Aesthetica Magazine

Hello! 

Just sharing this beautiful August/September issue of the Aesthetica Magazine .I am honored to take part in this months artist Q & A .

 

 

 

Think Creatively!

A Word About Color Temperature

One of the most important rules of color temperature is that warm colors protrude (pop forward) and cool colors recede (fade back). So, if you think about the color scale, this would mean that red, yellow and orange would surge forward in a painting as opposed to the cool colors of blue, purple and green which would make things look like they are further away. That is why cool colors are used to signify elements in a distance like trees and houses because it denotes atmosphere between the foreground and the background of a painting.

We won’t go into a lot of detail about value (light and dark) but I will mention that the value scale is also used to show how close or further away something is and that there is a value scale within these temperature groups that will also intensify atmosphere. The closer something is to us the darker and clearer it should look and the further away it is the lighter and more diffused it should be, again signifying more atmosphere. Nothing explains concepts better than examples so let’s look at a painting by Henri Lebasque titled Blue Mountains in Cannes.

Henri Lebasque

Starting at the top of the painting, we see the mountains are painted with cool blues & purples (very gray, meaning lack of color intensity), showing atmosphere and visually telling the viewer that the mountains are far away.

Now, here is something interesting. Balconies are usually high, higher than the landscape below them and in this painting the perspective tells us that the balcony is indeed very high in the air. Which would mean that the possibility of having trees right next to the balcony is not impossible but is improbable. So, let’s focus on the balcony. Look at the first opening to the left. The cool purple makes it look like whatever you are catching a glimpse of is far away but look at the other openings to the right of the figure. The dark green is too dark and not cool enough. Do you see how that green looks like its bursting through the balcony openings? Now, I am not saying that the great Mr. Henri Lebasque did not see that intense green on that bright beautiful day in Cannes, but I AM saying that this is a great example of how temperature is important to denote atmosphere in a painting.

So remember, cool colors recede, warm colors push forward so the next time you look at a painting notice how the artist has used temperature to portray atmosphere and mood. 


Think Creatively!

Bob Ross "Who Was He" by Simon Whistler

Greetings All! Found this great video about Bob Ross. Have great memories of sitting in front of the TV watching him paint his happy, happy trees. Visit his website for more information. Think Creatively!

Limiting Your Brushstrokes May Just Increase Your Creativity

I was talking to a young artist the other day and she said that she was having a problem with an oil painting. She said she kept painting the same area over and over again until the paint was too thick and she had to scrape it off and start over. Oh, how I remember this problem! I went through this same thing when I first started painting. Not only is this frustrating, because you have obviously lost your original concept (or maybe you never had one to begin with) but this also gives your paintings a tight or overworked look.

I told her about a fun challenge that I came up with to help me.  

Start with a small sketch and pick a certain number of brushstrokes it will take to complete it and try to stay within that number to finish it. Simple! For example - if you only had ten brushstrokes to finish a small landscape do you think you might be a little more conservative with your choices? Most definitely. You could also, of course, try this with bigger paintings and you might not always finish within the estimated number but I believe it does help the artist to focus on what is important. This little exercise helped me to make every brushstroke count and to stop “torturing” my artwork. Good Luck!

Think Creatively!

Why I Love To Paint Landscapes

The other day I was working on a new piece and I wondered why I loved painting landscapes so much. I think it is because nature is ever changing, regenerating itself despite season, desolation or man's interference. The elements of nature will be here long after man has disappeared. A volcano erupts, lava flows and what do you get? More land. Something that can be so destructive actually creates more than it takes. A fire burns, leaving the acrid smell of smoke and ashes and what does that leave? Regrowth. Buds burst from the burnt cinders and generates the wonderful gift of nature for us to enjoy once again.

The ability to destroy yet also renew, to be both as beautiful as the first bloom of a spring flower or as glorious as the most ominous storm cloud is why I love landscapes. It is never the same. I see something new in every leaf and every petal. My senses glory over the smell of newly cut grass, the scent of an impending rainstorm, the wonderful quiet of a hidden field of wildflowers that only I have managed to discover; at least in my own mind.

When I paint landscapes, in some small way, I try to show the viewer that though the nature of a season may remain the same, none are ever identical.

Monica

African American Artists

This blog post is dedicated to master African American Artists who many may have never heard of. I will try to add links to their work, biographies and their movement. There are so many many more that are not included on this list. To continue your art history education and to learn more about these and other African American artists not included in this blog, a great start is Artcyclopedia. This site provides the artist, date of birth/death and worldwide locations of their artwork. These artist’s have contributed their creative vision to the history of art and I hope some will research and view their body of work and enjoy.



Robert Scott Duncanson, 1821-1872. Hudson River School Painter. Beautiful and serene, Duncanson’s work sheds light on American art that has been forgotten over the years…






Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1828-1901. Painter/Tonalism. Although primarily known for his idealized landscapes and seascapes, Bannister also executed portraits, biblical and mythological scenes, and genre scenes…








Harriet Powers, 1837-1910. Quilting. She used traditional appliqué techniques to record local legends, Bible stories, and astronomical events on her quilts…










Edmonia Lewis, 1845-1911. Neoclassical Sculptor. Was the first African American and Native American woman to gain fame and recognition as a sculptor in the international fine arts world…







William “Bill” Traylor, 1854-1949. Folk Artist. William Traylor was a self-taught artist born into slavery on a plantation near Benton, in Lowndes County, Alabama…







George Joseph Herriman, 1880-1944. Illustrator/Comic Art. was an American cartoonist, best known for his comic strip Krazy Kat…









James Van Der Zee, 1886-1983. Photographer. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance…