All Things Fine Art

"Color Study for Passing Storm", 5 x 6", oil on canvas

In my studio work I regularly do a series of small studies that may include notans, 3-5 value  and color variations  prior to beginning work on larger pieces. In reality, I find studies to be invaluable in determining a successful outcome for a large painting. They resolve many issues  for me before they surface in the final painting process. I should mention here that I've addressed notan in a number of my blog posts (see early 2014 posts) so will not include information on them here.

Color studies are small, simplistic paintings devoid of detail.  They offer an opportunity to experiment with a variety of color palettes.  I enjoy them as they help me to see which combination of colors will work best to express my ideas or concept of  a subject.  I work small generally, anywhere from 2 x 3" to up to 6 x 8", rarely larger. The idea is not to create a detailed painting but to simply quickly and loosely establish the pattern of  color relationships.

The "Color Study for Passing Storm" shown above is one of a series I've completed thus far for my upcoming February 7, 2015 demonstration to be held in my Williamston studio.  I chose a limited palette of  burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and cadmium yellow pale plus white for this study. As you can see, it very well expresses  the  high drama of the storm as well as the lovely sun struck outer edges and deluge of rain pouring down. 

In the process of doing additional studies, if  I were to select the one above for the large demonstration painting, then I might consider adding another color or two, but for emphasis only. These original three colors plus white would be the dominate color pattern throughout my work.  Thus far, I've  done five palette variations which included changing the burnt sienna to transparent red oxide and in another version with permanent alizarin crimson; neither of which particularly excited me.

I encourage you to try color studies if you haven't in the past.  I think you'll find them extremely helpful.  I often paint my color studies on a pad of  inexpensive canvas or even paper as I don't keep them after the painting is completed. If  you plan on keeping them and showing or selling them then I would recommend a better quality surface. In addition, once I have mixed up all the major colors of the painting from  my selection, I generally place a swatch of each color on a 3 x 5" card for reference  so I can remix them with consistency as needed once I'm into the larger work.

If you are interested in attending the demonstration you may register via the Contact Page on this website. Click here. Be sure to add your contact information so I can reach you.

A few days ago I had a conversation with a young college graduate who is a married woman. She asked me what I do for a living. When I told her that I am a painter she said, “I don’t know anything about art”.  When queried further her “art” world consisted of wedding pictures and inexpensive “design” art from Target.  When I explained to her that art can be a conversation between the artist and herself, the same as music, she responded that she had never thought of it like that. Sadly, her response is not unusual.

Every day folks from around the world and of all ages respond to music. We hear it on the radio and TV, play it in our homes or hum it when we’re happy.  We experience it when alone or in groups. It’s a universal language that is readily shared and felt by everyone. We respond for many reasons including our enjoyment of a rhythm or lyrics, or even the type of instruments used or the voice that delivers it. One way or another, there are few people who are not moved by music.  

But when we think about it, the very same is true of art. Why then do we not consider the visual world our universal language?

I lack a formal education in music but, never-the-less, I enjoy and love to listen to a variety of styles, composers and instruments. There is nothing intellectual about it, it simply “is” for me. I do not feel that I have to “understand” music.   For far too long, there has been a stigma created by elitism in the art world that implies art is high-minded and one must have knowledge to appreciate art.  That art is not for everyone…only the elite. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Art certainly brings out the finer feelings in the human psyche and perhaps it is this combined with the fact that for centuries the only people that could afford art were the very rich. The general public  had no access to original art works unless they were found in local churches or public buildings. Art simply wasn’t a part of everyday life for the average person. Music on the other hand was and continues to be available to everyone no matter one’s station in life.  Hence there is a natural familiarity with music that is not generally shared with works of art.

Life is far different today in many countries around the world than in previous centuries. For instance, here in the United States, almost everyone has access to a formal education, to transportation, to mass media, etc.  Our people as a whole enjoy an intellectual status that has not been known since the beginning of time.  And yet, many people such as the young married woman I mentioned earlier, still say, “I know nothing about art”. Isn’t it time we change that?

Perhaps making a change has to come first from artists. If we who make art were to talk more to folks about the fact that our art is a visual conversation with them, that it expresses our love, emotion, feelings, ideas and concepts about the world we live in than folks might be able to connect. If they understood that art does for the eyes and soul the same thing that music does for the ears and soul, they might understand that it is for everyone, not just the rich. In reality, art is very much a part of our everyday world far more often than is music. It is all around us in everything we touch and see. Our clothing, home décor, the design of our cars, and the construction of every scene in a movie are just a minute fraction of what we experience in a single day. Each of these things require variations of artistic thought and design to produce. Perhaps, as a beginning, folks don’t need so much knowledge about art as to first learn an appreciation for the art that is all around them.  

Imagine if you will, that in 2015, we artists were to make a collective effort to help teach the children in our communities the concept of art being a visual conversation. If we were to discuss this idea with the adults we come in contact with perhaps we could begin to make a difference. Just think, if every person understood that representational art expresses an artist's interpretation of subject matter vs. non-representational art that visually describes emotions, or ideas; a defined difference between the two genres. With just this small chip of art knowledge, folks might begin to understand what art is and find in it a new appreciation.  Perhaps we could even have an impact on school administrators who are so quick to cut fine art budgets if they were to understand that everything made by humankind is involved with design and concept, the foundations of visual art and all creative thinking.  We have to start somewhere and I believe this simple collective effort  of artists, verbally describing  our creative intent in what we do, might just be the first step towards making the visual arts an everyday appreciated part of human culture.  I think Monet said it very well….

“Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.” 

Let’s give it a try!