Figure in a Blue Light

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Oil paint over black and white grisaille.

This is a painting of my favorite all-time model,

Sharon. She never fails to inspire. I love this image

so much, I actually did another version of it in another

color scheme. That may seems strange - until you look

at Degas. Not that I am comparing myself  to that

19th C. Master, who is one of my idols.  But, he did

literally recycle poses and positions of models from

one painting or drawing to another. It's fascinating.

He was the most modern painter of his group, no doubt.

History will show this to be true as time goes on.

Thanks for visiting today.

Sophie at Fifteen

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Oil Pastel and Mechanical Pencil on Gray gesso-primed canvas, 4" square

This is a picture of my daughter when she was about 15, I think. I have

done a lot of paintings and drawings of her, and she always looked very

sophisticated beyond her years. I like this image because she looks more

her age, and also displays her "lost-in-thought" character.

I have a large set of Sennelier oil pastels - well two really. One, I put

together little by little over the years as I could afford them, and it also

includes Holbein and Caran d'Ache oil pastels. Except for the Holbeins,

which are square, I keep them sharpened to a point with a large-hole

pencil sharpener. The other set I finally bought on sale. It is so

I can hardly stand to use it. It includes ten or twelve iridescents that

breathtaking. They look white, but iridesce to yellow/purple, pink/green,

orange/blue, and so on. Those are also all sharpened to a point.

They are fun to work with, because you can just draw with them, or, you

can manipulate them with palette knives or brushes, and also with

painting mediums. For this piece I used Winsor & Newton's Liquin Detail

Painting Medium, as I was working so small. I don't generally care

for working on canvas, because of the texture, but this was OK. I have to say

in this case, the photograph truly does not do the piece justice.

Two Golden Pears

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Soft pastels on Sennelier Carte Pastel Board, approx. 7" x 5"

These two Bosc pears weren't in very good shape anymore, but they still had

some beautiful colors in them, and in the right light they were worthy subject

matter. I had a piece of Carte Pastel left, in one of their colors - which are very

strage, by the way - this one is sort of a cross between tan, curried chicken, and

moss. I scanned the image. Whether a photograph or a scan, it's terribly difficult

to give a color image its due. The "golden" quality doesn't really come through, for

some reason. Oh well, I guess you'll just have to imagine it.

Thanks for visiting.

Angel from Another World

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Pastel on Wallis sanded pastel board washed with blue watercolor, 10" x 6 6/8".

This is an interpretation of a photograph of a cemetary angel. I really like the

colors, and I love working in pastel. I never get tired of it! It is a wonderful break

from painting. I don't have to wash and brushes, and I love to draw!

15-Minute Color Sketch of Standing Nude Female Model

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6 1/2" x 11 1/2" on Canson Mi Tientes paper

This was done as a demonstration for some

students in class a couple of Saturdays ago.

I teach a figure drawing class every Saturday

morning, and have for about 17 years - has it

really been that long? I can't believe it.

The problem here was to work with a very

limited selection of Carb-Othello pastel

pencils (wonderful!!), on grey paper, or any

mid-tone colored paper of their choice.

The colors they had to work with were: White,

Naples Yellow (Conte), Sanguine, Light Blue,

Cadmium Red Light, Brown, and a Black

charcoal pencil.

This demo really was only 15 minutes. My

class is 3 hours long, but I don't like to take

up too much time with demonstrations, because

we spend quite a while warming up, and also

I am very against the idea of having my students

all trying to draw like I do. I've been drawing for

54 years. Most of them have just started.

I like to encourage my students to find their

own voice, and although most do realism, I don't

demand that either.

Thanks for stopping by.

Oil Sketch of Posing Male Nude's Back

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Oil on Gessoed and Oil-Primed Archival Paper, 7" x 10"

This is a quickly-done limited palette oil sketch done in class

as a demo for students. I was quite happy with the results here,

and am only selling it because, like everyone else, I haveto make

a living. This model, unfortunately, moved to Floridathis year,

much to everyone's chagrin. He was a fine person,and a fabulous

model.

Peppers and Turquoise

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This is a very small painting. It is only 6" x 3". Therefore, I was able to do it in just
one afternoon. I like the colors. I deliberately made the background and foreground
turquoise. So often paintings of this type have brown backgrounds, or the reverse.
That can undoubtedly be beautiful - but it's done all the time. I wanted to try some-
thing that I don't see all the time. Whether or not it's successful, I'll leave up to
you. It sure is fun to be painting again though.

Thanks for visiting.

Margie's Angel

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This oil over brown under-painting was done on a gessoed 6" x 6"
masonite panel. The main part of the features that you can see
are the underpainting. There are many glazes as well: transparent
Gold Ochre, Indian Yellow, Transparent Red Earth, Transparent
Yellow, and then also a great deal of opaque paint.

This is a fun way to paint. Solve the drawing part first, and then
you are relatively free to fool around with color.

Thanks for visiting today.

P.S. You may have noticed that I've added Google Ad Sense to my
blog. I hope you don't think that mercenary of me.....times are
hard......for everyone.

Sgraffito Drawing/Demo of the Charioteer of Delphi

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This is actually the first sgraffito drawing that I ever did, and
I have used it for years as a demo piece when I am teaching this
unusual but ancient technique to my students. That is why it is
covered with squiggles, pieces of perfectly matched curved-cross-
hatching (done with a tool that has six pieces of wire all the same
length sticking out of a metal holder), and other various messy
marks. There is even some gold Sennelier oil pastel on his hair
ornament - unfortunately, the luminosity of it has faded over the
years.

I have described elsewhere in my blog how to do this technique, so
I won't repeat myself here.

Tomorrow I will present a painting I've been working on for a little
bit every day for a few days. It is the same composition as one
presented on this blog, but with a new interpretation coloristically.
It certainly was fun painting it! And I spent this day, mapping out the coming
week. I have so many paintings I want to do - and this is just the small
ones that can be done in a day or two - that I don't know how I'll ever finish
them!! It's so exciting.

I did a silly thing the other day though - and if anyone who is reading this
happens to have an "in" with Google, or is just more "internet savvy" than I am,
please let me know if you can help me out!

I was looking at my account here, and they suggested that I change my Google-given
URL for my blog to a domain name (at a price, of course...), so like a perfect
consumer, I bought one. Alas, AFTER I purchased it I realized there was a
serious typo in it. It was supposed to read: priscillatreacyfineart.com, BUT,
it reads priscilltreacyfineart.com.

I haven't been able to get in touch with them
through their byzantine "help" pages, I even contacted Enon, the company they
work together with in producing these domain name. Any query has lead
me to absolutely nowhere. And of course, there is never a phone number mentioned
ANYWHERE. There is nothing in Google's FAQ that even touches on this problem.
I offered to cancel, and start all over, but they didn't like that at all. No, no.

So, now I am stuck with a domain name with a misspelled name, and no one will
be able to find my blog, and I have NO idea how to fix it. Does anyone out there
know how! HELP!!

I would most grateful for any ideas - and thank you for visiting today.

Oil Color Monotype: Italian Geometrics I

NFS

I explained the procedure for this type of monotype in my blog
on Monday. This one was used as a book cover by the David R. Godine
Publishing Co. in Boston, in 1984, for a memoir by Iris Origo, titled
War in Val d'Orcia. I was very happy when they decided to use it,
of course. Also, I didn't have to deal with any art directors telling me
what to do! It was a free ride!

Thanks for visiting today.

Tomorrow is "P" day - I begin to paint in earnest. I am so excited!!

Pastel and Charcoal Head of Roman Warrior

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I have to admit that I love this drawing. It is done
in a method that I call "veils of color". It is done on
white bond sketch-weight paper. You do a drawing
with 1/8" round vine charcoal, and then go over that
with Nupastel in whatever color you want. This can
correct and mistakes if you are not done with the drawing,
or if you are, it can begin to suggest a color plan or direction,

Then I further develop the drawing with the vine, and add
more pastel, spraying between layers. I know that is contrary
to what most people think as pastel technique, but this is
just something I developed on my own, and I really like to
draw this way. It is very freeing, and fun. You never really
know what you are going to get. If you use regular fixative,
the paper remains smooth, and you can apply hard and soft
pastels, and charcoal pencils also - actually I prefer carbon
pencils, because they don't smear as much.

If you use Matte medium spray it leave little tiny globules
of spray on the paper, giving it a tiny tooth that is just great
for grabbing onto very soft pastel, in rich saturated colors.

Monotype of a Terracotta Pot at Nero's Villa on Capri

NFS
This is an example of how accidents sometime work
to our advantage in art. This is an oil paint monotype,
which I painted on a small zinc plate (4" x 5"). Actually,
I used this same plate over and over again.

This is the view from the patio of Nero's Villa which is
on the very top of the island of Capri off the coast of Naples.
It is said that he used to throw hapless people off just to amuse
himself.

Anyway, the procedure for this consists of drawing an
image onto the plate with a 6B pencil, and then painting
the image with oil paint diluted with turpentine. For some
reason turpentine works the best, which is a shame, as I
have developed a tendency to develop migraines if I get
anywhere near it. The paint isn't as thin as watercolor,
just "thinned", and it can be manipulated with dry brushes,
and also with brushes that are wet with solvent and then mostly
dried off. Apparently, during this process a bit of turpentine
got away and dribbled down the front of the terracotta pot.
But, what a happy accident! It's really doing a marvelous
imitation of the characteristic surface of these aged pots.

This was from a series called "Italian Geometrics". They were
all 4"' x 5", and they were all oil monotypes. I have two others.
One was used as a book cover once. I felt so lucky.

Essence Sketch of Reclining Model

NFS
Well, I am happy to say that my hand is finally healed,
and I no longer have to wear my hand support (excepting
when I am typing on the computer for long stretches). I
have been gathering ideas for things that I want to paint,
and I am looking forward to the coming week when I will
begin in earnest to become involved in my work again.

I know that after such a long time away from my regular
routine it will be touch and go at first. I have always
thought ( and I tell my students this) of "artistic ability",
whatever it is, as something that we don't really "own" per
se, it comes and hangs around for a while, and graces our
lives with happiness when we have it - but it can just as
easily leave for awhile. I console myself knowing that
Edward Hopper, whose work I truly admire, didn't paint
for five years at one point. Hard to imagine, but true.
Just think how unhappy he must have been!

Well, today I have an essence (check back in former posts
for a definition) drawing on Canson pastel paper. I am very
fond of this one. It is not for sale, because it was already sold.
I'm so glad I have a picture of it. I wish I had the real thing.

Thanks for visiting today.

Gouache Wash Drawing of Male Model in Class

NFS

This was a demo drawing I did in the figure
class that I teach at the Art League School in
Alexandria, Virginia.

I love working in gouache! It is opaque water-
color and can be used either opaquely or trans-
parently. Either way, it is fun to work with,
especially with the figure. It is easy to be loose
and free with gouache. If you love drawing the
figure you should try it!

Thanks for visiting today.

Rocks and Ocean

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This small painting is an example of using a monochromatic
under painting, in this case a brown one - as a base for adding
color. It is fairly easy to harmonize a painting if you use a tight,
limited palette of colors and such an under painting. The under
painting, or grisaille, from the French for "gray", has to be in a
discernible color, not in black and white. A gray could be used,
but it would work best if it were a gray influenced noticeably by
a color, such as blue, or lavender.

Monotype of the View from Rte.460, Blacksburg, VA

SOLD
This monotype was painted in watersoluble oils on Yupo watercolor paper, which
is really just a piece of white plastic rolled out very thin. It is fun to use this as
a support , because you can really see what your image will look like when printed -
except that it will be backwards of course, if you are using an etching press, which
I always do. -- This image is mostly done from memory. I rode up and down this
highway so many times that I can still see it clearly now, even though I was there
almost thirty years ago.

Thanks for visiting today.

Watercolor Monotype of a Versailles Statue

NFS
This image was created by painting with Prang
watercolors, and drawing with Caran d'Ache
Neocolor Water-soluble crayons on frosted Mylar.
Then, after soaking a piece of Magnani white
printmaking paper, and blotting off all of the
standing water, I ran the two together through
an etching press. A plastic plate of roughly the
same dimensions as the print was used to shore
up the image and create more pressure and
create a platemark around it, which is clearly
visible in this picture.

This is a really fun technique. If you cover your
Mylar with gum arabic, Watercolor Medium (gum
arabic with acetic acid in it to preserve it), or even
dishwashing liquid, and allow that to dry, you can
then create an image and print it by hand - but you
must be sure that your paper is damp enough for
the image to transfer. The watersoluble coating
underneath your drawing is dissolved by the damp
paper and lifts up with the drawing on top of it,
and the whole thing transfers to your printmaking
paper.

Obviously, using a press is easier!

Lesli's Back

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This is a painting of a young woman who used to model for me
before she moved to New York to seek her fortune in music and
the theatre. Not only was she blessed with physical beauty, but
with a lustrous operatic voice, and acting talent! She has already
performed with Shakespeare in the Park. I am so proud of her.
She certainly made an inspiring model though. We all miss her.

Thanks for visiting.

Drypoint Etching of Bassoonists

NFS
I did this drypoint as a commission for a man who collected musical instruments.

Because in drypoint you are drawing with a diamond point, the only way to create

tone is to build up layers of lines. It took me eight hours just to draw the large

bassoon in the front of the image.

Some people have asked me if I copied this from Degas, because it is reminiscent

of some of his concert paintings. I did not. I used various photo references of

musicians and made the rest up.

The man who commissioned it asked for an edition of twenty prints. I printed all

of them, which isn't easy with a zinc drypoint plate - the burr that creates the

image tends to wear down.

The man didn't buy a single copy. That's the life of an artist for you. But, I don't

care, because after all this time, this is still one of my favorite pieces.

Thanks for visiting today.

Drypoint Etching of "L'Artiste"

NFS
This image was drawn, like my last post, on a piece of zinc, with
a diamond point. It was drawn from a book about the history of the
circus, and I know I should have more information than that,
but there was no photographic credit for this photo, and I was so
captivated by it , particularly the face, that I just went ahead and
drew it. As a matter of fact, I drew the face three times on three
separate plates! It is just a tiny collection of marks.

One wouldn't think it would cause such a problem - but I wanted
it to be perfect -- and finally, I felt it was. I just love the line
variation in dry point etching - for instance, in the side of
the ball, or the curve of her raised leg. It is not like anything
else. Sadly, I have never printed an edition of this

Thanks for visiting today.

Drypoint Etching of Colette after a photo by Cecil Beaton

NFS
I did this drypoint many years ago, back when I had first learned
how to use it. It was drawn on a zinc plate with a diamond point.
I did a pencil drawing first that was really loose and wild.

I remember that I sat down to work at about 5:00 pm, and didn't get
up again until it was finished at 2:00 in the morning (oh- to be able
to do that now......!). This is truly one of my favorite dry points I have
every done, because it shows all the variation of line of which the
dry point line is capable. It is so seductive. I rarely do these anymore.

My press is in storage because of lack of space. Perhaps that will change
soon. I certainly hope so. Printmaking was my fist experience of having
a "style" in my work - something which was talked about by my less-
enlightened teachers in graduate school as though it were something
you could go downtown and pick up at the variety store. It's something
that has to evolve on its own. And, I know now, having been a teacher
for 33 years, that it often is the result of an epiphany brought about
by an encounter with an inspiring medium. That is how it happened
for me.

Oil on Vellum Sketch of Nude Male

NFS
Although this looks like a life study, it was actually

painted from Eadward Muybridge's collection of

photographs The Human Figure in Motion. This

interesting study of men, women and children

in motion, using stop -action photography against

gridded backgrounds was done in the early 20th

Century, but has been reprinted and is available

today.

It is a fabulous reference source for anyone who

wants to practice figure drawing and doesn't have

a live model. The only drawback is that the pictures

are about 1.5" x 3". One can blow them up on a xerox

machine however. Some of them are very inspiring.

He was obviously much more interested in the mails

who, in general are in lively poses, including sports,

running, even wrestling. While he has his women

walking prettily up the stairs waving scarves, sweeping

and standing nicely by tables with pitchers.

The book is published by Dover Publications, in case

you are interested.

Thanks for visiting today.

Blue & Gold Lesli Triptych

NFS
This is an oil painting on board that I did several years ago. I
know that the pose is a bit strange, but I love the "arabesque"
created by her holding her arms up in the air like this. I was
happy with the iridescent quality of the turquoise fabric and
leaves in the side panels. There were supposed to be gold-leafed
spacers between the three panels, but the gallery owner who sold
the piece never got around to framing it that way, unfortunately.

Thanks for visiting today. My arm is healing, and I hope to be able
to begin doing some painting by the end of next week. Thanks to
all of you who have written in with comments of concern. I truly
appreciate that.

Demo Drawing of a Recumbant Figure

NFS
This small drawing is a demonstration in graphite pencil of drawing a

reclining figure. The arrow that seems to be shooting out from her

right breast is pointing out the concept of "negative space", or "background

shapes" - those shapes within, and outside of, a pose that one can utilize

to make it easier to get the figure in proportion.

Leslie and Reeds Triptych - Oil Painting on Board

NFS
I did this oil painting several years ago, and I really like it. I like
the contrast between the muted colors in the side panels with
the more vivid colors of her clothing and drapery. I also love the
angle of her head which is so graceful.

Thanks for visiting today. I have a brace on my hand, because I
seriously pulled several ligaments in my arm when I fell off of my
bike, so my dreams of painting are going to have to be postponed for
a little while, hence, the exhibition of past works....

Oil Monotype of Dark Purple Iris

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This is an example of the type of monotype that is painted with

diluted oil paints on a zinc plate. I have done many of these in my

life, and with this medium have created some of my favorite

images. It is a fairly demanding medium, because you have to

dilute the paint to just the right consistency; you need to use

Turpentine, which I really can't stand (it gives me migraines,

even though I grew up with it because my mother was a painter

and used it constantly); and to manipulate the image, it has

to be semi-dry, or "set-up" to exactly the right state. At that point

you can take a pointed sable brush that is damp with solvent

and push the paint around on the plate - remove it, shape it,

add more, etc.. Then, it is printed on a dampened and blotted

piece of fine printmaking paper. The wonderful thing about

it is that oil and water don't mix, so that the oil image floats

semi-mysteriously, forever, on the surface of the paper - kind

of like a watercolor - but not. People ask my why I make these

instead of doing watercolors. That is why. They are not the

same in ANY way. You make a lot of losers, but when you make

a keeper, it is like nothing else. This isn't even one of my favorites.

Those are things I will never part with.

After Greek Statue of a Boy Wrestling a Goose

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This drawing, which measures about 5.5." x 7.5", was

drawn entirely with a blending stump charged

with graphite powder on a piece of gessoed watercolor paper.

I have always been inspired to draw by ancient works, as

you must know if you are familiar at all with my blog. But

I've always had a particular fondness for this statue. In

this drawing the goose is given a very perfuntory render-

ing so you cannot really see him, but the sinous lines of

the statue's design still come through, I think.

I did do a large green pastel drawing of this same work, but I
was never satisfied with it. In that work the goose was quite
realistically rendered, but I wasn't happy with the boy...
oh well, it's always something.

I'm so excited! I just purchased a set of an entirely new
type of acrylics, called Interactive. They are made in
Australia, and have quite revolutionary characteristics
for acrylics. More about that later. I can't wait to use
them!

Thanks for visiting today.

Watercolor Monotype of Aphrodite Removing a Thorn from her Foot (after a Greek statue c. 300 BCE)

NFS
This very small image is one of my favorite

things. It is a watercolor monotype.

There are several ways of making these. This

one was made by taking a piece of frosted Mylar,

and adhering it with some Studio-Tac to a thin

acetate printing plate.

Then I created the image with a combination of

water-soluble Caran d'Ache crayons, and Prang

watercolors.

Notice that there is a red line drawn around the

image. This is to create a barrier that will keep

any paint from oozing out into the margins

of the printing paper and spoiling the image.

This image is just about 10% larger than it

is in real life.

Thanks for visiting today.

Pastel Drawing of a Tree after one in a Medieval Painting

NFS
This is an odd reproduction of this picture. It is actually much

more colorful than this. Perhaps it is because I scanned it.

The paper I drew it on was Sennelier gray pastel paper, which

had quite a heavy texture - this is hardly noticeable in real

life. Anyway, the blues don't come through as they should.

This is a tree that has always caught my attention in a small

painting in the Medieval to Early Renaissance section in the

National Gallery in Washington, which I am lucky to say is

only about twenty minutes from where I live. Unfortunately,

I never wrote down the name of the artist, but I do remember

that it is a depiction of the devil (with very large, nasty horns,

but dressed for some unexplained reason, like a Franciscan)

tempting Christ in the wilderness. An odd picture, but the

tree is sublime.

Thanks for visitng today.

PS - I fell off of my bicycle and injured both of my arms, so

it will be a few more days before we see anything really

NEW here. Please have patience.

After a Donatello TerraCotta Bust of Niccolo da Vezzano, ca. 1430

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This is a gouache and gold paint (you can't see the gold paint in

this photo) study from a picture of a terra cotta bust of Niccolo

do Vezzano, ca. 1430. Niccolo must have been a Franciscan Monk,

judging from his dress. But what drew me to his image was his

soulful, kind face, and the wonderful shapes in his habit, that

inspired in me some loose line work with a brush of which I have

to admit I am very proud. It is impossible to really reproduce this

image, unfortunately. There are delicate pinks and blues in it,

particularly in the margins, that just don't come across in the

reproduction. There is a gold line around the image which glitters

in the light , and adds a slight sacred touch.

Susan with a Towel on her Head

NFS
This is a pencil drawing of my sister, Susan, with a towel arranged
artfully on her head. Doesn't she have beautiful eyes? They have
always looked this way, ever since she was a baby - and we have
the photographs to prove it! Except, this was drawn from life.

I know, the towel is strange....I just liked the shapes it made, and
the way the crossover at the top complemented her high forehead.
I have always been into the Renaissance. I think that is kind of
the influence here.

Thanks for visiting today.

Sgraffito Head of Alexander

NFS
I am working on some drawings that are coming

along, but they are not finished. I feel like posting

things, so in the meantime, I am posting works from

the past of which I am very fond or proud.

This piece was done in the "sgraffito" method, which

is very ancient, as it was used in pottery centuries

ago. This particular work was done by laying down a

layer of crayons in patina colors, and going over that

with a layer of olive green/brown Caran d'Ache Neo-

Color Oil Pastel. That is smoothed out, and then a
drawing was executed using a tool that has several

wires coming out of the end, almost like a comb, which

enables me to do several lines at once, to do rather

easy curved cross-hatching. I finished it off with

some embellishment with Sennelier cobalt turquoise

oil pastel, which is as soft as lipstick.

Thanks for visiting today.

PS - I promise you will see some newer

work very soon.

Gouache Sketch of a Woman with a Minotaur

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This very loose study after a Florentine sculpture
of a woman fighting off the unwanted advances
of a Minotaur was very exciting to do. I did it
on Canson Montval sketchbook paper, so I felt
I could let go and just experiment. I have a lot of'
those notebooks, because they always make me
feel relaxed.
This was created with a combination of gouache
(also known as "body color", or opaque watercolor)
and indelible ink pen. I also used a lot of thin
black outlines with a tiny watercolor brush,
and a great deal of opaque white. I love the
turquoise blue - I am always seduced by that!

Man with a Hat

NFS
I didn't have a chance to do anything today, so I decided to post

something I had already done, because I love it so much. This is

a pencil drawing, and I like its line quality and the feeling in it.

Reclining Nude - Study for a Larger Work

NFS
This is a very small drawing - about 4" by 5". It was done in
colored pencil and graphite on some thin yellow paper. The
reason it is squared up is that I intend it to be a study for a larger
work. What kind of work that is to be, I do not know. Monotype?
Painting? Pastel? Drawing? Who knows? At least I am doing
some artwork again!!!

If you have been following this blog, you will have noticed that
my last post was October 30th, 2008. Sometimes we just haven't
got it. It just isn't there. I have always had this concept of
artistic "talent" or whatever you want to call it, as something
that we don't own. It comes and visits us for awhile. Sometimes
it is a very pleasant visit. Other times....well....you know. There
are a lot of things I want to do now. I wanted to do them before.
I just couldn't. These people who work everyday amaze me, and
have my greatest admiration.

Thanks for visiting today. Hopefully, there will be something
here very soon again. NFS

Pompeiian Peaches

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Pastel on Black Paper, 10" x 10"

Three days ago I went to the Pompeii exhibition at the
National Gallery of Art in DC. It was very impressive.
They had some mesmerizingly beautiful sculptures, and
some wonderful frescoes and small pieces of paintig.

This started out as a set up with a picture of a painting by

Luigi Lucioni (one of my favorite aritsts - fabulous realist

paintings, deceased) behind the peaches. Gradually it

evolved into this picture, which appears to be a rip off from

a Roman fresco, but is merely inspired by one. It was fun

building up the pastel, spraying it, and see what would

happen after that.

Thanks for visiting today.

Two Shells and Velvet

Go Here to Bid

Pastel and Charcoal on Paper, 14" x 17

I just love these two shells. The colors in them are so different -
one is cold and the other is warm. The nautilus shell is such a
challenge, with its overall gray lustre and cold pink highlight.
While the conch is accented with an almost screaming flamingo
pink. I liked the contrast of these colors with the dark background
and the rich wine-colored velvet - I love those velvet highlights.
This was a fun and difficult picture to paint, but I'm pretty happy
with it over all.

Head of Hypnos

SOLD

Pastel, Charcol and Conte Crayon on White Paper

This is a demo drawing I did for my students in my "Painterly

Pastel" class at the Art League School. Usually I find I find it hard

to draw in front of people, but because it was a holiday there

were only three people in attendance that day. Amazingly, I was

actuallly able to concentrate, and produced this drawing, which

I actually like - a lot!

Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep, and this bronze head, which

isn't really this color (I like to mix it up when I am doing this type

of drawing....) has a wing coming out of the side of his head. It just

drives me crazy. I must have at least five pictures of this sculpture

from different angles. I just love it! I find it inspiring and beguiling

at the same time. This is the first time I've ever felt that I did it

justice, actually.

I've been in an art funk for a while, and haven't been posting -

obviously. Hopefully I'm coming out of it now, and will be back

to presenting some works for your consideration, if not daily,

at least a few times a week.

Thanks for visiting!

Landscape by a River

10" x 12", Oil Monotype on Paper SOLD

This was really fun. I used Yupo paper as the plate for my

monotype, and watersoluble oils for my paints. You can

lay down a thin layer of slow-drying medium (it has to me

the kind made for watersoluble oils) with a credit card and

work into that. I roll the paint on, different colors in

different areas, and then manipulate it with old brushes,

sponges, sticks, my fingers, whatever..........it's really fun.

Thanks for visiting today.

Blue Harmony

Go Here to Bid                                                        1 SOLD

6" x 8", Oil over Grisaille on Board, NFS, >BUT:

Offering 5 Giclee Prints for sale, each archivally

printed on Hahnemuhle rag art paper, sized at 8" x 9",

with image at 6" x 8" as depicted// For sale> Email:

priscillacalhoun317@hotmail.com to purchase @ $50.00.

There are three copies of this giclee print left.

This is a painting of my daughter, wearing an

Indian wedding shawl. Her hair is not really this

red! However, I thought that it harmonized so

beautifully witht the colors in the shawl, and the

reflected color on her skin, that I would pretend

it was. She actually does have a lot of natural red

in her hair, that really comes out in the sunlight,

and has increased as she's gotten older. This is

one of my favorite paintings I have ever done of

her.

Thank you for visiting.

Demo Essence Sketch of Figure Model

NFS
7.5" x 11.5", Essence on Canson Paper

This is a demonstration that I did in my

workshop at The Art League School. This

is why it is not finished. The focus of the

class was gestural painting. We were deli-

berately trying to keep things loose.

Academic realism was not our goal.

We had a great time! For and explanation

of essence, look at previous posts.

Thanks for visiting.

Man from the Back in Essence

NFS
5" x 9", Essence on Canson Paper

Another example of the technique

I will be teaching in my workshop.

It looks rather like pastel or gouache

when it is dry, because of the lack

of oil in the paint. I really like this

way of painting.

Did I mention that you can paint an

entire grisaille and then paint an entire

picture in color over that? So much

fun....

Lesli Modeling in Class

24" x 14", Essence on Canson, SOLD

I really was pleased with the colors in this
piece, particularly considering that I did
it from a black and white photo that I had
taken of the model after class. I find that
that is a good exercise. It frees you to be
more imaginative with "skin color".

Now, how about Bonnard......see any

"skin color" there? Then again, perhaps

he thought he was painting skin colors.

We'll never know, but whatever it was,

it certainly was sublime, and we are

luckier for it.

Seated Model & Monochromatic Sketch of Walking Nude

Upper- Essence on Canson Paper,

Lower - Oil on Vellum Tracing Paper

Because this vellum paper has a treated surface,

and is impervious to oils, it is possible to

paint on it with paint right out of the tube.

The upper study was done from life,
however, the lower drawing was

actually done not from life, but from

a tiny figure in Eadward Muybridge's

classic text The Human Figure in Motion,

which is full of hundreds of photos of nudes,

all of which were taken using stop-action

photography in the late 19th, and early 2oth

centuries, against gridded walls.

He also took photographs of horses running (one

of which Degas used as a model for one of his sculptures),

and of birds flying.

Essence, and also painting on vellum, are two

of the techniques I will be teaching

next week in my Gesturing the Figure in Oils

workshop at the Art League School in

Alexandria, Virginia. - We will be working from

live models however.

Thanks for visiting today.

Incomplete Flower Study

Go Here to Bid
3.5" x 6", Gouche on WC Paper

I'm not sure what this flower is. I did it

from a photo in a flower catalogue online,

but a just love the colors, and actually

love the unfinished quality of it. I don't think

I am meant to paint big, histrionic paintings.

I think I was probably a monk in a former

lifetime illuminating manuscripts in a

monastery, full of flowers and gold leaf

ornamentation. Things like that make

me happy.

Thanks for visiting today.

Tomorrow I am going to get back to

oil painting, and also I need to get back

to the figure.

Blue Breakers

4" x 5", Gouache on Plate Bristol Board

I did not find this picture easy to do. At one point I actually
rinsed it off under the tap. That was a good thing, as it revealed
(as it can do), some subtle tones and textures I wouldn't have
seen had I not done that. I really wanted it to be semi-abstract,
as I love a balance of realism and abstract. I find that very
intriguing.

As it is, I am fairly satisfied with this effort, as I absolutely love
the colors. If you haven't tried gouache (opaque watercolor) yet,
you ought to give it a try. You don't actually have to run out and
buy a "set" of gouache if you have a set of watercolors. All you need
is a tube of Chinese White, which I learned today was invented in
1834 (and certainly made good use of by Turner, who left no less
than 20,000 works of art at his death!).

You can mix the Chinese White with the watercolor. This is actually
how gouache (then known as "bodycolour" ) was originally done in
the 18th century. Hmm.....interesting. Anyway, it is really fun to
work with, because you can use it transparently or opaquely, and
any "mistake" can be covered up. It is kind of like oils, really, except
that you really can't "blend" it so much, and it does tend to dry a bit
lighter than it is when it is wet.

Thanks for visiting today.

"Essence" Nude Sketch of a Very Pale Model

7" x 9", "Essence" on "Sand" Canson Paper,

SOLD

This sketch was done in a technique called

"Peinture a l'essence" that was commonly used

by Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. I think I may

have mentioned this previously a few months

back. To do this, you have to soak the oil out of

the paint on blotters or paper towels overnight.

Then, you transfer the paint to a paletter, and

use it, without adding any medium (this is very

important), but just diluting with solvent ("essence")

means "solvent" in French). This enables you to paint

right on any paper, without preparing it with a ground,

such as gesso, rabbit skin glue, or shellac.

The effect is a very mat one, and sometimes people

think these paintings are pastels. Toulouse-Lautrec's

famouse paintings on cardboard in the National

Gallery were all done this way. And, while they are

more than one hundred years old, there is still no

oil stain around the images.

I am going to be teaching a workshop in this soon.

Thanks for visiting today.