When You Can't Paint...DRAW!

Often it isn't possible to take your whole painting get up when your traveling.  Add a couple of kids and that Honda will fill up quick. An excellent option in that case is a small drawing kit and a sketchbook so that you can take the time to practice your drawing skills.  This is exactly what I did this weekend.

I have been working on a series of prospector paintings so what better subject for sketching but old dusty characters, worn and weathered.  Sketching gives you a great opportunity to do in depth studies of your subject with very little space needed.  Let me share a couple of pages from my sketchbook with you.

Quick Sketch for a Painting

Practicing

More Practicing

Everyone Needs a Critic

I have one friend that I can depend on that will always tell me the truth about my artist endeavors. She will always tell me what she likes about my creation but equally she doesn't hold back with truthful criticism and since she has nearly 40 years of painting experience, I know that she knows what she is talking about. Sometimes it is hard to hear but it is EXACTLY what I need if I want to grow as an artist.

Right now, my week has been consumed with working on my very first commission piece and last night my friend had a great deal of sound advice regarding my progress. The issue with this commission piece is that the buyer has requested a combination of two of my existing paintings on one canvas. Both of these pieces were featured in the Mar/April 2013 edition of "Gold Prospectors Magazine". Now with many paintings that might not be a problem per say but in this case we are talking about two completely different landscapes; one is of a mining shack that I painted near Tonopah, Nevada and is smack dab in the heart of the Mojave Desert and the other one is of a prospector panning for gold in a mountain stream. The focus of both is gold mining but blending the two together is proving difficult.

I had followed her previous council and had created a rendering by doing a pencil sketch of the layout based upon the conversation I had with the buyer. The buyer said he loved the idea and so I proceeded to start my painting. Visually, I worked to combine the sky and mountains between the two scenes and then my plan was to separate the two scenes by using tall pines trees and shrub pine in the center as a division. When I was about 3/4 of the way complete, I sent a progress picture to my friend and she had a great deal to say about it.

First, she told me that it was breaking a huge compositional rule by having large trees in the center of my canvas and that these trees are the focal point when they shouldn't be. No matter if the buyer agreed, it was my job as the artist to direct him to a composition that works and while they may be buying the piece upon completion, I still owned this work. They will probably be in awe at anything you paint because they don't possess the artistic skill to paint anything and that is why they hired me. She didn't want me putting something out there that I might later regret. All I can say about this is that I sure have a lot to learn about this art business.

Then she gave me some helpful advise to consider a correction. She advised me to take a heavy bristol paper and to tape it on to the canvas in the problem area. Then re-paint the scene that better brings the two paintings together and that will minimize the center pine trees. This way I can visually see the correction before I start laying waste to my piece and deciding this wasn't going to work. Wise advice to be sure.

I have included the pictures of my original works and the current piece in progression so that you as the reader might learn along with me. After all, the purpose of this blog is to hopefully help other aspiring artists like myself by sharing my journey.

Pinch Me!

If you are interested in viewing more of my work then please check out my gallery page on my website at : JulieTownsendStudio.com



Almost a year ago I was contacted by a writer of Gold Prospectors magazine following an email I sent to the editor regarding my love of sharing the rich history of this state through my paintings.  Often that would include the tough miners that came here in floods seeking their fortunes.  I had just finished a painting called "Dreams of Shades of Gold" and shared that image in my email.  Next thing I know I am being called for an interview.  Finally the published article is in my possession and I immediately had it framed.

I couldn't take a picture of myself holding the article just anywhere, so this morning we took a drive out towards beautiful Lake Mead.  Now there may not be gold in those hills behind me but they sure are a pretty color and lends nicely to the composition.

Where are all the Miners?

I had the occasion recently to read the Editor's Note section of the Nov/Dec 2010 edition of "Gold Prospectors".  Now this magazine is my husbands choice of reading material and not necessarily mine, but I was drawn to this article written by Tom Massie, Editor-in-Chief of "Gold Prospectors", because he was discussing his observations as he wondered through the shops of historic, Prescott, Arizona.  Mr. Massie stated, "Now I've nothing against cowboys or western art, but as I travel through some to the shops I noticed that the swank trendy places offered western scenes of cattle roping and cowboys in painting, pictures and sculptures.  There were plenty of cowboy hats, cowboy boots, western blankets and indian apparel and art.  There just seemed to me to be a lack of anything relating to the prospectors and the miners in today's modern shops."

I couldn't agree more with his conclusion.  Being a long time resident of the wonderful state of Nevada, I am very mindful at just how important mining was to our past and present economic growth.  Nevada became a state in the west, long before any other of it's neighbors joined the union and that was directly the result of President Abraham Lincoln desiring the mining wealth of Nevada to aid in the Civil War efforts. 

I agree with Mr. Massie and while I  love a good cowboy painting, much of the inspiration for my work is received from those strong and sturdy miners that have left their presence know all across the state in the form of ghost towns, abandoned mining shafts and stories of a place that was often wild and lawless.  I decided that I would share just a couple of my pieces, including my newest painting called "Dreams in Shades of Gold",  that have Nevada mining as a theme.  I sent Mr. Massie an email inviting him to check out my website and this blog.  I wonder if he will send me a reply.