art education

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Using Cezanne still lifes as a teaching tool

January 26, 2014 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

IMG_1378-002Teaching forces an artist to consolidate one’s own education, experience and knowledge of art history into a focused exercise in order to help the student learn. My own philosophy of teaching is to craft exercises where the student will discover new things on his or her own. That is the scientist part of me. To help students learn composition and creating form, I had them reproduce one of Cézanne’s still lifes. I gave them a line drawing of Still Life with Apples to help them learn composition and how to define form with color and shading.

 

Cezanne was a Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavor to a new world of art in the 20th century. He created space and depth of perspective by means of planes of color, which are freely associated and at the same time contrasted and compared. This was his way of translating and combining the observing eye of the artist and abstracting rather than reproducing nature. In so doing, he broke the rules of perspective and used this process to study the hypothesis of how to strip knowing from seeing—how to paint perception. During the last thirty years of his life, Paul Cézanne painted the same objects–the green vase, the rum bottle, the ginger pot, and the apples–over and over again. This, in my opinion, is truly experimental painting. His multiple paintings of the same subject matter were data in his experiments with shape, color, and lighting.

When my students painted this Cezanne still life, they were dealing with some of the same issues with which Cezanne experimented. Even though they were using line drawings of Still Life with Apples and had reference photos of the original and a watercolor painting I did myself as a demonstration shown here, they still the same issues distinguishing knowing from seeing. This was most pronounced when some students attempted to draw the perspective correctly rather than taking Cezanne’s approach. After they have the experience of not liking their outcome, they are more receptive to advice on seeing and how to look at what they are trying to paint.

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Art theory is not like scientifc theory

May 5, 2013 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

But is it art?Coming from a science background, I’ve often considered how theoretical constructs could be applied to art. It seems, to me, that, in the case of art theory, the major and most relevant questions are: “What is art?” and “Why is art valued?”

Because of this, the blurb from the book jacket of Cynthia Freedman’s But is it art?  (Oxford University Press, 30 illustrations, 8 color plates, $16.95) immediately caught my eye.

In part, it read:

“In today’s art world many strange, even shocking, things qualify as art. In this book, Cynthia Freeland explains why innovation and controversy are valued in the arts, weaving together philosophy and art theory with many fascinating examples. She discusses blood, beauty, culture, money, museums, sex, and politics, clarifying contemporary and historical accounts of the nature, function, and interpretation of the arts. Freeland also propels us into the future by surveying cutting-edge web sites, along with the latest research on the brain’s role in perceiving art. This clear, provocative book engages with the big debates surrounding our responses to art and will prove an invaluable introduction to anyone interested in thinking about art.”

This book is an excellent introduction to art theory especially for someone, like myself, who has not spent the years of formal study necessary to establish conventional academic credentials.  Comprehensive in scope, the book covers all the major theories and provides a jumping off point for those who wish more information.  The author provides an historical framework of how philosophers and critics have approached the questions, with which I began this section.

The book examines both the business and politics of art with examples of good practice supported by extensive references.  The author also shows how ‘cultural biases’ can be intervening variables in both the framing of the initial questions and the answers.  For example, Freedman points out that the complex symbolic gardens of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France have few parallels in the West today.

She sets the stage for discussing contemporary art by pointing out where some of the classical art theories can’t quite explain some of the art we see being created today. In the first chapter, she describs the use of blood in contemporary art but asserts that this use of blood in art in modern urban First World does have the same meaning it does in primitive rituals nor does its use promote the experience of aesthetic qualities like beauty and form.  She suggests that other explanations and new art theories are needed to deal with this approach to media.

Because I am greatly interested in the juncture of neurobiology and art, I particularly enjoyed the section on mind, brain and art.  Freedman connects the theories of Freud who saw art of expression, the pragmatist view of art developed by Nelson Goodman who wrote the Language of Art in 1968, with contemporary cognitive psychology.  She does not delve into neuroscience but does report that Semir Zeki, a professor of neuroesthetics at University College in London, writes that he believes “that artists are in some sense neurologists, studying the brain with techniques that are unique to them but studying unknowingly the brain and its organization nevertheless.”  I have followed a lot of Professor Zeki’s work, and my feeling is that he is referring to things like the way artists discovered that effect of simultaneous contrast in creating art without knowing the neuroscience that is behind the perception.

The author’s reasoned conclusion is the investigation of art theory, like scientific exploration, often leads to more questions than are answered.

Cynthia A. Freeland is the Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Houston and is also the author of Portraits & Persons, The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror and was the editor of Feminist Interpretations of Aristotle.  But is it art? has been translated into 14 languages including both traditional and “simple” Chinese and Tamil and is also available as Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Her personal website is at http://www.uh.edu/~cfreelan/ShortC-V.html.

I’m a big believer in self-education throughout one’s life.  Between the Palm Beach libraries, the Paperback Book  Swap website and my Nook, I’m getting a pretty good art theory education./

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Wednesday Musings; Vermont Artists’ Week at VSC

April 30, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

It’s Wednesday morning and I’m just beginning to wake up.  There’s something positively tranquilizing about the cool Vermont air… besides these blankets are warm.

Yesterday, the weather, which had been lovely, decided to show its teeth.  Rain became hard rain– hard, cold rain.  Then, it became something that is known in Florida only as a legend—snow.  White, swirling snow.  The accumulated warmth of the ground melted much of it away, but the trees became spectral white shapes.  It looked beautiful, a bit sloppy, but still beautiful.

The snow inspired me.  That is it inspired me to stay put inside the studio.  Beauty has many different aspects and when one of them involves wet, cold shoes paired with a completely inadequate jacket, it is best viewed from a distance with at least one layer of Thermopane between the viewer and the viewed.

The time for the figure drawing class came and went and still the snow came down.  Contenting myself that the by now snow-covered landscape was as aesthetically satisfying as the human form, I took a few pictures.  Besides, I had taken those same views a day before and I plan to do a few studies in contrast.  You know the sort—winter and spring.  I didn’t need to tell any potential viewer that in Vermont those can be only hours apart.

Once the creative ice was broken, I took out the sketch of the river scene I’d made on Monday and re-rendered it in watercolor.  This took much of the rest of the day.  It came out so well that I began another, drawing from my earlier inspiration, showing the same scene in the snow.  I plan on working on it for much of today.

One reason for this dedication is that the snow is still falling quite enthusiastically, and there is a winter storm warning in effect until four or so this afternoon.

One of the natives commented that this snow was even after “the sugaring snow.”  It is so Vermont.  I just love being here and I’m looking forward to finding a place so we’ll have a permanent northern New England address.

Last night, I braved the outdoors to listen to the writers’ readings.  The various writers were reading selections from their works.  It was a wonderful change of pace from working in the visual and really enjoyable.  There were a wide range of material being presented.  One man read a comedic piece that was quite funny in a tongue-in-cheek way.

On the way back, I stopped off in the studio.  It’s interesting to get to know my “studio mates.”  We took the opportunity to do a bit of show-and-tell about our various projects.

Vermont Week at VSC

 

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January 2010 Studio News

January 19, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

Time has flown swiftly.   I was juried into the Delray Art League, and John and I started participating in their recurring show/sale, “Artists in the Park.”  It hasn’t been as steep a learning curve as it is for some artists because John used to own an Internet bookstore that did live sales at shows and conventions so we’ve had a bit of experience with selling from under a tent.

The first time through we didn’t make any sales, but the “old hands” tell us that this weekend is the start of the busy season now that all the Snowbirds have abandoned their snowdrifts for the beaches of Florida.

Paint-in with PBWS

I also joined The Palm Beach Watercolor Society and I’ve been participating in their “paint-ins” and “paint-outs;” these are opportunities for the members with a live model and lots of friendly interaction.  They are held at the Boca Community Center for the paint-ins.  These have been a wonderful adjunct to the figure study course I took in the Fall and I’m planning to take again.  For the paint-outs we have been going to the American Orchid Society for plein aire painting.

Right now, I’m in a show by The Palm Beach Watercolor Society.  It was a wonderful experience to go to the reception and seeing all the work by the Society’s members.  I’m planning on entering more of their shows.  It’s a good way to get exposure and to meet the other artists.

I’ve also taken to making copies of the Old Masters in order to learn the body parts better so my figures are more natural.

In December, John and I went on a cruise of the western Caribbean that yielded a number of good paintings and a number of reference photographs that, over time, I’ll use to create watercolors that show scenes in Grand Cayman, Isle de Roatan, Belize and Cozumel.

One highlight of the cruise was the submarine cruise we took off Cayman.  The experience was like being in plein aire or plein l’eau.  Now, I regret not taking my paints on the dive, but I took plenty of photographs as we cruised by reefs, dipping as low as 150 feet at times.  It was an interesting experience, sitting dry, in air conditioned comfort as the sea bottom cruises by only a few feet away.  I’m sure you’ll be seeing paintings on my site soon that will be a direct result of that dive.

I’ve been notified that I’ll be the featured artist in the Remodernist group on the website Red Bubble.

After a bit of procrastination, I sent in my application for the Vermont Artists’ Week.  If I get in, and I feel the chances are good, I’ll be going up there for a week in April.  If all that works out and I’m comfortable with the environment and the staff, I may do one of their longer residencies.   Those seem like a great opportunity.

On a personal note, the holidays were great fun.  At Thanksgiving, five of my nieces were together in Florida and I had a chance to paint will all of them.  They range in age from three to nine; each has her own style untainted by “formal art education.”

The nine-year-old was experimental, looking to try the techniques that I had used and to test out various tools and brushes.  The seven-year-old was more objective.  She plunked down this little stuffed turkey and “just drew it,” quite well in fact.  The six-year-old leaned toward impressionism with a free flowing style.  The five-year-old was “my little Jackson Pollock.”  I’d mixed paints for them in little cups.  She picked one up and dumped it on the paper, looking back at me for some sign of approval or disapproval.  I said, “You can do that, but don’t mix them ALL together or they will come out looking like mud.”  I kept mixing colors for her and she kept dumping.  The three-year-old was just at the point where she was learning  to control her brush with the help of the nine-year-old.

I recommend painting with children if you want to have fun and loosen up.  It’s hard to be uptight about the outcome when you are painting with them; they are so free.

Right now, I’m working on finishing up my “cruise series #1.”  If all goes well, I’ll have a number of those ready for the next outdoor sale.

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Busy Fall, Catching Up

October 25, 2009 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

It’s time for another blog.  It’s not that I haven’t been inspired but I’ve been taking a number of classes that have been enjoyable, but they have taken time.  One is a figure drawing class in The Fort Lauderdale Figure Drawing School, which is part of Nova Southeastern University.  The instructor is a wonderful, classically-trained artist.  I’m learning a tremendous amount in each class each week the figure looks better and I can see places where improvement is needed.

I’m also taking a water color class from another wonderful instruction at the local high school as part of Palm Beach Community Educator Program.  The class is in an open style so each student can take maximum advantage of the teacher regardless of their skill level.

Another thing I’ve done is applied to the Delray Art League.  I had to bring in three paintings to be evaluated and was accepted as a member.   About the same time, I also joined the Palm Beach watercolor society.   That’s another great group.

Today, I’m spending part of the day at The Green Cay Nature Center in Delray Beach.  Now that the Florida weather has broken, it’s a beautiful clear day.

 

t was a lovely five mile bicycle trip from my home, and now I’m standing in a recreated hut used by the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes.  The roof is covered with cabbage palm fronds.  This kind of building was in use when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1500.  The style was popular because it could be taken down and moved when invaders moved through the area.  It’s also a particularly sturdy construction since this particular hut has survived not one, but two, hurricanes in the past few years.

As anyone who has seen my body of work knows, I’m inspired by nature, and this is the perfect place for me to sit, paints in hand.  Right now, now I’m watching a flock of ducks fighting over some food and mulling how I can capture the incredible dynamics of the conflict in with is essentially a static medium.   I just wish I had the eye of Charles Thévenin in his La prise de la Bastille or George Bellows, who did the classic A Stag at Sharkey’.

Sadly, the recent mini-drought has reduced what is normally an impressive expanse of water to a number of smaller ponds and I suspect the conflict I’m observing will soon be the rule rather than the exception.    Still, it’s a wonderfully active ecosystem, turtles and frogs sunning themselves on logs and a number of alligators arrayed on the shore, mouths wide open, to allow the commensal animals to clean his teeth.   After the fray with the ducks, it’s nice that my last image is cooperation.

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Vermont Musings #1

August 7, 2009 in Plein Air Painting | 1 comment

Donnas Blog 80609Today, I find myself in the beautiful NorthEast Kingdom, to be specific, just outside the village of Barton in northern Vermont, looking out over the incredible horizon dominated by Jay Peak in the distance.  My broken ankle has proved a blessing in some ways.  It’s forced me to take on a more measured pace, for one thing.

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In this retreat-like setting, I have been thinking of my education as an artist. I’ve been deeply influenced by The Art Spirit by Robert Henri.  A font of inspiring philosophy and practical counsel, he advises that regardless of the quality of the school, artists’ educations are, at base, in their own hand.  Basically all education must be self-taught.

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This is deeply reassuring since so far, I’ve been largely self-taught.  I’ve read a number of books and have taken some courses at the Delray Beach Cultural Center, including basic and landscape drawing.  I found the outdoor class to be most beneficial.  One of the primary benefits was the opportunity to work with other artists and to get feedback from Ralph Papa, a fine artist and dedicated educator.

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Another book I’ve been reading is Juliette Aristide’s Classical Drawing Atelier.  She discusses the resurgence of the classical tradition of  students going into the studio of a successful artist and “learning from the hand of a master.”  However, while I find the philosophy attractive, it doesn’t seem something that I can do in the here and now.  It must have been wonderful for a Venetian youth, but I’m a married American woman.  It’s just not practical.  Taking courses or having the opportunity to be in a studio seems to be much more “do-able.”  This has led me to explore artist’s residencies.  Indeed one of the reasons for this trip was to visit the Vermont Studio Center, which is less than an hour’s drive from where we are staying.

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The Center offers four-or-more week residencies for visual artists and writers and is the largest artist-in-residence program in the country.   The founders’ original hope was for a few summer residencies, but now they host upward of 50 residents a week and 600 a year.  A single fee includes room and board in a semi-retreat-like setting with a private, 24-hour-a-day studio.  What seems most valuable to me is the opportunity to interact with the many other artists-in-residence as well as the many visiting artists.  They have a burgeoning calendar of well-known artists who give talks and consult with the students.

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When we visited the Studio Center, the experience really reverberated with me.  Both staff and temporary residents seemed very happy and relaxed and were certainly very welcoming.   We were shown some of the galleries and visited the communal dining hall.

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The Center has taken over much of what was “down-town” Johnson.  Beginning with an old mill, 25 years ago, a husband-wife team of an architect and a painter expanded through both what were private and public buildings while retaining the rural Vermont ambiance.  For example, when the town replaced the aging fire station with a newer one, the original one, underwent a renaissance as “The Fire Station Studio.”  The town just bustles with artistic energy.  Adding to this delightful atmosphere is a plethora of outside art and sculpture in almost every park and open-space.

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This was an inspiring visit for me, particularly because John and I have spoken often about escaping the boiler-room heat and humidity of Florida’s summer.  I will certainly be applying for next year’s admissions. Also because Johnson State College is nearby, I’ll be looking forward to interacting with the students and faculty there.  I hold a B.S. and an M.S. in the sciences so I’m certainly a fan of formal education and have occasionally considered an M.F.A., one of which is offered by JSC.  However, for now, The Center seems to offer just for what I’m looking.

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A lovely drive over scenic roads, wonderful welcoming people and a glimpse at an artistic heaven, a perfect day.

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