Sculpture with Edward Eyth and Tip of the Month

Did you know we will be having a sculpture workshop next year in June.

Edward Eyth 

Figurative Sculpture

Edward Eyth provides artists with insights attained throughout his extensive career as artist, designer, college instructor and director of the Richard MacDonald Masters Workshops for over five years.

His drawing and sculpture workshops include discussions and comprehensive demonstrations that provide participants with methods for genuine artistic advancement. Working from a live model each day, students come to understand and assimilate the habits and methods that facilitate a solid, consistent artistic process. A dependable studio process promotes self-reliance and an inherent freedom for unhindered creative expression.

In the three day program we do a new pose each day, and while it doesn't provide time for a lot of detail & refinement, it DOES motivate a faster process.  With the luxury of 5 days, we could still do three figures, but spend two days on two of the poses.  Or 4 figures, spending 2 days on one of the poses.
check out our website at: http://www.whidbeyislandfas.com/workshops/eeyth_2013.html

Tip of the month:

 Fast Gesso Panel:

You can easily mount linen to a board with gesso.

Just seal the board, paint gesso all over liberally. Then paint gesso all over,: the cut to size linen.

Lay it on the board both painted sides facing. use a brayer.

Paint Gesso all over the right side of the linen. Brayer again. Wash brayer.

Let dry, sand down and gesso again, sand again or leave the texture.

The linen will shrink a bit. After this process, you can use Gamblin Ground for an oil finish, or use it like it is. I like my substrates smooth and will sand and layer.

Cary

Wow what a wonderful workshop with Michael Klein, we all painted with natural light and the result is so different. Michael was a patient and dedicated instructor and we hope he comes back next year after his trip to Argentina.
See his website at www.michaelkleinpaintings.com and his video magazine : http://www.americanpaintingvideomagazine.com/

A Standard for Painting

American Still Life painter Jeff Legg will often tell his art students to just stop and really look at what they are painting and figure out how to paint it.  Jeff emphasizes three things in his art workshops:

1. Basic setup
2. Composition
3. Paint color and quality

These three things are pretty much Jeff’s standard for painting. 

Jeff Legg’s artwork is often described as "masterful, ethereal, and timeless." Every painting is an intimate conversation between artist and viewer. One believes you can reach into the scene and actually touch the objects.

In his art workshops, Jeff spends time demonstrating his approach and techniques. There is a lot to be learned from watching other artists paint. Spending time watching Jeff paint and discuss each step of his work brings a rich learning experience to the student in Jeff’s workshops.

Of his painting, Jeff states, “"My desire is to convey a personal vision through classical methods using the various visual tools and principals, not expressly to make a record, but to re-create the mood or feeling of the person, place or object before me." And he will teach you to do this also.

To get a sense of Jeff’s teaching style and technique, you can watch this video from a previous class Jeff taught at Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio where he demonstrated techniques for still life painting.

Jeff’s work is represented by some of the nation’s most distinguished galleries coast to coast. He is honored as an Oil Painters of America Master painter and has won numerous prizes. We invite you to come to WIFAS and learn from this master painter next month. 

WIFAS Open Studio

The Whidbey Island Arts Council hosts an annual Whidbey Open Studio Tour. This year the tour will be on October 6 and 7, 2012 from 10am to 5pm each day.  We invite you to come make a weekend of art on Whidbey Island!

More than 50 artists will open their studios for a self-guided tour. Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio is participating in this Open Studio Tour.

Our studio will be open both days and we invite you to come out and meet Cary Jurriaans and Gordon Edberg, view their art work, and learn about the workshops and classes WIFAS offers.

The Whidbey Open Studio Tour is free. You can pick up a brochure on the island and then use the interactive map in combination with the yellow tour signs to help guide your way to each studio.

We look forward to meeting you!

Weekend with the Masters

September 10,2012

Just back from Weekend with the Masters, a fabulous 5 days put on by American Artist.
The first day I had a portrait workshop with Jeremy Lipking, absolutely amazing. Wonderful artist, hope he will come to Whidbey one day.

Demo in progress by Jeremy Lipking
Jeremy loves the long haired badger brushes, he has incredible control with them. His colors are soft.

The next day was Daniel Gerhartz. Also amazing, actually they were all incredible painters!See his demo:

 The next one was Carolyn Andersen, boy would I like to have her teach at WIFAS.

 The following are demos by Sherrie McGraw and Rose Frantzen. The painted on stage at the same time and with very different styes and techniques, it was hilarious....

 Rob is having a serious conversation or contemplating his whiskey....

 an beautiful Juliette

 Julie and Alexey, what a character!! and fabulous artist

 Last but not least Quang Ho, masterful and fun..

I feel enriched and lucky to have been part of all this,
Happy Painting, Cary

Sculpting with Simon Kogan

“Creating art is difficult. An incredible amount of understanding is needed: 

from knowledge of the history, tools and techniques of art to a knowledge

of  how we, as artists, fit into the grander scheme. It is in a state of honed 

but empty readiness that the mystery of creativity may find expression through 

us. If it does, it will be powerful, it will touch, and it will have life.  

It will then be worthy of the term "art".” 

So states Simon Kogan, acclaimed sculptor. Born in Russia, Simon studied under the renowned sculptor Isaac Brodsky. Since immigrating to the United States in 1991, Simon has been generous with sharing his artistic passion with others.

Not only does Simon teach classes on sculpting, he also shares free information on his website with those who may not be able to attend his classes (or those who just want to learn more about his work).

Using an old Italian institution of the bottega—the method whereby artists provided for the thorough education of the novice in his future craft—Simon also shares his work through freedownloads on his website. These documents describing his work are made as straight forward, as clear, and as simple as Simon can for others eager to learn. 

For example, in his “Secrets of the Trade” download, Simon has the following to say about sculpting tools:

The choice of modeling tool depends on the materials to be used for sculpting

Clay loves wood

Wax prefers metal

Oil-clay loves both.

Clay with grog or fiber doesn‘t like

the tool with teeth

and

doesn’t like its surface to be touched twice,

oil clay and wax do.

Hard wax loves sharp teeth.

Wood for the modeling tools

should be hard and

steel should be hardened.

Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio(WIFAS) has the privilege of hosting a workshop on sculpting by Simon in November 2012. Anyone interested in sculpting—with or without experience—is welcome in the class. If you just want to improve your figure drawing, Simon's sculpture workshop is a definite way to do that. Feeling the three-dimensional form helps all drawing and painting!

A Passion for Birds

Kim L. Middleton will be teaching a Painting Birds of Prey workshop at Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio (WIFAS) in October. Kim’s passion for birds is strong. In addition to creating avian art, she trains birds for public education and rehabilitates orphaned, sick, and injured birds for release to the wild.

Read our recent interview with Kim to get a feel for who she is as an artist.

Q: When did your interest in art begin and how long have you been an artist?

A: My first job at age fifteen was interpreting the art collection at a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in my home town of Sitka, Alaska. Being around such before art sparked an interest in art and although I pursued the sciences in college I took a year of art history and continued to work at the church. I studied art on my own and  I worked my way through Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, while I was in a remote village in Africa for the US Peace Corps. When I returned to the states in the early 90’s, I focused on learning to paint in watercolor. Six years ago I took classes from a retired Cornish professor and started working in oils.

Q: What do you seek to communicate through your art or your art instruction?

 A: I am an avian artist and paint only birds. I have worked in avian conservation and research most of my life as a biologist. I prefer to paint bird portraits or at least have the bird dominate my paintings. I wish to reveal the extraordinary world of birds in my art in the hope to increase awareness and appreciation for birds and to increase our desire to conserve birds and their habitats.

 

Q: What drives you as an artist?

A: My passion for birds is strong and life-long. Most of my life I have worked with birds and my enthusiasm continues to grow. I wish to share my knowledge and love of birds and enjoy talking to people about the birds in my art.

Q: What is a recent piece of art you created and what inspired you to paint it?

A: Often I have heard people comment that vultures are ugly. I personally like vultures and wanted to paint an attractive vulture. I cropped the Turkey Vulture in close and chose a pose that highlighted its plumage instead of its bald head. I took liberties with the colors reflecting off the feathers and added a warm background to make the piece appealing to the viewer.  Here’s Looking at You is a beautiful representation of a vulture.

Q: Do you have a favorite brand of paints, brushes, or canvas that you use?

A: I mainly use transparent oil paint and find that Winsor Newton produces a wide range of clear, strongly pigmented transparent paints.  With my limited palette of Ultramarine blue, Alizarin crimson and Indian yellow, I am able to mix most of the standard palette hues, raw umber, burnt sienna and sap green. Painting on stretched canvas or linen allows my thin glazed layers to dry quicker than board and I prefer the subtle texture of the cloth. I like the soft, delicate look when I apply a glaze with sable and a filbert brush works well in defining feathers.

 

Q: What advice do you have for artists seeking to improve their work?

A: Learning as much about their subject as possible helps an artist to recognize when they are doing things right or wrong. Being familiar with the subject also allows the artist to interpret their subject on more creative levels. For instance, when painting a scene of two Peregrine Falcons at the nest, the larger bird is the female and she feeds the young chicks.  As mammals, we may assume that the male bird is larger, but this is not true with most birds of prey. This example is subtle, but for those who know this raptors characteristic they may be taken aback if the artist stereotypes the female by making her smaller.

Q: What do you think is unique about Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio’s workshops?

A: Having a location away from the distractions of the city and home allows the artist to relax and concentrate on the information and activities of the workshop. WIFAS’s diversity of artists and their styles and subjects gives the student a good variety of classes. As a workshop instructor I appreciate the attention to details that WIFAS offers.

Choochokam Arts 2012

ChoochokamArts 2012 is Langley’s annual Festival of the Arts. This year it will be held on Saturday, July 7 and Sunday, July 8. 

Each year, Whidbey Island Fine Arts Studio (WIFAS) participates in the festival. This year, our booth will be in the US Bank parking lot. We encourage you to come on over to Whidbey Island and enjoy this wonderful art festival.

WIFAS will have artists painting and demonstrating all day long. This is all free. Local celebrities will be posing for the artists. We will also have Simon Kogan, nationally known sculptor demonstrating. He will be sculpting from the model both days. What a treat!

Below is a listing of some of what WIFAS will be featuring in our booth throughout the festival so you can plan your time accordingly.

Saturday July 7

Morning Schedule:

10:00 am

Jim Lamb, landscape painting

Anne Belov, printing

Simon Kogan, sculpture (on-going)

David Gray, painting the model (on-going)

Afternoon Painting & Drawing Schedule:

1:00 – 2:30 pm

Aaron Coberly with Patricia Duff as the model

Liana Bennett with Chris Adams as the model

3:00 – 4:30 pm

Henry Stinson with Paul Schell as the model

Ned Mueller with Pam Schell as the model

 Sunday, July 8

 Painting & Drawing Schedule

10:30 – 11:30 am

Tenaya Sims with Sue Frause as the model

Aaron Coberly with Bob Frause as the model

Noon – 1:00 pm

Ned Mueller with Elisabeth George as the model

In addition, Faye Castle, Gordy Edberg, Cary Jurriaans, Christobel Prost, Annette Hannah, Truman Castle and more will all be painting in some kind of capacity.

Stop by our booth and introduce yourself. We would love to meet you or get reacquainted.