Teaching Figure Painting with Zorn

 

 "Kendra"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

Workshop Demonstration

Price on Request

I taught "Beginning Figure Painting" on my home turf this past weekend, at Whiteaker Printmakers in Eugene. It was an enthusiastic, talented group, and I thoroughly enjoyed painting with them!  

Can you spot me in this picture?

 

We started out with gesture drawings, mixed flesh tones using the Zorn palette, and they painted these lovely pieces - all in two days!

 Here's my color chart, and two little demos - same pose, different lighting, four values.

If you're interested in trying this limited palette technique, I've got two portrait workshops coming up - one this weekend, November 11-12 at Sequioa Gallery + Studios in the Portland, OR area (spaces are still available), and the other in Eugene, at Oregon Art Supply, January 6-7. 

Live models, and lots of painting! Click the links for details.

Teaching the Figure in OKC

 "Adrian in April"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

$400

Email me to purchase

I just returned from a fantastic workshop at The Conservatory for Classical Art in Oklahoma City. We were doing alla prima figure painting - three days of live models, plenty of paint mixing, and value studies. It all resulted in some gorgeous work by my students!

I'm always so impressed with the drawing skills and dedication shown by the students at the CCA, across a wide range of ages and backgrounds.  

What a great group! I'm already looking forward to my next visit, "Painting the Dynamic Still Life," in October. 

 

And if you're interested in painting the figure with me in Oregon, I have a workshop coming up in June. Email me for details on that!

Figure Painting Workshop Announcement!

 "In the Gray"

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

I'm taking a break from my slew of Playa residency blog posts to let you all know about a master class workshop I'll be teaching next month at the Conservatory for Classical Art in Edmond, Oklahoma.

It's called "The Alla Prima Figure." Three days of painting from live models, demos, and lots of talk about mixing gorgeous flesh tones. There are several spaces still available, so if you - or someone you know - are in the Oklahoma City area, please consider joining us! 

More information, and online registration here.

 This will be my fourth visit to the CCA. I love the energy there, and am really looking forward to it! 

Here I am demonstrating for a class last year:

 ...And another limited palette figure painting - done in one sitting, about three hours. Alla prima! 

Figure Sketching in Oils

 

 "Study of A, Seated"

12 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

$200, free shipping in the USA

Available here

Technically, I suppose this painting is unfinished, though I consider it fully realized as an oil sketch or figure study. It's like a drawing in paint! My underpainting and process are revealed in the lower portion of the canvas and in the background, though the figure is nearly complete. Everything except the fussing and overworking! 

Here it is in the beginning stages:

This painting is being offered as part of my year-end Etsy clearance sale. Many pieces are available, some as low as $50. Check it out! 

Watching the Sun

 "Watching the Sun"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

I had a beautiful Fourth of July, painting a model en plein air at Eugene's big summer arts festival. Longtime readers may remember me doing this before - it's become a yearly tradition that I really look forward to! Here is my post from 2013 - and here is last year's.

My painting with the model, basking in the sun:

My friend Heather joined me this year - it's always fun to have company - and someone to help you wrestle around with your umbrella in the wind!

Here's my work-in-progress. I had to get that face in first! You can see me starting to test out my color mixes by smearing them on with a palette knife, over her left shoulder:

Her Thoughts Elsewhere

 "Her Thoughts Elsewhere"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

I've been painting this model, Miranda, for many years now. In fact, she was the first model I ever painted in Eugene - my first nude model since the MICA years. I never posted that painting online. When I made it, I wasn't even sure that figure painting was going to be a real part of my "work." 

Well, it was.

And in the name of see-how-far-I've-come, I'm finally going to post it:

"Seated Nude, Red"

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

January, 2011

Funnily, these are the only two unsold paintings of Miranda that I have: the first one and the most recent. 

 Here's a work-in-progress on the new one:

(Another) Nude With Silver Rings

 "Nude With Silver Rings no. 2"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

Number one can be seen here. Kind of a similar painting - if not a similar model!  

I'm happy with this one - and I'm not making any apologies about the mouth. This guy has a mustache. It's large. It's anachronistic. So I indicated it loosely, and I leave you with this quote from my favorite painter of all time: 

Teaching The Figure

 "Nude with a Pear"

11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

workshop demo price: $200

Available here

My Limited Palette Figure Painting workshop happened last weekend, here in Eugene. This was kind of a trial run for me - I've taught portrait several times, but never the nude figure - and I can humbly report that it went very well!  

On Friday evening I did a demo, which was open to the public. A few students of mine from other classes and private lessons joined the workshop attendees to watch.

The next morning, we started off with 4-value paintings. Two light flesh tones, and two dark ones to model the whole form. See? It can be done! And it's a great way to start a painting by working from the general (large shapes of value) to the specific (small anatomical details).

My demo of the 4-value exercise. 9x12" oil on Arches oil paper

Here is the progression of my demo from the second day. I can hear you thinking, 'All these demos, when did the students have time to paint?' They didn't watch the whole time - I just used this piece to demonstrate certain phases of the process. 

Believe me, much painting was done by my students.... 

Incredible painting!

 

I have two more workshops just like this one still to come in 2016 - one in September in Malibu, CA, and one in December in Eugene. Join me!

Figuring It Out

 "Humble Prayer"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

I've been doing a lot of figures lately. I actually spent most of May working on a portrait commission, which I hope to share with you soon. Two figures in that one! I'm also teaching a figure painting workshop this weekend (a couple of spots still available - info here!), and have been drawing, painting, and thinking up a storm in preparation. 

But first, this piece. Painted over two sessions with a live model. And believe it or not....this is Zorn palette! Ok, not entirely. I added Alizarin Crimson to the mix - so the full palette is Titanium white, Yellow Ocher, Ivory Black, Cadmium Red, and Alizarin Crimson. As my painting buddy Farley said, Yeah, Zorn is turning over in his grave.

Sorry, Anders.

 

Left to right: first session, second session.

Want to watch me paint a live model? You can! This Friday night from 6-8 pm, at Whiteaker Printmakers, in fact. Belle will be my model.  

Here is all the info. Hope to see you there!

Saying Goodbye to a Model

 

 "Yellow Becca"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

Becca is a great model, who I've painted many times. In fact, I counted - and I've painted her 21 times over the past five years!

 

Here are my some of my favorites:

 It's an incredible experience to paint someone multiple times - as they age, as you age....as your style changes, as they get more and more tattoos.... :)

Becca is moving away from Eugene, so this may be the last time I get to paint her - at least for a while. 

Thank you, Becca! 

Looking Left

"Looking Left"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

$500

Available here

A new figure painting, from life, using a fairly limited palette - mostly burnt sienna, yellow ocher, alizarin crimson, cobalt blue, and white. The last time I painted this model, Hannah, was about a year ago.

Here is a work-in-progress photo. The color looks really different from picture to picture - that's caused by taking them in different lighting situations. The final photo is closest to the actual colors of the painting. 

Alla Prima Portrait Painting

 "Fond Memory"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Available Here

Painted from a live model, alla prima, using the Sean Cheetham mud palette. Incidentally, the same palette I used for my recent self-portrait!

Self-Portrait Time Machine, and Subconscious Artistic Influences

 "Self-Portrait at 36"

24 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

Suddenly, it's been two years since my last large self-portrait.

Although I'd really like to avoid as many cliches as possible here, I'll allow myself one: it feels like only yesterday....

 

In looking at these side-by-side, I notice a strangely similar thing happening around the neckline of both shirts. They aren't the same shirt (though I do still wear the sweater from the first portrait), but my undershirt is peeking out in both. 

After wondering about it for a while, I noticed this print on my wall....which I've been looking at, on one wall and another, since about the age of twelve.

Thank you, Modigliani, for invading my subconscious.

And here are my works-in-progress. First the head gets bigger, then the body grows to match it!

Looking Inward

 "Looking Inward"

12x16 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

My newest nude, painted from a live model. Here's a progression:

"Dark Gaze" A Zorn Palette Nude

 "Dark Gaze"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

Summer is coming to an end, and Tuesday night figure painting sessions at Maude Kerns Art Center are back! Anyone can attend: 6-9 pm, drop-in fee of $11. We've got a great group of artists, and plenty of room for more. All media welcome.

A New Zorn Palette Portrait

 "Alexa"

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

Click to buy

This was one of those paintings that practically fall off the brush. I especially enjoyed painting those eyes! I love how the subtle topography of her face demanded really controlled value shifts across the flesh tones. 

You can see a photo of the model with her portrait on Facebook.