Juror's Choice Award and the juror's statement

At last night's reception

After yesterday's blog post was sent, I hustled down to the DAC reception.   There were already many people there, including the show juror, Chad Colby.  I had a moment to chat with him before the show kicked into high gear.  He is a very down-to-earth man, friendly and completely unpretentious.  I am sure he is a hugely popular instructor with the students at FLC where he teaches art.

We chatted briefly about the show, and he explained he was looking for a well-rounded representation of work, which I told him he clearly accomplished.  He said the jurying process was a fun challenge, and I can imagine how difficult it might have been.

I also had a great time chatting with some artists I have recently met through my volunteer work at DAC, as well as some more of our area's pastelists.  I found out more about the Four Corners Plein Air group, and am excited to get together with them for some upcoming paint-outs.

For this show, only 5 awards (not counting the People's Choice award) were handed out:  HM, Merit Award, Juror's Choice 2D and 3D, and BoS.   So, you can imagine my utter surprise when my name was announced for the Juror's Choice 2D award!  Talk about gobsmacked!  In addition to the personal accomplishment for me, this also came with a $250 check.  Now, I can finally add some more pastels to my collection.

As he promised to do, Chad gave a brief talk about the show and his responsibilities as the juror.  Since my experience with shows and even interacting with other professional artists is quite limited, I was very keen to listen to what he had to say.  I wanted to share it with readers here, as I think it is valuable advice for all artists, and certainly any who enter juried shows.  

-First, he thanked all the artists who entered, regardless of whether their work was accepted.  He said their participation was valuable and important to the success of the show, and of course, to DAC.

-He then went on to say that the process of jurying is "human and flawed", just as art is...in other words, he is not perfect, and is doing the best he can.  He said at one point he worried that he hadn't selected enough pieces and that the show would look too sparse.  In fact, however, it was perfect - just enough breathing room and space for each piece.  The show has a very contemporary feel to it as a result.

-He reminded everyone that the juror's opinions are just that:  a single subjective opinion, of a moment in time.  Nothing more.   He apologized for the "ruffled feathers", of which there were [I learned that there are some artists in the community who are very vocal about not getting into these shows...].

He then went on to explain the criteria he used to select the pieces, which I found very enlightening.  He said they are essentially the same he uses when evaluating his student's work.

-Originality:  for common subjects, like landscapes, how did the artist handle it to make it unique and less ordinary?

-Technical skill and rendering:  how well did the artist handle the media?

-A quality he describes as the "play" within a piece.  This transcends technical skills and he described it as the playful element in a work.  He used the term "serious playfulness", seemingly contradictory, but as he explained further, I realized I knew exactly what he is talking about.   It's somewhat intangible, but yet, looking at the pieces in the show, they all have that element as a common thread.

I can think of several artists whose blogs I follow where their work is consistently engaging, compelling, and popular with both peers and collectors, and I realize it is this exact quality that makes it so.   Media, painting style, and subject are immaterial.

Anyway, I came away with more than the gift of a $250 check from this show.   Chad gave me some valuable things to think about for my work.  In addition, he puts the whole jurying process into perspective, and now I will have much more confidence to enter more juried shows in the future, and won't take any rejection as a discouragement (which, let's face it:  is easy to have happen if you aren't a seasoned artist).

I really respect the job he did on this show.  He said he had no agenda, and I'd have to agree.  The process was truly blind:  names were taped over and no other identifying information was available to him.  As an instructor at the college, he's a bit removed from the non-academic art scene of Durango, and thus, any politics or favoritism.  I hope DAC will continue to select jurors like Chad for their shows; not only does it lend more credibility to the show itself, but those who are selected and receive any type of award can feel good that it was honest and well-earned.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  We are heading up to hike the Purgatory Flats trail, and I'm hoping to come back with a load of photos of green aspen, wildflowers and perhaps some butterflies and dragonflies.

Aerial Sky Series - On Approach to Atlanta

This will probably be my next-to-last painting in this series, at least for a while - I have a new series in mind that I'd like to get started on really soon.

This is another piece that was intended to be a quick, loose study.  I often like to use the black Strathmore Artagain for these pieces due to its smooth surface, which forces one to be more deliberate with pastel laid down, as mistakes aren't easily corrected.

This is another based on a photo taken as we were in our initial descent towards Atlanta.  The bottom of these cumulus defined the upper level of the smog/haze from the greater Atlanta area, which I found fascinating.   The land wasn't really visible below the clouds due to the appreciable amount of smog present, and the distal row of cumulus clouds acts as the horizon line for an otherwise indeterminate boundary of sky vs. land.

This is a combination of Unisons, a few Senneliers, and MV's.  I was able to achieve a surprising amount of blending via layering on the darker areas of the land.  Normally, I try to avoid finger blending on this surface - it often results in "dead zones", where no additional pastel may be layered.  But, I did want to try and duplicate the soft, blended and lost edges of the clouds with the land on the western (right) side, so I used light, discreet blending here.

I'm not sure the shadowed leading edges of the clouds work so well, and the distal cloud line could be a bit better (and straighter!), but it's not a total faceplant.  While I don't think Artagain paper will ever become a surface of choice, it's good to use now and again.

On Approach to Atlanta - 9x12"

pastel on black Artagain paper

Aerial Sky Series - Cumulus Fly-by

After not getting anything done in my studio for the better part of a week, I finally sat down yesterday afternoon and painted.  It was good, and it reminded me that I need to make painting every day a priority, regardless of what else I do or don't get done on that day...which lately, isn't nearly as much as I'd like.

I did, however, update my blog.  In addition to changing the layout to a new template design, I also got around to updating and adding some more blog links, and adding the thumbnail pictures to them.   I hope readers find the new layout to be an improvement as well.

Last night, I sat down and counted the number of pastel paintings I've done since I switched to 2D work back in October [the # of completed paintings I have photos of; not the throw-aways].  This painting is #70.  I've heard it said that one must do at least 100 paintings in order to obtain a minimal level of skill and comfort in the medium, and start to develop a personal style.  I suspect there is a lot of truth to that; I do know that with each painting, I learn something.  Sometimes, it's an "ah-ha!" moment, a small breakthrough.  Other times, it's more of "well, that didn't work", which is maybe not as fun, but equally as valuable.  I post almost all of it here, even the funk.  Hopefully, as I continue towards 100 paintings and beyond, there will be more good and less funk.

I do wonder, though, how long it will be before I do have my own unique painting style.  Right now, it seems that my "style" is "consistently inconsistent".   This painting looks nothing like the last painting posted; it's loose and experimental as far as the colors go.  I wanted to use layering and scumbling to achieve some more exciting grays to depict the cloud colors and smog layer underneath.  The camera did rather odd things to the colors, and I had to dial back the contrast on the photo almost completely to get it to look like the real thing.   Even still, it looks better viewed in person; the darkest areas are not black, as appears on the photo, but the dark blue and purple from my favorite MV Thunderstorm Grays set.

It's based on a photo taken during the final descent towards Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l, in Atlanta, from my flight in April.  It was approaching evening, during the "golden period" of light, coveted by both painters and photographers.

Cumulus Fly-by - 11x9"

pastel on 320# sandpaper  

The goal was to experiment with colors, and to have a more abstracted image of the clouds.  To that end, the painting was a success for me.   I may set a goal of completing another 28 paintings before we leave for Durango next month.

Sky Friday - Serenity

I realized as I sat down to write this post that it was already Friday, and given that this is #5 in the Aerial Skies series, it fits the bill for today's Sky Friday post.  

When I was deciding what I wanted to do for my next painting in this series, I kept coming back to one of the images I took during our July trip to CO last year.  In my mind's eye, I'd seen it as a painting at the time I was seeing the view out my window of the 757 flight from Cleveland to Denver.  When I started this painting a few days ago, I figured that there would probably be a lot of people that wouldn't "get it". Wayne said:  "If you want to paint something that will probably sell, do a sunset."  I'm sure he's right.  But, I paint for myself first and what grabs at my senses and emotions.  So, this was it.  

I suspected when I started on this painting that it would end up going in a more detailed, realistic direction than what I generally aim for in my work.  I've learned now that it's really pointless to fight the painting or the process; it will have a direction and sometimes that's not maybe what the artist intended.   I'm not sure this would have worked as well, at least in my hands, if it were looser like the others in this series.  

I'm also not sure exactly how to categorize it.  "Abstracted realism"?  "Realism with a surrealistic edge"?  I don't know.  As a photo, it's clear what the subject is.  As a painting, it takes on a different reality, as it were.  I really wanted to capture the dynamic shapes, reflected light and shadows of these amazing clouds as seen from 20,000' or so.  A critical part of making this painting work, to my mind, was to accurately capture the flowing nature of the lower layer of the clouds in what is essentially the foreground, and give the middle ground of higher clouds that light "vapor" quality.  Many of the earlier cloud paintings I've done I felt were "stiff" and heavy, and I think it's a subject that many artists struggle to paint.

"Serenity"   -   12x18"

Pastel on Strathmore 400-series paper

For an added challenge, I decided to do it on Stathmore paper, which is similar to Canson M-T.  It's got a textured surface and doesn't hold many layers of pastel without fixative.  But, until I put in an order for some UArt or larger Wallis sheets, it's all I've got that's bigger than 9x12".   For this, I pretty much had to do quite a bit of finger blending, although I kept it to light touches with the tip of my index finger.  Grinding the pastel into the surface really kills the luminosity of the pastel, so I try to avoid that.  When I do, it's only to form an underpainting and fill in the unwanted surface texture of the paper.

I thought to take an in-progress photo showing areas with initial blending and the lower areas as they were blocked in with Nupastels.  I used my MV Thunderstorm grays for this, along with some favorite Unisons and a few Senneliers.  The fun part was lightly scumbling in various blues and greys.  Most probably aren't visible in the photo.  

Even coming up with a name for the painting wasn't that easy.  I originally titled it "Above Gray Skies", but that sounded trite.  When I look at this, I feel a sense of calm and quiet, so the title reflects that.

It's certainly not your average "cloudscape", but I find the departure refreshing.  I hope viewers do as well.

Aerial Sky Series - Final Light

Here is the next painting in the series, based again on a photo shot from the Denver-Durango flight last July.  We were in seats on the left side of the plane, which meant a southern view and the less dynamic light of the sunset than the brilliant sky I sneaked a look at through the adjacent windows.  Nonetheless, even the confined view from my small window provided spectacular views that I was at least able to capture somewhat with my camera.

"Final Light" - 9x12"

sold

Surface is Art Spectrum Colourfix, sort of re-claimed.  It had an outline drawing in pastel pencil and charcoal that never made it to the painting stage.  This is the third painting I've done on this paper, and I will be most happy to use the rest of it up.  In order to deal with the texture issues, I actually used a piece of sandpaper to smooth the surface a bit.  This seemed to help the pastel adhere to more than just the top layer of grit on the paper.  I still needed to finger blend areas to get coverage over the paper color ("elephant", I believe), and force the pastel into the deeper tooth of the paper.  I think a combination of sanding and alcohol washes will be the ticket to making this paper work.

That being said, I'm rather happy with the results.  Trying to capture the perspective of the land took some thought, and I ended up doing it as layers and scumbling of multiple darks, in compliments and analogous colors, to achieve the muted tones of a distal and dark earth.

I used several of my Mt. Vision Thunderstorm grays in the clouds; I find the set to be one of the most versatile I own, and indispensable for doing skies and cloudscapes.

Aerial Sky Series - pastel

Here are the first two paintings, both completed yesterday evening, of an aerial sky-themed series.  These, like the "Take Off - DIA" painting from a few days ago, are also based on photos taken during that short flight from Denver to Durango.  It will remain to be seen how many of these end up in the series; I'll continue as long as I have inspiration and material to draw from.

After doing the canoe painting, which was a bit tighter than I like to work, I kept these small - 5x7"- so I could work quickly and keep them loose.  The first was done with an alcohol wash.  The second just had a quick initial sketch with a white pastel pencil prior to jumping in with the softies.  I could see revisiting these later as larger pieces, perhaps in oils.

"Monsoon View" 

pastel on sandpaper, 5x7"

"Sunset over San Luis Valley"

pastel on sandpaper, 5x7"

More to come.

Take-Off - pastel with underpainting

Because of all the reference photos I have taken over the past year+, I'm never at a loss for inspiration for something to paint.  However, it's often an unexpected photo that will grab my attention and say "paint ME!".

Ever since I took those in-air photos during my return trip, I've been itching to do a series of aerial paintings, mostly of clouds.  A few days ago, I was revisiting the in-flight photos I took during our trip to Durango last year, and a most unlikely photo caught my eye.  It was one taken maybe 30 sec. or so after take-off from DIA, in a small Brazilian prop for the final flight to Durango.  The view, of course is to the east, where the state joins with the Great Plains.  The land forms patchworks of color and shapes and the remnants of a summer monsoon storm make up the sky.

As a photo, it was nothing special, but I liked the abstract shapes and perspective of the land.  I also instantly had this idea that it could be the lead-in for the series of from-air cloudscapes.

Take-off - DIA  - final version

9x12" on reclaimed Wallis 

I also decided this would be a good time to try the Wallis paper that I've been holding on to for the past unknown number of years.   I bought it way back when I was living in Flagstaff, probably 10 years ago, with the idea that I'd be pastel painting regularly.  I didn't, so the spendy packet of really nice pastel paper sat quietly with my pastels, waiting to be used.

Last December, having not used pastels in 10 years, I decided to do a painting for Wayne for Christmas. A photo taken in a place we love - Zion NP - was the subject.  Well, let's just say that didn't work out so well...I had no idea how to use Wallis and abandoned the painting.  It sat until I decided to wash it off and save it for later use.  

Underpainting with isopropyl alcohol wash

Some of the ghosted original painting is still visible in the cloud area

I quickly did a sketch of the basic shapes and blocked in the colors.  Because of the previous painting, this seemed like a good time to revisit the underpainting technique, which worked wonderfully.  I decided this might be a good painting to document as an in-progress piece, so I waited until I could get a photo of the underpainting before proceeding.  

Original finished version prior to re-working

My SO, Wayne, is just an all around awesome guy.   He's been hugely supportive of my work and without him, I'd not be able to pursue art as anything except a fleeting hobby.  In addition, I found he's really good to solicit opinions on regarding things that might not be working with the occasional painting.   He always clarifies every request for his opinion that he is not an artist and may have no idea what he's talking about.  But, as I tell him, he has a set of eyes, is certainly representative of someone who buys art, and we also have similar tastes.  Plus, there are art and photography books all around the house, so he is exposed to it whether he wants to be or not.

When I showed him the more or less finished painting, shown immediately above, I asked him what he thought and what, if anything didn't "work".  After careful consideration, he pointed out some things that bothered him.   And he pointed out what he really liked about the painting.  Both are useful to me, actually.  I put the painting up on the easel (I paint with the paper taped to a board and flat on the table instead of on an easel), I immediately saw some compositional/perspective issues that for whatever reason I'd missed during the painting process, despite what I thought was a reasonable effort towards that accuracy.  Between his suggestions and my re-examination of the reference photo for accuracy, some changes were made that I think improved the painting.  

And the verdict on the Wallis paper, revisited, is that it's as great a surface as everyone says.  I definitely won't wait so long to use it again.