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The Planar Nose, With Dan Thompson
| 10 March, 2016 21:59
Dan Thompson, The Planar Head, Modeling The Nose in Clay
One of the most beautiful drawings of the nose, and something many artists aspire to, is that of Stephen Rogers Peck, from his "Atlas of Human Anatomy." After modeling this in clay and drawing it from life, I think about the nose in a very different way. I see it structurally in my mind's eye and see it organically in front of me. And, it's all thanks to our instructor, Dan Thompson.
To help us, Dan started with a giant nose. This has a straight mast in the center, representing the columella.
The Planar Ear, With Dan Thompson
| 10 March, 2016 21:54
Tha Planar Head with Dan Thompson: The Ear as a Structural Door
The most underrated form on the head and one that gets far too little attention in most portraits is the human ear. It could be thought of as a door - with a beach ball holding it open. The concha (inner ear) being an immense, concave ball. In surer terms, the ear could be thought of as a rotated, extended panel on the lateral plane of the head.
We started our adventure into the modeling the human ear by rolling out two slabs of clay into rectangles approximately the size of what the nose should be. The slab should be a little thick, something you can remove clay from.
The Planar Head With Dan Thompson
| 04 December, 2015 23:02
The Planar Head with Dan Thompson
Third-year Student
It's 6:45 a.m. Wednesday and I'm radiantly happy as I climb out of bed realizing that Dan Thompson is probably, at this very minute, already driving down from New York to teach his now notoriously famous class at Studio Incamminati - THE PLANAR HEAD IN CLAY
Level One Still Life Lessons at Studio Incamminati
| 30 January, 2014 20:24
For my blog on Studio Incamminati, I would like to continue with the subject of our still life drawing class, level one. These pictures were taken at the end of our first semester, in December, 2013.
Here, our instructor, Katya Held, is giving us a group critique in front of the still life and at our easel.
Our still life set ups look very different depending on which angle they are seen from. When we set them up, we make sure they look good from four or five different views. We spend time adjusting the light, which is fixed to a boom on a sturdy light stand.
We always start with a thumbnail sketch to block in the basic value relationships. The thumbnail is kept simple, done in five values. In this picture, you can see student Jason Jenkins continually comparing his thumbnail to his larger drawing and his larger drawing to the actual still life in front of him.
Student Jason Jenkins' drawing after two days.
From a slightly different angle, Anna Sang Justice’s drawing after two days.
Student Lyn Snyder's view and composition after two days.
From across the room, and a very different view of the still life, student Dale Longstreth's drawing after two days.
Our group had a still life life that was completely different, but it looked good from various angles.
One of the biggest decisions is whether the composition will look better vertical or horizontal.
I drew two thumbnails from this angle before I decided I wanted to compose it in a vertical format.
Student Mark Pullen got a rather oblique view of the skull and composed it elegantly. From his angle there was a significant effect of light.
You can see from student Wendy Wagner Campbell’s drawing, that the still life was made up of many elements that were the same in range of values, with only two white and one black.
My favorite was this view of the set up that student Hope La Salle had. Hope has kept her five values consistent throughout the drawing.
I’ll end here with a bit of writing by John Henry Fuseli (1741 - 1825) Swiss, on composition, because it has everything to do with making pictures.
“COMPOSITION, in its stricter sense, is the dresser of invention, it superintends the disposition of materials. Composition has physical and moral elements: those are
perspective - unity
light - propriety
shade - perspecuity
Without unity it cannot span its subject.
Without propriety it cannot tell the story.
Without perspecuity it clouds the fact with confusion, destitute of light and shade it misses the effect, and heedless of perspective it cannot find a place” Fuseli
Composing "Arches" and repainting for another layer of color and details.
| 08 December, 2013 13:03
Update=Repainting the steps with another layer of paint and adding more detail.
In the process of finishing "Arches". Something I usually do at the beginning and end of the painting. I call it "threading". It is a superimposed grid which subdivides the rectangle in such a way as to make visible the eyes of the rectangle. Very useful and completely invisible albeit for in an architectural way. Juliette Aristides uses this method and you can read about it in her book "Classical Painting Atelier". I highly recommend her book.
How I teach...
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
I take a very personal approach to teaching. Here I take time to show a student how to focus on the subject.
What's in my studio today.
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
In my studio. The latest painting for Cesco's Osteria is called "Arches". I'd like to put it on a wall closest to the door, a wall that embraces the ramp where people walk through to get to the main dining halls. This wall can also be seen from the Co2 Lounge. "Arches" and "Pietrafitta Panorama" will both be seen from the Co2 Lounge.
In my Studio Today - " The San Gimignano Sweep"
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
While "Arches" is drying and while I have these half tones mixed up for the sky, I am going to address a very real problem in "The San Gimignano Sweep". The problem was first called to my attention by a fellow artist, one with an exceptionally good eye {Jay Pigeon}. He saw that the sky was not transitioning smoothly in value from light blues at the horizon to dark blues at the top.
Threading "The San Gimignano Sweep"
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
Here is a detail of what the threads look like while I paint in the right value in between the bands.
I am using a different compositional format for the "threading" of this 3 X 4 foot landscape painting. I learned about "banding" when I studied the Greek Vases from the Attic period {circa 600 BC}. Apparently, the vases were divided into fifths, fourths and thirds, are these proportions were repeated throughout the shape of the vessel and also the decoration of it. I divide my landscapes like this, too. Here I have threaded the upper two-thirds. I have subdivided the one-fifth band twice as much because here the hue and value of the sky should transition more times since its position in space is the farthest.
The San Gimignano Sweep after I painted the bands of value changes in the sky
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
After threading the bands of sky in "The San Gimignao Sweep", I painted in transitioning values from light at the horizon to darker blues up top. It made the painting look bigger some how.
Correcting the value/composition in the "San Gimignano Sweep"
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
This is a picture after one painting session I spent changing "The San Gimignano Sweep" to correct the composition, to keep the eye trapped inside the picture plane. It started with the sanding out of the elements and then the painting in of the right value. It is so important to know what to edit in a landscape, and what to add or subtract to make it work.
I spent the whole day yesterday at the National Gallery of Art, at the West Wing. I was looking for answers. What is it that makes those Constable landscapes so compelling? What does Corot do to his landscapes to keep my eye trapped inside the picture? How does Courbet get such a dramatic effect in his landscapes? And after looking intensely at these masters I felt very inspired indeed.
Being under the influence, I pulled out my Bamboo digital pad and hooked it up to my Adobe Photoshop program and proceeded to "FIX" the things that bothered me in the "San Gimignano Sweep".
This is what I came up with and this is now what I have to change in the 3 X 4 foot painting. I feel thoroughly motivated to work on it now. I know what to do next.
Cherry Blossoms On The Tidal Basin 2012
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
Today {March 13th} was the first day I have been out Plein Air Painting since I was standing by the vineyards of Montagnana in September 2011. Being outside on a day like today was easy because it was so warm and sunny and there was barely any wind. Every day I will photograph my painting so you can see the progress. This is how the painting looked at the end of the first day.
Cherry Blossoms on the Tidal Basin 2012 Day two
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
Today was day two of this year's plein air painting session of the Cherry Blossoms on the Tidal Basin. The weather was so spectacular that the water was almost still for most of the day. It was so easy to paint the reflection of the monument in the water as it moved in slow ripples coming towards me in space and foreshortened. A handful of blossoms opened on my tree and the rest kept getting bigger and fatter, ready to burst. Ross Spears, the tree documentarist and filmmaker stopped by and explaned to me how the trees form these buds in June and they lie dormant till the Spring. Then James from the Washington Post stopped by and took sixty pictures of me painting with the last rays of light hitting my canvas. I will have to buy the Post every day now to see if my picture will be there!!!! A glorious day.
This is what my painting looked like after the second plein air day, {March 14th, 2012}.
Painting "Cherry Blossoms on the Tidal Basin" day 03
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
Day three on the Tidal Basin {March 15th, 2012}. The weather was warm and sunny again. But by 3:00 PM the wind arrived and the mood all changed. The water got choppy so I concentrated on the trees and the blossoms, which were opening up all over.
This is what my painting looked like after the third day {March 15th, 2012} Although I would really like to go tomorrow to paint {March 16th, Friday}, the weather forecast is calling for rain. Perhaps Saturday will be the sunny day when all the trees are blooming.
Painting the Cherry Blossoms, day 04
| 08 December, 2013 10:33
On Saturday, March 17th, the weather was sunny and warm. The blossoms seemed to be popping open all over the place. A nice fellow named Sloan, from George Washington University came by and interviewed as one one of his broadcasting assignments.
This is what my painting looked like after the fourth day.
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Recent Posts
- The Planar Nose, With Dan Thompson
- The Planar Ear, With Dan Thompson
- The Planar Head With Dan Thompson
- Level One Still Life Lessons at Studio Incamminati
- Composing "Arches" and repainting for another layer of color and details.
- How I teach...
- What's in my studio today.
- In my Studio Today - " The San Gimignano Sweep"
- Threading "The San Gimignano Sweep"
- The San Gimignano Sweep after I painted the bands of value changes in the sky