Needham Open Studios

Thank you to everyone to came by my studio for Needham Open Studios. It was nice to talk with people who share a passion for art and to meet new people in the area.

Needham Open Studios is May 2 and 3!

I’d like to remind you that next weekend I’m opening my art studio to the public along with a group of other artists in Needham as part of the Needham Open Studios. My studio is #10 on the map and located at 1548 Great Plain Ave. My studio is open Saturday, May 2, from 10am to 4pm and Sunday, May 3, from 12pm to 4pm. I’ll have original oil and acrylic paintings for sale as well as limited edition prints and photo prints. For more information check out our website at Needham Open Studios.com. We’ve got quite a large group of artists this year participating!

The Boston School Style

William Bartlett did a demonstration at the Needham Art Association’s monthly meeting this past Thursday and he captivated his audience with his talent of painting classical realism.  William also helped me understand more the differences between the Boston School style of classical realism and the traditional style of classical realism.  William studied at the Ingbretson Studio which he describes on his website as being a “Satellite Atelier from the R.H. Ives Gammell Legacy.”  Paul Ingbretson runs the only ARC accredited atelier that I know of that teaches the Boston School method.  (If you’re looking for an Atelier near you check out the ARC website.)

At the meeting he set up one of our members to do a portrait and began painting.  William didn’t start the painting they way I thought he would.  He didn’t create an under-painting with burnt umber or do any kind of drawing.  He started his painting by adding general color notes.  It  was very interesting to see that he paints the way the eye focuses on an object; going from out of focus, using fast broad strokes and large blocks of color, to becoming more in focus and adding subtle details.  What was impressive to me was he only adds what is needed to make the details appear when the viewer stands 8 feet (or so) away from the painting.

William also didn’t use the traditional sight size approach taught at many other Ateliers.  Instead he focused on making correct proportions. 

William mentioned he has an interest in opening an Atelier in Needham, MA.  So if anyone is interested you can post a comment here or contact William through the email information on his website.

Also, if you looking for a more detailed explanation on the difference between the Boston School style and traditional classical realism.  I recommend this website.

New Release of Halloween Print

Prints of the Haunted House painting are now available for purchase! 

The cost is $50.00 plus the cost of shipping if you need it shipped. The size of the paper is 8″x10″ so it will fit in any standard 8″x10″ frame. These prints are created by taking a high quality photograph of the original painting and printing it on Epson Premium Luster photo paper using an Epson Stylus R2400 Printer.

Haunted House

(These Prints are printed in unlimited quanitites and are not hand signed and numbered by the artist.)

Helllooo Halloween

Did I mention I love Halloween?  Not because of all of the scariness and gore but because I get to be really creative and make my own costume.  This year my husband and I are going to our annual family halloween party as M&Ms.   What do you think?  Leave me a comment!

Haunted House Painting

Haunted House

I love Halloween and I was so excited when I got a commission to paint a haunted house, complete with a witch, gravestones and pumpkins. 

This is my most recent painting and it’s completed just in time for the holiday! 

If you’re interested in having me create a painting to give to someone at Christmas please contact me before November 1.

Thank you,

Mary

Drawing Illusions

During my two week vacation I did manage to complete one drawing (which I did during the 6 hour flight to Seattle).   It is more of a study than a completed drawing and I’ve learned a huge lesson from it.  I didn’t realize the impact of creating a drawing from a different angle or viewpoint.  So here I was on the plane and I was reclining and I had my drawing pad on the tray table while I drew my husband sleeping in the seat beside me.  My drawing was perpendicular to my body so when I drew the relationships it looked good from my angle but once I was finished I held up the drawing and oh my, it was all distorted.  It’s an interesting phenomena.  For some artist that’s what there all about, see Julian Beever’s art.  He creates pavement drawings that are supposed to be viewed from a certain viewpoint and when their not, they become very distorted. 

Back from a two week hiatus

What a wonderful vacation!  I’ve spent half of September on the West Coast driving down the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to Los Angles.   The West Coast is divinely beautiful.  I’ve collected so much inspiration for new work.  Although, I am so jealous of the plein air artist who take a trip like that and come home with a whole new body of work.  They are able to set up at so many locations and work so quickly that they have paintings done by the time they get home.  I don’t know if it is because I’m still shy to paint or draw in public or because I just don’t feel like I have time to spend at each location.  My husband and I were moving non-stop and I felt like there was so much to see!

Traditional classical painting

I would love to go back to school and study traditional classical painting at an Atelier.  I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve finally grasped the expansiviness of art and realized that there is so much I don’t know and I’m eager to learn about everything.  There is such a broad range of ways to create art and when you go to a University to study it it is very easy to get lost in all the options.  So I studied drawing and sculpture in college, which I do not regret because it gave me a solid foundation for painting.  Once I finished college I wanted to paint and basically taught myself up to a level where I became complacent with my work and wanted to get more involved in the business of art.  (Now I feel like I’m telling you all my life’s story when this post ment to be about the lastest book I’m reading.) So I got into the business of art: doing shows, selling my work, promoting myself and now I’m learning again by reading, reading, reading.  I’ve always loved classical paintings and the works of the old masters such as Degas, Velasquez, and Michelangelo.  I’ve become so motivated by the book I’m reading by Juliette Aristides called Classical painting Atelier.  I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the traditional study of classical art.

Cool Mural – JJ Long’s Art

JJ is an emerging artist who has recently stretched his artistic ability to mural paintings.  He did a fantastic painting on a wall in his client’s garage.  And guess what the mural’s theme was?  A Garage.  It’s a garage within a garage.  Here’s the link so you can see it.  JJ Long’s Garage Mural (scroll down on his website to view it.)

JJ Long is an artist who graduated from UNH with me in 2003.