Stilly Sunny
Originally uploaded by lessherger

ONe of my cloud studies. This one painted at Dane Street Beach in Beverly, MA. I'm working simply here, just a few colors of paint, a couple of layers, the clouds don't give me time to do much before they are gone. All my cloud studies are available on my artfire page here

Occasionally I find a European or South American video that is very much outside American conventions on art and sketch booking, or art journaling. This is one of them, brightly colorful and raw, and very different from the style I see a lot of on Youtube.

Sky Study Early AM 3
Originally uploaded by lessherger

One of my early cloud studies. This one painted on my back porch in Beverly, MA. I'm working simply here, just a few colors of paint, a couple of layers, the clouds don't give me time to do much before they are gone. All my cloud studies are available on my artfire page here

Glazes seem to be a mysterious thing to many. I’m going to blow the lid off of them right here and  now.

There are a couple of ways to mix a glaze. The idea is to give some transparency to your paint. So you can do it with water. The problem with adding too much water to acrylics is that it thins the adhesion (aka gluing) power of your paint. I try to never go more than 50/50 water and paint. Water allows you to get some really neat effects that you can’t get with other methods of glazing. It lets the paint get really runny. I like that in some areas.

Another method is to use glaze medium. Glaze medium has a runny consistency, pours well, dries clear and is essentially the binder in acrylic paint. It’s great stuff. Liquitex makes a great glaze medium as does golden. Golden has 2 finishes, gloss and satin. While I’m a liquitex paint fan, I’m a fan of Golden’s mediums, mainly because it does come in satin. Adding glazing medium to your paint will make it both translucent and glossy. You can add as much glaze medium to your paint as you want it will dry and it retains its ability to stick to the canvas and previous layers. You can also then add water to your glaze.

You can also use matte medium and gel medium as a base for your glaze. These have a thicker consistency than glaze medium. These work well if you want to work impasto or just wish to have your brush strokes be more visible.

Different paints have different tinting strengths. You’ve probably noticed this as you paint. Some colors you have to put heavier coats and more coats to cover the previous layers. Some colors will cover over any other color with a single thin brush stroke. This will affect how much paint you mix with your medium to make a glaze. With most of my colors I start with a 50/50 mix of paint to medium. I mix it thoroughly and then test it on a spot on my pallet. If I think it’s too opaque I add more medium. There is no scientific mixture to demystify how much paint to add, just get a scrap of paper or a spot on your pallet to test things. If you really want to go thin start with 75% glaze and 25% paint. You can always add a touch more paint, or another layer of glaze.

The great thing about glaze is that you can build up layer after layer of color and get a mix of colors or just the final darkness you’re seeking. The thin layers of glaze also allow light to filter through. The old masters used it to build up layers of paint that seemed to glow. And the reality is they did in a way. Each thin layer of glaze reflected light through the paint. You can also use pure color in glazes that overlay each other. They will mix visually to create a different color.

Glaze medium and other mediums tend to dry faster than pure paints. You can add what is called retarder to the mix, or more water. But Be aware that occasionally when you go to reach for you glaze you may find it dried out on your pallet!

You can also buy pre-mixed glazes, but where is the fun in that?

I’m back at the DayJob, vacaation is over. I love the people I work with, enjoy my job and find it to be generally a good time. Today my first day back from vacation I’m exhausted. I slept poorly last night after letting my body dictate it’s natural daily rhythms for a week plus a few days. Getting up at 5am was a shock to my system. Driving at 6am was even more of a shock. Sitting in my 80 degree office for 7 hours was even more of a shock. I was beyond busy all day, righting wrongs and finishing things and doing stuff all day.

It keeps my mental lines clear but by the end I feel as though I’ve accomplished nothing. It’s not like when I spend a day painting or working in the studio, or hell even the garden and I feel accomplished.

Don’t get me wrong I like my job but it’s certainly NOT my passion.

Tonight exhausted I nearly canceled my UStream. Instead I took a 15 minute power nap, awoke not so refreshed and decided to plow through the show. It nears 9:30pm here and I’m still wired and excited by the art I made. I spent 2 hours chatting with like minded people. I’m jazzed. I’m excited about art.

If I didn’t have to head to the DayJob tomorrow I’d stay up late and begin working on a canvas I have in mind, a Birth of Venus riff that I think will be hilarious. It’s a response to a nasty comment I got on yelp and I think my idea could be kinda fun. But this is the kind of thing I think of when I’m done with the show. More art, more ideas, more more more.

What I’m not thinking of is the DayJob.

That troubles me to a point as I need to be invested in the DayJob  until December of 2011.

Shall I start a countdown?

Back when I was in high school my art teacher organized a field trip to Cobscook Bay State Park. It remains today as one of my all time favorite places in the state of Maine. While at the retreat we had 3 local artists (all successful) painting and drawing with us live. At 17 it was an amazing experience. One of the guys (the guy who does the paintings for Coast of Maine compost) was about 2 hours late but we all grouped around him anyway, watching him closely.  I’ve always thought of how cool it would be to have something similar now.

I'm kinda of bummed we didn't get to go this year.

So perhaps for next year we should schedule an artist’s retreat at Cobscook Bay campground? Maybe not with the classes, unless someone wants to organize those, but a group of artists sitting around campfires at night and wandering out into the landscape painting.  I’ll be there at some point. I’ll decide wellin advance and post up info, so any other artists who want to travel to the state can do so at the same time. I’ll warn you though, the good campsites are taken well in advance!

Over the years I’ve had a lot of people tell me horror stories about their art classes in both grade school and high school. Due to these experiences, such as an art teacher tearing up a kid’s art in front of the whole class, many quit taking art, though they have a love for it.

I decided that I’d create an online art class that was kinder and gentler. Obviously you won’t need to do a public critique like you would in a live class.  I’m focusing on the basics, but explaining every step. I’ll tell you why I’m showing you everything.  I was never the kind of teacher to poke fun at  my students but I’ve designed a gentle approach to this class.

I’m using PDFs with clear instructions, sharp photos as well as live UStream videos. Using UStream allows me to record up to 3 hours of video and save it for you to peruse as you wish. It allows me to interact with you live..

Taking this class will teach you better how to use a pencil to create an image in your art journal. I’ll answer questions about other media if asked. I’ll be a resource to you while you take this class.

Check out the class supply list and a more detailed description here.

Though I had my pochade box at the ready for my trip to Maine, in absence of the other things I needed to get ready. I spent no time in Maine painting. I’m regretting that now, but the reality of it is that what I really needed was to relax and not think for a few days.

Sometimes I make art on auto pilot and sometimes it involves a lot of thinking on my part. Sometimes I just don’t feel it. I know that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. During my time in Maine, though my pochade never left my trunk, it was at ready in a moment’s notice, I just didn’t feel it.

Instead of my intended 4 days of arting, I kicked back, relaxed and spent a lot of time talking to my family. It’s not often I get to see both of my brothers, my Grandmother as well as my parents when I visit, so it was especially nice to see them all.

So today amid the mix of household chores that need completing I plan on getting back into the process of art. I’m going to start right now, my pochade box is still at the ready. I’m going to head outside to the patio with my coffee and paint some cloud portraits. Care to join me?

6-26-10 art journal
Originally uploaded by sketchbookbuttons

I love this little ink and watercolor WDM page.

Love this person's art on flickr happy to have stumbled upon their sketchbook flip through on YouTube.