Whitaker's Waltz: Cindy

[Michael Georges]

Perhaps you might want to elaborate on the two very different processes at play in your portfolio work and your portraits-from-life work. The underpainting, by its nature, seems to result in a much higher degree of 'finish', n'est-ce pas?

It's true. I am an underpainter by nature. Further, I am a pickey underpainter who likes his underpainting to look just like a finished work - thank you very much. It was a wonderful way to start, but it is proving harder to leave. Even when I work directly in color without a monochrome underpainting I still hear the voices..."tighter, tighter...blend, blend..." they say.

So, this method of broken color was just what the doctor ordered. The thing I admire about this method is that you begin quite loose and free and gradually bring it up. This allows you to leave areas more unfinished and bring things like faces up to very tight finish. This adds variety to the work and makes it more interesting, IMO. Bill does it very well and you can see it in a lot of his works. Chris and Linda do it well too. I am trying to use this broken color method to teach myself how to make things more loose in my work.

[Elizabeth Schott]

It was a dramatic moment when the other artists took off their shoes and started hitting your painting with them.

[Linda Brandon]

But seriously, Beth,

I think you have a very good painting there. The drawing is truly dead-on, and if you had more time you would have brought out more of a finish to the paint quality. I really admired your determination during the workshop and your refusal to give up until you got it right. You're a real trouper.

Jean,

Thanks for your kind words. I'm not sure, actually, how to catagorize this kind of painting. It's not strictly wet-into-wet, nor is it glazing over a monotone underpainting. The lead white (love it) and the Maroger (love it, sorry Marvin) accellerates drying so that you can go over it the next day, scraping or sanding down any rough edges, before the next layer. Unlike Liquin or retouch varnish, Maroger leaves a ... what's the word I want... WELCOMING surface to visit the next day.

Paint is initially put on in patches which helps you make value and color decisions before you have to address edge control and blending. Maximum control, yet the time and space to leave alone any 'happy accidents'. By the way, there was a LOT of paint on my canvas compared to how I usually paint. This surprised me.

Also, Bill spent a lot of time talking about such matters as paint quality and paint presence. So much to think about.

[Mari DeRuntz]

Beth, don't be so shy! That's one beautiful, solid head! And sometimes the only way to get there is to scrape away hours of work. Beautiful.

I am thoroughly enjoying all the workshop postings. I see such strong work here. Linda, when you get a chance, please elaborate on some of those terms Bill used. Paint presence. I like that.

[Gary Hoff]

And here's my (also unfinished) "Cindy." Fascinating to see what others did online, even though I saw all of these firsthand--I stood just to Linda's right for the whole week while working on this.

[Elizabeth Schott]

See, now look at that, isn't that just lovely? Linda, you and Chris have a wonderful grace to your paintings that I just really admire.

I really should have said (as you can see above), not only did I have to stand inbetween Linda and Chris, I had to be near Michael and Gary! Who got their shares of oh's and ah's! (Deservingly so!)

Now Randy and Patrick were a little further from me in our group, so I didn't get to hear all the comments going on over on that side!

You can see from this thread, how great it was to watch the canvas of others progress, it too was a great learning experience.

This is a treat for Linda:

[Jean Kelly]

I second Mari's comments. You have nothing to be embarassed about, she looks very pleasing. So what if you had to work hard, that's what you went for (to learn)! Just reading the posts has been a remarkable learning experience for me. Thank you all.

Jean

[Patt Legg]

Beth, your Cindy is wonderful. The group at Marvin's workshop in Carolina will have someone else to rib and throw shoes at. ME! Still got the weebie-jeebies or something like that. Any ideas or advice on keeping your cool and how not to shrink in a corner at these workshops? Ha.

And Michael, I am in no way comparing my art to yours, but have to admit I can relate to your description of tight, tight, tight. I have the very same problem (if it is considered a problem or a no-no) in painting. The paintings which are very tight really do not bother me. But I have seen tight blending - rather overblending - and IMO, the skin tones appear to be waxy or too shiny and unreal. Therefore, this adds to the above mentioned fear of workshops due to the fact that it is usually fast paced compared to the way I work. Wish me luck at Marvin's.

[Mari DeRuntz]

Patt, this is a little off topic, but there are a couple of excellent threads on preparing for a workshop.

I can see Bill Whitaker's lessons on every one of the images posted in both workshop threads. There are clues to show which work belongs to which artists (the asphaltum gave your Cindy away for me, Michael). Here was a group of serious students who excelled because they very elementally bonded with the master, allowed him in their heads, and focused on doing exactly what he was telling them to do.

[Linda Brandon]

Hi Gary,

I had my eye on your work the whole time. You are such a strong, intense and focused artist and your terrific 'Cindy' is strong and intense as well. I find it so interesting that you brought out qualities in our model that others didn't. Thanks for posting this.