Fly on The Studio Wall...Portrait Video

Always fun to be a fly on the studio wall...

This is beautiful songstress Mather Louth who I painted from life in three sittings of around 3 hours each, 30x40".

The pose was inspired by a favorite painting of mine by master portrait artist Philip De Laszlo who painted more kings and queens than any other portraitist ever during his reign of  portrait fabulousness in the early 1800's  after taking over from John Singer Sargent when Sargent got tired of painting swagger portraits and people complaining there was  "something wrong about the mouth". Sargent's quote not mine.

I have long felt a tie to Mr. De Laszlo. This previous post explains why.

Thank you also to Ms. Mather Louth. She is extraordinary in so many ways fronting the band Heathen's Apostles.

www.matherlouth.com

The ABC's of Painting Eyes.

Close-ups By Johanna Spinks. Eyes in progress.


Going cross-eyed? I painted four sets of eyes on my studio easels this week, three of them from life.  Come back to see them finished. 




My ABC's of Painting Eyes
A: AVOID hard outlines: hard whites of the eyes, hard highlights within the eye and hard socket edge shapes. There is never pure white paint within the eye and there are lots of soft halftones around the exterior eye socket.

Think of putting a mist between your 'painted' eyes and the viewer. Lavender helps to push it all back. 

B: BE rigorous in your own art training. Draw eyes often. Paint studies. Study these old Superstars, my own personal heroes of portraiture:

Philip de Laszlo: https://www.delaszloarchivetrust.com

Anders Zorn:  http://www.anderszorn.org

 John Singer Sargent http://www.johnsingersargent.org

Joaquin  Sorolla  http://www.sorollapaintings.com

Also look to modern day Masters:

Everett Raymond Kinstler, N.A. http://www.everettraymondkinstler.com

Jeremy Lipking  http://www.lipking.com

Morgan Weistling  http://www.morganweistling.com

C: COURT your sitter. Paint from life as often as you can. All the greats did - and do.

Chat to your sitter while you are painting them. Their eyes will light up revealing a spark of their personality, their bodies will go into a natural pose. If you have your ABC's down, you will catch it.

Good luck. I will be doing my ABC's too. Always.

A demo of an eye I did in my teaching class this week for students showing the light source moving through  socket.

Portrait Flattery? To Be or Not To Be?

Beautiful Fiona
One life sitting
18x 24"

The Starts

A Sample of This Month's Sitters at My Studio
All painted from life
18 x 24 on Board

I am often asked how much do you flatter a sitter? How far will you go? I have been painted a few times myself from life by other wonderful artists which was a great lesson  to me in all of this.

Let go of the ego?

But I also don't want to hang jowls on my own personal wall space and look at them if you know what I mean. Unless it's a Rembrandt.

I say I want to paint my sitter to look how they feel on their best day, when their hair and features are in tidy place, they have had a good night's rest without a salty dinner, and then sit them under the best lighting and competent brush.

I often joke I'll go as far as 10 pounds and 10 years off. But that is really in jest. 

Fiona is a good example. A former dancer from the U.K., she came to sit for my teaching class recently. There was such an elegance in her carriage and her amazing white hair  that I had to get that down with my brush and it was ever so interesting to me.

One or two of the students 'over-aged' the middle age factor in their sketches. The competent brush is important. Hanging on hard to drawing lines by using the lines you see on the face for a guide is not a good idea.

We all age. It's a fact of each life but I can always find something in a face that's interesting to paint, young or old. 

One of the students asked:"Are you going to leave it there?", meaning I had perhaps over-flattered. I answered most certainly yes.  And then went into a little side-talk about elegance. The BIG E.

 I strive for elegance through the ages, young or old, male or female. Whether that face is lined or not. And that is what I saw in the lovely Fiona. A lady in her mid years aging very gracefully with a visage as interesting, if not more so,  than anyone in their 20's.

I have learned so  much from past  master portraitist Philip de Laszlo about this elegance thing. Thank you Mr. L. Check his work out.

https://www.delaszloarchivetrust.com

Birds of a Feather, Painting Birds.

Birds of a feather stick together at my studio this week. Beautiful sitter Jennifer Fabos brought her pet parrot Rocky along to be painted from life and it was very cute to watch how much Rocky loved her mistress during the sitting, cooing at her loudly, preferring to sit cozily right by her neck.

I didn't know birds had such attachment to humans. On the breaks from being painted Rocky took her water and food causing a few not so happy accidents on the beautiful satin drape I had just spent a fortune on!

Yes, Rocky is a female parrot but this was not known until she started laying eggs, said Jen,  hence the male name. I have painted Jen before with a previous pet bird, Peep. She has a way with birds for sure.

Some say painting from life is for the birds and I must confess, Rocky was a bit fidgety during the painting session but I sure hope she visits again soon with Jen.

To find out more about Jennifer Fabos and her work with Gallery Girls go here:
http://gallerygirls.org/contact-us/  

I post the stages of the sitting  here and am indebted once again to my hero master portraitist  Philip de Laszlo.
https://www.delaszloarchivetrust.com

"Birds of a Feather"
By Johanna Spinks
18"x24"
Oil on Board

FOR PURCHASE
johannaspinksonlinestore

Rocky gets her close-up. I moved her position off the shoulder  to aid the composition. I kept her coloring the same as the dress for color harmony, repeating some of those colors in the background too 

The block-in. I liked the tilt.

The light side of the face is massed in quickly going for a clean statement mixing just two colors at one time.

After about two hours of painting, I start to think about Rocky going in to the frame and just how on earth am I going to do that!

Painting Downton Abbey

Pass the sherry darling? I went Downton Abbey-esque in my teaching class yesterday at my studio, four hours, to a packed house.

Thanks to the always amazing muse/musician/singer artiste Mather Louth for a great sitting. I could paint Mather every day and never tire. She brings such a wonderful energy to the room and makes a big effort in her costumes. 

www.matherlouth.com

There was some terrific work going on in the studio by other artists too. A lot to paint in just four hours. Pearls, satin, head piece, oh yes, and that ever so pretty face and porcelain skin.  I was taken back to just what it must have been like for the painting great Philip de Laszlo (my personal hero) and his predecessor John Singer Sargent.

De Laszlo and Sargent knocked off more pearls and satin in their portrait painting careers than I've had  hot cappuccinos.

http://www.delaszloarchivetrust.com

I post the stages of my demo here.

The Finish
"Downton Abbey-Esque"
18 x 24"
By Johanna Spinks
FOR PURCHASE $500.
johannaspinksonlinestore

The sketch almost done.
By Johanna Spinks

Close-up. What a lovely face to paint!

The early block-in. My favorite part of the painting. Good clean color, simple shapes
By Johanna Spinks

The Start...Off and Running.

General Tips on Painting A General

Lieut. General Sir Harold Fawcus
Director of The British Red Cross
1876- 1947
By Johanna Spinks

Close-up...All those medals! Keep them simple.

Go for the structure. Thanks to Philip De Laszlo for always showing me the way.  John Singer Sargent too. I researched both men for their military portraits.

www.https://www.delaszloarchivetrust.com

Keep the paint fresh. This head was painted in two sittings.

Get the main details going before you ice the cake, i.e. paint all those details. Good photo reference. Do your homework. Look to the masters for inspiration. Study. Study.

A strong drawing start as the foundation and a nice warm ground to paint some good cools on top.

Painting A General

He seems to be flying off my portrait brush. Liet.-General Sir Harold Ben Fawcus, 1876-1947, former director of the British Red Cross and surgeon to the King. 

 Come back to see the portrait of Sir Fawcus finished. There are a lot of medals for me to paint!

And yes, there is certainly a touch of my Victorian portrait painting idol Philip De Laszlo in this. 

Sir Harold Ben Fawcus
By Johanna Spinks

Painting Greatness

Well, I start a new portrait today, among a few others I am working on. This is a special one for me and I dare to show my start. Don't call me crazy.

This is a posthumous portrait of Lieut. General Sir Harold Fawcus, 1876-1947, British Red Cross Director and Surgeon General to the King.

He had/has such a fine face, elegance of carriage,  and, goodness, all those medals reflecting his accomplishments. This is going to be quite something to paint. And I wish to do Sir Fawcus proud.

Interestingly enough, Sir Fawcus visited Los Angeles in 1934, my hometown. I can only imagine what he thought of it.

Please come back to see him finished.

What are you challenged and stimulated  by today?

Go take on the day.

Gratitudes
Johanna

The Start....Liet. Gen. Sir Harold Fawcus
By Johanna Spinks

Dazzling Philip De Laszlo

"Reed"
SOLD
Oil Portrait Sketch By Johanna Spinks
16x20
Copyright Johanna Spinks

I was thinking of my favorite Victorian portrait painter Philip De Laszlo this week when I painted this little's boy's portrait sketch...

I think of Mr. De Laszlo a lot when I paint. He and I go way back.

Please go here to see why I am crazy for this crazy talented man's work www.delaszloarchivetrust.com

The Queen Mom in her prime painted  by Philip De Laszlo

Mary, Countess of Dalkeith, wife of the future 8th Duke of Buccleuch in 1932, painted by De Laszlo. 

De Laszlo took over from John Singer Sargent when he got fed up painting swagger portraits. I think De Laszlo loved painting portraits. He lived for it.  I think Sargent, less so.

Here are some of the 'wonderments' so far of my De Laszlo dalliance.

* His mother had the same first name as me, Johanna.

* His third son Paul, later a lawyer,  went to Rugby School in England (yes, the game was invented there) where my dad used to be bursar of the school and my husband, his brother and HIS father went to school.

* I own De Laszlo's old National Gallery painting reference book, given to him by his niece for Xmas,  and authenticated by his private secretary on De Laszlo's death. It literally fell into my best girlfriend's hands in an old dusty Scottish book store. She knew of my De Laszlo dalliance and hastily bought it for me as a precious gift.

* I got the  invite of a lifetime for morning coffee to view two of De Laszlo's famous portraits in the private quarters of Glamis Castle by the newer day Lady Strathmore. The portraits, close to the lush living room, were of the previous Earl and Countess of Strathmore, a generation or so before. This castle also hosts, I believe,  De Laszlo's dazzling portrait of the young Queen Mother, pictured above, whose main residence Glamis became.  He also painted the present day Queen of England as a young girl who unfortunately described him recently "as an irritating little man" remembering the life sitting as a little girl. He was probably making her sit too long although he had the faciltiy to paint like lightening.

*This trip to Glamis Castle was the highlight of my De Laszlo journey so far. I pinched myself so hard having my private view in the castle of those paintings that I was cerulean blue for days.

* An old biography book I had bought off Ebay, now out of print and based on De Laszlo's memoirs, arrived signed by his son John as gift for someone else thanking them for the edit help of said book. What a surprise that was!

* De Laszlo and I stayed in the same hospital, St. Mary's in Paddington, U.K., me to give birth to my first child, him years earlier to recover from an illness caused by wrongful imprisonment during the First World War.

* The art spirits made it happen for me to visit a painting of his I have always loved in the White Bedroom at Drumlanrig Castle in Scoland of Mary, Countess of Dalkeith, wife of the future 8th Duke of Buccleuch in 1932. See above.

* I was thrilled when the current day Duke of Buccleuch, owner of said Delaszlo Mary painting, unveiled my portrait of Kip Forbes at the Metropolitan Club in 2010.

* Now I am just waiting for an original painting or sketch by Mr. Philip De Laszlo to fall into my arms.

And I KNOW IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.  A lot of De Laszlo's paintings have gone missing.

Sotheby's is on high alert!

Yard sales across the country are on stand by!

I'll keep you posted. You'll be the first to know.

SECOND KISS! Toni Czechorosky

I was lucky enough this week to have a second kiss! In life, one can never count on that. And when it is good, ahhh....then more kisses shall surely follow. Right?

Toni Czechorosky came back for a second sitting in my teaching class. Toni is a super soul and gorgeous. I have always felt we had a connection. I have painted her often, although not as well as I would have liked.

She speaks it as it is around the art day, art life, as do I. We are both a bit zanny. We are both nurturing of each other around the art day that we found ourselves in . I can count on Toni for that. The bathroom breaks are priceless. And socially, if we find ourselves at the same gathering, it is so lovely. WE just kinda know our groove.

I feel bad when I don't paint her well, even though she doesn't mind at all. AND has only gracious words to say around a bomb. That is the kinda gal she is. Classy. Not to mention, bringing in cookies to enhance the art mood.

TONI has been painted by every well known artist in Los Angeles and then some, over quite a few years. I asked her the other day: "How many paintings/sketches do you think have been done of you?" She did that cute up-curl of her lip, raise of her ever-so arched brow, and said in the most honest, humble way, that she had no idea.

WOW. Darlings...I wish I could be so modest in her shoes.

I decided to paint her again from the exact same spot, on a much smaller panel, choosing not to go further with the study the week before, trying to get, fresh from life, what I thought was lacking previously to my own art eye. Daring around a teaching class. Telling your students, I need a second kiss. The first didn't quite work out. Bad breath.

This was about an hour or so of painting. I felt in THE ZONE, around a teaching a class. I like what I got. Dare I go for a third kiss?

Juicy Fruits of Labor...

A horror teaching class demo is never a good thing. I left this one to dry as I raced out the door for a trip, wondering if I should first put a fist through it? Glad I didn't on my return today. Here's why.

I have been trying to get more transparency and fresh juicy 'clean' color in my life-painting work. I tend to work fast and thick which I enjoy. Easy when you make a mistake as you can just repaint over with more paint just like slapping layers of Max Factor pancake on an old movie star.

To do sheer well, using a dried ground for maximum effect, as well as keeping color really fresh, NOT GREYED DOWN, I find I am challenged to have to work with much more accuracy from the get go and a plan has to be more in place. The drawing also has to be there. No mishaps. Ha!

I seemed to be having every single mishap possible on the day of my teaching class including a mild sinus infection - just not feeling in the zone. The distractions of teaching. But I battled on, furiously muttering to myself. I just wanted to wipe it off.

I have studied old master Philip De Laszlo for quite a while now and have been very lucky to have been shown some 'up, close and personal' royal portraits of his, not on public display. One outing was a very special day for me I will never forget. To be in a Scottish Royal Castle's private quarters, over morning coffee with the "Lady" of the House, gazing at the De Laszlos in the living room, the reason for our visit. Ahhhh...I had to pinch myself. The royal coffee wasn't bad either but Brits. do tea better.

In my humble opinion, De Laszlo painted very fresh luminous skin tones with great vibrancy, portrait painting of skin as juicy as it gets. I think he got more luminosity in his skin than his famous portrait predecessor, John Singer Sargent. But, sssshhh. Don't quote me on that. Unlike some artists, de Laszlo has left quite a detailed interview and film footage of his approach/technique, along with an actual painting demo, all available here...http://www.delaszloarchivetrust.com/

The De Laszlo Archive Trust has been working hard to preserve his legacy and this site is a real treat.

I realized that while this study of mine has problems with the drawing and lack of any real 'feel', the skin looked really juicy and somehow transparent when I saw it again today with a fresh eye. Progress was made...my labor not in vain. Now to improve...

Good times in Charlotte, NC.

Well, after months of working on two large portraits for one corporate client, seeing the paintings shipped from your studio, praying they get there  (Airfloat Systems - the very best for art boxes!)  but you still never know. Fex Ex is great most of the time but I have also seen some boxes returned to me in terrible shape from competitions. I had one painting sent to the Royal Portrait Society in England lost in customs. No-one knew where it was...even with a tracking number! Numerous high anxiety transatlantic phone calls.

So it was a lovely moment to fly to Charlotte  a weekend or so ago and see these portraits unveiled in a delightful warm ceremony for the Reformed Theological Seminary, RTS, a group that trains ministers worldwide.

As I was sitting there at the unveiling surrounded by new friends I have made through the long process of making a portrait out of state, it reminded me of what an absolute privilege it is to be a portrait artist. To have someone place their trust in you to record an important person's time in place. I know it sounds cliched perhaps. But I take this honor very seriously. And it makes me feel humble actually.

I think of the greats that have gone before me, Sargent, de Lazlo, Rembrandt, et al, who  had many great unveiling's, more than I will ever have in my lifetime,  and SURELY, much better paintings than mine will ever be, but it is the same process we go through as a portrait artist today. A time-honored tradition that still exists. Ahhh.....pass the warm and fuzzies to me right now. A full plate of warm scones with lashings of Devonshire clotted cream

 But INCREDIBLE really when you think about it. We live in an age of fast-fix deliver, everything at the push of a computer Photoshop button. Great that this art form is still wanted, relevant, and appreciated.

It makes me want to work harder and get better. I will never be close to a Sargent or a  Rembrandt, or even modern masters Everett Raymond Kinstler, N.A., www.everettraymondkinstler.com and Jeremy Lipking,  www.jeremylipking,com, but I think I still take pride in this incredible art form that I am lucky to be part of.