From the studio of Susan Harrison-Tustain
November 2008
November 2008
Newsletter page 2: Painting - Teaching The big news is my workshops in Bend, Oregon, USA in July. I announced these about 3 weeks ago when I sent out a very short 'news break' (rather than my normal newsletter), soon after I arrived home. The Oregon Workshop centre has told me they have had a wonderful response. The last correspondence I had indicated there are only 4 places left on each workshop. If you are interested in my workshops, you can read a workshop description and reviews here: http://www.susanart.com/forum/index.php?topic=87.0 Details of Oregon Workshop:
- Dates: July 13 - 17 and July 27 - 31, 2009.
- Website: http://www.artinthemountains.com
- Contact person: Debra Prater - Art in the Mountains - Email: aitm@bendcable.com
Click HERE to view my internationally best selling DVDs.
(Tip: Christmas is coming up fast ;o) Forum
Have you visited my FORUM yet? We have a great group of artists who learn, share their hints, experiences and knowledge freely. As time allows I occasionally pop by and write a comment or two in answer to problems artists may be experiencing. I also have a "Hints, Tips and Breakthroughs" section where I write and post articles I have written for magazines and also where I share breakthroughs that have helped me on my journey. Here is an example:
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I am often asked how to remove paintings from Gator Board.
You will know by now that I use a 1 inch brown gummed tape that is made especially for stretching watercolour paper. The gum is activated by water.
Gator Board is a brilliant product and ideal for use in stretching watercolour paper.
How to remove your painting from the Gator Board.
Once your painting has dried, take a thin knife with a sharp point and pierce a hole in the gummed tape near one of the corners of your paper. (You should be able to see the rise in the surface of the gummed tape, which indicates the edge of the stretched paper.)
To do this you are best to lay the knife horizontally. You do not want to pierce your Gator Board. Once you are able to slide the thin knife underneath your painting (including the gummed tape that is on top of the paper) then you simply slide the knife (horizontally) along the lengths and breadth of the paper. This will lift your painting and you will find you still have the gummed tape attached.
The gummed tape is archival and can stay on your painting forever. It also keeps the paper edges stable. The gummed tape cannot be removed without wetting the paper. Obviously it is not a good idea to rewet your paper to remove the gummed tape - as you will undo the value of stretching the paper in the first place.
I neaten the edges of the gummed tape and paper and then frame the painting.
If you have left a wide white margin around your painting, you may prefer to cut the brown gummed tape off. It is your call. I leave mine on.
You can easily clean the remaining gummed tape off your Gator Board - once your painting has been removed - by throwing the board in the bath or soaking it with a sponge. It is just a matter of getting it wet enough to enable you to pull or ease the last of it off. You are now ready to begin stretching paper for your next masterpiece!
Have fun! Susan |
Here is an opportunity to read previously published articles I have written:
"Capture the intangible - Part one" (an article on portrait and figurative painting published in Australian Artist Magazine.) Capture the intangible
How do we capture the intangible: a fleeting expression, a character that is revealed in the sparkle of an eye or an emotion that can fill a room with atmosphere? These are not things that you can touch so how can an artist paint such things? How can we achieve a richness and depth of emotion and feeling in our paintings?
Most realist artists are initially inspired by and paint the physical things around them. But often those who reach higher echelons are those who can create paintings that reach out of the frame to connect with and touch the emotions of those who view the work.
It all begins with an intelligent composition that emphasises the nuances that give us an insight into our subject.
An example of this is an old-world atmosphere enriched by the use of a muted palette of colours. The feeling of depth and charm established by hues of this nature will capture the beauty of age and timelessness.
Good observation and knowledge of facial muscles and how they work in unison will support and bring a 'truth' to facial emotions such as laughing eyes, petulance, concern. A serene background will suggest gentleness and a tranquillity of personality. There are many subtleties that allow us to suggest what we want our viewers to know and feel about our subject. The eyes, along with the mouth, will convey more to the viewer about that person than any other part of the painting. Eyes have incredible power. If you portray them well - your painting will be a triumph - even if other areas pale in success. Glazing the blue of a cornea with several transparent layers will give you the impression of liquid pools of hue that have no end to their depth. They draw the viewer in and give credence to the quote "The eyes are the mirror of the soul". We all know how just one inadvertent flick of the brush can change the expression on the lips. Those of you who have struggled with lips will know exactly what I mean! In my workshops and DVDs I put great emphasis on observation and my philosophy is to teach 'why' and 'how' things work - or why they don't! This opens a whole new world of possibilities and best of all creates excitement and enthusiasm which helps us all to retain what we have learned. Let's look at a portrait and discuss some of the things that will bring the added dimension of emotion to our paintings. 'Glancing Back - a Tribute to Vermeer' - Oil on Belgian Linen 20"x 16"
An example of this is my tribute to Vermeer's painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. Although inspired by Vermeer's masterpiece, this painting is painted in my more detailed style.
There is much conjecture about Vermeer's masterful painting. I found myself musing on the notion of a modern-day girl with a pearl earring. With modern garb and a towel wrapped around her hair, I am able to portray a timeless emotion. I wanted to involve the viewer and allow them to become immersed in the painting. I chose to do that by the suggestion of a tear glistening just above the lower eyelid. It asks a question and the viewer is invited to speculate further.
It is not difficult to provide all of the answers - but instead - why not allow your viewers to apply some of their own history or thoughts to a painting? Involve those who view your work and give them the opportunity to participate. Quiet introspection can make the connection with your painting so much more rewarding and memorable.
But what else of eyes?
Detail: 'Glancing Back - a Tribute to Vermeer'
Non-painters imagine the whites of eyes (sclera) to be white. But of course we know that isn't the case. If we painted them white, they would look stark, staring, 'eye-popping'.
Take a look at the eye in my oil painting 'Glancing Back - A Tribute to Vermeer'.
The hues I have used are anything but white. I have described the rounded form of the eye using colour temperature and tone. The lower part of the eye is a coolish yellow (Aureolin Yellow mixed with Flake White Replacement). The 'local colour' is a very light mix of Thalo Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Aureolin Yellow and Flake White Replacement. The area directly underneath the lid has a wonderful cast shadow. I have described this cast shadow by using a cool grey over the top of my local eye colour (Cool grey mix: a mixture of Thalo Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Aureolin Yellow and Flake White Replacement). This cast shadow is a magical tool we artists can use to place the eye so that it sits back - within the head.
| Sidebar: 'Local Colour' is the colour of the object before light and shade affect it. For instance the local colour of a leaf is green. The local colour of a red apple is red. The highlights and shadows often require a radical change in hue and colour temperature. |
You will see what I mean if you try blocking this shadow out: Hold your finger so it blocks out this shadow in my painting and you will find the eye will sit forward and look unnaturally staring. Take your finger away and you will see how the eye rests in the socket and feels part of the face. You will have learned another great lesson here: in the future you may create an action painting where you want a staring eye. So pulling the eyelids further apart can create this - therefore you not only see more of the cornea - you also reduce the cast shadow and give the impression that the eye is more protruding. The pinkish red area between the skin and the eyeball - at the innermost end of the eye (Carunc Lacrim) is often the most wet-looking area. We portray the look of wetness by establishing un-blurred highlights. Blurred-edged highlights suggest a lesser degree of wetness and can be used for the general highlights in the eyes. Conversely if the eye is very wet possibly due to many tears - all of the highlights would be sharp and defined. It is all about suggesting emotion. Notice how I have used a warm pink hue in the white area closest to the Carunc Lacrim? This is a natural occurrence in eyes and is possibly due to a greater number of blood vessels in that area - but it may also be the result of reflected colour from the Carunc Lacrim. You can see in this example how we can give the illusion of a ball, by using colour temperature, hue and tone.
Sidebar:
Red is the warmest of hues. Blue is the coolest of the hues. Within each colour there are also warm and cool colours: Alizarin Crimson contains some blue in the mix - therefore it is cooler than a 'tomato red' such as Cadmium Red. Colour temperature is something my students often ask about. It can be a difficult concept. But I like to break it down to relativity. The degree of temperature is related to the colour temperature of those colours surrounding it. Anything that contains a touch of blue in the mix will be cooler than anything that contains a touch of red. (I don't want to confuse you, but it's perhaps worth noting that colour temperature in art is different from colour temperature as used when talking about white balance in photography. If anyone would like a detailed explanation of this I'm sure Richard will be happy to oblige!) Another example is Aureolin Yellow (which contains a small amount of blue). Therefore Aureolin Yellow is cooler than Indian Yellow (which contains a small amount of red). |
The eye has the appearance of roundness because I have described its form using colour temperature, tone and hue. The use of these gives three-dimensional form to our subjects. Now let's take a look at the 'white' sclera at the other end of the eye. You will be amazed at how dark it is. Isolate it from the other parts of the painting by blocking out all but the sclera and you will see what I mean. It still surprises me after all this time just how dark it can be! The strongest statement of emotion in this painting is of course the light line of 'tear' that I painted along the lower lid. I chose to use this emotive tool to create a narrative, a connection and an empathy with the viewer. The power of this revelation - although subtle in appearance - influences the entire consciousness of the painting and beckons the viewer to interpret the reason for it being there. The emotion is also evident in the subtle expression shown by the supporting muscles in her face. Is she sad or melancholy or touched by a fond memory? Can you feel the emotion? Painting lips that tell a story Detail: 'Glancing Back - a Tribute to Vermeer'
One wrong flick of the brush in the corner of the mouth and we can change the expression from happy to sad in one swoop. I like to ensure my drawing is very accurate before I begin describing lips with natural colour. There are many 'traps for young players' when painting lips.
Sidebar:
My 'lip tips':
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Ask your sitter to wet their lips. Moistening lips gives a reflective quality that is in contrast to the matt look of skin. We all know how colours of a seashell come alive when it is wet. Wetting lips has much the same effect. It creates luminous transparent colours that add another dimension to the character of a painting. The pièce de résistance is a shimmer of highlight reflecting off the moisture. Drawing
The central horizontal lip line/s are always a good place to begin. The rest of the lip always flows in relation to these, just as a leaf always follows the central spine. Place these central lines correctly and you will find the other lines will be easier to describe. Watch for foreshortening. Lips will not be symmetrical if we are viewing them from an angle anything other than front-on. Soft undefined edges
Lips that have sharp or hard edges look unnatural and painted. To create a naturalistic realism, we need to give the impression they have a gentle undefined edge where they meet the local skin colour. Take a close look at your lips in a mirror. You will see how the edges are not sharp and defined. Lips gradually fold and blend until they are lost in the local skin colour. Mould form with line, colour temperature and tone
Lips generally have vertical lines that roll with the form. These are a wonderful asset as they help us describe the roll of the lip - but they are best kept soft and sparse. Colour temperature is another tool that brings reality and a feeling of substance to all subjects. See how I have used colour temperature to describe each area of lip. The lightest highlight is toned white. I have added a tiny amount of blue to Flake White Replacement to keep the highlight cool. As the lip folds into the mouth, I have used Flake White Replacement, Aureolin Yellow and a touch of Alizarin Crimson to create a natural 'orange/pink' lip colour. The areas influenced by shadows are described using a slightly dulled orange mix of Aureolin Yellow, Alizarin Crimson and a touch of Thalo Blue. You can observe that the undulating form is described by favouring cooler hues - particularly more Alizarin Crimson and more Thalo Blue in the deepest shadowed areas. Pushing your colour-mixes to favour one or other of these hues will create a slightly undulating form. Teeth are not white
Just as the white of an eye is not white - the same is true of teeth. Once again - isolate the teeth and you will see the colour is a similar hue and tone to that of the local skin colour. Teeth are generally wet therefore we see reflected colours and muted highlights. These are essential to help us to describe the surface of the teeth. One of the traps I often see in paintings is the over-emphasis placed on the deep, dark gaps between the teeth. Softly suggested spaces between the teeth give a much more pleasing and natural impression. Observation, observation, observation.
The benefits of good observation cannot be emphasised enough. It is not necessarily crucial for an artist to understand the theory behind colour temperature, tone, and form - if we paint the colours and form we see in front of us - our paintings should give the viewer the feeling of 'presence'. Having said that, naturally an understanding of the theories will give us far greater options. My point is that observation is absolutely key to naturalistic realism and creating a painting that has a 'presence'. **Part two coming up in my next newsletter...**
I hope this new 'article' feature to my newsletter inspires you to take up your brushes and fly!
This newsletter has been rather long in coming - but as you can see it is full of information, inspiration and ideas.
Remember to visit the forum: http://www.susanart.com/forum
This year is going so fast - it's hard to imagine we are nearly at another Christmas and New Year! My next newsletter will be my Christmas message but do feel free to let me know if you would like more information on my workshops, tours and DVDs.
Susan Harrison-Tustain ** Christmas shopping suggestion **
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