susan lyon fineart

Spain - Exploring Madrid,Toledo and Seville

2012-01-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

I will sprinkle Sorolla paintings through out the blog because Spain and Sorolla are synonymous for me.

We arrived in Madrid early on Oct 10th and got a taxi to to where we thought the apartment was( the company gave us the wrong address and the person with the key wasn't supposed to arrive until 10 am ). The street tres peces is only two blocks long, just west of the Anton Martin metro station. It's an artsy neighborhood in transition, in walking distance of any place you'd want to go. When we arrived the street looked so desserted, the city doesn't wake up until after 10 am here, so we walked with our luggage up the street and sat in a tiny narrow restaurant bar on the corner for an hour and thirty minutes, our luggage took up half of the seating area. At 10 we went back down to where we thought it was and waited for the rental guy to show up, he took us to 7 tres peces not 13 like what was written on our contract. We were curious because we couldn't find a 13 anywhere. Then up 3 long flights of old worn stairs into a cute bohemiean apartment. We were exhausted from the flight so we waited for Michelle to arrive, our phones didn't work and we couldn't contact her to let her know that it was 7 and not 13 so we each took turns sitting down by the door. After a couple of hours Scott came up and we were resting for a few minutes until I went back down, and there she was with all her stuff talking to a local guy, what a relief !!! She had been walking around for an hour, I felt so bad. We were just one door away from where she looked. We all rested that afternoon until the evening when we went out for a walk. The first couple of days was like walking through a fog and I took sleeping pills to try to get on the local time.

We first went to the school and museum of Bellas Artes- We were let down because the big sorolla painting ( the one with the men on a boat with a huge sail casting a shadow over them) was on loan. We walked around saw the Parque Del Retiro then Scott went off by himself while Michelle and I saw a fancy food market at the Plaza San Miguel and the Cathedral de la Almundena near the palace.

Cathedral de la Almundena

Oct 12th -national holiday today museums are free, very crowed!!! Michelle and I walked around while Scott painted.

Super warm, I don't think they have air conditioning for those museums. I was very sad that they didn't have all the paintings that I had remembered from our last trip, I especially remember some Pradilla's that weren't up at the Prado. We also went to the Thyssen across the street, we spent most of our time looking at Sargent's onion sellers. When we were leaving I think there must have been more than a thousand people standing in line to get in, amazing, just goes to show you that people want to have art in their life.

We met Amaya Gurpide that night, she took us around the little streets near the plaza del sol. Had a late dinner and when we left around midnight the streets were packed. I don't think they sleep here.

Oct 13th - Went to the Sorolla house, they change up the paintings so there were different ones up now. It was so nice to be able to video and take photos, we did little paintings in the afternoon.

This is a tile in the patio of Sorolla's garden, there were many beautiful designs

Scott painting in the garden

Michelle and Scott painting

Oct 14th - Toledo today, got off to a late start still having a hard time waking up. Michelle and I brought our painting backpacks, shouldn't have, so much walking up and down, got very tired. Scott was a good boy and painted. Michelle and I went around looking at swords and eating deserts.

Oct 15th - Michelle and I went to an antique area in Madrid called El Rastro for her to see some amor, unfortunately it was closed, we walked around some more then went and saw Scott paint right in front of the entrance to the Prado, I thought he was pretty brave to stand right in front of the entrance.

Not used to all the closing and opening times of shops and museums, we seem to get to places right when they close. We wanted to walk to a new area to have dinner, on the way got caught up in the big demonstration at night, finally found our way to the trendy gay area, many weird shops not too many restaurants that looked inviting so we got something from a take out place on the way back to our hotel.

People came in from all over, the crowds got a little suffocating, we had to walk way out of our way to get back home.

demonstrating against the banks and government, most of downtown Madrid was closed for the crowds

finished "My Antonia" by Willa Cather tonight, did not disappoint. What a pleasure

Oct 16th - The three of us went to the El Rastro street market, huge- it's supposed to be the biggest- too many people. Went home after we found out that the amor place was closed again. Didn't feel well aound all these people, I started to feel dizzy.

We saw this poster of Elvgrens ( a famous illustrator that was a student at the school Scott and I attended The American Academy of Art in Chicago) I loved it because Michelle and I both thought it depicted truthfully how women artists look, that is how we paint in our studios

An interesting door on the way home after the Rastro Market. I was wearing my bag in front because there were so many people, and that market was known for pickpockets.

Scott painted the church next to the Prado in the afternoon,

that is me standing on the stairs

Michelle and I walked around, had a lesuirely lunch at the cafe next to the Prado. After Scott finished we walked through the Real Jardin Botanico south of Prado.

A sculpture in the Real Jardin Botanico

Oct 17th - Scott and I went to do a quick painting, I did a very sketchy little 6 by 8, it was over cast and I didn't really know what I was doing. It was fun, felt like a child playing. Scott did a painting of me, he said I was moving a lot, which made it hard.

Michelle stayed at the apartment to get organized for her trip to Venice. Sarah kinder showed up around lunch time, she found the place with no problems, she was tired but up for anything. We went to lunch found an Italian place, everyone loved it. Went back got ready and took off for Amaya's. Took the subway for the first time and again Michelle and I shouldn't have taken our painting backpacks. Amaya teaches life drawing to 4 students a couple of times a week in her studio. Scott was good and did a drawing, Sarah, Michelle and I were slap happy and lazy.

When we first got to Amaya's studio I was really slap happy from so much sugar and being exhausted, we got up on her model stage and started to act like we were acting out mellow dramatic scenes. Amaya looked at us like we were crazy.

Two of Amaya's drawings

Oct 18th - Sarah Watts came in the morning, we went back to the Sorolla house because Michelle really wanted to see it before she left. Spent the day in the garden and strolling through the house. It was fun to see which paintings each of us liked the most. I would ask them which one they would take home if they could in each room and most often we would choose different ones. I find that fascinating. Plus, it was also interesting that even though we had spent so much time looking at all the paintings before, we would see new ones this time. Went to a good Pakistani restaurant near our apartment.

Michelle, Me, Scott, Sarah Kidner, Sarah Watts

Oct 19th - Slept a little late, Michelle was off really early didn't get to say good bye. Went off to paint the fountain on the Paseo de prado. Sarah kinder walked around and took photos, she met up with us as we were finishing. I just did a little sketch of the women in the fountain. I listen to a podcast while I paint, it helps to listen to my iPod while painting out doors. I don't have the patience to stay in one place for a long time. After seeing the Sorolla sketches I feel like he has given me permission to just do color studies, impressions. Not to worry about out come, enjoy the experience.

Scott's sketch of the fountain

Sorolla sketch

After lunch came back to the apartment, was overly tired, took a nap then went walking around with the Sarah's ( I will refer to both the Sarah's as the Sarah's -makes it easier for me) to the glass building that housed the food Market de San Miguel. Saw some streets with incredibly beautiful and quaint restaurants. The market was fun, full of people, especially tourist like us, we tried a bunch of stuff and of course I had to taste more deserts. Wow, those things are sweet.

me and the sarah's in our apartment

Oct 20th- Everyday seems to be a late start, I guess we've turned in to Spaniards already. The Sarahs painted a great street scene a few blocks away, I walked around, took photos and looked for flamenco dresses, it seems as though dancers must get them all custom made, the ones I saw were just practice things. The weather has been beautiful.

Oct 21st - Toledo again how fun, I am reading "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho in the grand cathedral and watching all of our backpacks while Scott and the Sarahs walk around. Michelle gave the book to me as a gift, it is one of her favorite books. I am trying to imagine all that has come before, all the history, who sat on these benches hundreds of years ago. We got the audio headset to walk around with, hearing the music and listening to the history was fascinating.

At our fancy lunch place they were playing beautiful music by the portugese group Madredeus. I checked them out on the web and there are some YouTube videos showing Teresa the singer in the group, she 's really beautiful and I would love to paint her. We painted in the cloisters of the church San Reyes in the afternoon.

After that we walked around a little.

It was a Friday night and it seemed that most shops were closing up, maybe most people are daytrippers and not much goes on at night. We sat and had tea in the main square were the local children play with jump ropes and all the older couples sit around the edges and watch. I noticed a miniature train that drove around and showed the city, we had some time before our train back to Madrid so Sarah K, Scott and me got on board. How funny, the streets were so bumpy and the stories of the town were so dramatic and tragic, that made it throughly enjoyable, although a little chilly. Seeing the city from a far and with all the night lights on was magical.

22nd. Scott is feeling like he has a little cold so he's going to stay home. The Sarahs went off to paint. I walked over to the big book store Amaya told us about, bought a big book on Fortuny and two on the landscape painter Joaquin Mir, luckily they are going ship them to us. The weather is cool and crystal clear. Amaya came over and we all sat around and talked for a while, then we walked down to the Pakistani restaurant. Amaya told us about a beautiful seaside town of Sitges just south of Barcelona. I checked it out and it's a nice possibility for next year.

23rd. I went and did a little painting at the same spot that the Sarahs painted. It's a few blocks away, a street scene looking down at a pink church.

I was listening to a interview from the program tapestries, CBC radio with an ex nun who worked with mother Teresa for 20 years and why she gave it up ( I love the CBC- their podcasts are the best). Then Scott and I tried to see the Casa de America one more time, no luck again, 1 pm tour was sold out!!! We saw Sarah K painting at the fountain, then walked into the Thyssen for a short visit. Scott wanted to see the Sargent onion sellers. I saw a Van Dyke that I hadn't seen the last time, pretty amazing, I wish there was a good book on him, with close ups. His paintings are incredible.

more Sorolla paintings from his Museum

Me and Michelle eating in the garden

24th, travel day, got up did final packing and straightened up the apartment. Miguel ( the guy who was going to pick up the key) called and said he was going to be late, that gave us some stress because we had an AVE train to catch. Scott told him to meet us at atocha station, he didn 't want too but we insisted. Some how we got all our bags in the taxi and got to the station, Miguel met us there and gave us back our deposit. Sarah Watt's train was a few hours later so she went off to paint in the station. The ride was nice, it was rainny and moody leaving Madrid, a good day to go. We could see far off castles on hill tops from the train.

view from the tower of the Cathedral

Seville. Was sunny and perfect weather. Finding a taxi that wanted to take 3 people with all off our bags was interesting, there was lots of talking at us and about us, but one finally agreed to take us and off we went. We went out to a nice dinner and things were looking up. Our first adventure was to get lost twice, first trying to find the grocery store then the second trying to find our way to the hotel, I wouldn't have minded but I bought a lot of food and the bags were killing my hands, my arms and fingers are still tired from last night. The sun doesn't come up until 9 here, so we will eat breakfast and hit the town running this morning and go and paint. Every where you look I can find something. I love seeing all the posts Michelle is putting up from Italy, wishing she would put more.

view from the roof of our building

a beautiful building in the Parque de Maria Luisa

25th. Got up and went out to paint, Scott and I went out first, we found places around the plaza del triunfo.

The weather was nice and we had fun, but lots of tour groups in the late morning when the cathedral opened up. We had a nice lunch at the Bar de Teresa.

I rested a little then did a tiny roof top scene from the top of our building.

Scott's painting

Sarah Kinder

my little sketch

Later that day-
The sky was dramatic and changed quickly, my painting makes the church seem very omminice.

Walked to the bull ring and river to see the sunset with Scott. Found Sarah K on the street on the way back, just ran into her on the street. Scott and Sarah went crazy taking photos of the streets and pubs with all there lights on after dark.

26th. The weather channel said it was going to be clear and warm today, stayed overcast all day. Tried a painting of the church from a different side, started some horses but they were moved, sad start of the day. A donation to the bad painting gods. Went off to the park to paint the Becquer monument, it's funny that I remembered it bigger, it is larger than life size, but I built it up in my mind to be huge.

Scott's study

my study

Scott and I painted there. The light was nice and the weather good, but I definitely have a hard time with those subtle colors. I plan on painting this thing until I get it. Patience!!!!!! Had lunch with the Sarahs at the fancy restaurant at the edge of the park, had fun laughing. A little expensive, but a nice place to rest up for the next try. Sarah K and I walked around and saw some beautiful buildings and ponds, wanted some sun though, will go back in a few days.

we did try a little gazebo, all the values were so close, I have such a hard time, I need to study someone that does a lot of overcast paintings.

Started to walk back and got drizzled on. The sarahs changed rooms and got one with a great view of the city. Will check out their view from roof terrace tomorrow. They are off to eat now, it's late and I want to rest, still full from the paella I had for lunch.

27th. Today was for sightseeing, first we saw the hospital museum around the corner, it had two nice Valezques and a beautiful church attached to the side of it, then we went to the alcazar, strolled around found a place I wanted to paint in the gardens, lunch then off to the cathedral, it drizzled on and off today, the sun would come out but then some puffy clouds.

pond in the gardens of the Alcazar

The cathedral did me in, my legs were shot. Went back to rest before the flamenco show. The guitarist was amazing and the young woman was great. Scott asked her to pose for us, she is off to Poland in a few days, but could come on Monday. Wow, I was anxious and nervous to paint her, she doesn't speak any english, so this should be interest. Scott has a lot of guts.

Marina and her partner at La Casa de la Memoria

Scott's fast horse painting

28th, I painted the statue to the virgen, started off too fast
becuase I thought the horse and buggy guys would park in front of me any minute, so I didn't think it through, cut the statue off and so I didn't get the top part. Very stupid. Tried another one in a quiet side street. A busy scene with a lot to put in, I got inpatient towards the end, rushed a little and ran out of paper towels.

Had lunch with the Sarahs while Scott took his time with his tunnel scene.

The Sarahs changed hotels again, so we walked over to it, it's in a trendy neighborhood close to the ancient wall. Walked around a little, got tired and too hungary, couldn't find a place to serve food before 8:15 had to walk back towards the center of town, found a little Indian place. Afterwards Scott and I saw the whole city out walking, people everywhere, a live band in a square, lights, guitar players, lovers making out every 10ft. Tired of walking, worn out, hope to have energy to paint tomorrow morning.

29th. Rested a little in the morning, there aren't a lot of places to do early morning paintings, we have to wait for the light to hit the buildings. I walked over the old Cadiz train station where they have a fresh meat, fish and cheese market. I bought some chiorzo, milk,eggs and fruit. We still had to get paper towels so then we started to walk to the main grocery store called Mas, it is a couple of streets away we ran into Sarah K. How strange that this has happen twice now. Got our stuff then went over to the park, being saturday and a holiday weekend, everyone was out. We all painted The monument at Spain Square, Sarah and I did the turrets and Scott did a huge scene of trees and sun dapples with the pink building in the background.

my tower painting

Sarah and I had lunch outside at the corner restuarant in the park while Scott finished up his painting. Took our stuff back to the apartment, dropped off the packs and went to the Casa de La Pilatos, Scott stayed to work on editing a film project he's working on. The Casa was very nice, we got the last light of the day, the gardens had so many nice places to paint.

Sarah Kidner walking along the courtyard

my painting

We all came back the next morning to paint the front of the Casa de Pilatos building

We got a tour of the up stairs with all the furniture then went back to the apartment, Sarah W was there. We went out to eat near by.

30th. Daylight saving time changed today, a longer rest this morning, everything is quiet outside. This trip has been so nice, I'm getting more used to painting on the street, I'm definitely not as nervous as I've been in the past. Having the iPod helps a lot, plus I don't have that anxiety about what people think any more. We have been in painting mode since we got to Seville, I still hope to see more sights, but it's been so nice to do these sketches. I hope I actually learn something from them, I need patience, I look at Sorollas studies and they are just impressions, not finished miniatures, so I need to study the light and see the temperatures, not just try to put paint on every inch of the board. We met the Sarahs at the entrance to the Casa de Pilatos to paint the arched door in front. I sat in the shade but the 3 of them stood by the street.

Scott's painting

Since it was a holiday weekend and Sunday there were lots of tourists, plus a lot of cars going by on the tiny street. They got very hot and were exhausted by the noise and sun. I was hot in the shade. After we walked a few blocks away and had a wonderful lunch.

We all went back to our place to rest for a bit. Sarah W went back to their place to pack while the three of us waited to go to another flamenco performance. Wow, it was so different from the night before, we really loved it. Finished the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. So fun to read in Spain, where it was set.

31st I went to the park and painted another turret at the South tower building. I walked through the park, it looked so nice, they really are taking care of the gardens, what a beautiful place for the residents to spend time in. I walked trought the cultural arts museum and saw a fascinating photography exhibit on Morocco from the turn of the 1900's had lunch at the corner restaurant in the park then went back to the room. We started to get ready for our flamenco model, went down to the courtyard to set up for painting. She came right on time and got dressed in the most dramatic black dress. I was nervous when Scott first asked her, silly of me, you have to get over stuff like that if you want to live an interesting life. I am happy to have Scott for just those reasons. We started painting in the courtyard and unfortunately it started to cloud over fast. She was a great model and held still like a statue.

we filmed Scott's painting

my tiny little dancer

We wanted to take photos so we only painted for 2 hours because it was getting dark early. We took her up to the roof and she turned on, it's great to work with someone that does this for a living. Performers love to be in front of the camera and we got some amazing shots. It was dark and Scott had to underexposed them, but once they are worked on they come out great. We made a disc for her and she showed us her blogspot. Marinavaliente.blogspot.com. Her parents were dancers also, must be an interesting family. We told her we'd love to hire her again when we come back, next year maybe war could have a guitar player and singer fo make a nice scene. We were so pumped after. Didn't want to have dinner out so we went grocery shopping.

Nov 1 The city seemed so quiet in the morning, maybe because of the holiday all saints day, it was so nice to walk around and mostly see residents. We walked over to the museo of fine art. What a nice surprise, there was a lot of religious art, some really nice, but there was also some nice pieces from the turn of the 1900s. They did have one Sorolla, it wasn't lit well, but they did have some other pieces we hadn't seen before. Very inspiring.

Jose Rodriguez Acosta - there wasn't good lighting

close up of a Sorolla

Rafael Martinez Diaz

Jose Villegas Cordero

Gonzalo Bilbao

Antonio Ortiz Echague

Fernando Tirado

Had lunch then went back for a nap. I went out to do a painting in the late afternoon, it had been sunny but the sun didn't want to stay out for me. I did a little study of a walkway coming towards me.

Had a conversation with a well dress drunk. He was very interested in my painting and seemed to have a great 2 way conversation with himself about it.

Worked on some of the photos of Marina in photoshop then read more of my Tina fey's autobiography.

Nov 2 It's overcast today, we tried walking to the monastery across the river, but got side tracked a little, the walk got a little long. We gave up and started back, walked back to town and had a nice lunch, I went to the museo of flamenco,www.flamencomuseum.com/ it was really nice, they had lots of videos of famous dancers and moving montages of the history of the dance.

They also had paintings and drawings from artists depicting the dancers, I especially liked this guy who did some quick sketches. They also showed various paintings from the last 120 years from artists like Sargent and Sorolla, there were some modern artists that were really good but they didn't give their names. A big part of the photographs and posters on the walls were of the famous dancers Antonio Hades and his partner Cristina Hoyos ( she started the museum). I was in awe of them 25 years ago when I first saw the movie they did about Carmen. It rained for a while, cleared everyone off the streets. When we walked over to the museo it was dark wet and empty, I felt like we were back a hundred years ago, especially since my cute linen paints were touching the ground and soaking up all the puddles. The stage was about 30 inches off the floor and the chairs were right up to it. The dancers were warmed up from the first performance and sweat was flying. They allowed photographs which surprised us and the lighting was good. Scott got some great ones, we are going again tonight so we can sit a little to the side and farther back so. Can stand and not have such an extreme up angle. It poured during the performance and gave it an interesting effect. met a nice german couple during lunch, they were on a tour and would only be in Seville for that afternoon, what a sad way to see new places.

Scott is painting the horse

Nov3 Still raining when we woke up, hopefully it will calm down. It did stop and became a beautiful day. We went to the park and painted in side the north tower, Scott did the stairwell and I did the upstairs view looking down through a doorway onto the water. It was kinda a challenge for me because the water would change with the sun, but it was still a good exercise, the light stayed good for Scott, since he was painting the indirect light hitting the interior. The guards really got a kick out of watching us.

I stood looking through the archway to paint the sketch below

we filmed Scott's painting

The town seems more quiet and empty, November is a good time to come back next time. Arrived very early to the museo flamenco, but people were already there, the female dancer named Luna was very pretty and I loved that she wore white, it really looked dramatic under the lights. The male dancer Sergio Gonzolez was the best guy we've seen so far. It is amazing how tall they look up on stage, but when you see them after they are shorter than me. He had so much power up there and really was impressive. Scott got some great photos from the side view. The evening was beautiful as we walked back to our apartment. This theater is so tucked into a tiny street and we always take a different way because there are so many turns it's hard to remember.

Nov 4 Raining this morning, not in any rush to do anything so we will rest for a while. The clouds were very dramatic today, we walked over to the mushroom ( Everyone called it that because from far away it looked like a mushroom coming out of the ground - I think they must have concerts there) just missed some puffy clouds but got some good shots looking over the city.

Scott liked the funky elevator at the ruins

Kinda a weird thing they built. Under ground is the preserved remains of some roman ruins, it was really cool to see the beautiful mosaics they had on most of the floors. Unfortunately we didn't get the full story of the buildings because it was all in Spanish. Went to see flamenco again, the girl Zara was incredible, she was the first real athletic dancer type and the singer was very emotional. Got amazing photos and will give a disc today. Afterward the night was warm and quiet, I feel like this is the real Seville, walking through the small alley streets near the alcazar around 9pm was so magical, totally different with no signs of life. Our apartment is just a couple of streets away from the alcazar gardens.

Nov 5 Beautiful today, bright, clear and around 70 degrees. Getting ready to paint in the alcazar gardens. One of my best days here, used the pass to paint in the gardens( thanks to Sarah kinder, it was her pass that she got) got to play with a kitten and did a painting of the gate entrance, the smell of honeysuckle behind me was enchating, had lunch in the Cafe then did another painting looking through an archway.

I probably shouldn't put my paintings next to Sorolla's

The sun was warming up my back and it was a perfect place to be. So glad I got to paint where Sorolla did before we left. Went for a walk, found art supplies in a department store, good timing one canvas left. Flamenco again tonight they had the a great team for Saturday night. The guy was awesome !!!! Dani torres. Worth it just for him. Great face . Someone showed me a cd from the Spanish Guitarist that was playing , they had been playing the best music before the performances, I've been mesmerized by it, so glad I could get it, it's been haunting me. Miguel Perez ( some of the songs are on his cd Con-Trastes) Looking forward to tomorrow

Nov. 6 Absolutely gorgeous day, getting a little drained from living out of a strange place, but so happy to have this last day to paint. We went to the park, it was filled with a basketball tournament and a fun mini car show. So we went the far end of the park and painted the arts building.

my painting

Scott's painting

Had lunch at the laraza cafe then Scott went back and I walked around. I went to the Tower that over looked the river and took more photos of the bull ring. The last night for flamenco, met the director and he was very interested in us sending him images of the work we do from the photos. They have a permanent collection of dance paintings. He also mentioned that when we come back we could hire and paint the dancers there, he would give us space to do that, super cool. Can't wait to meet all the dancers and do sketches of them.

Next year they are having an exhibition with artists who will do paintings of dancers in September we hope to submit something.

Nov7 Off to Madrid, on the train day. Dreaming as I watch the beautiful landscape go by. Saw "Water for elephants" on the train. Walked to our hotel a couple of blocks away. Had lunch at this little thai place on Paseo de Prado, really good and the least exspensive place on this trip, frustrated that we didn't know of this place before. Walked through the maze part of the Bien Retiro Park, hadn't see that section before. It was so magical, it almost hurt I wanted to capture it somehow. We didn't bring bring our cameras, I tried to memorize the feeling of being there, being overcast all the colors looked vibrant just like the Emerald City from Oz, perfect temperature, everything was brilliant. We walked to the pond and around the Alfonso monument.

kittens that live on the monument

Had tea at start bucks then went back. Watched masterpiece theater on my iPad and ate burger king. I am so conditioned to photograph everything, today was a lesson in enjoying the moment, the photos would have never captured what I felt about this amazing day in the park.

Nov 8 I felt horrible in the morning, left over from the day before from not eating right, I hadn't been good about getting enough protein and my body rebelled, I can't stay healthy if all I eat are sugar and carbs, being hypoglycemic is serious and if I don't eat right I feel down and sometimes I have residuals for a couple of days, today I am exhausted, I got out of bed for breakfast then went straight back to bed, got up for lunch then started to feel a tiny bit better, we decided to walk to the park and find a quiet spot to do our filming of the painting set ups. The day was beautiful warm, sun dappled and had the smell of leafs. We took photos and enjoyed the little excersice, that was enough for me, the month was starting to take it's toll, not that I wasn't happy to be here, but it's hard to not have a routine and the right kind of food you want to eat when you want to eat it. If we had a big apartment and a good place to paint there that would be good. Going out and being a tourist everyday is not what you want to do everyday. We ate burger king again,(probably not a good idea) watched comedy central and went to bed early.

Nov9 Got to the airport fast but unfortunately the Madrid airport isn't the best organized, we got there over 2:30 hours early and we just made it to the gate on time. They need to hire more staff to get the lines moving. So far the flight has been good, I watched "The Help", a show from Showtime and Harry potter. Getting to the airplane was the problem, the flight is easy. The trip has been amazing, I have wanted to visit Spain again since 1997, it has always been my dream spot, it didn't disappoint, having my painting buddies along for part of it was such a treat. Meeting Amaya, hiring Marina in Seville, meeting the director of the museum and having a connection there were all so great. The weather was really nice and I think I am totally over my shyness about painting on the street. Spain has changed a little since 1997, a lot more tourists, but it still has the charm I remembered, the food was more expensive then before, we spent more on food then anything else, plus the fact the the exchange rate was bad for us, I just had to not think about it. I think we did some nice sketches, will do some bigger paintings from the studies and the photos. My stomach acted up one day, not too bad especially since I could't eat my diet of no gluten and dairy like I do at home and only a slight sore throat in Madrid. If I get home with out a horrible cold this will be the most healthy and easy going trip I have ever had. Already looking forward to coming back next year.

A painting that I did from a photo

all my little sketches

2011-12-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Juliette Aristides latest book

Scott and I are honored to each have a drawing included

I will post all of our on the spot paintings from Spain in the next update. Below is one that I did from a photo when I got home. She is a dancer at the Flamenco Museo in Seville www.flamencomuseum.com/

We went there five nights in a row, the performances were amazing.

Last year Scott and I went to San Miguel Allende , Mexico for day of the dead. While we were there we came upon a huge religious festival to bless horses. Hundreds and hundreds of men, women and children rode their horses to a small town outside of San Miguel. They would ride up through the courtyard of the church to have their horses blessed by the priest. What an incredible experience.

The young boy above caught my eye, he was so cute.

This was a small passage where vendors were selling candy and souvenirs, they came so close we couldn't move from our spot. Sometimes the horses would get scared and rear up and usually the guy who had started drinking too early would fall off. I liked the way the yellow tarp cast a shadow over the riders.

Frank Gardner ( a great artist who lives in San Miguel) his wife Julie and I are the only tourists along with Scott who climbed a tree to get a better advantage.

This was a photo I took from my camera during a demo Scott was doing for our workshop last June, 2011. I was so busy for the whole 10 days I didn't get a chance to take many photos. This is our studio in Winston Salem, NC, we use it to hire models. The studio was super cluttered with everyones supplies and all of our samples on the walls. We love hanging out and spending time with people who share our love of art.

A drawing I did with pastel pencil on Rives paper. I usually hire models for 3 hours when we do a simple portrait.

Our local friends that join us for the fun

2011-10-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Corn and Sunflowers oil on canvas 34 by 20

The blue cloth is a sari I bought in Inda. Everytime I see this painting I think about the book of The Count of Monticristo that I was listening to when I was painting. This was the first still life I did in a long time. I want to do more of them this year and try not to over work them. I want the lessons I've learn from doing the short figure paintings to transfer to my longer works.

This is a mother and child from India, titled Yellow Hat oil on canvas 24 by 18. I love to paint young and old faces in the same painting and I especially like it when kids are dressed up in quirky hats. He looks a little like a daffodil, so cute.

This was a comission from a fellow artist which made it more stressful for me to finish, knowing that artists I respected were going to see this. I worked from their photo which I never do so I dealt with a double lighting and a little distortion from the camera lense. This boy is so beautiful, his long eyelashes and curly hair were so fun to draw, I didn't want it to come out too sweet, it was impossible not to make him look like an angel. Pastel on Rives paper

Amy in White 22 by 16 charcoal on watercolor board

I used water and charcoal dust in the back with a brush.

Lunchtime oil on Museum board 15 by 20

These children were sitting in front of a church in Lima, Peru.

seated Nude charcoal on rives paper 30 by 22

I used water and charcoal dust with a brush to make my darks

Spanish Dancer pastel on rives paper 20 by 18

She worked as a flamenco dancer at a famous restaurant in Florida. I loved the dramatic lighting on her face, although it hard to know how much to do since she had fake eyelashes on and dark red lipstick. It is hard for me to paint or draw someone that has a lot of makeup on.

sarah dear

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sarah dear

I did this painting in memory of my friend Sarah who died october, 2010 of brain cancer, her favorite flower was orchids and her favorite color was purple. I started the painting a few months after she died, put it aside and finished it few days ago. It took me a while to do the final touches because I knew when I did I would have to write about her and put the painting up on my blog. I met Sarah years ago when she called me to talk about workshops Scott and I held at our studios. She was so enthusiastic about art and could talk a mile a minute about everything she wanted to paint and all the places she wanted to travel. She lived about an hour and a half away from us and would drive into our Saturday morning drawing classes when we held them. She also would take our week or 10 day workshops that we hosted. Her husband Art was totally supportive of her dreams and ambitions. She had more energy then anyone that I knew. As I got to know her more she would open up about all the health issues she dealt with over her life time. She amazed me with her positive attitude and humor about all the road blocks that got in her way. Maybe because she was sick so much she could appreciate painting in a more intense way then most people. She first learned to do printmaking and woodblock prints in

England

. She and art lived in

Germany

and

England

for years because of Arts job. Those were the happiest days of her life. I love her block prints and think she was really talented with her graphic designs. It seemed as though life was finally starting to go her way, she dealt with the health issues that came her way and she was happy and productive. She attended our 10 day workshop in June 2009 in Winston Salem, I was dealing with some weird problems that doctors couldn't find a reason for and Sarah was a true friend. She would call and email me cheering me up with her humor. She was so strong, what I was dealing with was nothing like the trials she had gone through over and over. I found a doctor I liked that was about 30 minutes from her house and at one of the first medical IV's I had she sat with me and brought me lunch. I saw the doctor a lot for about 6 months and each time I went I usually visited with her. I felt very grateful for her friendship. In September a couple of months after the workshop I got an email from her husband Art that said Sarah was taken to the hospital and they discovered that she had brain cancer, the kind that people don't recover from. It hit me like a truck, I cried and cried. Scott and I visited her after her surgery, she looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her before, it was hard to believe she was sick. She had such a positive attitude and hope about the future. They gave her 12 to 18 months, she lasted 13. I visited her over the year and each time she was enthusiastic about art and planning a trip to Europe. They put her on constant chemotherapy and radiation. They also tried some new stuff on her, she never had a break from it, because of that she was too weak to leave her house or paint. She always put a brave and happy face on for me, I like to think I helped her in some small way, at least to let her know that she was important to me. I will never forget her joy for life,her humor, the funny way she would phrase things and her love of art. Art gave me some of her painting and drawing supplies and each time I use them I give a silent thank you to her, Scott has done a bunch of paintings using her canvases, each one brings Sarah to mind. She will live on through our hearts and our work. She was in her late 40's when she died.

When she first started to study art in Europe she focused on block prints. We have the one below hanging in our kitchen.

Sarah collected costumes and lots of hats. We visited Sarah at her house and she posed for Scott while he did a drawing. We video taped the drawing in progress and had her talk about her love of art and her travels through Europe.

She commissioned me to do a drawing of her in one of her amazing hats. It was 18 by 24 pastel on pastel paper.

Most of her paintings were whimsical.

Figure sketching in Oil

2011-07-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

For the last few months I've been painting a lot of 30 to 45 minute figure poses. I started drawing figures in school, we had 4 day poses and quick sketch. After school I practiced quick sketch at the Palette and Chisel for years until I moved to North Carolina. There wasn't an art club near where I lived, I did eventually find someone who hosted models sessions at their studio once a week during the summers. It was hot and fumes from a roofing company in the same building forced me to start having a few artists over my home studio to draw once a week. At first it was just a hand full of people who would come over, as time went by more and more people were added to the list. I was lucky to find a studio space in the arts district in Winston Salem, 30 minutes away. It was a great space to keep for model sessions, portrait and figure. Everyone chips in for the models any left over goes towards future sessions.

After doing quick sketch for so many years I wanted to experiment with materials, at first I started to paint 30 minute poses on sealed museum boards. Then I changed to trying different Vellum's and lengthening the time to 45 minutes. I started to film months ago, below is an ad for the new video Scott and I produced on my figure sketches in oil. The ad and an article on my drawing techniques are in the Summer edition of American Artist's Drawing Magazine.

click the link to see the promo for the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Nr2OhzCKM0

I've included in this post a bunch of the sketches that are in the video. Some of them were filmed and you see brush strokes and the palette, some are a part of a slide show while I talk about them. There are 13 demos on the 2 hour video. I will be teaching this technique at the Weekend with the Masters conference this Sept in Monterey, hosted by American Artist Magazine.

The painting below was a 45 minute demo for a workshop held at my studio in Winston Salem, June 2011

I tape the vellum to white boards, after they dry I will mount and mat them with blue or green mat boards. Since the vellum is somewhat transparent the white or blue color that it is mounted to influences how you see the painting.

All of these paintings are around 14 by 11 inches

The painting below was one of the first ones I did on Vellum, it was a 30 minute pose

As I talk about on the video, I don't art direct the model when she poses. I ask them once in a while to move a hand to a different spot, but I like the challenge of paintng what is given me. Some poses are easier to paint, of course when a model has arms and legs crossed it makes it a little harder to draw. As with foreshortening like the pose below, they can make interesting designs, so I just look for shapes and paint what I see and not what I think it should look like.

I still draw the figure about once a week, drawing is the most basic fundamental learning tool to help you learn how to paint.

"The Human Figure" by John H. Vanderpoel

2011-07-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

The Vanderpoel Art Collection

Ridge Park Fieldhouse, Chicago, IL

www.vanderpoelartmuseum.org

This collection is taken care of by Grace and Sid Hamper, a husband and wife team who volunteer their time.

The Vanderpoel Art Association was founded in 1913 by Friends of John H. Vanderpoel, as a memorial to this celebrated instructor from Chicago's School of the Art Institute. Legendary artist Georgia O'Keefe praissed him as "one of the few real teachers I have Known." The Vanderpoel Art Association collection includes more than 600 works of art, of which approximately one third are on display in our gallery on a rotating basis. Just a few of the famous artists included in the collection are Mary Cassatt, Frederick Freer, Edward Dufner, Maxfield Parrish, Carl Von Marr, Joseph Leyendecker and Frank Benson.

Scott and I visited this museum on a very cold wintry day a couple of years ago while on a trip to Chicago. The couple who takes care of this collection volunteers their time 3 days a week, they came in especially for us on one of their days off. We got lost trying to find it because when we got there, we didn't believe it was the real place. We actually went up to the building which is in a residential area of the very south side of Chicago and asked a couple of people walking into the building if this is where the Vanderpoel museum was and they had never heard of it, so we went off to another arts building a few miles away. The people at this location didn't really know about this collection we were trying to see, but they guessed that the place we had just come from was the right place. So, we drove back worried that the couple wouldn't still be there. We walked into a building probably built in the 1920's with gymnasiums and community rooms and an outdated weight room for the public. There was a little sign that lead up a few stairs into a big room with wall to wall art hanging on the walls. It didn't have heat or air conditioning and I worried about the safety of all these precious paintings. We were flustered from our driving around and told the couple that we had asked people at the door and they had never heard of this collection. The couple said that was something they had to deal with a lot. After calming down a little and chatting with them about how long they had been volunteering there and how the collection came about, we learned that it was nonprofit and that years ago the Art Instituted of Chicago had declined the original drawings for the book that Vanderpoel had produced, "The Human Figure", which has become my number one book that I recommend to students. The collection consists of paintings donated by students that have studied under Vanderpoel. That really shows how important he is to art history.

I only had my little snap and shoot camera, so I started taking shots of the walls while Scott talked with the nice couple. I was over whelmed, I did not expect to see all these amazing paintings. I almost couldn't take the excitment of seeing the orginal drawings that he had done for the book. Below are just some of the pages, there were just too many for me to include. The actual drawings are about 14 by 11 inches. The recent editions of "The Human Figure" are washed out because they don't print the new ones from original plates, they probably just take photos of old books. I didn't realize that these drawings were done on toned paper with the use of white pencil for the lights. The couple said the association that looks over this collection would love to have someone take professional images for them and for a future book.

above is one of the illustrations that Vanderpoel did for cermamics.

You can see a beautiful Benson to the left, the women in the red dress

This is the case that the drawings are housed.

The information below came from a brochure.
John H. Vanderpoel, who was a resident of the Beverly Hills community at the turn of the 20^th century. Mr. Vanderpoel was a distinguished instructor and director at Chicago's School of the Art Institute.

John Vanderpoel was author of "The Human Figure," first published in 1908 and still in print. It is considered a classic text in art instruction. A bound volume of original sketches for this book, contributed by the Art Institute, is on exhibit in the northwest corner of the gallery.

An artist known primarily for his mural decoration and easel painting, John Vanderpoel was also an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1880 to 1906. In 1909, he became Director of the People's University in University City , Missouri . Reinforcing the assertion that he was a very effective teacher are the words of one of his students, Georgia O'Keeffe, who praised him as "one of the few real teachers I have known." Among his more popular classes were the ones conducted outdoors at St. Joseph , Michigan , and Dayville , Illinois . He also taught classes at Delavan , Wisconsin .
Vanderpoel was born Johannes/Jan van der Poel) in the Haarlemmermeer of The Netherlands on November 15, 1857 and was the son of Jan van der Poel and Maria van Nes, who were born in Rijsoord. They married on May 10, 1848 in Ridderkerk and had ten children, with Johannes being number seven. The family also included a sister, Mathilde, who became an artist.
The mother Maria van Nes died in the Haarlemmermeer in 1867. In 1869, Jan van der Poel emigrated to the United States with all of his children, including John Vanderpoel, whose talent as a painter was well served because he got a good education in America and later in Paris at the Academie Julian. However, at age fourteen, he had a fall in a wrestling match in a gymnasium that caused him to be a cripple for life, and at age thirty-five, he lost sight in one eye.
In 1888 with a group of students from Paris , he visited for the first time, Rijsoord, the hometown of his parents. During the 1888 floods, when the flax and potato crops were ruined, a number of art students gave a benefit to aid citizens of Rijsoord.
John Vanderpoel has written the book The Human Figure, which became a standard text book in the teaching of figurative painter. A Vanderpoel Memorial Art Collection is in Chicago , and this houses many paintings, prints and sculptures commemorating the artist by his peers as well as works by Vanderpoel.
Five of his paintings were exhibited at the Columbian Exposition in 1893, and his painting Little Miss Muffett won a bronze medal at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Among his murals are an eight-section ceiling mural in De Paul University's College Theatre on the Lincoln Park campus, and a sixty-foot mural at the Alexander Hotel in Los Angeles .
Source:
The John H. Vanderpoel Art Association, Courtesy Sidney Hamper, President
In 1882, the Leyendecker family immigrated to Chicago, Illinois, where Elizabeth's uncle had founded the successful McAvoy Brewing Company. After working in late adolescence for a Chicago engraving firm, J. Manz & Company, and completing his first commercial commission of sixty Bible illustrations for the Powers Brothers Company, J. C. sought formal artistic training at the school of the Chicago Art Institute.

After studying drawing and anatomy under John H. Vanderpoel at the Chicago Art Institute, J. C. and younger brother Frank enrolled in the Académie Julian in Paris for a year, where they were exposed to the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Chéret, and also Alfons Mucha, a leader in the French Art Nouveau movement.^[3] ^[4]

Clarence McGrath

2011-06-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

Clarence McGrath

I first learned about him when I found a card for a show he had at O'Brien's gallery in Scottsdale. I have no memory of where or when I got the card, I think it was about 10 to 12 years ago. It's funny but the card just says it's a show for February and didn't have a year posted on the it. The first 6 images below were on that card.

Scott showed at O'Brien's in the mid 90's and we got all the art magazines back then, but had never heard of him, what a shame.. I was completely blown away by his work. I couldn't believe people weren't talking about him. Anyway, after searching the internet I found the 7 images below. It's almost impossible to find information on him except a small bio or a miniature resale at an auction house. I hope that people who own his paintings will put them out there on the web for us all to appreciate. Unfortunately he died in 2007 and must have stop painting for galleries in the early 90's sometime What a loss for the art world.

I was staying at a ladies house and she had hundreds of old art magazines, I love to look through them to see how the trends have changed or if the same artists are still around a decade or more later. Below I found an ad for another show that McGrath had at O'Brien's in 1990.

The painting below from Kathmandu was in Western Art Digest in1986. It's say's "Clarence McGrath was born in Duncan, Arizona in 1938. Studied under California artists Phil Gilkerson, Leon Franks and Russian born Sergei Bongart. At the age of 24 he was awarded the John F and Anna Lee Stacey fellowship award. He was also an academician of the National Academy of Wetern Art.

For the past several years, the artist has maintained his home and studio in Mexico and the majority of his work depicts the Mexican people. His extensive travels throught the Middle East have also provided him with the subjects to paint. While occasionally depicting still life or landscape, McGrath is essentially a painter of the human figure. He has been honored with over forty exhibitions of his works." ( if he's had that many shows, where are all his paintings, I want to know !!!!)

He wrote " Find the best looking thing you can ( not necessarily the most beautiful, but something that grabs your guts and makes your mind rise and your toes tap) and try to make it better. "Fechin said, 'The subject matter is just the excuse to try to make a painting.'"

I hope you get as much a charge out of seeing his work as I do

Radio Interview

2011-05-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

A Conversation with Susan Lyon

by Leslie Saeta

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artistshelpingartists/2011/05/26/a-conversation-with-susan-lyon

This is a great radio show that shares important information about the world of art

I was interviewed today, please check out the podcast

Portrait drawings

2011-05-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

I met Angel through a local artist friend of mine, she was his niece and was staying with him for a while. When I met her she was 11 and very shy. I was immediately attracted to her big dark eyes, I felt giddy and knew I had to paint her. She was a little a nervous when she came over for a photo shoot., it can be strange for anyone at any age. I asked her to look this way and that way and think about happy thoughts. After a while she really warmed up to the experience and I got some amazing photos of her. When she saw some of the prints I made for her I could tell that she had never seen her self that way. I hope it gave her a little bit of confidence because she is a sweet and beautiful young lady. I did this drawing on Rives paper with pastel and pastel pencil.

This is Angel again, I couldn't resist the way she was looking at the viewer. Her eyes are mesmerizing. She was wearing a light winter coat at the time so I went and got a white scarf for her to play with. Even though you don't see her mouth I like the emotion in her face. This was done on Rives paper with pastel and pastel pencil

Nicki is another niece of an artist friend of mine, Sharon Grubbs. I had the dolls I wanted to paint and draw, I just need a great little girl. I asked around if someone knew of a girl around the right age and Nicki's name came up. I had Sharon bring Nicki over to my home studio for a photo shoot. I never art direct children, it won't help, you just let them do what comes natural. She was a star and I had a great time with her. I loved her hair and wanted to emphasize it. I accentuated her face and the doll leaving her clothes and background simple. That is difficult for me to know home much to leave out. I like it when there is a play on detail against simple areas, that way I let the viewer's eye fill in the spaces. This was done on Rives paper with pastel and pastel pencil.

Willow is my niece, ( I see a pattern here) I let her play with a scarf also. I believe it's nice to have something move the eye around in the composition. She is 2 in the drawing and probably one of the only times she was sitting still. I did this drawing on regular sketch book paper with pastel pencil. It was frustrating to me because the paper stains easily and didn't allow the pastel to rub like I like. I got through it with a lot of patience. It's good to try all kinds of paper's, you never know when one will click.

This drawing is titled "Timeless Beauty" Andrea has the most amazing face. She posed for me regularly for about a year until she got a full time job. I still hired her now and then on the weekends. She is African American / Korean; I could paint or draw her forever, unfortunately she has moved to Texas to follow her bliss. This is another example of leaving as much as possible out of the drawing to let the viewer fill in the spaces.

This was done on Rives paper with pastel and pastel pencil

Mr Parks daily handouts

2011-05-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Mr Parks was a wonderful teacher, over the years he taught some of the best know artists of today. I had him for one semester before he retired from full time teaching to only teach on Saturday's. For a year my Father, Scott and I took his Saturday morning drawing class. We stayed in touch with him over the years and he came to Scott's and my wedding reception at the Palette and Chisel. Everyday he would post a new saying on the door, something he got from a book, something he made up or maybe a newspaper clipping that caught his eye. One that I repeat to friends and students all the time is "Nothing great was ever created without enthusiasm"

A lady who also had Mr Parks as a teacher sent me this photo of him during WWII while he was stationed in Japan. He is the one on the right wearing the glasses

2011-05-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

This drawing was done with a brown pastel pencil on a cool toned Bristol board paper, it is 15" by 20". I rarely ever use paper like this because it is hard to erase. I'm not sure what got into me that day, probably just the fact that I have so many different kinds of paper in my studio that I thought I should try it.

Well, soon after I started the drawing I knew I was in for some frustration. I know I shouldn't always do the same thing all the time, so even though I struggled with erasing, and that the pastel wouldn't smooth out like I like, I'm glad that I tried it after the fact. I have to remind myself to experiment.

This reference was taken on a trip to Africa that Scott and I did in the summer of 2008; this town was at the bottom of a huge Volcano in the Ngorogoro Crater in Tanzania. We had just finished our trek and had stayed over night down the lane the night before. I was completely mentally and physically exhausted and really just wanted to sleep and not have anymore adventures. Our guide mentioned that just around the bend is a small village and that it was having a market that day. I didn't want to go, but what the heck -- you are half way around the world.

I was not prepared for the amount of people, let alone everyone in traditional outfits. These people were in the most unbelievably beautiful clothes, the fanciest that we had seen all trip. The men looked like models; it was interesting that the men were much more attractive then the women. In fact the women usually didn't have hair (sometimes it was very difficult to tell the men and women apart) although in this area the men took a lot of pride in their appearance, some had shoulder length or longer hair that was finely adorned with braids and beads.

There were two other couples, mainly from Europe walking around from the camp ground that we stayed at. The local children were insistent about selling us bracelets and following us around. There was some antagonism towards us, but for the most part it was a very friendly atmosphere. I let a girl of about 11 go off with the camera to take photos. I loved looking through the footage afterwards, she had some really artistic compositions, like close ups of fabrics and unusual angles of people talking. The locals didn't care if she took photos of them so it took pressure off of me. I did the drawing above from one of the photos she took.

Quote's I love

2011-05-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

Learning is finding out what you already know

doing is demonstrating that you know it

teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you

You are all learners, doers, and teachers

There is no such thing as a problem without

a gift for you in it's hands

You seek problems because you need their gifts

In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom

It is not always an easy sacrifice

"Illusions - The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah"

By Richard Bach - 1977

Here is a link to a PDF of the book
http://img1.liveinternet.ru/images/attach/b/2/3599/3599084_richard_bach__illusions__the_adventures_of_a_reluctant_messiah.pdf

2011-05-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

I'm painting Hope the niece of Patty Bailey Sheets ( a friend and artist I paint with) she posed frequently for about a year. Here she is in a traditional outfit I bought in Prague. ( I found this shop in the basement of a building in the old section of the city and was amazed that they had hundreds of real - not costume - outfits that women actually wore. I could only buy 3 full outfits due to luggage space. Behind her hanging on the wall is a painting that Scott had done of her from a previous sitting. This photo was taken around 2003.

This photo was taken aound 2004, here I am painting a still life of Roses and Lemons ( the painting is in my book) I'm using a combination of side north light from the big window and daylight florescents blubs from above.

You can see from this photo that I am using the big Hughes easel now, I totally recommend it. It's especially nice when you are doing long horizontal paintings, I used to have to move my easel and palette around so I could get the same angle when painting long horizontal still lifes's, with this easel you can move the canvas easily with a light touch of the finger.

I bought the large gymnastic mats from the local YMCA, they are perfect for standing and walking back to see your painting. The big spot light with the angled boom has a powerfull 600 watt bulb. It's nice for when you don't want the tripod to get in your way, you can have it behind you. I usually use this light set up for my downtown studio on Trade for when I have figure models.

Ths is the front of my studio, the view from my deck. Scott dug out the foundation and did the roofing by himself. We hired a couple of guys to do the framing, then we did everything else. At the time we didn't have a lot of money so we tried to make it as simple as possible. It's just a big box with out a closest or bathroom. I do have a loft space for storage. The size is 20 by 24 and has 14' ceilings.

Yanca

2011-05-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

She is the same model as the drawing I did for the Strathmore ad. Her name is Yanca and she is 11 years old. What a beauty ! She's posed for me and my artists friends a couple of times and she's quite good at sitting still. One time we set up a labtop in front of her on a box and she watched an animated movie. The painting above is 6 by 8 inches, it seems that something so small should be fast to finish, but they can take just as long as a life size painting for me.

This is a drawing I did of Yanca from life at one of our model sessions at my trade st studio in Winston Salem. I used heavy weight Rives paper in cream with a Sanguine pastel pencil, the size is 16 by 12.

Artists that inspire me

2011-05-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

In no particular order - I will add to this post on a regualar basis

Edgar Payne Composition of Outdoor Painting-

J. W. Waterhouse

The Art Spirit- Robert Henri

Frank Benson

Carlsons Guide to Landscape Painting- John Carlson

George Carlson

The Paintings of Richard E. Miller "A Bright Oasis

Kevin Macpherson www.kevinmacpherson.com

The Paintings of Edmund C. Tarbell

"Figure Drawing, Head and Hands" and "Creative Illustration"- Andrew Loomis

John Singer Sargent

Anders Zorn

Carl Larsson

Dennis Miller Bunker

Joaquin Sorolla- Hispanic Society, NY

Nicolai Fechin

Gustav Klimt

Cecilia Beaux

The Art of Thomas Wilmer

Alla Prima, Figure Painting and Landscape Painting-

Richard Schmid RichardSchmid.com

Sacred Paint- Ned Jacob

George Bridgman

The Human Figure John Vanderpoel

Alphonse Mucha

Abram Arkhipov

Filipp Maliavin ( I've seen this name spelled many different ways )

Ilya Repin

Valentin Serov

Clarence McGrath ( I first saw his work on a card that an old gallery in Scottsdale had from the 1980's, I had never heard of him before and was blown away !!! He traveled and painted other cultures like I hadn't seen before. I tried to find him on the website but just got a few small paintings that were at an auction house. One artist who is in his 50's had known of him about 30 years ago and didn't know what had happened to him. I'm truly sorry that his work is not being honored and remembered)

Nancy Guzik

Dan Gerhartz

Michelle Dunaway

Mary Whyte

Quang Ho

Daniel Sprick

John Asaro

Bettina Steinke

Dean Cornwell

Carl Von Marr- West Bend Gallery of Fine Art, West

Bend, WI

Frederick J. Mulhaupt- North Shore Arts Assoc.

Gloucester, MA

The Art of Scott L. Christensen- http://www.christensenstudio.com/

Edgar Payne Composition of Outdoor Painting-

pastel of Yanca

2011-05-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

This is the ad for the cover of Strathmore pastel paper. I've used Strathmore papers for a long time, my favorite is the 400 series for quick sketch and portrait sketches.