Friday, January 27, 2006
On location with Charles Reid
Guiding Faculty member Charles Reid spends a good part of every year painting on location in many wonderful spots around the world, ranging from Tuscany to the English Cotswolds to the beaches of Australia. Painting in a sketchbook away from the studio taught him an important lesson.
Sketchbooks taught me about the importance of time (actually, the lack of it) needed to make a good drawing or painting while working on the spot. I learned that I didn’t have time for sketching with searching lines; I needed a single, carefully considered contour line to capture my subject or scene. Slowly my drawing improved. I started painting in sketchbooks in the late 1970s, using the same light drawing paper, and found that I couldn’t correct or use overwashes on fragile sketchbook paper. This changed my approach to all of my watercolor painting. Even when I paint with heavier watercolor paper, I strive for the correct tonal-value with my first try. I don’t always manage a finish with my first try but it’s always my goal.
When Charlie paints in picturesque places, he’s often surrounded by students who are doing their best to absorb his methods and approach. Details about his painting workshops can be found at www.charlesreidart.com
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
2006—the “year of Cézanne”
The master painter Paul Cézanne, considered by many art critics to be the father of modern art, died 100 years ago at the age of 67. A native of Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France, he spent almost his whole life there, except for a few years when he lived in Paris and was part of a small circle of Impressionist painters.
In spite of Cézanne’s connection to Aix, and the fact that many of his works celebrated the surrounding landscape, the Aix Museum was slow to recognize the genius of this native son. The Museum banned his works for years, considering them too radical.
Of course, all is forgiven with the passage of time, and to celebrate the centenary of his death, a large retrospective exhibition will be held in Aix, along with many other related events.
The National Gallery in Washington, DC, will also host a large exhibition of Cézanne’s works, focusing on those depicting the landscape of Provence. While this exhbition will gather works by Cézanne from many private and public collections around the world, the National Gallery itself has an extensive Cézanne collection, and many images can be viewed on line.
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