How To Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!

Purple Haze, 11x14" Purchase at Etsy

Limited Color Palette is a Good Place to Start

I enjoy color ... and if you have seen much of my work, you probably already know that about me. So, limiting the colors I use, is definitely out of my comfort zone.

But ... I believe the only way we continue to learn is stepping out of our comfort zone. Try something new and a little on the "scary" side! Choose your favorite color and then use every related color to it: purple, lavendar, red-purple, blue-purple... warm and cool shades of anything that has purple in it!

What did I do?

I decided in this painting to do that, but then I chose the rust colors and the blue colors to be accents or discords. There is some green under-painting showing through that creates a little vibration in the purples, too. I would not call this a monochromatic painting because of those "extra" colors. It was fun!

Here is the first layer of "harder" pastels that sets up the large shapes. I did wet them with alcohol to create the "fixed" under-painting. So... you see the first layer, first step ... and you get to see the finished study.

I hope to do a larger painting of this scene ... possibly in oil or acrylic!

Can Studies Help You Create Better Paintings?

First One In, Pastel Study 7x5" - Purchase at Etsy

What is the first thing you do when in the Studio?

I look at my plein air paintings ... or flip through photographs I have printed, or look at images on my digital photo screen. What am I looking for? Can you guess?

For me, I want to have something grab me right away... so I make notes about what I like. I think we paint a better painting if we are "inspired" by something we see. So, write it down ... "what drew me to the scene?" Answer the question.... refer to it during the painting ... it keeps you thinking what needs to be the star of the piece, and everything else needs to play a secondary role. All the other elements should support the "star!"

What is next?

For me, I lightly draw with a pencil on the surface ... just a rode map ... no details. I want general larger shapes of the light and dark areas in the painting. I squint a lot, looking for those shapes.

Next, I fill those shapes with a light layer of pastel... no matter if doing a pastel painting or an oil or acrylic. It is just pigment... and then I wet it with either mineral spirits if doing an oil, or alcohol if doing a pastel or acrylic. Lately, I have been using a little water spritz bottle for the alcohol instead of brushing it on. I can still use the brush while it is wet if I want to create a scrubby looking underpainting.

Here is the image of the first layer of pastel for the underpainting for the above little study! I was working on a grey Ampersand Pastelbord for this one.

So ... was this successful? Is it a good study for a potentially larger oil or acrylic ... or even a larger pastel?

Finding Good In The Painting!

"Desert Rain" Purchase at Etsy

What is Special?

Painting plein air ... the French term for painting in the open air ... is the best way to learn about proportions, weight, perspective, and best of all, to see all the "real" colors in nature! And, you usually remember how the weather was ... hot, cold, wet, dry, etc.

 

For this painting, an 11x14" pastel, I was in the Red Rocks area near Las Vegas for the 1st Plein Air Convention and it was our first day out of the convention center sessions to paint. It was cold, and rain started coming in about half way through my painting. If you look closely, you can see where some of the light rain drops hit the surface. It added to the painting, so I was not about to change it.

 

Special? ... can be the artist's story about the painting. If you attend a gallery opening or show, admire a painting, and get to meet the artist, ask them about the story behind the painting. Meeting the artist and hearing the story, may be what you need to make a decision to purchase that painting. Get to know an artist ... you might have some fun hearing a story!

To Paint, Or Market?

I cannot believe I have not posted to my blog since last June. Where has the time gone? Have you said that to yourself? I think I will be trying for a schedule of posting, and not just painting!

Nickajack Music - Oil 24"x18"

How Often Should I Post?

Producing a body of work for several shows, a few competitions, and my galleries takes precedence over writing.

Most important was a solo show with over 80 paintings. But along with that, I also painted 8 paintings for a group show, 2 large pastels for the Women Painters of the Southeast juried show ... and painted for three other juried shows, submitted, but was not accepted! During that time, I also judged a show in North Carolina, taught a workshop for them, taught my annual workshop in Florida, created a proposal to teach at the next IAPS conventionn.

At the same time, I worked with American Art Collector magazine, being in three different articles, and advertise in January, March & April, 2014. I was interviewed by Steve Doherty, Managing Editor for the Plein Air Magazine, for a four-page Artist Focus in their May 2014 issue. It has been an extremely busy 6 months... ending 2013 and four months into 2014!

Protecting The Crop - Pastel 11"x14"

I picked up over 75 paintings from my Solo Show "It's The Journey" which was held in Blue Ridge, GA at The Art Center, Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Assoc.(BRMAA). The Art Center is the Historic Courthouse ... and has a fantastic organization and venue for showing art and teaching classes and workshops. They do handle all kinds of the "Arts" besides my type ... painting! Here is a link on Facebook to the album showing most of the paintings: It's The Journey Facebook Album.

So What Now?

This week I am finishing up work on a commission of Texas hill country. When that is done, I will be taking work to a new gallery for me ... Magnolia Art Gallery in Greensboro, GA. I have a pastel workshop scheduled for May 15 - 17 (Thurs., Fri. & Sat.) in St. Simons Island, GA, for the Glynn Arts Assoc. I will also be painting for the Monastery of the Holy Spirit Paint Out to celebrate their 70th Anniversary ... near Conyers GA from May 27 - 31 with a Wet Paint Sale on Sun., June 1.

So ... I plan to also post once per week to this blog about what I am doing and showing paintings in progress, or finished ... and also sharing some interesting posts by other artists, marketing gurus, and art associations. Do let me know if there is something you would like me to talk about, share tips, etc... my ears are always listening!

Who Likes Paintings of Western Scenes?

We just returned from a trip to Albuquerque for the IAPS convention (International Association of Pastel Societies)... driving out from the Atlanta area. And, I took many photos and painted on location in a few places ... so the question is what to do with those paintings and the ones to come in the studio? I am looking for the best way to find potential clients ... especially here in our Eastern states!

The sightseeing part of the trip

This is quite a long post ... I thought many of the photos quite interesting. Our first stop for the night was Little Rock AR ...

Somewhere in Arkansas

Again, Arkansas

driving to Elk City OK ...

On the road .. cloudy!

Flat land and cows!
After the tornado!

thru Texas ...

prairie and small arroyo!

Dropping down toward plains and more prairie

to Santa Rosa NM ...

The Pecos River

The Mission in Puerto de Luna and
Billy the Kid played around here!

On now to Santa Fe NM...

Haywood going up Canyon Road
in Santa Fe for a few galleries!

Meyer Gallery at Canyon Road, and
Kent Lovelace is a favorite of mine!

 and then to Albuquerque ... 

Old Town Albuquerque...
Fantastic place to visit!

We left Albuquerque after the convention, on our way to the Denver CO area, Littleton to be exact ... for me to teach a workshop at the Terry Ludwig Pastels shop.... and drove the High Road to visit Taos NM for a couple of days ...

We kept getting closer to one of the fires
above Santa Fe ... but skirted it!

One valley high up in the high desert!

Just before we started the last part
of the drive down to Taos.

We stayed at a fantastic Bed & Breakfast in Taos and visited the Rio Grande Gorge just out of town...

 

After a long walk from the bridge,
what a view back toward it!

And another view from the bridge

.... and then the ride through northern NM and southern CO to Littleton. When we left Littleton after the workshop which was very successful (and another blog post), we drove I-70 East through Colorado and Kansas to Kansas City area for the night. Then one more day and night into Arkansas to Jonesboro AR. The next day it was to our home... going from Jonesboro AR, through Memphis TN, Mississippi, Alabama into the Atlanta GA area. Whew ... three days and two nights from Denver CO to Smyrna GA!

Pastels or Oils?

Which type of painting do you prefer? Pastels or Oil?

I paint in both of these mediums ... and sometimes in acrylic. I have experimented with watercolor, but it has a different process than the other three... it is from light to dark, where the other three are dark to light ... for the most part!

Oak in Oil
24" x 18"

The painting shown here on the right is the second painting of this tree ... I did a pastel first from a digitized version of the photo and a black and white thumbnail to determine the light and dark abstract pattern. This version was done from the same resource material without the pastel painting being in the room. I did not want to just copy the first pastel version into an oil version.

Here is the soft pastel version:

"Water Oak"
Pastel 16" x 12"

What is Pastel?

Remember when I talk about "pastel" I am not talking about the colors... I am talking about a "soft pastel" stick of pigment. It is sometimes called "chalk" but it does not have chalk in it. These pastel paintings must be framed behind glass.

There are some galleries that will not carry pastels or watercolors ... because they are behind glass. I do think the attitude is changing in some places, though.

I normally frame my pastel paintings with Museum Glass which has a 98 or 99% UV rating to protect the pastel from fading. Even so, most pastel work will not fade unless you really have left it with very bright sunshine on it for a long time. The main reason I use the Museum Glass is for the non-reflective quality of it. When you walk in a room, you don't even realize there is glass on the painting. It does help! And, I very rarely use mats anymore... all they do is catch pastel dust on them and after a time look rather dingy near the bottom of the framing.

One thing for you to know ... I price my pastel paintings and my oil paintings the same for the same sizes... I believe it does not matter which I paint in... I love them both!

Question for you ...

Do you have a preference? If so, what and why? I would love to hear from artists and from collectors.


Who is Marsha Hamby Savage?

Who do you think I am?

I have been thinking about what is it that I like to paint? Is there a particular subject matter, or colors, or techniques that show up all the time in my paintings? Is it about emotion, or a story, or is it about my decision to keep on learning something new? Where do I see myself going and why? What is it I want to do?

The start of an Idea!

A good friend asked me that last question on the way to the airport after I had spent a week with her. Can you imagine this question early in the morning? This is the tough question ... what is it I want to do?

My Answer:

I want to continue to paint! I want to travel and teach .... which means I need to make enough money to continue to do that. Travel fills up my well of experience and is where I go to capture an idea for painting ... even if it is just a few miles from my home. Painting plein air (in the open air / outdoors from life) is my classroom and where I learn the most. Teaching is one of the things that helps me keep learning more about what I do ... besides the added benefit of seeing students learn and that "light bulb" go off when they finally understand a concept they have been trying to internalize for months or years!

What do I want to paint? Anything that has to do with how light affects the landscape. That said, I also enjoy occasionally painting flowers, still life, and people.

The Underpainting

Here is my favorite subject matter ... trees! I don't think anyone will be surprised by that comment. I do mostly enjoy painting the landscape with no hint of "man" or "manmade" objects. Another favorite is the landscape with a stream and rocks, or a pathway or road (I know, manmade!), where there is a bend or curve, and some suspense as to what is around the bend... where you wonder about what can't you see. I want the viewer to participate in the painting ... to put themselves in the scene, or know they have been there, or want to go there!

This painting is a 16" x 12" pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord... which is my favorite surface to do a pastel painting on.


In progress with pastel added

I have finished the painting, and have now started a 36" x 24" oil painting of the same scene to see how it translates to the oil medium and what I do differently using the oils and a brush versus a stick of pastel in my hand.

Finished ... "Water Oak"

This particular thought process has made me think more about what I want to teach also! Most students tell me they want to learn ... of course ... but the main thing that drew them to my class is my use of color. I love exploring different colors to help with the use of "local color". So ... I will be including in my classes and workshops how you will choose color to fit your own emotional responses and personal choices and likes. 

My personal colors ... green (of course) and turquoise with the addition of purples, reds and oranges... any variation of these colors also! Can you see they are relatively opposites on the color wheel? Makes for some very interesting combinations!