Studio Tour, Part #10

For those of you who missed my Open Studio Tour this past weekend...

As you can see, my book cases are stuffed with art books. In the back left of this picture you can see my favorite "corner posing chair." It was a cheapie used furniture find and resembles a chair in a John Singleton Copley painting.

On any given trip through my studio you are apt to find assorted drapery hanging around.

This is my model stand and a good place to spread out and sort through reference materials. The "stand" is made up of wooden cubes that I can arrange or stack however I wish. I like to photograph the subjects here (at eye level) so I don't have to bend way over for hours during a photo shoot. Ouch.

This is storage space over a staircase. It holds rugs, drapery and other props. 

That long silver pole thingy cranks open an upper window that I couldn't reach any other way.

This is what is on my easel right now. At the end, I finish painting the picture in its frame.

That's a portrait of Ruth Christensen (my mother) in the red dress on the far left - watching that I do my best & keep my studio reasonably neat.

She was a teacher and felt that to teach was the noblest profession. I tend to agree with her - hence this blog. Thanks mom.

The fall foliage is spectacular this year. Here's a little peep at the leaves outside my studio window today.

13th Annual Open Studio Art Tour

Saturday & Sunday

October 11 & 12, 2008

10 am to 5 pm

57 Artists / 50 Locations

Peterborough New Hampshire is surrounded by the Monadnock Mountains , and two rivers, the Contoocook and the Nubanusit , meet in the center of town. Stately 19th-century buildings make for an elegant streetscape lined with hip eateries, shops, and galleries. 

So what makes this town in southwestern New Hampshire stand out from other postcard-pretty New England burgs? In a phrase, a world-class arts scene.

Yours truly, number 34, Karin Wells

Peterborough's artistic abundance flows from the MacDowell Colony , a century-old summer haven for composers, writers, visual artists, architects, and filmmakers. The list of past colonists -- now more than 5,500 names -- is a veritable who's who of American arts and letters. 

Here Willa Cather and Thornton Wilder labored at their desks, Leonard Bernstein composed his "Mass," and DuBose and Dorothy Heyward penned "Porgy and Bess." Colonists still find their way into town, sometimes permanently. 

Autumn brings the Annual Dublin Open Studio Art Tour (Oct. 7-8) to "Our Town," a spectacular self-guided drive through Dublin, Marlborough, Jaffrey, Peterborough, Sharon, Harrisville, and Hancock in peak foliage season. 

More info and maps.

Off the Walls

It isn't just paintings that hang on my studio wall.

I'm one who tacks up things on my studio wall that delight me. It's an odd collection of things and here is a peek at a couple of things you'd find on a stroll through my studio.

This is one of my favorite cartoons and makes me smile each time I see it.

I got this windup wristwatch from a street vendor in China. It is a loud ticker and Mao waves  as the red star circles, counting the seconds. The minute and hour hands glow in the dark - if it isn't too dark for too long.

It doesn't keep good time and stops frequently but a little tap in the center the back will usually get it running again.

I love this thing.

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This is my computer. Because I now use a digital camera for my reference photos it is easier (and so much cheaper) to see the results instantly on my monitor. This allows me to tweak the lighting and the pose to get it right.

With Photoshop I can try out different colors and backgrounds and generally manipulate my pictures. This saves a LOT of extra easel time when I am painting.

I am a little nerdy for an artist as I adore electronic gadgets.

I am primarily a portrait painter and when people do an internet search for a painter who works in this particular classical manner, they will probably find me.

This is my Portrait Website and I get a lot of work through it.

See: http://www.KarinWells.com

The other way I get portrait commissions (besides direct word of mouth) is through a gallery or rep who recommends me.

I paint Landscapes and Still Life in between portrait commissions and really enjoy the change of pace.

To see my Landscape Gallery, go to: http://www.Oilpnt.com

To see my Still Lifes, I have posted them on this website.

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Before I began to use a digital camera, I had to store prints and negatives. Now, thank heavens, I can store all images on my hard drive and back them up with CD's.

If I could wave a magic wand I would convert all these stored photo files to digital and cut my storage space way down.

These boxes are full of slides and slide trays. Aaaaaaargh!

There is some great reference material here but the pictures are nearly impossible to access. Aaaaaargh again!

I am sorry I took all these dumb slides as someday I will have to figure out a way to convert them into digital files without wasting two years of my life. I cannot bear to toss this rich visual material out. And aaaaaaaargh yet again!

I don't use natural daylight any more as it changes so rapidly and the angle I prefer only appears once a day - if our New England weather cooperates. 

In shooting Still Life and Portraits I like the control of a movable (single) light source.

Because of the settings on my digital camera, I can make my colors accurate no matter what kind of lighting equipment I choose to use.

So why don't I "paint from life" like most people claim that every artist should do? Maybe I just like "breaking the rules" but have a couple of other reasons too.

I have had poor vision since birth. In fact, my left eye doesn't work much at all and my right eye gets a little bit worse each year. 

Has this hurt me as an artist? I don't think so. But it has made it necessary for me to work from reference photographs. Over the years I have figured out how to do this rather successfully. You really cannot paint a good painting from a poor snapshot...so if you're gonna be an artist, I would suggest that you learn to use a camera.

In order to draw and paint from life I need to be a decent distance from my subject matter in order to see it all. Since I cannot see from any distance at all, I must rely on my photos for reference.

Also, I am primarily a portrait painter. It is difficult for a person to sit the necessary long hours in order for me to paint them. A long inconvenient (for the sitter) session can result in a boring grumpy expression - especially since I personally enjoy working late into the night.

Can you imagine asking a small child to pose and sit still for a long time? Yikes! A good photo shoot takes all of one day - and maybe two. I use a strobe to capture "moving" children and give them plenty of breaks.

Every artist must take their own photos in order to call their work "original." It is a "no-no" to copy someone else's pictures unless you obtain permission and give credit to the photographer.

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The jars in the basket are "Genesis" Non-Toxic Oil Paints. Sometimes I use these when the ventilation in my studio is poor (as in the cold winter months).

Genesis has a high quality, extremely safe, line of beautiful oil colors. You cannot, however, mix these paints with traditional oil paint. Genesis paints are heat-set and can clean up with soap and water.

These paints are what I recommend for people who have allergies that prevent them from using traditional oils. I also believe that they are safe for pregnant women and young children.

I often use Genesis and swear that you cannot tell which paintings are done with Genesis or Traditional Oil Paint. The only drawback to Genesis is that glazes do not handle as well for me.

I use what is called "an Earth Palette" and it contains similar colors to those that the Old Masters used. In addition to black and white, my colors include both a warm and a cool version of red, yellow and blue.

I like to use as few colors in a painting that I can get away with and this is called "a limited palette."

Yet more canvas storage....it must be stored vertically so it doesn't get ruined.

Some of these fishing tackle boxes have drawing materials stored in them.

Others have watercolors and brushes.

These boxes are a handy way to carry small items.

I use these brushes for varnish.

The paints in this basket are tubes of watercolor. I often travel with this kind of paint because it isn't as messy to use as oil paint and is good for those quick color sketches that capture mood and the gesture of the moment.

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I keep some things around my studio for no good reason other than the fact that I like them.

My favorite Studio Bunny Muse...a gift long ago from my artistic mother. I still miss her.

This DVD gave me my 15 Minutes of World Fame. It is an episode from "Planet Luxury" that features - ta-da (insert drum roll) - little old me!

It appeared on Canadian Television. Also in England and South Africa. I am flattered but since I live and work in the USA I don't know anybody who saw it. Drat.

While I work I often listen to Audio Books via my iPod. I also listen to NPR and Classical Music. I am sometimes obsessed with politics and listen to Air America on Satellite Radio. (OK, my secret is out - I'm an unabashed, unrepentant "East Coast Liberal.") 

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I have a LOT of brushes.

This is because they are so easily worn out. In a large portrait, for example, I'll wear out at least 10 or more small brushes.

In this picture you can see some different kinds of brushes and various other tools of my trade:

Fans

Flats

Rounds

Filberts

Sables

White Bristle

Cheap hardware store and expensive art store brushes all mixed together.

Palette Knives

Rolls of tape, clamps, string, bowls....just some of the "studio stuff" that I cannot live without but likes to collect in corners.

 

More dratted bulky things to store. This is assorted camera equipment, tripods and light stands.

Here is a shopping bag of cardboard corners - I use these handy little items to protect the corners of fragile framed paintings when I store, transport of ship them. 

My embarrassing little secret is that sometimes (not as much now as I used to) I really mess up a painting bigtime. And there are paintings that I simply cannot save. 

I cut out the canvas centers of these sub-standard works with a vengeance and toss them into the fireplace. 

I recycle the stretcher bars.

I believe that an artist will eventually be judged by the least of their work and not just by the best. I like to be proud of what I paint and if I cannot "fix" a painting, I will destroy it. Nearly any artist can produce something good once in a while but I believe that the mark of a professional is consistency.

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I wash my brushes in Gamsol (odorless mineral spirits). I think that this is the least toxic substance that I can find that really takes the paint out . I never mix thinner with my paint as it can break the bond with the canvas and destroy the archival quality of my work.

The covered bucket-like container has an insert with holes that is raised so that solid particles of paint can settle out and this helps keep my thinner cleanermuch longer. It also keeps the solid particulates of paint from migrating back into my brushes.

I do not use soap and water to clean my brushes - I wear them out too quickly and I find it drying. 

When a brush is cleaned in thinner, it must be laid down flat to dry. If you stand the wet brush up in a container the microscopic paint particles flow down into the ferule and eventually wreck the brush.

Only dry brushes should stand up for storage.

Sometimes I use a wooden palette. And sometimes I use a paper palette - this is paper that is shown here and it is so lightweight and easy to clean up. I just rip off the top sheet and toss it out when I am finished.

I wish somebody would manufacture a paper palette in the color of wood or in a neutral grey. It is tough to mix and match color on a white ground...which is why I mostly use my Turtlewood Palette nowadays (more on this in "art supplies I love to use")

I prefer to paint on linen instead of a cotton canvas - the surface is nicer, more archival but is more expensive.

Sometimes I stretch my own canvas and sometimes I use the pre-stretched kind as it is easier.

These are two rolls of linen canvas. The one on the left is raw Belgian Linen (not primed with gesso) and the other one is primed. 

I use pinking shears to cut the raw linen canvas so that it won't fray. It isn't so much a problem on the roll but can become a thorny issue after it is on stretchers.

Oil paint should not be applied directly to raw canvas but a layer of gesso will protect it. You can buy canvas that is already primed with gesso and this is, of course, easier and faster.

Where does one keep very large drawings? I roll them up and store them in an old wastebasket. When the painting is done and I no longer need them, I toss 'em  into the fireplace.

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The Sink - no studio ought to be without one.

I never EVER dump paint, thinners or any other toxic chemicals down the drain.

Rags are burned in the fireplace and toxic liquids are stored and then brought to the dump on those days when they will take them.

The materials of painting are toxic and full of heavy metals. Care must be taken to keep these chemicals our of our soil and they do NOT belong in our water supply.

This is a picture of my studio trash can. I know it seems off to include it but rags that have been soaked in oil paint and thinners are dangerous and extremely flammable.

In the old days, it was not unusual for an artist's studio to burn down because of the careless disposal of old paint rags.

This is a special double walled safety can that I empty each night.

These jars contain acrylic paint and gesso. In order to save time I sometimes use them for my first layer of paint as an imprimatura (to tone the canvas). I can put oil paint on top of (matte finish) acrylic paint - but cannot put acrylic paint over oils.

These are wooden stretcher bars. I can put 4 of these together in any size I want. Then I stretch and tack a piece of canvas over this stretched "frame."

I keep a large faded old rug on the wall behind my (Hughes) studio easel. The old dyes in this rug are compatible with the colors in my palette and help me keep my sense of color true.

I cannot paint in a room that has white walls not can I paint when the color white is in my field of vision. It makes all of my colors look too dark and I cannot judge my paint accurately.

My studio walls are natural wood - an earth-toned neutral color.