LONE BURRO  I don’t know burros, but I know values and shapes within the world I see. He had a great presence and individuality to recreate. And with pastel touches of light and shadow, the colors seemed to flow naturally with what I was observing. I liked the addition of a saddle and blanket. He seemed content, and I needed to immortalize his moment. His image and spirit will remain with us. 

Our Rapturous World

I’m glad to be an artist. What we do as artists hasn’t changed much over the centuries. Mix paint, put it on canvas. Draw with a pastel/pencil/charcoal onto paper. Work as a sculptor. Draw and paint and sculpt the world around us. Have art events where together we share our thoughts and hopes and maybe even sell. Yes, we’re totally exhilarated we’re part of this art world that we will carry on with pencils, brushes and clay for more memorable centuries.

Don’t Lose the Lost Edge Principle
Don’t lay in an edge where that edge is supposed to be but is “lost.” You don’t put in a shape or line just to let the viewer know what is there—like the edge of hair or cheek against parts of the background of equal value, or the dark shadow of a face going into a dark area of hair. Some edges of light, medium or dark clothing going into a mixed value background. We humans have visually, mentally filled in those “lost edges” since childhood. Take a serious look at artworks with the lost edge principle in mind, like Rembrandt or Sargent. Lost edges are of major importance.

No Problem
I like to solve certain art challenges—shapes, colors, backgrounds, etc., especially before going to bed. And I don’t mind waking up the next day and perhaps freshly seeing any problems I might have missed the day before. In art, our days are surely connected.

The Accurate Flow
There is that moment when the conscious mind takes over too much and doesn’t let the inner mind get into the flow. In other words the conscious mind starts considering too much and gets in the way of that flow. There’s a special moment when they work perfectly together. The more we draw and paint the more our minds know how to work together inspiringly. Accuracy and flow. Conductor and orchestra.

Certain areas might not need that perfect accuracy, like drapery, hair shapes, and so on. But they should have the basics that those subjects offer us. Don’t forget that on a sunny day, the shadows we see are affected by the blue sky. A perfect example are those cool shadows that trees cast on snow.

Our Face and Brain
What I so often reveal has been in my mind for a long time. I have spent most of my life studying the human face. Actually, in an extremely obsessive way since I was 7 years old. A part of my fascination is that you and I can recognize a face in the distance, or when mostly in shadow, with makeup, or when seen for a split second. All faces are different and often recognizable. For example in my early teens, I remember recognizing Uncle Ray, who I hadn’t seen for years, walking towards me from a block away.

OAXACA LADY: This is an oil I did quickly. No time for fussing.  •  Each brushstroke went where it should go.  •  “Lost edge” shaping of eyes with hair…hair with background.  •  The flower in the hair is important. Block it with your finger and see.  •  The nose and lips are done with gentle, accurate touches.  •  A necessary bit of cool, complementing her warm face and red collar.   •  Creating makes my heart beat joyfully. I do it for me. 

 

Yes, Different
Human facial features are about the same with location of eyes, nose, mouth, chin, jawline, cheeks, cheek bones, forehead and, oh yes, eyebrows. Of the billions of people who have inhabited the surface of this earth, no two faces are the same—maybe similar but not the same. Like the trillions of trees, wildlife and waves in the ocean. Let’s be careful and faithful to those differences when needed.

Better Remember
I’m not finished with myself by a long shot. I’ve got a ways to go. Here I want to be a better me, with myself and others and with my art. (In general terms, art is not a competition.) I’ll add this about being “better.” We can’t be a “best me,” while alive. “Best” means coming to the ultimate end of “better.” Dear reader, let’s just keep getting better each day of our existence.

Artist Me
All my life, art has meant so much. I never “hoped” to be an artist, I just knew I was “going” to be an artist. Art has always filled my heart and mind. I continually, truly thank myself for making it happen.

A Few of the Pluses
An extra for us artists is that we don’t even think of a retirement age. Art is within us all our lives. Also, we’re not necessarily located in an office building or in a city. We take trips, finding subjects all over the world. It got me to countries that I dreamed of when I was a kid. Cities I traveled to for workshops, art events, sightseeing, making art, often with a few art friends. Art masterfully keeps our minds vital. You and I are good examples.

Art friends are “close friends” for life. No matter where we move to, we stick together. Thank goodness for modern electronics and travel.

A Spirit of Contentment
As I’ve often thought about, we get to leave an important part of ourselves with this world. Some of our art will stay on walls for a long time into the future. If one of my art pieces is still up there for people to see a century from now, then my spirit will feel content.

I do repeat expressing some of my basic art principles simply because I find them too important to put to rest. My students can attest to that. We all know that art principles are endless. What I say and write continue in my thoughts. And here with you.

Today, fill a circle with bright red on a piece of paper leaving a 1 to 2" round spot in the middle. Then into that middle spot, put blue-green. Look at those two colors back and forth. Then consider Mother Nature having them “complement” one another. Your thoughts will stay with you. Including when you see a girl with red hair naturally wearing a blue-green dress. That’s Munsell Color Theory.

Next time you’re in a restaurant, with its lighting and atmosphere, look about you and see what single areas would make interesting pieces of art. People in a booth, a waiter walking towards a table, a few people standing and talking, the person(s) sitting with you. The lighting and natural feeling can abound throughout. Observations in these and other places have fascinated me all my life.

CARLOS: A few gentle strokes are all that’s needed for the hair and beard.  •  Notice the forehead light reflected on the brim of the hat. Understand subtle light.  •  The angles of the hat brim and shirt give visual movement.   •  His expression means a lot. It’s a part of art.  •  Shapes in the face have to be precise. One mistake stands out.   •  Form and cast shadows with background give design.

 

This Plus That
Whether I’m painting a person or a boat or a burro, I’m fascinated with my subjects. And to put it plainly, I’m fascinated with what I do to recreate that subject on canvas or paper. The color, shapes with shadows, edges and overall design. All of this is what makes us artists, working those elements no matter what we’re painting. We are intrigued and momentarily attached to whatever our subject.

Speaking on behalf of myself and others, I know that drawing faces and figures all my life has made it possible for me to understand shapes, forms, shadows, values and colors. All of which I use when drawing animals, cars, buildings, pots and much more. I’ll admit that I’m still working on maple trees and ocean waves. I’ll keep you informed.

Prominent Moments
Because of these three words, “Londoners are eccentric,” I took my family to England to live there forever. I loved it, but after two years we returned.

I was bashed on my skull by two armed thugs in a parking garage. They told me it was my money or my life. Guess what.

I was commissioned to do the portrait of a president because I happened to get totally lost in a huge foreign city.

I played piano in bars and a brothel during my art college days.

I was a dumb cluck in school; my only love was for art and music. I did graduate—barely.

Because a movie studio dialed the wrong number and got me, I lucked into being an extra in a film.

I was kicked out of art school in my final year. They did me a favor and knew it.

After art college, I got a peddler’s license and went up and down streets, knocking on hundreds of doors, asking to do people’s portraits.

Way back, no gallery wanted my art. I asked a janitor if I could put my art pieces in his workroom. He said “okay.” Eventually he became a full-time art dealer with me and other artists. Including Balinofski.

There are so many more real-life times I could put here.

There’s a reason I tell you the good and not so good about my life. What got me carrying through all these “interesting” times was my passion for art. My days at the easel gave me a deep, inspired strength to face anything that came my way. Dear reader, you and I are involved with a life that few others outside it can understand. We will joyfully keep on going no matter what. Bravo to us!  —