Brett Weaver Studio - Blog

Twins Have arrived!!

2016-05-04T17:29:39+00:00

Meet Abbott and Emeline, the newest members of our family! They are around 6 weeks old now. Tianna and the Twins are all happy and healthy and growing at a steady pace, about 8 lbs now. We are so very blessed with everything, except possibly more sleep and more hours in the day so I can the find time and energy to paint. I guess that would just mean we would have to feed them one more time. It’s making me feel my age, but I guess we’re not doing too bad for a couple of forty something year old kids starting a family. We all have to grow up sooner or later…

Anyway, we are so excited to share our wonderful news with you! God is Good and we are very thankful! Here’s a few pics of the babies and our happy family.

Sewanee Workshop!

2013-07-08T00:31:40+00:00

I think everyone had a great time at the workshop in Sewanee last weekend! We were blessed with good weather. The rain held off until around 3:30pm on Sunday and we were all pretty worn out by that time anyway. I want to thank Barb Allen, one of my wonderful students for sending me these photos she took at the workshop. I will make a point to get shots of students the next time. Thanks everyone!

The first day we did several monochromatic value studies to stress the importance of design and values and thumbnail sketches.

Day 1 in the middle on University of the South campus next to All Saints Chapel

Day 2 at Greensview - A beautiful but intimidating view

Day 3 at the old barn next to the baseball field - stressing again the importance of a thumbnail sketch and planning.

Day 3 demo near completion.

New Abstract Paintings

2013-04-04T20:06:20+00:00

Over the past year I’ve begun exploring abstract and non-representational painting. I have to admit I was a bit hesitant at first. It began as an expressive outlet and a form of therapy, but then I started seeing my representational work have more color and a more expressive feel to it. Now the two are beginning to feed off each other. My abstract work is primarily minimal and non-representational with some having geometric form and qualities that are drawn out of my former life and interest in mathematics and engineering. I believe that as an artist we should use all the tool and talents we have been blessed with. The abstract work has given me a vehicle or voice and a renewed energy to be more expressive in all of my work. My primary goal in the abstract work is to say as much as possible with as little as possible through expressive color and texture. It’s been very refreshing to take a new approach to my work and use color and harmonies that I don’t ordinarily find in the landscape. I believe that balance is the key and I don’t want to feel like an artist that is confined to one style or trapped in one way of painting and I certainly don’t plan to quit painting landscapes. As artists we must continue to explore and grow and not become ‘safe painters’ who do exactly what is expected of us. I’m extremely excited to show my new abstract work and my landscapes at The Arts Company in Nashville. Come out to the gallery during the Arts Crawl Saturday Night April 6, 6-9pm if you are in the Nashville area. I look forward to seeing you there.

A Month in Charleston

2013-04-04T19:55:14+00:00

I’m getting excited preparing to spend almost a month in Charleston. I’ll be heading out from Chattanooga on April 15th and returning to Tennessee by May 10 to do a demo at the Knoxville Museum of Art’s annual Plein air event…. probably making some stops and side trips along the way. Charleston is a place I always look forward to getting back to. I’ll be renting a studio space on Broad and hope to also get a lot of Plein air done, hang out with some friends, and definitely spend some time on the beach. If you are in Charleston then shoot me an email and stop by to visit. And don’t forget to check out my work at Hagan fine Art on Queen Street while you’re there. It’s going to be great to get away from the cold and spend some time on the coast.

Booth Museum Demo and Members Lounge

2012-02-28T02:04:01+00:00

I was recently honored to be asked by Museum Executive Director Seth Hopkins to demo at the Booth Western Art Museum for their monthly Art for Lunch event. This was quite a challenge since I only had an hour to complete the painting while I talked with Seth and the audience about my process. After the demo I was also asked to complete a similar version of the painting on the wall of the Members Lounge. Both of the paintings now remain in the collection of the museum. Good friend and collector, Virginia Webb, who is also an accomplished professional photographer, was kind enough to take a photo shoot while I was painting. All photos below were selected from the shoot and are credited to Virginia Webb. Thanks Virginia!

This is me getting ready to start, with several of my recently completed western painting.

Half way through the demo while Seth Hopkins talks to me and the audience.

Finishing up with demo. Now I can relax!

My palette

Me and Alan Shuptrine, owner of Shuptrine Fine Art.

with collectors Randy Slater and his wife Virginia Webb

This is the wall of the Members Lounge before I began.

Just getting started.

Halfway through…

This is a larger view of the entire room.

Finishing up and signing the painting.

Finally this is a photo of the wall panel with my painting added.

Special Thanks to Seth Hopkins and the Booth Museum, Alan and Bonny Shuptrine of Shuptrine Fine Art, and Virginia and Randy Slater for presenting me with this opportunity and making this event such a success!

Passing of Gordon Wetmore

2011-09-15T19:21:00+00:00

While I was away on my recent travels I was saddened to receive a call one morning that Gordon Wetmore had passed away the night before. It was comforting to be out painting in a beautiful place when I heard the bad news. So as I struggled to finish the painting I was working I began to think about all the wonderful times I had with Gordon and the other artist in Chattanooga painting and hanging out together. Gordon suddenly became very ill over the last few months and it was very sad to watch his illness progress so rapidly in such a short time. Gordon accomplished more in his life than most of us could even dream. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know him for the past nine years. He has had a huge influence on me and my career as an artist. I had the priviledge of having my first studio in the same building where Gordons studio was. No matter how busy he was or what celebrities he was painting at the time, Gordon was alway a kind and humble person who made time to stop and visit a while over a cup of coffee. On one of the last times I visited him in the hospital while he was barely able to communicate, he was still cracking jokes and trying to make everyone laugh. Gordon truly was an excellent artist, a fine person and a good friend who touched so many lives. We’ll miss you Gordon.

To read Gordon’s obituary and the many kind words from people who knew Gordon visit http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/commercialappeal/obituary.aspx?n=stanley-wetmore-gordon&pid=153367523

New Studio

2011-07-13T20:07:01+00:00

I’m excited to tell you that I’ve just moving into a new studio in Chattanooga at corner of Williams and 14th Street. I moved in July 1, less than two weeks ago, so I’m still getting settled in. It’s the first time in quite a while that I have had north light windows and an extra work room for storage, canvas stretching, framing and all that other stuff that gets in the way of painting. So I’m really enjoying it. Here’s a few pics.

Pics from Monhegan and Pemaquid Maine

2010-10-06T04:01:00+00:00

Painting in Maine is always an incredible experience and this year was no exception, but after being on the road for a month I was ready to return to Tennessee. Some of the paintings I completed are on the Paintings page of the website and here are some photos of myself painting and some of the fgood riends I met up with and ran unto along the way. You never know who you are going to run into on Monhegan. I usually see 2 or 3 people I know before I even get up the hill to where I’m staying.

Painting at Pulpit Rock - Me, Tim, Ken, and David

We took these two pics in case we made a folk song album and needed a cover for it.

One of me in a tight spot on the ledge.

Diane and Ken about to start painting

David, Kevin, Walter, Tim and Alison Painting by the Island Inn(guess which cart belongs to Alison?)

Cynthia, Myself, Tim and Kevin by the Wharf

Alison painting at Fish Beach

Checking out everyones work before leaving the Island

Taking a break to watch Tim paint

Me and Ken by the Shipwreck

Mary and Don painting at Pemaquid Point

Full moon rising over Pemaquid Light House

Painting Demo-Warrens Point Morning

2010-08-02T16:42:00+00:00

This is a short painting demo with a few step-by-step photos, revealing a brief look a the progression of what goes into developing and completing a painting.

This is one of the many photos I took as a reference as I was doing the 6x8 field study below.

This is the second field study I completed at Warrens Point that week. The first one was ‘Monteagle vista’ and I made the decision that I wanted to keep expanding out the view to be a wide open distant vista affect so I went to a smaller 6x8 panel just focusing mainly on design, color and value patterns and incorporating more sky and clouds. After completing the studies I went into the studio and after analyzing the photos decided I wanted to expand the view even more in my larger painting and also did a few pencil value sketches to help develop a balance between the amout of foreground and distant ground, since I wanted to have foreground to lead you into the painting but didn’t want to take away from the seemingly infinite distance I observed while there.

I first began by identifying where I was going to place the major shaped and masses with a thin wash of burnt sienna and french ultramine blue. More often I will also just use a warm sepia color mixed from my 3 primaries.

I began carefully massing in the trees and shadow patterns, focusing on warm and cool relationships of all the many greens.

...began working in the sky and foreground, paying particular attention to try to make the clouds float and the sky fade into the distance as it meets the horizon.

Next I laid in the distant ground to finally have the canvas covered and then backed away to make sure everything was harmonizing.

I slept on it a day or two, let it simmer and then came back with a fresh eye and began to repaint and pay more attention to details and work to pull together the individual areas of the painting. This is the point where I start to feel like I could stop at any time.

The Finished 24x36 Painting - ‘Warrens Point Morning’

A few days later I came back with a fresh eye and cooled down the rock to more natural gray and worked some of the foreground foliage making it lighter and more intense to bring it forward and make the valley seem even more distant….placing very little detail and emphasis on the rocks so you won’t linger and can easily just use them as a passage way into what lies beyond. At this point I decided I had said what I wanted to say with the painting and considered it finished.

Another September in Maine

2010-08-02T16:15:00+00:00

I’m starting to plan and get excited about my yearly trip to Maine. I had meant to go to Monhegan this past winter but unfortunately never made it since I was preparing for my move back to Tennessee. One of the reasons I’m glad I moved back east is that I can drive (instead of fly) up to Maine this year and will not have to be on any real schedule to return home. I’m planning to leave around Labor Day and return sometime before Columbus Day’ maybe stopping in Princeton and Glouchester along the way and then on to Monhegan Island and Tennant Harbor catching up with a lot of frinds and artist along the way…and painting too. I’ll stop in Princeton to do a few paintings to help celebrate the completion of the Historical Society’s Updike Farm Renovation. Several paintings will be hung during the reopening of the farm. Then I’m planning to hopefully stop in Glouchester if time permits to do some painting during the Annual Schooner festival. Then it’s on to Maine for the month of Septemper where I seem to find myself the most productive. So I probably will not send out another newsletter until mid October untess I sneak one in at the end of August. But look for lots of new paintings in October.

It’s always a pleasure catching up with my friends in Maine that I only see once a year and I always seem to make some new ones each year. I hope to see you in Maine….drop me a line and maybe we can connect somewhere along the way. (if you comment please be sure to leave your email too so I can send you a pwrsonal note if I need to instead of sharing it with the whole world)