The Healing Power of Art
May 20, 2008
Recently I was privileged to participate in Florida’s Forgotten Coast Plein Air
Invitational which took place in the Apalachicola Bay area May 8-18, 2008.
Presented by the Gulf Alliance for Local Arts, this is one of the Sunshine
State’s premier art events. Twenty professional artists from Florida and
beyond painted on location in such places as Eastpoint, Apalachicola,
St. George Island, Cape San Blas, Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach. There were
daily artist demonstrations, a student art day and numerous social
events. I never ate so many juicy oysters. The 10-day plein air
celebration of Franklin, Gulf and East Bay Counties culminated with
The Grand Patron’s Party at the Historic Cotton Exchange in Apalachicola. This
debut of the artist’s choice paintings was well attended.
The food, the wine, the music, the people and the
paintings were fantastic. I doubt I’ll ever more fun at an art
opening. Everyone,including the promoters,
patrons,hosts and artists were extremely warm and generous.
I was most touched when the Healing Power of Art became evident. In a
culture dominated by TV and entertainment I sometimes wonder what the real value
of art is. Is it a luxury? What would life be like without it? I am also
a deeply, though not overtly, religious person. I believe in miracles and that
God uses a lot of different means to bring healing and comfort to his people.
I tell this story with no specifics out of respect for another’s
privacy:
I began the first morning bicycling in Mexico Beach in search of subject matter.
I had traveled less than a tenth of a mile when I saw a misty pond with the sun
rising behind it’s tree lined banks. I stopped and painted.
Things progressed easily. Not only did the painting work from the stand point
of drawing, values, colors and edges but it had some emotional impact as well.
I thought to myself, “If only each of the 10 days would go this well!”
I wish I could say they did but I had my ups and downs.
I first exhibited the painting during a social at the Gulf County TDC Welcome
Center in Port St. Joe. Near the end of the evening a woman came to me and explained
that she burst into tears when she first saw it. “Awe, it isn’t that bad”,
I quipped. “No, you don’t understand…I grew up on that pond. We lived in
the house next door”, she said. The woman confided that she had stoically cared for her
mother through long illness and had remained stoic through her mother’s passing last November.
She had not grieved the loss until my painting touched her.
She seemed startled by the sudden flood of emotion and fought the urge to buy the piece.
The following evening the painting was exhibited again at The Grand Patron’s Party.
An hour into the evening the proverbial “red dot” went up. “Had someone else purchased it”, I wondered.
I hoped not. I wanted the lady from the previous night to have it.
Soon a gentleman introduced himself to me as the one who made the purchase. I was relieved to
hear that he was indeed “the lady’s” husband. Near the end of the evening I saw her holding the boxed painting
close to her heart. Realizing that the painting was merely a symbol of what she truly
embraced I whispered to myself words from the Song of St. Francis,”…make me a channel of Your Peace.”
And so, I concluded, art is much more than luxury.
Why Use A Limited Palette?
May 6, 2008
Recently, I have noticed that my use of a palette limited to
the three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) attracts a lot of
interest from experienced painters, students and collectors.
The idea seems bold and innovative but in fact it is not new.
Over 100 years ago, Swedish painter Anders Zorn used a
palette consisting of Red, Yellow Ochre, Black and White. Zorn
is still widely regarded as a genius. After seeing a Zorn
exhibition, modern landscape painter Scott Christensen was
inspired to recycle the idea. While attending Scott’s 10-Day
Intensive Workshop in 2007 I converted to using the limited
palette as well. Like Scott, I use ultramarine blue, permanent
bright red,cadmium yellow lemon plus titanium white.
The philosophy “less is more” definitely applies. Self-imposed
limitations such as this force the artist to rely more on his or
her creativity. Having fewer color options one can no longer
attempt to copy the subject tone for tone. Instead the painter
must focus on relationships. How warm or cool,light or dark,
intense or neutral, sharp or lost, is one passage compared
to the whole. The end result is not only a more advanced process
but stronger harmonies in the finished product.
Another benefit from being a practitioner of the limited palette is
that the artist learns to do with color what was once done with value.
Specifically, the depiction of light and shadow is better when the artist
focuses more on color temperature and less on how light or dark
each passage is. A medium value intense warm makes for a more
convincing depiction of light than a low intensity white.
Other practical reasons for switching to a limited palette include:
- Less stuff to carry into the field
- More room on your palette for mixing
- Shopping for supplies is made easier
In closing, it should be mentioned that it is not necessary to
become a 3 color purist. The key point to remember is
that viewers don’t want us to copy the world for them.
They want us to explain it. The constraints of a limited palette
force us to do just that. I often add viridian to help create more
variety in my greens. This seems to make sense since I live and work
in Florida. Other times I add a cool red such as Alizarin Permanent to
modify shadows and dark accents. Other artists use version of
the limited palette consisting of a warm and cool of each of the primaries.
When making the switch be prepared to struggle for about six
months. Growth without growing pains is probably not growth at all.
Below is an example of a painting done with the 3 color palette.
Creative Capital Workshop
May 5, 2008
I recently attended a workshop on “Promoting Your Work” at the LighthouseCenter for the Arts
in Jupiter, Florida. The one day event , sponsored by the Florida State Division of Cultural Affairs, was
part of the Creative Capital Professional Development Program. Creative Capital is a national grant-making,
not for profit, organization that gives project-based funding directly to artists.
The workshop was informative and inspiring. Visual and performing artists from various disciplines attended.
The focus of the day was “how to develop an artist’s promotional package”. Emphasis was placed on goal setting, strategic planning, artist statements and speaking to others about your art. There was plenty of opportunity to network with other artists. It would have been hard not to gain insight into both the creative and business sides of art.
I thought the most memorable part of the day was the passion of Creative Capital Team Leader
Jackie Battenfield. Jackie spoke from a place of integrity about her career and her struggles. She instilled hope by reminding us to stay focused on our goals. When Jackie closed the workshop by telling us that she loved us, I knew she was sincere. Do yourself a favor and attend a Creative Capital Workshop. It was free!
What are the 4 Basic Elements of Landscape Painting
May 2, 2008
What Are the Basic Elements of Landscape Painting?
The fine art of landscape painting, and any other genre, can be distilled down to 4 Basic Elements:
- Drawing
- Values
- Colors
- Edges
Each of these basics can be simply defined:
Drawing has to do with composition. It involves not only placement of your center of interest, but the overall design of your painting’s big shapes. By big shapes I mean the negative space around your center of interest as well as the overall shape of the foreground, middle ground and background. The painter should think in terms of masses. The use of line should be kept to a minimum.
Value means simply how light or dark one shape is relative to another. This involves squinting at your subject to see what is in the light and what is in the shadow. John F. Carlson, in his Guide to Landscape Painting, identified four basic value planes:
- Sky - lightest
- Ground plane - second lightest
- Sloped planes - third lightest
- Vertical planes - darkest
Regarding values John Singer Sargent referred to five types of light:
- light
- midtone
- shadow
- accents
- reflected light
Color has three main characteristics:
- hue
- saturation
- temperature
Hue, put simply, answers the question, “What color is it?”
Saturation has to do with intensity. Is the color muted and neutral or is it pure and clean.
Temperature is a relative concept. If we think of the traditional color wheel there are three primary and three secondary colors. The primaries are red, yellow and blue. They are primary because we can’t mix them from two other colors. The secondaries are orange, green and purple. They are secondary because we get them by mixing two primaries. It seems obvious that blue is the coolest of these. Indeed its neighbors on the color wheel, green and purple are cool because they contain blue. Opposite blue on the wheel is orange. Being opposite of blue, it stands to reason that, orange must be warmest.
Indeed, its neighbors on the color wheel, red and yellow, are relatively warm. Neither contains blue. The fact that we mix orange from two warms, proves it is the warmest.
Even with the myriad of tubed colors available to painters today it is still impossible to paint the complete spectrum of color which God used in creating the world around us. Because we can’t match our subject tone for tone we must learn to paint relationships. Is this passage warmer or cooler, more intense or neutral, than that passage?
Edges, often overlooked by painters and instructors are no less important. Edges are defined as the juncture between two masses. A painting can and should have sharp, soft and lost edges. Edges are a wonderful tool for controlling the viewers eye. We identify the hierarchy of edges within in our painting by squinting at our subject. The most interesting and sharpest edges should be near your center of interest.
Click here for more in depth discussion about these and other subjects related to the fine art of landscape painting.
Plein Air Paintings by Florida Gulf Coast artist Robert J. Simone
Inaugural Season for St. Pete Saturday Art Market
May 1, 2008
Nestled on the western shores of Tampa Bay in Southern Pinellas County, St. Petersburg is one of the Sunshine State’s best kept secrets. From November thru April the weather is incredible. As a result the city is a hive of outdoor activity. The St. Pete Saturday Art Market is likely Florida’s only weekly event of it’s kind. Artists from all disciplines hawk their wares under the shade trees in beautiful Williams Park. Part of a local effort to revitalize the park this event is the brainchild Leslie Curran,owner of Interior Motives Gallery. What follows are one plein air painter’s thoughts about the inaugural season.
When I was invited to participate in the Saturday Art Market I was reluctant to say the least. My first impressions were based on Williams Park’s reputation as a campground for the homeless. I also hesitated because, Saturday is usually my day to do whatever I want, no commitments. I finally agreed to try it and was pleasantly surprised. My first day I sold a painting and some prints. I made money and it was easy. In fact I made money every time I participated. The final Saturday was the best.
More importantly I made some new friends. I felt a sense of welcome and commradarie from the diversely eclectic group of regular vendors. I enjoyed my Saturdays spent with the talented and creative people such as Caleb, Laura, Bill, Twin and others. We laughed, joked and otherwise chewed the fat. It was a side of the weekly event I did not anticipate. As a result my artistic vision was stretched beyond it’s normal limit. Were there homeless people in park? Yes, they were just like the people with homes. For the most part friendly, respectful and quick to complement me on my art.
Through my weekly association with the event I also came to see Councilwoman Curran in a new light. I honestly believe that the Saturday Art Market was born out of her sense of enthusiastic support for local artists and a desire to enhance local culture. The event does add something savory to the flavor of life in downtown St. Pete. I can’t wait for November so we can taste another season!
