A Website...mostly

Hello everyone,

I know that I haven't posted for, well, years, but I have something exciting to announce. I have a new website. It isn't finished, and not all of the images are as good as they should be, but it is up and running. 

I will be slowly migrating all of this blog's content over to the new site. There will also be new blog posts, updated blog posts, and new paintings. 

Come on over, let me know what you think and if you think I need to change something. 

My site is: www.katherinegriffinstudio.com

Thanks!!! 

Back to Painting and Back to Posting

I have not posted nor painted for a crazy long time, but I have set new goals to try to do more of both. My painting goal is small, but I feel obtainable, at two hours a day. By keeping myself mostly to smaller paintings I am hoping to jump start some good practice, as I am painfully out of practice, while still feeling like I am accomplishing something.

So far I am doing well at 8 hours for the week and two finished paintings. For the time being I am painting fruits and vegetables, maybe even some baked goods (aka donuts, maybe a chocolate chip cookie?), as I know I can knock those out quickly. I am not thrilled with the two that I have finished, but I am not unhappy with them either; I was terrified that I would be.

Below are the progress and final images for what I have done this week, both are 8x10:

Notes on the progress photos: 

I first drew the image out, blocked in a quick colored underpainting, blended the underpainting using a fan brush, established the shadows, then the midtones, and finally the highlights. For the radish I used an image I found online, but for the avocado I had a fashion shoot. 

I like how blended the color transitions are in the radish, but the leaves got away from me. I like the colors in the avocado, but I wish I had blended the colors more like with the radish. Things to think about for tomorrow! 

 

E is for Elephants Evading Enormous Eggs under the Eves of Elms with Egrets

As my sister said, "That is a mouthful." 

So I haven't been blogging for a while now. During the summer I was watching one of my nieces and somehow that meant that I didn't get on my computer at all. Something about a little person playing an awful lot of Minecraft. I feel that I do at least minimally redeem myself by the fact that I have been posting photos to my instagram account. Happily, now that school has started I plan to return to my blog and computer workings. 

To launch my renewal to almost all things digital, I have finally finished the "E" for my animal alphabet: 

I still need to play around with the placement of the leaves, but I am finally happy with the elephants. I think these are the fourth complete set that I have designed. 

Indirect Paintings: Step 2 - Underdrawing

Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz, 1892, Self-portrait       Jan Van Eyck, 1437, Saint Barbara

Indirect Painting: Step 2 - Underdrawing

When an underdrawing is done is based off of the artist's preference. Some will make an underdrawing before laying down the imprimatura, but modern artists tend to complete the imprimatura before starting an underdrawing. 

Underdrawings can be quick and rough, as you can see in Anna Bilinska-Bohdanowicz's Self-Portrait, or increbily detailed as in Saint Barbara by Van Eyck. A good underdrawing will have the following characteristics: 

1. Painted using naturally quick drying oils. Earth tones fall into this category.  
2. Painted with solvent only and no additional oil. This will allow the underdrawing to dry quickly. 

Below are three videos which highlight three different ways to create an underdrawing: 

Indirect Painting or Flemish Technique: Step 1 - Imprimatura (cont.)

Indirection Painting or the Flemish technique can be broken down into five steps:

1. Imprimatura or Ground 
2. Underdrawing 
3. Underpainting / Dead Color 
• Brunaille 
• Verdaccio 
• Grisaille 
4. Overpainting 
5. Semi-Transparent Glazes

It is important to note that throughout time each artist or academy had slightly different approaches to the style, but the basic stages were the same. Today I will be covering Step 1: The Imprimatura. (I have already written about the imprimatura, which you can read here. If you have not read that post, I recommend reading it. There will be overlap between the two, but somethings are different.)

Why the Imprimatura? 

The imprimatura, or "first paint layer," is the initial stain of color painted over the blank ground of your support. This is usually done before a sketch is laid down. Using an imprimatura is as common in oil painting as white paper is in watercolor. The imprimatura can help create a unified color harmony throughout the colors painted on top of it and reduce the time and effort needed to arrive at a certain value range. If, while painting, you ever stand back and feel that your colors don't quite "match," try starting your work with an imprimatura. This can help create balance and unity.

Colored Imprimaturas 

Traditionally the imprimatura was almost always moderate in intensity and value, and tended to rely on the low cost and quick dry qualities of earth pigments. Below is a list, from the Complete Oil Painter by Brian Gorst, of colors commonly used for imprimaturas. Where I can, I have included links to examples of each color being used in the description.    

1. Gray: The main function of gray is to remove the glaring whiteness of the original ground. A light-toned gray is the multi-purpose imprimatura and is useful for all genres. It also allows flexibility when your color scheme is still undecided. It was sometimes used by artists such as Monet. 

2. Terre Verte: This earth green was often used under areas of flesh by Byzantine and Medieval painters, such as Duccio, of the 13th and 14th centuries, but had continued use even past Michelangelo. The green helps neutralize the effects of strong pinks and reds, allowing for a natural skin color. 

3. Earth Red/Burnt Sienna: Used by landscape artists to give breath to green foliage, it also creates a mauve hue when sky and clouds are painted over it. This effect can be seen in works by Turner. These colors are also used by figure and portrait painters to help establish warm shadow masses, and was often used in the French figurative tradition by artists ranging from Poussin to Degas. 

4. Dark Brown or "bole:" A bole ground is usually an opaque mixture of Earth or Mars Red, black, and a small amount of Yellow Ochre. Still used today by traditional portrait and figure painters, a bole background came into style by artists such as Caravaggio and the young Velazquez.   

5. Yellow Ocher/Raw Sienna: These earth yellows provide a rich, warm imprimatura which maintains a sense of luminosity. Used by landscape and portrait painters to give a work a warm, golden undertone. You can see this used in works by Rubens.

6. Burnt Umber/Raw Umber: Both are cheap, quick-drying, and semi-transparent, making them ideal for a thin imprimatura. These colors were used by artists such as da Vinci and Van Eyck.  

7. Light Blue: Sometimes preferred by alla prima painters as a luminous base, using a blue imprimatura allows for water, skies, and atmospheric effects to be developed quickly. I have no idea who starts out with blue. 

8. White: A plain white imprimatura is the most luminous imprimatura for glazing. The drawback is that it makes opaque paint appear darker by contrast. The white ground was first consistently used by Manet, and then later by artists such as Seurat and Derain. 

Looking back through art history's use of imprimaturas can help you decide on the look and feel you would like to have in your own paintings, and is always the first step in copying a master's work. 

Monet vs Manet 

Looking at the top image of this post you will see two paintings by famous artists, Monet and Manet.

Manet was known for using white as his imprimatura, and this is exactly one of the reasons why the French Salon rejected his work. A white imprimatura can be difficult to work with when you do not understand how it can affect your color palette.

Using a white imprimatura should be done with purpose, as Manet did. You can see in Manet's Luncheon on the Grass how the white creates an unbalanced color harmony. The darks become too dark and lights too light against the white background. The blues and green seem to stand apart verses meld together and the yellows don't quite work wth their surrounding browns.

Manet did this on purpose. If this is also your purpose, run with the white, but be careful and aware that sometimes it just doesn't work out.



Monet on the other hand almost always used a colored imprimatura. While he did occasionally use white, you will usually see light blue (left), gray (middle), or yellow (right) coming through his works. His use of the imprimatura is a perfect example of how the correct imprimatura can help brightly painted, multi-colored works maintain a balanced color harmony.

Gold Fish: Final plus Instagram

Remember how back in November I started painting these gold fish? That's okay, me neither.

I finally finished painting them this past week and what's more, they were the first thing that I posted on my instagram account.

If you are interested, my instagram gig is katherine.griffin and I have a full three photos up! MM and Ixoj, I promise, promise, promise to do more and to add a profile pic... eventually.

Below are the progress and final images of the gold fish. I think I like the overall idea, but I don't like the big circle in the left-hand corner. I am going to paint over it and do something different, or maybe nothing at all. Thoughts?

Size: 12"x16"
Colors Used (as seen below): Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow, Naples Yellow, Indian Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Quinacridone Red, Napthol Red, Alizarin Permanent, Phalo Blue, Sap Green, Phalo Green, Iron Oxide, Payne's Gray

Just Because...

The past month has been super great:

1. I went out to DC for two weeks to visit one my best friends, her husband, and her new little one: 

It was a really great visit and yes, baby is just as adorable awake as she is asleep. She is a really great baby with beautiful red hair. Friend is now in Brazil for the next two to three years. Husband and I are hoping to bring our own little one down next summer to visit with a possible Brazil/Machu Picchu adventure mix. 

2. We found out a few days after I got home from DC that we are having a little girl: 

Husband and I are both really excited about it. By all accounts she is super healthy, but a little small. Small seems to run in my family, though -- all of my sister's pregnancies measured small-- so we aren't worried. We even saw her suck her hand or thumb, it was adorable. 

3. I am going a little domestic and have started to crochet animals for the little gote: 

The bunny is a good size at about 18". I think that I am going to add a little smile to the face. I also really like his tail, mostly because I made it up and have no idea what I am doing. 

I purchased a pattern from Pica Pau on Etsy. I highly recommend taking a look at her blog/website: El Mundo De Pica Pau. I desperately want her book, but can't figure out how to get it here in the US. 

Sadly she only has two patterns on her Etsy page, otherwise I would purchase the entire book a pattern at a time. Also, two days ago when I went to purchase the two patterns she does have, she only had one, a donkey. I purchased it in hopes that I would be able to adjust the pattern ever so slightly so I could make the below blue bunnies from this really great curiosity shop. 

Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I was a little bit sad when I finished the first leg and realized that I had forgotten to add the little white dots of the pants, but I still like him. Next week I am going to try my hand at the little girl bunny. We shall see how the making of that little skirt goes. 

4. Hiking season has officially begun: 

For me, hiking season should always begin with a Stewart Falls hike. One summer Friend and I went to Stewart Falls, I swear, every Saturday morning. Well maybe not every Saturday, but a lot. In memory of such a great summer, I like Stewart to be the opening hike of the season. The falls were a little small as there is still a ton of snow all around (not pictured). We went with my sister's family and their four year old successfully hiked the whole thing on her own (well almost)! It was her first doin' it by herself hike and she was a trooper. 

Creative Block and How to Fix it!

Turns out that there isn't really all that much one can do, but to push through. Take a look:

Also the primary reason I want a house is so that I can have a kitten, this video is fun: 

Infographic Reimagines “Smart” to Reveal Nine Types of Intelligence That Everyone Possesses

My Modern Met: 

Infographic Reimagines “Smart” to Reveal Nine Types of Intelligence That Everyone Possesses

In school, calling someone smart often meant they were good at math or science, but American developmental psychologist Howard Gardner has a different conception of what makes a person bright. Instead of there being one type of intelligence, he contends that there are actually nine that we possess: naturalist (nature smart); musical (sound smart); logical mathematical (number/reasoning smart); existential (life smart); interpersonal (people smart); bodily kinesthetic (body smart); linguistic (word smart); intra-personal (self smart); and spatial (picture smart). 

To visualize what these intelligences mean, Mark Vital designed an infographic for his entrepreneurial-focused siteFunders and Founders. The image is based on Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Gardner, and it’s a helpful, easy-to-understand guide that color codes and defines the factions. What were typically seen as soft skills—good with people, identifying music, etc—now have an added sense of importance. Gardner’s altered definition recognizes that each type of intelligence gives someone the crucial ability to understand the world. There are respective advantages to every group, and they all foster the diverse skills needed to make the world go round.

Sebastian: Final

Here is the almost final (I need to clean up the background a bit) and progress images for the painting I did of my momma's cat, Sebastian, as a kitten. Sebastian will be celebrating his 15th birthday this year. He is a good kitten.

Also, turns out I stopped taking progress photos of this little guy, so the images make quite the jump.

Indirect Painting: The Flemish Technique or Classical Approach

Indirect Painting has a long and complicated history. It is often referred to as the Flemish Technique as it was first widely used during the early 15th Century by Northern Renaissance artists. It is also thought to have been first invented by the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck.

Jan Van Eyck, "St. Barbara," 1437                                                   Jan Van Eyck, "The Arnolfini Portrait," 1434

For centuries the indirect painting style was the only way to use oil paints. It wasn't until the late 1800 and early 1900s, as Impressionism's direct style started to become more and more popularized, that indirect painting went out of vogue. Although initially its techniques were still taught in artistic academies, it was during the 1950s that, at least in general, it was removed from almost all academic platforms both in the United States and abroad.

Indirect Painting is different from direct painting as it is painted in stages or layers, allowing each stage to dry before continuing.

Each artist or academy had slightly different approaches to the style, but the basic stages to Indirect Painting are:

1. Imprimatura or Ground 
2. Underdrawing 
3. Underpainting / Dead Color  
• Brunaille 
• Verdaccio 
• Grisaille 
4. Overpainting 
5. Semi-Transparent Glazes

Over the coming weeks I will be writing a separate post about each of these stages as well as a small history of indirect painting. In this small history I will show that indirect painting was not the creation of an individual man, but rather the culmination of decades of manuscript illumination.  

To read more about other painting techniques, check out my main Tips and Techniques page. 

BBC News: The World's Most Expensive Paintings

A Vault for Colors: The Forbes Pigment Collection

Via Colossal: Photos courtesy Zak Jensen & Andrea Shea/WBUR

The extensive collection of pigments of the Forbes pigment collection is amazing, and a place that I definitely would like to visit. Below is a little excerpt from an article written at Colossal and a video from Great Big Story about the collection. 

Colossal: Harvard’s Colorful Library Filled With 2,500 Pigments Collected from Around the World

The Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at Harvard Art Museums is different than many other departments of its kind—it's visible to the public. The public can witness conservators at work as well as view 2,500 pigment samples placed in tincture bottles and housed behind tall glass cabinets. The samples are reminiscent of medicine bottles—the concentrated material’s purpose to help doctor paintings rather than physical maladies. 

The Forbes pigment collection was started by its namesake—Straus Center founder and former Fogg Art Museum Director Edward Forbes who began the collection at the turn of the 20th century. Forbes would collect his samples from his travels all over the world, bringing back pigments from excavated sites at Pompeii to rare lapis lazuli found in Afghanistan.

Forbes’ interest in pigments and preservation started with his purchase of the 14-century Madonna and Child with Saints, which he bought in 1899 and noticed that the painting was quickly deteriorating. Harvard Art Museums research curator Francesca Bewer remarks in her book A Laboratory for Art: Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum and the Emergence of Conservation in America, 1900-1950 that he then began a passionate exploration into the process of how paintings were made. This interest led to collecting the materials needed for the preservation of fine artworks alongside his own collection of early Italian paintings.

Colossal's article also mentions this database, CAMEO: Conservation & Art Materials Encyclopedia Online, which I didn't know existed. Not only is the database impressively extensive, but it also houses a digital database of the Forbes' pigments! I am going to have to go through and read about the pigments I have already written about just to make sure I have all of my information correct. 

If you would like to read about various oil pigments, but in much smaller doses, take a look at my Pigment posts on my main Tips and Techniques page. 

Is it Safe to Oil Paint while Pregnant? Yes

Mary Cassatt, "Sleepy Baby," 1910 

Note: This post should not be taken as medical advice. I am not a doctor, and while my own doctor has given me the go-ahead, this post should be taken only as my opinion.

After "coming out" about my pregnancy I have gotten all types of questions/comments about painting:

Are you still going to paint now that you are pregnant? Yes.

NOTE: I have rewritten this post on my new blog. You can read it here: 

https://www.katherinegriffinstudio.com/post/is-it-safe-to-oil-paint-while-pregnant-yes-and-some-advice-for-the-new-artist-mom-dad-from-an-old

I wrote the original while I was pregnant with my first baby. Now ten years later I have advice for new art parents as well. Or you can continue reading the old post below.

Well, I guess you are going to have to stop painting now that you will have kids, aren't you? Nope.

Are you aware of how hard it will be for you to paint when you have a baby? Yep, I know it will be hard.

At least with the new baby you don't have a job to worry about, right? Nope, I do.

Well you don't make money at it, so it isn't really a job, right? Nope, I do and yep, it is.

Thanks world for making me feel good!

The truth of the matter is that there are LOTS of moms who are successful artists. Kind of like how there are lots of moms in all professions. Painting is not some special space where moms are irresponsible if they continue to do what they love. That being said, there are some elements to painting that every pregnant artist should be aware of.

How to make your painting space pregnancy and baby friendly: 

1. Always maintain good ventilation, even in winter.

2. Eliminate all solvents. This is key and easy.
                a.  Cleaning your brushes without solvents is healthier and cleaner.
                b. Use non-toxic Gamblin's Solvent-Free Gel or M. Graham's Non-Toxic Alkyd as a medium.
                c. Be aware that although some solvents are odor free, such as Gamblin's Gamsol, they are still very toxic and should not be used while pregnant.

3. Minimize the use of Cadmium, Cobalt, and Lead while pregnant.
               a. If using Cadmium paints, wash your hands regularly or use gloves.
               b. Replace Cadmium with Azo pigments. Azo pigments have almost the same base color as the various Cadmiums, but without the toxicity.
               c. Cobalt is an easy pigment to replace and is so expensive it is usually not a part of the general palette. All the same, take a look at your paints just to double check.
               d. Never use lead-based paints while pregnant. Happily there are now more than enough options that this should not be an issue.

4. Never allow baby to sleep in your painting space. Be aware of the amount of time baby is spending around your paints and place baby in a different room when possible.

If you have any tips for pregnant ladies that I didn't think of, leave a comment. For more Tips and Techniques, take a look at my main Tips page.

Loving Life's Designs: A Mother's Day Card

My sisters are extremely creative and have a really great site called Loving Life's Designs. They currently are revamping the entire thing, making it something really amazing. I am super excited for both of them, and for me because they are letting me participate. Yay! I have broken the twin barrier!

They commissioned me to make a design for an up-and-coming Mother's Day card that they will have for free on their site. Initially I came up with three different styles, then I created different lay-out options for their chosen style. Below are the roughs of those lay-outs:

There are some balance issues with some of the designs that will need to be worked out if picked for the final card, but overall, I am pretty darn happy with myself.

Watching Paint Dry: How to Get your Painting to Dry Faster

As deadlines approach, sometimes finishing a painting seems beyond reason, forget giving it enough time to dry.

Below are some quick tips to help your oil paintings dry faster:

1. If you know that you'll be rushed for time, try using more thinner than oil in your medium (while maintaining the Fat over Lean rule).

2. A professor once mentioned that you can dry a painting in the oven on the lowest setting. She always warned us that it will make the entire house smell and that you risk burning the painting, though. So maybe not the best option.

3. A blow dryer. Be prepared to sit there for hours.

4. A space heater. This is my preferred method when I need a painting to be dry a day before it wants to be. Select the lowest heat setting and let it go for hours.

5. Put your painting under the rear window of a warm car. The warmth inside the car will help heat the layers.

Even though these methods can help speed up the drying time, they will by no means take a wet, thickly painted canvas and make it dry by morning. Remember, oils do not dry by dehydration, but by oxidation. Adding additional heat helps to increase the rate of chemical reactions your painting is undergoing. Always remember to maintain a well-ventilated area and to have patience.

Warning: Never use the above methods unless you are completely finished with the painting. Trying to force drying time between layers can lead to cracking and a lot of swearing. Trust me, I know.

For more tips about painting, take a look at my main Tip and Techniques page.

A Thank You: To my Hogle Zoo Patron, plus Some Small Announcements

Monday I raced, in really horrible weather, up to Hogle Zoo in order to retrieve my two paintings from their gallery show and I had a little surprise when I arrived. Over this past weekend one of my paintings sold!

I didn't think of getting the person's information until after I left. I will have to call about it. I would love to send them a thank you note, but for now thank you secret patron. I love you. (Also sorry about the crappy frame, the whole thing was a little rushed.)

Also, I haven't been painting for a while. Mostly because for the past two months I have been glued to my couch in a never-ending surge of pain, nausea, and sickness. The reason? This very, very little one:

You can see its little hand and scary Darth Vader smile. Other than that it is just a little blob, but it's my little blob and that is exciting to me.

This week I am officially 13 weeks and out of the first trimester! I am so happy about this, as the past few days I have been feeling wonderful. For example, yesterday I opened the fridge, ate a grape, and didn't instantly regret it. Progress!

Good bye, diet of cheese sticks and eggo waffles!

Some additional progress is that my paints have stopped smelling so badly to me that it makes me want to throw up. However, over the past six weeks of feeling so sick and so depressed (my couch also now has some serious depressions), I really started feeling down about painting. I have always felt like there is something lacking about them, like there needs to be more, but this self-loathing pity party got so bad that I was ready to completely give up. The purchase of my pronghorn was just the boost that I needed.

Now I am ready to hit the ground running, finish up the owl and goldfish, and keep going.

The Art Institute of Chicago Recreates Van Gogh’s Famous Bedroom in More Ways than One

JULES ANTOINE (1863-1948) ATTR. – Vincent Van Gogh in conversation with friends, Paris, 96 rue Blanche, December 1887 Melanotype, direct positive and reversed image on blackboard (carton photographique), 86×112 mm, “Gautier Martin” stamp, recto. Vincent Van Gogh in conversation with Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard, Félix Jobbé-Duval. André Antoine is standing between them.


Today Vincent Van Gogh's painting are so prolifically reproduced that he heavily falls into the happiest of kitch categories. I say happily because yes I do love my Van Gogh mug and no I don't feel like it lessens his works. Beyond just being on my mug, Van Gogh has also been making headlines with the possible above photo of him, a new Art Institute of Chicago exhibition, and an animated film made entirely of oil paintings.

The Art Institute of Chicago is a really great place. If you ever find yourself wondering around the Windy City, skip the American Doll store and stroll on over. For this new exhibition they have recreated Van Gogh's Room, brought all three of his bedroom paintings together in one locale, and done some really great restoration work.

One of the interesting things that the Art Institute discovered is that Van Gogh's rooms were not originally painted blue. Below is the full story from Sci Friday's March 4th show. The images below the story are the images they reference throughout the segment.



Left = currant painting                                             Right = digital restoration

Blue Paint Fragment                                                 Backside Purple Paint Fragment 

Vantablack: Can an Artist really own a Color?

According to articles by The Guardian and Quartz magazine, yes an artist can.

Vantablack is the "new black" as of 2014. It is considered to be the blackest black, as it reportedly absorbs 99.96% of all light that hits it. In fact, the science behind Vantablack was originally created by a team of NASA engineers who developed a "blacker-than pitch material to help scientists gather hard-to-obtain scientific measurements" and "observe currently unseen astronomical objects, like Earth-sized planets in orbit around other stars." The black was further developed and named by the British company NanoSystems to make stealth satellites stealthier, as it is like looking into a black hole. And now the artist Anish Kapoor (you know, the guy who made the giant, reflective bean in Chicago) has all painting rights to it. As you can imagine, this has gotten a few people up in arms. According to the Guardian:

Painters are outraged that Anish Kapoor, the British sculptor who designed the blood-red Orbit tower for the London Olympics, has exclusive rights to the artistic use of this revolutionary new colour. NanoSystems has confirmed that he alone can paint [with] Vantablack.

This new black isn't exactly a paint, however. According to Quartz:

The thing to remember is that the coveted super-black substance is actually not paint but very tiny tubes composed of carbon, explains former NASA optical physicist John Hagopian, who now runs a startup developing carbon nanotechnology for engineering purposes. The super black is actually “grown” in the lab, the matte black effect coming from seeing a dense patch of these tiny carbon nanotubes which absorbs nearly all light. 

I personally am not super disappointed by the fact that I will never be able to get my hands on a black almost as black as a black hole. I mean... it would be cool, but using it seems a little too difficult for my tastes. Again according to Quartz:

For artists itching to use the scarce super-black substance, Hagopian cautions that applying the material is not as easy as picking up a can of paint. The process involves a gas mask and a special enclosure for the “complex chemical vapor deposition,” and inhaling the fine carbon-based material can be as hazardous as inhaling asbestos.

All-in-all, a black this black is pretty cool. Here is a video by NASA explaining how the black is grown (also, at the end of the video it says that they are getting ready to put this into space, but that actually just happened. Since the production of the video in 2013, the paint has been sent and used at the International Space Station):

To read more about Black pigments or just pigments in general, check out my main Tips and Techniques page.

Pig Head: Final

I sat down today and wanted to paint something from start to finish. This is what I came up with:

I think that I like him. If anything, I enjoyed painting him. So much, in fact, that I think I am going to paint like this for the next little bit and see if I can't get the style of it to morph into something that I really love.