What is Composition?

I have been asked numerous times if I teach, and my answer has always been ‘not yet’, but if I ever did teach a class, it would be on Composition. In my opinion, composition is the first thing which an artist needs to address before the brush hits the canvas.

The sketches below are from a 3 day workshop about 6 years ago in Nashville, given by Roger Dale Brown. He is not just a Signature member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA) but he is a Master member, or OPAM. Probably less than 1% of the OPA membership falls into this distinguished classification.

Each of those little sketches below took about 90 seconds. The exercise was to stretch our thinking of how to compose a scene which we intended to paint. My scene was of the South Manitou Lighthouse as seen from the north looking south. Ultimately, I chose to paint the lighthouse from the south looking north, because it greatly simplified the scene by dropping out those small structures in the foreground.

This piece is 30”x30” and it sold very quickly, so I must have hit a chord with that buyer. Maybe it was the composition.

Cheers!

Rick

What do you see?

When I began painting 11 years ago, my job as I saw it, was to paint an exact likeness of what was in front of me. That was ok, because you first need to learn how to paint. That is not a quick journey, but I have loved every step along the way.

Now when I see something which I would like to use as a springboard for a painting, I say to myself, 'what can I do with this?'. The goal has changed from replication to imagination. This path is much more energizing than the first one, yet it probably separates most artists from the hobbyists to the professionals. I now see myself in the latter category.

I mentally categorize the images below as 'what I saw' and 'what I painted'. My hope is that the transition brings a smile to your face.

Cheers!

Rick

Competitors or Companions?

I have discovered a trait among artists which I find unique in the “business world” and simultaneously truly inspiring.

ARTISTS HELP OTHER ARTISTS

Rarely do you find that in the business world. In the architectural environment where I lived for 40 years, we were all friends with our competitors, but I never recall offering coaching advice to another firm on how they might do a better job of marketing themselves to go after a job that my firm was seeking as well. It just did not happen.

The Hog Bristle Painters have worked together once a week, for almost 10 years now. During the first 8 years, we met at The Barn in Mariemont from 5-8pm on Tuesday evenings and would paint together. For the past 2 years we now meet once a month for a critique session. Each artist brings in two finished pieces for constructive feedback from their friends and peers. When we painted, the same offer of ideas was at your disposal if you sought their input.

It’s a very cool thing to experience, and just makes ‘this new sport’ as I call it, that much more enjoyable.

Anatomy of Painting Clouds

Ok, quick question……how many colors do you think it took to paint the clouds in Manitou Passage?

If you guessed 11, then you are correct!

To get impressive cloud paintings, you need to begin by applying the dark values of the shadows first. I use Severs Blue and Cad Red light, mixed with Fastmat Titanium White. I use three whites in my clouds and the Fastmat designation lets me know that this is a fast-drying white. The purpose of this paint is that when I get to the grasses in the dunes 45 minutes later, the sky will be 90% dry and I can safely paint into it.

Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson make up my darker puddle of purple. This is always on my pallet in the upper right-hand corner, as I use this in lieu of black because it has more life to it. These two purples make up my shadows in the clouds, which get laid in at the very beginning.

Then I mix two puddles to pull from; one which is mixed with Portland Grey Medium and a bit of Portland Grey Warm. The third puddle is Titanium White with just a touch of Kings Blue. I build 98% of the clouds from these three puddles. The blue sky around the clouds is white and a larger percentage of Kings Blue.

At the very end I use Warm White for the highlights of the clouds, and in this instance, it is mixed it with a touch of Cad Orange. On the color spectrum, our brains see orange as a very ‘warm’ color. These are my accent colors

Let me know if you enjoyed this tutorial.

Cheers!

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Before You Begin "To Work"...

I made my living as an architect for 43 years in Cincinnati, and for 39 of those years it was in the firm which I co-founded and loved every day.  What is interesting about having a job, is that each day when you show up for work, there is something which needs to be done.  Something or someone who requires your attention.

As an artist, that it not the case.  Before you stand in front of that easel, you need to know what it is that you plan to tackle that day.  Sure, we spend time shipping a piece out of state to a buyer, or maybe its framing 10 new pieces or toning 15 new canvases, but I am talking about when the brush meets the canvas.  

Before that can happen, your imagination must be wrapped around an idea of how you plan to bring that canvas to life.  Speaking for myself, that idea is born at least a day before I begin the painting.  This conceptualizing is one of the primary things that separates an artist from most of us who have a job.  Our work is not waiting for us each day, but rather we are the ones who bring the work to mind, literally, and then the work can begin.

So let’s paint!

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Farm Chicks

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Peace on Earth

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On the Wharf

The Olympic Spirit

We love watching the Olympics because of course it is so easy to cheer for any athlete representing the USA.

However, what we sometimes seem to forget is all the years of commitment which these athletes have put into their sport, to reach the top step of the podium.

Hyundai has a great commercial where the weary parent is driving their kid home from practice, and you can see the child questioning what they are doing and asking themselves, ‘why am I doing this’. The tag line of the commercial is Never Give Up On What You Love. I think the parent in the front seat, knows this and will support their child no matter the cost to themselves.

I love painting. So, it is very easy for me to get in front of the easel most mornings, and ‘do what I love’.

The time I have put into my sport does not even come close to what these top athletes have committed to, however the passion is still there for me.

It makes my work a joy.
Go USA!

Quiet Snowfall - 11” x 14” - $900

'Get so good they can't ignore you'

“Get so good they can’t ignore you”……….Steve Martin

We have all probably had ‘that day’ when someone recognized our work and approached us about how to leverage it for the greater good. John Heekin is a good Cincinnati/Leland friend and he owns both Bel Lago Winery and French Valley Winery in Leelanau County, Michigan. Of the 29 wineries on the Leelanau peninsula, French Valley has to be in the top three, if not at the pinnacle by itself.

John reached out to me to ask if I would consider putting my artwork at French Valley for display and sale. Of course I jumped at the opportunity.

Many businesses take time to build, but you will notice that Steve Martin’s quote does not mention size, it mentions being good at something, so as to be memorable. He did that one joke at a time. I’m trying to do that one painting at a time. John Heekin recognized that. Thanks John!

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'Begin With The End In Mind"

Tah Dah!

We have all heard the phrase ‘begin with the end in mind.’ I completely subscribe to this concept. When I am about to do a new painting, I have generally found what I want to paint at least a day in advance, sometimes two or three days in advance. Why? Because I am composing that painting in my head, before I lay down the first brush stroke. The dawn of the day that I plan to actually paint, I wake up energized about what I’m going to do with that scene in my head.

I love painting boats. I paint rowboats, sailboats, racing shells and fishing tugs, but this piece was quite different than most for two reasons; it involved a lot of figures and it invoked a powerful sense of speed. My painting needed to capture both of those for a successful outcome.

The sailboat captured here is a 75’ Twelve Meter yacht called DEFENDER. The images I like the best are the close-ups at the very bottom. Please let me know if you think I successfully captured ‘the end in (my) mind!’

Cheers!

Rick

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Eleven Years..

Excerpt from Jeff Bezos Letter to the Shareholders 2018

A woman wanted to learn how to do handstands, so she hired a coach to teach her how to do this acrobatic move. Her coach said, “Most people believe that if they work hard, they should be able to master a handstand in about two weeks. The reality is that it takes about six months of daily practice. If you think you should be able to do it in two weeks, you’re just going to end up quitting.”

Bezos went on to say, ”Unrealistic beliefs on scope – often hidden and undiscussed – kill high standards. To achieve high standards yourself….you need to form and proactively communicate realistic beliefs about how hard something is going to be – something this coach understood well.”

I have painted for almost eleven years now, yet when I painted this buoy recently, I was totally ‘geeked out’. How long did it take me to paint that buoy? Eleven years! Blow it up and check it out. It took six colors to make the buoy and its reflection. I had no idea of that, eleven years ago.

Enjoy,
Rick

Still Learning...

Who would have thought that at the age of 71, I would be trying my hand at something new. One of my sons has suggested to me that ‘this is the year to be BOLD’. So, I am going to listen to that advice.

I am becoming more and more comfortable with the new medium I am using, which is Gouache. Where oil paints can take up to a week to dry, gouache will dry in just minutes. The good news is that you can go back over it as many times as you wish, almost immediately, until you are satisfied with the result. With oils, I may have to wait a week or more before I can go back in, and fix something I don’t like.

The pieces below are 5”x5” and 5”x7”. For now, they are studies of larger paintings which I completed some time in the past few years. At the moment, these are not for sale but I dropped them into a frame just to see what they might look like.

Hope they brighten your day!

en plein air

The term ‘en plein air’ is French and it means in the outdoors. (The word plein is pronounced like the word ‘then’ but with a PL not a TH) In the early 1800’s oil paints were made from ground up pigments and thus all artists were fully committed to being in the studio. In 1841 John Rand, an American artist invented the paint tube and thus removed the shackles of painting only inside.

In the mid-1800’s artists like Monet and Renoir began painting outdoors and they also embraced the impressionistic style. These paintings were met with great criticism, because you could actually see the brush strokes, something never done before. In time however, the public embraced this style and today it has a huge following both for the artists and the buyers.

Mark Lague, a Canadian artist whom I have taken instruction from said……"the powerfulness is not in what you see, it is in how you portray it". I love that concept. So below you will see a photo of the beehives in a field sitting just before the woods, and then you will see my interpretation of that scene. Here’s hoping that my painting captured that scene with some imagination folded in.

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Poetry or Journalism

My painting journey has been just over 10 years now, yet I recall the words of wisdom from another artist who saw me struggling in my second year of trying to become an artist. She said to me, “Rick, do you want journalism or poetry?”.

You see, I was struggling because I was trying to replicate what I saw in front of me, be it a still life in the studio or a field with trees and a stream in plein air mode. Just those few words made an incredible difference in how I approached a subject to be painted. I now look at a scene and will literally say to myself, ‘what can I do with that?’

There little 6x6 canvases are from my imagination. No sketches. No photos. Just what existed between my ears at that time. I love the simple shapes of rowboats, the ability to show light and shadow, and the ability to render water as you see it here. You have never seen water like that before but you immediately know that its water……or rather poetry!

Enjoy

Rick

The Passage of Time

Isn’t it amazing what can happen with the passage of time? I’m not talking about getting older but getting wiser. Time can afford us the ability to see things from a different perspective than we had, perhaps only days or weeks earlier.

Such is the case with my artwork. In this instance, the Iconic Boathouse actually made its way into Main Street Gallery in Leland. I am in and out of the gallery two or three times a week, and I finally said to myself that the image of the boathouse above water, and its reflection in the water were too similar.

So, I convinced Cece Chatfield, who runs the gallery to let me have it back for 24 hours. Basically, I wanted to put the reflection ‘under water’. I used Kings Blue and medium to thin it down, and then grabbed a window squeegee and went to work. Please let me know if its an improvement in your opinion.

Enjoy!

Rick

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What is your Oxygen?

So for me, this is an easy answer but it still makes me smile when I think about it. Family and Faith are the first two things that give my life purpose, but those are constantly imbedded into who I am. It is the ability to create art that is my Oxygen.

I feel fortunate to have received this blessing, but I have also worked hard to make myself the best artist I am capable of, at any given moment in time. This October I am taking another on-line course from Mark Lague, a Canadian artist who I admire greatly.

Sometimes its difficult to get into the studio when the ‘creative brain-drain’ is occurring, but when I push through it and begin to get the paint on the canvas (and my hands and my shirt) then the Oxygen returns and I am in my zone.

The painting below is of the iconic boathouse in Leland, Michigan. Frame 1 is what I saw. Frame 2 is the layout with the sky-holes laid in using Fastmat white, so that they would be dry the following morning. Frame 3 is the finished 36”x36” painting. Enjoy!

HUMBLED

In 2017 the Crooked Tree Arts Center (CTAC) hosted their first five-day plein air event in Traverse City and surrounding areas. They first invited 30 well known and well respected artists from around the country. They then invited their members to submit paintings for 10 spots to fill out the roster of 40 artists. I submitted my work and was chosen as one of the lucky participants. I found that quite humbling.

In 2018 I followed the same procedure and was again chosen from over 100 applicant members of the CTAC. I found that very humbling. In 2019 they invited me to participate in the event as one of the 30 recognized artists. I found that incredibly humbling.

This year CTAC called me to ask if I would serve as a Juror for one of their events. I was bowled over by their request, and yes, it was amazingly humbling. The event had one twist to it…..one side of the artists canvas had to be 8”. It could be 8”x24” or in the case of one of the pieces I awarded, it could be 8”x2”. The show was titled Small Wonders. The work was magnificent but to my amazement it did not take much time to select the winners. The painting below is the work of Mark Mehaffey and it was awarded First Place.

Humility is a wonderful trait; hold on to it if you can!

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Who Knew?

In my entire journey as an artist, I have steadfastly stood by one medium for my paintings….oils. I love applying paint in an impasto technique (very thick) so that the brushstrokes are a part of the painting. I also love the ability to see my mistakes and to go back into a piece a day or two later, and correct them. So, I do not see myself trying pastels or watercolor any time soon.

However, the opportunity presented itself recently to sculpt; in ice! The Old Art Building in Leland offers many community based opportunities to become involved in some way, shape or form throughout the year. In February, they host an ice sculpting event. My good friend, Greg Kuntz, far exceeds the ‘handyman’ level skillset so it seemed like an artist and a carpenter would make a good team.

Fishtown, an integral part of the town of Leland, is home to two iconic fishing tugs; the Janice Sue and the JOY. We opted to depict the JOY for our ice sculpture. The chain saw came out first and then the chisels. The day arrived with blue skies and no wind, so we charged ahead, undaunted by our lack of knowledge.

After four hours, we actually had something that resembled the tug in all of her glory. The best part was that we had a blast doing it!

Cheers,
Rick

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Decisions. Decisions.

Many years ago, long before I took up painting, I raced the #40, 1985 Porsche 911 shown here. This is in a turn at Road Atlanta, with half of the field in front of me and the other half trying to get past me. What I liked about racing was that you had immediate decisions that needed to be made on the race track in real time. Did you know that on a road course like this, more passing is done under braking than under acceleration? So, to make that pass happen, it might take you 3 or 4 laps to set it up before you can execute it properly.

The same can be said for developing a painting. When I tell people that I’m an artist, one of the most frequent responses is, “I’ll bet that’s relaxing”. It’s not!

Think about one of those days, where your brain was working overtime. Or recall the end of the day after taking the bar exam or some other professional level test; you came home and were drained physically and mentally. Putting a painting together can be a lot like that.

In the barn scene below, I was not at all pleased with the grayed-down red barn. It was too lifeless. So I thought, ok, I’ll make it a white barn and hit the right side with a bright setting sun yellow-white. Then I turned the corner and cast the large side of the barn in shadow. Still just ho-hum. Nothing special. Then I saw the opportunity I was looking for; that small slot between the two roofs facing the sun allowed me to let that bright shaft of light to sneak between them. Now I had something that I thought was memorable! Decisions, decisions…..

Enjoy!

Rick

Commissions

In January 2022, I received a phone call from Nora Wiley, a former partner of mine at Architects Plus; now Luminaut. Nora, Executive VP at Luminaut, and Beth Schindler, Senior Interior Designer, were working on a significant remodeling project for Glacier Hills Senior Living in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The residents of Glacier Hills appreciate original works of art in their facility, and the administration is willing to back that up for them. So, Nora and Beth engaged me to paint two 36” x 48” paintings for the new lobby.

Their parameters were what an artist likes to hear. The client loves your style, loves your color pallet, and loves many of your scenes. They want water and a sense of space. WOW! I can do that.

Within two months, these paintings were hung to the delight of everyone involved. If you have an idea that might make for a terrific painting, reach out to me and we can talk more about that opportunity.

Cheers!

Rick

What is a Colorist?

It is generally agreed upon that there are five components which make up a great painting. In descending order of importance, they are

1. Composition 2. Values 3. Color 4. Edges 5. Details.

My previous newsletters have explored Composition and Values; you need to get both of those correctly established to have a good start at a great painting. However, I have found that Color is what then separates many artists from one another.

Google mentions Bonard, Gauguin and Picasso as being colorists, because “they produced images that created mood, drama and intensity by optimizing the effect colors had on each other”. I love color and I love exploring ways to optimize it in my paintings. Monet said “Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment”. I agree with the dude!

Without exception the one comment I hear more than any other is “I love your use of color”. It’s my hope that you enjoy the colors in my paintings as well.

Happy New Year!

Rick

Playing with Scale

Over the past nine years, I have produced between 100 - 120 paintings annually. Out of that large number, there are only 4 pieces that I will not part with because they bring me enjoyment. One of them is a little 4" x 6" piece titled Harbor Lights. It hangs in our home where I see it frequently.

I thought to myself, why not produce a much larger version of this same painting, where the scale takes on a whole new meaning?

Thus, Harbor Lights #2 was developed. It is a 30” x 30” piece and the scale of this tiny town at the water's edge is emphasized. The surrounding hillsides appear huge as does the twilight sky. All of this was done to show how small this little village and its evening lights reflecting on the water, really appear.

A gallery owner told me that a painting needs to make sense viewed from 13’ away as well as 3’ away. This painting meets those criteria.

Enjoy!

Rick