Sarah Croft Nightingale Art: June 2011

If you remember the post about the location and photo shoot in the stream with the two little boys, you might recognize the idea of this painting.

Isn't this little boy darling?!

Saturday, for my second photo shoot of the day, I had darling little boys help me out! I did get the shot I want, but I also got MANY unplanned shots that might just even be better than planned. Funny how that goes. Hopefully I'll do many more paintings similar to this soon. Loved this photo shoot. It was so fun!! And so wet!

I started out with a composition with just one figure so get a feel of the atmosphere I want to create for my bigger project from this shoot.

I always make sure to start out with the head. I figure that if the face and head (anatomy, composition, expression) is not near perfect, the painting overall will be a "re-do." Once the head is finished, I will most likely finish the figure, then background and "props" simultaneously. Some artists do things differently, but this is just my personal preference and the way I feel I can manipulate my paint how I like.

When I paint a figure/painting like this one, I nearly treat the face as one painting, and the rest of the painting as a completely separate painting until i'm ready to soften edges, et cetra, near the very end.

My basics for the actual painting process:

Rule 1. Darks first. I love adding detail to shadows. I think a lot of the time, beauty and detail in shadow is overlooked. Mostly, artists tend to focus on the detail in the light. I love contrast, so my lights are typically very simple. I'll talk about half tones sometime later because they are a huge process themselves.

Rule 2. Darks first.

Rule 3. Darks fist.

Rule 4. Half tones.

Rule 5. Check if darks are all in place.

Rule 6. Crisp whites (mixed, not straight from the tube. There are really very many shades of white if you look and compare.)

There are more, but I just wanted to emphasize how important it is, when oil painting, to apply darks first. This allows your colors to be clean, crisp and fresh. It also allows contrast to be bold. I rarely change my brush, or clean my pallet (during a painting!!) If I happen to switch colors drastically, I will clean my brush. But mostly, I like a smooth transition from every part of my canvas, so colors from the face will be mixed in with colors of clothing. Most especially, if a figure is blonde, I make sure to use mostly the leftover paint from the face.

Just some tidbits on my painting process.

This painting is just in the very beginning works, but coming along! Watch for updates to this post tonight and tomorrow.

Enjoy! Oh, and please don't feel shy to comment!

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The Sunday Evening Post

As much as I love creating my own works, I love to appreciate and study other's work. These are just some of my favorite artists that I look to for ideas and inspiration. They are all incredible artists!!! To look at their work really makes me see how much I have to improve (if it is possible to improve to their level!) As Justin Taylor (you'll read about him a little later in the post) says, "SOME painters or paintings just make you eager to paint." Coincidently, when he said that he too was talking about John Singer Sargent (my #1 favorite.) These artists art "My Masters". I say it possessively not because I want to keep them all to myself, but only because these are the artists that I solely consider Masters. This is in comparison to the said "Masters" whose work, though not to lessen the value, is less inspiring to ME. (I.e.Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh-although some of his work I do enjoy.) Anyway, I'm sure you've heard of most of these artist, and I hope you enjoy my quick "reviews" on their work.

This first artist is John Singer Sargent.

I have loved his work for years! The first painting I remember seeing of his is the "Chinese Latern Girls." It was on the cover of a piano book of mine when I was 9. Nearly everyday I would look at that painting before I opened the music. I love Sargent's fluidity. His brush strokes are so confident, sure, but most impressively, they are simple. If you really look at his work, you will find that he simplifies SO MUCH! It's amazing. From a glance, every detail is in place (especially in his portraits and fabrics) but as you look more closely . . .well, to say the least, you would never see a painted single eyelash from Sargent, but somehow, you still see it. Beautiful!

Scott Burdick

I first heard about Scott Burdick in an impressionistic oil painting workshop. The teacher, Victoria Brooks (also a wonderful artist that still teaches those workshops: www.vbrooks.com), had recently returned from a painting trip to Italy. She had met Scott painting plein air on a hillside, just by happen chance. She was so excited. I would be too now knowing! Anyway, I went home after that workshop, looked up Scott's work online, and he alongside Sargent became one of my favorite artists! He works a lot with The Portrait Society of America and has won many awards. Well deserved in my opinion. Scott's work is just vibrant!!!!!! (This painting below especially!) Even in his portraits, his tones and hues are so saturated! Not enough to make the work look unrealistic however. He just paints all the colors he as an artist sees. I think his work, in a 2011 sort of way, is similar to to Sargent. Now, I don't know if this is REALLY what he does, but the way I study it is that his boldest brush strokes are uniquely contrasted by his softest brush strokes. Alongside the vibrancy and neat, neat brush strokes, Scott's greatest characteristic in his art is the LIGHT! He captures, utilizes, and enhances light and shadow so well! I'd like to think my paintings are influenced by Scott's work, but in reality that's a long shot! He is a master! I could go on and on about his work! Check out his website scottburdick.com for demos and current work. His video "The Secret's of Drawing" is superb! Also, for you artists, check out the "frequently asked questions" page. Very great advice and insight.

Justin Taylor

I couldn't decide on which of his paintings to post, so I decided to post this video of his instead. Thank you if you are still reading this far in the post, and if you don't read or look any further, at least make sure to watch this video! The first time I saw it . . . I went straight to my easel even though I had nothing to paint. (I think I set a still life up or something.) I had first seen Justin's work when he won an award at The Portrait Society of America's Annual Art Competition. I really thought it was neat. I followed his website for a few more years, and continued to love his work. When looking into colleges to attend, I came across an art academy called The Bridge Academy of Art. I called to see if I could come sit in on a class, they were more than happy to allow that, and surprise! It was Justin Taylor's Head Drawing class. I sat in for a couple hours (it was my first head drawing from life ever!) And I learned so much from Justin! And to note, The Bridge was a very neat artist atmosphere. Sadly, the academy is not running anymore, but Justin is teaching at BYU! Anyway, his work is SO unique! I love the way he incorporates traditional ideas with more contemporary styles. I usually don't love anything contemporary too. But his portraits are solid! And his work is exceptional! He too has a blog that's worth checking out. justintaylorart.blogspot.com.

Norman Rockwell

We all know his work. It's great! Mostly what I love, what everybody loves, about Rockwell's work is the story that each piece tells. Here is an artist that know how to convey a novel without speaking a word. Even though there is usually a lot going on his works, he is a master with adding detail, he somehow allows his viewers' eyes to focus on the main subject first. I love his illustration style (did you know he was a very great "fine art" artist too?) Anyway, not much more to say about Rockwell other than he is fabulous! I would love to tell stories through my work like Rockwell does-genius!

Albin Velselka

I just recently came across his work about a month, maybe 2 months ago. From what I've seen though, I love all his pieces. The pieces i've mostly seen have been smaller format, but that adds to the excellence of his work! He Sim.Pli.Fies! I love, love his rich tones, and loose brush stokes. He has a wispy feel to all his pieces, but only enough to create the atmosphere that he does. Anyway, since it's only been some time since I've been acquainted with his work, I don't have much to say . . . yet. Check out his website too! http://albinveselka.com/

Susan Lyon (Scott Burdick's Wife)
Susan's work is similar to that of her husband's, Scott Burdick. Great use of color, vibrancy, light, and contrast. Her work, to me, has a much softer feel. Some days I like it better than Scott's, some day's I like it less. SHE TOO has a blog I just discovered, and it's great! http://susanlyonfineart.blogspot.com/ Really an inspirational artist. She has been featured many places, and also has a couple of great videos on the website (Scott's website.) My favorite works of hers are her portraits is charcoal, although she paints phenomenally too. I've never seen charcoal portraits look so soft and refined as hers however. Another great master!

Cecilia Beaux
She has always been a favorite artists of mine. I think in some of her work, she too is very similar to Sargent. I mostly love the realistic depictions of light that she uses. You know, sometimes you see artists that work for contrast (Rembrandt) and get the same result in most all their works. In the case of Beaux, in my opinion, she just paints what contrast she sees. The morning light contrast is different from the middle of the day contrast. Very beautiful near simple strokes too. Love it!

William Bouguereau
Even though I can still never pronounce his name well, I love William's figures. Always have, always will.

Also, one last artist to mention is Rose Yvette

Found this video yesterday and thought it was neat.

Well, again those are just some of my favorites. There are hundreds of other that create exceptional works. Looking at these artists' works really humbles me. They capture beauty. Their works are fluid, unique, story telling, rich, vibrant, full of light and life. They are the masters I look up to. I love the creations they put onto canvas. There is something else to be said about the light of the artist that is painted into their works. They create just to create, and share to inspire. For me, I find the greatest satisfaction comes first, as I create a work of art, and second, even more greater, when I see the affect that it has on others. Create!