Arne Westerman Workshop ~ Day 3 and 4 ~ SWS

Thursday’s report of the Arne Westerman SWS workshop – some thoughts and slide show. See the slide show below and mouse over for the names.
From Arne on Wednesday:
1. A “clean palette” is a sign of an empty mind. (You can view his palette in yesterday’s slide show.)
2. A few color mixtures we tried: English Red or Indian Red makes a good fleshy tone. Add a touch of Cerulean for variation and to mute the red. Cerulean Blue and Cad. Red light makes a great gray. Permanent Rose and Cad. Yellow light or New Gamboge makes a good flesh tone. He loves lilac. Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue makes a cool gray. Cad. Red light and Thalo Blue makes a good black. He does not use a tube black but mixes other colors for black. Manganese Blue and Permanent Rose makes a nice mixture or near each other to mix some. Indian Red and Thalo Blue makes a dark. Cad. Red light and any blue will give a brown.
His color choices are made during the color sketch. Leave enough room on the border edges to make some color trials.
3. Always use the largest brush.
4. He showed us how to increase the size of the color sketch by drawing diagonal lines on the sketch and one-half sheet of watercolor paper. One of the slides showed the process. This resulted in pencil drawings on the color sketch and these were small paintings in themselves and I would use tracing paper instead or use a copy machine to blow up the image or digitize the photo.
5. In the afternoon, the class drew and painted from a live model with beautiful red hair. Some of the slides show some paintings and studies done from this model.
6. Wednesday evening, Arne gave the SWS program by showing and discussing his work with a slide presentation with a few jokes thrown in.
Some thoughts from Thursday:
1. We should be better on Friday than we were on Monday. (Let’s hope so.)
2. A painting is a work in progress. We saw more slides on what makes a good painting and we did quick thumbnail sketches of the painting structure such as was the painting made of rectangles, pyramid, etc. He stressed again about not having two things equal but let one dominate and be the center of interest.
3. He talked and showed us how to take the model from the room where we are and put her at home by adding interesting vertical and horizontal elements and accents.
4. When adding some touches to final facial features on an under painting, he might moisten the paper before adding the eyes or other features.
5. In the afternoon, the participants painted on their big project and Arne walked around to each one to assist with any problems. This is a rare teacher that gives the students as much private consultation as he does and with a very good attitude. At the end of the day, there was a group critique using the overhead mirror so we learned from each other’s mistakes and successes. He thinks we’re doing great and I hope you like our slide show. Not all the class members have work included.
6. The assignment for Friday: Bring in another photo and be prepared to start on a new thumbnail and color sketch in preparation for a new painting.
7. I’m already thinking about what all I have to do this weekend and asking myself if I can squeeze in any time to paint more figurative watercolors so I won’t forget some of the wonderful points made this week. Let’s see mail, bills, Thanksgiving cooking – I’ll have to make some time.

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Arne Westerman Workshop ~ Slide Show Wed-Thurs ~ SWS

Arne Westerman Workshop ~ Day 1 ~ SWS

Arne

His famous "L's"
Our five day Southwestern Watercolor Society workshop with instructor Arne Westerman began today. I will post a few highlights minus some of the funny jokes. He began painting after a successful career in advertising at about age 50.
1. He asked us to do things "his way" this week and that included careful planning of our design before painting.
2. We brought our own reference material and took that photo and did a 4 x 5 value and composition thumbnail. Each student's work is critiqued in a group situation so all benefited from the instruction.
3. He used the "L" shapes, cut up mats, to crop and edit these thumbnails and photos still looking for the best design.
4. He was not happy that so many of us brought small 4 x 6 photos to work from. He loved it when someone had an 8 x 10 to work from. He had large photos to share for any that didn't bring a project to paint on.
5. There is no such thing as equality in a painting. Something has to be dominant and the center of interest.
6. Forget accuracy and go for the artistic statement.
7. Try to be original in thinking and working and do not copy the photograph but make it your own. Move things around. Don't reproduce what you see but use what you need.
8. He promises to show us "how not to worry about our backgrounds".
9. Tuesday we will work on our 7 x 11 color study from our thumbnail.
10. First thing in the morning we'll see his slides and more discussion about what makes a good painting.
We are painting in Irving in a large room at the Jaycee Park, Center for the Arts, one of the BEST places to take a workshop. We have a table to ourselves, kitchen facilities, with large sliding glass doors to the outside where there is a park and a small pond with ducks. The weather was sunny and warm. It was a great day. At many workshops, participants have stayed up late the night before getting ready, nervous about the instructor, and start out wondering if will they get a "good" spot or know anyone, travel long distances and in sometimes horrible, slow moving traffic but despite all of these obstacles you have a great time trying out new techniques and we'll be ready for Arne's instructions on how to complete our color studies for our masterpiece.

Yellow Flower, Yellow Vase ~ Acrylic on Canvas ~ Nancy Standlee Art Blogs ~ N

NFS
16" x 20" acrylic, unframed on stretched 5/8" deep canvas, secured at the sides with staples
This was painted last winter during a class with Vern Johnson at the Upstairs Gallery and tonight he is having an opening reception of his Midland works at the Gallery. Vern teaches drawing and painting classes there. I see the Gallery has started a blog.
I found my Vern flower painting and decided to post it as I haven't painted anything new this week. On Monday I painted at the Gallery in gouache and those two paintings need some more attention. My week has been spent getting a little corner of my house organized. I've attended so many workshops the past 6 weeks and had so much fun this house stuff can really be boring. I still like to paint in my kitchen to be near the music and the snacks because the one room upstairs does not have a water supply. Basically I'm moved a bunch of kitchen stuff to the living room and now need to straighten the living room. My children have been warned about the need of a big dumpster when it's time to have the estate sale but in the mean time, my daughter mentioned a "fire hazard". I discourage all visitors and prefer meeting them in the front yard until I get some of this under control. You know what I really want to be doing today? I'm scheduled for an Arne Westerman workshop in a few weeks and I want to sit down with his book and do his color exercises. I've taken from him in Fort Worth several years ago and I think I'm ready to absorb some more from this wonderful painter.

SWS Workshops

Arne Westerman Workshop, November 12 - 16, 9:30-3:30
Jaycee Park, Irving
Demo: Wednesday, November 14, 7 - 9 PM
Fretz Recreation Center, Dallas

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The Bakers ~ Figurative Painting ~ Art Blog ~ Arne Westerman Tribute

$80.00
11" x 15" Watercolor on 140 lb. hot press paper
The Bakers was painted in an Arne Westerman workshop and it might have been from a photo he had provided for us to use. It is a loose, experimental piece on hot press paper and I didn't try for perfection and I simplified the scene. Arne likes Lanaquarelle hot press. His book, Paint Watercolors Filled with Life and Energy, was one I checked out at the library and I thought it so informative, I now own an autographed paperback. It was published in 1994 and Amazon has 31 used copies and you can click on my Amazon link to check for updates. A Westerman workshop is filled with surprises and humor and he will be in our area November 12-16, 2007 in Irving through the SWS. He is a member of the American Watercolor Society and the National Watercolor Society. I am signed up for my second workshop with him. Arne uses color with boldness, hot press paper, gives permission to paint from photos, and advises it's o.k. to get inspiration from other artists.

He says talent is overrated. Ambition, determination and just plain hard work can more than compensate for a lower rating in the talent department. Register your feelings and express your perspective. Don't be a Rockwell. He already did it.

I like to read the Suggested Reading List at the back of books and in Arne's I found a book mentioned by an old friend, Jack Clifton, Eye of the Artist, 1984. (Amazon has 5 of these used starting at $5.95). I took a few acrylic classes from Jack while I lived in Hampton, Va. and I was continually frustrated because I couldn't draw and he caught me one night with a push pen and string stuck in my painting board trying to draw a circle for a plate for a still life set up. (I've since learned better). Life got in the way, I switched to batik for a period, and didn't take any more art classes until I retired. Arne says of Jack's book "He has everything you want to know in a nutshell." And I'm in good company, Arne didn't start watercolor painting until he was in his 50's. Arne may have copies of his book available on his site.
This photo shows Arne and me with the end of the class presentation.


As a retired librarian/artist, I suggest you get a library card and find books on painting and then start your own library of favorite sources. You'll return to them again and again. I use my books like workbooks, even autographed ones. I highlight, draw and write notes in them. I didn't buy them for an investment.
I've packed my Arne book on the top of the stack that is being prepared for a Port Bolivar beach road trip by some of the Canvas by Canvas group leaving next week. Port Bolivar is one of the first ports established in Texas. We are planning to eat seafood, paint some watercolors, beach sit, and take lots and lots of photos of every thing - shrimp boats, our food, people.

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Kitty Wompus ~ Uncertain, TX ~ Wompus Kitty

$65.00
11" x 15" watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper

This was painted from a cat photo I'd taken at the Upstairs Gallery, Arlington, info@upstairsartgallery.com. where some of us meet to paint at J. T.'s and for while I called the painting J.T.'s cat. Several cats rule at the TUG and I don't know their true cat names or if they even have a name, but they pretty much take over the workshop area while we are there, coming and going as they please and ignoring us completely.
Now about that title. There are many word search results on Kitty Wompus. I found kitty-wumpus, catty-wompus, catty wampus,and catawampus (and this may be the one as it's a variant of mountain lion. It has come to mean askew or crooked and first appeared in print in 1843. (What about antigogglin'? or is this even how to spell it?) Anyway it brought to mind how my Daddy used the word with a slight inversion. If he ever said, "She's an old Wompus Kitty", we knew that was not good and might call into question a female's character.

The wild colors came about from taking my second workshop with Ken Hosmer and it was held at the Mossy Brake Gallery in Uncertain, Texas . Several of us rented cabins in the area and spent an enjoyable week painting on the Caddo Lake. I went to my first Hosmer workshop in Oklahoma by myself. I took his videos and my portable tv/vcr combination and ensconced myself in a local motel and painted by day and watched his videos some evenings. I'd found his web site first and loved his use of color and wanted to see him paint and take a workshop.That's usually my modus operandi when I discover a favorite painter. On the Ken Hosmer website he gives a watercolor demonstration of painting a calico cat.

After some consideration, I felt like with the wild Hosmer influenced colors my kitty could be a Kitty Wompus or a Wompus Kitty, just take your pick.

More cat humor can be found at I Can Has Cheezburger.com.

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Ranch Blossoms ~Bestest Blog ~ Bestest Workshop ~ Bestest Art Blog ~ Art Blog

Ranch Blossoms $190.00
16” x 12”, Acrylic on watercolor paper adhered to gallery wrapped canvas ¾” profile
Last summer I had a delightful workshop on a ranch near Marble Falls. I first saw Robert Burridge’s work on the Cheap Joe’s Art Catalog. It was a a series of coffee cups similar to the ones offered on the Amazon link and I was smitten. That is the power of a painting. I had to know more about this artist and his technique. I purchased his book, his cd’s and tapes, and decided I’d go anywhere to take a workshop. Ranch Blossoms is one of the pieces begun in that workshop. We painted in a metal building with the doors open as there wasn’t air conditioning and this was Texas in September. We wore wet towels around our necks to stay cool. It was glorious.

Now I’ve scheduled a figurative workshop with him in October in Mendocino, California. Bob states in his book Loosen Up

“Remember, all this thinking and creating is just
a game. There is no ultimate significance to it all. However, it’s the best
game there is. I only know that I’m happy to play the game and I paint. But
what it is that I am about to paint, what happens, I never know in advance.”

When I was painting that week at Dena Wenmohs Ranch, I didn’t plan this painting. It just happened. I call the painting “Ranch Blossoms” a mystical name for a mystical painting. It was hot and dusty and one of the most creative weeks I’ve ever had. No TV, out in the country with the donkeys who followed you on the short walk to the main house for lunch at Dena’s home, just eating, talking, dreaming painting.

Bobby Griffin over at the Bestest Blog http://www.bestestblog.com/ is setting up a new directory this morning. I will post more about it later.
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Thanks to Peter Chen's Blogger Tips and Tricks article I was able to get the workshop photo in the middle of the page!! Yoo-Hoo!

I just knew "bestest" wouldn't be in the dictionary but surprise at Dictionary.com I found this entry. It's slang and had one entry. It will probably NOT be my new favorite word.