Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tips on portrait painting
FAS Instructor Hank McLaughlin has had many portrait commissions over the years, including a painting of the former archbishop of New York, Edward Cardinal Egan. That portrait hangs in the Archbishop’s Residence in New York City.
Recently, Hank had an inquiry from one of his FAS students regarding how to handle values in the background of a portrait. As he often does, Hank answered by citing several relevant anecdotes. The first came from a painter who was commissioned to paint a portrait of John D. Rockefeller. For three days, Mr. Rockefeller sat for the artist; and for those three days, the artist painted only the background, not the sitter. An interested observer asked the artist why he had bothered to have the sitter there at all, if he was just going to work on the background. The artist answered, “I wanted to paint the background as it would look to a viewer who was concentrating on the subject of the painting—the center of interest. In order to paint it that way, I myself had to be looking at the subject and not at the background.” Hank went on to explain that, in order to be sure that the face is the center of interest in a portrait, you use brighter colors, sharper edges, and more contrast in that area. The human eye doesn’t like to look at blurred images or low contrast, so will pass over those areas to get to the center of interest.
The student also wondered about whether the colors in the background should merge with the figure. Hank answered that you should always try to include some colors from the background in the figure, and vice versa. This creates the effect that both are bathed in the same light; it pulls the painting together. Hank’s second anecdote, this one from Monet, touches on this point. Monet said that if you paint a landscape with blue sky, green grass, and a red barn, there should be some red and green in the sky, some blue and green in the barn, and some red and blue in the grass.
Good advice from Hank—and the masters!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
A lifetime of creativity for FAS graduate
Rita Altman
Yesterday’s mail brought a wonderful surprise—a letter from Rita Altman, who graduated from FAS in 1957 (she sent a copy of her graduation certificate to prove it!). Here’s what she wrote:
Dear Folks,
I thought I would send a little surprise letter to you after all these years. I was 21 years old when I got my certificate from you and now I am 74-1/2!
For about the last 40 years, I have my own business, Country and Wood Crafts. I taught my daughter Julie and three granddaughters the fun of art work. We do on the average of 28 to 30 craft shows and festivals a year, and also do orders here at home for folks wanting personal art works. We have won many awards at the various shows over the years; just this week we won a first place blue ribbon at a Fine Arts Festival in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. I hope this will encourage any students now studying with you that the future can be wonderful! Thanks to your school from me!
Rita sent photos of some samples of her work. In addition to creating charming pieces, she’s also recycling items that might otherwise become landfill—she’s green as well as creative. Here’s to many more years of fun, Rita—we’re delighted to hear from you!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Making art together—Surrealist painters Yves Tanguy and Kay Sage
A new exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art in Westchester County, New York, poses an interesting question: can two artists have a balanced, equitable marriage and each produce meaningful art without stepping on each other’s toes? During their lifetimes, Yves Tanguy and Kay Sage took pains to keep their art separate, insisting on separate galleries when their work was shown together in 1954. The current show is called Double Solitaire, an apt metaphor for the companionable rivalry that seemed to describe their life together. In fact, when you look at images from the exhibition, it can sometimes be difficult to guess which artist created which painting. An article in the New York Times explores some of the background of the artists’ relationship and compares the similarities and differences between their art. Unlike other artistic couples, these two seem to have been fulfilled by working side by side.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Scientific proof for what we already knew: art makes us happy!
An article in Britain’s Daily Telegraph presents the welcome but unsurprising news that looking at beautiful paintings can actually have a direct effect on our brains—equivalent to that of looking at a loved person. It’s always nice when science supports our intuitive knowledge, but it’s no surprise to learn that the perception of beauty can actually be measured.
And if looking at art can produce a positive effect, making art can surely do the same. Our Famous Artists School students tell us that they get enormous pleasure from their work in the Course. We may not have a scientific study to prove it, but the letters and phone calls we receive are testimony enough. So, if you’re looking for a “pick-me-up”, try art!
Friday, May 06, 2011
FAS graduate reflects on her experience
Nancy Sauer (click to enlarge)
It’s always such fun to hear from our graduates, both recent and not-so recent. Nancy Sauer completed her Master Course in March of this year; she agreed to let me post her remarks here in hopes they would inspire prospective students. She writes:
“I am so happy I made the decision to take [the Course] and that I persevered and finished it. It took me longer, probably, than most students because of working full time; I had to work my art periods in whenever I could.
“Hank McLaughlin was such a wonderful instructor for me! On each new project, I felt overwhelmed and didn’t see how I was going to be able to do it. He was always so encouraging and I always felt so much better when I’d get my assignments back with his excellent critiques and feedback. I appreciated the fact that I was given strong critiques. I’ve taken other “correspondence” courses in which instructors were always telling me I was doing everything just great, and I don’t feel I learn from that.
“All sections of the books were so very helpful and will be a valuable resource for me to refer to. I am going over the assignments now and seeing so much I hadn’t taken in before.
“Thank you again for the greatest course I’ve ever had!”
Thursday, April 14, 2011
What’s in your attic?
There’s currently a trend among museums large and small to plan exhibitions featuring works drawn exclusively from their own collections—as opposed to mounting shows that depend heavily on loans from other museums. There are economic factors at work, of course: loan shows can be very expensive (for insurance, transport, etc.), and many museums are facing the prospect of declining endowments and the disappearance of deep-pocketed donors. But a number of museum directors and curators believe there are positive aspects to this trend. The director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York points out that focusing on the museum’s own collections is a good thing. Other directors echo the feeling that the permanent collections are the soul of museums. On the other hand, some curators feel that a show drawn from the collection will of necessity have gaps, and therefore can’t offer a comprehensive look at an era or art movement.
Recently, the Guggenheim Museum in New York staged two back-to-back exhibitions featuring many of the same works. Supporters feel that a little repetition is worthwhile, if it means seeing the collection more frequently. Other institutions, like the Museum of Arts and Design and the Studio Museum in Harlem, have presented their collections in small thematic shows, rather than just exhibiting highlights. The Cincinnati Art Museum brought out many of its unexploited holdings last summer and mounted nine small shows that highlighted different parts of the country. The results were gratifying: museum attendance increased by 30 percent.
Blockbuster exhibitions may well return as the economy improves. But for now, works that had been languishing in storage have been dusted off and had their moment in the sun.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Art in the News
Mental Floss magazine’s tagline “Where Knowledge Junkie’s Get Their Fix” is apt. Their column (which is updated, sadly, rather infrequently) “Feel Art Again” is a great way to get your art fix. The writer tends to take a look at some of art history’s little known artists or movements and write a bit about them. She includes, of course, some great visuals. You can browse their archives here.
Monday, March 28, 2011
For want of a nail…
Sometimes it’s interesting to try to isolate the factors—major and minor—that create trends in art. A current exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York is titled “German Expressionism: The Graphic Influence.” In the exhibition catalog, the show’s organizer reflects on the reasons why so many German Modernist artists focused on printmaking in the years from 1908 to 1923. This medium (woodcut in particular) had deep roots in the country’s cultural past. Another reason to favor printmaking over painting was the crucial shortage of canvas and linen created by the Allied blockade during World War I. In addition, in the years after that war, the German economy was so unstable that art was a reasonably secure investment. Prints, in particular, were modestly priced and readily available.
Surprisingly, almost all the 250 works in the exhibition are drawn from MoMA’s own collections. So deep are the Museum’s pockets in this area that it holds some 3,200 German Expressionist works on paper, most of which will never be exhibited. However, thanks to the internet, interested art lovers can see the entire collection on line. A recent visitor to the exhibition at MoMA described the works as “moving and disturbing,” both in terms of subject matter and medium. Take a look at the online collection and see if you agree.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Picasso—never still, always changing
Just when you might think there’s nothing new to learn about Picasso—or, at least, no innovative way to think about this giant of twentieth century art—along comes an exhibition that can make you think again. At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts until May, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris offers the opportunity to get to know him all over again. He was fluid, improvisational, and way ahead of his time, and he kept up an amazing pace over eight decades of making art. Once again, a museum website provides the next best thing to being there. Catch it while it lasts!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Experiencing the Sistine Chapel One Pixel at a Time
I went to the Sistine Chapel yesterday. Virtually, of course. A friend on Facebook posted a link with the comment, “Prepare to be humbled.” The virtual tour is provided by the Vatican itself, and in it you can view the room as a whole or zoom in to see details of the paintings. By manipulating your mouse you can see 360 degree views of the four walls, floor, and, of course, the famed ceiling. The experience is heightened by the accompaniment of some beautifully peaceful ecclesiastical music. I have to say, it’s quite profound. In an earlier blog post I had said a virtual tour could never replace the real thing, and I still believe it. That said, instead of looking at the glass as half full, I might look at it the other way and say that experiencing a virtual tour (and in this case it IS an experience) beats the heck out of viewing still photographs any day. Take a quiet moment out of your day and click here to see if you agree with me.
