Greetings from Philadelphia
 

Hi everyone,

My name is Garth Herrick, and at 46, I am beginning to get by as a full time portrait painter here in Philadelphia, after more than 20 years of portrait commissions. I have also begun sculpting portraits. I always felt encouraged to explore as an artist while growing up, and my first portrait commissions were in pastel when I was about 10. In my early twenties, I attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, receiving a Cresson Traveling Scholarship in 1984, and a certificate in 1985.

Between 1988 and 1991 I was engaged as the sculptor of the world's largest bronze horse in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, in an airline pilot's life-end dream to re-create the unfinished for 500+ years Sforza equestrian monument of Leonardo da Vinci. Well, I got this sculpture off to a very good start, but another sculptor finished the 24 foot tall horse that was unveiled in Milan in 1999. Returning to painting after such an immersion into sculpture was difficult, but I have persisted.

Along the way I married my PAFA sweetheart Jilliann, and we have a daughter Lachlan 7, who is apparently doubly endowed with art genes.

Anyway, I am embarrassed to admit I was unaware of the vast resources and vital artist community present in this forum until I stumbled upon it yesterday! And wow, do I feel humble in the presense of all the amazing talents here. There is much that I hope to learn in this forum from everyone, and there are probably a couple tips I can share too. I am looking forward to everyone's unveilings, critiques, and experiences. This is a great forum and I am honored to be included here as a new member.

I will attach a couple of pictures of my more accomplished work. The First is the official portrait of Mayor Edward G. Rendell, who has since become our state's governor. This is oil on linen, 50" x 38" in size, to blend in with all the other mayor's portraits hung since 1701. The second image is a terracotta sculpture of a three-year old subject. Any type of feedback is welcome. Thanks!

Welcome to you, Garth:

Very nice! My brother and one of SOG member were from Temple University.

Please tell us something about what you've gained at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Garth,

The Governor was instantly recognizable, what a terrific painting. I think that kid lives just down the street.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome - I love that portrait and especially the background.

Thanks everyone,

SB: Who is the other SOG member from Temple (Tyler School of Art)? I know little about Tyler, but many artist friends and co-workers studied there. I have to confess it was love at first sight at PAFA. I actually first fell in love Frank Furness's amazing architectural masterpiece of 1876. Gradually I realized the instruction was pretty good too. Arthur deCosta was the main instructor who was upholding the legacy of Thomas Eakins as well as all the extant knowledge of the old masters. I think he taught me more than any instructor, and I was one of his esteemed disciples until he perceived that I was defecting to the modern camp. Anyway, this May 7, with the opening of the annual student thesis show, Arthur deCosta will be receiving the Academy's top honors along with a retrospective exhibit at the Woodmere Museum of Art .

Mike: Thanks! I may not realize how recognizable Ed Rendell is outside of Pennsyvania, although he is enormously popular here. The thing is his campaign staff usurped the reference photo I had taken of him and used it 10 million times over in campaign literature. So when the portrait was finally unveiled, there was no real shock or surprise because it already was a familiar household iconic image in Pennsylvania, just like Lincoln on a penny!

Kim, thanks too! The background was an element I added to fit, since my reference picture was taken in Rendell's campaign office with a plain white wall.

Garth

We're delighted to have you on board, Garth, and look forward to many postings from you!

Thank You Michele, I know I could gain a lot from the business practices forum you moderate.

Garth

Garth,

In the way of cyber introduction, we have another friend who frequents this forum who is a pretty nifty scultor, Heidi Maiers at this link : http://portrait-sculpture.com/

Thanks Mike, I think her work is pretty nifty too. I am curious about her revolutionary methods of working in her E-book ad.

I also hope to be a positive contribution to your digital photography forum. I'm using the Nikon D100 and I think its one of the best choices for serious digital reference photos. Does anyone else use a digital slr?

Garth

Garth,

I'm pretty sure that Morgan Weistling uses a D100.

I am still shooting film but am on the verge of doing the digital. The one that's in the running for me is the new Nikon D70 slr due out in a couple of weeks. A bit of an upgrade of the D100 and at a slightly more reasonable price. The body goes for $999 and a kit price with a very nice lens for $1200 I think. An interesting comparison chart at this link : Nikon D70

WOW! Thanks Mike for that comparison. I have not looked at the D70 before. There are many upgrades from the D100. I would get one too.

I think these SLRs have better picture quality than the new small 8mp cameras because the pixels are so much bigger on the SLRs.

Garth

Welcome aboard
 

Hi Garth,

Very impressive work. It's nice to have you aboard. Philadelphia is my home town although I have been a New Yorker since 1970. I graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art with an illustration degree and no knowledge whatsoever. I always wondered what path my life would have taken had I gone to the Academy instead.

I'm also considering the leap to digital. I'm considering the Canon Powershot Pro 1 as well as the D70 and the Rebel.

On one hand the Pro 1 comes with an "L" quality lens. A zoom lens alone goes for over a thousand. It can shoot at an ISO of 50 which would eliminate noise if one was shooting under good light as opposed to the 200 ISO of the Rebel and the D 70. This coupled with a far superior lens and more features makes it seem very appealing. I too am waiting for the review conclusions to make my final determination. The 8 mp files will blow up to 20 x 30 inches.

On the other hand here is a review of the D70 http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d70.htm that also has my full attention.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum, Garth. Looking forward to seeing more of your beautiful works.

Welcome Garth, your work is beautiful. I have always wanted to try sculpture, but don't have a clue where to start!

Welcome, and congratulations Garth from down under!

With more and more experience coming into this forum, I am getting more eager to understand and comprehend and practice all that is here.

I really enjoy when you guys get typing, those fingers must be red.

Garth,

A graduate of Tyler School of Art at Temple University (BFA, Magna Cum Laude, MFA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Simmie Knox, is in D.C. now.

Thanks Marvin, Josef, Mary, Ngaire, and SB: It is wonderful to be so instantly welcomed. I am not used to such comradery (I've never used this word before so I had to look up the spelling). A studio can be a very solitary place without this forum.

Marvin: I am so impressed with your work! I hope you take it as a compliment that I think your portraits are on par with Ingres. Your sense of design is great; the precision of your eye and hand are razor sharp; and as a technician, you seem unparalleled. These are all areas I need to improve; so your praise feels very high to me. Thankyou.

I checked out the Canon website and the Powershot Pro 1 is very impressive indeed at ISO 50. There are no sample pictures at ISO 400, but I bet they begin to show some noise there. ISO 400 on a D70 will be very negligable if it has the same chracteristics as a D100. This is because of the pixel pitch (or distance between each pixel). The pixel pitch is three times greater on a D70 than on a Powershot Pro 1.

What I would do Marvin, is purchase a Compact Flash storage media card (any capacity will do), since both cameras use the same card. Go to a camera store and take each camera for a comparative test drive in the store with your personal card, then go download the test pictures and see which camera offers the best balance of picture quality for your needs. I tried this myself a few years back.

Josef: Thanks for your welcome. I love your interactive layered portrait on your website. You are also an incredible draftsman. I don't consider myself to be particularly good at draftsmanship. My finished paintings are the result of thousands of drawing corrections. I don't know if I could pull off a before and after overlay as successfully as you have.

Mary: Thanks! This was my first portrait sculpture, and I had to learn everything on the fly, in front of the client. Just get some clay and start playing with it. You will find your way. It is a whole new way of thinking. In 3D, you can't get away with any distortions as easily as you can in paint. This is very challenging and frustrating at first, and it makes you really appreciate that you are an accomplished 2D painter.

Ngaire: Thats why I am here too. There is just so much collective experience to draw upon. There is benefit for everyone. As far as typing goes, I'm about as slow as it gets as I hunt and peck.

SB: Thanks, I need to explore the SOG galleries some more.

Garth

Wow, Garth - that's some beautiful work!

Welcome!

Hi Garth and WELCOME!
Thank you for the comments you left in my guestbook and I must say that this little boy's portrait is fabulous. You even captured the little pout he has on his face and such nice fleshy curves. It must have been a very low fire clay to keep the surface so subtle and rounded without much shrinkage. Your proportions are perfect. If this is your first, I certainly hope that you don't stop there - you obviously have a knack for it. Bravo.

Terri and Heidi, Thankyou so much.

Heidi, here is the truth about the little boy sculpture photo: I shot the picture before it was fired! It changed a little in the firing. There were a couple of troublesome cracks which I filled in and retouched. I really enjoyed playing with the lighting of the sculpture, and I may have shot over 400 photos until I had 6 or 7 shots I really liked.

All these pictures were for just in case the sculpture was lost in the firing. I think it nearly was lost. The clay body shrank 18% and the base cylinder was partly vitrified into glass. While horrified, I did my best to retouch it with acrylics. Fortunately the client accepted it and gave me the final payment. Next time I will fire at cone 06 instead of 6, which will leave this brown clay body in a light pink color with no risk of loss.

Garth

Here is a shot of it after being fired:

Ah, no wonder it looked so full and wonderful. Well, it still looks great after firing while there is a noticeable hardness now. The only way to retain that fullness is to cast a water based clay piece and take the mold while the clay is still wet (leather hard).

Children are the most difficult - their features are all hidden beneath layers of baby fat with only a few indications of bony structure. You have nailed it though no doubt due to years of keen observation in your painting practices.

About clays - just because it is a cone 6 or 10 clay doesn't mean you have to fire it to that temperature. I use cone 5 or 10 clays and rarely ever go over cone 02. I usually fire them nearly solid to cone 06 so you are right on. That is plenty hot for vitrification and the piece will only shrink about 5%. Also, any patina that you apply to a piece that has not been fired to maturity will adhere much better.

I love the lighting of your original photograph. What are you using for a backdrop? I know I need to find a good photography background as I have been using sheets and then smudging out any wrinkles in Photoshop that are noticeable in the final photos (can you say big waste of time there?) The grayscale is also very effective in showing off the forms.

You'll have to let me know how you like the Nikon D70. I've been wanting to buy a nice digital camera for quite some time now to upgrade from my old 2 megapixel. I was thinking about the new Nikon Coolpix 8700 would probably be plenty of camera for my needs. I can see where a painter would need to be more concerned about color quality.

Anyway, you came to the right place for boat loads of good information and you obviously have a lot to contribute yourself. Hope to see lots of your work here.

Thanks, Heidi:

Looking at clay samples fired at various cones, I asked for cone 4 and got cone 6+++++. The kiln was computer controlled, like just set it and forget it. I think the computer was wrong. The piece came out way more golden yellow than any of the pinkish-beige samples, and as I posted earlier, the square base actually became partly glass at the bottom. Ouch!

I think making a mold and casting is the right approach. At least there's the opportunity to do it again, not to mention perhaps a small edition.

As for lighting the photo, for the background, I used a *2-ply archival matteboard off of a roll, which is really the equivalent of a very heavy sheet of drawing paper, about 40" square. For the light, I have a Lowel Tota-Lite on top an 8 foot light stand, with a 30" white photo umbrella attached in front of the Tota-Lite. This made for extremely soft lighting that complimented the the softly rendered features of the sculpture modelling.

I don't have the new Nikon D70, but rather the Nikon D100, it's pricier predecessor. It has been an all round worthwhile camera. I think the D70 should be a good candidate for a new digital camera. Especially for those who like using a conventional SLR.

Heidi, do what I suggested for Marvin on page 2 of this thread, to compare cameras on display in a store. Good luck!

Garth

Dear Garth,

Welcome, and your work is absolutely wonderful. This is absolutely unbelievable work! Just fantastic. I don't have enough words to describe how impressed that I am with it.

It definitely sounds like it got too hot. Did you invest in a computerized kiln, or did you have someone else fire it that has one of those?

A full size computerized kiln is another item on my long wish list, but now I wonder how reliable they are. My old pyrometric cone style one has never let me down and is still going strong after 16 years. Its size is a restriction though (18") which is why I want to go bigger.

Thanks much for the lighting tips - I'll give that a try.

Thanks, Celeste and Heidi:

Dear Celeste, Thankyou, I feel the same about your work. Actually I feel at a loss of words to express how high in caliber so much of the works are by forum artists.

Heidi,

I don't have a kiln. This piece was fired by the retail ceramic supply store where I had bought all my clay and tools. They have two kilns running on a reservation schedule for customers. I opted for the whole kiln, and not just a shelf, for peace of mind.

When the technician notified me that the firing was done, he exclaimed about the beautiful bright golden yellow color he has never seen from this clay before. I immediately knew something was wrong. I have long wondered if the technician wrongfully set the computer for cone 11, and the covered his tracks by resetting it later to cone 6. We had a written contract for cone 4 which he denied, saying I last said 6. Anyway it looks like the firing went way beyond 6. The computer had on record a maximum temperature reading that was definitly within the upper limit of cone 6. So would this be a human blunder and cover-up, or a computer sensor failure?

Garth

Garth,
Hard to say if it was human or mechanical error. If it is a cone 6 clay, it should never have gone beyond its maximum temperature of 2232 degrees (F) or it will literally melt to glass. If it is a cone 10 clay that was fired at that temp, it should still be OK. If a cone 10 clay is fired at cone 11, that will cause the same problems. The cone number signifies the absolute maximum temperature that is reached, not a degree more, and the kiln should automatically shut off at that point to keep the temperature from raising any more.

Was the base actually glass - like, or could it be that the piece was set on a dirty shelf that had residue of melted glazes off of other fired pieces and only the very bottom was glassy?
What did you use to smoothe your surface? If it was just a sponge and water, that wouldn't change the color - but any other substance might.

Heidi,

There was about a one inch radius semi-circular glass surface on the front face of the square base rising from the bottom center. It had almost a bottle gray green color. 2232F is the temperature, that was registred, and all at the store agreed this clay body should have been perfectly stable at cone 6

To smoothe the surfaces, I tried not to overuse water, because it would subtly erode the surface and expose too much grog, for my liking. I did a lot of tooling with wooden tools and used my fingers a lot. I suppose the natural oils in my skin had some effect. There was quite a motttled range of surface color, which I did not mind. I just did not expect the overall yellow cast that had no relationship with the store samples. Also my sculpture was far less porous and absorbent of water than the cone 6 sample, which also suggests a temperature discrepancy.

I asked the clay manufacturer how a specified shrinkage rate of 12 1/2 % could become a documented 18% in my case. They offered no clue, saying they never test their clays beyond their design limits, and did not want to jeopardize their relationship with the store that serviced me. The store sent them a sample from my firing for scientific analysis, but there was never any findings response.

Thanks for your input, Heidi!

Garth

That is strange indeed. What I would want to find out then, is if the clay that you used was actually the clay that you thought you were using. As in a packaging error at the factory and the wrong clay was put in the box you bought. If it was actually a cone 5 clay, that would explain 2232 being too hot for it and also the fact that the color outcome was not even in the range listed for that clay - not to mention the excessive shrinkage, and the too high density. If you bought a 50 pound box, the two bags may or may not be the same, but to be safe, like you say, the next one I would definitely have fired in the 06 range. I have fired as low as cone 018 with great results on a cone 10 clay.

I agree with you about the grog issue - it is easy to overwork the surface with water and bring out too much grog. This is something I've been trying to work on myself since I use a high grog content clay so I can fire them without having to hollow them out.

At any rate, I'm sure you've learned a lot with your first ceramic piece and the next one will be much less frustrating and even more beautiful - if that is even possible.

Heidi,

I forgot my own method of smoothing. Now I remember: I made a grog free slip from some of the clay and carefully painted it on layer by layer with my best sable oil painting brushes. This I tooled and rubbed with some water until some grog began to surface. Then I would let it set up and dry more and repeat the process until it all looked sufficiently cohesive. I spent a lot of time doing this. The more I refined, the more I found that needed further refinement.

I'm a painter, so naturally I found a painting approach to sculpting. I used all types of paint brushes and found brushing around the clay to be very effective for rapidly cleaning up rough modelling. This was especially true for the ears, nose, and mouth, etc. The ears just appeared like magic, just as if I were modelling paint on a canvas portrait.

Finally the deadline came up, and I had to keep it in a toasty warm place to fully dry for several days. It was at that time when the brown clay fully dried to a light gray, that I took all the photographs. It was fired the next day.

Garth

Garth,
That's a very innovative and logical approach - one I would almost expect from such a refined painter. While refinement can become an addiction with sculpture, your piece does not look overworked at all - in fact, your method of adding slip definitely helps the skin look more lifelike and fleshy. I would almost worry about the slip sealing the "pores" where the gases escape through the grog. When you say there was some cracking, was this limited to just the surface, or did the cracks run deeper? I am assuming the cracking occured during the firing and not before while it was drying. There doesn't appear to be any blistering between the slip and the main body, so you did a great job addressing the cohesion issue.

About that strange variegated yellow color - could it be that the brushes you used to mix and apply your slip still contained a touch of paint pigment? If so, that would explain it.

Dear Garth,

A belated but warm welcome, you are such an appreciated addition to the Forum.

I see that there is a great deal of wonderful information in your welcome thread - particularly in the sculpture and photography topics. I would like to invite you to begin a new thread, perhaps in the Techniques area, for the scupture information, since it is likely to be helpful to many members, and they might not think to look here for the topic.

I look forward to getting to know you and your work,

Garth,

Let me add my welcome to the Forum.

I worked in the Allentown area for a while and had an opportunity to visit the de Vinci horse project sometime in the early 90's during an open house. It was very impressive. Perhaps our paths crossed at that time. I would love to see the fininished work.

I also use digital information for my work and often build my compositions in photoshop. Especially when working with young children.

Good Luck!

Chris and Jim, Thankyou!

Jim, I would like to think our paths have crossed, but if they have not, perhaps they will. I am frequently in Reading, which is half way to your studio.

What year did you visit Capt. Dent"s Dome (Leonardo da Vinci's Horse, Inc.)? I finished there in May, 1991, but it had been my home and studio for three years, as I sculpted the Horse. I really felt like I was time travelling to the 15th century in there. There were over 800 small Italian bronze figurines on display, and tidbits and scraps of such painters as Manet and Cezanne on the walls (for those who were never there, the "Dome" was a scaled down Roman Pantheon, with an oculus at the top as the only source of natural light). All of it is gone now, save the shell of the Dome.

The Horse I sculpted mainly survives in photographs now. Here's a pic from May, 1991 when (imho) it looked it's best:

Garth

Some paintings
 

I realized I was only introducing sculpture in most this thread, so here are three paintings on birch panels in oil:

1. Apotheosis of the Chunnel, 36" x 72"

2. The Guardian, 48" x 34"

3. First Knock, 11" x 7"



Garth

Your work is lovely, Garth! Both technique and concepts are fascinating and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work. Are the children in the last three paintings yours? I always feel freer to be experimental in my noncommissioned work using family or friends as subjects.

Also nice to see someone from my area. I'm about an hour south of Philadelphia in southern NJ.

Welcome to the forum!

Dear Leslie,

Hi neighbor! Thank you very much.

These three paintings were not commissions, so yes, I felt freer to be experimental, and these are not my children. I have a daughter and I need to paint her again, hopefully soon.

Painting 1's reference photo goes back 23 years. I have always been drawn to the play of light in this image, and I am currently working on a new interpretation of this image for a show next month. I am not sure about the strange cut-out shapes anymore, so this time its a rectangle.

Painting 2 depicts very distant 10th cousins living in remote hills bordering Kentucky and Tennessee; in fact they don't know which state they live in! The house seems to straddle the border. I shot the reference in 1991 as a stereo set of slides, and then constructed a stereo slide viewer to work from.

Painting 3 was a neighbor 23 years ago who actually hid after knocking at the door, and I made him re-stage this for a photo reference.

Note: The 3 paintings are now in a different order than in Leslie's quote below. This is because I fixed the color saturation and reloaded them.

Garth

Garth, I only noticed the "strange cut-out shapes" when you mentioned them - possibly a drawback of this cyber medium. I think they work well, though. And I somehow knew that Painting 3 depicted Appalachia; how neat!

And how does one trace cousinship to the tenth power, anyway?

Cross your eyes!
 

Well Leslie, they may be eighth cousins. Their name is Scott, they settled there in 1800, building a log cabin (still standing but used as a barn in 1991), and Reuben Scott left for Indiana in 1820, which eventually led to me.

Here is the stereo reference. I have reversed the images so you just have to cross your eyes until you form a third image between the first two, and that will be Stereo!

Garth -cool stereo trick. I can't imagine painting like that for too long though! I like your 3 non-commission paintings very much. They each have interesting compositions and points of view.

Reading about your Philadelphia location awoke me from my usual lurking status. I am wondering: have you studied with Nelson Shanks at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts or at Incaminati? If so, how was the experience?

Hi Chris: No, I have not studied with Nelson Shanks, but he has had a couple of free demontrations over the years that I was able to see with the crowds of admirers. One was at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts about 6 years ago.

He is worth watching, but a man of few words, so during the demo some other portrait painters and I got bored and looked at the museum galleries, and returned just in time for the last strokes of the eye lashes! It was interesing how he can make a commanding alla-prima portrait so clean and direct in just a couple of hours in front of six hundred people. His direct approach mostly began with two values in the face: a shadow mass tone and a light mass worked up aganst it. He kept the colors fairly warm and rich, and the nose began as a red triangle that was later worked into. Every feature was masterfully reduced to a couple of very deft strokes. He managed to keep all parts of the painting developing simultaneously, which I suppose is one of his secrets of success.

I visited his Studio Incamminati during an open-house, and it is a beehive of amazing talent and student productivity. Everybody uses exactly the same prescribed pallette, and most of the paintings are vibrant technicolor figure studies.

I was fortunate to be a guest of Nelson Shanks at his fabulous riverside villa, one evening in 1990 as I tagged along with Capt. Dent of Leonardo da Vinci's Horse. Shanks invited us to see his latest 15th century limewood sculpture aquisition. He has a collection of art to die for!

I am pretty sure Nelson Shanks does not remember me, but we both have mayor's portraits hanging together in City Hall.

Garth