Step by Step...a Heron

Sometimes you know exactly what

you want a painting to look like when done;

sometimes you just go with the flow

and see what happens...

And while the subject of this painting (or the object) was to be a white and grey heron slightly off center, I was much more interested in seeing how the surrounding foliage and foreground waters were going to take shape.  Here's the step by step, over the course of several days and one vacation!

blocking out the lights & darks

establishing some texture & motion

playing with the colors

stating the direction of energies

pushing the "hole" back further 

placing the bird

establishing the patterns of reflections

Sacred Space, 16 x 12, 

oil on canvas

finished

detail of texture and color

This is a rather large "test tile" for me as I usually try to do experiments on an 8 x 10 canvas.  However I am finding that with a large, flat brush it is much easier to work on a larger size support...there is much more real estate to play with and for me that means more color gradations which is what the experiment is all about.  (Now what will I do with all those 8 x 10's I have stacked up and ready to go? hmmmmm)

SPLASHING AROUND,

Cindy

p.s.  I am making too many experiments to frame them all.  Someday I will get the best ones loaded up onto my website for purchase "as is."  Meanwhile if you find one that rings your chimes let me know; the "test tiles" are an inexpensive way to enjoy original art.  email: art@cindymichaud.com

Test Tile = Epic Fail!?

It's not really a "test" if you do the

same ole same ole over again.  Only if there is

a risk or an element of uncertainty

 is it really, truly a "test."

At least that is what I am telling myself.  After a few "tests" that went extraordinarily well I got to feeling a little too comfortable in my 9 x 12 fast paced experiments.  I could feel hesitation creeping in and I knew I was taking the "safe" road.  Here are two quickies that I did in acrylic:

Both are layouts done quickly to see if I like the composition (check).  Both are awaiting the next layer to be done in oil.  Both are incredibly GREEN.  

So I tackled this one first.  I really loved the sunlight that was cast strongly on the opposite shore and peeked through the leaves onto the foreground trees.  Above you see a bit more application of oil paint.

I worked my way into the scene and paused.  Evaluation time.  I liked the foreground; the little hints of warm colors really made the shore line move forward.  But the rest: boring.  This kind of scene is a "dime a dozen" and while nothing was really wrong with it there was nothing very interesting about it either.  Not an exciting test.  Soooooo...

Balls to the wall: coulda shoulda woulda.

Well.......

I have bad news and I have good news!  This is clearly not a great painting, but it is a great experiment.  We have two color palates going on here and they do not dance well together.  The upper left quadrant has possibilities  The lower left quadrant is still interesting.  But nothing else seems to jive with an overall look.  Test tile FAIL.  As in "don't try this again."  But...the good news is

I did not stay "safe" (i.e. "boring").  I reminded myself that careful thought about choosing a color palate BEFORE starting a piece is time well spent.  If the greens were too too (green) then I should not start with them.  The color must develop organically, from the bottom layer to the top....not a hastily added as an afterthought.   

I also reminded myself that as long as the values read well (that is, dark is dark and light is light) it really won't matter if the tree is red or green.  I just need to decide first whether I am going for excitement or realism and stick to the plan.  Test tile SUCCESS.   

This is probably far more than you wish to know about building a painting but it is all part and parcel of the time spent prepping for that masterpiece that comes together seemingly so easily.  These are the practice pieces that no one ever sees, the prototypes that never see the light of day.  I just think it is interesting to share the fact that those who make art encounter the same problems as those who make cars: not all great ideas work.  Tweak.  Re-tool.  Try, try again.  Failures are sometimes much more informative than successes.

I promise that you will see a painting from this reference photo again.  You may not recognize it.  But I will take all of the data I have gathered from this "epic fail" and hopefully render a much more pleasing (and interesting) piece in the near future.  Stay tuned.

EXPERIMENTALLY YOURS,

Cindy

Testing, testing...more testing

Last week I shared my enthusiasm for

attempting some "quick" oil sketches...pieces

that would take no longer than 2 sessions and

a couple hours total.  I think these

are becoming my version of the potters'

"test tiles."

In the pottery world test tiles are little experiments where glazes and temperatures are tested on various clays for the sole purpose of gathering data and information.  Almost like paint chips, each tile contains a vast amount of data for those who know what they are doing.  I've been puzzling over what the painters' version of such might be and I believe for me they are these 12 x 9 oil sketches I am doing.  Purposely not investing a lot of time in each, I am aiming to test composition, tone and technique with each.  Even when the results are yucky they hold important information for future use.

For instance:

Remember the odd start to a black cow last week?

Here she is finished.  There is a lot NOT to like about this piece, however I have made a valuable note never again to paint from an unclear photo (black on black cow or dog = trouble).  I also don't like the fact that the lighting was not definitive and thus not very interesting.  Trash the reference photos I took, lesson learned.  And learned before I invested a week's worth of time, a larger canvas and a lot more paint!

Here's another test tile:

I almost went too far on this "first pass."  I began to get caught up in the wood of the broken fence and almost forgot that what attracted me to take this photo was all the angles in the composition.  It really did not need to have each leaf and flower defined...I wanted to play with light and dark angles.

Next pass:

I'm stopping here.  And on the back I will make a note to remember that the background can be even less defined as long as the opposing angles show up in juxtaposition to the fence.  I think I will keep this reference, and this test and consider doing a larger one...in fact, it would be real scholarly of me to jump up a size and paint it again  I should make additional notes and then move up to a very large canvas ...  masterpiece size.

 Because speed and simplicity is one of the defining factors of these trial runs I don't really spend a lot of time mulling over the colors.  I tend to start a palate and then "make do" noting where something more interesting might be good to try.  Below is one of the messes I got myself into by not clearing the colors between each sketch.

Last test tile for this week:

I picked this because the backlighting is always so beautiful but difficult to pull off.  I get nervous seeing that the first plane of the picture is so dark and ill defined.  So this was going to be a push if I went where it needed to go.  The first session was in acrylic as (you guessed it) the paints were out from something else.

Next day in oil:

And, even though I did not touch the tree trunks and the dark foliage could be even more massed in, I will leave it here.  I have enough info to make notes; things like 'a more interesting water body', handle 'trunk treatment' and indicate far shore line and foreground rocks.

Im not sure why I have resisted doing this more often in the past.  I think the key for me is having everything set up and ready to go the minute I enter the studio.  No delay and no deep thinking.  It is ok to stop even without a finished product, something I usually am hesitant to do.

Hopefully one of these test tiles will prove worthy of becoming a piece all on its own.  I hope so.

TESTING 1, 2, 3...

Cindy

TESTING...1...2...3

Not to belabor this test tiles theme...

it takes a while for an old dog to learn new tricks!

One last post on testing,

one last post on block printing.

In my experimenting with block prints I revisited one of the first ones I cut: a baby airstream.  I was (sorta) satisfied with this piece UNTIL I entered "testing...testing" mode and began to actively consider early pieces as "trial runs."  I still loved the image but knew I could do better.  So, I decided this was a "test tile" and vowed to try again employing the things I now had learned.

I revisited my original image and enlarged it while also giving it a border which I felt added to the design.  You see it on the tracing paper which I flipped to imprint onto the rubber block.  I decided that the "white spaces," the place where the rubber is removed, should be slightly more interesting than a deep cut that leaves no impression.  So I made my cuts to resemble a sun in one corner and imply a tree in another.  I knew if I hated these additions I could remove them later.

Now that the block is cut it is time to ink it up.  Can you see the sun and the tree suggestions?

I press the paper on top of the block and smooth it with my finger tips so that the ink adheres.

Time to carefully pull back the paper for the result.

Not too shabby!  I like it.

Testing with another paper:

Very nice.  And this is where I will rest and go over it with a close eye to see if any lines need to be removed or if any other papers should be tested.  I'm anxious to try this on fabric as well.

Happy trails to you!  I think the "test tiles" proved their worth.  This has some exciting possibilities.  And all from a couple pieces of rubber and the patience to rework until satisfaction is reached.  I think "test tile" will be my new buzz word for a bit longer. Thanks Maggie, the lessons was much needed.  So if at first you don't succeed....

TRY, TRYING AGAIN,

Cindy

Block Prints Require Testing?!

Ever since I met Andy Farkas, learned about his

craft and (swoon) acquired one of his prints, I have been

anxious to try printmaking.  Of course I dream of starting at the top

 but for once I decided to start at the lowest

 possible level of dabbling: the rubber block print.

Remember when I showed you how easy it was to craft a print out of the styrofoam tray under your fruits?  The next step is to carve from a rubber pad or a piece of linoleum.  So having had success with styrofoam I knew it was but a few short steps to Farkas-quality, right?

The top two carvings are done on small rubber-ish pads and then glued to a piece of wood to make them easier to handle.  The bottom pink pad is uncarved, look for these at Michael's or any art supply store.  The carving on the bottom right was done on linoleum, a much harder surface to carve but still easier than wood, plexiglass or metal.

Now remember my haunting lesson on test tiles?  Well, there needs to be an entire chapter on test tiles in the world of block prints....but I didn't take that class, did not read that book so I learned that lesson the hard way: experience.

These are the tools used for carving.  One was inexpensively acquired at a craft store, one was a bit nicer and bought at an art supply store and the fancy one on top was inherited (with a sharpening stone) when a friend weeded out her notions.  

Draw out a design and move it to tracing paper so that you can see how it fits on the block.  Remember that what you carve will be reversed when printed so you can flip it over if you want a different orientation.  Transfer to the block either with tracing paper or, on the rubber, going over the design with a very soft pencil and then rubbing that mark onto the accepting surface of the rubber.

Now the fun of carving.  Slow and patient.  It's almost meditative.  Two very important things to remember: you can't easily put back something you cut off AND your design will very likely change slightly as you carve away.  Spend some time thinking about what will show up as ink and what will show as paper.  You can see very faint lines in my paper drawing reminding me what to cut out.

Water soluble printers ink is used and I use a foam tray to roll it out on.  With a brayer (a rubber roller) ink the design.  You may upend the block to print or place the paper on top of it.  I tested both.

This makes it easy for me to use my fingers (or a clean brayer) to press down and be certain that the ink has made contact with the paper in every spot.  Then the paper is peeled back for the reveal:

oh yuck....not a very smooth print but something I have learned is not unexpected with a first run.

So that is just one reason "test tiles" become important...I can see that either I did not ink up enough or I missed the smoothing part.  So above is another test.  On the L I put the paper on top of the carving, on the R I turned the carving onto the paper.  Hard to see the difference on this photo but there is some change.  Notice anything else?  

I don't like my blank parts...they are too smoothly carved out and leave no tell-tale lines which would be more interesting especially around the stars.  I dug too deep in my judgement.  And?  look closely.

Where the mountain intersects the moon is a triangle that missed being carved out!  And ditto for the mountain edge on the far left.  How many prints did I make before I noticed this?  Luckily I can go back and re-carve between prints.

Thank goodness I "tested."  Another interesting test is varying the paper used to print on.  Some are so stiff they don't meet my needs at all, others too flimsy to last.  Finding the right paper is crucial and  one should save that for the last test so that you do not use up all "the good stuff" on bombs.

different papers, note the clean brayer in photo

Like Goldilocks and the three bears, this one is "just right." I made a mental note that I prefer the "white space" to be more interesting in future blocks but otherwise this printed well on the paper I used.  

So I'm like a reformed addict: test! test! my friends...and test again!  no, this is not the end of the story.  For someone who hates "do overs" it is ironic that my word "festina lente" implies a bit of slowness as one gathers steam.  When I explained Maggie's test tile approach (last weeks blog) to a friend, she summed it up nicely: "She goes slow so she can go fast."  Yes! Onward.

GOING SLOW,

Cindy

Learning About Test Tiles

There are many benefits to having test tiles for glazes. It allows you to test combinations of glazes easily and inexpensively, and serves as a permanent reminder of what a glaze looked like on a certain clay. Otherwise, if you’re like me, you forget very quickly.       How to make test tiles

I am not a potter, but I have the pleasure of hanging out with quite a few of them.  Now put two or more in room and inevitably you will hear the words "test tiles" bandied about.  If you don't wish to read the link above, they are quite simply prototypes for finding out how glazes will look on a finished piece.  They are the necessary research done prior to making a huge batch of "yucks."  Time, patience and note taking are required.

I got a free and much needed lesson in testing this week thanks to one of those distinguished potters.  I had a whim to make ceramic knobs for my kitchen, each one original and special and in a color palate I could only dream of, never mind buy.  My kind neighbor Maggie Black was eager to help me and after giving me a few tips left me to my own devices.

I had a ball rolling out the clay, cutting up shapes and then stamping them with pre-selected designs.  Perfection was not an issue because frankly I did not know enough to realize what goofs might stymie me later on.

It was actually a lot like making cookies.  They needed to be more or less the same depth and size (I knew they would shrink a skoosh) and I wanted the designs to be sorta related (lots of leaves).

Maggie popped them in the kiln and summoned me to come add the color.  Turquoise and yellow I announced.  It was then she burst my eager bubble and suggested, no, insisted, that I do some "test tiles."  Dread.  Time down the drain I began to think but she was slightly more accomplished in this endeavor than I!

So I dipped and cleaned and kept my selection to about 3 or 4 different jars...my memory is short.  And tried double dips, matt and shiny and did my best to hide my disappointment that this little project would be prolonged another week. 

So you can guess my next chapter, right?  Herewith the test tiles and it is no surprise than some of them are just butt-ugly.  You can be sure I was thanking Miss Maggie profusely from preventing me from sacrificing all my previous work in one impatient move.  

I played with these results, made notes, passed them by the other kitchen resident and made some decisions on how to proceed.  A long careful painting session, a few more random experiments (but not on the preselected, designated knobs) and we were back to the cooker, um, kiln.

This is the oven where the magic happens...and where surprises come out even with the best of testing.  It is always like Christmas to be present when a potter opens the kiln, frankly I don't know how they manage to wait for it to cool.  I'd need patience pills.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy.  Here are my beauties...and my continued thanks to Maggie for saying those dreaded words "test tiles."  Aren't these absolutely beautiful?

Time to get out the E6000 glue and attach the hardware.  This go round I was able to stumble across the hardware already made for projects like this (as opposed to roaming the hardware stores and creating my own from random pieces).  The base and screws can be found at D Lawless Hardware, and if you cannot cut your own knobs they also have bisqued pulls ready to paint and fire.  

So completely unique!  And I have enough finished pieces to make magnets.  And enough knob bases to do another kitchen....no stopping me now, unless I have to make more test tiles.  

Joking aside: those words and Maggie's insistence on using them have come back around and around this week haunting me into becoming a believer.  Stay tuned.  It's not only in ceramics that one needs to employ "test tiles."

GLUING AND SCREWING,

Cindy