Miscellany 2

Another Day in the Field

First, thanks to everyone who commented: to Matt Larson in the comments section, and to all those who sent an email. I appreciate your input---especially because, couched within your kind remarks, were all those nuanced suggestions that I shouldn't give up my day job.

Below is the current state. This photo is too yellow, and a bit blurry. But it's a slice of the the situation as of studio-leaving today.

As you can see, I followed some of the suggestions. There were others I might have followed had I the skill to do what you said. 

 

One of the basic things that raised its head was the quality of the flat, even light that I wanted for the painting. Here I am with Clausen again, and many of the British naturalists of the end of the 19th century.

What I sought was a dry, almost granular surface. This is very much at odds with the creamy, luscious surface of a lot of portrait painting.

Because it is out of doors, under even light, without sun, there are not strong shadows, and hence less modeling.

Here's a Clausen en plein air:

 

 

Sargent painted few plein air paintings that one would call portraits, but here's one. Notice how even, and unshadowed, is the light. Jacques-Emile Blanche, the sitter, was a successful portrait painter himself.

 

Here's an Emile Friant (French, 1863-1932) self-portrait, under flat gray light from a skylight. A favorite of mine.

I like the fellow outside on the street, craning his neck for a peek.

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Below is a tree drawing by Thomas Ehretsmann. Thomas is an illustrator, and follows the blog from his home in northeastern France.

Thomas won the Society of Illustrators (Los Angeles) Silver Award for 2013. In 2012, Thomas won the Gold Medal of The Society of

Illustrators. You can see more work by Thomas here.

Thomas has small children, and many deadlines, but we still hope he can find a way to join the French Workshop, in the Berry, next June.

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A first heads-up: I will be doing a long demo at the Newburyport Art Association's Sargent Gallery on Sunday, March 17th, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. The demonstration will be followed by brief crits of work that members of the audience have brought in (one painting per artist, please!)  An autographed copy of my new book, Donald Jurney: Selections from the French Sketchbook, will be given as a door prize.

For more information please visit the Art Association's workshop page.

For further information about the book, please click here.

You can now preview the entire book on the blurb site.

For those for whom English is not a first language, please notice that there is now a Google Translate widget at the top of the blog, on the right. It might be helpful in sorting out some of what I've written.

 

And last but not least, we've had another sign-up for the Savannah workshop, beginning in about 10 days. You may still come along if you're quick about it.

 

 

Aidez-moi, s.v.p.!

Help!

Those of you who read last night's post have seen the strange painting begun under the influence of Clausen and Bastien-Lepage.

You may recall that my point was that we should each place ourselves way out of our comfort zone from time to time. For me, that means portraits and figures. So I essayed a figure in a landscape, one with a high horizon. 

I mostly embarrassed myself, but I think it got a bit better today.

Nonetheless, I need some help from the portrait painters among you. I promise to reciprocate when you have problems with a meadow---honest.

Anyway, the 18 year-old "made up" young man is coming along...sort of. He seems to have come to rest somewhere between 1930's American Regionalism
and a Pre-Raphaelite sensibility. And all I had wanted was George Clausen's honesty. 

Here's a detail, with the boy's noggin, as it was when I headed home tonight (about half-size).

 

As it turns out it's very soft, but that rather fits with the idealized sense I have of the painting and with the rather palpable innocence of the young man.

So I beseech the portrait painters among you to come to my aid. While 

keeping the feeling, what should I do? Because the whole process is so terrifying for me, I get very timid about corrections (needed though they be). So I need you to tell me in no uncertain terms.

And, like I said, if you need help with a brook or a mountainside, I'm here to help.
 

Thanks.

 

For the longest time---despite the fact that I couldn't paint a portrait, or a figure---I wanted to paint like Sargent. I wanted that luscious swoop of a loaded brush, conquering all before it. I wanted the sureness and the bravado, and the whole alchemy of his technique. 

I never really tried to paint in Sargent's manner (aside from anything else I couldn't afford all that paint), but I'm sure I secretly believed that JSS, or Zorn, or Sorolla was lurking within me,  just waiting for me to liberate him.

It took me many years to realize that I painted best when I was most true to myself. That meant in terms of both subject and technique. As much as I might admire the bravura stroke, it's not part of my personality.

It's a hard lesson to learn, this realizing that maybe you aren't going to be a giant, that you won't be the John Sargent of your time.

But look at it another way. Sargent became Sargent by being true to himself. Perhaps Sargent pined to be John Kensett or Ingres, but found the goal at odds with his own temperament.

Thus do we all hope to find that particular marriage between our temperament and our talent.

Remember that your best work will be found where they converge.