Archives for June 2019

Chewing gum, a soda bottle, and a paper clip and supposedly we can MacGyver our way out of anything!  I want to share one way you truly CAN MacGyver your way out of those times you feel like no matter which way you turn you are creatively stone-walled and once again the muses seem to have fled.

A lot of us will put music on in the studio along with knocking back a double espresso on those days our brain feels like day-old white bread. Get some mood enhancers going – we feel a bit better, we paint a bit better. So, now you know what this article isn’t about! What it is about is incorporating music into our painting practice in a much more powerful and intentional way.

Good friends and truly inspired – and inspiring – musicians, Dave Curley, Joanna Hyde, and Tadhg Ó Meachair, from the transatlantic trio ‘One for the Foxes’ have agreed to take this leap with me. They’ve offered up the gift of their music, thoughts on creativity and devotion to the arts and life to ‘we who wield brushes’ – their brothers-in-arms in the creative arts. They have provided the music you’ll be using for the exercises you’ll find at the end of the article. A sincere thank you to Dave, Joanna, and Tadhg!

The first exercise will focus on increasing brush vocabulary through painting using your entire body. The second, uprooting ingrained habits and assumptions that are way past their expiration date and have lost their usefulness. My hope is that the music in concert with the exercises will bring you and your paintings one step closer to the heart of all things.

I had occasion recently to work with a talented student who was stuck. The brush was in a death-grip; the approach to the canvas was sincere but unfocused. Paint would be shoveled up, a stroke would be laid down and then rather than allowing a breath, a pause and stepping back from the canvas and assessing the passage they would stroke the passage again and again until any life it might have had was gone. It pretty much bled out on the sidewalk. The student was truly stuck in a loop chanting the same ‘word’ over and over with their brush – but not in a good Zen way. The musical equivalent could be a three-year-old future percussionist banging pan lids together like a bad loop until you want to open the slider and throw them out in the snow just long enough to make them stop. They haven’t yet developed the manual skills, artistry, and understanding of complex rhythms to be the heartbeat of a future band.

I tried everything in my coach’s bag to get them past the wall they’d hit. I had nearly given up when I reached over, turned on my trusty blue-tooth speaker, chose a track and said, ”Now, stop painting the painting and paint the music.” They focused their attention fully on the music. The death grip on the paintbrush loosened. The stance that had been hunched became relaxed. The impetus for the paint strokes began originating from somewhere deep. They began using their entire body. The strokes became fluid and full of life.

For years we painting instructors have tried to teach rhythm, melodic line, composition and such with little sketches, slides, diagrams and whatever else we can think up. This was a serious ‘duh’ moment for me. All this artist needed was, not to read about, talk about or look at charts about rhythm, the student needed to experience rhythm in the moment. When they did their body knew exactly what to do with it. Watching them pretty much dance back and forth approaching and retreating from the canvas, laying down strokes inspired by the phrasing in the music actually verged on spooky since minutes ago they were carved in stone.

FINDING THE HEARBEAT

What are some ways we can bring ourselves back to true north when it feels like our painting is going sideways?

We need a heartbeat to live. A song, a tune, a painting, all need a heartbeat to live. The lot of us, painters, composers and songwriters alike, are pretty much guaranteed to now and then have a time when we stand back and realize our creation that day is seriously DOA. Don’t panic – triage. Can it be resuscitated? If not then salvage some valuable learning from it and move on. If there’s still a pulse then:

1. Step back and find the weakness that might be dragging down an otherwise important creation.
2. Ask yourself if the initial intent was unfocused.
3. Is there a weakness in the structure?
4. Did you hang the curtains before the drywall?
5. Is there an inelegant passage in the execution?

Sometimes we are only a very small adjustment away from saving the patient and a fine offering to the muses!

THE PRACTICE AND THE PERFORMANCE

As painters we work on two fronts – the practice and the performance.

1. The practice: Striving for mastery of the technical skills. A painter’s version of practicing scales.
2. The performance: We then choose a time to pull those hard-won arrows out of our quiver to create an image that will carry our message…hopefully squarely into someone’s heart.

Here are some go-tos for your tool kit to help you come at your creative life with more intention and focus.

1. Slow down and resist the temptation to just launch right in. Give yourself permission to spend some time bringing into focus your intention for your painting so it is truly ‘about’ something, not a painting ‘of’ something.
2. Keep your antennae up for those things you respond to.
3. Search for what you feel deeply about. Love will be felt by the viewer if you paint what you love. Joy will be felt by the viewer if you paint what brings you joy. Peace by painting what brings you peace. Power if you paint powerfully.
4. Quiet the voices in your head and sometimes the voices outside of your head.

Musicians lead us on journeys that are image-filled through lyrics and musicianship. As painters, we should strive to take our viewers on journeys that are music-filled, if not literally, at the very least through masterful handling of the painter’s versions of composition, rhythm, and harmony. The common roots of music and the visual arts surface constantly. We compose. We seek harmony. We design with rhythm. We use melodic line. We choose what key we are going to paint in. We place color notes. We find our voice. We create contrast. We use tempo to speed up and slow down the viewer’s path through the painting.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

I asked Dave, Joanna and Tadhg of ‘One for the Foxes’ if they would share some thoughts on the creative process from the viewpoint of musicians and songwriters.  I found their insights not only inspiring but remarkably applicable to our process as painters.

“My focus is covering two angles as I embark on my creative process and I try to keep these two fundamental elements (as I see them) at the front of my mind. 

At the outset, most of my process is informed by my own personal experiences and what I take from myself and inject into the music. Establishing the narrative, drawing from past musical interactions and imagining new ones to create something new. As the structural, musical and lyrical elements begin to take form, I try to shift my focus and fine-tune my piece of art with the fresh perspective of a new listener. I have found that parts of my art that I become sentimental and attached to because of the journey of the piece, can actually hinder the overall piece of art and it might be better served if removed. This tension between the personal and the external is important for my process and can offer a lot more clarity to the listener/observer when both sides are taken into consideration.”  Dave Curley – multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter

“In the spirit of art being a sort of continuum (in my mind), I find this element of ‘balance in flow’ really important. Just as Dave is talking about balancing the internal and external for the sake of art, I think that stretches to the idea of being open to whatever creativity is coming through you and/or from inspirational sources around you, and being able to look at it all critically without overwhelming yourself with judgment. 

I think one of the most fundamental reasons for art is joy – getting to feel and share joy -, and that is a sort of mantra I try to come back to in order to keep myself balanced when I’m feeling bogged down by uncertainty or criticism, most often my own. I know it sounds trite, but I do think that happiness is the core behind this all, and that is ultimately what allows the creativity to come out into the world. Some of my favorite moments are when I’m listening to a piece of music and it fills me up so much that I get goose bumps. I’m experiencing the piece in such a pure way without consciously analyzing it. With the open and subjective process that is art, it’s sometimes hard to know from the artist’s perspective when to let a project or piece be “complete”, or at least sit for a while and decide whether or not to come back to it. I try to keep ahold of an awareness of this flow between the various states of creating something and experiencing all different feelings about it, so that I can continue to try new things, hopefully learn and improve, allow for the more difficult moments, create space when necessary, and more than anything, keeping loving the whole experience of it. That, in turn, allows for whatever I’ve created/shaped/molded to be shared, and perhaps become something new again for the next person.” Joanna Hyde – vocals, fiddle, songwriter

“As for my creative process, particularly in terms of composition, I find it to be an ever-evolving process. Perhaps coming from the Irish tradition, where ‘a composition’ is usually limited to 16 bars of music and incorporates repeated motifs within that, one can encounter a burning urge to break the rules and strive to make something ‘bigger’. This can be very rewarding. However, when all the rules are broken, suddenly the beauty of the original ‘simple’ form can also emerge. Then, rather than feel confined by strictures, one can find immense joy in appreciating subtleties often lost in a larger picture. 

Ultimately, neither of these approaches is ‘wrong’, and, to echo Dave’s and Joanna’s words, letting go is the big challenge. You will always improve, evolve, and/or change as an artist. Tomorrow you might balk at the idea of something you love today. But today is just as valid as tomorrow. As the legendary Irish musician Dónal Lunny once told me in the midst of an album recording, ‘That’s why we call it ‘a record’. It’s a record of where you and your art is right now.’ “ Tadhg Ó Meachair – piano, piano-accordion, composer

MUSIC TO INSPIRE PAINTING AND PAINTINGS INSPIRED BY MUSIC

I’m going to share two paintings in an ongoing series that will be exploring music. The musicians are the subjects of the paintings but the message is the music. They are paintings ‘of’ musicians but ‘about’ music. The first is about music that was and will be. The second is about music in the present moment.

The Harpist

The painting is of a harpist but it is about the space between the notes where music exists.  Her hands in her lap mirror the rests in a composition. It looks back to when the music was and forward to when the music will be again.

Buena Vista Social Club

This is, on the surface, a painting of musicians on a stage. Again, the painting is about the music. For this painting, I literally used the spaces between the musicians to paint the music. Every stroke, color note, paint passage was executed to be a visual translation of the music filling the club. Even the powerful bass line lives in the dark vertical post on the left. The tangle of wires speaks about the complexities of the notes – of how the voices of instruments intermingle.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Okay, now we’ll turn our thoughts toward how to put all of these ideas into practice. Let’s dump some sound and some pigment into an imaginary particle accelerator and make the two collide. When any two things collide in this universe something is created. Water + rock = a canyon. Car + tree = a trip to the body shop. If you DO create something new because of a fender bender after you’re over inventing new profanities, stop and look at how the light might be hitting the new wrinkles in the sheet metal. Look at the sweeping patterns the grass stuck in the quarter panel is making. There’s beauty even in something that a minute ago totally sucked the life out of your day. Pass no judgment on what appears on your canvas during the exercises. Just let the worlds collide and feel the joy of the process.

My hope is that the music in concert with the following exercises will bring you and your paintings one step closer to the heart of all things!

EXERCISE 1: Increasing brush vocabulary through painting using your entire body.

Use two 12×16 or larger inexpensive canvas panels or paper. You don’t want to worry or feel precious about the surface you do exercises on.

Work standing up so you can move freely. Make sure you have a clear path so you can step back from your easel at least 6 or 8 feet if possible. You need to always be moving forward and back. Forward to lay down a passage. Back to see the big picture. For this exercise, you’re to not care a whit what ends up on the canvas. Focus entirely on the music and use it to inspire new ways to approach your canvas. Allow the marks you make on the canvas to just ‘be’ with no judgment. Relax and use your entire body. Let the stroke originate in the earth, move up through your spine, shoulders, arm, through your brush and finally to the canvas. Click on the audio clips to access the music for your exercises.

I’ve chosen two of Dave Curley’s pieces from ‘A Brand New Day’ for this exercise.

A. The first piece you’ll work to is a beautifully rendered piece that leads you on a gentle and at the same time emotional journey awash in visuals.  ‘The Pleasure Will be Mine’ – written by Alan Reid, arrangement by Dave Curley and Mick Broderick. 

I want you to be aware of the grace in the music and let that translate into how you move your body and hold your brush. You should hold a brush with both delicacy and perfect control. It should nearly fall out of your hand. You’ll move from shoveling up paint and spreading it on the canvas like stuccoing a wall to a vocabulary of true brush calligraphy that can speak volumes with a stroke.

B. For the second half of this exercise, you’ll work to one of Dave’s original pieces, ‘Off to War’, which is both powerful and poignant at the same time. e NOTES: ‘Off to War’ is a true story from Ireland in 1916, based off a mother’s diary which she kept for her son who was fighting in the Irish regiment of the English army in the 1st world war. Old story, new art.  – Dave Curley, Mick Broderick

Use a new canvas or paper. The intent, the rhythms, the message are entirely different. As you focus on the music and begin responding, you’ll discover you’ll be using your body in an entirely different way as you approach the canvas. There is a more powerful undertone in this song with compelling rhythms. There are moments that are lilting and inspiring and conversely poignant and heartbreaking. Pull out your Big Book of Brush Vocabulary for this one! You’ll need lots of different words.

EXERCISE 2: Uprooting ingrained habits and assumptions that are past their expiration date and have lost their usefulness!

Again, use two 12×16 or larger inexpensive canvas panels or paper.

For this exercise, we will again focus on the music but the intent is to interpret what we’re hearing and translate it into passages of color on the canvas. We have a huge vocabulary in a single brush. We can go from a wisp of a hairline to a powerful and bold stroke with just a twist of the brush in our hand.  After you load your brush you then have three tools for making your mark – speed, pressure, and direction in infinite combinations. Try them individually and then combined. Step back between passages and assess how successfully you’ve communicated the intent of the music.

I’ve chosen two wonderful pieces from ‘One For the Foxes’ for this exercise.

A. The first tune you’ll work to in this second exercise is a beautifully crafted piece, ‘Virginia’, that is sure to draw you in and inspire you to use your brush in new ways as it takes you along on its journey.

Notes: Virginia is a town in County Cavan in Ireland, and is one we particularly enjoyed putting together with its more distinctive arc/journey from slow and airy to faster and punchier. – Tadhg Ó Meachair

Let your mark making follow the arc of the story in this one letting your brush follow the beautiful drawn out passages in all of their tenderness. Then interpret the anticipation as the tempo slows then builds and the piece becomes more complex.  This is a great exercise for breaking the habit of repetitive brush strokes. You will have the pure music of radically different passages on one canvas. That’s when the painting becomes a dance.

B. The final piece you’ll be working to in this series of exercises fully invites you to the dance of life – ‘One for the Foxes’!

Notes: “One for the Foxes…is a mix of two tunes – one Irish tune composed by Junior Crehan, and then the tune that myself and Joanna composed in honor of some foxes who lived in my back garden in Dublin!” – Tadhg Ó Meachair

This last exercise is about shaking off dusty habits that have been holding us back, stealing our voice and keeping us from true expression and connection. 

So, put the last canvas on the easel, turn up ‘One for the Foxes’ and feel what it’s like to channel joy!

Enjoy your journey of discovery! – Lyn

Credits:

Many thanks to Joanna Hyde, Tadhg Ó Meachair and Dave Curley of ‘One for the Foxes’.

ONE FOR THE FOXES

Dave Curley, Tadhg Ó Meachair & Joanna Hyde form an exciting and dynamic transatlantic trio that presents a rousing blend of Irish and American folk music, having already won over audiences on both sides of the ocean. The group is made up of Dublin’s Tadhg Ó Meachair (Goitse), Galway’s Dave Curley (SLIDE) and Denver, Colorado’s Joanna Hyde (The Hydes), and features a mix of Irish and American folk music and song – both traditional and newly-composed – presented in an energetic and engaging manner. Their performances strike a tasteful balance between the stories found in ballads across both sides of the Atlantic and the respective instrumental music traditions of these places. Award-winning instrumentalists each in their own right, Dave, Tadhg & Joanna take a unique twist on the diverse strengths of their individual backgrounds, weaving between traditional melodies, their own compositions, and songs from the broader folk canon. The results are highly personalized and thrilling in their daring and forthright grasp of the material. Through a shared deep-rooted passion for Irish traditional music, this trio highlights the vital role of Irish traditional music as an origin of many American folk musics and explores how those styles can interact with one another in a manner both eclectic and grounded.

Dave Curley

A multi-instrumentalist from County Galway, Dave Curley has worked with multiple Grammy-winning acts, as well as being a member of the Irish supergroup, SLIDE. Not only an outstanding musician, singer, and songwriter, Dave is also known as a champion Irish step dancer.

Tadhg Ó Meachair

An All-Ireland champion pianist, Tadhg has toured the world with his multi-award-winning band GOITSE. His musicianship, recognized by legendary musician Dónal Lunny in his ‘Lorg Lunny’ television series, has led him to collaborate with acts ranging from Seán Ó Sé to The Stunning.

Joanne Hyde

Award-winning fiddler and vocalist Joanna Hyde, a Colorado native, is steeped in musical styles on both sides of the Atlantic. A recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Graduate Arts Award, Joanna has an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance from the prestigious Irish World Academy in Limerick, and tours throughout North America and Europe with various projects

oneforthefoxes@gmail.com

‘One for the Foxes’

 www.oneforthefoxes.com

 ‘A Brand New Day’

http://davecurleymusic.com

© Lyn Boyer – No Fear Oil Painting™

www.lynboyer.com

Let me begin by saying that 2018 was the most challenging year of my life. Through a series of mind-expanding experiences and difficult decisions, I made some big changes. The brain is a very flexible tool. A curious phenomenon takes place when we venture beyond our limitations. It’s like pulling the cord on an inflatable life raft – once expanded it’s hard to shove it back into its original shape.

“Realism is not based on the way things are, but upon things as you see and feel them”

– Charles Woodbury

Elizabeth Gilbert once said that the best gifts she’d ever received were questions she couldn’t dodge. Good questions are better than good answers, in that they give us purpose. I’m basically a pleasure-centered person, the fear of being uncomfortable is a very palpable thing. But I went in search of something beyond the life I’d known.  My fear of failure was overshadowed by the realization that life is a gift, we have to make the most of it and not waste a moment. I took a leap of faith and let the universe direct me with a trust in the knowledge that I’m not in the driver’s seat as much as I’d like to believe.

“It’s easier to paint the angel’s feet in another’s masterwork than to discover where the angels live within yourself.”

– Art and Fear

In many ways the creative process is a metaphor for life: it’s letting go of fear, trusting in our abilities, and accepting our “mistakes” with patience. It’s also about asking tough questions. It’s problem solving on a visual level and the reality that painting is not a mindless escape. It takes a highly evolved, series of mental maneuvers to create a great work. That being said, believing that every painting you make must be absolutely perfect is an unrealistic goal. You’re never going to achieve it, so you become too scared to even try. Instead of aiming for perfection, strive for every painting to teach you something and learn from your mistakes.

I spent a lot of time in Bermuda over the past year, teaching and painting. The most satisfying thing about teaching is that I get to help people step outside of their comfort zones and stray from their intellectual neighborhoods long enough to learn something new. The first challenge is to break down the psychological barrier that you must be born with the ability to draw or paint. Art is a universal language and it is so because it’s the expression of the feelings of all people. The word ‘truth’ is often used in the discussion of painting. It speaks of the creative process as a soulful act. The power of seeing the world in the most truthful of ways requires extraordinary intuition, an insight into subjects which are dark to ordinary vision. Creativity is about engaging with the world and awakening an emotion in ourselves and in the minds of others.

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it”

– Salvador Dali

One of the most talented artists I’ve had the pleasure to meet was Nancy Guzik (married to Richard Schmid, another huge influence). While painting together on a cold winter day in Brattleboro, Vermont she compared the process of painting to a horse race. It’s important to pace yourself; lay in a good foundation, maneuver through the painting with confidence and skill and hold back till the finish line is in sight. This resonated with me because as in life, I lack patience and want to get to the good stuff first. The creative process does not come easy, it takes real effort to move beyond mediocrity. As is the case with professional athletes, musicians and great artists, this “ease” comes from years of hard work and practice. Our ego wants it easy. In reality nothing worth doing ever is.

I hope you’ll join me for a workshop in 2019. Visit www.elicedrone.com for my workshop schedule

August 5, 1926 – May 26, 2019

How can it be possible, that one of the greatest painters of our time, dropped out of high school at age 15 to take a job as a comic book inker? Within a year he was drawing stories and illustrating pulp magazines. Soon after that, he was routinely painting commissioned portraits of powerful and glamorous people. Everett Raymond Kinstler would continue to make his living as an artist for more than 75 years. I never have known anyone who worked harder at his craft or loved painting more.

A few years ago he stated that he had painted more than 2,500 commissioned portraits. Seven of the subjects that posed for him, were U.S. Presidents.  Kinstler painted more U.S. Presidents by commission than any other artist. No less than 100 of his paintings and drawings are in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. He was finishing up one of his commissioned portraits at age 92, just two days before he went into the hospital. His death a few weeks later was a shock and a devastating loss.

A full listing of Kinstler’s honors, awards, and notable portraits is covered in his OPA guest author page. More biographical details can be found in this article by The Washington Post.

I am writing about some of the many other attributes of this remarkable man.  I met Ray in the mid-eighties, at his workshop in Maine.  I was just starting to paint portraits seriously and was constantly reading his book, “Painting Portraits”. He was the teacher I needed to become a portrait painter. Since the time of that first workshop, he has been a major part of my journey as a painter. I cannot put into words what I owe this man as a painter, teacher and mentor, and a person.  Because of him, I paint plein air landscapes, teach and mentor, as well as paint portraits. The best I can do to honor him is to teach and mentor others as he did for me.

It was only this past October, that Sandra Murzyn and I were at the Kinstlers’ Connecticut home, plein air painting, listening to stories and getting critiques of our work. The highlight of these trips was the privilege of seeing what he was working on in his studio. He would show the studies, the process, and describe the character of his subject in great detail.  He was so passionate about each painting that he was working on.

In his Connecticut studio, there is an older drafting table loaded with sketchbooks, notes and open books related to the commission on the easel. Kinstler said, that he always did his homework, and he most certainly did.

Over the years, I have been amazed with Ray’s vast knowledge. He was one of the best-read, best-educated and curious people I have ever known. Ray could converse intelligently with anyone, from the president of a university to the man who came to repair something at his studio. The author, Tom Wolfe, once said that, if Ray couldn’t talk, he wouldn’t be able to paint.

He often joked that he might not remember what he had for dinner last night but could remember everything about all the people he had ever painted. He explained this recall due to the fact that; “The people I have painted have meant more in my life than I have in theirs.  I spend maybe 80 hours on their portrait, much of it by myself.”  Case in point, I ran across an older Kinstler painting here in Nashville. When I asked him about it, he told me the man’s name, when he painted it and many other details.  In talking to him about one of his workshops in Maine from 20 years ago, he remembered the model’s name and several of the students in that class. He could also remember critiques he had given you in the past. At times, this was embarrassing.

You simply cannot write about Everett Raymond Kinstler without telling one of his many stories. If you want to hear a good sampling of these iconic stories, watch the 2018 YouTube interview with Michael Shane Neal, “A Conversation with Everett Raymond Kinstler”. A favorite story concerns one of his most famous paintings. He received a commission to paint the actor John Wayne for the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Wayne posed for sketches and studies and photographs. John Wayne was truly a hero of Kinstler, who was an avid movie fan.  When Kinstler finished the painting, he checked it against his photographs and was in a bit of a panic.  He said “The eyes were too small and nose was too big, but someone was watching over me and told me not to touch the painting.  After I delivered it, Wayne’s son Michael told me that I had captured the quintessential image of his father.”

His portraits went beyond the photographic image. He often said that the camera may record a moment, but the painter makes a statement. His acute powers of observation worked in partnership with his technical skills to create paintings filled with light, energy, and imagination.  He worked primarily in oil but was also proficient in watercolor, pastel, acrylic, casein and pen and ink.

It is important to keep in mind that Ray Kinstler was our most direct link to the teachings of both Sargent and Sorolla.  Kinstler studied under Frank DuMond, who knew Sargent personally.  As a young man, Ray was also mentored by Gordon Stevenson, who had studied with Sargent in London and Sorolla in Spain. Sculptor, Paul Manship was one of Sargent’s closest friends. In Manship’s later years he became a good friend of Kinstler. Kinstler’s commitment to teaching can be summed up in this quote from Michael Shane Neal’s book. “He (Kinstler) has remained devoted to passing on the things he learned from his teachers. In fact, Ray often said that the only thing he asks in return from those of us who have studied from him is to pass the information along just as his teachers did before him”

Kinstler, having been a great admirer of the actor James Cagney, liked to repeat the advice that Cagney once gave him. “Kid, learn your lines, be honest, plant your feet on the ground, and when you say something, mean it”. Kinstler followed that advice his whole career. I think it is good advice to all of us as well. 

To see more of Everett Raymond Kinstler’s artwork please visit his website

Growing up I was always outside exploring the woods and loving the changing light but never thought about painting it. It wasn’t until after a career as an illustrator that I began taking my easel outside to paint. When I paint outside and spend two hours capturing the light it is a spiritual experience. During that time, you get to see, hear, and feel the changing world around you.

I created a natural setting in my own backyard where I started planting trees and bushes. One of the great joys of my life is watching the plants grow. You buy a $2 plant and it turns into a $20 one.

It’s my oasis where I’ve taught painting workshops and gathered with family and friends. It is literally a living room. Everyone loves to be in this environment whether it’s my backyard or in their own.

Artists throughout history have documented the outdoors and through this empathy for the landscape, they became conservationists.

Thomas Moran created a stunning painting of what is now Yellowstone Park. Congress was able to see the beauty and the National Parks were born. J. Alden Weir turned his estate into a park and Ding Darling left a preserve in Sanibel.

My artist friend Mary Erickson has preserved 30 acres for a bird sanctuary in North Carolina. This past summer I painted on the property of the famous Indiana artist TC Steele. It is now a park for all to enjoy.

Every time an artist paints on location they are preserving our world. It will never look the same.

Hurricane Michael hit the Forgotten Coast and leveled the area of Mexico Beach where Mom and Pop shops and restaurants once stood. Quaint family beach cottages gone forever.

Over $117K was raised by Operation Fund Storm started by artist friend Larry Moore. Artists donated paintings for the auction and some pieces were of this devastated area.

We have painted the area for many years and those paintings have preserved what has vanished faster than we ever thought possible.

About two years ago I was approached by Greg Vine, who had this idea of turning 50 acres of prime real-estate in Venice Fl. into an Urban Forest under the umbrella of VABI. Venice Area Beautification.

He needed an artist to create a forest with paint and canvas to show Sarasota County what could be done with a raw piece of land along the intercoastal that borders an industrial area.

I first photographed the area and began painting directly over the photographs to eliminate scrub and add trees of various shapes and sizes with smaller bushes underneath.

When we approached the Sarasota County commissioners with our proposal and my paintings as a visual guide, they finally approved the Urban Forest.

But this had taken almost two years from the time Greg asked me to come on board. There is an enormous amount of red tape that an organization must go through in order the achieve any endeavor when dealing with City, County, and State officials. As volunteers, we had countless meetings to set up promotion, funding and planning committees. Once the word got out about our plan’s, volunteers came to help clear brush and plant new trees. Without volunteers, a project like this cannot happen. This a totally funded by donations.

Venice was designed by architect John Nolan back in the ’20s. Nolan was inspired by the amount of green space in cities and introduced that in Venice and Mariemont Ohio.

Our Urban Forest catch line is; “In the spirit of the John Nolan Plan, VABI resolves to create the Urban Forest, an oasis for all generations to enjoy”.

As this project finishes phase 1, we are having artists come out to document what has been done and create sort of a “Baby Album” of this young project.

Many people can see what a derelict piece of land looks like now, but an artist can see what it could be in the future through a small rendering.

Beyond the initial decoration, a painting may have had a big role in how people feel and their empathy toward the world we live in.

A moment in time means a couple of things to me. I think each of our lives is defined by moments in time. Decisions we make along the way in our journey through life that define our lives. Some favorable and others maybe not so much.

It can also mean to me, capturing that moment in time which is the premise behind every portrait I paint. For each portrait represents the time in that person(s) life depicted forever on canvas.

I’ve always had an affinity for the Victorian Era. Specifically between the mid 19th century and turn of the 20th century. Whether it be the gorgeous outfits the women wore or the beautiful decor and craftsmanship of the homes. What seems to resonate with me most are the works of Art created at that time. Frank Benson, Edmund Tarbell, Cecilia Beaux, and William McGregor Paxton are just a few artists whose paintings strike a chord within. Of course, John Singer Sargent is my favorite portrait painter, but the aforementioned artists gave us a glimpse of their family life and surroundings. The oil paintings of Frank Benson, one of the pioneers of Impressionism in our country, are still considered among the most beautiful paintings ever created by an American artist, and for good reason.

His portraits of family and friends have stood the test of time because Benson captured, in loving detail, both the splendors of nature and the fleeting innocence of childhood. I’ve tried to continue that tradition through my Portraiture and Fine Art. Many of my commissions are what I call Informal Portraits. My clients want to hold onto those precious years of childhood which seem to fly by in a flash. I endeavor to create a likeness that captures my subjects’ spirit and essence. In selecting the settings for the Informal Portraits, my clients might opt for a location that rekindles special memories of their own childhood. Maybe growing up going to one of the many beautiful beaches Long Island has to offer or perhaps they were married at one of the magnificent parks with its lush gardens. Sometimes their backyard serves as the backdrop for the painting.

If a beach scene is desired, the children, mother and I set off for the photo shoot. I bring bags of props which the children are so excited to start playing with in the sand. These photo shoots are so much fun. Once the children get going, they forget I’m there and before you know it, I’ve taken around 250 pictures. I try to do at least 4 different poses with the children. Observing what props they respond to is exciting for me as well.

These photographs, which I take either in the early morning light or the late afternoon, capture the ambiance of a fun-filled, sunny day while allowing me to create an endearing likeness. Most of the time the painting is a result of a composite of the best picture of each child. I never put pressure on myself to get that one “perfect” shot so this way I have the freedom to pick and choose what pictures will be my reference for the final painting. To ensure complete satisfaction for my client, I paint a very detailed color study to show the client a “visual” before I start the final painting. This study will show color arrangement, composition and expression. Once the study is approved, I can proceed with the final painting. Even though these studies take a while to do, they give me the assurance that my client and I are on the same page. They also serve as my guide while working on the final painting.

This painting was given as a gift this past Christmas to the grandmother from her children. 

In terms of my Formal Portrait commissions, which are sometimes painted from life, similar care is taken to explore every detail. I meet with the client to discuss the pose, clothing and lighting. After the photo shoot, I like to do several color studies before starting the painting to figure out my composition, value and color arrangement.

I truly enjoy painting these types of portraits as well. I can really delve into the personality and essence of the sitter. A portrait to me is not just capturing a good likeness, it’s also about speaking to the viewer and conveying who this person is and what they are like. Those are the portraits I am drawn towards the most. When they stop me in my tracks and make me wonder, who is this person?

I’ve always been interested in art. From the time I was a little girl, I can remember always having a crayon or pencil in my hand. Mickey Mouse and his friends were my constant companions. I practiced drawing them so much I eventually could create them from memory. I continued with my love for art through junior high and high school. I graduated with honors from The Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. After graduating from RISD, I was an illustrator for the NY Times, Doubleday Books, Harlequin Books, Avon Books and many other publishing companies. It was a very unfulfilling time in my life. I didn’t enjoy illustrating, plus I didn’t get the necessary background at school in painting and color theory so I was limited to black and white work. I tried reading books and copying artists I admired but frustration with my lack of skill set was a huge roadblock.

Around 3 years after graduating from college, I had 1 of those defining moments in time. I saw an ad a teacher was running in the paper and decided to give him a call. I remember walking into his studio and felt as though I was transported back in time to the Renaissance Era. The drawings and paintings that lined the walls of his studio were magnificent. Only in museums had I seen such work. At that moment I said to myself, I don’t care how long it takes, this is what I aspire to create.

I took classes with John Frederick Murray for several years. I can honestly say, Mr. Murray changed the course of my life. Under Mr. Murray’s tutelage, I had extensive training in the classical and traditional style of drawing and painting from the model. We also painted and drew from casts and focused on how clothing drapes over the human form. Design and Composition were also diligently studied. I owe the success I’ve achieved in my career to the love and support of my parents and to Mr. Murray’s unsurpassed knowledge, patience and guidance.

When I was studying with Mr. Murray for a few years and felt more confident with my painting skills I  tried illustrating once again. I was able to acquire some freelance work painting book jackets for different publishing companies. Once again, that unfulfilled cloud hung over my head. At a crossroads, my teacher suggested I try my hand at portraiture. After redirecting my focus from Illustrating, I spent several months building up a portfolio of different portrait samples.

Marketing became my biggest obstacle. How do I get my name out there? Social media was non-existent then so it was quite a challenge. I knew I had a high-end item and needed to market my portraits to a certain clientele. I thought of calling private schools on Long Island and in the city to see if they had fundraisers where I could display my work. Also, the country clubs around Long Island had Christmas Luncheons and other events where I was able to get exposure.  Certain charity events would allow me to set up a table with my portraits to display at their fundraisers as well.  At these events, I would pay a table fee and in some cases, as in the charity events, donate a portion back. Commissions were trickling in but not with consistency.

One summer day, around 20 years ago, was another pivotal moment in my career and life. I thought, well, perhaps not everyone wants a formal, traditional type portrait. Inspired by Frank Benson’s sunlit paintings of his daughters by the shore, I decided to take my girlfriend’s daughters to the beach and take pictures of them in pretty dresses walking along the shore and playing in the sand. They were great little models and I completed a painting as soon as I could. I couldn’t wait to take the painting to my next show. The response was overwhelming. So many people came up to my table and asked if I could paint a portrait of their children in this more relaxed and endearing way.  Since that time the two girls in the painting are all grown up. One is married and one just got engaged. My friend has this painting hanging in her home of that magical moment in time to cherish forever. I have since painted over 200 paintings in this timeless genre.

I’m not going to say the road has been an easy one but I don’t know many artists whose careers have been smooth sailing form the start. Being the sole representative for my career has been challenging and daunting at times. Participating in the shows, ( I try to book around 15 shows a year), getting potential clients’ names, follow up phone calls, securing photo shoots and doing the work can be overwhelming but the rewards have been 10 fold. I wake up each day and do what I love to do for a living. When I deliver a painting and see the happiness I have brought to my clients through my work, it fills my heart with joy. How blessed am I! 

It was often said that Benson’s paintings radiated with the warmth that existed between the artist and his subject. I work closely with each client to ensure that the completed portrait is one that speaks to their heart. An heirloom that captures a moment in time to treasure forever.

www.denisefranzino.com