How to paint lace- or wear it.

"A Little French"
AKA "Paris Here I come"
12 x 16,
$500, free shipping
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Yesterday' s fun at my First Friday Atelier Day in the beautiful Malibu Highlands.

Come study with me this summer, Three Day Workshop. Great location. Great wine, Great food, Great company and GREAT PAINTING FUN

How to Paint Kimonos?

Satin Kimono Day
12 x 16
Oil on Archival Board
$500, free shipping

New Purchase Gets Painted

Sometimes my brush seems to take over, and exuberance overcomes us both. I don't mind these moments at all.

I bought this kimono this past weekend at The Cambria Wine and Art Festival Weekend in CA.  Some wine did indeed get drunk in the company of good friends, especially by MOI, but as soon as I saw this kimono, I knew it was mine. I felt like I had hit the art jackpot when I walked with it out of the store.  I was itching to paint it.

Sure enough, I found time this week amid a busy portrait workload to do just that and a lovely model into the bargain. The kimono was also a bargain by the way which makes the whole thing really sweet.

All those flowers on it though? How do you calm them down in paint? Ah, just forget about them. Let the brush do the work. So that's what I did.

Sometimes when I think about things, it all goes South. How about you?

Please Persissssst....

Untitled as yet
16 x 20, oil on panel
 By Johanna Spinks, copyright

Close up
Johanna Spinks

Morning friends:

Every felt like giving up on a project or task? Well, I did on this one.

I told myself 'please persist"... it will come to pass. I tell myself that quite often in life actually.

That is exactly what I did on this still life...almost finished bar a few tweaks and value adjustments. That yellow cup on the right needs to be glazed down as it competes with the head. And the fan needs a bit more work.

I started the gold head months ago but then changed direction a few times to finish it.

It's early days after such a long 'persist' to know if it was worth it. But I learned from the persistence so that is reward in itself. A bit like your husband cooking a marvelous dinner in the kitchen, but you have to do the messy clean-up.

Nothing in life is gained without a huge period of persistence sometimes, don't you agree? And then there must be a pregnant pause

Now Go Take On The Hour.

Johanna

Painting from life...

This week's 'Face of Ventura' sitter is Mr. Doug Halter. He is the most marvelous landscape designer, very well known in the old mission town of Ventura where I am doing this crazy art project to paint 55 sitters from life to reflect its' modern day appearance, quite dashing,  and we talked about so much during this ever so short two hour sitting.

Thanks to The Ventura Breeze for featuring my project each edition and The Lyn Fairly and Friends Radio Show. And of course Mr. Halter.

Mark your calendar. 'The Face of Ventura By Johanna Spinks' at The Ventura County Museum Sunday August 26h.

L'Art De Corset...

A busy week in the studio with a new commission underway, one to ship out to the U.K., and two sittings from life for my Face of Ventura project. I am also moving studio!

So I thought I had better have some fun along the way. Here is a sitting from a model I did this week of one of my favorite things, corsets.

Come back next week to see it finished!

How to paint fur

Coming to the end of rather a large portrait of a British mayor. The left hand still needs some work and the gold medal of office. Fun to paint those ceremonial robes, fur and lace. It is so often the edge of things, like fluffly fur or sharp lace folds, that describes the fabric best.

What say you?

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, what a week it was out of the studio on a trip to the East Coast. HOPE YOU ENJOY AS MUCH AS I DID.

 The opening of my mentor's show "Pulps To Portraits' By Everett Raymond Kinstler. N.A. at The Norman Rockwell Museum. WOW!!! Go! here

 Study this man! Buy his books. I am so grateful for Mr. K's teachings. clickhere

 A quiet private moment in the studio of Norman Rockwell. Thank you to the staff for opening it up for us.

Going for gold at The Boston Museum of Fine Art. John Singer Sargent

Playing Footsie With William Merrit Chase

 Don't touch the painting!

 Hands down, the best hands I have seen

How to paint from life fast.

Another busy week in the studio with little time to post. This is Ms. Sandra Laby a recent sitter from my Face of Ventura Project I was looking forward to paint.

So how does one do a quick head sketch of a sitter in around two hours you don't know and talk clever repartee at the same time?  I don't know. But one is on the spot regardless.

What I do know is the same dialog runs through my head each time I paint a sitter like this in a short time wanting to get something half decent and a likeness.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

SQUINT

GO FOR THE BIG SHAPES OF STRUCTURE, THE LIKENESS WILL FOLLOW.

LIGHT, SHADOW, HALFTONES. NAIL 'EM.

KEEP THE FLESH TONES MUTED SO YOU CAN ADD POP TOWARD THE END.

THANKS especially to Ms. Laby. She is a tremendous supporter of The Arts in Ventura, a dancer, and full of fun sassy energy to boot.

KEEP THE FLESH TONES MUTED SO YOU CAN ADD POP TOWARD THE END.

Dewy-ness or Mess?

Girl With a Peacock Fan

9x 12

oil on linen panel

work in progress

I have always like the challenge of painting golden skin tones. So much more color to be seen. Pinks , mauves, oranges and yellows. Great chance to use yellow and purple color harmony. However, all that color can also turn into a hot mess.

This was my class demo at The California Art Institute this week. Those of you that know me, know I paint fast. A demo can be finished in an hour if necessary and look somewhat complete, albeit rushed. I decided to really slow myself down on this sitting, to try to go for subtlety in that skin. My sitter from Jamaica, really beautiful,  had a certain dewiness. I wanted to capture that 'ness' not 'mess'.

I think students were surprised to see how little I had done at the end of the session. I hadn't even got to the hair, yet alone the ravishing peacoack fan behind her head...I am working on giving myself the gift of time.

Another sitting next week...come back!