The Weekend

The Indian Hill Art Show on Friday and Saturday went pretty well. The show was not only a bit more selective, with fewer artists, they laid it out in a more open and comfortable arrangement. It was fairly well attended, but very crowded on Friday night. I had a great time getting to know some of the artists. I want to thank everyone that came out to visit stop by my booth. It also helped that I sold a few pieces and made some nice connections.

Yesterday my family had an early Thanksgiving get together. My wife (in the above photo) and I drove to my parents house extra early so we could paint before the feeding frenzy. My mother and father live in a very picturesque farm community about 1 1/2 hours north east of Cincinnati. It is an open area surrounded by rolling fields with distant tree lines. There are various out buildings, barns and farm equipment around with which to compose a picture. I found dozens of possible pictures as I strolled around the farm looking for a spot to paint. I first settled upon and started a painting of barn full of tobacco hanging to dry (also shown in the photo above). The light effect changed immediately and became less interesting. Making a fast decision, I threw in the towel immediately- well, after about 30 minutes of getting in the big shapes.  I scrapped it down, wiped it out, and moved to a new spot to start anew. Facing the opposite direction, everything was being pounded with sunlight. This time the painting came together quickly and it was an absolute joy to paint- except for the wind- which blew my easel over as I stepped away to get some more paper towels. The easel went upside down, brushes and paint tubes went everywhere. The painting and palette fell face down in the grass. This is generally frowned upon in plein air work. It all cleaned up pretty well. I had to scrap dirt and grass out of the sky area and clean up a smear or two. Not too bad really. The only disaster was that all my turpentine spilled out on the ground. Laura was nice enough to give me some of hers.

An Early Thanksgiving, 12 x 16, oil on panel, 2010

After a little less than 3 hours I ended up with this. A cloudy morning had cleared way for clear blue skies. The light was incredible. With the dry summer I was not sure what the fall would look like, but the leaves this year are lovely hot reds and oranges. Everything seems to be glowing. I just hope the trees survive the continued drought.
I also got to try out some big, flat bristle brushes that I just purchased. They were very useful for carving out the big planes and chiseling out the form. Today I spent some time in the studio tweaking the drawing, cleaning up  sloppy edges and strengthening effects. I am pretty happy with this one. Probably one of my better one shot landscapes.

I love painting coffee cups almost as much as I love drinking tremendous amounts of coffee. Coffee cups have a romance to them and often have a graceful shape that is a challenge to draw. I enjoy using just a few simple objects to create little abstractions that will be pleasing not just as a recognizable objects. They become little arrangements in color and value. I recently bought a lovely Jadeite coffee cup in an antique store that I knew would be fun to paint. After trying a few things, I chose a pink table cloth  and a gray background which produced a very pleasant color scheme.The goal was to paint something fairly quickly for the show- usually a bad idea to have that as a goal. As is often the case I ended up working on it a bit longer than I anticipated. After spending the weekend with it hanging in the Indian Hill show I knew it needed more work. It was a bit lack luster and needed more color vibration so I went back in today. I may go back in on the steam. It looks a bit fake at the moment.

 Study in Gray, Green, Pink and Decaf, 7x5, oil on linen, 2010

Stocking Stuffers

I will have some work on display at the Indian Hill Church Art Show this weekend.
Much of the work will be small paintings for $150 or less- great for holiday gift giving. I am serious, they would make great stocking stuffers.  Larger, more expensive work will also be on view- which is in my opinion, even better for holiday gift giving. What a great way to really proves your love. If you are in competition with a sibling for parental approval, a finely crafted painting by one of the cities best still life painters can almost guarantee a better result in the Will. Consider it an investment in your future. You could also buy one for yourself, as that also would be a good investment in your future. See here.
30% or proceeds benefit the churches outreach programs

Friday, November 12th, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Wine Tasting, appetizers, complimentary Valet Parking
$5.00 donation for adults

Saturday, November 13th, 10:00 am -3:00 pm
light refreshments- Free Admission.

6000 Drake Road
Indian Hill, Ohio 45243
Click Here
513-561-6805

I will be there, all spiffied up with a glass of wine in my hand. Every year the show is very busy and happening, and I suggest you get there early before all good stuff is snatched up, and so you can talk to me before the wine really starts to take effect.

Some Reading

Ivan Kramskoy. Sophia Kramskaya Reading. 1863. Oil on canvas. 
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

A student had asked if I could hand out a list of books, blogs and internet sites to read. I can't stress enough how important it is to constantly be reading about your craft. Read stacks of books, blogs and sites written by artists you like and admire. In this way you will get an understanding of how a painter works and thinks. You need to get the brain of a painter. The "red and blue makes purple" information or suggestions of special mediums to mix with your paint are not as important as the bigger ideas. I also suggest you read mostly dusty, old books, the older the better often. Many of the bigger ideas of painting have been lost to the majority of working painters. So many of the instructional step by step books you see today will teach  tricks, but will not make you a better painter. Surprisingly, most of the books I most strongly recommend have few if any pictures, and if they do, it is a great painting that demonstrates the execution of one of these bigger ideas.
I will try to post links to the books on Amazon. Some of these I have posted before, over time I will try to give the entire list. Paul Ingbretson, my painting teacher, gave us a great two page list of books that, if read, have all the information one would need to become a world class painter. It was an adjusted list that he got from his teacher, Gammell.

In a few posts, I will provide links to the books, starting with the ones I strongly suggest.


 Strongly suggested:
















































































































The Boston Painters 1900-1930
Twilight of Painting
Dennis Miller Bunker
The shop-talk of Edgar Degas




























This next one is an electronic version, and is not a format I would recommend. You can find this one online for free. Click Here















VELAZQUEZ by R.A.M. Stevenson

Become A Revolutionary

As you know I like to occasionally give the Modern Art movement and serious kick in the crotch. I have been criticized for doing so. Even my wife has suggested that the time would be better spent painting.
Yes, I probably should be painting, but I think part of my duty as a painter is point out scams, lies and the ugliness in the art world, and there is a lot of it. Most of the museums that have decided that what the public wants is irrelevant. Most colleges have moved from teaching drawing, painting, and sculpture to brainwashing young people into believing that beauty is irrelevant and that art is about ideas. This is easier than teaching people how to paint, sculpt or compose- especially if you have no idea how to do it yourself.
Thankfully, in the last 10 to 15 years I have seen signs that beauty is again starting to gain favor. Artists are studying great painters, working with other trained painters to master the craft.
Though as I say this I still see my young niece come home from school ready to ask her "artist uncle" about the great Picasso that she learned all about at school (I know the correct pronoun after Picasso was "who", but I chose to use "that". Picasso is more of a thing than a person at this point). My niece is also taking a "drawing class" where they did action painting in the style of Jackson Pollock. That is not drawing! I bet it was fun, but it is not useful to a child who may find it useful to be able to draw at some point in her life. So, still we are brainwashing these young minds into believing that the visual art is not about beauty or skill or love or the universal. If you are a parent, you can do something about it. Talk to them about what they like and why, take them to museums, and maybe even get them into art classes that actually teach useful skills.
I wanted to share this series of videos put together by Scott Burdick. He is a very skilled painter whose work I have always enjoyed. This is a one hour slide show he did in Laguna Beach for the American Artist's "Weekend with the Masters" event.
I suggest you have a look. If you have been told over and over why you should like a Picasso, despite your first inclinations, watch this and then decide for yourself.
















As a follow up in this subject, you should read this book. I have mentioned this book before. It is a great read and can be finished in an afternoon. Check it out.

How to paint Architecture.

First I would like to post a retraction for my last post. Well, at least a partial one. Since that post I have been receiving some nasty hate mail- well, more than usual. In that post I complained about the artwork of chimps, but then refused to help them. That's just not right.These painting zoo animals are doing terrible work, but it is not their fault.
My class starts tomorrow and as of right now there are two spots open. I want to offer my class to any apes, monkeys, and even elephants that would like to study the impressionist method of painting. I am very sorry for being such a speciesist. It will not happen again.

As a follow up to a  previous post  on using the right size brush for the job I thought I would post some photos demonstrating the correct (Classical) way to paint your garage. Keep in mind this was a hot summer, so I reluctantly decided to work without a tie. A gentleman would have been wearing a hat, but as I said, it was very hot and humid. So, forgive my appearance.
"While painting any part of the garage, you must paint that part as it relates to the whole!"

A question I so often get asked in landscape painting classes is, "How do I mix brown?"

It is no secret that for this job, I had Sherwin Williams mix it for me, though  I did decide on the formula myself.

In my class you will learn how to mix your own brownish colors.

The above silliness helps demonstrate a point, that you need to have the right sized brush for the job. To paint a garage with a number #6 oil painting brush would be outrageous- though it looks very cool to do so.

To start in on a canvas using a #2 sable brush would be equally silly. 

My fall class is starting now. I am thinking of having some of the more advanced students invest in larger brushes (12's, 10's. and 7's). I just read a book by Emile Guppe', called Brushwork. While I must admit, I  am not a huge fan of his paintings, much of the advice in the book is quite good. For one thing, he suggests using bigger brushes and a good sized canvas (around 16"x20"). Then you just have to paint with authority. What I mean by authority is mixing the right color, the right value, and placing it on the canvas. 

"But what if it's wrong?" 

Well, then you do again, only righter. Students think that if they keep stroking the paint it will get more correct than when they put it down. So if you can use a good size brush, and put down with minimal strokes, it will force you to paint smarter. As a result you will build a powerful impression that has the sparkle of life.

Smaller brushes cause the painter to "lick" at the canvas with the brush. Do Not Lick Your Painting!

One quote I always liked was that "the painter should decide what brush would be best for the job, and then grab a brush two sizes bigger".  I don't remember who said it. Sounds like something Sargent would say. If anyone out there remembers, post a comment below.

I tend toward filbert brushes, which I think are a good all around brush. They have qualities of both a flat and a round. If turned and used correctly you can get a big flat stroke, or a fine line. 

Hope all of you animals out there enjoyed this post. 

 Please note,  when I painted the garage, I ended up switching to a 4" natural bristle angled brush. Some of the best work I did all summer.

Brushwork: a Guide to Expressive Brushwork for Oil Painting

Fall Landscape Class for Humans

First weekend in October begins my Fall Landscape class.
I am going to offer a cautionary tail to demonstrate why YOU should take this class.

Let's have a look at this guy. He had not taken my class, and despite all the hoopla about his work, frankly it sucks. I am sorry Jimmy the Chimp, but it is just awful.

AP Photo by Felipe Dana

Now a lot of noise has been made about how this ape "artist" is expressing himself, but one could make the argument that the chimp is expressing himself whilst flinging poo. Yes, while that can be hilarious, unless you are on the receiving end of that expression,  it certainly is not art.
Neither are his paintings!

So, don't be like Jimmy the chimp. Sign up for my class and be civilized!- be Human! If you have seen the movie the Plant of the Apes, you have seen what can happen if people don't study painting.

Fall Landscape Painting Class

Saturdays, Oct. 2 thru November 20, from 10 am to 1 pm.

Come enjoy the cooler weather and the fall colors.  With "Cincinnati's most charming painting teacher", we will meet at various  scenic parks around Cincinnati to learn to sketch and to paint with oils. Drawing on the ideas of impressionism, you will practice the techniques needed to complete painted sketches, including basic composition, value, pattern, color spotting, and covering the canvas. Then, building on those skills, you will complete a larger fully realized landscape painting that will capture the impression of light and color of the Cincinnati landscape. In case of rain, we will arrange in parks with overhead cover. Details and directions to the various locations will be given in class. No experience necessary- student must be a human. $179; supplies are the student’s responsibility. A list will be sent with your enrollment confirmation or see  http://www.uc.edu/ce/documents/commu/10UCommu.pdf
Location: First class will meet in my studio in Eden Park; then at various parks thereafter 

richard_luschek@yahoo.com, 

To register go to the following link and sign up now.

http://www.uc.edu/ce/

Totally Nuts

Here are two paintings that I am calling The Modern Relationship or The Couple or Nut and Bolt or Something Else Equally Clever.

Thoughts? What should I call these?  I really enjoy exploring the male and female symbolism that can be found in two pieces of hardware. Who doesn't really? If you look deeper for fancy, college goin', psychological meaning you can see how the wrench brings them together with it's rugged masculine straight form forced through the nut panel, and how the same wrench has feminine curves slithering in on the bolt (male) panel.  Cause that's what it's all about really, each member of the relationship tossing a monkey wrench in the life of the other?

  Nut and Bolt (The Couple) Working title- each one 3 1/2" x 2 1/2", oil on linen

Didn't know I was so sneaky did you? Actually I have no idea what the hell I am talking about, it is pretty much just a nut and a bolt. But they do make a cute couple.
I know it is a tired subject , but I do like shiny things.
Here they are in some of those fancy Castner frames I have been telling you about.