A Dinosaur on a Bicycle

Yes, dinosaurs can ride bicycles. And they'll give you a lift.

Don't worry if you're riding in the back seat. Civilized dinosaurs poop intentionally.

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From: 

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara (Signed copies on my website)

Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (On Amazon)

Shishkin's 'First Snow'

First Snow by Ivan Shishkin, 1875 

The snow has melted in contact with the relatively warm, wet ground, but it still clings to the branches, surrounded by the colder air. 

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Books:
Ivan Shishkin
Russian Landscape

Is it cheating to base my art on computer-generated images?

Artistic-looking mages created by computers
courtesy Medium essay "What are Creative Adversarial Networks?" 

Barrett asks "I've seen these new CGI tools that can generate any kind of scene in any artistic style, and it makes me wonder: Is it OK for a painter to use computer-generated imagery for reference and inspiration? Sometimes it seems like the computer is doing the artistic work for me, and making aesthetic decisions, and I wonder if it's cheating for me to use them?" 

My answer: Like photography, these new computer techniques merely present us with another way of seeing.

Artists have always been sponges for new imagery. You can see the effect of photography on painting over the last 150 years. There are so many types of lenses, films, and processes before you even get into digital manipulation and CGI. Photography lets us freeze action, see through things with x-rays, and witness wildlife action up close. Photography has given us new eyes.

That doesn't mean we have to project and copy the random detail of a single given photo, though that's OK, too, if that's what you want to do (as long as you take the photos yourself or you have cleared the copyrights, of course).

The more we understand how cameras see, and now how computers can generate images, the more we appreciate the little "meat cameras" we were born with. And the more we learn about technologically-derived imagery, the more we realize our eyes and our visual brains behave very differently.

In my case, I'm usually trying to interpret my experience of reality directly into a sketchbook, or I'm trying to visualize a scene from the ancient past or from a science fiction future. I often think about photos I've seen and the effects they create, and I'm influenced by those images.

In some cases I want my paintings to look like photos so that they can fit into a magazine presentation that's mostly comprised of nature photos. To get those effects, I try to learn the theory behind photography, and I also surround my easel with a lot of different reference photos, taking a little from one and a little from another to make something new.

I don't know how the CGI technology will influence me, but I welcome it and am not threatened by it. Some CGI video imagery blends abstraction with reality in ways that resemble hallucinations or hypnagogic dreaming.

So I would say, embrace it all, vacuum it up into your eyes and see where it takes you. But don't forget to develop your skills, and to trust your own imagination and memory. It's essential to get beyond style and technique, beneath the surface, and dig down to an authentic expression that belongs to you. To get there, sometimes you have to unplug from all references and tunnel inside your own mind.

In the end, whatever tools you use, as long as your work is original and it communicates your own experience, it's not cheating.

Thérèse Schwartze paints a portrait

A Dutch portrait painter named Thérèse Schwartze (1851-1918) was invited to paint the daughter of the mayor of a coastal town.

She packed up her portable easel and paints and set up in a temporary studio in the mayor's attic. Fortunately someone took photos of her at work.

The girl sits in a chair facing a high window, supervised by a nursery maid. The artist's back is to the window.

Thérèse Schwartze, Portrait of Geradine
Marguerite van Hardenbroek, 1903

Here's the portrait that resulted from the sessions. 

And here are a couple other portraits by Thérèse Schwartze.

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Thérèse Schwartze on Wikipedia
Blog: More portraits by Schwartze
Book: Thérèse Schwartze (Dutch Edition)
Website with more about the Thérèse Schwartze book
Thanks, Maaike Dirkx and Linda Crank

Catskill Center Residency Now Inviting Applicants

The Catskill Center is now accepting applications for its little red cabin, perched at the top of Platte Clove, one of the wildest regions in New York State. 

A jury selects artists to stay in the primitive cabin for week-long residencies from July 1 - September 30. There's running water, a propane stove, a refrigerator, an outhouse, basic electricity and no internet.

The location was a favorite spot for Hudson-River-School painters such as Asher B. Durand and Thomas Cole, although the long vistas are more hemmed-in by trees these days. The nice thing about staying up there is that you can walk outdoors and paint streams and waterfalls from morning to night. 

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Information about the Catskill Center cabin

Guidelines for Artists

Application

Two WWII Posters

Recently we saw the exhibition of World War II posters at the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde Park.

Out of all the posters in the show, let me focus on just two of them with a very similar concept: machine gunners in action. Let's compare the compositions:

"Your Metal is their Might!" 1943 Jes Wilhelm Schlaikjer (American, 1897–1982)

The Schlaikjer painting shows three figures, a background that's light and dark, lots of bullet casings flying, and a slight upward angle of the gun barrel.

"Let's give him Enough and On Time" Norman Rockwell

What strikes me is how much simpler and more memorable the Rockwell is. There's just a single figure; we don't see the gunner's face; the background is black; the image is divided by a straight diagonal line; and the typography reads clearly against the light yellow background. 

By leaving out non-essential information, Rockwell makes a much stronger statement. In a poster, simplicity is crucial.   

Rockwell usually started out with a sketch made purely from his imagination and built his final concept around it. This germinal idea, which says "Are you backing me up?" is similar to the final, except that the soldier is turned toward us.

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The exhibition "The Art of War: American Poster Art 1941-1945" ends December 31, but unfortunately, because of the government shutdown, the museum will be closed.

Merry Christmas, 2018

Santa Claus by James Gurney, Oil on canvas, 24 x 36.

Hoping the holiday season brings you good fun and togetherness.

'Christmas Eve' by Fritz von Uhde

Fritz von Uhde (German, 1848-1911) painted "Christmas Eve: Winter Landscape" in 1890. 

Mary leans against a farm fence on a winter night. A delicate halo floats above her head. Joseph has left her alone for the moment as he heads through the snow to find a place to stay.



The painting appears online in a couple different versions. This one appears grayer and softer.

Fritz von Uhde combined his practice of plein-air painting with his devotion to spiritual subjects. He said, "Many of the French artists wished to find the light in Nature. I wished to find the light within the figure that I was presenting."
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Fritz von Uhde on Wikipedia

Extracting and Animating a 2D Character

Scientists have developed software that can extract a figure from a 2D painting or photo and bring it to life. 



The computer fills in the background and animates the character, so that it can walk or run out of the picture frame. (Link to YouTube)

The software works with photos, drawings, or even Picassos. Once the computer recreates the figure in 3D space, it can create a video or even a virtual projection that can be viewed with augmented reality goggles.
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Scientific Paper: Photo Wake-Up: 3D Character Animation from a Single Photo
Thanks, Dorian

"Paint a Kitchen Challenge" Results

A few weeks ago, I announced the "Paint a Kitchen Challenge," inviting you to paint a scene in your kitchen, or a commercial kitchen somewhere.  

A lot of you took time from your busy schedule and brought your supplies into an active location with challenging lighting. There were both experienced painters and beginners, but you all deserve applause for your bravery and enthusiasm.

Because there were so many artistic and interesting results, it was hard to pick out the finalists, but here they are. Pentalic art supply company joined in to add some fun things to the prize packages.

Grand Prize Winner: Bhavani Krishnan 

Bhavani's painting shows a family member pouring coffee, with an open dishwasher in the foreground. She's an experienced painter, and colors she used echo in endless beautiful variations throughout the picture. 

She says: "Morning cuppa joe.. the usual morning routine in my kitchen.. gouache on moleskine sketchbook.. I used permanent yellow-orange, aliz crimson, turquoise blue, ultramarine blue and white." 

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Shawn Fields

Shawn captured a magical feeling of kids working in the kitchen. There's beautiful atmosphere with this one, and this is a picture the family will treasure. 

Palette: cadmium scarlet, cadmium yellow light, manganese blue hue, ivory black, titanium white.

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Ada Alexander 

Ada captured a variety of surfaces: tile, stainless steel, formica, and enamel, all with a limited palette. 

She says: "I've been following James Gurney's painting from life challenges for a while, but it's the first time I plucked up the courage to actually do it :) It was challenging, but I've learnt a few things from it, so I am really happy I did it. It was also nice to go back to painting in gouache, which I haven't used in a while (in favour of watercolors). For this painting I used Yellow Ochre, Vermilion Red Light, Ultramarine Blue, Black and White."

Justin Pastores

 

You can see at a glance that Justin has a lot of painting experience, with a relaxed touch and a fine ability to suggest mood and atmosphere.

Details: "7:30-9:00am Size: 7x10 Medium: Watercolor Colors: Cobalt turquoise, Lavender, New gamboge, Pyrrol orange, Titanium white.

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Heather Martin

Heather undertook a complicated scene with lots of overlapping. The painting leads my eye through layers and layers of space and detail.

She says: "Our yard is always overflowing with juicy lemons at this time, and this year was no exception. I decided to hack away at some of the thorny branches to add some color to our kitchen on the overcast winter day. Colors used: Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Medium, Burnt Umber, and Quinacridone Red. Da Vinci gouache was new to me, but impressed me with a thicker paint feel. Thank you for the challenge!"

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Zoungy Kligge 

Very nice sense of light under the vent hood of the range, contrasted with the cool window light on both sides.

"This is a painting of my mother's kitchen "in action." I had considered adding her from photo reference but decided to just do the kitchen from life. In total I spent a few hours on this, maybe about 1/4 time on the drawing and 3/4 on the painting. My materials are Holbein gouache in a Pentalic 5 x 8 watercolor journal, plus Caran D'Ache Supracolor pencils. I did the initial value lay-in with the pencils and some water and used a white pencil for the steam effect. My paint pigments were Permanent White, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, and Ultramarine. I accidentally photographed a Black paint tube instead of Ochre, but any black in the painting was made with Ultramarine and Umber mixed together, not Black pigment. My "easel" is yet to be built, so I experimented, first with holding my sketchbook and paint thumb palette only, and finally settled on holding a baking sheet, with everything I need on it. I hope you all enjoy the painting. Oh-- it gave me an excuse to break in my first Pentalic sketchbook which I'd been saving for some special occasion. This was the one."

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Tim Hodge 

Tim set up his sketchbook right next to the pizzas and captured the unique ovens in the kitchen. 

He says the art is "5x8” in my sketchbook. I went to a local pizza shop and sat at the bar that looks into the kitchen and wood burning ovens. My palette consisted of burnt umber, ultramarine blue, spectrum red, permanent yellow deep and white. Oh, and the pizza was great, too!

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Finalists, please email me your mailing address so that I can send you the embroidered patch, and I'll let Pentalic know so that they can send you the art goodies. 

Thanks to everyone for participating. If you do Facebook, please see all the results of the "Paint a Kitchen Challenge" on the special Facebook Event Page, and it would be great if you could add a like and a comment there.