“Angel Announces Birth of the Savior” Painting by Ginger Dean, Oil on Linen 8in x 10in.
Angel Announces Birth of Savior – Painting
Author Archives: Ginger Dean
‘Fall’ Has Started – Beginning the 3rd Panel
It’s remarkable how laying in the darkest darks on a toned canvas can say so much; visually that is. Here are a few glimpses of the beginning of the ‘Fall’ panel for the mural “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”.
Darks Being Laid Into the ‘Fall’ Panel of Mural ‘The Family: A Proclamation to the World” by Ginger Dean
Color lay in on the ‘Fall’ Panel for ‘The Family; A Prolcamation to the World’ Mural by Ginger Dean
Limited Palette: 4 Hues + White – Art Club Assignment
Assignment: Use only 4 hues or colors to paint a picture. White can also be used.
- Use 3 primary colors such as Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Yellow. Add Raw Sienna or Burnt Umber.
- Make a color chart to see the range of color you can achieve with this limited palette.
“Face of Christ” was painted using only Ultramarine Blue, Cad Red, Cad Yellow, Burnt Umber, and Titanium White. Oil on linen 16 x 20 in.
Color charts made by mixing 2 hues at a time. Start with 1 Ultra Blue to 4 Cad Red, 1 Ultra to 3 Cad, 1 Ultra to 2 Cad, 1 Ultra to 1 Cad, 2 Ultra to 1 Cad, 3 Ultra to 1 Cad, 4 Ultra to 1 Cad, so on and so forth.
Add white 4 or 5 times.
Write your formula down next to or below your color swatch.
Example of a color chart exploring the range of a limited palette of color.
Elements from the Hudson River School
Art Club
Feb 2011
Hudson River School Elements
Assignment: Incorporate at least 1 aspect of the Hudson River School of Painters into your artwork.
You may consider the following aspects:
- Composition of subject – study the lines of the mountains, trees, etc.
- Relationship of sky to land. Ask, “where is the horizon placed?” Will you place the horizon 1/4 or 1/3 up on the canvas?
- What kind of clouds are used? What is the shape, movement, perspective, color?
- Use the American wilderness as the subject of the painting.
- What is the distance from the subject? How far away is the perspective of the artist? How far is the closest object?
- Include details of nature.
- Create a vast and sweeping panorama of subject.
For other ideas and to learn about this school of painters, just do a google search and input “Hudson River School of Painters”. if the internet doesn’t work for you the good ol’ library will. Please be prepared to share what you learn at our meeting (about 2-3 minutes worth). Make sure and bring your artwork whether finished or in progress. It really inspires and motivates the rest of us to see others creating.
The Chattahoochee River painted in the Hudson River School Style, oil on linen
Art Club Assignment – Miniatures
Paint a miniature painting, under 6 x 6 in.
“Levi” by Ginger Dean oil on panel 3 x 3 in
Mural Fall Panel – Partial Cartoon
Partial Cartoon of Fall Panel for “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” Lodge Mural
The fall panel incorporates some aspects of adult life: work, service, disappointment, failings, hope, commitment. The briefcase, hammer and other tools are symbols of different types of work.
Art Club Assignment for August 2013
Study and Model from a Painting
- Select a worthy painting by a known artist that includes figures.
- Study the composition of the painting: lines (thickness, direction, etc), values (lights and darks), shapes, position of figures.
- Draw a basic sketch of the painting to determine what you will incorporate into your own painting.
- Use the basic composition to create a new painting or drawing of your own with some of the same lines, values, and position/number of figures.
You may want to change the setting of the painting to a more contemporary scene and include figures and faces of people you know.
Below are some sample paintings with simple line drawings. Feel free to use any of these if they are of interest.
Our next meeting will be held on August 27 (Tuesday).
Please bring your new painting and an image of the painting you’ve studied.
Renoir Painting “Luncheon of the Boating Party” 1881
Gauguin Painting “I Raro Te Oviri” 1891
Tissot Print “Jesus Commanding His Disciples to Rest”
Rembrandt Painting “The Sampling Officials of the Draper’s Guild” 1662
Petrus Christus “Legend of Saints Eligius and Godeberta” 1449
Still Life With Eggs
Art Club
Assignment: With the inspiration of ‘slow’ and traditional painting comes a still life with eggs. A white picture. In lieu of eggs, simple plaster shapes (ball, square, etc) would be fine but eggs are readily available (no brown eggs please).
The reason for painting/drawing simple white shapes is to increase our ability to draw with accuracy and dimension. This is easier understood with one color.
The rules:
- The eggs must be white.
- There must be at least 3 eggs.
- The drawing must be life size (yes, you can use a ruler)
- You should have only one major light source coming from the left.
Optional ideas to include:
- Use white fabric under and behind the eggs.
- Use one or more colored fabrics under the eggs to reflect the color.
- Add fruit.
- Add a bowl or other kitchenware.
If you are limited by time or have never done this type of exercise, I recommend limiting yourself to the first four rules and don’t take any options, except for placing a cloth or white board behind the still life to simplify the backdrop. Also, you may draw with pencil or charcoal as well as paint the subject. I really think this exercise is one worth doing many times as it will help increase our memory for form, ability to see value (light and dark) and drawing skills.
Here are some suggestions:
- Remember to take your time, especially with the drawing: try to be accurate and use your thumb, pencil or ruler to measure with your arm extended and one eye closed. Also, measure negative space between objects for accuracy.
- You might want to have the canvas at the same level as the still life and on the same plane.
- Think about the idea that every 3D objet has 3 sides; light, medium, and dark and that within each side the plane moves from light to dark. Yes, even eggs have 3 sides.
Still Life With Eggs by Ginger Dean
Notes About the Exhibit “In Praise of Slowness”
This past month a few of us were able to attend the excellent exhibit at Oglethorpe University Museum, “Slow Painting, A Deliberate Renaissance”. The artwork was amazing and we had a chance to speak to the museum curator Lloyd Nick. He spoke with us about the group of artists who have dedicated themselves to the renaissance of beauty and realism in art. They came up with a manifesto in 2005 that is exhibiting along with the art in the museum. I thought you would enjoy a few of the ideas:
- We laud the beauty of skills slowly acquired and the deliberate art that reflects such skills.
- We believe that the art of the future will be as powerful, relevant, imaginative and as skillfully made as any art of the past. We reject the notion that art peaked forever in 1500 with the Renaissance, in 1650 with the Baroque or in 1950 with the Abstract Expressionists.
- We value artistic dexterity like that demonstrated by the greatest artists of the past. We believe that the mastery of such skills liberates the artist.
- Like watch g a ballet consummately performed of hearing an aria masterfully sung, we deeply appreciate the visual pleasure of seeing a beautiful work of art that is not found, but slowly and carefully crafted by an artist.
- Slow art does not mean the lack of spontaneity or free brushwork. We not only value a delicately painted surface when it is skillfully done as in a I grease or a Raphael, but we laud the skilled bravura as in a Velazquez or a Turner.
- While we admire and learn from the great art of the past, our face is to the future. Our aim is not to duplicate the art of the past, nor to denigrate other forms of artistic expression, but to create new artistic standards hitherto unimagined.
Signed:
Graydon Parrish, Jimmy Sanders, Christopher Publiese, William Kennon, Christiana Inmann, Mikel Glass, Morley Safer, James Safer, Paul Brown, Brian Le Boeuf, Patricia Watwood, Gregory Hedberg, Laura Grenning, Jacob Collins, Richard Piloco, John Morra, Christopher Forbes, Paul Sullivan, Melinda Sullivan
Fast and Slow Painting
A ‘slow’ painting with about 20 hours of work invested. “Daddy’s Objects” by Ginger Dean , oil on linen 20 x 20 in
Assignment: Paint two (2) pictures of the same subject. The first painting will take NO more than 2 hours – no exceptions and you must complete the painting. If you need to attempt the ‘fast’ painting several times, that’s OK. The other painting of the exact same subject should take between 5-15 hours (OK, more if you need).
A few objectives for this assignment:
- Develop both loose and refined styles of painting .
- Recognize how much time you invest in your paintings. Keep record of the hours.
- Learn how a ‘fast’ painting can be a study for a “slower” painting.
You might be interested in reading:
IN PRAISE OF SLOWNESS
Ginger Dean Art 