Just a reminder…  My workshops in Mendocino are coming up.  June 7 & 8 and June 9 – 11, 2010.

The first workshop is a methods class where I will teach my techniques.  The second is a portrait workshop, with a bit of magic included.   Hurry hurry…   It’s not too late to sign up!

In June I’ll be teaching a four week class at University Art in Sacramento on the Art Nouveau Style.  My primary focus  will be the artwork of Alfonse Mucha, http://www.muchafoundation.org, though I will also show students other work in the style, or deriving from the style.

Described as an art composed of charm and grace, delicacy and love, Mucha’s art is full of intoxicating rhythm and line.   It is simple and at the same time complex with intricate details woven in.  The work usually combines the idealized form of women (complete with long flowing hair and drapery) with natural elements (flowers, leaves and creatures) and amazing borders and curvilinear line-work.

With this combination of form, line and subject matter, Mucha created a unique style that bears study and can be used as a starting point for artwork of your own.

In one of my reference books, The Art Nouveau Style Book of Alfonse Mucha, it says:  ”Let that man always be made welcome who is able to produce the mirage of a lovely dream in the midst of the sorrows and platitudes of our existence.”

To find out more about my class, go to my class and events page.

Here are a couple of pieces I painted that have come from my studies.

On April 14, 2010 Young’s Vineyard, in Amador County, California, released their new wines at a large two-day party on the beautiful vineyard grounds. Delicious food was served, music played, and wine tasted as people chatted and enjoyed the warm weekend weather.

Here I am signing one of the wine labels at Young's Release Party.

I was so pleased to be the new artist for the six different wine labels.  I deviated from the Arabian Knights theme on only one label… a mermaid for the white wine, Jour D’Ete .

When I had finished painting the label designs, vineyard owner, Annette Young and her team, wine-maker Nancy Steel, and vineyard manager, Kelly Hernandez, picked out which  image would go with each wine.  I know very little about wine, so tasting and listening to these women talk wine-talk was interesting and enlightening.

Seeing a project come to fruition is always so exciting.

For each label design I used a female model or combination of models, costumes either created by the model or researched and modified in multiple drawings.   My models are friends and acquaintances who have graciously agreed to be photographed and painted. My drawings and watercolor paintings were 4″ x 16″ in the long narrow format unique to Young’s previous wines.

Zinfandel poster

The Zinfandel was my favorite wine, but I found that each person I talked with had their own preference.  It was fun to hear the party-goers discussing which label was their favorite as well.

Photos by Bill LaVallie

My heartfelt thanks to my friend, Beth Hartline for moral support and photos, Bill LaVallie for professional photography… and to Annette Young, vineyard owner, Nancy Steel and Kelly Hernandez for being so much fun to work with.

To see more photos go to Bill LaVallie’s website, look for Galleries and click on Young’s Winery Release Party 4/24/10.  http://lavallie.smugmug.com

Here’s the step by step progression of my painting of Hannah, my granddaughter.

First step = a light multi colored wash over all.

My color palette:  Winsor Orange, Permanent Rose, Winsor Blue Green Shade.

Step two = start defining middle and darker values

Step 3 = Feelin' finished? I spent some time looking at what I was missing in Hannah's face, her hands and in the background and decided I needed to go a bit further.

Step four = Make some refinements in face and background, worked on ice cream and cone

Final step = more work on face and hands (and that cute little pinky) ... Add some fun touches of Cerulean Blue

And… Sign it.  Now I’m finished.  This is a small painting, 5″ x 5″, unusual for me.

Here’s a nice example of watercolor hair.  The combination of straight hair at the crown of the head, and curly loose hair around the face, helps you see two different textures and techniques for painting the hair.

In this painting I’ve used Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Permanent Rose and Winsor Yellow as my palette.

When painting hair remember that the hair is first a mass with a light side and dark side, just like any other mass.  Without that consideration the hair becomes a flat object.  The hair has an individual texture, depending on the person…  (wiry, curly, straight, bushy, and  shiny or dull).

Look for sections and groupings of multiple hairs.  I use lifting and negative painting to achieve these smaller divisions.  Painting hair this way keeps you away from the stringy look that we usually start with as immature artists.

It helps to be aware, as well, of the edges of the hair and it’s relationship to the background.  Let the hair softly bleed off into the background in some areas.  Leave some hard edges as well.  Where the hair is dark, you might want a light background.  And where the hair is light, you might want to darken the background.  This play between  foreground and background helps create the illusion of space.  Lifting out a couple of hairs using a metal or plastic template on a dark background can be fun.

If you have questions, please feel free to leave a comment.  Looking forward to hearing from you.