Blog

One of the first orders of business on my workshops is to go over the many ways to mix Green.  With 2 blues, 2 yellows, black, white, and a red you can mix all the colors of green in Ireland. No need to carry a bunch of different colors with you when, with a little practice, you can get more variety by mixing with 7 tubes of paint! The painting above was from a cool breezy day on the castle grounds we rented in Ireland. The countryside in Ireland is so manicured it looks like a patchwork quilt of a million greens. The most challenging part of painting this day was the crazy change in weather. First it was warm and sunny but by the time we set up our easels the wind had picked up and then after an hour or so it was cold, cloudy, and spitting rain. Nonetheless, it's important to remember NOT to chase the shadows! Try to remember what the location looked like when you were first inspired by the scene. The exercise is good for your memory as well! The sheep however, were really just little rectangles of white paint at that distance, no reason to make a big deal out of them...

Mildred Ganchan (Muzzie) always did know how to make an entrance. She arrived in Heaven July 5, just after the fireworks, but the party was just beginning! Muzzie was the force behind the throne of the Ganchan clan, loved fiercely by her husband, Dick whom she married in 1942, she raised 4 wonderful children who then gave them 18 grandchildren and 18 Great grandchildren. Theirs was a family who loved a party, singing and dancing was always part of the mix, and the rest of us were continually amazed at how well they worked and played together. Life really was a Cabaret My Friend and Muzzie taught them all how it's done. I will never forget the Family Show they all put on for the twins 40 Birthday party when Mildred and Dick rode a motorcycle on stage to sing "Leader of the Pack". After Dick died Mildred, heartbroken to lose the love of her life, sang "Our Love is Here to Stay" at another Birthday Show. All alone, on stage, so small...there was not a dry eye in the place. With all that talent she chose to focused it on her family and her church. Mildred really did knew what was most important. She has been an inspiration to everyone who was lucky enough to have known her. Mildred's Memorial Service is tomorrow, Monday, at 2:00 at Saint John's the Divine. There will be singing everywhere.

Wouldn't it be nice if the concept of Warm and Cool colors was simple? As I explained last week, basically warm colors are those with a little red in them and Cool colors have some blue in them...However, in the painting above, 

(Lilypads) the purple shadows have red and blue in them so are they Warm or Cool? Well that depends on what is around them. Certainly they are warmer than the dark Blue-green trees above them, but are the purple shadows warmer than the Yellow-green lilypads? Is Yellow warm or cool? Well that also depends. What we have now a very slippery slope.  In this situation many artists say if it has some Red or Yellow in the color then it is Warmer, than if the color has mostly Blue in it. Got that? 

This is a photo of our Painting group in Ireland last week. The day was warm by Irish standards but quite cool by Houston standards. All I know for sure is the group was full of laughter and so the feeling in the pub was quite WARM!

Thornwood Gallery is having an Art Opening as part of a Colquitt Street Galleries' Art Walk on Saturday, July 11 from 1:00 to 6:00. The painting above will be featured in this Summer Show, so I hope you can stop by and see it in person... It's a big one.

  Last week we talked about Dreaming, and this painting is from one of my dreams. The sun is just coming up and I am alone on shadowy road trying to get to the light. Just then, I notice that the hill where I am walking is equally beautiful and filled with Bluebonnets! What is my rush? I think this is a dream about appreciating where you are, but it has another art lesson as well. The shadow is just as important as the light, and as a matter of fact, supports the light! The Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla taught me that. All of his canvases are filled with light, but that is because his shadows are so dark. Also most of his light has a golden cast to it, or even a rosy red tint like the world is filled with a sunny glow. By contrast his shadows are dark and cool. This is also a lesson in opposites. If your light is cool  (like indoors) the shadows are warm, but if the light is warm (like the sun outside) then your darks are cool. So what does cool and warm mean anyway? Well, basicly colors with some blue in them are cooler than colors with red in them. How about we continue with that thought next week? In the mean time...Let's pray all our dreams are beautiful! 

Dreaming is essential to an artist. Walt Disney said, "If you can dream it, you can do it." Often I am struck with a scene in Nature or a face, or a flower that is hauntingly familiar and realize it is from my dreams. While dreaming, some people return to a place or a situation over and over. Many dreams are common to a large number of people, like falling backwards, of flying (I love that one), or not being able to get somewhere (Frustrating)! Most are a little bit crazy but often they can launch us into the unknown where anything is possible. Some Artists paint their dreams like the Surrealists; think Salvador Dali. Personally, I have found Dreams to be mostly encouraging leading me to new and different approaches to making my art. The main thing is to trust that your dreams will lead you to your better self. 

 What do you dream?