Learning to Draw

Art is probably the ONLY subject (hobby, profession) where the average person has the attitude "you have to be born being able to draw" to do it.  Think about it-even in music the average musician learns a step by step procedure to reach a certain level of proficiency-same in ant profession from jewelry making to becoming a doctor.
This past weekend we had a group come to our studio for a "TREES" workshop and they had a blast! None were "accomplished" artists but they wanted to know "how to I draw a tree." What do I do first?
Steve demoed first with charcoal.

Oil Sketch and charcoal sketch by Stephen Filarsky

The key to learning to draw is learning to see and Feb 1 turned out to be a beautiful sunny day-not too hot (haha it IS February!) and not too cold.
Why a sunny day in winter? No leaves! Yep-just form, structure limbs and wonderful shadows.

Trees are very forgiving :-) A limb too high or too low, too fat, too skinny doesn't matter. It's not like a face or an object where the end result is usually to have it look like that object (or person) A tree is recognizable and not intimidating, so learning to SEE what you need to see to draw a tree can be employed with any other thing you would like to draw! 

I'll have some recent paintings I have completed up soon but below are some of the results of the TREES class. Enjoy!

And if you have a group interested in us holding one of our workshops either at our location, or yours, let us know!

Full workshops and SNOW!

Hardworking students-sunny, cold morning!

 You have to follow this link http://picasaweb.google.com/ipaintportraits/Dec4ARTCLASS?feat=directlink

to see ALL the photos that we took Dec 4 in our two workshops but read on and see how our day progressed!

The view from the Studio porch around 2:30 pm!

We had such a great time in our workshops! It started off sunny and cold and all the students worked in our naturally lighted studio. They did an amazing job. Ranging in age from 10 to 60 something, they all slipped into the art zone with no effort. A two hour limit forces most people (especially newcomers) to work outside their normal comfort zone! After all-many were totally new to this! But, undaunted they worked through their challenges and what a group of paintings!

Congratulations all!

And just think, our next workshop on Dec 18 is all about painting SNOW!

Further progress on the oil

Another day of progress in completing this oil! People have told me that they enjoy seeing the children emerge....it was Michaelangelo , who, when asked about his marble sculptures, commented that inside every large chunk of marble was a person waiting to emerge......sounds right!

But is not just this portrait that I am completing. I will be delivering an pastel today of a little girl and her horse which I will post after Christmas as it is a surprise! And I have a dozen more commissions to complete.

More progress on 30 x 40 oil

This, by the way, is the real life of an artist. Work. And if you are not creating your art for your clients, you are going out and finding it! That's how all businesses operate. LOL which is why I am behind in getting out my newsletters! I'm picking my challenges :-)

I will deliver a portrait today, paint more on this, work more on some of my other orders and get ready for art mini workshops in our studio tomorrow!. Yikes, it will be only in the 40's but with 15 attendees for each of the two classes, Steve and I will be spending the evening...LOL straightening the house and studio...OK maybe I'm feeling just a little pressure........:-)

Crazy artist week..wait, that's real life!

This promises to be one of those crazy weeks that . Steve and I have the evening seminars at the Art of the Carolinas  Nov 11, 12 and 13 and what possessed me to agree to demonstrate a brand of acrylic paints (all day) for 3 days is beyond me! Steve will be at the Duke  show with our art booth while I am at the Hilton in Raleigh.....whew...wonder where I can change my clothes?
Meanwhile I am trying to reschedule my teen art class  to avoid a conflict this week.....and heading to the Gallery that I partner with this morning to meet two clients, stopping at the bank, the post office .....oh yeah, the early Thanksgiving on Sunday for a son flying out Tuesday to Job Corp......wonder if they'll actually get the turkey into the oven?......LOL and I HAVE to start on that large family  oil painting, finish the smaller orders.......we even managed to get our custom Xmas cards printed and ready to mail out early this year (as in before Xmas)  but we need to hand address them all......did I mention getting out the newsletters to all of our clients and friends....oh, and I have to trim the hair off the Cockapoo...meet with the guys to finish the "we're in the middle" bathroom makeover of 3 months.......I think I started to say something about an overwhelming  week but in fact it's sort of typical (with the exception maybe of the workshops) of the real life that all artists cope with !

That's why so many of the art marketing sites on the Internet are so....unreal :-). From what we have seen, Very few, if any,  are written or presented by artists who are creating art as well as selling it....they fill their sites with tidbits from here and there, from many artists and so seem to have missed that essential element of real life as we all know it....living the day to day life that we all know and yet creating art within that same context. THAT is what the "real" artist's life is all about!
So regardless of where you are in your own world of art, stick with it! Embrace it and enjoy it. As overwhelming as some days or weeks may be, how you handle the challenges of real life as a working artist is what separates the artists who want to market their art from those who simply think about it!

LOVE the time change-I feel like I'm not starting in the middle of the night!

Kids painting portraits

It is interesting to note that not one of my professors in college ever showed me how to paint a portrait. Either they did not know, or they were so locked into the fear factor of a university "what is art" wrath that I make a point now, of showing the ropes to anyone who wants to know!

The results are pretty amazing! And there is NOTHING better to a tween/teen's self esteem than creating a piece of art that goes far beyond what he or anyone else thought he/she could create! See the examples of these very first portraits!

Ashley age11

Joy age 17

Ray age 13

Teen Art Boot Camp

What a great week with working with a group of teens! We worked in acrylics, oils, graphite, charcoal and conte. They learned Art presentation, Art journaling and Art Marketing!

Still lifes, landscapes and portraits, all in the traditional mode helped expand their vision and stretch a bit more from them. We also taled about what to look for when selecting an art schoo for college-a very necessary topic to save tens of thousands of dollars for the parents!

Next camp is July 6-10 and the final is August 3-7. They run from 10-2 pm.