first pass

After successfully correcting the warped miter joints on my panels, I began the first pass of the still life, or the "wipe-out" imprimatura. Notice the nice buckling on the right edge- the birch veneer lifted from the plywood during the application of the gesso. I decided to paint on it nonetheless. It's my first one- it's not going to be perfect.

The Absolute Artist

"Sane judgment abhors nothing so much as a picture perpetrated with no technical knowledge, although with plenty of care and diligence. Now the sole reason why painters of this sort are not aware of their own error is that they have not learned geometry, withoug which no one can either be or become and absolute artist." - Albrecht Durer (from The Art of Measurement)

constructing panels

I have decided my painting substrate will be cradled wood panels. For the past week I have been working on perfecting a couple. I used 1/4" birch plywood, braced with 1 x 2's- panels are 11 x 14" and 12 x 16". But I only used Gorilla Glue to join the mitered corners and to apply the frame to the panel- first mistake. Then I applied like 6 coats of Gamblin Traditional Gesso only on the front. I sanded in between coats and the final surface is amazing! It's like an eggshell. Seriously. It's gorgeous! I just keep running my fingers over it because I love the way it feels. And then- I woke up this morning and the panels had, of course, warped- so much, in fact, that the mitered corners split. So there's that. I am trying to salvage them. I've got some heavy duty clamping and screwing and glueing to try. If that doesn't work- I'll try a turnbuckle to unwarp the front. In any regard, I am going to construct a couple of new panels and will take more caution with the next batch. I am also going to use maple ply- which is a harder wood, so I'm hoping it won't warp as easily.

Oh the frustration!

deconstructing still life

This is the set up I've hat sitting in my office/art studio for the past 3 months- waiting for my dear husband to construct some stretcher frames for me to begin the actual still life. With the stretcher frames still unfinished and while I am increasingly more antsy to begin the painting, I have deconstructed the items, packed them in my suitcase, and will re-set them once I am in Wisconsin. The stretcher frames will be constructed by your's truly and the painting will soon emerge. yay. I like the set up/composition and hopefully will be able to reconstruct it exactly as shown here. I will update you all on my progress.

I am hoping this Wisconsin trip is a productive one for me. I have had all of these paintings running through my head for the past 4 months and haven't had the opportunity to really dive in and produce them. Having a toddler and a baby really puts a hault on things such as oil painting. I have portraits planned, still lives sketched, even some new illustrations that I can't wait to begin. My plan is to spend the next year producing as many new pieces of art as I can- in two main bodies/styles: traditional/classical oil painting with portraits, still lives, and landscapes and my illustration style with some new children's book illustrations. The traditional work will serve as gallery exhibit work - or at least as entry into some classes at a local atelier, and the illustrations will hopefully land me a book deal!

art heroes

My painting instructer from RISD, John Gibson, always taught that an artist needed to periodically find a new art hero in order to stimulate new creativity. To say that I have recently found a few is quite the understatement. Discovering the modern world of realist art has introduced me to a plethora of highly skilled artists all with the capacity to render life with striking, yet graciously believable paintings. One of my current faves is NY artist Camie Davis. She was a student of Jacob Collins and now teaches at his Grand Central Academy of Art in New York City. Her painting of Carolina (left) displays apt understanding of form within shadow. I love how the light passes from the highlight in the forehead and undulates throughout the features on the face before it reaches that peak of dark shadow right under the cheek bone and then finally falls into the shadow- and what a shadow it is! The mere composition of this painting is enough to satisfy my artistic research- the way the picture is broken between the shadow and light and how it reads in that beautiful spiral taking your eye right to where the lighted forehead meets the vacancy of the background. Perfect composition. And of course the colors, that wonderful passage of greenish flesh is such an important midtone. It carries your eye around the form and demonstrates how as light passes over a mass, it undulates between warm and cool tones. This passage is the break before the shadow. I love it. Below is another of Davis' paintings again demonstrating her remarkable composing abilities.

my quest outlined

This is a documentary of my quest to become the best artist I can be- to truly reach my potential as an artist.

I haven't picked up a paintbrush in nearly five years. I have just purchased new paint and linen and am about to start on my first painting- a still life of some old spools of thread and ribbons. (Tonal study to left. Not completely worked out.)

I am starting small. I realize, after researching the field of representational art or classical realism, that I really need to teach myself how to see better. The best living examples of this classical technique are instructors of the Grand Central Academy of Art, ie. Jacob Collins, Kate Lehman; also Juliette Aristides, author of Classical Painting Atelier. They work completely from life and their work is gorgeous- exactly what I would do anything to create. And since I can't up and move to New York, I'm going to have to teach myself for the time being. So I am starting with still lifes. They are easily controlled and I can paint them at night after the little ones are asleep- as painting during the day would be a nightmare should they but see the paints. Abigail has already gotten into my oils on five messy occasions.

To paint a figure directly from life seems daunting to me. In my experience from life painting classes at RISD- I suck at it. My paintings were awkward and clumsy. I would look at the others' work and see the beautiful compositions and renderings, and would be embarrassed if they would peak over at my less than perfect design. But since I really really want to paint like the old masters, I need to start small, hence the still life- but I need to really study as they did and learn all the classical drawing techniques. So this blog will document my studies and research. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to actually study at a classical atelier- there is one near my home - The New School of Classical Art.

I think the best way for me to begin this blog is to include my recent artist statement. This was used as an entry essay for a Masters of Fine Arts program; which I have subsequently decided against, as it was more focused on modern art, and I am attempting to delve into a more classical approach.

Artist Statement

Elizabeth A Newman

If I were to speak to you five years ago, I would have never imagined that I would be where I am today. Always the most promising art student, my supervisors, peers and I all had the highest aspirations for my future- whether it be illustrated book deals or high society gallery socialista, it was expected to be something extraordinary. After all, such talent was bound to harvest great success.

As a student at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design I thrived in studies of fine applied arts, increasing my technical skills in all traditional mediums specializing in oils, watercolor, and pastels. My niche was children’s book illustration, as I loved the uncomplicated nature of visually communicating with children. I studied under such illustrators as Mary Jane Begin and David Macaulay and was increasingly fine tuning my own artistic voice. Upon graduation I was armed with all the necessary tools to finally become the working illustrator I had aspired to be. I am not sure what it was exactly that made me stop, but I did. After graduation I set down my paintbrush and with that, I buried my talents and dreams. I entered ‘normalcy’. I got married, launched a career as an interior designer, bought a house and a dog, and even birthed two beautiful babies. It has been five years since earning my Bachelors of Fine Arts, but I am nowhere near the vision I had had of myself when I was yet in high school. I had hid my talents- my artistic quirkiness- and had become ‘ordinary’.

But then something miraculous happened. After the birth of my second child, I fell into a debilitating post partum depression. Unable to return to my full-time job, I was left sequestered in my tiny house caring for my two young children. It was in this period of overwhelming frustration where I finally confronted the source of my sadness- my loss of self. I had to unearth my creative spirit. The moment I opened my sketchbook, it was as if I hit a well. The ideas sprung out my innermost being- and not like ever before. It was as if the well of creativity was somehow deeper and the force with which it flowed was more powerful than I had ever remembered it to be. The five year dormancy of my creative spirit had actually enriched my artistic voice! I now have such a direct, precise sense of clarity about my style that I have outlined entire collections, sketched out fresh illustrations, even found new ways of communicating my political and religious ideas. I know what inspires me, I know what I am drawn to visually, and I know how to visually realize these inspirations. I know who I am and where I must go. I know I need to turn the artist in me outward- to turn myself inside out.

A little tidbit on my inspiration

I work mainly in oils, but also enjoy watercolor, pastel and pencil. I am drawn to vivid, rich color use with a strong sense of light and shadow. I work with many layers of transparent glazes, with hopes of making my paintings sing with a luminous, vibrant light quality. I study the relationships of contrasting colors and incorporate the use of “intelligent” color mixing and painting. Patterns especially captivate me. By exploring the positioning of certain flat objects within a spacious realm, I find that exciting patterns emerge. I have strong rendering skills and strive to make every composition a well-formulated design. In terms of subject matter, I work figuratively. Sometimes I tediously work with every detail of a face and figure, careful to capture the exact expression and emotion of the portrait. In other paintings, I loosely paint the figures, not paying attention to the details, but rather allowing the multitudes of figures together to formulate a pattern and design strong enough to carry the composition of the painting.

Marching Nuns- oil on wood, 24" x 36", 2003
























Adalis & Magalis- oil on wood, 36"x 48", 2003
























Red Mitten Heart- oil on wood, 20" x 24", 2003


The above three paintings were done in my final semester at RISD. Hopefully my next paintings will improve.