tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:33:01 +0000philosophicalmiscellaneoustravelscheap tricksreviewsworkshopexhibitionsother artiststips and tricksawardson the easelpainting adviceGuest postingsNotes from the Field and Studiohttp://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)Blogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-877707061265668075Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:55:00 +00002012-02-21T21:55:41.318-08:00miscellaneoustips and tricksother artists<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, if you are an artist or painter and have met me in person, or if you are a friend, or know of me by reputation – then you probably know I am a certified Sorolla Nut.</span></b> Meaning, a slobbering fan of the Valencian Spanish painter, <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=sorolla&amp;hl=en&amp;safe=off&amp;client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;prmd=imvns&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;ei=G0hDT76UKcqpiALMyMX7Aw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CBcQ_AUoAQ&amp;biw=1436&amp;bih=768" target="_blank">Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida</a>, who's life and career spanned the late 19th and early 20th century.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03YAt2g-S94/T0NCCqrQX8I/AAAAAAAAA7g/1qQLfsP1ewM/s1600/Self_Portrait_Jouquin_Sorolla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03YAt2g-S94/T0NCCqrQX8I/AAAAAAAAA7g/1qQLfsP1ewM/s200/Self_Portrait_Jouquin_Sorolla.jpg" width="161" /></a></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There isn't much print out there in English on Sorolla, and what there is can be rather expensive to get your hands on.</span></b> &nbsp;And there aren't many paintings by him to find in North America. You may find the a Sorolla or two included in a traveling Spanish exhibition, and there are his large murals installed in the <a href="http://www.hispanicsociety.org/" target="_blank">Hispanic Society in New York City</a>, but that's about all you'll see without flying off to Spain. So Sorolla is another great European painter largely unknown to most Americans, waiting to inspire anyone willing to suss his work out.<br /> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This morning I was sitting in a Starbuck's waiting for my wife to finish up her Barr 3 class and googling JSB on the iPad. </b></span>(My goodness, we are the contemporary couple, aren't we?) I was mostly fooling around, killing time, and enjoying a cup of coffee when I stumbled across the blog&nbsp;<a href="http://artcontrarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/sorolla-museum-pictorial-report.html" target="_blank">The Art Contrarian</a>. And on it were some wonderful images of Sorolla's studio in Madrid – which, according to the accepted story – was shuttered&nbsp;by his wife shortly after Sorolla experienced the stroke that ended his career and then his life three years later. And to elaborate upon the story, the door remained locked until the Spainish government agreed to turn his studio into a museum without moving or altering what had been left in place. So this means – assuming this anecdote is true – that Sorolla's workspace is exactly as it was when he dropped his brush. (Sorolla was working on a portrait of Senora de Perez de Ayala when had his stroke.)<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWgHg179hAA/T0NgEEhkNDI/AAAAAAAAA8o/WM-Xcy-SZe4/s1600/Senora+de+Perez+de+Ayala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="114" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWgHg179hAA/T0NgEEhkNDI/AAAAAAAAA8o/WM-Xcy-SZe4/s200/Senora+de+Perez+de+Ayala.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently, about two years ago,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/11307228686847434740" target="_blank">Donald Pettenger</a>&nbsp;toured&nbsp;Sorolla's studio and shot photos of how things were laid out.</span></b> Images which include a rare unfinished work, an indoor palette, some brushes and tools, and a taboret. A veritable time capsule for a painting-geek like me.&nbsp;So I thought we could take a brief and somewhat imaginary tour of Sorolla's workspace using the following images gleaned from Donald's site, and have a little fun speculating as we go.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let's start with Sorolla's palette,</span></b><br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">since so much of his voodoo started there.</span></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9WRfbxy9FQg/T0NPTXwPz1I/AAAAAAAAA7o/oior2LXnd7U/s1600/Palette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9WRfbxy9FQg/T0NPTXwPz1I/AAAAAAAAA7o/oior2LXnd7U/s320/Palette.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Donald Pettenger</i></span></div> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I can't identify all the colors on Sorolla's palette but it looks like a fairly standard set of earth colors for his time. </span></b>But what immediately interested me is how this palette was biased towards the warm. Sorolla's career spanned late Impressionism, Post-impressionism, and the advent of Post-WWI Modernism . I know we are looking at his indoor palette and that his outdoor palette also included cooler colors. We know from examining his outdoor work he painted with cobalt or ultramarine blue, and certainly made use of a lot of cobalt or manganese violet as well. But the limited earth color palette you see here seems consistent with both his indoor and outdoor work.<br /> <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <i>The agreed upon Sorolla outdoor palette:&nbsp;cobalt violet, rose madder, all the cadmium reds, cadmium orange, all the cadmium yellows, yellow ochre, chrome green, viridian, Prussian blue, cobalt blue, French ultramarine and lead white.&nbsp;</i></blockquote> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YdHB9t3pfgE/T0NPcVNWv6I/AAAAAAAAA74/ko2Q8VGIHPI/s1600/blackwhite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YdHB9t3pfgE/T0NPcVNWv6I/AAAAAAAAA74/ko2Q8VGIHPI/s320/blackwhite.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> &nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Donald Pettenger</i></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. But what is of more interest to me is how Sorolla placed his black next to his white.</span></b>&nbsp;(see the yellow arrow) This suggests he may have been mixing a number of gray values first and then pushing purer hues into them. (mental note to self, give this a try...) The large area of silvery gray in the left area of the palette supports this theory. This in contrast to the complementary mixing method often taught to painters today. Having said that, I wouldn't assume for a second that Sorolla always mixed a gray and added a hue because his paintings don't support that simple an explanation. But the light and dark masses which made up his powerful compositions were always calculated to leave a value gap between each other and that is one of the things I believe contributed to his astounding ability to conjure up the illusion of bright sunlight. So I find it intriguing that Sorolla placed his black next to his white when all his other hues moved clock-wise from light to dark around the palette. Most artists would put that black the far end to maintain the logic.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-832zZkKh4Og/T0NPlCu_RvI/AAAAAAAAA8A/GT7XxJEuEBo/s1600/four+turp+jars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-832zZkKh4Og/T0NPlCu_RvI/AAAAAAAAA8A/GT7XxJEuEBo/s320/four+turp+jars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Donald Pettenger</i></span></div> <br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. It appears Sorolla used as many as four reservoirs when he was painting indoors.</span></b> I assume that is why they are there on the taboret since room is limited. But reservoirs of what? <i>And why as many as four?</i>&nbsp;That would be a lot of turpentine to slosh around. More than necessary to paint even a large painting. But perhaps that much solvent was helpful after all because much of Sorolla's artistic finesse is to be found within his carefully modulated warm and cool whites. A delicate relationship that is difficult to maintain when working wet-into-wet, especially with a lot of lost and found edge work. So perhaps Sorolla was not just segregating his light and dark or cool and warm brushes, but he was also segregating and dedicating certain reservoirs of solvent to specific brushes as well. I dunno, but this seems like an good idea to try out sometime. (Arg! More stuff to schlep out into the field...)<br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cEIsmQMqWy4/T0NPrW8SQHI/AAAAAAAAA8I/UB9_dyeKvSc/s1600/filberts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cEIsmQMqWy4/T0NPrW8SQHI/AAAAAAAAA8I/UB9_dyeKvSc/s320/filberts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Donald Pettenger</i></span></div> <br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. It appears that Sorolla also had a preference for filberts, and rather long ones by today's standards.</span></b> Not as long as eggberts, since those brushes tend to become floppy or splay, and thus make thicker paint harder to push around. But it appears that Sorolla was painting with something akin to the filberts we have available today. Again, perhaps not exclusively, since we only find a few of his brushes in these photos. But when you look at the surfaces of his work, the bumps and valleys created by the lift and pull of his touches don't suggest the use of feathery or soft haired brushes, or short stiff brights, or flats either. Instead, his surfaces suggest the use of a filbert. And one filbert can create a wide range of touches without becoming monotonous in the repetition. This may be a reason why we see so few brushes here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6KVDYBAWP8Y/T0NRIYiZBkI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/csYoxgzf-qk/s1600/Study+detail_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6KVDYBAWP8Y/T0NRIYiZBkI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/csYoxgzf-qk/s320/Study+detail_small.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Donald Pettenger</i></span></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> (A rare unfinished sketch-in. Note the thinness of the paint</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> and the bluish schematic line work below the figure.)</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <br /></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. It is extremely rare to come across an unfinished Sorolla.</span></b>&nbsp;But when we do find one it becomes clear he was a Classicist in his approach to how he constructed his work. Sorolla clearly preferred to paint from thin-to-thick and build up his painting carefully, saving the juicy bravura top &nbsp;work for the finish. Much like Sargent and Zorn. Or, for that &nbsp;matter, any other oil painter who owes a debt to Velasquez and Franz Hal. Sorolla was a painter who became interested in aligning the directional gestures of his pulls with the surface planes of his subject; whether he was painting a sail, a cloud, or the shine of wet human flesh. In this way Sorolla instilled a sense of life into the paint itself.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-E4O3T82gw/T0NRP_-vqHI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/pHKcUiemREg/s1600/Study+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-E4O3T82gw/T0NRP_-vqHI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/pHKcUiemREg/s320/Study+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Donald Pettenger</i></span></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> (click image to see hi-res version of Sorolla's sketch-in)</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pdCh8ui1mgU/T0NTytpOsWI/AAAAAAAAA8g/lDnSb7r8DgU/s1600/thick+painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pdCh8ui1mgU/T0NTytpOsWI/AAAAAAAAA8g/lDnSb7r8DgU/s320/thick+painting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> (click image to see a hi-res version of Sorolla's thicker finish)</div> <br /> <br /> ---<br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can I say with authority this is how Sorolla painted? </span></b>Well, not really. I've not had enough original Sorollas to look at, or enough time to be with the few I've been lucky to come across. Plus it is important to remember very few painters painted the same way their entire life. Painters tend to evolve over time, often going back and forth between a number of established methods, maturing as they go. But speculations like the ones I have shared can spark our imagination and set us on a new path. They can suggest something new to try, or change the way we paint, or perhaps simply cause us to think about a painting in a new way At least they can for a geek like me.<br /> <br /> Whoops, I meant a Sorolla Nut instead.<br /> <br /> Thomas<br /> <br /> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-877707061265668075?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/SzzMrmgzwVA" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/SzzMrmgzwVA/speculating-on-sorolla.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)2http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2012/02/speculating-on-sorolla.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-3624128808790054262Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:07:00 +00002012-02-18T22:37:26.084-08:00miscellaneouscheap trickstips and trickspainting advice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A8yiX24FDOs/Tz8Cfg09bOI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/E1VCeKrRbQA/s1600/turtle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A8yiX24FDOs/Tz8Cfg09bOI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/E1VCeKrRbQA/s200/turtle.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've been squeezing a lot of paint out onto my palette over the past week because I took a workshop from a guy who likes to paint fast and thickly.&nbsp;</span></b><br /> <br /> I chose him because I wanted to learn how to paint fast and thickly too. And I learned the secret to doing so is simple: empty your tubes out before you begin pushing it around. Why be so excessive? Well, any oil painter like myself who wants to work at a large scale <i>en plein air, </i>or<i>&nbsp;</i>using&nbsp;<i>alla prima</i>&nbsp;methods just doesn't have time to be uncapping and capping tubes all day. Plus, there are color effects that only happen if you slather it on. (Think Sargent, Sorolla, or Zorn...) But it has only been seven days since that workshop and at the rate I'm going to start buying paint by the pint. Or gallon. Clearly, this will get expensive.<br /> <br /> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Question:</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I want to lay out a lot of paint but not waste what laid out at the end of the day when I go home. How can I keep my leftovers from prematurely setting up?</span><br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Answer:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Make turtles.</span><br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are like me, you tend to stab your brush into a pile of color </span></b>– which means that by the end of the day you are left with a spread out and peaky area like this:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-24rYyL-ec8I/Tz72lloTRpI/AAAAAAAAA7I/0wi7SIqQu8o/s1600/IMG_4994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-24rYyL-ec8I/Tz72lloTRpI/AAAAAAAAA7I/0wi7SIqQu8o/s320/IMG_4994.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The problem with leaving your paint this way is it leaves a lot of surface area for oxygen above to do its business.</b></span> (Oxygen is what causes your oil paint to 'dry', not evaporation.) So, the less surface area you create, the less the paint is exposed to oxygen. Get it?</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWI5KTS57Oc/Tz76axG1QEI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/DI-2WjitN2s/s1600/IMG_4996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWI5KTS57Oc/Tz76axG1QEI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/DI-2WjitN2s/s320/IMG_4996.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, at the end of the day it is helpful to shape your color piles into what a friend of mine likes to call a 'turtle'. </span></b>If you minimize the surface area it will significantly inhibit the drying time. And if a pile of paint sits around long enough to skin over you can peel it back to get to the fresh(er) paint below. Of course, should that happen there will be some shrinkage, but not as much if you leave your paint all peaked and flattened out like the top image. You can even pour a little walnut oil on top of your turtles to further slow the drying.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Here an example of me making a turtle, using a medium-sized palette knife on a paper palette.</b></span> The gray you see me pushing around is one of my working mud piles. It started out as pure tube colors squeezed out seven days ago.&nbsp;Yes, you read that right, <i>I said one week ago</i>. It is this fluid because I've been making turtles at the end of every day. All my other piles are the same. Pretty nifty, eh?</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <object width="450" height="375" class="BLOG_video_class" id="BLOG_video-e715ec7c29ceb214" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/get_player"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <param name="flashvars" value="flvurl=http://v15.nonxt8.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3De715ec7c29ceb214%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1332365334%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D5ACFDD9CA6C1AF7CC8C517BE91A3BBCC3D3F16D3.6C8876B5ADBF6577932071561364D5D549733B38%26key%3Dck1&amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3De715ec7c29ceb214%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3D4jZR2KQ29Kqp8bDRO5bmvr9P2uw&amp;autoplay=0&amp;ps=blogger"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/get_player" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="375" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="flvurl=http://v15.nonxt8.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3De715ec7c29ceb214%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1332365334%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D5ACFDD9CA6C1AF7CC8C517BE91A3BBCC3D3F16D3.6C8876B5ADBF6577932071561364D5D549733B38%26key%3Dck1&iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3De715ec7c29ceb214%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3D4jZR2KQ29Kqp8bDRO5bmvr9P2uw&autoplay=0&ps=blogger" allowFullScreen="true" /></object> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <i><br /></i></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <i>I should admit &nbsp;I've been using walnut oil instead of linseed oil as a paint medium this past week. Walnut oil 'dries' more slowly than linseed oil does. Something to consider if you want a longer open time to work.</i></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So go ahead and start painting like a millionaire!</span></b> Squeeze generous piles of your color out onto the palette! Stop starving your brush and canvas and get expressive! Because now you know how to save that leftover paint for your next session!</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> – Thomas</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-3624128808790054262?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/K18Tdmf0SpA" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/K18Tdmf0SpA/making-turtles-or-saving-your-grays.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)4http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2012/02/making-turtles-or-saving-your-grays.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-3459544377305547626Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:47:00 +00002012-02-01T10:56:27.314-08:00miscellaneouscheap trickstips and trickspainting advice<div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>[Post update: 2/1/2012]&nbsp;</i></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Shortly after I uploaded this tip the well-respected blog </i><a href="http://PaintingPerceptions.com/" target="_blank"><b>PaintingPerceptions.com</b></a><i> asked permission to quote it at length in an in-depth story on lead white oil paint.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">&nbsp;The formula I offer here for creating a lead white substitute has been quoted extensively towards the end of PaintingPerceptions' article, but I recommend you read PP's entire post anyway as it raises legitimate concerns about the future availability and uptick in cost of lead white paint. Here is a direct link to the information:</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://paintingperceptions.com/sounding-technical/the-great-lead-white-shortage" target="_blank"><b>http://paintingperceptions.com/sounding-technical/the-great-lead-white-shortage</b></a></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-----</span></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When it comes to using white, oil painters are faced&nbsp;</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">with two choices: to paint with a titanium (or titanium/zinc) white,&nbsp;</span></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">or to paint with a lead white.&nbsp;</span></b></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The majority of contemporary artists choose to paint with a titanium for two main reasons: titanium is less expensive and it is considered less toxic. Both may be true but to completely forego the artistic potential of lead white – also known as Flake White – means never exploring some of the most interesting painterly effects that date back centuries. Lead white was, after all, the first white for oil painters...</span><br /> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But if you are adamant against working with lead white, yet wish titanium had some of its working properties, what can you do?</span></i><br /> <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></i><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8dt8QDtl1AY/Tygm54aQKRI/AAAAAAAAA6U/js69d3DUTcM/s1600/mock+lead+white+illustration2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8dt8QDtl1AY/Tygm54aQKRI/AAAAAAAAA6U/js69d3DUTcM/s1600/mock+lead+white+illustration2.jpg" /></a></div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div> <div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First, let’s begin by identifying a few qualities that distinguish lead white&nbsp;from titanium white in an artist-grade oil paint: </span><br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Lead white is the warmest white available to the oil painter (see illustration above).</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Because of that warm cast lead it can play nicely with light values and weaker tints, the kinds of delicate passages you find in many skin tones and neutral colors. Especially if you paint with a lot of classic earth colors.</span><br /> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. Lead white paint is less opaque than titanium white. </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unless the white in question has been unduly adulterated by its manufacturer. At first you might consider lead white’s weaker tinting strength to be a bad thing but a lower tinting strength can become an advantage when attempting to replicate traditional effects produced by Ye Olde Masters. Effects such as such as overpainting, scumbling, or the laying in of a semi-transparent color on top of an earlier passage. Often, modern titanium white is too strong or too blue and overwhelms the color it is mixed into. Often it makes that color appear, well, chalky.</span><br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Lead white exhibits a distinct <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thixotropy" target="_blank">thixotropic</a> property as you move it around with a brush or palette knife. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lead white tends to glide in a unique manner while it is in motion. When the motion ceases the paint drops or freezes. And lead white can transfer some of this effect into another color it has been mixed into. The titaniums I have painted with do not exhibit this behavior. And finally, lead white tends to be stiffer than most titanium whites and is less likely to level out as the paint film dries. This retains a crisper impasto. </span><br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Lead white will gently accelerate the drying of the oil film and strengthen the film as it does so. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Without going into the chemistry of it all, the lead is a through-drier so it can speed things up without the structural dangers normally associated with using a surface drier such as cobalt, or other metal driers which pull in oxygen from the air above the film.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For Those Who Refuse to Paint with Lead&nbsp;</span></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">but Wish They Could...&nbsp;</span></b></div> <div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can create your own "Mock Lead White" with the following:</span></b></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></b><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></b></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> First, mix a tiny amount of ochre paint into a generous amount of titanium white.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This will shift the cool bias titanium pigment has towards the warmer cast of lead. Just a tiny amount of ochre will do. Mix it in thoroughly using a clean palette knife on a clean surface. The slightest addition of a second color will send the white in the wrong direction. (You are just trying to shift the white from cool to warm. Compare your mix against unmodified titanium white. You’ll see how little ochre is required.) </span><br /> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Next, you need to reduce the tinting strength of the titanium in your titanium/ochre white. </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To accomplish this, you start by mixing some linseed oil into a pile of finely-ground marble dust. (aka, calcium carbonate). Use a hand muller on glass if you have them, or a substantial palette knife on a clean surface if you don't. Exert a fair amount of pressure as you mix everything together because it must all be well incorporated before the next step. (BTW, marble dust is inexpensive and available at most art stores. Or it can be ordered online.) The consistency of your final oil and calcite blend should equate the consistency of your titanium/ochre white. Now, begin mixing a little of the oil and calcite blend into your titanium/ochre white. As you increase the amount of calcite you are lowering the opacity of the titanium. (As a point of historical fact, Velazquez often worked calcium carbonate into a number earth colors to affect their opacity. Much of the transparent beauty found in his limited palette comes from this trick. You can use you oil and calcite mixture for the same purpose). </span><br /> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>And finally, to emulate the impasto effect lead white imparts to a brush stroke, try incorporating a small amount of artist-grade beeswax.</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (You will find that very little wax is needed to mimic the peaking effect of lead white.) The wax creates a shorter pull to your paint mixture and thus your mock lead white will sustain sharper peaks and striations. Good enough for impasto work. I recommend you add the wax on your palette as you need it and not incorporate it into a tubed mixture. That way you will always have the option of working with a short or long mock lead white. </span><br /> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>You will likely want to experiment with different proportions of these additives to find your preferred mock lead, but once you find it take note for future reference. </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can then make a large batch and tube it up for later convenience. Sealed properly, your mock lead white should last as long as any other oil paint. </span><br /> <br /> ---</div> <div> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Modifying a titanium white paint as described above may be considered within the bounds of sound painting practices so long as the resulting paint doesn't become oil-starved by the addition of too much calcite. Or, that the integrity of the dried paint film is not compromised by the addition of too much beeswax. But those caveats hold true for any kind of oil paint, not just your blend. The usual and customary cautions regarding the thickness and application of impasto work still apply. </span><br /> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have fun, and keep painting!</span></div> </div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-3459544377305547626?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/0D8ra_lmjy0" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/0D8ra_lmjy0/whiter-than-white-brighter-than-bright.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)4http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2012/01/whiter-than-white-brighter-than-bright.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-2026640804619296916Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:10:00 +00002012-01-26T23:10:57.524-08:00<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/ThomasJeffersonKittsBlog?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyB8OLA9K2SUQ#5702205842394469346'><img src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iG_NgM8_FmQ/TyJOAIgUU-I/AAAAAAAAA6A/XSsFHdzMO30/s288/1.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='201' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Well, that pretty much covers it. <br /><br />Apropos of nothing else, my Essential Alla Prima Techniques workshop begins tomorrow. I expect we will have a good time and learn a lot...<br /><br />Thomas<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-2026640804619296916?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/iKMPXmeqYv8" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/iKMPXmeqYv8/art-is-imperative.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)0http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2012/01/art-is-imperative.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-5086983711702458286Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:55:00 +00002012-01-25T14:55:42.909-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YVla9S8oHvM/TyB_vLft3QI/AAAAAAAAA5w/QeK-19AD3qM/s1600/side_oscar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YVla9S8oHvM/TyB_vLft3QI/AAAAAAAAA5w/QeK-19AD3qM/s200/side_oscar.jpg" width="110" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Heck with the Oscars!™</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Because for just today it's all about me at</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="http://www.outdoorpainter.com/artist-profiles/thomas-jefferson-kitts-535.html" target="_blank">OutdoorPainter.com</a></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.outdoorpainter.com/artist-profiles/thomas-jefferson-kitts-535.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-15uhLl1BoBY/TyB-X_aaybI/AAAAAAAAA5o/Su5KA5TeQWE/s1600/TJK_Outdoor+Painter+vignette.jpg" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> (My Outdoor Painter acceptance speech)</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> "I want to thank my beautiful wife, without whom I could not have done any of this; my handsome son who still talks to me at the dinner table; my sweet precious little dog who's always happy to see me come home from the studio because it must mean it is dinner-time; my mom and dad and sister who never lost faith in me (except for that one time the family still won't talk about...); the few friends I still have left; any number of gallery owners who foolishly pinned their hopes on me over the past 28 years; my erstwhile lawn-guy and his unlicensed mortgage broker –<i> hey wait, NOOOO! That isn't the music starting up yet, is it?</i> <i>– Oh my gosh... </i>My nice neighbors who have never once complained about my odd working hours or about that time I laid down in the middle of our road in my bathrobe while the school bus went by<i> – and wait, wait, NO!...</i> I can't leave out&nbsp;the guy who installed my dishwasher last week, and, and, and most certainly not the pizza-delivery boy who smuggled art supplies to me every week while I was on the inside!...</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <i>Oh jeez, they're coming out from the back stage for me. Gotta go everyone! (grin)</i></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b>But really, a heartfelt thanks to&nbsp;<i>PleinAir Magazine!™&nbsp;</i></b></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b><i>Thanks for promoting plein air work everywhere!</i></b></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b><a href="http://www.pleinairconvention.com/" target="_blank"><i>See you in Vegas!...</i></a></b></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-5086983711702458286?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/5Nhn8Zu0e64" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/5Nhn8Zu0e64/outdoorpaintercom-highlights-moi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)6http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2012/01/outdoorpaintercom-highlights-moi.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-3181259248681126587Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +00002012-01-20T07:48:47.625-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">But first, Last Call for my January Alla Prima Essential Techniques Workshop.</span></span></b> <a href="http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/p/alla-prima-workshop.html" target="_blank">(More information here.)</a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">We still have room for a few more participants, but if you want to join us for this year you must send me an email immediately as the workshop is January 27 - 29. This class will teach you how to work quickly, paint wet-into-wet, and how to maintain control of your color and values as you do so...</span></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here's a wonderful visual treat from the folks at Colorado Public &nbsp;Television.&nbsp;</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There will be an amazing show of Edgar Payne's work on display at the Pasadena Art Museum from June 3rd to October 12th, 2012. Many paintings I've never seen. I'll try to find out if the show will travel and if so get the schedule and post it here.</span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey</b></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="288" width="450"> <param name = "movie" value = "http://www-tc.pbs.org/s3/pbs.videoportal-prod.cdn/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" > </param> <param name="flashvars" value="width=450&height=288&video=2183648206&player=viral&end=0" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> </param> <param name = "allowscriptaccess" value = "always" > </param> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"> </param> <embed src="http://www-tc.pbs.org/s3/pbs.videoportal-prod.cdn/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="width=450&height=288&video=2183648206&player=viral&end=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="288" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object></span></div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: grey; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center; width: 450px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Watch <a href="http://video.cpt12.org/video/2183648206" style="color: #4eb2fe !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey</a> on PBS.</span></div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This special will follow painter Edgar Payne from his childhood in the Ozark Mountains, through his years in Chicago, and on to his discovery of the California landscape that became his lifelong inspiration. Produced in association with the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and created with the curators and scholars behind the touring exhibition of the same name.</span><br /> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /> <div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bp9NACjxug0/TxmJuZWbYfI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/cx3ejZJr0dM/s1600/payne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bp9NACjxug0/TxmJuZWbYfI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/cx3ejZJr0dM/s1600/payne.jpg" /></a></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the Pasadena Art Museum website:</span></div> <div> <b>E</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>dgar Payne: The Scenic Journey</b><br />June 3, 2012 – October 14, 2012<br /><br />As part of its tenth anniversary celebrations, the Pasadena Museum of California Art is pleased to present the first major showing of Edgar Payne (1883-1947) in over forty years. One of the most gifted of the historic California plein air artists, Payne utilized the brushwork and color of Impressionism, but his powerful landscape paintings departed from the genteel refinement depicted by most Impressionist painters. He imbued his works with an internal force and an active dynamism achieved through majestic, vital landscape subjects and a bravura application of pigment. The exhibition will trace his artistic development as he traveled the world, finding magnificence in diverse settings, including the southern and central California coast, the Sierra, the Swiss Alps, the harbors and waterways of France and Italy, and the desert Southwest.<br /><br />This exhibition has been curated by Dr. Scott Shields, with Dr. Patricia Trenton advising.<br /><br /><b><br /></b></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o3c9H-WQZI4/TxmKwOQlIYI/AAAAAAAAA5g/gwaiz4bFyOQ/s1600/scenicjourney9_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o3c9H-WQZI4/TxmKwOQlIYI/AAAAAAAAA5g/gwaiz4bFyOQ/s200/scenicjourney9_large.jpg" width="145" /></a></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey catalogue can be purchased <a href="http://shop.pmcaonline.org/collections/frontpage/products/edgar-payne-the-scenic-journey-pre-sale">online</a>.</b></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The exhibition catalog will run 272 pages and contain 120 full-color reproductions of Payne's work, with essays by authorities such as Peter H. Hassrick, Lisa N. Peters, Scott A. Shields, Jean Stern, and Patricia Trenton. This is going to be one awesome show!<br /><br /><br /></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And thank you Chase for bringing this to my attention!</span></div> <div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div> </div> </div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-3181259248681126587?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/bgp1p3LsBPw" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/bgp1p3LsBPw/edgar-payne.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)2http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2012/01/edgar-payne.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-3277222873960241769Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:57:00 +00002012-01-18T20:44:58.556-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-my0lindXwwM/TwuYQqLxIsI/AAAAAAAAA5E/-rd1nuPZ0VY/s1600/painting+with+fastmatte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-my0lindXwwM/TwuYQqLxIsI/AAAAAAAAA5E/-rd1nuPZ0VY/s320/painting+with+fastmatte.jpg" width="225" /></a></div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">Hey blog-readers, this February I will be offering a <i>free</i> painting demo at the new Dick Blick Art Materials</b>®<b style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;store in Portland, Oregon...</b></span><br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Date and Time:</span></b><br /> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; February 9th,&nbsp;1:00 pm to 4:00 pm<br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Location:&nbsp;</b></span><br /> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dick Blick Materials Art Store, at<br /> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;1115 NW Glisan, Portland, Oregon&nbsp; <br /> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&amp;msa=0&amp;msid=%20208113374779848443953.0004b6225654c6c7eb178" target="_blank">Google map</a><br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hey, did I mention it's free...?</span></b></i></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll also let you in on a little secret: I am doing this demo with a new paint that hasn't been released to the market yet. </span></b>Well okay, a limited set of this paint was released back in Spring of 2010<i>&nbsp;</i>but the colors I'll be using for this demo are new.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXdHMgl1gt4/Tw0ieBoal6I/AAAAAAAAA5M/KkNM-eXw3_A/s1600/Fastmatte+paint+and+palette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXdHMgl1gt4/Tw0ieBoal6I/AAAAAAAAA5M/KkNM-eXw3_A/s200/Fastmatte+paint+and+palette.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gamblin has been busy developing an extended range of FastMatte™ colors and I've been working with them behind closed doors&nbsp;for over a month.</span></b>&nbsp;(<i>Check the image at right</i>) You know, paling with them to see what they can do. In the studio and out in the field... If you come to my demo you can be among the first to see this expanded line of alkyds in action. I am impressed with what they can do. They were originally designed to be a fast-drying underpainting for classical painters, but having the entire spectrum covered – including those all important earth colors – makes working with alkyds a realistic option for the alla prima and plein air painter. <a href="http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2010/07/gamblins-fastmatte-colors-long.html" target="_blank">(You can read a review of the earlier FastMatte line here.)</a><br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So come by Blick Art Materials on February 9th to say hello. I'd be happy to meet you...</span></b><br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also:</span></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FDs3JcnsHqo/TwuWmAwGV3I/AAAAAAAAA48/PtKgQkgYrtw/s1600/DianeMaryUClubStudio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FDs3JcnsHqo/TwuWmAwGV3I/AAAAAAAAA48/PtKgQkgYrtw/s200/DianeMaryUClubStudio.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my (almost) last-call to sign up for my January's "Essential Alla Prima Techniques" Workshop. </span></b>This is a three-day intensive class that will focus on what you need to know about the most direct form of oil painting. If you plan to jump into<i>&nbsp;plein air painting</i> this spring, or simply want to learn how to paint wet-into-wet then this is the class for you! My approach to teaching is encouraging and respectful but gets you to work. It won't be a 'boot-camp for painters' but you will graduate more fit than you were when you came in!<br /> <br /> <a href="http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/p/alla-prima-workshop.html" target="_blank">Details may be found here</a>&nbsp;or up in the right column of this page.<br /> <br /> Workshop closes next week.<br /> <br /> Keep painting!<br /> <br /> Thomas<br /> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-3277222873960241769?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/rxww_2aydo4" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/rxww_2aydo4/doing-in-store-painting-demo-at-dick.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)0http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2012/01/doing-in-store-painting-demo-at-dick.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-2890364668533800281Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:06:00 +00002011-12-26T18:06:41.881-08:00A little moment of fun demonstrating why it is not a good idea to get too competitive when out in the field.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/33670490?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://vimeo.com/33670490">The Artists</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/giantcreative">Giant Creative</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> A tribute to <a href="http://www.bellartstudio.com/" target="_blank">Tim Bell</a> and <a href="http://www.mcbridegallery.com/griffin.html" target="_blank">Stephen Griffin</a>, a couple of friends who like to paint big canvases outside. Four feet by four feet and larger...<br /> <br /> Hope to see you two guys again this summer at Easton!<br /> <br /> Thomas<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #352a0e; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There is still room in my "Essential Alla Prima Techniques" class coming up in January.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">&nbsp;</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #352a0e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">If you want to join the group let me know soon, as spots are filling. For more details, check out the info in the right hand column. Or&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #352a0e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/p/alla-prima-workshop.html" target="_blank">click here</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #352a0e; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">.</span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #352a0e; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #352a0e; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #352a0e; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-2890364668533800281?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/l7xDgsA_ooo" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/l7xDgsA_ooo/why-plein-air-painting-should-never.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)2http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-plein-air-painting-should-never.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-9016152750257332350Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:09:00 +00002011-12-16T20:12:51.705-08:00<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is Claude Monet, working it...</span></b><br /> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oSMVyFmBnbY" width="480"></iframe><br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three things about this video:</span></b><br /> <br /> 1. I'm guessing it was shot in the teens, during the 20th century, since Monet died in 1926. And look at his white suit. Not a spot of paint on it. Massive palette. Big brushes. Thick paint. Not a spot on him. And he's painting outside under the full sun in a white suit. Can this guy even see his canvas?<br /> <br /> 2. Look at the the wind in this clip. I don't know how he's anchored his huge canvas but it seems rock solid, as do the umbrellas that are shading his set-up. I want that set-up myself.<br /> <br /> 3. Check out his cheroot. How long has that ash tip been hanging? Sadly, Monet died of lung cancer. (And Steve, you might want to cut back on the cigs while you paint, eh? That turp and the damar you love are combustable...)<br /> <br /> -----<br /> <br /> <b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I still have room for my "Essential Alla Prima Techniques" class coming up in January. </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you want in let me know soon as spots are filling. Check out the info in the right hand column or <a href="http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/p/alla-prima-workshop.html" target="_blank">click here.</a></span><br /> <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-9016152750257332350?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/X_LbWAhbNzg" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/X_LbWAhbNzg/claude-monet-out-paintin-in-his-garden.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)0http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/12/claude-monet-out-paintin-in-his-garden.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-865648308129796344Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:48:00 +00002011-11-27T09:01:31.428-08:00<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously, I am still trying to catch up after my hectic&nbsp;plein air season, but I wanted to share with you that presently have a figurative work in the<a href="http://www.americanimpressionistsociety.org/"> American Impressionist Society</a>&nbsp;show down in Carmel.&nbsp;</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div style="text-align: left;">A big deal, actually. The AIS show opened a few weeks ago and remains up until November 15th, so if you are in the area there is still time to go see the work. The exhibition is being held in the Mountain Song Gallery, in Carmel, CA, which is located on Ocean Avenue, between San Carlos and Delores. (Really, that's the way addresses read in Carmel. That town doesn't seem to use actual street numbers. How 'twee' of it . . .)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of you may not know I have an extensive background in painting the figure, beginning in my early days as a professional illustrator.&nbsp;</span></b><br /> <br /> I still make a habit of drawing and painting the human form from life on a regular basis, as it is the best artistic training there is for a painter, no matter what other subject matter may be preferred. And I have been working with the figure for over 30 years. I love doing so as it is so unforgiving. You can't fudge a figure. It is either correct or not. It either feels right, or not. To benefit the most from this kind of study you must paint from from life, not photos. I love that aspect as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This winter I will be offering a "Focus on the Figure" workshop in a friend's studio here in Portland Oregon. (see right sidebar). Something to consider if you are interested in 'upping your painting game' . . .</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Here is my painting in the AIS show. Again, it was painted from life, in a rush within a three hour period, plus a few corrective touch-ups after the paint film had a chance to dry...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CYZWQn7GtIk/TrV3NgpatMI/AAAAAAAAA0w/rKl3VN_a9zg/s1600/Preparing+to+Go+On.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CYZWQn7GtIk/TrV3NgpatMI/AAAAAAAAA0w/rKl3VN_a9zg/s400/Preparing+to+Go+On.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Preparing to Go On"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">18 x 24 inches &nbsp;| oil on canvas</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The young girl is Ashley, one of our professional dancers in the Oregon Ballet Theater. This painting is still available for purchase. For more information please contact me directly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thomas</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-7363487139895789025?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/AHCLu3SM4ms" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/AHCLu3SM4ms/12th-annual-american-impressionist-show.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)2http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/11/12th-annual-american-impressionist-show.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-5966884783213393826Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:26:00 +00002011-10-27T23:40:04.707-07:00exhibitionstravels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AgrSo5o5rzA/TqpKGw7aO1I/AAAAAAAAA0Q/B3qYdzhWi3g/s1600/toto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AgrSo5o5rzA/TqpKGw7aO1I/AAAAAAAAA0Q/B3qYdzhWi3g/s200/toto.jpg" width="160" /></a></div> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I am finally home from my 2011 plein air season and (almost) rested up.&nbsp;</span></b>All in all, I competed in eight major events starting last May, and added three side trips for various commissions and exhibitions, taught two workshops, and judged one event. After crawling out of bed this morning I discovered I had posted a Laguna museum video from the gala soiree. (When and how the heck did I manage to do that? Man, the memory is going...)<br /> <br /> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here is some of the work from the 2011 Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational. But not all.&nbsp;</span></b>Unfortunately something on my camera was set wrong when I shot the paintings so I had to torture them back into an approximation of what they actually look like. With one painting being completely overlooked (the QuickDraw), and one painting not surviving digital triage. (So you won't see it here. If I get a better shot someday, maybe then.) In any case, thank goodness for the digi-magic of Photoshop™.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1It5bOPD2Pk/TqizRTJPXJI/AAAAAAAAAzM/466zVlhWW00/s1600/Comes+with+a+View.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1It5bOPD2Pk/TqizRTJPXJI/AAAAAAAAAzM/466zVlhWW00/s320/Comes+with+a+View.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "Comes with a View" Crystal Cove Cottages</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 20 x 16 &nbsp;| &nbsp;oil on linen</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> These cottages were erected during the early part of the 20th century and are now part of the Crystal Cove State Park. Unincorporated and quasi-legal at the time, a rich bohemian culture sprung up within this enclave until the state of California shut the place down in the '70s. Hard to find anything like it anymore in America.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ohcXMioJCtk/TqizRo82p9I/AAAAAAAAAzU/CgVA-rhXUcY/s1600/Great+Stone+Church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ohcXMioJCtk/TqizRo82p9I/AAAAAAAAAzU/CgVA-rhXUcY/s320/Great+Stone+Church.jpg" width="238" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "The Great Stone Church, Mission San Juan Capistrano"</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 18 x 24 &nbsp;| oil on linen</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> A different kind of structure. Erected in 1776 and destroyed by an earthquake soon after, the great stone basilica of Mission San Juan Capistrano was briefly the largest buildings of its kind in America. It is still something to see as it is constructed of mortar, field stone, and plastered with adobe. The structure you see here is the only (semi-) surviving dome out of seven that made up the church. The people in the painting are to scale.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_DHGoQCkVW0/TqizSIr4qLI/AAAAAAAAAzc/LqJa31Oq7gM/s1600/Inspiration+Point.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_DHGoQCkVW0/TqizSIr4qLI/AAAAAAAAAzc/LqJa31Oq7gM/s320/Inspiration+Point.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "Inspiration Point" near Corona del Mar</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 20 x 16 &nbsp;| &nbsp;oil on panel</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> A stunning view along the coastline which ignites when the sun drops in the west.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3UIw1hDlJpc/TqizSpsYADI/AAAAAAAAAzk/beYervgEl7c/s1600/Nature+Echoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3UIw1hDlJpc/TqizSpsYADI/AAAAAAAAAzk/beYervgEl7c/s320/Nature+Echoes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Nature: One Echo after Another" (Victoria Beach, South Laguna)</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 24 x 18 &nbsp;| &nbsp;oil on linen</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I give credit to my wife for the title of this painting and I hope I have not wasted it. Been saving it for years. I once came home from a painting trip and mentioned how I kept discovering similar forms repeating themselves in the landscape, shapes and movements which spanned rocks, water, clouds, trees, and so forth, but never appearing in quite the same way. She looked at me like I was stupid and said, "Yes Thomas, that's Nature for you – one echo after another."&nbsp;</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Duh. So Zen, eh?</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kbBmmgfu0pY/TqizS91iSRI/AAAAAAAAAzs/cG5-gN_-fSw/s1600/Palms+and+Pickets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kbBmmgfu0pY/TqizS91iSRI/AAAAAAAAAzs/cG5-gN_-fSw/s320/Palms+and+Pickets.jpg" width="250" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "Palms and Pickets" Crystal Cove</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 16 x 20 &nbsp;| &nbsp;oil on linen</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> This was my final painting during the competition week. At the end I was burnt out producing 10 large paintings and felt physically exhausted. I had three competition pieces in the can, and four reserve paintings for the second sale day, so I thought, "What the heck, everyone has left Crystal Cove for other locales so why not throw down a 'What the h*ll painting' and call it a day?" What is a WtHP, you ask? It's a painting you wouldn't normally do, and you just do it to see what happens. The subject was impossibly complex, I was fried, and well...what else are you going to do in that situation? Go home?</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> A little backstory: my wife has been after me for years to throw down more paint as I work and I was sitting in the bar sipping a Mojito, looking at the view, and reflecting upon her point. (When it comes to art she is always right.) I was also thinking how close I'd come to exceeding American Airline's suitcase weight allowance on my fly-down. I'd packed a bunch of big tubes of oil paint which totaled about 30 pounds, and when I checked my suitcase it was a mere 1/2 pound under the limit. So that afternoon I decided to paint a&nbsp;WtHP –&nbsp;and use as much paint as could be stuck to its surface, if only to lighten my load home. There is approximately 2/3 of a tube of Old Holland™ lead white on this canvas, plus the other colors you see, so this painting is thick. It's more frosted&nbsp;than it is painted. (On a rigid panel, okay? I'm not an idiot...)&nbsp;</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> How thick is it? When I checked my suitcase in at the AA counter on the way home it weighed 3 1/2 pounds less, and everything had been packed the same as it was on the fly-out. (I'm meticulous with my packing. It's an obsession.) I hadn't planned to exhibit this painting but decided to do so after a few of my plein air friends said I should. Up it went on the wall to a great response. So that makes it my heaviest painting, not counting the support and frame. Maybe I should try selling my art by the pound... (Ha!)</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W8u3TTTtWRc/Tqi0JTRoAXI/AAAAAAAAAz0/L62zI_3163E/s1600/The+Adobe+Garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W8u3TTTtWRc/Tqi0JTRoAXI/AAAAAAAAAz0/L62zI_3163E/s320/The+Adobe+Garden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "The Adobe Garden"&nbsp;</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Mission San Juan Capistrano</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 20 x 16 &nbsp;| &nbsp;oil on linen</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Another painting at the mission. I could have stayed within the walls all week. There were so many paintings within a few feet of each other.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gzUkXWkl8Jw/Tqi0JiCzRBI/AAAAAAAAAz8/vdGAaZuI1GY/s1600/The+Bell+Tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gzUkXWkl8Jw/Tqi0JiCzRBI/AAAAAAAAAz8/vdGAaZuI1GY/s320/The+Bell+Tower.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "The Bell Tower" Mission San Juan Capistrano</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 20 x 16 &nbsp;| oil on linen</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Yet another painting in the mission. A few feet from the one above.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> &nbsp;* * * * And my personal favorite from the week . . . * * * *</div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vmh4LTj79wg/Tqi0KIeSkkI/AAAAAAAAA0E/myogPBlGl80/s1600/The+Sentinal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vmh4LTj79wg/Tqi0KIeSkkI/AAAAAAAAA0E/myogPBlGl80/s320/The+Sentinal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> "The Sentinel", Aliso Creek, South Laguna</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 20 x 16 &nbsp;| oil on linen</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Wasn't even going to paint it. Went to look at a place a friend painted the night before, saw the difficulty in setting up on a muddy flat, and creek that flowed out from the local sewage plant, but once I got in place I &nbsp;knew the scene would ignite once the sun sank low on the horizon. My favorite piece o' the week. Did I mention that?</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> And finally, even though I have already posted a video from the gala, apparently on the night of the gala, here are some more pictures for anyone who wants to see the tony event. We all looked so 'simply mahvelous'. We were all such 'dahlings . . .'&nbsp;</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Some of my best friends are in it. It was a fine night.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <object class="BLOGGER-picasa-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SSAyZQ2BWAY/TqpNUE7SmeI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/R6TtUpghsaE/s1600/2011%2BLaguna%2BBeach%2BPlein%2BAir%2BInvitational-Medium.m4v" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv2.nonxt5.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D55baa36e2c8ad34b%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1319805361%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3DB75ADD38592965C7AD2296C53B36F57651CEE987.5DC04378232C19880C1E6354438145A17C99FF8E%26key%3Dlh1" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /> <embed width="320" height="266" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv2.nonxt5.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D55baa36e2c8ad34b%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1319805361%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3DB75ADD38592965C7AD2296C53B36F57651CEE987.5DC04378232C19880C1E6354438145A17C99FF8E%26key%3Dlh1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /> </b></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>-----</b></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Coming up next: A painting currently on exhibited in the 12th Annual American Impressionist Show in Carmel, California. The last trip of the season.</b></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> That's all for Laguna, folks. It's good to be home. My wife thinks so too!</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Thomas</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-5966884783213393826?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/CuNsvBZ-CtY" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/CuNsvBZ-CtY/theres-no-place-like-home-toto.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)3http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/theres-no-place-like-home-toto.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-7634796108894735109Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:43:00 +00002011-10-16T01:43:54.513-07:00<br /><p align='center'><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/RAhAEIKU3G0" width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RAhAEIKU3G0" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAhAEIKU3G0"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/RAhAEIKU3G0/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></p>- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-7634796108894735109?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/ow1dYgoVHhk" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/ow1dYgoVHhk/laguna-beach-gala-soire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)0http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/laguna-beach-gala-soire.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-5737529919160787771Sat, 15 Oct 2011 06:33:00 +00002011-10-14T23:33:34.382-07:00Some pictures of me painting at Crystal Cove, north of Laguna. Thursday there was a mandatory paint-out and I painted two entries.<br /><br />Tomorrow evening is the museum show opening. The gala soirée and such...<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5663603326995858146'><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-L6pho6TeN8E/TpkpOAZPAuI/AAAAAAAAAys/DAjkzYv3D8U/s288/6.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='337' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5663603335184213746'><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5oOtl9Elt6Q/TpkpOe5fZvI/AAAAAAAAAy0/P3-FLQSnkX8/s288/7.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='337' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5663603341637492098'><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Gh_DDdLaALM/TpkpO28EnYI/AAAAAAAAAy8/awBQ0EfzzAg/s288/8.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='337' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5663603344141095490'><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-TFwe2pYohg4/TpkpPAQ-kkI/AAAAAAAAAzE/Us_-48CR5fQ/s288/9.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='337' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Guess I better clean up as well <br /><br />Millions of termites hatching out as I paint this. Forgot to clean off kamikaze bugs when I was done. So I'll pick out all the wings when it goes up on the wall. <br /><br />G'nite. <br /><br />Thomas<br /><br />- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-5737529919160787771?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/0tsUNeKnom4" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/0tsUNeKnom4/2011-laguna-beach-day-whatever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)1http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/2011-laguna-beach-day-whatever.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-1268418611893522736Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:32:00 +00002011-10-10T22:32:53.358-07:00Painting at the mission again. <br /><br /><br /><p align='center'><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/ex_GcIYetLg" width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ex_GcIYetLg" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex_GcIYetLg"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/ex_GcIYetLg/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></p>- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-1268418611893522736?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/cdvjAkm6PuY" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/cdvjAkm6PuY/2011-laguna-beach-day-two.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)0http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/2011-laguna-beach-day-two.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-311543592276709147Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:13:00 +00002011-10-09T22:15:31.220-07:00Today the competition starts. We began with a QuickDraw, starting at 11:00 am. Never the best light to paint in. I painted the 'Rockpile', down below the Laguna Art Museum . Its a local surfing break, although the waves weren't doing their thing at the time. It was high tide. Here is a quick snap:<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5661726752368300210'><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oM9Wizd29dc/TpJ-e_I9ELI/AAAAAAAAAyg/SAs-KJcxZ-U/s288/5.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='221' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Then, a quick bite with friends and off the Corona del Mar to paint another rock pile during tonight's sunset. I liked the outcome but need to work on my waves. There is an anatomy, a structure to a wave I haven't locked onto yet. Always something to learn, eh?<br /><br /><p align='center'><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/7cgfBaUtQOE" width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7cgfBaUtQOE" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cgfBaUtQOE"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/7cgfBaUtQOE/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></p><br />Man, the weather is better than last year. <br /><br />Good night!<br /><br />Thomas<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com<br /><br />You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial <br />use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the<br />original post.</div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-311543592276709147?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/zb4Sq5tsTto" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/zb4Sq5tsTto/2011-laguna-day-one.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)3http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/2011-laguna-day-one.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-8961459543583953805Sun, 09 Oct 2011 06:33:00 +00002011-10-08T23:33:03.969-07:00Too tired to post. Two paintings today. <br /><br />Here is a video shot by Nile, from Southern Ireland this morning:<br /><br /><br /><p align='center'><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/JfseSZQZDcE" width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JfseSZQZDcE" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfseSZQZDcE"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/JfseSZQZDcE/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></p>Painting the Mission San Juan Capistrano. The original stone and adobe basilica. Destroyed in 1812 by an earthquake. Something to see first hand. Words cannot describe it. Fifty years to build, fifty seconds to fall. Still magnificent...<br /><br />T<br /><br />- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-8961459543583953805?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/QKDD-7rjBHg" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/QKDD-7rjBHg/laguna-beach-2011.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)5http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/laguna-beach-2011.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-5310619850527313551Sat, 08 Oct 2011 05:36:00 +00002011-10-07T22:36:00.826-07:00Arrived today and scouted around. Picked up my supplies, painting panels, and ordered frames for the museum exhibition at the end if the week <br /><br />Then I went down to San Juan Capistrano to look around. Nice. Think I will do a little painting there tomorrow as as warm up. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5660990908140464322'><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-zwXT_JQ8d10/To_hPNxtqMI/AAAAAAAAAyU/27FHVTh9mMs/s288/5.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='336' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5660990909914761650'><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-GJ3I6ly_FZk/To_hPUYvSbI/AAAAAAAAAyY/MlOzGElEfS8/s288/6.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='336' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5660990919123810946'><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-iO2qmcqqa9Q/To_hP2sWOoI/AAAAAAAAAyc/btNPPOQz2Mg/s288/7.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='602' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Some fine things to paint!<br /><br />Thomas<br /><br /><br />- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-5310619850527313551?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/mgbHACGN7EI" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/mgbHACGN7EI/in-laguna-beach-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)0http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-laguna-beach-again.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-3901655762373909514Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:55:00 +00002011-10-02T08:56:12.186-07:00<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5658923959165880962'><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TdDSrTfUa1A/ToiJW80HioI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/SSiYbBGkxj8/s288/4.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='243' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Ahhh! The morning coffee, before heading out to paint. Starving artist? Not for me...<br /><br />T<br /><br />(photo provided courtesy of my wife)<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com<br /><br />You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial <br />use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the<br />original post.</div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-3901655762373909514?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/KrZN9UCxXEA" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/KrZN9UCxXEA/ahhh-morning-coffee-before-heading-out.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)1http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/10/ahhh-morning-coffee-before-heading-out.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-7934436817226136966Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:55:00 +00002011-09-30T08:55:16.493-07:00<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5658181813442152978'><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fEe38Gbs3BA/ToXmYYjLihI/AAAAAAAAAyM/izr6Yy8Xy18/s288/4.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Clearly I am working too hard...<br /><br />Ha!<br /><br />T<br /><br />- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-7934436817226136966?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/zCDd917EMMI" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/zCDd917EMMI/paradise.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)2http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/09/paradise.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-5835743544540149257Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:13:00 +00002011-09-29T09:13:16.680-07:00On another Beechcraft vomit comet over the Rockies... <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5657815324210394626'><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-pWzX7mklru8/ToSZD5xSdgI/AAAAAAAAAyE/8b6SCRnEbQQ/s288/1.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Rough ride, but my wife and I are finally here. I'll be working a commission for the new few days, painting the Aspen in color, and taking time off to spend time with my wife, whom I haven't seen much of over the summer due to all my travel. <br /><br />Here is our view for the next five days:<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMj-gtbLq5KjBw#5657815365894322626'><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uQsP0-rVvE0/ToSZGVDgucI/AAAAAAAAAyI/g25_S0HB0Cw/s288/3.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Nice!<br /><br />Then, I am home again for three days before heading off to the 13th Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational for a second time.<br /><br />The fun never stops, eh?<br /><br />Thomas<br /><br /><br />- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-5835743544540149257?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/vIbU6Xv9GLE" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/vIbU6Xv9GLE/flew-back-to-telluride-yesterday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)1http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/09/flew-back-to-telluride-yesterday.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-3220117358590924607Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:16:00 +00002011-09-26T22:10:40.165-07:00Ha! Curacao again...<br /> <br /> I have no idea what this says. Can anyone help me out?<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xYe_bp4Fdwo/Tm_VYIEx5JI/AAAAAAAAAxE/l4uMr1L-yt4/s1600/Curacau%2BFront%2BPage.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xYe_bp4Fdwo/Tm_VYIEx5JI/AAAAAAAAAxE/l4uMr1L-yt4/s400/Curacau%2BFront%2BPage.tiff" width="400" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> (click to enlarge)</div> -----<br /> UPDATE to this post:<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> Here is what I was painting in the Amigo article:</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZF2-rhIT2Vw/ToFZkHmRs1I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/EzuSuVKFEwk/s1600/Caracas+Baia+Boats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZF2-rhIT2Vw/ToFZkHmRs1I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/EzuSuVKFEwk/s400/Caracas+Baia+Boats.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <i>Boats at Caracas Baai, Curacao</i></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sold</span></b></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> 11 x 14 &nbsp;| oil on linen on board</div> <div> <br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> Translation provided by courtesy from Cynthia Roosberg, sister of Hellen Chirino – the woman behind Plein Air Curacao. Thank you Cyntha!<br /> <br /> <br /> <i><b>Headline: </b>Landscape artists capturing Curacao on canvas.<br /><br /><b>Photo caption:</b> One of the artists trying to capture the landscape of&nbsp;Caracasbaai, Thomas Jefferson Kitts.<br /><br /><b>Article text:&nbsp;</b></i><i>This morning about 15 easels and artists appeared amidst the&nbsp;beachtowels and swimmers at the Caracasbaai. Plein air Curacao has&nbsp;taken off! Local and international artists will be working here untill&nbsp;sunset. This should provide entertainment for the public.&nbsp;The next few days the artists will try and capture the landscape at&nbsp;various locations.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>Wednesday they will be at the Santa Cruz, Thursday at the Hyat and&nbsp;Friday at Cura Hulanda.</i></span></i></div> <div> </div> <div> <div> <i><br /></i></div> <div> <div> <i>The resulting art can be viewed and purchased at the Maritime Museum.&nbsp;On Saturday morning there will be a 4 hour long competition in Punda,&nbsp;Otrabanda and Scarloo. Participation is open to all and will cost 15&nbsp;gld for children up to 18 yrs. Adults will pay 25 gld.&nbsp;Prizes will be presented in 4 categories at 13.30.</i></div> <div> <i><br /></i></div> <div> <i>Categories are, local artists, foreign artists, ages 13 to 18 and&nbsp;aspiring young artist from 19 years on.&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>On Friday and Saturday the students of Instituto Buena Vista and a&nbsp;number of patients of teh Capriles Clinic will work on a mural at the&nbsp;Rif Stadium.&nbsp;On saturday about 30 young children will be painting in Punda.</i></span></i></div> </div> <div> <i><br /></i></div> <div> <i>-----</i></div> <div> <i><br /></i></div> <div> It was a great event, and filled with kind people and interesting adventures! I hope to return to paint again next year...</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Thomas</div> </div> </div> <div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-3220117358590924607?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/qm0QiN6Yyz0" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/qm0QiN6Yyz0/does-anyone-speak-dutch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)7http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/09/does-anyone-speak-dutch.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-2320252812110927307Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:45:00 +00002011-09-11T09:39:02.770-07:00<br /> <br /> <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/108674864021324321628/ThomasJeffersonKittsBlog?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyB8OLA9K2SUQ#5650494130134270402"><img align="left" border="0" height="128" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-EQojFpvC16o/TmqWeUgVQcI/AAAAAAAAAw8/grTPGLb68wA/s288/0.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="100" /></a><br /> Here is a 7 minute video of my recent painting trip to Curacao for you all to enjoy. The background music is by Oswin Chin Behilia, who is singing "Curacao di nos e ta", which literally translates to "Curacao is Ours".<br /> <br /> <object width="500" height="311"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1LQPO-FpS9I?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1LQPO-FpS9I?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500" height="311" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> <br /> And after visiting the island and painting, I think I understand what he means:<br /> <div align="center"> <br /></div> <div align="center"> <br /></div> <div align="center"> <br /></div> <br /> As soon as I receive pictures from the group photographer I will post my paintings for you to see.<br /> <br /> Thomas<br /> <br /> <br /> - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-2320252812110927307?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/vDPS4VJDYiI" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/vDPS4VJDYiI/curacao-in-motion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)1http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/09/curacao-in-motion.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-6596012523795175126Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:39:00 +00002011-09-05T03:39:47.028-07:00Bon Dia!<br /><br /><p align='center'><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/6wVspriRwv0" width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6wVspriRwv0" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wVspriRwv0"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/6wVspriRwv0/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></p>Wow!<br /><br />Won "Best International Artist" from Plein Air Curacao. (Best of Show. )<br /><br />In the island airport now waiting for my flight home. Great fun. Wonderful people. <br /><br />Full report soon, after I get some sleep and photos of my work from 'Paparazzi Steve'. (the cool guy in the pamama hat). <br /><br />Until then,<br /><br />Bon Bini!<br /><br />Thomas<br /><br /><br />- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-6596012523795175126?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/ouN09oj-LNk" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/ouN09oj-LNk/it-curacao-baby.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)4http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/09/it-curacao-baby.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7293883218661628424.post-7636067216784282201Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:16:00 +00002011-09-02T11:16:03.555-07:00<br /><p align='center'><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/yM96-9mGHYo" width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yM96-9mGHYo" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><!-- Fallback content --><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM96-9mGHYo"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/yM96-9mGHYo/0.jpg" width="400" height="300" />YouTube Video</a></object></p>Miss Sue. Amazing model. Held the pose like a rock!<br /><br />- Posted from my iPhone<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Copyright 2011 and later, at ThomasKittsBlogspot.com You may freely distribute the contents of this posting for non-commercial use so long as you credit the author, and provide a link-back to the original post.<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7293883218661628424-7636067216784282201?l=thomaskitts.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~4/XNbkfLtU7os" height="1" width="1"/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thomasjeffersonkittsblog/~3/XNbkfLtU7os/today-curacao-model.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thomas Kitts)0http://thomaskitts.blogspot.com/2011/09/today-curacao-model.html