From the Easel of Barbara Jaenicke: November 2014

Friday, November 21, 2014

Keep away from the edge.

Morning Glimmer, oil, 8x10

I taught two classes in oil this week at my studio, and the focus was on painting subject matter with lots of sharp edges and lines. The tendency is to paint this type of subject matter too stiff, and we end up with certain elements within the painting having that 'cut out and pasted on' look.

My students know that I'm all about starting with big connected shapes. And sometimes I'll set things up to include a variety of hard and soft edges as I'm getting my block in started. But for this exercise the challenge was to try and keep all the beginning shapes from having hard edges. (Or at least as little as possible.)

My block in and one further progression step for "Morning Glimmer," my demo from my Friday class, is shown below.

The light coming from behind the trees is more effective when carved out of the big shape rather than drawing in the individual tree trunks and branches. After setting up the three sides of the barn shape in the underpainting, I then chose only the necessary edges to include.

reference photo for Morning Glimmer

Below is my (not quite finished) demo from my Thursday class.

The demos shown on my most recent blog post (especially the oil demo) are also a good examples of blocking in without stiff edges.

Upcoming Workshops:

PASTEL Workshop - Stevensville, MD - 3-day

Workshop - February 6, 7 & 8, 2015 (Fri/Sat/Sun)

Demo - Thurs., Feb. 5, 5:30 - 8:30 pm, $45, $55 at door

Chesapeake Fine Art Studio

609 Thompson Creek Rd.

Stevensville, MD 21666

(about 40 minutes from downtown Baltimore)

$400

www.chesapeakefineartstudio.com

410-200-8019

PASTEL Workshop - Bonita Springs, FL - 3-day

Feb. 25, 26 & 27, 2015 (Wed/Thurs/Fri)

Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs

26100 Old US 41 Road

Bonita Springs, FL 34135

$350/members; $400/nonmembers

www.artcenterbonita.org

239-495-8989

See my workshop page on my website for details and complete schedule through 2015, or email me with any questions.
www.barbarajaenicke.com
barbarajaenicke@msn.com

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Wrapping up Composition Boot Camp in Dahlonega.

January Shadows, oil, 8x10

block-in for January Shadows

I spent two very productive days with a group of artists in Dahlonega, GA at The Art Loft this past week. The Art Loft is a well equipped studio in a beautiful area in North Georgia, owned and run by Anita Elder...artist, workshop host, and chef extraordinaire!

The primary skill practiced in this workshop was "thumbnail-to-block-in," composing a thumbnail and blocking in four 8x10 (or 8x8) paintings each day. Block-in only, and no further than that. Although I did let students take one painting a bit further at the end of each day.

I altered this workshop slightly from how I've taught it in the past. I now use timed intervals. This encouraged students to focus only on what was required for the exercise (composing BIG SIMPLIFIED SHAPES) and avoid laboring over the unimportant details we were trying to avoid. The timed exercises worked well, and students seemed to be surprised at how much work they could get done in a short period of time, and a few had those precious light bulbs go off regarding how to simplify busy landscape subject matter...I love it when that happens!

Autumn Light, pastel, 8x10

block-in for Autumn Light

The two pieces show above are my demos from this workshop, shown with the block-in stage for each. (The pastel block-in is shown just one-step further than the underpainting block-in, with the large tree mass given one more layer to begin breaking apart that big shape.)

The thumbnail stage is a BIG DEAL in my Composition Boot Camp! Below are my thumbnails for each of the two demos shown.

I hope to schedule a couple of one-day versions of this workshop at my studio in Roswell, GA in January. Email me if interested at barbarajaenicke@msn.com. I've also had a couple of requests to hold this workshop in other cities, but nothing is firmed up yet on those. I'll post information here on my blog if more are planned.

In the meantime, for those of you here in the Atlanta area, I'm teaching a one-day basic landscape oil painting workshop at the Red Cockerill Gallery in Austell, GA this Saturday, Nov. 15. Details below:

Landscape Oil Painting: The Nuts & Bolts

Nov. 15, 2014 (Sat.), 10 - 5

Red Cockerill Gallery

2845 Cemetery St.

Austell, GA 30106

$130

www.redcockerillgallery.com

Contact Ann Cockerill to register: 770-944-3160 or anncockerill@bellsouth.net

Sunday, November 2, 2014

The Fall Foliage Trap

The Aspens Below, pastel, 8x10

We immersed ourselves in autumn color during my classes this month here at my studio. Fall has always been my favorite season, but painting it is usually harder than you think.

I first decide what areas contain the most intense color, and then contrast those areas with duller color. Since sunlit autumn foliage tends to have a dappled effect with many tiny spots of color, you have to work even harder to simplify big chunks of the landscape so that you don't end up attempting to paint every dab of bright color ... a trap that all artists fall into at some point!

For any of you wanting to learn more about my process for simplifying busy landscapes into strong compositions, read on ...

I've had many requests by various artists both locally and out of state to teach my Composition Boot Camp workshop. In this workshop I cover in depth how to "see" your landscape subject matter, and then organize it so that you can SIMPLIFY busy subject matter into a well composed design. It's most definitely a learned skill, and I have students practice very specific exercises repetitively in order to understand it. I have 2-day version of this workshop scheduled next week here in Georgia (see below), which still has a couple of openings, and am considering planning some 1-day versions at my studio in January ... stay tuned for details!

The three pieces shown here were my demos from three different classes held at my studio last week.

Mountaintop Aspens, oil, 10x8

Golden Moment, oil, 10x8

Upcoming Workshops:

COMPOSITION BOOT CAMP/PASTEL & OIL - Dahlonega, GA
NOV. 6 & 7 (Thurs/Fri)
The Art Loft, Dahlonega, GA
Visit www.artloft.net to register.
Workshop fee - $225

LANDSCAPE OIL PAINTING: THE NUTS & BOLTS - Austell, GA
Nov. 15 (Sat.)
Red Cockerill Gallery
2845 Cemetery St.
Austell, GA 30106
www.redcockerillgallery.com
Contact Ann Cockerill to register: 770-944-3160 or anncockerill@bellsouth.net
Workshop fee: $130