Study in Contrast – February

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Winter brings opportunities for extremes.  Two paintings here, both painted in February are work I completed on location. Both are small, both painted in February.  One on panel was painted in Florida over about a 3 day period, returning daily to paint along the inlet, with an eye on the osprey nest on the mainland. This painting is more highly finished and typical of why I like painting on traditional gesso on panel. You can capture a surprising depth of color from layer the oils in mediums.

The winter scene painted in here in the mountains near home is heavier layering, and painted on traditional gesso on archival, watercolor paper.  It has a heavier impasto and much more quickly painted. It was cold!  I generally stand on an old rug or piece of plywood, wear fingerless gloves and duck in and out of the car, mostly to warm up the paint. I did not linger longer and painted quickly.

Both extremes of heat and cold are a challenge and impact they way paint can be applied. Oil paint is versatile and lends itself to both rich layering and heavier applications, and February is provides an opportunities to explore both!

Gibbes Museum, Charleston, SC

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Along with Ben Long and other faculty members of the Fine Arts League of the Carolinas, I will be  exhibiting work in their fundraising event sponsored by the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC. Pass this along to friends in Charleston.

Luce et Colore

Feb 10-12, 2012

Opening: Friday night

Noon – 7pm Saturday

Noon – 5pm Sunday Sunday

FALC faculty work will be displayed at the home – studio of Jill Hooper, a guest teacher at FALC here in Asheville. The artists will all donate a percentage of sales to benefit  the  Gibbes Museum of Art’s fund-raising campaign.

Artists along with Jill Hooper will  include: Ben Long, John Dempsey, Roger Nelson, Michael Smith, Rebecca King, JP Sullivan, Nick Raynolds and Christopher Holt.  I will have three pieces on exhibit.

Jill Hooper’s  studio is located at 13 Broadstreet, Charelston, SC:  2nd floor, between Oak Restaurant and East Bay Street.

Late Winter? Early Spring…

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John Mac Kah Copyright 2002

 

Cold Mountain, Spring was completed in the winter of 2004 and finished just as the trees began to bud out. Some species take on a peculiar red-brown tone in certain light.  Later as leaves emerge, they gray and turn green. Maples are particularly vibrant, deep red and take on this color early as they produce blooms.  Some trees’ are actually as colorful at this time of year as in fall, but its subtle and the season short,  more ephemeral. It is very hard to capture in paint, by the time you notice and get started, the effect is gone.

Available as an archival reproduction, 20 x 30″ on canvas or paper. The original is in a private collection.

Back in the Studio

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Just back from J.C. Campbell Folk School, in Brasstown, NC. www.folkschool.org.

Turned out to be a mixed media class, with two students using acrylics and one textile collage artist painting her fabric with light sensitive fabric paint and three oil painters. Students went from 4 x 6″ to as large as 3 x 5′ working from photos, drawings and value studies meanwhile learning some new techniques in their medium of choice, new applications and with great results. As soon as we have the photos sorted, we will have them here so you can see the results.

Workshop: J.C. Folk School: June 2012

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John C. Campbell Folk School
Brasstown, North Carolina

Oil in Plein Air: The Painter’s Craft
This is a real painting course for intermediate to advanced students serious about crating a good painting in a professional manner. We will make our own supports and grounds, as well as traditional oil-varnish mediums. Painting will be in the studio and on location: anticipate walking and carrying supplies. Pure gum turpentine will be used in the field and with the mixing of mediums.

The Campbell Folk School was founded in 1925 a collaboration of the community and two progressive educators to build an community based on traditions rooted in Southern Appalachia and other cultures of the world. I began as one of the first painting instructors there in 1987 after visiting with my wife, a weaving instructor. We have taught there most years since then. The campus and historic buildings provide wonderful landscape opportunities along with a great residential and supportive environment for developing skills.

To register, or find out more, visit their website.

Workshop: Arrowmont: April 2012

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Open Air Landscape, Abazzo

With John Mac Kah  April 15-21, 2012

Abazzo is the layering of colors rich in oil and varnish mediums to create maximum depth and control. Employ methods and recipes of Florentine and Flemish masters as you develop an understanding of how to use oils to their full advantage. The class will prepare its own paint mediums and supports of line, panel and  paper. For the beginner, this is a foundation course; for the experienced painter a springboard to deeper understanding of materials. Painting will take place both in the studio and on-location. Some supplies provided by the instructor for an additional studio fee.

The residential art-craft school, located in Gatlinburg, TN, Arrowmont School marks its 100th anniversary this year as a place of education and inspiration. The early years were about general education in a settlement school setting, but curriculum was soon added in mountain handicrafts to preserve those skills in the region. In 1945, the signature summer workshop program was launched in craft education and the school was opened to everyone who traveled to take classes in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains.

Join me on the historic campus in April of 2012 to learn more about painting using traditional oils and materials.

View their catalog, contact them and register.