Capturing the Light

A while back I spotted a gorgeous vintage dress at the little shop close to my studio on Main Street in Woodstock.  It was a strapless, full length dress with layers of purple (I love purple!!!) and sheer black tulle.

I asked a lovely friend of mine to pose for me, in the dress, at my studio.  We aimed for a time in the afternoon when the sun would be pouring through the window.  I got hundreds of beautiful shots, and started working from one where she was sitting on the floor in the light.

At the start of the painting I blocked in the largest shapes and kept the colors a little darker and richer than they needed to be in the end.  I want to give the lightest accents some contrast.

As I kept developing the details, I realized I didn't like the position of the hand on her lap.  So I used a photo that was shot just a couple frames before, in the same light, and changed her hand.

My toughest critic showed up to give me her opinion....she said I'm pretty close!

I'm letting it dry for a little while, living with it for a bit, before I decide on the final touches.

Charcoal Sketches from the Live Model

I know I haven't been posting a lot of my art lately.  It's not for a lack of productivity.  I have been drawing and painting quite a bit.  But my mind, when not actually holding a brush, has been elsewhere.  I am very concerned about my son's diet, in fact the diet of my whole family.  I am incredibly depressed to see how much junk food children are allowed to eat in the classroom every day, and what a huge negative impact it can have on them mentally and physically.

SEE?! There I go again!  I'm here to show some drawings and back I go to ranting about the junk food!

So... FOCUS! Here are a couple recent black and white drawings from the live model.

This is the very beginning of the charcoal portrait below.  I find it helpful to block in the largest areas of light and shadow first - getting proportion and a sense of the light source before getting caught up in the tiny details.

I think this was just about an hour of drawing.  I used vine charcoal and then switched to charcoal pencil. 

This drawing is built up mainly from charcoal lines, similar to cross hatching techniques.  This was partly due to the paper.  I think this is a Canson drawing pad, and I find that I can't "smudge" as much as some other drawing papers.  It doesn't erase as cleanly, either, which kind of forces me to get it "right" in fewer strokes.

This figure drawing in charcoal was done in 30 minutes from the live model. I love compact poses like this, especially in short periods of time.  Strong lighting, a good pose, you can get a lot accomplished in a short time period if you look at the big picture - the largest areas of light and shadow first - and then work in to the details. 

Stop the Junk Food in the Classroom

I've been thinking about how to start my blog for 2013.  A list of goals for the next 12 months? A re-cap of my favorite moments of 2012?  Both are important, and the lists are already in my head.  But for 2013, I have a goal and a mission that may be even more important than what is happening in my studio.

Ever since my son, Jack, started child care 2 days a week before the age of 2, we have been battling with issues of aggressive and anti-social behavior in the classroom.  It took a long time for me to make the connection that artificial food coloring and preservatives was a huge factor in my son's behavioral problems.
Once I finally made the connection - after Jack had two artificial-color-laden icees at a school event and he could not stop crying for 48 hours - did I start to see a disturbing pattern in every classroom that Jack has been in.

When Jack was only 18 months old, his little class would be lined up at the end of the (three hour) day to go home.  In each little fist was clutched a DumDum lolipop.  These treats were given to the children to "sit still" while waiting for mom and dad to pick them up.  I noticed that if Jack ate the treat, he would be miserable for the rest of the afternoon, so I started requesting that the teachers do NOT allow my son to eat the treat, we would take it home (where I would dispose of it).

The next year, at the same school, Jack spent more time in the office than in his classroom.  He was often aggressive  would not sit for circle time, and was not following directions.  I was called in one day - only 30 minutes after dropping him off for class - to pick him up.  I sat in the corner of the classroom to watch him in action.  While I was sitting there, Jack pointed to a cookie up on the shelf.  A colored frosting covered cookie from a store bakery.  This was not snack time.  There was no holiday party planned.  Yet Jack simply pointed to the cookie, and the assistant teacher reached up, gave him one, then went on her way.

I would like you to imagine how I felt at that moment.  I got three hours a day, two days a week, to work on my art or have a little time to myself.  My respite was supposed to be the time that Jack was in an environment where he should be learning to share, read, learn his colors, be creative, get outside and play, sing songs, etc.  Instead, what I witnessed was my 2 year old child being sabotaged by a chemical and sugar laden fake "food" that he didn't even have to say "Please" to get.

Fast forward through the next few years...I would request that Jack was not given milk for breakfast at a state-run Pre-k program.  I was called in for behavior issues.  My first question was "are you giving him milk in the morning? "  "yes" "Even though I asked you not to?" "Yes".  "And you did hear me tell you that milk makes Jack very hyper?"  "Yes.  But we didn't want him to eat dry cereal".  (Most milk is dyed and contains harmful chemical preservatives as well)

Ok.

Another year, another teacher.  This one has colored M&M's on her desk to reward the children throughout the day.

Another year, another teacher.  This time, the children are rewarded for turning in their homework with a Startburst candy.  Not a good grade or a gold star.  A chemical laded square of high fructose corn syrup and petroleum.

And the parties are the worst.  My daughter comes home from school with a different colored frosting mustache more times than I would like to consider.  Holidays are jam packed with treats from friends, projects made out of various rainbow colored icings, and loads of juice at every occasion.

I know this is already long...but wait! There's more!

Here is where my New Years' Resolution for 2013 takes place.

I am not going to sit by and watch my children's success in the classroom be sabotaged by chemical laden, nutrition deprived foods.

I am not going to let another mother spend years questioning every choice she makes as a parent because she simply does not know that food coloring and additives may be a huge contributing factor to her child's bad behavior.

I am not going to let another teacher go on thinking that their Students will not LIKE them if they don't hand out candy every chance they get.  I promise: your students WILL like you for a whole bunch of other reasons!

I will not be afraid to be the unpopular or uncool mom because I believe that healthy food is important for our children, and that crap does not belong in the classroom.

I will be the first best example for my children when it comes to eating healthy and making the right choices for our body.  I will always encourage them to ask themselves how certain foods make them feel - energized and focused? Or sluggish and fuzzy?

I will empower every teacher and administrator with the understanding that they can have a HUGE, positive impact on every child's future by instilling healthy eating habits and leading by example.

Just before I wrote this, I looked on-line to see if I could find some good examples of letters to teachers about food in the classroom.  I was hardly surprised to come across this excellent post.  It showed me that I was definitely not alone in my hope to clean my children's classroom of crap.  Read the post - and the comments - and you will see that this is a battle being waged in classrooms all over.  I especially like the Food in the Classroom Manifesto

More food for thought comes from the Feingold website.  The Feingold diet focuses on removing the biggest factors in behavioral issues in children: artificial food coloring, artificial preservatives, and Salicylites (a natural occurring chemical in some fruits and vegetables).  There is an excellent section on Schools and Food.  There are several examples of schools changing their food and how it had nothing but a positive impact on their school.

Now, I know the biggest issues are going to be 1)but will my children (or my students!) not LIKE me if I don't have parties or treats?  2)will the other parents think I'm foolish and over reacting or just plain mean?

1 - yes.  Your children will still love you, your students will still LIKE you!  Their affection is not based on sugar, not enhanced by petroleum based Red 40.  We just need to give them that chance.  I remember when Jack had his first t-ball practice.  After he was done running, catching and playing I asked him "did you like it? was it fun? did you make new friends?" and Jack looked at me with a HUGE grin and said "Mom - the coach knows my name!"  My point being - all it took was the coach showing a little extra interest, a personal connection, and Jack was won over.  Compliment a child's drawing, give them extra congratulations on a job well done, ask them about their pet, anything!  Attention is what they crave - not sugar.  If Jack had been just one of the crowd, rewarded with a sucker at the end of practice, the sucker would be long forgotten by now.

2) Yes.  Many parents will think you're mean, or over reacting, but you know what - who cares?  It's not your job to be liked by everyone.  It's your job to give every child/student the best opportunity to succeed.  Insisting on carrot sticks and hummus instead of cookies and frosting makes you a better example to the students and starts them on a road to healthy eating choices that could last the rest of their lives.  When Jack was in first grade, he was not a fan of many fruits and vegetables.  One day he came home from school BEGGING for a banana in his lunch.  "Why?" I asked.  He told be that if he gets caught eating a banana, he could get a new pencil or a sticker from the lunchroom lady!  Well, from that moment on Jack has loved eating bananas.  Imagine that!  A REWARD for good food choices, that led to a young boy being WILLING to eat a healthy food!

There are so many reasons, from this day forward, to eliminate candy and junk food from the classroom.  These students are the next generation of consumers.  Let's encourage this generation to desire healthy, chemical-free foods.  Let's teach the children that they should eat when they are hungry - not just when junk food is in front of them.

A few simple things to keep in mind...

Water is all that is ever needed at school.  Skip the fruit juices and colored drinks.

Parents: instead of sending in a candy treat for a class room party, ask the teacher what supplies she needs:  a few boxes of crayons or glue sticks cost the same as junk food, and you'll be helping your child's class in a much better way.  And stickers - great incentives and my daughter loves collecting them!  A few sheets of stickers for the teacher's stash instead of candy is a great idea :)

Teachers: take a stand in 2013 to turn your classroom into a healthy environment.  Be brave.  Talk to a few other teachers and you'll find many are willing to stand with you on this.  You are not alone.  By asking for healthy snacks and treats, you are doing NO HARM to your children.  In fact...you could be doing so much more than you'll ever know to set them on a path for health and success.

Teachers: take a look at your students.  Is there anyone who is especially emotional? who has trouble focusing? who obviously has potential but can't "get it together" long enough to succeed in class?  They might have a chemical sensitivity that causes that behavior (food coloring is made from Petroleum - once you start looking at red, yellow, blue, and green as the poison as they are, you won't want to give them to your child/student at all!). Read into the Feingold diet, help your student, and their parents, by suggesting a change in diet.

Remember: many people believe that there is a chemical laden magic "pill" that can cure our problems if we swallow it.  What we also need to understand that there are chemical laded foods CAUSING those problems to begin with.  Why fight a chemical with a chemical?  Try eliminating chemicals them first.  There is NO HARM in eating healthy.  There is no failure in trying.

As for me?  My first goal will be to help the teachers come up with a fun way to reward their students.  I love doing projects with my kids' classes, so maybe a brag book would be a good one to start off the year?  I'm thinking of a colorful book with sections for stickers, proud notes from the teachers, special places where friends can write notes of "thanks!" or why they like being your friend.  Imagine, at the end of the year, if every good job, every task accomplished, every turned in paper, was captured in a sticker/brag book that the children could keep long after the year was done.  The candy may have lasted a couple minutes...but that book could last a lifetime.

I hope 2013 is just the start of the healthier, happier, and more successful classroom for everyone!

Dairy Free, Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins

The hunt for ways to incorporate healthy food into my very very picky children's meals keeps me ever vigilant for recipes that *might* find their way into the rotation of three foods (well, three HEALTHY foods!) each child willingly eats.  Both of my kids have always been huge fans of pumpkin bread, but once I discovered Jack's food sensitivities and started following the Feingold diet as much as possible, I knew I had to make some more changes for his diet.

For Jack, he does not seem to have an intolerance or reaction to gluten, (although I know I feel better, my skin looks better, and my "brain fog" lifts when I avoid gluten) so I normally don't bake with gluten free flours.  However, I have noticed that all dairy and cheeses (even Goat cheese) do bring out the short tempered, over-emotional Jack.  So I really love this recipe, which I first found on minichfamilyblog.com., because it uses a small amount of gluten-free flour and it calls for black beans instead of butter.

I believe the original recipe was for bread, but I make this into 24 cupcakes (using non-bleached paper cups from Whole Foods) and they are perfect for lunches, car rides, and snacks.  They freeze great, too!

(psst...about two seconds after I took this photo I ate that muffin!!!)

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Pumpkin Muffins

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two muffin trays (24 muffins) with dye-free, bleach free baking cups

Wet ingredients - place all in a blender

One can black black beans, drained and rinsed (I like the organic black beans from Trader Joe's)
One can pumpkin puree' (any brand works well)
2 Eggs
1 TBL Vanilla Extract (it's more than usual, but necessary!)

I pulse all of the wet ingredients in my blender until the beans are completely obliterated.  The first time I made these, my kids actually said "Why are there chocolate chips in the muffins?" when they saw chunks of black beans :)

In a large bowl, mix your dry ingredients

1 1/4 cup Gluten Free Flour**
1 TSP Baking Soda
2 TSP Baking Powder
1 Cup Organic Cane Sugar
1 TSP Cinnamon
1 TSP Nutmeg
1/2 TSP Salt
1-2 TBS of Flax Seed (optional)

If you like, you could add a 1/2 cup of raisins or chopped walnuts

**I have tried this recipe three different ways - two different gluten free flour blends and once with regular whole wheat un-bleached flour.  All three came out great, so I think you can use the favorite flour of choice

Slowly add in your pre-pulverized wet ingredients.  (I usually have to take apart my blender to scrape all of the yummy pumpkin mix from the blades!)

Scoop a heaping tablespoon or two into each muffin cup.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking the progress with a toothpick.

Enjoy :)

Recently added: dairy free gluten free Vanilla Banana Muffins

New Painting Striped Tights and Sunlight

So here's the problem with taking a painting workshop like the one I did with Casey Baugh.  The second you walk back into your studio EVERYTHING you have painted before looks horrible.  You immediately see all the mistakes in every brush stroke, color choice, and composition.  You want to build a huge bonfire and burn every canvas.

OK that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but truly, it was overwhelming at first.  I am very proud of all of my work, but I had to realize that I hadn't learned anything new in about 10 years.  I was still painting the same way I painted in graduate school.  Fresh ideas, fresh perspective, can be a bit overwhelming.

Luckily, after about an hour of wandering around, frustrated with the work I had already started and not confident enough to start anything new, I happened to turn the corner and stumble upon this.

Matt the sculptor has slowly been de-constructing his beautiful sculpture (deep breath - he has already made the mold!) and using the clay to make new figure studies, which, apparently, he uses to entertain himself by randomly perching them on the woman's breasts, head and armpit.

OK so mission accomplished. I laughed.  Got over myself.  And got back to work.

I used a reference photo from a session with a model almost 2 years ago.

Start- with Casey in my head, blocked in rather than draw the figure.  Focus on value, not color.  NO detail.

I admit it was hard to just hint at the features of the face, consider them as shapes and values, not eyelashes and lips.

The finished painting.  

Detail of the face.

12" x 12", oil on prepped wood panel.

What I am so excited about is SEEing the whole process in a new way.  Granted, Casey's way of painting is still vastly different than what I am doing (who wants to be someone else anyway?!?) Blending his technique with what I already knew, which - after a few days of depression - was not all wrong.  That was what brought out this painting.  And I am so excited about what's coming next.

Casey Baugh Workshop Wrap Up

OK obviously I am going to have to wrap this up or there will be nothing new on my blog for another month!  The last two days of the workshop were a lot of fun.  Day four was designated for painting the model outdoors.  We took a short walk around as a class, scouting for a location.   Close to the Atelier there were a lot of interesting backdrops, including some abandoned buildings covered in old brickwork and graffiti.

Once we settled on a couple spots (some artists opted for landscapes/cityscapes without the model) we had to move our supplies from the school to the location.

This is Hawiian Landscape Artist Curtis Cost carrying his easel - with a smile :) 

Several of us chose to work with this model on this interesting old platform.   (ok - here is one of those frustrating situations.  I was helping several artists go back and forth with easels, and ended up not only losing my original spot to another artist, but the model was set up before I got back.  It was, in my opinion, a very un-inspired pose in a very inspired setting.  But you have to shake these things off in a class.  You are only one voice in a group, and even - like me - when you are a loud voice, things don't always present the ideal situation.)  So I painted as much as I could, got some great feedback from Casey, then painted over my painting when I got home.

This is Shelli, who writes a blog called the Traveling Artist.  As the sun moved during the day, it was very entertaining to watch Shelli cover her head with various makeshift wraps and scarves made out of paper towels to block out the sun.

Right next to the platform where we were painting outside was an abandoned building that looked straight out of the book "The Road".  In spite of the soiled mattresses, broken glass, and the smell of...well, let's not think about what the smell could be...there was a cool shaft of light coming from the open roof, perfect for Thomas Voorhies to set up his easel.  Tom is one half of the pen name Lex Thomas.  They just wrote their first novel, Quarantine.  I'm guessing some of this environment might make it into Tom's next book.  I actually took a bunch of photos of our wonderful model up against that cool brick wall in the background.  I can't wait to paint a few of them.

As the day progressed, the sun moved, washing out the model, and warming us a tad too much.  Many artists headed back to the studio for some shade, and I actually skipped out a bit early so that I could return to the atelier in the evening for some practice at their live model session.

The final day of class was a lot of fun as well.  Casey brought in the painting of his daughter playing piano, which won an award at the 2012 Portrait Conference.  It was amazing to see it in person, to hear Casey talk about the process, everything from the source photo to the painting technique to selecting the custom frame colors.  

Casey then selected one of the artists from class to pose for him (aaaggghhhh!!!! Could you imagine?!?!?) He shot about 50-60 photos of her laughing and smiling, then showed us his process for editing, eliminating, selecting, and even enhancing a source photo to paint from.  This was incredibly helpful for me, since I am constantly shooting inspiration photos.

Casey sets up his easel and monitor very close together, aiming to work from a source as close to the size of the painting as possible.  (Not sure if this is considered the same as the sight-size painting method.)

At the end of the demo, Casey auctioned off both demos - the one from the first day and this painting.  Of course I am NOW kicking myself for not bidding!!! So be prepared: if you take his workshop, set aside some money to bid - if you don't you will regret it later :)

So...was the workshop worth it?  Absolutely.  Casey is a very effective teacher.  He is able to work with anyone's style and palette, finding good aspects of each painting and encouraging each student to look at different ways of seeing and then applying paint.  Watching Casey paint was, IMO, the best part.  Seeing him make a bold brushstroke to add in a deep shadow, or a soft stroke across the mass of hair just to add a hint of color, each stroke taught me something about how to use the paint and the brush.

My tips for taking a workshop:

1.  Make sure you are at the appropriate skill level for the class.  

Several of the students in this group seemed to be novice portrait painters.  This was listed as a Master Class  - I think the artists who got the most of out the class had portrait experience.

2.  Be open to the teacher's techniques.

You are not there to do the same thing you always do.  What's the point? TRY the teacher's techniques - even if it is TOTALLY different from the way you normally work.  This is not the time to make a masterpiece in your style - you rarely get the perfect spot with the perfect lighting and the perfect pose for a masterful painting.  This is PRACTICE.  Learn! Besides - even if you do make THE perfect painting, paintings created in a workshop are not eligible for most contests or juried exhibitions. Save your best work for after the class :)

3.  Stop painting and start watching.

I probably spent about 75% of my time at my easel, but also found myself consistently stepping away so that I could watch Casey work with another artist.  Hearing his direction, watching him change a painting, seeing how he mixed paint, was all so helpful.  Granted, I am a pretty fast painter, so I felt ok stepping away from my easel and sacrificing a little painting time.  But it really was important to learn as much as possible from Casey every time he painted. 

I'm sure there are more bits of advice I could share, but the bottom line for me would be:  stay positive, stay focused on LEARNING, be flexible!  Take great notes, ask a lot of questions, and have a good time :)

Casey Baugh Workshop Day Three

Before I get started on day three, I want to mention that the Townsend Atelier was in a great area on the south side of Chattanooga, within walking distance of several other artist's studio.  Our host, Stan (although, for some reason, I called him "Larry" all week!) was kind enough to take us on a short walking tour where we visited a couple of the studios.  Our first stop was at the studio of Mia Bergeron.  Such a cool looking space!

We met Mia (it would have been rude to poke around and sleep in her bed if she wasn't there!), got to see some work in progress, and just enjoyed talking with her about her work.  One of her lovely portraits...

Best of luck to Mia who is participating in a group show titled "Nuance"

We also visited the studio of Brett Weaver (I have no photos!) but please check out his wonderful work.

OK...the painting!  I finished up my painting from day one, then moved to a new spot, looking at her full profile.  This was not an idea spot - very little shadow, kind of a dull view...but I was there to practice! SO onward!

Started with blocking in large shapes, again focusing more on value than color, not getting a perfect drawing right away - just massing it in.

 Casey came by and kept pushing my values under her jaw line.  He has the unique ability to make a shadow look like a shadow, where as I make it look like mud!  

The final painting.  I do like her hair, and the treatment of her blouse - but I would have liked less of a straight ahead stare.  Still...I loved using the technique again, and I was getting used to my new brushes, so that really helped!

Day four...we head outside :)

Have you registered for Casey Baugh's Atlanta workshop that will be held at my studio?!? Get going! Only a few spots left!