Another Classroom Demonstration

Wow! I love real paint work!

Thank you Vince, I sweated blood doing this one.

Janice is a beautiful name not seen about much these days but prevalent in the late 1960's. I had a girlfriend in high school with the name of janice and I will never forget her. Now a Janice is my daughter's husband's mother in New Jersey! Very cool!

Here is an oil painting I did of my mother in 2002. Of course, I see a lot of things I'd do differently now. She recently turned 86, but unfortunately she is in an assisted living facility a thousand miles away, unable to walk, and doesn't recognize my voice and oftentimes not even my name when I call. It's not my best portrait, but I'll be keeping it. I only posted this to share.. will remove it soon.

Vincent when I met Janice, some 51 years ago, and she told me her name, I told her that she was the first "Janice" that I ever met. Since then I think I have only met two other "Janices' and both were friends of my wife's.

Sarah, that is one beautiful painting of your mother. She must be very happy with it.

This brings to my mind something I said to my children years ago. We live in a fairly nice neighborhood where most of our neighbors own summer homes, drive very big cars and have swimming pools in their back yards. My children asked me why we don't have a swimming pool, own a summer home or have BMWs and other expensive cars in our driveway? I explained it this way, I said, "Guys, our neighbors work every week creating paychecks and I work every week creating memories." Well, their paychecks have been spent long ago but my memories keep coming back and help to keep me young and happy. Sarah, that's what you accomplished when you painted that portrait of your mother because long after you are painting clouds way up in that sky your Grandchildren and their Grandchildren will still be appreciating that painting you did.

Thank you, Harold, for your kind comments. Some years ago, I did some major culling... surely at least a foot thick of drawings and unframed canvases that I just decided to junk. I had a friend over at the time and told her to pick out anything she wanted. She was literally beside herself at all the free art just for the taking!!! Some art works I will keep for different reasons... some because they still look good, some for experimental and aging purposes, others that I tested some new techniques, and some for purely nostalgic or personal reasons. I still have paints and papers unused that are over 40 years old. My entire house is my studio.

Harold, I've had occasions when people tell me they have a piece of art that I did for them many, many years ago. Oddly, I'm finding that I'm forgetting a lot of the stuff I did unless I see it again. People tend to keep originals no matter how good or bad.

Both are amazingly beautiful paintings. I have yet to attempt painting a portrait.
I'm sure it will happen soon, but it won't look anything like these.

Wives and mothers. Yep. Beautiful work.

Beautiful portrait Harold, Janice looks young! I sweat blood and tears too when I paid maybe for a different reason (I'm new at drawing/painting).

Sarah, beautiful portrait also!

Thank you very much Joe.

WOW! Suzanne you are one fantastic artist. I love your art. You may be new at drawing and painting but you are a seasoned designer with (I'm guessing Photoshop) You must be one of FAA's top sellers. I am responding to this post with my IPad but I am going down to my studio a little later to check out all your art on my Mac computer.

What did Janice say about her portrait upon first seeing it?

Seems a tough trial for any painter to make happy a person who's portrait is being made.

Hiya Vincent,
My wife is the hardest person to please when it comes to art, probably since she has seen so many paintings, designs, that I have done throughout the years. Of the hundreds of paintings that she has seen of mine, this one is her favorite. It always has been her favorite since I painted it way back in the late 60s. An art collector in Baltimore purchased it.



As far as my portraiture goes, most people whom I have painted or just the ones who have seen my paintings are more impressed with the fact that I can get a likeness of my subject rather than how good or bad the painting is. As for me, I am more impressed with a good painting instead of whether or not the artist caught a likeness of the subject. To me, an artist must first go for a great painting in composition and technique before he concentrates on the likeness. That should be a given.

It's absolutely charming! I see it as a work of art as well as a brilliant reflection of a very complicated and uniquely successful artist and person, W.C. Fields.
My wife and I have a cool 18" ceramic figure of Fields holding a cigar and with a big head and top hat!

Vincent, that was the first and also the last straw hat that I ever painted. I think it took me longer to paint that damn hat than it did to paint the face. But it's real funny how you can remember little things like that on paintings you did several decades ago. It seems that I can remember the problems I had rather than the successes. But I guess that's how one learns. It has been said many times that you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes.

Looking closely it is symmetrical and graduated like a Vaserely graphic. The straw weave pattern and light reflection is precise. Dali made a big deal too about the basket he had painted containing bread in one painting. I did an oil of a basket of fruit from life and really had to get away from it when I got to the basket weaving part!

Thanks Vincent, it's nice to know that I wasn't the only one who had troubles with something made out of straw. Well, I'm off to see a man about some automobile insurance. CA later.

"it took me longer to paint that damn hat than it did to paint the face."

I can see why... you did a great job (of course). Things like that are hard to draw because if you screw up the perspective even a little bit, the whole thing looks wrong.

It has been ages since I did a demonstration. I found them particularly difficult because in that scenario I felt obligated to talk while painting. I find talking while painting very distracting.

Thank you Harold for the compliment, you made my day! Amazing of WC Fields not only is the painting lifelike the composition is superb!

David:
Yes, painting or sketching outside in tourist areas can be difficult for the same reason... people expect you to pay attention to a conversation and focus on drawing at the same time, and most non-artists don't realize how hard that can be.

For demos there are a number of ways to reduce the embarrassing "distracted... oops, messed up the painting" effect.
(1) do a version of the painting / drawing at home, first. Then most of the drawing/painting problems are solved before you get started - the thinking part was done at home.
(2) bring the painting / drawing to a place where there's a lot of repetitive stuff to do that you don't have to think about... that's a less interesting demo for the viewer, but you don't have to think about what you're doing so much.
(3) ask people not to talk to you - sometimes works, sometimes doesn't - and also if you're doing the demo as a promotion for your work or as a teaching exercise, sometimes not talking isn't an option.
(4) demo a technique that's very forgiving, if you make a mistake it doesn't matter, or the casual observer won't notice
(5) don't worry about making mistakes, & bring the painting home later & fix it. If possible.
(6) take over the conversation -- if you keep talking nonstop about what you're doing -- every little step you do and what you're thinking while you're doing it comes out your mouth - then there isn't room for people to interrupt and ask questions that disrupt your concentration.

Thank you Cheryl and as I said - it's also the last one I will paint. Here's another thing I will never paint again...a reflection. I painted the 3 leopards on top then I traced the 3 leopards with every spot, flipped my painting upside down, traced everything down and painted them a second time. After I painted them exactly as you see them right side up I airbrushed black over them until they looked like a reflection. Needless to say, it took a very long time. Here it is:

David, that's because you're not a motormouth like me. I talk and paint all at the same time. To make sure none of my students are falling asleep, I also crack a few jokes while I'm painting. I love an audience. :)

Thank you Suzanne. That was a very easy compliment for me to make. You are a very talented artist.

Cheryl, the only thing I do at home before a class is, if I'm doing a portrait, I draw it on my canvas board before the class. All the painting is done during the class.

NOTE: I am looking for more students for my WEdnesday night class, so if anybody living in my area is interested please contact. If you don't have a phone, send a carrier pigeon.