Taking Command of Your Paintings Workshop

Taking Command of Your Paintings, a workshop by Diane Overcash

I am a firm believer that understanding the basics really sets your creativity free.

Now that you are familiar with your medium, how would you like to know what to do with it?

Over the years I have taken lots of painting workshops and classes. Some in oils, pastels, acrylic, watercolor and colored pencil. Like a lot of artists I wanted to experience and explore different media, leaving no stone unturned. I didn't want to miss out on a potential artistic experience. I learned at lot about technique and the proper handling of my chosen medium for that day.

In all this exploration there seemed to be something missing. That missing piece is design. The construction of a pleasing, harmony of all the artistic elements working together. Ah, beautiful!

In this workshop on February 23-25, you will learn to plan your painting for success. You will learn how to design for your paintings to create beautiful harmony.

In this workshop you will, create a value scale, create a Notan ( a value sketch), use the Golden Mean to plan your composition, use the components of color, hue value, intensity and temperature to enhance your composition. And Paint!

This workshop is for oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels, or colored pencil. The basics are the same no matter what your medium.

Come join us in this workshop!

Call 704-784-1549 for further details, or email dianelovesart@vnet.net

Date: February 23-25, 2007
Time: Friday and Saturday, 9-5, Sunday, 1-5
Place: Concord Fire Station No.8, Old Charlotte Road
Cost: Cabarrus Art Guild member, $90.00: Non-members $120.00

Sponsored by Cabarrus Art Guild

House and Hydrangea

While prowling around the historic district with my camera slung around my neck just in case, I found a wonderful huge hydrangea bush, heavy with blooms. The hydrangea was planted at the corner of the porch of one of the historic homes. The hydrangea, porch corner combination is a common theme here in the South. That and a bottle tree in the side yard.
I was so taken with the hydrangea, that I took a series of pictures. I just walked up into the yard and helped myself. I didn't get shot or dog-chased, so I guess I must be living right. I later went back to the house when the owners were at home and asked permission to use the photos. They didn't mind at all and were very proud of their house. You see the finished results, actually a composite of several pictures leaving out some of the leaf cover to reveal the most interesting features of the house.
The shadows cast on the side of the house by the oak (I think) tree helped to create the illusion that the house is of course is a big box. Sometimes, the solutioin to a problem is solved for you if you look around. This house is a box within a box, the wrap-around porch forming one box with the house being another box inside that one.
The more I paint, the more I love it.
You can contact me at 704-784-1549 if you have a beautiful home you would like a portrait of. I would love to paint it for you.

Keep painting,

and yea art,

Diane Overcash

Original Art

21 Union Street South

Concord, NC 28025

704-784-1549

Painting from a Photograph

Original Art by an Original Artist

Painting from a photograph! PLAY BALL!

I'm hard at play on the on the portraits of the outlaw baseball players from the 1930's. This one is of Edwin Collins "Alabama" Pitts. He played for Charlotte, Gastonia and Valdese.

As with most photographs some of the details are lost and a lot of the contours. These photographs were taken in the 1930's and what with photographic methods back then and time going by, they are quite a challenge. Oh, well! I have always liked a challenge.

I am using a primary color pallette for these paintings, cadmium red deep,( napthol hue), cadmium yellow light, french ultramarine blue, plus titanium white. I mix all colors from these. I like the control it gives me and the simplicity. Plus it's fun to watch the colors change.

I'm finding that I have to invent or makeup parts that are missing from the photographs to create a reasonable, realistic look. The photographs have a flat look that does not translate well into a painting.

As I was painting the grass in the lower background I realized that even with my biggest brush it was going to take me longer than I thought. Remember, these are 6 feet by 4 feet so I was sitting on the floor thoughout most of this process. When they handed out patience I was definitely somewhere else. I used a wash cloth dipped in turpentine and paint to scrub in large areas of background. It left a nice texture that resembles grass.

I left the flesh areas, the hands and face, until last because colors are effected by other colors that are close by.

This painting is not finished but it is well on the way.

What do you think so far? Leave a comment.

Diane Overcash

Take Command of Your Painting

Original Art by an Original Artist

Take Command of Your Painting!

Taking command of your paintings doesn't mean that you are painting by "formula". It means that you decide what you want to do with the painting. You make a choice how to approach the painting, what your intent is. Twenty artists can paint the same scene twenty different ways and one artist can paint the same scene twenty different ways. An artist paints a response to a scene or many responses to a scene.

If you think that planning your painting will stifle your creativity, . . wrong. I think it actually frees you up. The planning part can be as exciting as the painting part. Planning saves time and cuts down on frustration. Believe me, there is still lots of room for spontaneity, happy accidents and intuitive insights if you have a plan in mind.

This is one of my favorite "plans". OK. Make yourself a value scale or buy one at the art store. Decide to paint part (about one third, not half) of your painting to match the darkest end of the value scale. Paint the other two thirds from the light end of the value scale. Make a value sketch of the scene with pencil on a piece of paper so you can see what's going on. Notice how the light and dark shapes are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together. This approach adds interest and drama to a painting.

Look at the example at the top of the page. This is a painting of the fountain beside the Historic Courthouse in Concord, N.C. Notice how the bottom of the fountain, the folliage behind the fountain and the hydrangea bush are almost the same value, from the darker end. Squint and you can see it better. The reflection in the pool and the folliage in the distance are on the other end, the light end of the value scale. Can you find the shapes of the puzzle pieces?

Try this! It's great fun. When I paint this way, I actually get excited to see how my "plan" will work out. I am less anxious about the process and enjoy it more. I say, more joy! More joy! Who says artists have to suffer. Not me.

I hope you have "enjoyed" today's blog. Do you have questions or suggestions about painting? Add your comments. I'd like to hear from you and other people would too.

Keep painting,
Diane Overcash

Keep on Painting

Original Art by an Original Artist

What's new in the art world?

I'm getting ready to start on the Outlaw Ballplayers project. As soon as I locate some canvas big enough to paint life-size men in baseball uniforms, I'll get started. The first one will be "Alabama" Pitts. The whole story is told at www.outlawbaseball.wordpress.com

I am a huge fan of learning the fundamentals of art if you are a realist painter and even if you are not. You don't have to always follow the rules but it helps to know what they are. That way you have more command of your paintings, allowing for happy surprises of course, and ending up with a more exciting and more interesting result. Next week I'll spend some time on how to plan a painting before you start.

I thought of few more painting tips. Did you find a new project from last week's suggestions or do you have one still in progress?

Here are a few methods I use if I get stalled and don't know what to do next. So, here I am standing in front of a painting with a wet paint brush in hand and a puzzled look on my face. Ok, now what? Sometimes if I stand there long enough something will occur to me. Other times, if I work on another area of the painting while I give my brain a break, I can go back to the area that was giving me fits and see what to do with it.

Often your eyes and brain just need a break. Turn the painting to the wall and work on something else. I like to keep several paintings going at the same time for that reason.

Also, it may help to think back to the original intent of the painting. Is it a technical problem or have you lost sight of the purpose of the painting?

Looking at your painting in a mirror big enough to see the whole thing at once will show you with lightning speed where composition or proportion is out of whack. This works great for portraits.

The most important thing,
keep painting,
yea art,
Diane Overcash

How Much Joy Can You Stand

How Much Joy Can You Stand

I'm getting ready to submit a piece of artwork for a competition that a local bank is sponsoring. This prospect is unnerving to me because somewhere in the back of my mind I have a hard time separating what I imagine they are looking for and how a really want to paint the piece. I don't know who the judge is yet, and I don't think it is going to matter much. So, how about a new concept for me. Paint it the best I can and turn the darn thing in, on time. Then go on with my next project and stop worrying about it. I'll try that and see how it works.

Ok, for the next project. You know how much I like painting the figure (and painting in general). I love it. It is challenging and I get totally involved in it. Here is a hint. It involves baseball in the 1940's. It has something to do with "outlaws". And it wasn't my idea. It was Hank Utley's idea. I hope to have it well on the way by the next Art Walk on November 10.

For all you painters out there looking for a next project, try this. Look around you and find common-place, ordinary objects. The refigerator or kitchen cabinet is a great place to start. Paint a close up view of bright colorful jars of peaches and pickles with a cabbage. Turn the bottles and jars on their sides or arrange them in an interesting pattern. You don't have to find the "perfect" painting already there for you. You are the artist. Make something ordinary into an exciting, interesting piece of artwork. That's what we do. Inspiration is everywhere, just look for it. Here's a twist. Paint the objects the complement of their local color. Red pickles, purple bananas, blue peaches. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

Now, I want to go work on the painting for the competition. Now, that I 'm not worried about pleasing anyone but me.

The Joy of Paint

One of the most joyful acitivities in my life (and there are many) is spreading soft pliable oil paint onto a canvas in such manner that it produces an exciting, interesting, recognizable image. I am a representational realist oil painter who has a gallery and studio in Concord, North Carolina. Am I blessed with good life? Yes, I am.
I am asked quite often, "How do you motivate yourself to paint?' Having a great studio space with all your equipment in it helps. Although, lack of a space can become a convenient excuse. Back in the days before I had this terrific studio, I painted on the kitchen table, on the porch, and in the corner of a spare bedroom. I think the drive and interest in doing it comes from within. It might not be a matter of motivating yourself but of not letting other things and other people stop you.
I opened the gallery three years ago, Original Art, on Union Street South in downtown Concord. It was my next great adventure. I sell my own oil paintings and portraits here as well as representing other local artists. Concord has a wealth of skilled artists and fine crafts people right here in town. There are potters, stained glass designers, painters and photographers.
We had an Art Walk last night on July 28 and I was pleasantly amazed to find that there were over 15 locations in town that sell original artwork. You should have been here if you weren't. The streets were buzzing with people making their way from one site to the next. We had maps so no one would get lost in the shuffle.
Concord is turning into a great little arts town. This past May we had an extremely successful juried Art Festival with a paint-out competition. The next one is being planned as we speak. You can go ahead and put it on your calender, the first weekend in May.
I'll show you some of my paintings. I am a realist painter who loves color. Sometimes the colors are bright and eye-poking. Even the more subtle, subdued color combinations are applied with deliberate intention. I like bouncing colors off each other and using extreme value changes to create drama and the illusion of space. I hear comments quite often that my color combinations create a "feel good" reaction. I'll take that as a high compliment.
Next time I will show you some of my works in progress. It's fun to watch the steps as I go along. I teach drawing and painting workshops here in the gallery as well as private classes in drawing and painting and portraiture. I would love to hear from you. You can visit the gallery here in Concord on Union Street.