Thomas Nash -- Portrait Academy Series, Norcross, GA -- What a great day!
 

A Day with Thomas Nash
Thomas Nash's Portrait Painting Academy Series -- Portrait Society of America -- October 15, 2005.

Traveling across the country to spend the day with the Portrait Society of America's Academy Series speaker, Thomas Nash, was worth every penny. His innovative ideas of teaching via technology, using the most creative ways I have seen yet, made this day worthy of the travel. Tom doesn't teach very often and I jumped at that chance to be there when he did. I have met him and his wonderful wife/agent, Donna, many times at the ASOPA seminars and PSA seminars from 1996 - to present. I feel fortunate to consider them both friends, but, moreover, I am so grateful for the fact that I have learned so much from Tom just in the talks that I had with him through the years. I knew I had to go to Georgia and take part in this one day event. Those of you who know of Tom or went, know what I am saying.

Tom, with more energy than the energizer bunny, lectured for 12 hours straight as he could be found in every break still filling the attendee's minds with his great words of wisdom from 35 years of being a professional portrait painter. I can't believe his fantastic model Bill was able to hold up as long, but, he deserves a badge!

Tom's intellect and humor are hand in hand fun! It was so entertaining to listen to him and how he works. The slides alone could have been a week

Thanks Bobbi
 

I'm so glad you were able to attend and enjoyed the class so much. Also, it was looking like someone was going to have to consult a map to see who got the prize for coming the longest distance to Georgia; it was comiing down between Mike in Maryland, Susan in Louisiana and some of the artists from south Florida, when you clinched it with California :-))) !!!

Glad you liked the "gravity" photos in the screen presentation. Tori Abott Moore, one of the Portrait Society of America ambassadors here in Georgia helped my wife Donna shoot those of me. It was a two person job!

Tom

Wish I could have been there. Tom, will you be on the agenda for the next PSA event? I'd love to hear more of your wit and wisdom!

I don't know, but thanks for asking Michele. That would be Dallas, but I have not been asked. I don't know how they select the artists who will speak or demonstrate. I will be sure to let you know when I learn one way or the other.

Anything for the class- weird pix
 

Someone suggested that I share some of the images I used in one of the Keynote presentations that was part of the Academy. The following are from what I called the "gravity" sequence. It was in the context of the anatomy portion of one presentation. I wanted to remind everyone that with all the emphasis on planes, angles and thinking about form and structure, that we are, after all, fleshy creatures and the body moves and is effected by gravity among other forces.

So I had my wife Donna take photos holding the camera sideways or laying upside down so the flash would come from the same angle. Tori Abott Moore (shown behind me), one of the PSA Georgia ambassadors, held a white card behind my head. The idea was that the lighting and look would be the same for all the photos and only the effects of gravity would be different. I would hang upside down or off the side of a bench or look straight down or up. These are not all of the images we showed but will give you a taste. You can see how the flesh is tied more closely to the bone at some parts of the head/face than others.

Hope SOG artists find this amusing. it was interesting to do!

Some more
 

In one I am looking straight down from a ladder, then straight up, then hanging off the side of a bench, the opposite side from one of those above. Then a small composite with a few views.

What a hoot! You really are a kook, Tom, and I mean that in a nice way! What a great way to wake up a class.

A really well rounded day! (and sometimes off the the side)
 

You still crack me up with those photos. I had to look for a long time to realize that was the Thomas that I knew. I love to be entertained and to learn. So, thank you, thank you, thank you! I am still enjoying your lecture and day of teaching. I continually go back to points you made, thinking them through a bit more.

What was that gel medium that you had, but, didn't use? What is it used for? It looked a bit thick in viscosity and like it would act like a jelly verses an oil. Is it another glazing medium? Is it fast drying? I am curious.

Bobbi :*)

Gel Medium
 

You may be referring to a small canister that contained some Maroger a friend gave me. Since I was talking about different techniques, their strengths and weaknesses etc. I considered going into Maroger a bit. I have never used it in my work but do admire the beautiful results that artists like Davide Leffel get while using it. I'm aware that it is controversial (I've read all the contentious threads on SOG about it) and yet am more open minded to it than I was as a student. I did not have time to sufficiently explore it myself to demonstrate with it. I had considered using some form of it as a tool to help me telescope the painting process for the sake of the demo. to be able to get clean distinct strokes over wet paint, rather than find myself at a stopping point as so many demos do, where you are swimming in soup and not really able to express the colors you see or add subtleties . In the end, I decided to use a rough canvas and alkyd white (as I explained to the class) so that I was able to achieve the effect I was looking for during the day. As it turned out, I never mentioned the Maroger because I didn't feel I had time to sufficiently explain the differing views and give the class enough information about where they might go to look into it for themselves.

For the record, I used almost entirely straight paint and only occasionally dipped into some Grumbacher "Pale Drying Oil" which I pulled off my shelf during the week before the demo. I really had not used it before but wanted to have something on hand if I needed the paint to flow a bit more for some passage. I washed my brushes in mineral spirits and tried not to leave much residue in them when I returned to mix paint with them, but there often is a trace.

Tom, I once saw Nelson Shanks resolve this problem during a demo by spraying retouch varnish on the painting. He explained to me that it was to help the new paint grab on better. Might be worth a try.

Retouch
 

Yes I'm very familiar with Nelson's procedure. As I mention on my web site he was probably my biggest single influence among living artists during the last 17 years. He has done four demos here in my own studio in the late 80's and early 90's, including one he painted of me.

I didn't want to spray anything in the room during this class and there wasn't even a minute to spare to take it outside. What I did worked out perfectly for what I was trying to do. I generally don't like to use spray retouch at all if I can avoid it but that's another whole story, beyond the smell and mess:-)

It is pretty nasty smelling stuff and bad for everyone's health, isn't it. And every bottle I've seen seems to be made with Damar, which I don't like. Too bad Gamvar doesn't come in a spray!

A very successful painting ...
 

I am not sure about spraying the painting. Wouldn't it add a crystal like texture to the painting that could be disturbed by the next brush stroke, if the paint was even slightly thick?

Hi Tom ...
I like how the painting turned out and how much ease it was for you to carry through talking to 100 plus people. The idea of a fresh palette of color to see as you work and not restricting yourself to a limited palette keeps your paintings full of beautiful color and makes every response to color, that you have, show in your work. I feel that what you did was VERY successful.
I have used the Alkyd white in plein air and end up going back to the creaminess of the traditional oils because of the stikiness. But, you make it look like it worked with ease ... and you were so successful with it. I was impressed by the finished painting in so many ways. You caught the model in a way that showed him at his best for sure.
I was going over my notes from your demo, and noticed a note that I wrote to myself to ask you about the half tone color on the warm side of the face that you referred to as a color that almost feels like it should sit on the cool or shadowed side of the face. As I recall, that spot was right below his right eye in a plain that sits right at the meeting of the eye socket and the eye ball.
Would this color change be related mostly to the local color of the skin in this area or do you think it was a reflection from any area? And if it is a reflection, where would it have come from?
Thank you,
Bobbi

Halftone color
 

Michele, I think your'e right, They do all seem to be made with damar. One reason I resist spraying is that unless you do the entire surface you are creating an arbitrary pattern of spray on your painting that has more to do with the nozzle of the spray can than your composition. Sometimes I try to shape or mask where the spray goes by holding a card nearby.

Bobbi,
I know I talked about how some halftones. seem to "want" to be part of the shadow group. I can explain that further, but I'm not exactly sure about the specific part of the painting you refer to and where it would be classified; at least not at this time of night!.

As you know there are all kinds of half tones from the lightest to the darkest ones. Many artists will group the "dark half tones", with the "shadow group" (shadow, reflected light in shadow and dark accents) because even though they clearly are "part of the light" by virtue of the fact that the light does in fact strike them, if only a glancing blow, they are so dark and so close to appearing to be a part of the shadow, that they prefer to think of them that way for "modeling form".

Reflected light , just like the main light, comes in two main types, spectral --the more focused and specific, and ambient- the more scattered, defused. An example of the first would be the light that bounces off of something close by like the light from a shirt bouncing up under the chin or the nose. I would also include something like a wall that is very close to the model which bounces light back into the side of the face. The light bouncing off of a cheek, up into the eye socket also falls into this spectral category. The reflected light off of more distant walls or the blue of the entire sky on a sunny day are examples of more ambient, less focused reflected light, or "a secondary light source" is how some artists prefer to think about them.

We recognize reflected light more clearly when it illuminates shadows and it is even more obvious when it's color is very different from the color of the main light. That does not mean that it is not also hitting the form that is in the light,. The geometry of the situation often means that the spectral reflected light, the closer more focused type, is not going to be as likely to spill over into the light areas. It generally is coming back towards the form in a direction directly opposite the angle of the main light and therefore shines into shadows mostly or at least is more APPARENT there. On the other hand, a big diffuse, ambient reflected light, like the studio walls or the blue of the sky is free to go all over the place and is more likely to hit anywhere the main light also hits. It usually is not apparent because the stronger main light overwhelms it. It is in the dark half tones that this "secondary light source" has the best opportunity to have a visual impact on part of the form that is already "in the light".

So if you are trying to "figure out" what the light is doing, (something I think is useful), you can look around and see what the colors of the general area are and any other information that can help you understand what colors can be "coming at" your model. I should emphasize right here that this in no way stops you from simply looking and trying to paint the colors you see. As you know from the Academy, I recommend doing both so that the one can reinforce the other.

In the end the proof is in the pudding and regardless of what you figure out or what you think you see on the subject, it has to work as a painting or else you change it!!! ....and that's one more reason they call it "an art"!!!

I think this thread is being very instructive!
I can read about things like this for hours...
Thanks Bobbi for starting it.

I'm glad you're enjoying this thread. I was afraid I was a bit long winded with that last answer. I will try to be more succinct!!

You had asked in an email about more images from the Academy, I can do that, just give me a bit more time.

You mentioned Loomis, I'm glad to hear you are a fan of his. You are really onto something there. I thought the world of him and have all his books. I hope you have his early ones on drawing. I especially liked the fact that he emphasized UNDERSTANDING what it is we are trying to draw or paint. Today there is so much emphasis on copying, whether it is coping from the live model or not, understanding WHY things appear as they do is very helpful to reinforce what we see and help us to see it more clearly and to draw and paint with more authority. I also believe that it makes drawing and painting much more fun and natural.

My pleasure!
 

Claudemer,
Thank you; it is truly my pleasure to ask such questions of Thomas. Although, sometimes, I think I make his head hurt. :*) I love to hear Thomas's answers. He is so knowledgeable. I knew I should share this depth of knowledge with those who want to hear it besides me ... So ... thank you Thomas!!!

Thomas,
Please don't make it more succinct, you always make it understandable in a great way. There is so much to capture in theory and I enjoy the way you do it. I learn so much from you.
with smiles,
your always respectful devotee,
Bobbi :*)

Yeah, I have all of his books too, I thought the world of him too and I completely agree with you about his idea of "understanding" what it is we are trying to draw.
And I agree with Bobbi too, please, don't make it more succinct!