Mirja, Author at Mirja Vahala Art Studio

Paint Like There’s No Tomorrow

Almost every artist I know has lost their mojo for painting for a period of time. In reading Alla Prima by Richard Schmid, I learned one reason why that might happen. (I know, I often quote Schmid.)

Schmid states: “It is hard to exaggerate the advantages of having a variety of starting techniques at your disposal. Unquestionably, a flexible response to the demands of subject matter and conditions is better than having a single individualistic style of working, however satisfying that may be to the ego. Fidelity to your perception of a subject is the whole point of working from life. …paint what you see…Real life…. presents an incomparable visual banquet, and capturing it faithfully the way you see it can be a stunning experience. To diminish that by subordinating it to a safe and set routine that everyone can recognize as yours makes no sense, and it’s no fun either.”

And no fun either! Finally, I get it. Feeling that we have to follow a set way or set of rules to follow can be stultifying. Why not have a variety of ways of working? When I first began as a full-time painter, I experimented constantly with methods, mediums and ways to approach the canvas. It was definitely fun. Then, over time, I heard messages from galleries, magazine articles and art groups that we are supposed to have a recognizable style to be ‘successful’. (The word ‘successful’ and I don’t like each other very much — what’s it mean anyway? Who decides? And how?) I then spent a few years trying to hone my skills to create a ‘style’. Eventually a feeling of shame came over me. Thoughts that the art I was making was sub-parr, invalid if not liked by the majority or accepted by an art group. My artwork suffered. I painted less. Happily, I decided to punt shame out of my personal soccer field. Then I left the soccer field. Mountain views are much better anyway.

We can choose to play it safe, or copy other artist’s styles, or find a comfortable way of doing things. But what if there is something new, something important, that only you can say through your paintings? We need to do the work, gain our skills, and then release ourselves. Through history artists such as Picasso, Klimt, Chagall and so many others were compelled to new ways. If we allow, their creations open our minds.

If I have anything to pass on, it’s this: Be yourself. Let go of fear, expectations, limitations and extraneous crap. Enjoy the heck out of life and your painterly pursuit. Never try to fit into someone else’s idea of what you should be or do (not even from your art mentor). Don’t waste any more time on the negatives. There is too much to do. Your light is needed in this world. Shine on.

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Mark Twain said it well: Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.
And I say: Paint like there’s no tomorrow. Go team go!

A Mini Lesson: Transparent Monochrome Block-In

Following is one of the monthly Saturday mid-day art talks provided during art mentoring. Above is Im’pear’fect, the monochromatic block-in.

These ideas are borrowed from the book Alla Prima by Richard Schmid (Oil painting technique)

The first stage is a nearly complete (transparent) value study done with one warm colour on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. Once the monochromatic underpainting is finished and dry enough, you paint opaquely over top, using the monochrome painting as a guide. The advantage to this system is you have worked out tonal values, drawing, design and edges. Begin with a line drawing, followed by blocking in the masses of various shades. A suggestion is to begin with the focal area and do less detail as you work outwards. You can go as loose or detailed as you like. If you like loose paintings, be careful not to be constrained by your line drawing. The lines are just for placement.

Surface

I use a triple gessoed canvas or board that is covered in 3 coats of acrylic matte polymer medium. The goal is that staining colours can be wiped back to the white surface. Next time I will use Gamblin Ground (it’s an alkyd), which is stiffer and less absorbent than acrylic gesso. Gamblin says it will dry in 3-5 days. It should be a better surface for deductive oil painting.

DO:

• Use neutral warm reds, red-browns, orange-browns for the underpainting. They enhance the final darks. (Transparent Red Oxide or Terra Rosa, for examples. I used Transparent Red Oxide and Ultramarine Blue to paint ‘Im’pear’fect’)

• Let some of the underpainting show through the opaques. Use from-the-tube-paint consistency. Use scumbling, feathering and scrubbing for a transparent appearance.

• Improve the working quality of the canvas with a very thin film of linseed oil, or a bit in the paint. Keep the additional oil to a minimum to reduce problems when later placing opaques.

Do NOT:

• Go as dark as black on the underpainting. (If necessary, add Ultramarine blue to Transparent Red Iron Oxide for darker shades.)

• Use yellow or cools such as violets or greens which will cause a muddy over painting.

• Use Burnt Umber or Vandyke brown as they crack.

• Use white paint for the underpainting. Instead, wipe off paint and use the canvas as your white.

• Use ‘soupy’ paint to cover the monochromatic layer.

Contrast and Creativity

‘Tranquil’, 24×30 acrylic, Mirja Vahala

Life is filled with contrasts. Night and day, joy and sadness, loss and gain, health and sickness. This idea of contrasts draws a parallel to how we are taught to paint. It is the contrasts within a painting that ultimately engages us. The darks and lights, the cools and warms, the brights and dulls, lost and found edges. It is life’s contrasts that can provide us with a deep appreciation of what we have, or have had, such as youth, loved ones, health, and opportunities. For me, life without contrast would be flattened to a boring mass of time — without flavour and meaningless.

Artist Richard Schmid tells us to ‘find out what moves you, what you believe in, what you truly understand about life, who you are, and what this experience of being alive means to you. Then put it in your paintings.’ View the yins and yangs as neither good or bad, but as life’s teachers. I have seen myself and other artists find new depth in living while doing the art process. We see more on varying levels, which is enriching. This leads to another contrast, ‘The more we know, the less we know!’ Learning is a contrasted endeavour: never-ending yet immensely satisfying when we reach new levels of achievement.

Jerry Markham Workshop

Jerry Markham believes that painting is a logical process like math, and that learning the ‘rules’ provides us with the freedom to paint what we envision. Our style will naturally emerge during this long-term process. As Robert Henri writes in his book The Art Spirit, ‘Seek technical excellence so that we may give compelling expression to our thoughts.’

During the workshop Jerry helped us to use effective language to critique our own progress. Instead of just saying something like ‘too muddy’ or ‘it’s not working’, we used specific terms such as too dark, too cool and so on. Learning the meaning of art vocabulary is key.

A progress photo of Jerry Markham's painting. — This is about half way finished.

A few of the many ideas Jerry passed on:
Begin with a clear intention; Let the values do the work by pushing and pulling the lights and darks; Soften edges at the outer edges of the canvas; Use edges to keep your viewer involved; Keep the colours clean (a recognizable temperature and/or seeing how the under colour affects the added colour); Try using a 3-colour palette plus white; Every stroke needs its own character; Be aware of how far you can move the marks before you break the integrity of a shape; Play with visual weight (big/small shapes, dark/light areas etc); Take your own photos and do your research; Discover problems and what you don’t know by sketching before painting.

Jerry quoted Bill Reese who said ‘Value does all the work and colour gets the glory.’ He suggests reading Reese’s book ‘Painter’s Process’ wherein Reese states that ‘Really good paintings are expensive as less people like them’.

Painting a Barn Plein Air

Palette Setup – I used a basic palette of Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Light, Transparent Red Oxide, Yellow Ochre, Quinacridone Red, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Viridian and Titanium White. I began directly, drawing with oil paint and gamsol mixture. My inspiration was the triangular shadow and the layers of pattern created by the fences, foliage and barn. I did not use any medium, except a bit of gamsol. Oil paints feel so creamy and rich compared to acrylics, which is my main medium so far. It’s fun to be able to wipe off the uglies and place those thicks at the end.

My inspiration.