A Visit To The Studios Of David Leffel And Sherrie McGraw

Hello Everyone and Happy 2016!  I ended up taking a little blog break and I have so much to tell you.  I have four finished paintings that I will be posting about, but the big news is that I now have my own painting studio!  I am beyond excited about this.  I have been sharing a space for a few years and while it was great and I was so grateful to have it, I started needing more space nearly two years ago.

I have a ton of paintings piled up against my bookshelves at home and I was having to schlep my still life props back and forth.  Those blue and white vases are heavy!  Additionally, I was just out of room.  It had become hard to find things and when I did want to search for something it required moving a bunch of stuff around.  Not a big hardship by any means, but it did cause productivity issues.

I have a board on Pinterest called "Fantasy Art Studio" where I've been saving images for a few years, but on my trip to Taos I was extremely fortunate to visit the ultimate in art studios in person.

You may remember that in the fall of 2014 I attended a workshop in Taos, NM, given by David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Gregg Kreutz and Jackie Kamin.  We had a great time painting the landscape and seeing the demos at night, but the highlight of the trip for me was the closing night party.  The party took place at the home of David and Sherrie and while their home is over the top gorgeous, it was their art studios had everyone standing around in awe.  We were overwhelmed by the spaces, they were just so beautiful.  I decided then that if I ever had my own space, I wanted to model it on those two rooms.

I'll start with David's studio.  Above is the still life he was working on at the time.  When we walked into the studio people were just walking around with their mouths hanging open.  It was like being in Rembrandt's studio hundreds of years ago.  He had the gray/green walls, wood floors, easels and furniture, a gorgeous rug and tons of beautiful props and paintings.  It was dusk so some of the pictures may seem a bit dark, but you can definitely get a feel for the atmosphere of the studio.

I use a shelf for my still life set ups, but David has enough room to have a large table.  That is so great for doing a huge set up.

Painting By David Leffel

Above is the gorgeous model we had at the workshop.  There were David Leffel paintings all over the place (obviously).  I've seen one or two at a time at the Salmagundi Club and other galleries, but here there were a ton just hanging out.  It was such a treat so see.

The photo above shows the light source for the room.  Three north light windows provide all the light.  We all paint by natural light only.  It can be dark, but the natural light and the dark walls keep light from bouncing around and help make the dark shadows that make all the difference in our still life paintings.

There was a lot of stuff packed into this space, but it was all very neat and organized.  Something I'm looking forward to in my own studio.

The prop shelves were to die for.  Tons of blue and white pottery, vintage brass pots, dried flowers.  It was just beautiful.

The man himself

Right next door is Sherrie McGraw's studio.  It is very similar to David's but there are a few differences.  Sherrie has the most amazing chaise for models and an incredible still life prop collection.  Lets take a look.

Sherrie in her studio

Drawings by Sherrie McGraw

As you can see,  just a beautiful studio.  Gorgeous props, books, wooden painting racks.  It was amazing.  And it was so lovely to see Sherrie's beautiful drawings and paintings hanging everywhere.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I cannot thank David and Sherrie enough for the incredible generosity they showed all of us.  I can't think of too many artists who would happily and graciously welcome a horde of people into their home and studios.

In my next post I'll give you a rundown on the plans for transforming my studio into something resembling the beauty we have seen here.

A New Gallery

Hi Everyone.  I hope all of you are enjoying this incredible weather we are having.  After the last few freezing winters, I'm thrilled to be sitting here with my windows open.

I have some exciting news to tell you.  I have paintings hanging in a gallery!  This is my first time hanging in a gallery and I am beyond excited.  Sharon Pearsall, owner of the Chelsea Gallery in Huntington (LI) New York, invited me to hang some paintings in the gallery for a few weeks.

The Chelsea Gallery is a gallery, studio and workshop space right off main street in Huntington.  There is a lovely show hanging there now, lots of florals and still lives.

These are the paintings that I have in the space.

Sunflowers And Apples, 14x18, oil

Blue And White Vase With Fruit, 16x12, oil

Abingdon Square Market, 11x14, oil

The Purple Flowers, 12x16, oil

If you are in the Huntington, Long Island area, please stop in and check out the gallery.  There are some wonderful paintings hanging in there and you may just find a holiday gift for yourself or someone else.

Thanks to Sharon for this wonderful opportunity!

Chelsea: A Place For Artists Gallery
8 West Carver Street
Huntington, NY  11743
516-297-6527

Art Inspires Ashland Painting Workshop

A few weeks ago my teacher, Gregg Kreutz, did a painting workshop in Ashland, Oregon for
Art Inspires Ashland.  The Ashland Art Center put on talks, workshops and panel discussions for the weekend.

Since Gregg is my teacher and two of my best buddies live in Ashland, I was thrilled to be a part of the workshop.

Gregg was doing a workshop with still lives and a model, so we started out by setting up the still lives for people who wanted to do that.

Doing still life set ups for a workshop is a bit like being a stylist.  You get a bunch of flowers, fruit and props and arrange them until you have a set up that is pleasing to the eye.

  We also set up a model on the opposite side of the room.  The artists in this workshop were fast painters, unlike me, so many went back and forth between the two.

That evening, there was a lovely cocktail party followed by talks given by the participating instructors.

The following morning, the three day painting workshop began.  Gregg usually starts out his workshops by doing a demo.  Our model requested no photos during the workshop, but she was beautiful and held a great pose.

After the demo it was time to get to work.  I chose to do the still life with the red roses.  I somehow neglected to take a picture of the set up, but it is the still life on the right in the photo above.

This was my block in. This still life was a challenge as it had a few elements I had not painted before.   I never paint pomegranates and the red fabric on the right was very complicated.  I'm also not the best workshop painter.  As you know, I am a pretty slow painter, so when I am working with a deadline and not in my own studio, I don't usually produce my best work.

Through out the workshop, Gregg would go around helping students with various problems they were trying to work out.  Many of the students were not used to doing still life paintings, so we were able to get a lot of demo time.

This was my painting at the end of day two.  I had my lights and darks, but would never have put in the pattern so early.  I like to have my objects just right before I do the pattern, but I was running out of time.

We started our third and final day with Gregg doing a still life demo for us.  I was pretty far away, but you can see how he starts.  Very loose and painterly.  You don't have to worry about getting everything exactly right at this point.  

After the background is in, then it is time to cover the rest of the canvas.  The demos are usually thirty minutes, then we get back to work on our own paintings, though there were times everyone wished we could just keep watching Gregg paint.

This was my painting at crunch time.  I had about an hour left to get done.  I didn't of course, but I'm pretty happy with how things ended up.

This was my final shot at the end of day three.  Not bad at all for a workshop painting.  I may tweak this a bit now that it is dry.  I'm happy with the roses and the fabric, but I think the rest of it could use a bit of work.

I had a great time at this workshop and I loved the town of Ashland.  Great food, shops and people there.  I can't wait to go back!

American Artists Professional League, 87th Grand National Exhibition

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have a painting hanging in the AAPL's 87th Grand National Exhibition.

Brass Teapot With Lemons, 11x14, oil

The exhibition is on view at the Salmagundi Club in New York City and will be hanging until Friday, November 20, 2015.  I saw some of the show while it was being hung and it looks like it will be a great exhibition.  This Sunday, November15th,  is the reception and awards presentation.  Artist John Traynor will be doing a demonstration from 12-2 and the awards and reception will take place between 2:30 and 5pm.  Check it out if you can!

Salmagundi Club
47 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY

A New Still Life

I finished up a new still life yesterday afternoon.  This painting was a bit of a departure from my normal style, but it was fun to paint - at the end anyway.  I was a bit nervous in the middle that this one might not make it, but I'm happy to report all turned out well in the end.

Before I start, please excuse the quality of the photos.  For reasons I have not been able to figure out, my computer keeps rejecting photos from my camera.  I had to shoot everything with my phone and iPad.

This is the set up.  I painted the large black vase years ago, and it was fun to do it again, though of course I added a little blue and white to the mix.

This was the initial block in.  I was very happy to have the canvas covered the first day since I was painting over an old cityscape.  Once I had the colors in I could begin the real work of turning this into a painting.

This was my second time working on the painting.  It was around this time that I started getting nervous as to whether or not this one was going to make it.  It was very difficult to get the paint to look the way I wanted it to, but after completing it I realize it just needed many coats of paint to achieve the desired effect.

This was the end of day three.  The painting was starting to look somewhat like I wanted it to, but I was still concerned that this one would be a bust.

This was the fourth and last session.  I feel like I finally got the colors the way I wanted them and the grapes, which I did about fifty times, finally look like grapes.  I shot this on the easel with my iPad.  As soon as I figure out my camera issues I will update this post with a new photo.

Brass Teapot With Peaches

I'm excited to show you a new still life I just completed.  I've painted this brass teapot before and it's always fun to make a change from my usual blue and white porcelains.

  
This was the original set up.  The teapot is a little crooked after getting knocked on the floor, but I simply straightened it out in the painting.

I blocked in the painting rather quickly.  That does not always happen, but when it does, the painting usually flows without too much aggravation.

I proceeded to get the canvas covered.  I know it looks a little crazy, but it really does help to get the colors and shadows in right away and worry about the rest later.

This was my third session working on the painting.   I'm always happy at this point, when it starts looking like a real painting.  That is when I know that I will be able to complete it.  It does not matter how many paintings I do, I always have that little bit of anxiety until I get to this point.

You may have noticed in the previous photos that the teapot did not have a handle.  I was having trouble getting it right, so I decided to wait until my background was completely dry and then paint it in.  That can be the easiest way with a hard to paint item or a pattern because then you can wipe down your mistake without messing anything up.

Next it was time to put the pattern in on the teapot.  That is what really makes these old pieces come alive.  I am also quite happy with how the peaches turned out.  I'm rarely successful with painting peaches so it's nice when they do come out well.

This is the finished piece.  In a few weeks when it is dry I will varnish and photograph it.  This was a fun piece to work on and the first painting I've finished since I had my accident a few months ago.  It's great to be back in the groove.