"Time & Red Roses"
© Nora Kasten
Oil painting on linen (30" x 24") From the archives
"Day 24 of The Journey and I'm still painting.
This is a beautiful place to be in the USA. I drove over a covered bridge this morning on my way to The Art Center here in Bennington, Vermont. There is a national art show being exhibited at the center now and it is one of the very best shows that I've ever seen . I certainly feel fortunate to be here.
Nora's painting end of day III
Sherrie McGraw's palette
Elizabeth & Sherrie McGraw
Sherrie beginning the portrait of Elizabeth
Sherrie McGraw painting
Sherrie McGraw painting
Portrail final of Elizabeth
Notes From Sherrie McGraw Workshop
Day 3 / October 13, 2010
Sherrie is painting Elizabeth Small from here at The Bennington Center For The Arts
No local color in the skin
Elizabeth has a regal quality so places her higher on the canvas
Sherrie is using black to mass in the head
Canvas is 18" x 14"
Artists sometimes make the portrait larger because they're so interested in the features
She changes to a smaller canvas 17" x 13 1/2"
Painting on an Inner Glow panel purchased through website
We all know that canvas will deteriorate - panels are archival
Making no distinction between background and foreground now
What you put behind the model should make the model that much more beautiful
Some alizarin in background is more interesting
Naples yellow is a great air color plus raw umber
Sherrie wants the model to talk while she's painting the mouth. It helps her to get it right
Elizabeth talks to us about North Bennington and the college
Good idea to make a mini palette of a few oft used colors on the big palette while working
Get a lot of paint on the canvas and then you can do stuff with it
You'll work the non-color into the light forward color
Once you get more paint on the canvas you can add or take away color more easily
The toned canvas is a help in modifying the halftones
Not thinking warm/cool yet . . . thinking form
Feels like the painting is out of control now and is trying to rein it in
Advancing warmer color - chin, under nose, nose, forehead
Turning away from light is cooler paint
Drawing will help you with the plains
Hair is usually dark with light floated on it
Sherrie works all over - not in one spot. Painting can tell her what to do
When painting she tends to get tunnel vision
Uses few brushes as possible - doesn't like to clean brushes
Likes to listen to classical music, vocal music, opera
You can learn brush control so that you don't have to have a lot of brushes
It's freeing not to have to use a lot of brushes
If you don't measure you learn to see it by eye
Drawing, the simpler medium, is good to do portraits
Specific stuff finishes the other stuff
Something has to finish to be able to compare to
Don't use two colors of equal intensity - they will cancel each other out
If you use a palette knife to scrape off errors, you loose learning how the brush can do it
You can always move the paint to make it thinner, thicker, etc.
Good begets good
Sherrie has a mirror in her studio at home to see her painting in reverse
Creating and destroying go hand in hand
Model takes a break and Sherrie talks about edges
Generally the keystone triangle is cool except when light is coming from the north
Sherrie is working around the mouth now and encourages Elizabeth to talk about an upcoming show.
This is so good to watch Sherrie bring Elizabeth alive on canvas
Symmetry - do both sides
Soft turning edges
If I was done with my still life painting I would love to paint Elizabeth this afternoon
Lunch has arrived.
