John Singer Sargent's "Chronic Wertheimerism"


From October 1999 through February 2000, The Jewish Museum exhibited a group of twelve  portraits of the London art dealer Asher Wertheimer and his family for the first time since they hung privately in the family's home nearly a century ago.

And drat, I missed it! So here's a little post-view (just in case you missed it too):



Asher Wertheimer, 1898

In 1898, John Singer Sargent would embark on his largest private portrait commission that would, when it was finally finished, span ten years and include twelve oil portraits. 



Mrs Asher B. Wertheimer, 1898

Asher was a highly respected art dealer and his wife Flora was the daughter of an art dealer.



Ena and Betty, Daughters, 1901

This suite of paintings would be unmatched by anything outside of Sargent's mural work. 



Alfred, Son, 1901

It started simple enough. Asher Wertheimer had hired John to paint his wife and himself in two pendent portraits which would celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. 



Hylda, Daughter, 1901



Essie, Ruby and Ferdinand, Children, 1902

As so many had before them, the Wertheimers fell in love with the charming artist. Unlike others though, they were utterly insatiable for his work in depicting their family. 



Edward, Son, 1902



Mrs Wertheimer, 1904



Hylda, Almina and Conway, Children, 1905

With one portrait done, Asher and his wife would want another, and then another, and then yet another after that. 



Portrait of Ena Wertheimer: "A Vele Gonfie" 1905

Sargent would joke that he felt he was in a state of "chronic Wertheimerism." 



Betty Wertheimer 1908



Almina, Daughter, 1908

The bond between them would become so strong that the family held a chair at their dinner table in reserve for whenever he wanted to drop in -- and he would.


Eva Wertheimer & Antonio Mancini, 1904 Watercolor

The Wertheimer dining room, which housed eight of the twelve portraits, was affectionately dubbed "Sargent's Mess."


Betty Wertheimer Salaman 1910-1912 Watercolor

How I Manage Time - Sometimes


Sometimes I get really really "stuck."

I've been working on a portrait and am not quite sure that I am ready to pick up my brush and find that "elusive" likeness today.

So I switch gears - it's almost like a mini-vacation.

I usually have a stack of unfinished landscape "sketches" laying around the studio - just waiting for me to "pull it all together." Today is cold and snowy and I originally made this oil sketch on a delightfully warm day. When this happens in hot weather, I tend to grab a Fall or Winter scene - go figure.

This is why you're seeing me post landscapes just now:



Ferry Beach, Maine
12" x 16" Oil on Canvas


So I finished this little beach scene I began 2+ years ago and framed it. I like a wide gold, old-fashioned frame for most of my works...they work for me.

"It is never too late to do what you might have done."
(My version of a quote from George Elliot)

A note about my frames:

Since I tend to buy or stretch my canvasses to standard sizes, I find that I can use ready-made frames. I have had good luck with JFM Frames.

Hopeful Skies


This was a clearing a clearing after a storm so I gave it a happy name. Sometimes we need that, eh?



Hopeful Skies
20" x 24" Oil on Linen

Meadowlands #4


Sometimes I need a break from painting portraits. I wanted to bring a little sunshine into my studio.



Meadowlands #4
24" x 30" Oil on Canvas

Happy Valentine's Day


From the sappy...



To the sublime...



A Summer Love Poem
by Nikki Giovanni

Clouds float by on a summer sky
I hop scotch over to you

Rainbows arch from ground to gold
I climb over to you

Thunder grumbles, lightning tumbles
And I bounce over to you

Sun beams back and catches me
Smiling over at you



Love Is
by Nikki Giovanni

Some people forget that love is
tucking you in and kissing you
"Good night"
no matter how young or old you are

Some people don't remember that
love is
listening and laughing and asking
questions
no matter what your age

Few recognize that love is
commitment, responsibility
no fun at all
unless

Love is 
You and me 



And I Have You
by Nikki Giovanni

Rain has drops 
Sun has shine 
Moon has beams 
That make you mine

Rivers have banks 
Sands for shores 
Hearts have heartbeats 
That make me yours

Needles have eyes 
Though pins may prick 
Elmer has glue 
To make things stick

Winter has Spring 
Stockings feet 
Pepper has mint 
To make it sweet

Teachers have lessons 
Soup du jour 
Lawyers sue bad folks 
Doctors cure

All and all 
This much is true 
You have me 
And I have you

Not Feelin' Like a Ball of Fire Today?


Me either, but....

The motivation to paint comes from within - and some days are sure harder than others. But the pros still paint - whether they "want to" or not.




When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life. 
(Greg Anderson)

Go for it baby! Life ain't no dress rehearsal. 
(Tallulah Bankhead)

Pain pushes until vision pulls. 
(Dr. Michael Beckwith)

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents. 
(Andrew Carnegie)

For years I relied on tight deadlines and looming mortgage payments to keep me motivated. But I was reminded that I'm not here to paint for profit, the paintings originate in my soul. 
(Sharon Cole)



Being prepared is a fine way to motivate oneself; so the inspiration does not flee while getting ready to begin. 
(Jon Conkey)

Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. 
(Stephen R. Covey)

My motivator of all motivators has to be materials. You can't paint without paint, now can you? Be well stocked and inspiration will surely come knocking. 
(James Culleton)

There's nothing like a little fear or hunger to motivate one's inspiration. To take that away from a young artist can offer quite a disservice. 
(Ken Danby)

Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups. 
(Peter Davies)



The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you've just done something as well as you can do it. 
(Clare Crawford-Mason & Lloyd Dobyns)

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. 
(Dr. Wayne Dyer)

What makes life dreary is the want of a motive. 
(George Eliot)

Anyone who tries to make a living as a painter knows you can't lounge about waiting for inspiration to hit; nothing motivates like keeping a roof over your head. 
(Nita Engle)

Motivation is a misused term. It's an individual characteristic, an instinct... you either have it or you don't. 
(Gordon France)

An artist can make a mark, a squiggle, anything. Motivation implies movement. 
(Steve Hovland)



Your motivation determines everything. 
(David Leffel)

Motivation: Beauty... the fun of trying to get it down... the fun of trying to get better. 
(David Leffel)

By creating instinctively in auto mode we can uncover our true motives, our creative drive. 
(David Louis)

When you've done all you can, do just a little bit more. Any extra effort you make will draw immense leverage from all the ordinary efforts which have preceded it. That can be powerful and effective. 
(Ralph Marston)

One of the factors that still keeps me in the studio is that every so often I have to more or less start all over. 
(Bruce Nauman)



Walking your talk is a great way to motivate yourself. No one likes to live a lie. Be honest with yourself, and you will find the motivation to do what you advise others to do. 
(Vince Poscente)

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. 
(Ayn Rand)

We would often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives which produced them. 
(Francois de La Rochefoucauld)

If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around. 
(Jim Rohn)



One of the chief motives of artistic creation is certainly the need of feeling that we are essential in relationship to the world. 
(Jean-Paul Sartre)

In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it. 
(Jane Smiley)

There is this fantasy that is activated by deprivation and it becomes the motivator. 
(Robert Toth)

Our task is to create an art... which refers to the visual language of our culture but which also recognizes the power and wisdom of the pre-conscious spiritual motives which lie beneath the surface of life and provide the driving force of human nature. 
(Edward Varney)

Nothing spurs creativity more than a deadline. 
(Mary E. Whitehill)



People can be motivated to creativity simply with the instruction to "be creative." 
(Richard Saul Wurman)

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily. 
(Zig Ziglar)

Here are my two personal favorites:

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing. 
(Harriet Braiker)

Motivation will almost always beat mere talent. 
(Norman Augustine)

Now stop reading this, pick up your brush, and go to work.

Frosting the Cake


So many of us just stop working on a painting and call it "finished" - by giving up when we cannot think of anything else to do.

Of course it is hard to know when to quit and I've certainly  done my share of this.



Mother and Child
20" x 24" Oil on Linen

However I am "finishing"  a painting today and thought I'd show the process on a portion of the sleeve.



I've used a simple palette of just the particular area/color I am working on. Titanium White on the left and Raw Umber on the right. I use a small cheapie craft brush to mix the two and create a range of value with a small puddle of Liquin.



Above is the dry surface - I could declare it finished but I want to "beautify" it. Up close, the surface is "uneven, raw" and to my eye, does not "glow."

I start by matching the exact values of the shadows (I mix on the painting more often than not).



I use a scumble - that is, a little paint and more medium to make a "milky, see-through" mixture." I scumble this into the shadows to "flatten" them but not to repaint or completely cover. 

Sorry, I realize that it is so hard to see the flattened shadows in the pix above - it is very subtle and hard to photograph for you.

The next day when all is dry, I add the "frosting," i.e., the little surface details (fabric creases, highlights) that count. In painting, we often say, "God is in the details."



I generally define the small areas where light and shadow meet. I do NOT change the values nor do I put any light into shadows where they do not belong.  I am still working with translucent paint (the scumble).

After I have finished the sleeve, I repeat the process on the skin, hair and/or wherever I wish.

If you're not in a rush, you can repeat this entire process - adding another translucent layer on top of the last one after the surface is dry.

This is how to "beautify" your surface, make it glow and generally cause your painting to look more "painterly."



This is as far as I've gotten today. Tomorrow I will add another layer if I think it needs it. Generally, the more layers I do, the better it gets..as long as I don't use opaque paint.

This entire process only takes an hour or so... and since it is such a "piece of cake," I really do think of it as "frosting." 

Note: 
You are NOT repainting the surface. You are only "enhancing & beautifying" it.