Bo Bartlett - Day 3

Today we started the day with a small talk about Ken Wilber's Spiral Dynamics. The big idea from the discussion was "be mindful of what is good for the whole system". In addition to applying to life, Bo also asked us to consider using it in our art.

Next we were off to Yoga- My friend Laura has a class in Greenville, SC at an indoor rowing facility, Greenville Indoor Rowing (her husband Lowell teaches rowing) where she incorporates rowing and yoga. She calls it RowGa. So in honor of Laura I'll call what we are doing in the morning, artga! Here's a picture of Bo beginning our practice...

Now that our mind and bodies were stretched we returned to the studio and completed our grisaille paintings.

Below you can see the open drawing and closed drawing exercise we I did yesterday and mentioned in yesterday's blog post.

Open drawing

 Closed drawing.

 This is a detail of the head portion of my "in process"  grisaille painting.

Here is a picture of Bo working on his grisaille painting.

I'm looking forward to our final day tomorrow where the paintings will come to life with color glazes.  Stay tuned!

Happy drawing & painting!

Bo Bartlett - Day 2

Today we began the workshop with Bo Bartlett.  Artists from as far away as California and New York have come to learn from Bo. The title of his workshop is- Holistic Painting: Finding Tour Voice As A Painter.

We began the morning with introductions then all participated in a yoga stretching session before we even lifted a pencil or brush... Namaste!

Each of us was given a 148 page booklet compiled from his senior painting seminar given at the Fall of 2000 and the Spring of 2001 at the Pennsylvania Academy.

"Ground rules" were discussed-

On we went to draw- First open line drawings (no tone/values) then closed line drawings (tone/value only). Lunch break, then we walked with Bo to the CSU's Corn Art Center to see one of his 3 exhibits in downtown Columbus.  Bo spoke with us about his process and thoughts behind several of his paintings.

After the Corn Art Center visit we walked back to the Carpenter Center to begin our paintings.  Bo discussed the grisaille method which he uses.  Grisaille is an under painting of values. Once dry color glazes are painted on top to create a realistic look. I am more of a direct painter, where I go for a completed realistic look immediately so I am looking forward to getting out of my box.

Tomorrow I'll post some of the drawings and the beginning of my grisaille.

Happy drawing & painting!

Bo Bartlett - Columbus, GA

I'm writing from Columbus, GA where I've traveled to participate in a 3 day workshop with Bo Bartlett. Bo is an internationally known artist whose home town is Columbus, GA.

Tonight downtown Columbus hosted a 3 venue Artwalk of Bo's paintings, drawings, studies, sketchbooks and journals. Facinating!

I first "discovered" Bo's painting at the Greenville, SC Museum of Art. They have a large painting titled "Lamb" which was an inspiration for a painting I created for a Piccolo Spoleto event in 2000.

Tommorrow is the first full day of the 3 day workshop. Figurative work is my first love and it has been sometime since I spend 3 entire days devoted to it. At the end of each day I'll post what my day was about.

Here are pics from the Artwalk tonight.

Happy drawing & painting!

Art Exhibit, Providence Gallery - Charlotte, NC

The Everyday Extraordinary: New Landscape Paintings by Ann Watcher, Lita Gatlin & Isabel Forbes

Opening Reception with the Artists: Friday, March 11 - 6pm-9pm

On Display Thru March 31, 2011

Providence Gallery's newest artist, Ann Watcher, presents a series of paintings depicting rural Carolina landscapes harkening back to our agricultural roots, bringing attention to the fact that our past is rapidly being encroached upon by urban development. The artist' attraction to "age of place" makes Tuscany, with its ancient history and culture, a natural destination for exploration on canvas. Lita Gatlin expresses her love of nature by using her canvas to convey the splendor of nature’s colors and how they are ever changing in response to the atmosphere. Her paintings depict areas in the southeastern U.S. and Europe. Isabel Forbes’ paintings focus on the beauty that is often overlooked in urban landscapes. Her compositions include things we use and see every day, seeking to convey a new appreciation for the ordinary to her viewer.

"Does this make my *&@## Look Fatz?" 24" x 36" oil on Canvas ©Isabel Forbes 2011

Providence Gallery is located in

in beautiful Myers Park, behind the Manor Theater 601-A Providence Road Charlotte, NC 28207

Marsh Madness

Edward Dare Gallery
Friday March 4
FIRST FRIDAY ON BROAD, Charleston, SC
5 - 8 pm French Quarter Gallery Association Artwalk

I will be one of several artists represented by Edward Dare Gallery in Charleston, SC that will be a part of this exhibit. My painting Lowcountry Marsh, 24"x24" oil on canvas, is one of the pieces in the show.

Multi-Cultural Exhibition

Artist Guild of Spartanburg, SC Gallery: Multi-Cultural Exhibition

at the Chapman Cultural Center

Multi-Cultural Exhibition: Feb. 7 – Feb. 19, 2011. The reception is on Thursday Feb. 17, 6 - 8:00 pm during Artwalk.

Celebrating Multi-Culturalism within the Guild’s membership! Many Guild members from a variety of cultures here and around the world will exhibit their artwork in the Guild Gallery during this month. Visitors may be surprised at the different countries represented within the Guild's membership.

Sweet Grass Rose, 16"x12", oil on canvas

This is my submission in to the Multi-Cultural Exhibition. I entered the exhibit because I am half Dutch. Here is the artist statement for the exhibition

My father, Jacques Forbes, was born in Curacao, a Dutch island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. As the kid of a Dutch man I always had a real interest in the Dutch artists, Rembrant, Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. My mother would check out framed prints of some of these Dutch Masters from the Spartanburg County Library and hang them over the fireplace of our home. I can remember being fascinated with the way they recreated light in their paintings. Today, the play of light and dark is an important part of the paintings I create.

The Sketchbook Project 2011

Here is a slideshow of my sketchbook:

The Sketchbook Project

Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country.

After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view.

This is how it works:

Each artist is sent the same blank Moleskine sketchbook. We've only got two rules: first, the book must be used in some way - no sending us back an empty book or a completely different book! Second, the sketchbook must stay within its original dimensions (because we don't want to have to provide an extra suitcase just for your book while we're touring the country).

Each book will be given a barcode so we can easily catalog it into The Brooklyn Art Library system. Once we catalog it, artists will be able to track where on the tour their book is viewed and how many times someone pulled it from the shelf!

28838 artists from 94 countries around the world are participating. The tour starts March, 2011.