a She Art class, she has my signature.

In one of the videos tonight Jeanne talks about gaining perspective as an artist.  And that sometimes it's okay to just paint for you.  I think right now during this transition period I'm doing just that.  I don't think anyone would really want to buy this painting anyways.  That wasn't my mindset when I was painting it.  I just knew I wanted to paint.  Truth be told I lost complete track of time and lost myself in the studio.  I haven't felt this kind of joy for painting in a very long time.   It's not really about selling art right now.  It's about exploring and pushing myself as an artist.  Stepping into the haven't painted part of my sketchbook because I thought I wasn't good enough.  When you become labeled "whimsical painter" it's sometimes hard to get out of that box.  I love the quote in the workshop tonight.  It read, "If you hear a voice within you say you can not paint.  Then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."  -van Gogh

How true.  I silenced that puppy up pretty good Saturday evening.  Looking forward to my next date with the brush this weekend.

E-Course...Studying Under the Masters

I love to learn.  I do.  I nurture my creative side through e-courses, in person workshops and teaching workshops myself.  These classes all play an integral role in building who I am as an artist.  And although I don't always take tons away from each class, I do find something that resonates and helps to build my art story.  I think it's important as artists that we always push ourselves to look outside of our "box" and extend vocabularies.  It keeps our work fresh, exciting and believable.

The new class I am taking is led by the beautiful Jeanne Oliver.  She has masterminded a 9 week course where 9 different women artists are teaching us how to Study Under a Master.  Basically we are all going back to the beginning....looking at works of art by artists who have left us physically but left behind a rich art history that we can learn so much from.  I like that we aren't copying the actual present day artist, but rather an artist that has made an impact on art for modern times.  It's a different type of e-course.  It's very daring for Jeanne.  I love her for doing this.  It's nice to see how art has evolved over time and how it influences so much of our culture and art today. 

We are on week 2 of the course.  The first week was amazing.  Really.  Jeanne teaches much like I would if I taught High School.  There's a passion for the artist she taught us about that you can only get when you really absorb the work.   I will say the course is quite time consuming.  The first week alone had over 7 hours of videos.  Of course my school has the site blocked so watching during lunch which was my plan, is out the window.  By the time I finally watched all the videos I didn't have time to really make anything because now we are already on week 2 with more videos.  I don't mean this as a complaint but it is a lot of material to absorb in a short time frame.   A week in between each artist to truly absorb the information given and to be a part of the artist's work would have been nice.  I'll never be able to participate in any dialogue or share my work with the group because of time. I think the course is open after the 9 weeks so I can go back and dig in where I missed. 

I did attempt this one piece in a Matisse style....but quickly it morphed into something else completely and is no where near Matisse like.  But it did get me out of my comfort zone and trying something new.  We were supposed to look at a Matisse piece and copy it.  By copying you are practicing and by practicing you become who you are as an artist.  I tried.....but as you see it became a Jenni.  I never paint figures though so that is totally new. I love her.  And it got me in my studio instead of the couch watching LMN.  haha  Have you seen Flowers in the Attic yet?  Oh my....my mother never let me read the book.  I know why now.  It's freako.

So....are you guys extending your art vocabularies these days?  Stretching beyond the normal ho-hum and finding something new to integrate into your work?  I find that my work is beginning to loose it's common thread.  But that's okay because the main thread running deep and wide is that it's all made by ME.