Here is a recently completed portrait commission of Tyler, a handsome young man with a happy smile and a slightly quizzical look. I used Judith Carducci's (See post from April 11) under wash technique to add richness to the colors in the finished portrait.
This is a colonial era French Huguenot Church in Downtown Chas. The Huguenots were French speaking Protestants who came to America to escape persecution from the Catholic Church in the 16th and 17 th centuries. The building is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture with the original cast iron decorations on the many spires. Notice the torch used at the top of the church when this was built the colonial period.
I recently painted this 10X8 painting of the French Huguenot Church pictured above.
I like the color contrasts of the red roof with the bright blue sky and green palmetto tree. I wanted to use the strong diagonal element of the roof to offset the vertical elements of the spires. This is a small painting but I think the use ofcomplementary colors and design elements make a big statement.
I met a family who had traveled 2 hrs to attend an all French language service in the church . Once a year, the church holds its service in French (except for the sermon). The rest of the year the services are in English. This family wanted to attend this special service because they enjoy " all things French".
Here is a painting I did recently of Stella Maris Catholic Church, Sullivan's Island, SC.
I was trying to capture the warm light of the setting sun on the church tower. I think I captured the feel of this historic, seaside church which is directly across the street from old Fort Moultrie a Revolutionary War era fort (a unit of the National Park Service).
This is a small church but it has an active congregation including a good friend of mine.
Nationally known painter, Judith Carducci was the featured speaker at tonight's meeting of the Charleston Artist's Guild.
In less than 2 hrs. Judy had completed an impressive portrait of CAG's outgoing President Mr. Cisco Lindsey for the large group that had gathered to see Judy "in action". Not only is she a talented and accomplished artist,she is a genuinely nice person and gifted teacher.
New techniques I learned from her tonight include using a damp sponge to wipe over a first application of pastel to create a loose "under painting" that adds color and tone to the early stages of a painting without filling in the tooth of the support prematurely. This under wash can then be worked upon with softer layers of more intense color. Judy stressed that getting the correct values is more important than the precise colors in the early stages of a work.
She also mentioned that warm and cool designations for colors are relative to how much yellow (warm) or blue (cool) is in the color. So any color can be considered to be either warm or cool depending on the amount of yellow or blue in it.
She stressed the importance of working from a live model and not relying on photos which cause distortions in the final painting.
Throw in a few funny limericks and antidotes from the teachings of master painters such as John Singer Sargent ("A portrait is a painting of someone with something not quite right about the mouth...") and the evening passed much too quickly. She made the process of creating a memorable portrait in an hour and a half seem easy.
I'm inspired to finish work on my latest portrait commission of 6 yr. old Tyler. I think I'll try Judy's under wash technique to add a painterly looseness to the work. I'll post this portrait soon as it's done.
The Spoleto Art Festival and Piccolo Spoleto Festival will be held in Charleston during May and June. Does anyone have any plans to come to Chaharleston for these events?
