The Ever Changing Landscape

I'm participating in a small group show featuring works of art by myself and George Hermelink, as well as Jeannene Anderson, Julie Kasniunis, Lynn Lyon, Julia Holmaas and Dana Dabagia.

Opening Reception: Friday, June 4th, 5-9 pm
Southern Shore Arts Gallery
722 Franklin Street, Michigan City, IN

I'll have 10 pieces in the show. Opening reception is on Friday, June 4th, 5-9pm. The show will be up until June 27th. Come on out and join us for some great art from some wonderful artists. And of course, there will be cheese, bread, wine etc. at the reception. Hope to see you there.

A Glimpse in the National Gallery of Art

I was on vacation last week in DC and got the opportunity to spend a little time in the National Gallery of Art. Due to time constraints and having only about an hour there, I stayed in the corner of the American Wing mostly. I was on a search to see the Thomas Moran paintings, and unfortunately found out that they were not on exhibit at is time.

I wish I had more time to spend in the museum to linger in front of pieces and see the work of Europeans and others I had to bypass. Still, I was able to see some incredible pieces, including Whistler, Sargent, Homer, Eakins, Turner, Cole, Inness, Gifford, Heade and more. The Whittredge really blew me away. The sense of light in it was gorgeous. A painting that a photo does not do justice. And one of the big things I noticed, too was how they displayed the work. The Whistler is very large and could be seen down the hallway through an arched doorway, which made it a centerpiece worthy of its beauty. The walls in different rooms were different colors and the paintings used in the areas were accented by the color usage on the walls (as a whole). It really got me thinking about how to display work for it's greatest effect.

I wanted to share some of the pieces that really caught my eye. Some you may have seen before and some you may not have. I highly suggest if you are in the DC area to see the art museums. There are several and just seeing one is worth the trip. And make sure to allocate more time than I had, for there is much to see.

1. James McNeil Whistler — The White Girl (Symphony in White, No.1)

2. Alfred Thompson Bircher — A Quiet Day near Manchester

3. John Frederick Kensett — Beach at Beverly


4. Jean Honoré Fragonard — Young Girl Reading

5. John Singer Sargent — Repose


6. Worthington Whittredge — Second Beach, Newport

A Life's Work

To really get to know and understand an artist through his work you should look at his complete inventory and take a look at his life as an artist. Two of my favorite painters, George Inness and Thomas Moran, have websites with a fair amount of their paintings. The Inness site is a collection of his work, with only a brief amount of information on the man himself. While the Moran site is more of an historical perspective of his work and the artist over the years of his life. While the Moran site has several paintings and nearly all of his more famous ones, it in no way is a thorough representation of his oeuvre. Both are excellent sites to visit for differing reasons. I'm just happy we get to share in these artists' work, and wish more sites like these were up and running. Could you imagine a Sargent site or a Corot? Or an N.C. Wyeth one? Or even some lesser known artists like Hugh Bolton Jones or Bruce Crane or George Hitchcock? Not to mention a Monet site with all of his haystacks. How spectacular that would be.

http://www.georgeinness.org

http://www.nga.gov/feature/moran/index.shtm

Composing the Landscape Class

I will be conducting a 6-week course that focuses on understanding and painting the principles of the landscape. Each week a different aspect will be covered, from creating a center of focus, to massing and value patterning, to understanding how color effects the composition. Examples from master artists (living and dead) will be used to help the student further understand the principles, as well as demonstrations given. Mostly, though, I believe we learn from doing, so hands-on in-class assignments and individual attention to the students will be stressed. To sign up, or for more information, contact me at 219-241-1392 or by email at mark@vandervinnestudio.com.

Composing the Landscape: A Course in the Principles of Landscape Painting
Saturdays from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm
April 3 – May 15th (Note: there will be no class on April 17, as I will be out of town.)
Southern Shore Arts Gallery, Backroom
722 Franklin Street Michigan City, IN 46360-3506

The 4 Planes of a Landscape

Learning to see the landscape in a simple way is key to the painter of the outdoors. Simplifying is not always easy, but essential to the artist. One of the easiest ways to see the landscape is to break it up into 4 planes of value and light. These planes are based on the idea that an object receives differing degrees of light according to the angle at which it is situated to the light source. The basic theory is that from the point of observation, flat planes receive more light than angled ones, which receive more light than vertical ones.

With that in mind, it follows that there are basic elements in a landscape that have these angles. They are:

1. The Sky. The sky is almost always the lightest value in nature, as the light from the sun radiates throughout it. This is true even at night.

2. The Ground. Being the flattest plane and directly perpendicular to the light source, the ground gets the most light and is therefore the next lightest value.

3. Slopes. Slopes such as mountains and hills receive the next most amount of light. Because they are slightly vertical, they don't get as much light as the ground.

4. Verticals. Trees and buildings often are vertical in shape and get the least amount of light.

In the below diagram you can see the basic ideas of the theory of angles and how it relates to the landscape.

And here are a couple photos where you can see this in practice in nature. Squint and you can really compare the values.

In the above photo, notice how the angle of the bale of hay (a) darkens as it gets more vertical. Also notice, since light is traveling through the clouds and they are considered to be part of the sky, even their shadows are lighter than the ground plane.

In the above photo, notice how the angle of the smaller trees (3) is different, and therefore lighter, than the trunks of the trees behind them.

Keep in mind, this is a generalization of how light hits objects and creates value on those planes. Many elements, such as sunsets and sunrises, storms, and the local value and color of an object, are not taken into consideration here. Mother nature always has exceptions to the rules, much like the English language. Always use your own comparisons and judgements to check these are correct.

The science behind da Vinci

This is a photo by Lumiere Technology in Paris showing the site of a fingerprint on a painting that art experts now believe is a newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci. Peter Paul Biro, a Montreal-based forensic art expert, said that a fingerprint on what was presumed to be a 19th-century German painting of a young woman has convinced art experts that it's actually a da Vinci.

"Leonardo used his hands liberally and frequently as part of his painting technique. His fingerprints are found on many of his works," Biro said. "I was able to make use of multispectral images to make a little smudge a very readable fingerprint."

The unsigned chalk, ink and pencil drawing, known as "La Bella Principessa," is believed to be the daughter of a 15th century Milanese duke, and is now valued at $150 million.

If da Vinci were alive today, I think he'd get a kick out of the idea of using scientific methods such as these to confirm the validity of paintings.

For a full story follow this link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cn_canada_da_vinci_discovery

Abstract Pattern Revisited

A few posts ago, I wrote about the underlying abstract pattern in composing a painting. As a demonstration of the concept I had shown a piece in which I'd only laid the initial block-in down. I often start my pieces that way. What I wanted to show here, though, was the finished piece. You can still see how the abstract dark/light value pattern is maintained here, even with the varying colors. Because of that pattern underneath, a wonderful sense of light is created along with maintaining the strong composition. There is still a wide level of value within that pattern, but those values stay within the ideas of shadow and light. Below is the side by side comparison of the start and finished painting.