tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31245025848678981232024-03-13T17:04:42.200-07:00VanDerHoek ArtKim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-90917935261581198072019-05-06T12:30:00.000-07:002019-05-08T08:48:38.299-07:00Beware of Anyone Trying to Sell You Magic Beans - Why Artists Should Be Careful About Spending Money on Art Marketing Courses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IrawkjKsXOs/XLqrwM_XVuI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/s1QR49jJVn8JHqw3aX06yQtCN4Nne7K8ACLcBGAs/s1600/BD32E89F-62B8-4630-A15A-5A1987265936.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="960" height="496" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IrawkjKsXOs/XLqrwM_XVuI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/s1QR49jJVn8JHqw3aX06yQtCN4Nne7K8ACLcBGAs/s640/BD32E89F-62B8-4630-A15A-5A1987265936.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“Key Bridge Arches” oil on 11” x 14” panel. Sold.</td></tr>
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The super hot thing being sold to artists these days is a promise. For “X” amount of money different people are promising to give you all the answers to unlocking a super-successful, get rich, live in a giant mansion on a hilltop answer to being financially successful as an artist.<br />
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While many of these courses and DVDs do contain solid, actionable content you can use to benefit your career, none of them have the quick, easy answer everyone is desperately searching for.<br />
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NONE. OF. THEM.<br />
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It doesn’t matter who they are, what their background is or how well known they are in the art community. Please know, I’m not knocking anyone who provides good content at a reasonable price but, I will say this, beware of anyone whose answer to that question is for you to spend a LOT more money with them, whether it’s through an ongoing online course or through advertising.<br />
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If you feel strongly that you need structured guidance in order to figure out some business practices then go for it, buy the DVD or course, but, I can tell you that most of what you’re looking for can be found online for free. You’ll have to do some digging and a lot of reading which will take more time but, it’s possible and it’s FREE.<br />
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So, why don’t these experts have the magic bean answers for you? Here’s why, everyone’s career path is as unique as their painting style and what works for one artist might not work for another. Also, everyone’s definition of success, whether financially speaking or not, is different.<br />
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Before you spend money on a course or DVD, ask yourself what success means for you. Be specific. Here are a few questions to get you started.<br />
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What do you want to get out of your art career?<br />
Do you want it to enable you to travel? <br />
Does your definition of successful include advancing your artistic development?<br />
Does it include being invited or juiried into national art shows or being represented by one or more galleries?<br />
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What does financial success look like to you and how important is it to <i>you</i> and <i>your</i> lifestyle?<br />
How much money annually would you like to make?<br />
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What does the job of being an artist mean in your day to day life? <br />
Does it mean a job with flexible hours so you can take care of a loved one?<br />
Does it include teaching what you know to others about creating art?<br />
How many pieces of art does a successful artist produce, per week, per month, per year? <br />
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How important is recognition to you?<br />
Does being respected in the art community by your peers matter to you?<br />
Is being recognized by winning awards for your artistic skill important to you?<br />
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There are a dozen other questions I could pose to you but you get the idea. Every artist's life is unique, because of that <i>your</i> definition of success will be unique.<br />
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Think about it, write it down even, because knowing what you want will help you make decisions that are right for <i>you</i> and <i>your</i> life, not someone else’s. Knowing these things will help you steer your course when difficult questions and opportunities arise along the way. <br />
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If you’re still on the fence, I’ll give you the super-simple recipe for art career success completely FREE of charge.<br />
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1. Make art.<br />
2. Make more art.<br />
3. Make art when you don’t feel like it.<br />
4. Make art when you’re questioning whether or not your any good at making art.<br />
5. Present yourself and your work in a professional manner.<br />
6. Build relationships with your collectors and fans. <br />
7. Be humble. Be kind. Don’t be a jerk because the art community is <i>small</i>.<br />
8. Believe in yourself, believe more than anyone else does. <br />
9. Celebrate your successes and learn from your setbacks.<br />
10. Thank your family and friends for being there. <br />
11. When you experience rejection, turn it around and let it light a fire within you.<br />
12. Believe that what you do has value.<br />
13. Protect your time in the studio at all costs.<br />
14. Breathe. Play. Enjoy the process.<br />
15. Know what tax deductions you can take.<br />
16. Do <i>your</i> thing, don't worry about what everyone else is doing.<br />
17. Look for the answers yourself, don't expect anyone to hand them to you.<br />
18. Be brave and develop a thick skin.<br />
19. Show up to work. All. The. Time.<br />
20. Remember how <i>you</i> define success.</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-77413474291150885642019-04-30T09:19:00.000-07:002019-05-08T08:47:39.309-07:00Why Aren’t You Marketing Your Art On Instagram? Why Artists Should be Using Instagram to Share Their Artwork<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7hr9akWwDxU/XLnvnjLXNWI/AAAAAAAAC2E/MTbBAWRL8PMypx4MDq1K_DChSD_r_caewCLcBGAs/s1600/DC31C8D3-B6FE-413F-B973-D2126DB5406B.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1267" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7hr9akWwDxU/XLnvnjLXNWI/AAAAAAAAC2E/MTbBAWRL8PMypx4MDq1K_DChSD_r_caewCLcBGAs/s640/DC31C8D3-B6FE-413F-B973-D2126DB5406B.jpeg" width="505" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“Up and Coming” oil on 20” x 16” panel. Sold.</td></tr>
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Why aren't you on Instagram? I know what you're going to say, you’re on Facebook and don’t have time to manage another social media platform, plus, you’re not really sure how it works. Instagram however, is the ideal social media platform for artists to use to market their artwork and it's completely free.<br />
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Before you write off Instagram let me ask you this, how often have you logged onto Facebook and been frustrated by all the junky, time-devouring, click-bait content you see there? How often have you thought, “Where’s the art?”<br />
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Unfortunately, Facebook has become the social media equivalent of a garage sale. With everyone sharing everything from what their having for dinner, to who they’re voting for, cats, cats, cats and occasionally a funny video that sucks more time out of your day. I’m not saying none of this happens on Instagram, but, by the very nature of the platform what is shared is limited.<br />
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Instagram is visual, highly visual. The platform is set up to share photos and short videos from the person who created the content. It’s not as easy to share videos or images that were created by someone else, which means fewer bits of junk surface in your newsfeed.<br />
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Most users understand that it is a visual platform and they focus on creating beautiful photos to share. Which makes Instagram is an ideal place to share your artwork and what you do with your followers. In fact, the better you get at using it the more Instagram will share your content with others and the more followers you’ll gain.<br />
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For example right now I’ve got 12,700 followers on Instagram. On Facebook I have 3,200 on my personal account and 4,100 on my business page and I’ve been on Facebook for many years more than Instagram.<br />
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Like I mentioned earlier, Instagram is a highly visual platform and as such it rewards strong content by boosting it higher in everyone‘s newsfeed. The more you curate your page and treat it like a beautiful art portfolio the better off you’ll be. Additionally, the platform loves video content and the more you share in InstaStories, Live TV or short video clips the more Instagram will push your content to your followers and beyond.<br />
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Here’s another example - recently I shared a time lapse video of the start of a new painting of mine. On Facebook it’s been viewed 806 times, on Instagram it’s been viewed 2,800 times and counting. You know what? That’s not even my highest viewed video! One of my videos has been viewed over 8,000 times. That's not even considered a high view count for Instagram! I follow other artists who have shared videos and gotten view counts in the tens of thousands.<br />
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The difference I believe is this, Facebook is overloaded with content so, searching for what you’re interested in is difficult and the way the app. is designed means that your content has a very short lifespan, whereas on Instagram, anyone following you or visiting your page has easy access to all your content and therefore your content has a much longer lifespan.<br />
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Why join, what will it get you? While I can’t answer that because it's different for everyone I can tell you that I’ve had a number of opportunities come my way because of Instagram - gallery representation, magazine features, new business contacts, free marketing from other Instagrammers with larger accounts which increase the number of followers I have, sales, new students and more.<br />
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It really is the ideal social media platform to share your work with the world. Keep in mind though that building a following will take time. You need to post regularly, ALWAYS use hashtags, ALWAYS use hashtags (have I mentioned using HASHTAGS?) and be social. It's called social media for a reason. That means commenting on other's posts, following them and thanking them when they leave a comment on yours. Yes, I know it’s time-consuming, but it’s also polite, it shows your followers you’re reading the comments they take time to leave you, it builds relationships with your audience (people love to buy art from someone they know) and Instgram’s algorithm will reward you by showing your post to more people. Instagram rewards engagement and the more you engage with your audience the better.<br />
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Will you sell tons of art on it? Probably not (though I have seen some artists sell really well there) or at least it won't happen right away. It's not the magic bullet answer for sales, nothing out there is. It will help you promote your name though and bring other opportunities your way plus, it's free, completely and utterly FREE marketing.<br />
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So go, create your account. Use your real name. Don't set your account to be a private account. Fill out your profile information, use a photo of your face (not a logo because people want to engage with YOU not your font), post photos of your art (not random bits from your life) and include a link to your website if you have one.<br />
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You'll be amazed at the new worlds you'll find on there! I've found things I didn't even know were a thing - and if you want to know what I'm talking about then the next time you're on Instagram do a search by the hashtag - #soapcutting. Watch out though, it’s highly addictive.<br />
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If you want to to follow me on Instagram look me up @kim_vanderhoek<br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-54435054988026959482019-04-07T12:00:00.000-07:002019-04-07T12:00:08.337-07:00What to do when you don’t know what to do next - in your painting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kaq7Kuz5FlY/XKknklvsabI/AAAAAAAAC0k/wzPB8RSoKb0MX8Uv3an4-Fz8GJ4PFOoAQCLcBGAs/s1600/9E6F07E9-ACB0-4481-909B-5A92424DB7A7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kaq7Kuz5FlY/XKknklvsabI/AAAAAAAAC0k/wzPB8RSoKb0MX8Uv3an4-Fz8GJ4PFOoAQCLcBGAs/s640/9E6F07E9-ACB0-4481-909B-5A92424DB7A7.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“Burning Bright” oil on 24” x 36” panel. Available at <a href="http://www.principlegallery.com/alexandria/artists-page?field_artist_target_id=7431&nid=7431" target="_blank">Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA</a></td></tr>
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<br />
There comes a point in every painting when you don’t know what to do next. You feel your painting isn’t finished, not by a long shot, but, you don’t know exactly what it needs in order for it to be complete. The answer is often within the painting itself and if you listen carefully it will tell you what it needs.<br />
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Unfortunately, many artists try to solve this riddle by searcing for the answer in their reference material, scouring every detail in hopes of finding “the thing” that’s missing. But, as much as the reference has to say it often lies because what works in a small study, a drawing or a photo won’t necessarily work in a painting.<br />
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I’ve watched students struggle because they’ve fallen in love with some detail in their reference and yet, when they add it to their painting it doesn’t work. At this point it’s critical to stop looking at your reference and start looking at your painting.<br />
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If you need to see it with a fresh eye, then step back, step WAY back, take a break, use a mirror and look at it over your shoulder or, my personal favorite, turn it upside down. Then ask yourself the following -<br />
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What do you think your painting needs in order for it to be better?<br />
What is working?<br />
What isn’t working and how can you improve it?<br />
Is there a design problem?<br />
Is there a drawing problem?<br />
Are the values working?<br />
Does one area seem divorced from everything else?<br />
Is there a focal point and if so is anything distracting from that?<br />
Have you divided your canvas into equal quadrants?<br />
Have you created any visual lines cutting your painting into sections?<br />
Do you have any convergent lines that are a distraction?<br />
Do you have a hierarchy of shapes?<br />
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Look at each section and ask those questions, often something will reveal itself.<br />
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Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have the answer right away, it may take some time. Remember, many of the world’s best artists spent years working on some of their paintings. The answer is in there, I promise, you just have to listen and trust that you can find it. I believe in you.</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-31572414613143918632018-01-23T19:31:00.002-08:002018-01-30T14:52:09.918-08:00Tip Tuesday - How to Break Up With Your Photo Reference<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jX9CleCtUOA/Wmfyk2gO-2I/AAAAAAAACwg/zRBlACicmB4ncuW4fidGUBMCKu8VmbAPQCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2BMaze%2B2%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="1200" height="393" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jX9CleCtUOA/Wmfyk2gO-2I/AAAAAAAACwg/zRBlACicmB4ncuW4fidGUBMCKu8VmbAPQCLcBGAs/s400/The%2BMaze%2B2%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Maze" Oil on 24" x 24" panel. Sold.</td></tr>
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You found it, it's perfect, that scene, vista, photo - is a joy to behold, so surely it would make an awesome painting, right?<br />
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Before you pick up that paintbrush ask yourself a few questions.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbyXfBfSjIw/WmlCkHiWw8I/AAAAAAAACxA/kusk7GWsgcoEhuVUxNqBrc9VEVRIwgpJgCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2BMaze%2BDetail%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbyXfBfSjIw/WmlCkHiWw8I/AAAAAAAACxA/kusk7GWsgcoEhuVUxNqBrc9VEVRIwgpJgCLcBGAs/s320/The%2BMaze%2BDetail%2B1.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail 1 </td></tr>
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1) Where is the light source?<br />
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2) Where is the horizon located?<br />
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3) Is there a hierarchy of shapes?<br />
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4) What do the negative shapes look like?<br />
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5) How much do you love the local color?<br />
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Aw man...but, you really want to paint right now and worry about all that boring stuff later because maybe, this time magic will pour from your brush and a beautiful painting will emerge right?<br />
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Um yeah, you might want to rethink that last bit because unfortunately, beautiful paintings don't just happen. They require thought, planning, lots of decision making and even some luck.<br />
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Before I start a new piece I ask myself all of the above questions and more. I try to identify problem areas and deal with them in the planning stages instead of when I'm knee deep into the painting process. It makes painting a lot more enjoyable and sets me up for success in the early stages (besides, I'm sure to make a mess of things later anyway).<br />
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What should you look for?<br />
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1) Know which direction the light is coming from and stick to that plan especially when painting outside. There will be times where you'll find that knowing which direction the light is coming from will help you render the form of a tree or building that you don't have a clear view of. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9DJArkYM9kg/WmlD0nx5l0I/AAAAAAAACxM/TNoiw2JDVJIzIqlOTKnadPD837pGdoSbgCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2BMaze%2BDetail%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9DJArkYM9kg/WmlD0nx5l0I/AAAAAAAACxM/TNoiw2JDVJIzIqlOTKnadPD837pGdoSbgCLcBGAs/s320/The%2BMaze%2BDetail%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u>Detail 2</u></span></td></tr>
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2) The horizon, or any large shape for that matter, should not divide the canvas into equal halves or thirds. Equal divisions in a painting will diminish the emphasis on your focal point. If the sky/land/city is the most important part of your painting then give it the real estate it deserves.<br />
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3) There needs to be a dominant shape in a painting. If you give equal emphasis to every object in terms of size and spacing then once again, your main idea will be sacrificed as a result.<br />
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4) Yes, those flowers/buildings/trees are a lovely shape but, what do the spaces between things look like? As with positive shapes, negative shapes should also have a hierarchy and follow similar guidelines in terms of size and spacing. It's really easy to be dazzled by the positive shapes in a scene and completely ignore what the negative shapes are doing, and they are just as important.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G8UaFU6zA14/WmlFvDWzLuI/AAAAAAAACxY/-e3JLn6gZksFtYUOk7vA_gAAkVTcOWfRQCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2BMaze%2BSketch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1542" data-original-width="1600" height="307" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G8UaFU6zA14/WmlFvDWzLuI/AAAAAAAACxY/-e3JLn6gZksFtYUOk7vA_gAAkVTcOWfRQCLcBGAs/s320/The%2BMaze%2BSketch.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Value and Composition Sketch</td></tr>
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5) So yeah, it's a beautiful view/still life/figure/whatever, but, do the color relationships work? Do they help emphasize the main idea of your painting? Maybe it would be better if you used your own palette of colors and only used the subject as a guide for value and shape relationships.<br />
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My point today is this - before you go in front of the justice of the peace and find yourself eternally chained to your reference - think. Remember, no one will see the reference you used when they view your painting. So get creative, don't be a slave to your reference, that's your job as an artist, to push beyond what is in front of you. Besides, you might be surprised by the results. <br />
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Believe it or not, the painting above did not match the scene I was looking at when I painted it. The view I was seeing was very bright and had a full range of local colors. I made the conscious decision to abandon the existing color and only use the view as a reference for shapes and values. In the end, it made for a much stronger statement.<br />
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Happy painting!</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-67975615059836159062017-12-03T17:21:00.001-08:002018-01-28T14:58:39.488-08:00Living on the Edge - Why Edge Work is an Important Component in Creating Successful Painting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6jgE1_es_g/WNwJ66iIFpI/AAAAAAAACu8/53jbPn9ilnQv7XDMKUdfi9vjslC88cHnwCLcB/s1600/7th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflection%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6jgE1_es_g/WNwJ66iIFpI/AAAAAAAACu8/53jbPn9ilnQv7XDMKUdfi9vjslC88cHnwCLcB/s400/7th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflection%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"7th Street Reflection" oil on 16" x 20" panel.</td></tr>
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When I was a student I had a teacher tell me I was too caught up in painting "things." Unfortunately, he didn't stick around to explain his statement and it took me years to figure out what he was trying to tell me. Now I understand what he meant. He was talking about how I would loose sight of how every component of the painting process was working together because I was too caught up with making a tree look like a tree, a rock look like a rock and so on. One issue in particular that plagued me was edges. Carefully painted, precious edges. Untouched pristine edges. Boringly similar edges everywhere.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iWkcdzojFx0/Wm5VIMBUd7I/AAAAAAAACyk/QxPZRq6B0vEM1z5ME7IL9bzQBnJgFqETgCLcBGAs/s1600/7th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflection%2BDetail%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="849" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iWkcdzojFx0/Wm5VIMBUd7I/AAAAAAAACyk/QxPZRq6B0vEM1z5ME7IL9bzQBnJgFqETgCLcBGAs/s320/7th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflection%2BDetail%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u>Detail</u></span></td></tr>
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Placing two vastly different colors side by side can be intimidating. Questions run through your mind. Will these colors work together? Are they the right temperature? Is the value light or dark enough?<br />
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With all these questions running through your mind you begin to carefully fill in the empty space barely allowing one color to touch it's neighboring color. Then you evaluate and adjust and continue questioning your decisions. <br />
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You can get so caught up in this process that it's easy to completely forget about edges. As a result, the painting looks labored over, lacking life, a focal point, expression and joy (yeah, I know I said joy which sounds all warm and fuzzy, but it's true). <br />
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What should you do at this point? Well, if you're happy with how it looks then leave it alone, it is your painting after all. For myself, I'm never entirely happy with my paintings and this unhappiness I've since learned is a wonderful part of the painting process that helps spur me into action. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tkHhEyCh4F4/Wm5VdVppjyI/AAAAAAAACyo/kHENyTZRwQQU5mqGT-HXkZUVJI6atfTkACLcBGAs/s1600/7th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflection%2BDetail%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="849" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tkHhEyCh4F4/Wm5VdVppjyI/AAAAAAAACyo/kHENyTZRwQQU5mqGT-HXkZUVJI6atfTkACLcBGAs/s320/7th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflection%2BDetail%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail</td></tr>
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If you find yourself unsatisfied with your edges but intimidated by the thought of changing them because you're afraid of ruining your work, then I'd suggest softening or breaking up your edges that aren't in a focal area. Try softening colors that are side by side near the edges of your canvas first, it will be less intimidating. Then move inward closer to your focal point. Keep some hard edges in your focal area because they draw the eye to them. When you're done softening, take a look at the overall painting and put back any hard edges you feel the painting needs that you may have removed.<br />
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I like to flip my canvas upside down at this point, walk a few feet away and evaluate the edge relationships before I continue working.<br />
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Clouds, reflections, distant mountains and anything in the distance, can all benefit from soft or broken edges. If you're feeling really daring, see how far you can take it and break up most of the edges, you might be surprised at how much you can get away with and how much life has returned to your painting simply because you manipulated the edges.<br />
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Now go, paint on the edge!</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-68085709697431438842017-05-29T13:24:00.000-07:002018-01-29T12:44:05.516-08:00Tip Tuesday - Do you know how to create beautifully colorful muddy paint mixtures?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XIAbf0rM_m0/Wm5Q1UdbR9I/AAAAAAAACyY/T2ULIm1kv4cTQnM0F0vXGyPtCbqzu8oMgCLcBGAs/s1600/Table%2BSet%2BFor%2BTwo%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XIAbf0rM_m0/Wm5Q1UdbR9I/AAAAAAAACyY/T2ULIm1kv4cTQnM0F0vXGyPtCbqzu8oMgCLcBGAs/s400/Table%2BSet%2BFor%2BTwo%2BSM.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Table Set for Two" Oil on 24" x 18" panel. Sold.</td></tr>
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Attention grabbing, look-at-me color certainly has it's place in a painting, but, when every hue demands equal attention, it can feel like you're staring into the sun and must look away quickly to avoid having an after image of the painting imprinted on the inside of your eyelids. Muddy color, when used appropriately, can enhance the overall statement in your painting. <br />
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If you're a color junkie, and I speak from experience here, then I highly suggest you explore what muddy color can do to enhance your painting.<br />
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In a previous post I covered why you shouldn't use black to darken your paint mixtures and that same lesson applies when muddying a color. Black will certainly tone down that bold overly-brilliant hue but, you run the risk of all your grayed down mixtures appearing to have the same color cast which, in turn, will flatten out any illusion of depth you've worked so hard to create.<br />
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Instead, try mixing a complimentary color into the paint mixture you're trying to gray down. For example, if you've got a brilliant green tone it down with a touch of red, for purple add yellow and for orange add blue and vice versa. You will end up with a less vibrant and saturated hue that still maintains some color integrity.<br />
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Which reds, yellows, blues etc. should you use? That all depends on your palette, your subject and what you're trying to achieve. I'll cover pieces of this in future posts because honestly, this topic could easily be a whole class on color theory.<br />
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Now that you know how to do it, why on earth would you want to gray down all that scrumptious color? Mud, or gray, when used correctly, can make the pure hues in your painting appear very vibrant. Additionally, when used strategically and in the correct value, mud can enhance your focal point when used in the periphery.<br />
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Color gets all the glory, but, value does all the work in a painting. Embrace the mud my friends and paint on!</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-12058256300751064302017-05-01T12:38:00.000-07:002017-07-25T16:51:08.733-07:00Tip Tuesday - Slinging Mud<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z31CqBny0I8/WNQisiSvrHI/AAAAAAAACuY/pwdXfQa7XXolUsRfntAzVqeFq6Y_EgZzwCLcB/s1600/Colorful%2BVineyard%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z31CqBny0I8/WNQisiSvrHI/AAAAAAAACuY/pwdXfQa7XXolUsRfntAzVqeFq6Y_EgZzwCLcB/s400/Colorful%2BVineyard%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Colorful Vineyard" Oil on 8" x 8" panel. Sold.</td></tr>
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The last <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/blog/119538/tip-tuesday-back-to-black" target="_blank">3 <i>Tip Tuesday's</i></a> have been about mixing paint and in keeping with that same theme today I'll talk about muddy color.<br />
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Everyone's experienced this - it's a beautiful day, life is good because you're painting after all, what could possibly go wrong? You've got a solid composition, a lovely subject and your first few paint colors are really working. Then it happens, there is that one tricky color. You know, that elusive one that you just can't seem to nail down? You started off pretty good, two colors got you in the ballpark so you added a third and you suspect that's where you might have made a wrong turn. You think, maybe if you added a fourth color you could save that precious pile of paint and actually apply it to your canvas?<br />
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Bam! Mud. Gray, nondescript, boring old mud. You can't use it anywhere! And what's worse, you now have a big pile of it. At this point, I see a lot of students try one more time to save the pile by adding yet another color.<br />
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Let it go. Move on. Like a toxic relationship, dump it because if you press on and use the mud it will pollute the whole painting.<br />
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Now, I'm not saying there aren't any uses for mud, there are a million and plenty of painters use it to their advantage. If you're wrestling with mud however (now there's a funny mental image), try to keep your paint mixtures simple. Stick to using 2-3 colors only (plus white when necessary). Any more colors than that and you run the risk of muddying the mixture.<br />
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Now that I've covered how to avoid mud, in the next post I'll talk about how to effectively muddy a color and why you would want to do that. </div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-84352333224132865522017-04-18T12:06:00.000-07:002017-07-25T16:50:43.544-07:00Tip Tuesday - Back to Black<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NraGg42xGfk/WNQbt4W6LMI/AAAAAAAACuI/fk9POs2jj6o2sZ4uDA6FFOTXtdABIcRMgCLcB/s1600/Night%2BRide%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NraGg42xGfk/WNQbt4W6LMI/AAAAAAAACuI/fk9POs2jj6o2sZ4uDA6FFOTXtdABIcRMgCLcB/s400/Night%2BRide%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Night Ride" Oil on 9" x 12" Arches Oil Paper. Sold.</td></tr>
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Last <a href="http://vanderhoekart.blogspot.com/2017/03/tip-tuesday-do-your-paintings-look.html" target="_blank"><i>Tip Tuesday</i></a> I talked about how to break the white addiction, in all fairness this week I'm going <i>back to black</i>, as Amy Winehouse might say.<br />
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Do your darks look lifeless? When creating a shadow color are you adding black to darken the value? Black can kill the hue in your paint mixtures. Which is fine if that's a deliberate choice, but if you're simply looking to darken a color try using something besides black such as Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Dioxizine Purple, Pthalo Blue or a combination of these.<br />
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Black is a color. This might seem like and obvious statement but black is often misused and like a rebellious child, it is often misunderstood. <br />
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Unless you're using a truly neutral black, like Gambin's Chromatic black, then you should treat black as you would any other color on your palette. First figure out which way your black leans, is it warm or cool? For example, Mars black tints warmer than Ivory black. This is important if you want to be able to figure out where and when to use it.<br />
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Mars black is always on my palette. As a landscape painter I find it incredibly useful when mixing greens. It's a good shortcut to get to gray quickly, however, I usually add additional colors to it because gray in a landscape is rarely neutral.<br />
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While it's always on my palette, it is one of the few colors I feel is optional. So if you struggle with lifeless dark values or grays, try adding other colors to it or leave it off your palette until you have more experience mixing color.</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-60931785429468156702017-03-28T13:30:00.000-07:002017-03-28T15:59:07.197-07:00Tip Tuesday - Do Your Paintings Look Chalky?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H5nQhwDViVg/WNMSP_QD-aI/AAAAAAAACtk/ZMUYxP3jAuYFhhL6klKMSAs8kk8Qkoc4gCLcB/s1600/Garden%2BPath%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H5nQhwDViVg/WNMSP_QD-aI/AAAAAAAACtk/ZMUYxP3jAuYFhhL6klKMSAs8kk8Qkoc4gCLcB/s400/Garden%2BPath%2BSM.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Garden Path" Oil on 8" x 6" panel</td></tr>
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Call it what you like - titanium, flake, zinc, radiant - it's a paint tube that every artist shudders at the thought of painting without. It's addictive, need to lighten a color? Add white. Not light enough? Add just a bit more. Still not quite capturing that light? Well, you get the idea.<br />
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White can be so addictive in fact that some paintings look like a dirty chalkboard eraser was used on top of them. Sadly, all that bright, vibrant and expensive (paint doesn't grow on trees) color is lost and the painting looses it's impact.<br />
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How do you correct this problem? I hope you like turkey because you're going to need a cold dose of it.<br />
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Paint without white. There, I said it. Go grab yourself a glass of wine and continue reading when you have fortified yourself.<br />
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Obviously, you can't give up painting without white forever but try it for a while and see how far you can get using other colors to lighten your paint mixtures. You'll be surprised at how far various yellows will take you. The bonus is you will also discover color mixtures you never would have tried if you had white on your palette.<br />
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Have I done this? Yes, I painted without white for 3 months and I make my students paint without it at least once a year. <br />
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The piece above was created entirely without white, my students can vouch for me because it was a class demonstration painting.<br />
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Paint on my friends (without white - at least for this week)!</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-8014561678687780352017-03-22T17:02:00.001-07:002017-03-22T17:02:19.324-07:00Does Drawing Matter in a Loose Painting?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5T-ByMATcJk/WNL7q2_LxuI/AAAAAAAACtU/izCS-DnVDUcym90hgu0-gaD3GMrxJWaGgCEw/s1600/The%2BChannel%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5T-ByMATcJk/WNL7q2_LxuI/AAAAAAAACtU/izCS-DnVDUcym90hgu0-gaD3GMrxJWaGgCEw/s400/The%2BChannel%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Channel" Oil on 16" x 20" panel</td></tr>
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When teaching I've been asked if a painter can hide the fact that they can't draw if they paint really loosely. Immediately an image of a magician doing a card trick pops into my head as I imagine how a painter might employ that same type of visual slight of hand.<br />
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The student asking the question is usually disappointed with my answer and they then proceed to try to prove me wrong my slapping as much paint as possible onto their canvas.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_fUUQb76EE/WNL7pRvDpvI/AAAAAAAACtI/kWjQGYMVDwUcLeUyFEFu53jSQMOMCLG6ACEw/s1600/The%2BChannel%2BDetail%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_fUUQb76EE/WNL7pRvDpvI/AAAAAAAACtI/kWjQGYMVDwUcLeUyFEFu53jSQMOMCLG6ACEw/s320/The%2BChannel%2BDetail%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail 1</td></tr>
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What do I tell my class when this question comes up? No, you can't hide a weak drawing by painting loosely.<br />
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The structural framework of a piece is absolutely critical even in a painterly painting. The best artists are the ones who know which edges they can obliterate and which edges are important to keep intact so that the form is readable to the viewer. Nicolai Fechin was a master at painting both loosely and accurately.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RUqxT1sUXtE/WNL7pR67B-I/AAAAAAAACtI/8uKsLQFCqfIzygvR-pSSVEeA_RG4S7vWACEw/s1600/The%2BChannel%2BDetail%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RUqxT1sUXtE/WNL7pR67B-I/AAAAAAAACtI/8uKsLQFCqfIzygvR-pSSVEeA_RG4S7vWACEw/s320/The%2BChannel%2BDetail%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail 2</td></tr>
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So, if you're an artist, draw. All of us need to draw more (myself included).<br />
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While I'm not the most painterly painter around I've been pushing into that territory a bit more with my Los Angeles River Bridge series. The painting above was inspired by the small plein air painting below.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YSGZdprgGFc/WNMO9cS9wVI/AAAAAAAACtY/Q0kgqXbUxfcwPIPRzGopHOvKuv-_ppo7gCLcB/s1600/LA%2BRiver%2BBridge%2BNAP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YSGZdprgGFc/WNMO9cS9wVI/AAAAAAAACtY/Q0kgqXbUxfcwPIPRzGopHOvKuv-_ppo7gCLcB/s400/LA%2BRiver%2BBridge%2BNAP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"L.A. River Bridge" Oil on 9" x 12" panel</td></tr>
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-82826057806940801802016-09-13T12:08:00.001-07:002016-09-13T12:08:32.720-07:00A Special Invitation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LUi3HiTcbgM/V9hLE5N5c6I/AAAAAAAACpo/Jq02s1Cqerk0JCoR0ItkcRyWQkictNA3QCLcB/s1600/Interconnection%2BNo.%2B3%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LUi3HiTcbgM/V9hLE5N5c6I/AAAAAAAACpo/Jq02s1Cqerk0JCoR0ItkcRyWQkictNA3QCLcB/s400/Interconnection%2BNo.%2B3%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Interconnection No. 3"</td></tr>
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<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>New Artwork Preview and Painting Demonstration </b></span><div style="text-align: left;">
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You are invited to a special artwork viewing and painting demonstration this Saturday, September 17, 2016 where I will create an abstracted landscape from start to finish. </div>
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On view will be new, never shown before works on paper, panel and canvas. </div>
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I won't be holding a studio sale this year so, don't wait to snap up that special painting. *Hint - the paintings on paper have been extremely popular.* If you are outside the area call Chemers Gallery to make a purchase.</div>
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<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Now through September 17th enjoy 20% off of my artwork in the gallery!</span><br /> <br />When: Saturday, September 17, 2016 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. </b></span><div style="text-align: left;">
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<b>Location: Chemers Gallery</b></div>
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17300 Seventeenth St. Suite G</div>
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Tustin, CA</div>
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In the Enderle Center</div>
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<b>Phone: </b></div>
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(714) 731-5432</div>
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<br /><b>Website: </b></div>
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<a href="http://www.chemersgallery.com/artist-art/?at=KIMVANDERHOEK&utm_source=Kim+VanDerHoek+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0f5f2faadc-Two+Special+Invitations&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1403c02c71-0f5f2faadc-&ct=t%28Two_Special_Invitations_9_13_2016%29&mc_cid=0f5f2faadc&mc_eid=[UNIQID]">www.ChemersGallery.com</a></div>
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-38596194352609644372016-09-01T13:00:00.000-07:002016-09-01T13:00:10.876-07:00The Power of Destruction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Perfection. The word brings to mind overly manicured gardens at historic French villas, straight lines that you're not allowed to color outside of and predictability.<br />
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Some painters strive for perfection. I imagine they are the ones who painstakingly recreate every detail of a subject using tiny paintbrushes with 3 bristles on the end. They spend months duplicating what a camera can capture in seconds. Their audience praises their work by exclaiming,"That looks exactly like a photograph!"<br />
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When you are learning to paint you struggle for years just trying to make your stuff look like stuff. You spend time trying not to make mistakes, hoping you're doing it right and figuring out how to make your stuff look darn good. <br />
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One day it dawns on you that your stuff actually looks like stuff! And then you spend a whole lot more time (a lifetime) trying to make your stuff look as amazing as possible.<br />
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This year a huge lesson I've learned is embracing destruction. Every studio painting I've worked on this year has almost been wiped entirely off the canvas. What seems to happen in this, I do some sketches and color studies, then I transfer my idea to a larger canvas, I block in all my big shapes and I passionately hate every inch of the painting.<br />
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The dark side of my brain whispers, "That's it, you lost it, you can't paint worth a damn anymore. Hang it up. Sell off your equipment and go back to work as a graphic designer."<br />
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Then my stomach reminds me that it's lunch time and I'm hungry. I get very hangry (that's hungry and angry mashed together in case you weren't aware) and tend to be negative until I'm fed. After eating I remember that I love painting, it's my compulsive obsession and I don't want to be a graphic designer again. So I take a look at the painting.<br />
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I still hate every inch. I plan on wiping it off first thing after dropping my kids off at school the next morning.<br />
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However, I refuse to let it be a complete loss. I plan to experiment with it before wiping it off just to see what I am able to learn by pushing paint around. More specifically, I plan to destroy parts of it by breaking edges, scraping away large areas with a palette knife, drawing on it with a pencil, slapping thick paint through passages where I see a sharp line and using tools can only be found at a home improvement store.<br />
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Why not, right? I was going to wipe it off anyway.<br />
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And that's when it happens - the interesting stuff, the stuff worth keeping, the stuff that makes the painting worth looking at, the fun stuff. The more risks I take the more interesting the painting becomes until eventually I don't hate it anymore and I don't plan on wiping it off anymore.<br />
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Now I embrace the opportunity for destruction. In fact, I look forward to it.<br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-69034354996222635322016-08-21T13:00:00.000-07:002016-08-27T17:51:46.614-07:00When Your Painting Fights Back<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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What no one sees when they look at a painting is the battle that occurred in order for it to turn out well enough for the artist to want to show it to anyone.<br />
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You wouldn't know it but this painting, which was a commission for the ACE Hotel in New Orleans, survived a war. In spite of careful planning doing pencil sketches and color studies this painting went through a big evolution.<br />
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It began with the tree trunk. In the first pass is was too wide and too straight. After narrowing it I began shading it to give it the 3D effect of a tree trunk. Every time I thought I had the trunk looking like a cylinder the colors would sink in (get darker) overnight. I'd return to the studio in the morning and face the fact that I needed to push the lights and darks even farther than I had during the previous painting session.<br />
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Just when I was at my wits end a couple of artist friends stopped over for coffee (Chai tea for me) and offered their thoughts. The shading still wasn't bold enough, the trunk didn't look like it had a twist (a hallmark of bayou trees) and the base of the tree was way too narrow.<br />
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After my friends left I attacked the trunk for the final time and managed to make all the adjustments needed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second pass on the awful clumps of Spanish Moss</td></tr>
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Battle won? Ha, I wish!<br />
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You know what? As a native of California I've never seen Spanish moss in real life. I've seen it on T.V. and in photos but, I've never been to the parts of the south where it grows much less painted it. My first pass was a complete disaster. The moss looked like heavy ropes of brownish hair. I had no idea what I was doing, no idea at all. It was a humbling experience.<br />
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Once again I reached out and texted a friend from the south some photos of my moss and proceeded to Google "paintings of Spanish moss." Seeing how other artists handled it helped. Then my southern friend got back to me and put her 2 cents in. She informed me that it must be silver/gray and stringy with movement to it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final version of the Spanish moss</td></tr>
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I tried again and again, each time was closer but it still didn't have the movement it needed. Finally, I decided to run my paintbrush through it using big bold arm movements and contrasting grays letting it get messy. Amazingly it worked. It looked like Spanish moss!<br />
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All that was left was to paint in some of the smaller branches and I was done.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished painting installed in the ACE Hotel</td></tr>
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Reading this it all sounds pretty simple after the fact, but resolving these problems required many hours over the course of two weeks. There were plenty of moments where I wasn't sure if I could pull it off at all. Thankfully, I have good friends with great insights who are happy to share and cheer me on. I'm grateful because in the painting war everyone needs allies. <br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-23586940376810253172016-06-23T14:30:00.000-07:002016-08-27T16:48:20.725-07:00What to Do When a Painting Won't Dry and You Have a Deadline<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double Panel Painting for the ACE Hotel</td></tr>
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Call Gamblin Artist Colors helpline. Too simple an answer, right?<br />
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If you've been reading my blog then I've been talking about a recent commission I completed for an interior
design firm. The commission was to paint 4 double panel paintings for
the new ACE Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was a dream job except for one thing - the deadline ... a really, really tight deadline.<br />
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I paint in oils and the beauty of working with oils is that they dry slowly which allows me to make lots of changes if I need to. That's usually a plus except for when there's a deadline - a tight deadline.<br />
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Solution - add a speed dryer to the paint. Which one though? There are plenty to choose from. I chose to use <a href="http://www.gamblincolors.com/oil-painting/mediums/contemporary-oil-painting-mediums/" target="_blank">Gamblin's Galkyd Lite</a> because it would speed the drying time to 24-30 hours and retain brushstrokes. Sounds ideal, right?<br />
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What I didn't plan on happening was a change in our normal dry, sunny Southern California weather. The month I was working on two sets of panels we experienced a cold snap accompanied by rain. We really need to rain and I was happy to see it however, I knew it would slow the drying time of the paintings. I just didn't know how much it would slow their drying time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oBJYnDy436Q/V0u0hWLNIII/AAAAAAAACm8/0q9pbLBeI1wFIz1AR6du685XzN3KqNAqACLcB/s1600/ACE%2BHotel%2BArmiore%2B4%2BPanel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oBJYnDy436Q/V0u0hWLNIII/AAAAAAAACm8/0q9pbLBeI1wFIz1AR6du685XzN3KqNAqACLcB/s320/ACE%2BHotel%2BArmiore%2B4%2BPanel.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double Panel Painting Installed in the ACE Hotel</td></tr>
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Answer - a lot. Both sets of panels weren't dry at all in 24-30 hours or 36, 48 or 72. Panic.<br />
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Now if I was at a plein air event and the panels actually fit inside my car I would "car bake" them. Something many artists do that work the plein air circuit (Can you believe there is such a thing? Well, there is.) What they do is put a wet painting into a hot, sunny car to "bake" it dry. Heck, I've see a buddy of mine line up paintings on his dashboard and "bake" a whole batch!<br />
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But these panels I worked on were approx. 60" x 24" each. I do have a big "soccer mom" car but it's not big enough to hold all the panels I finished.<br />
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I decided to do the next best thing I could think of. I borrowed two space heaters from my brother-in-law, cleared out my kids bathroom (They don't really need a bathroom, do they?), put the panels inside the room, cracked a window and closed the door. After a few days when they still weren't dry and the deadline was looming I called Gamblin's helpline. Yup, they have a helpline and it rocks!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HmShIdJmVBI/V0u1LFceQRI/AAAAAAAACnE/CvBHvmJpMEAq0k9tf1XBa6u6gUpNBXKhQCLcB/s1600/Shipping%2BACE%2BPanels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HmShIdJmVBI/V0u1LFceQRI/AAAAAAAACnE/CvBHvmJpMEAq0k9tf1XBa6u6gUpNBXKhQCLcB/s320/Shipping%2BACE%2BPanels.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panel Packed and Ready to Ship</td></tr>
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<br />
The gentleman I spoke to was a wealth of knowledge about paint and painting materials. He asked me a lot of questions about what paint colors I used, how much medium I used, what surface I was working on and what the weather was like. After learning which colors dry more slowly than others (turns out titanium white is the slowest) he confirmed that I was doing the right thing. He said keep the air circulating in the room, heat it up, wait and in another day or two they would turn the corner and be dry enough to varnish (which I need to do before shipping them). I also learned that silicone parchment paper won't stick to oil paint - in case I needed to wrap slightly tacky paintings in paper and then ship them, which thankfully, I didn't have to do. He did suggest that next time I use straight Galkyd just to be safe.<br />
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Did I meet my deadline? Yes, I did and just in the nick of time too. <br />
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What about you, have you ever had to speed dry a painting? how did you do it? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-34273303008966392622016-06-15T14:30:00.000-07:002016-08-27T16:48:37.038-07:00Want Your Own Art Studio? Here's How I Got Mine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ACE Hotel Double Panel Painting</td></tr>
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In my last post I talked about the commission I did for an interior design firm. The commission was to paint 4 double panel paintings for the new ACE Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. Great job, right? I certainly though so until the box arrived.<br />
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Looks big enough to hold a coffin doesn't it? The nice folks I was working for shipped the panels to me that I had to use for the paintings. They arrived in this giant box. The panels measured approx. 59" x 12" each. Cool, I thought. Except how were they supposed to fit on my easel that sat in the corner of an office I shared with my husband?<br />
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The answer - they didn't. Even if they did they were so narrow that the two panels on the easel at the same time weren't stable enough to paint on. Why two at the same time, because the commission was for one painting across two panels, in other words, a diptic. The paintings were going to be mounted on the front of armiores in the hotel's guest rooms.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ACE Hotel Shipping Crate</td></tr>
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The only solution I could come up with was to move them into the garage, prop them up on 2'x4's and lean them against the wall. The giant crate they arrived in also needed to be stored in the garage because once finished, the panels would be shipped to the hotel in the crate.<br />
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After a week of working in the garage in my makeshift studio I found I
loved it. I didn't have to worry about making a mess or dripping paint
onto the carpet in the house. I could step back - way, way back to get a
good look at the painting. All the never-ending household chores I
always need to get done were behind the closed garage door and
completely out of mind, eliminating a major distraction.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EOmbu66dNHA/V0uooJaiI6I/AAAAAAAACmk/LVxRbNWaSdQotqtxYMLnUyU4VcMfUgQGgCKgB/s1600/ACE%2BHotel%2BArmiore%2B3%2BPanel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EOmbu66dNHA/V0uooJaiI6I/AAAAAAAACmk/LVxRbNWaSdQotqtxYMLnUyU4VcMfUgQGgCKgB/s320/ACE%2BHotel%2BArmiore%2B3%2BPanel.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double Panel Painting Installed on an Armiore</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
I
knew I needed to move my indoor studio to the garage. Enlisting my
husband and brother-in-laws help we managed to clear enough space for my
art supplies and easel. They even installed lights and outlets.<br />
<br />
<br />
My
studio might not be an epic, beautiful shabby chic space with wood
floors and north light but, it's mine and I love it. Now that I've been
working there for a while I realized that when my studio was in the
house I would avoid painting. The space was cramped, there was carpet
underfoot, an overwhelming number of chores to finish nearby and my
husband and I never agreed on whether the windows should be open or
shut.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tEqxkTlCOOY/V0uqMo4HCBI/AAAAAAAACmo/gICQHHKQwDswuYX2rspyUp84cJA2hhkSACLcB/s1600/Studio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tEqxkTlCOOY/V0uqMo4HCBI/AAAAAAAACmo/gICQHHKQwDswuYX2rspyUp84cJA2hhkSACLcB/s320/Studio.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Studio</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
Now
I need to figure out a new storage solution for all the large paintings
I've been working on. Do you have a studio storage tip you'd like to
share? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.<br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-87122956761133373622016-06-09T14:00:00.000-07:002016-08-27T18:59:15.445-07:00Ten Tips for Working on Commission<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr align="left"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-99m52UQQxK4/V0uWa4DsPiI/AAAAAAAAClk/R8D2cd3gIc4BybEM8G5Oo-q9VxJyv-zVQCLcB/s1600/ACE%2BHotel%2BCloud%2BReflections%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-99m52UQQxK4/V0uWa4DsPiI/AAAAAAAAClk/R8D2cd3gIc4BybEM8G5Oo-q9VxJyv-zVQCLcB/s400/ACE%2BHotel%2BCloud%2BReflections%2BSM.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double Panel Painting for ACE Hotel </td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
In November 2015 I received an email that I didn't believe was real at first. It was from an interior designer looking for an artist to create paintings for a new hotel. I only responded because I thought there was a slight chance it was a legitimate email. The reply I received included a detailed brief, a budget and a deadline ... a really, really tight deadline. </div>
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Did I mention it arrived in November, right before the holidays?</div>
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Um yeah, those two kids I have that are in elementary school - they are still small enough to count on me for just about everything plus they are out of school for three weeks during the holidays and they still believe in the big man from the North Pole so, you could say I'm a little busy during that time of year. But I just couldn't pass up this art commission in spite of how crazy my life gets around the holidays.</div>
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Why? The project manager said the magic words, "We have several things you need to do when working on this project..." (I won't list the boring details, I'll just say the list was easy). "If you can meet those criteria then just do what you do. We love what you do."</div>
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And the clouds parted and the sun shone down on my face - or at least it felt that way. Those words, "just do what you do. We love what you do," took so much pressure off.</div>
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Commissions are stressful. They are stressful because I care and want to do a good job. It is all too easy to forget that a collector or interior designer has hired me because they love what I do. The reminder was music to my ears (or eyes since it was in an email - but then again, eyes can't hear).</div>
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Anyway, I dove in and worked on the largest paintings I've created so far, two panels side by side 63" x 24" approx. to be mounted on armiores in the guest rooms of the new ACE Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ever been to an <a href="http://www.acehotel.com/" target="_blank">ACE Hotel</a>? They are uber cool - seriously. </div>
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It was a great job, a dream job and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If you're interested I've got some advice. </div>
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Here are some tips for working on a commission -</div>
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1) Make sure you fully understand exactly what the client expects and carefully read the contract.</div>
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2) Make sure you have enough time to meet their deadline.</div>
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3) Don't paint something you have no interest in painting. Your lack of passion will show in the finished piece.</div>
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4) Draw out your ideas first. When was the last time an artist said that creating an initial sketch ruined their finished painting? </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c1zVfW3QAtc/V0uXyozHJGI/AAAAAAAACl8/yksdnkzupfY_dmeEKq0AdfuP4FUp__9eQCKgB/s1600/ACE%2BHotel%2BArmiore%2BPanels%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c1zVfW3QAtc/V0uXyozHJGI/AAAAAAAACl8/yksdnkzupfY_dmeEKq0AdfuP4FUp__9eQCKgB/s400/ACE%2BHotel%2BArmiore%2BPanels%2B1.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panels installed in a guest room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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5) Color sketches are also a good idea. Resolve the potential problems on a small scale when they are easy to fix.</div>
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6)
Treat this like a real job because it is. Be professional, put in the
hours necessary, keep records, don't send casual emails that start with
"Hey!"</div>
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7) Keep your client up to date. Send progress
reports so they know you are working and are reassured you will meet
their deadline.</div>
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8) Take a deep breath if a problem arises and refer to #7.</div>
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9) When using artist materials made by Gamblin Artist Colors call their help line if you have a question. Their knowledge about painting materials is outstanding! </div>
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10) Remember, the interior designer/art collector hired you because they like your work so, just do what you do and enjoy that sunshine on your face.</div>
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I'll post more photos of the other paintings I completed for the ACE Hotel in the next few weeks. </div>
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Do
you have any tips for working on commissions? Or are have you
hired an artist to do a commission and have some tips? I'd love to hear
from you in the comments. </div>
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-85890083220492152982016-05-11T14:00:00.000-07:002016-05-11T14:00:30.292-07:00Macy Street/Cesar Chavez Bridge - Los Angeles River Bridges - Historic Bridges of L.A. - Urban Art - Plein Air - Urban Plein Air<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--znzoNUo8XU/VxlkyfyW4CI/AAAAAAAACkA/5bK9gSEocaIfb0oSf1NhfEL8qaetdIG7ACLcB/s1600/Macy%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--znzoNUo8XU/VxlkyfyW4CI/AAAAAAAACkA/5bK9gSEocaIfb0oSf1NhfEL8qaetdIG7ACLcB/s320/Macy%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BSM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"Macy Street/Cesar Chavez Bridge" oil on 9" x 12" panel</div>
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See more artwork at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/" target="_blank">www.KimVanDerHoek.com </a></div>
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I had 30 minutes to complete this painting and it was a blast to paint! Was it a timed quick draw painting from a Plein Air event? No, I was out painting with friends one morning and had finished one painting early on but a person in our group needed 30 more minutes to finish her piece. I had lots of paint mixed and ready to go on my palette that was leftover from the morning painting so, I turned my easel around, grabbed a blank canvas and decided to go for it.<br />
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30 minutes isn't very long when you have to mix all your paint from scratch, but like I said, I had lots leftover and even though the colors and values weren't an exact match I figured I could modify them enough to create a new painting. The view was similar to the one in my morning painting which meant the colors/values were similar too.<br />
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I started without an initial sketch (a different approach than I typically use). Instead, I massed in the dark underside of the bridge first, then I painted in the blue river. Why? My instinct told me that they were the most important shapes in this piece and I should put them in first so that I could place them exactly where I wanted in order to create a dynamic composition. Then I painted in the rest using thick paint which sped up the process of filling in the large shapes with a few brushstrokes.<br />
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When painting like this I go by what my gut is telling me to do. There isn't time to second guess my decisions. I have to be confident and go for it. In this case I was warmed up since I'd already completed one (much slower and more carefully considered) painting that morning.<br />
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Even though this piece took very little time to complete I want you to know that the majority of my paintings aren't finished this quickly, nor should they be. There is a time and a place for painting using this method. Painting shouldn't be a sprint, it should be a long walk for the most part interspersed with moments where you sprint simply for the joy of it. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't, but the ride sure is fun. <br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-48053765301744361212016-05-03T12:30:00.000-07:002016-05-03T12:30:00.534-07:00In Suspension - Contemporary Painting - Contemporary Art - Modern Art - Mid Century Modern Decor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TQDIJ2AteO4/VwrRQ4XPjsI/AAAAAAAACjQ/f6tJUk8-C6QE-XfPqMNzH8iWwpXPE5GNw/s1600/In%2BSuspension%2BSM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TQDIJ2AteO4/VwrRQ4XPjsI/AAAAAAAACjQ/f6tJUk8-C6QE-XfPqMNzH8iWwpXPE5GNw/s320/In%2BSuspension%2BSM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"In Suspension" 18"x24" oil and pencil on panel</div>
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Avaliable at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/works/2033438/in-suspension" target="_blank">www.KimVanDerHoek.com</a></div>
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Remember those small paintings on paper I wrote about a few posts back? No? Well, here's <a href="http://vanderhoekart.blogspot.com/2016/04/small-painting-experiments-on-paper-new.html" target="_blank">the link.</a><br />
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This
piece came from one of those small paintings on paper. Besides a
bridge obsession I also have a thing for chairs. Weird? Yes, I'm aware of
that. <br />
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The fact is I've always loved a well-designed chair.
I'd collect them if they didn't take up so much space. If there was a
chair museum, I'd go. I'd go often.<br />
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As for this
painting, it is one in a series of chair paintings. In this group of work I've experimented with different color palettes, edge treatments and texture. It's been a wonderful learning process and I find all the implications about waiting, loss and potential in a simple chair interesting enough to explore further. <br />
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Here are a few detail shots</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BsAEB5OCsw0/VwrVhLg_V8I/AAAAAAAACjk/MBVqsvkwtm4LI1wedwzbEKUPiyEd_dNVQ/s1600/In%2BSuspension%2BDETAIL%2B3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BsAEB5OCsw0/VwrVhLg_V8I/AAAAAAAACjk/MBVqsvkwtm4LI1wedwzbEKUPiyEd_dNVQ/s320/In%2BSuspension%2BDETAIL%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-18393814086656317622016-04-28T14:30:00.000-07:002016-04-28T17:54:05.364-07:006th Street Bridge Reflections - Los Angeles Bridges - Los Angeles River Bridges - Urban Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DL3-biBOcMw/VxliYgzPkaI/AAAAAAAACj0/j0Z8zgyLrGYP62Fe2gWMsvYOjRCFaIYOQCLcB/s1600/6th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflections%2BR%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DL3-biBOcMw/VxliYgzPkaI/AAAAAAAACj0/j0Z8zgyLrGYP62Fe2gWMsvYOjRCFaIYOQCLcB/s320/6th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BReflections%2BR%2BSM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"6th Street Bridge Reflections" 24"x 24" oil on panel</div>
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See more at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/workszoom/2046278" target="_blank">www.KimVanDerHoek.com</a></div>
<br />
Another view of this Los Angeles icon - this time at night. To learn more about the 6th Street Bridge in L.A. read the recap below from my last post.<br />
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<b>If you are interested in seeing a quick video showing how this painting came together then <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GflQZA1hqQ" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to see it on my YouTube channel.</b><br />
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If you follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kim-VanDerHoek-Fine-Art/176574799023794" target="_blank">my work on Facebook</a>
then you are probably aware of my current bridge obsession. It started
when I heard that the 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles was being torn
down. Sadly, it is no longer structurally
sound so the city is replacing it with an amazing new modern structure
that promises to be more unique than the original.</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-55357035512200522582016-04-20T14:30:00.000-07:002016-04-20T14:30:00.143-07:006th Street Bridge on a Saturday - 6th Street Bridge Artwork - Original Painting of the 6th Street Bridge - Historic Bridge Painting <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ycl3QHfpNQ/VwrKiLZRUpI/AAAAAAAACi0/xFiTMgvE8BkVDYWQTUBINCQxQlG24R5wQ/s1600/6th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BShadow%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ycl3QHfpNQ/VwrKiLZRUpI/AAAAAAAACi0/xFiTMgvE8BkVDYWQTUBINCQxQlG24R5wQ/s320/6th%2BStreet%2BBridge%2BShadow%2BSM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"6th Street Bridge on a Saturday" 8"x10" oil on panel</div>
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Avaliable at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/works/1930014/6th-street-bridge-on-a-saturday" target="_blank">www.KimVanDerHoek.com</a></div>
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If you follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kim-VanDerHoek-Fine-Art/176574799023794" target="_blank">my work on Facebook</a> then you are probably aware of my current bridge obsession. It started when I heard that the 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles was being torn down.<br />
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You know this bridge even if you don't "know this bridge" because it's been in dozens of movies and commercials. Grease was probably the most watched movie it made an appearance in. It's an iconic location in downtown L.A.Sadly, it is no longer structurally sound so the city is replacing it with an amazing new modern structure that promises to be more unique than the original.<br />
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I'd always wanted to paint it and after learning of the bridge's imminent demise I had a pressing reason to do so. I called up a painter I knew that lives in the area and a small group of artists met up to paint there. All of us were so taken with the views in the L.A. riverbed we vowed to return and paint the heck out of it while the bridge was still standing.<br />
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This is the first in a series of L.A. bridge paintings from the area. <br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-3270392707333053982015-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:002015-11-18T08:00:07.431-08:00Dodge in Blue and White - Classic Car Painting - 6x6 painting - 6 Squared Art Show - Wall Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ThVK6S446VM/VklAGbRqggI/AAAAAAAACbQ/wMMm0zuBZWo/s1600/Dodge%2Bin%2BBlue%2Band%2BWhite%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ThVK6S446VM/VklAGbRqggI/AAAAAAAACbQ/wMMm0zuBZWo/s320/Dodge%2Bin%2BBlue%2Band%2BWhite%2BSM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"Dodge in Blue and White" | 6"x6" | Oil on panel</div>
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When I paint a demo. for my students the resulting painting isn't usually frame worthy. I thought that would be the case with this painting but fortunately it turned out well. The exercise for that evening was a memory exercise. What I did was I looked at my photo reference for a few minutes, then put it away and began to paint.<br />
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Now, I know you're thinking, "Wow, you painted that entirely from MEMORY?"<br />
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No. I <u>started</u> this painting from memory. I blocked in all my big shapes using everything I could remember from my photo reference. Once my canvas was covered I did my best to make corrections and adjustments, but there came a point where I couldn't proceed any further without looking at my photo for the information I couldn't remember.<br />
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How did my painting look? Awful, nothing like a classic Dodge van, more like my 6 year old daughter's idea of a van painted using her left foot. So, I pulled my photo back out, working quickly (because it was a demo and my students were loosing hope after seeing how poorly things were turning out) I corrected what I needed to and brought it to a finish.<br />
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Why bother starting this way if I had to finish by using my reference? So much of painting is about learning and by that I mean not just learning how to copy what's there, how to mix colors or apply paint, but learning by building a visual library of memories and gaining a better understanding of how things are formed and why. Like why light behaves the way it does, why a reflection is the way it is or why the color of the sea changes when it's near the shore vs. when it's near the horizon.<br />
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The more I paint the more I understand about how our world is shaped and that in turn has made me a better painter.<br />
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Are you brave enough to give the memory painting exercise a shot? I promise you'll learn something if you do.</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-79973029565460155132015-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:002015-11-11T08:00:02.168-08:00Rolling Hills - Sonoma County Painting - Petaluma Farm Painting - Landscape Painting - Art for the Home - Traditional Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XdmAzQJLSgo/Vj6AEoB0UiI/AAAAAAAACbA/eviQy19vlLk/s1600/Rolling%2BHills%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XdmAzQJLSgo/Vj6AEoB0UiI/AAAAAAAACbA/eviQy19vlLk/s400/Rolling%2BHills%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Rolling Hills" | 8"x 16" | Oil on panel</div>
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Available at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/works/1867854/rolling-hills">www.KimVanDerHoek.com</a></div>
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<br />
Most artists produce a themed series of work at some point in their careers and typically the series has a subject that is visually similar and is painted in a similar style like <a href="http://kevinmacpherson.com/">Kevin Macpherson's Reflections on a Pond</a> series or <a href="http://paintingperceptions.com/featured-interviews/interview-with-ann-gale">Ann Gale's Head</a> series.<br />
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From my own experience in painting I believe most artists attempt a series because they hit on a subject they want to explore in as many different ways as they possibly can and the most successful subjects are the ones that have enough substance in them that the artist doesn't loose interest while working. Of course, a series can be many things and isn't always limited to a subject that looks similar, what a series needs is a common thread that weaves through the work like a series based on environmental issues or landscapes from a particular location.<br />
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Until recently I hadn't thought that any of my body of work could be considered a series. Which brings me around to this piece from Sonoma Plein Air which I guess you could say is part of a series now.<br />
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This was painted is my sweet spot, a location in Sonoma County that I seem to find my way back to each time I visit there. To date I've created 9 paintings along the road that runs next to this view. Every year when I drive through this area I ask myself if it's been played out, I ask myself if I really do have any more to say in this location and every year I leave with several more painting ideas in my head that I could have done there.<br />
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If you paint plein air and want to push yourself I highly recommend finding a sweet spot of your own, a place that speaks to you and inspires you. Once you've found it, work the area for a while, see just how many different paintings you can create. Use what's in the area to your advantage, move things, find the best light of the moment, if something interesting shows up in the area paint it (my sweet spot includes lots of cows and one unpredictable farmer that welcomes me one year and shoos me away the next), change your color palette, try different techniques, try a composition you've never attempted and use a new tool. If you're not bored after your 5th painting then I say you've found a muse and after that....paint on my friend! </div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-19299430550522355372015-11-04T11:30:00.000-08:002015-11-04T11:30:01.209-08:00Lakeville Road Blues - Working in Three Values to Create a Strong Painting - Sonoma County Painting - Petaluma Farm Painting - Landscape Painting - Art for the Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--peSwrITxiM/Vi0fd59r28I/AAAAAAAACao/mdYTHvQNprI/s1600/Lakeville%2BRoad%2BBlues%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--peSwrITxiM/Vi0fd59r28I/AAAAAAAACao/mdYTHvQNprI/s320/Lakeville%2BRoad%2BBlues%2BSM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"Lakeville Road Blues" | 8"x10" | Oil on panel</div>
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Available at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/works/1872075/lakeville-road-blues">www.KimVanDerHoek.com</a></div>
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Before I start by preaching about how essential a value study can be at the start of a painting I would first like to admit that I have been known to skip this step and jump right into feeding my painting addiction in spite of knowing how important creating a value sketch can be and in spite of seeing positive results from taking that initial step. Instead I've often allowed the lure of color, lush paint and the call of my paintbrushes to lead me astray, blindly fumbling my way through, erasing things, changing elements or *gasp* just rolling with bad decisions. <br />
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This year however, at the Sonoma Plein Air Festival I took the time to sketch. Sketching in three values kept the composition strong and clearly stated. Linking areas of similar value together into one larger value mass kept the overall concept focused as well.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j5OOPDJOzoQ/Vi0ff7VtevI/AAAAAAAACaw/mjZlDN-d6SQ/s1600/Lakeville%2BRoad%2BSketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j5OOPDJOzoQ/Vi0ff7VtevI/AAAAAAAACaw/mjZlDN-d6SQ/s320/Lakeville%2BRoad%2BSketch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sketch for Lakeville Road Blues</div>
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It's easy to believe that detail, color and bold brushwork are the elements that make a dynamic representational painting happen, but just like a building, a painting is only as good as it's foundation. While this little 8"x10" plein air piece isn't a huge, epic, multi-figure narrative painting with chiaroscuro, it still did benefit from having a plan at the start.</div>
Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-66665675567085383712015-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:002015-10-28T08:00:02.273-07:00Tower - Transamerica Pyramid - San Francisco Landmark - Contemporary Art - Modern Art - Urban Art <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lph7uUlTIl8/VikzeaZXmAI/AAAAAAAACaY/HJhLjBsGNtk/s1600/Tower%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lph7uUlTIl8/VikzeaZXmAI/AAAAAAAACaY/HJhLjBsGNtk/s400/Tower%2BSM.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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"Tower" | 19" x 12.5" | Oil on panel</div>
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Available at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=17356&subkeyvalue=1835292&page=WorksZoom">www.KimVanDerHoek.com</a></div>
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If you've read my blog for a while or know my work then you probably know me as a Plein Air landscape painter (or painter of oil pumps). What you don't know is that I never planned on that being my final destination as an artist.<br />
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I knew going into this that I needed to have some basic skills and develop an understanding of some of the techniques and principals of painting. When I started out, the thought of tackling a blank canvas was daunting (dry throat, sweaty palms kind of daunting) and it was something I struggled with in college especially when my professors flatly refused to teach anything relating to representational painting. All those years ago I figured that Plein Air was a good place to start since there are no model fees involved, the landscape doesn't move around (unless there is a boat or car involved then they always move) and I could be out of the house away from the distractions of my family life (which used to include changing my kids diapers, so yeah, I really enjoyed being outside at the easel) .<br />
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Now that I have spent a number of years in the field painting from life I have a bit of a better handle on the basics (I'm not saying I'm any expert or anything because there is always more to learn and there is always someone else with way more miles on their paintbrush). So, this year I've spent more time painting in my studio (O.K. it's not really a studio, it's more of a tiny corner in a small house that I share with my whole family and their toys, shoes, books, craft supplies, dirty dishes, etc.).<br />
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Painting in the studio has allowed me to experiment with things that are difficult to do in the field. In this painting for example, I planned my color palette starting with the under-painting which I hoped would work as a highlight color on the Transamerica building. Fortunately, the under-painting also worked when I wiped away applied paint to indicate the windows on the other high-rise buildings. Allowing paint to run, leaving spots of the under-painting showing through, breaking more edges, mixing colors together from different areas of the painting to create harmony and using broken color are all things I wouldn't normally do when working en Plein Air. Studio painting is a much more deliberate process whereas Plein Air is more of a quick response to an ever changing moment.<br />
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As my work evolves I find I have a a number of paintings that head in all different directions stylistically, but, I trust that the schizophrenic look of my work this year will eventually evolve into a thing/style, whatever that my be.<br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3124502584867898123.post-86583291293568640512015-10-18T16:08:00.001-07:002015-10-18T16:08:50.450-07:00Roadside Red - Sonoma County Painting - Landscape Painting - Plein Air Landscape - Interior Design Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dIJ_-4WwSp4/ViF4vNGuNkI/AAAAAAAACZ0/cW1GMVXncjM/s1600/Roadside%2BRed%2BSM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dIJ_-4WwSp4/ViF4vNGuNkI/AAAAAAAACZ0/cW1GMVXncjM/s400/Roadside%2BRed%2BSM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Roadside Red" | 8" x 16" | Oil on panel </div>
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Available at <a href="http://kimvanderhoek.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=17356&subkeyvalue=1869652&page=WorksZoom">www.KimVanDerHoek.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZB03vsSt8OM/ViF4n9J9iQI/AAAAAAAACZs/a-Qzt9Ah2fw/s1600/Roadside%2BRed%2BSketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZB03vsSt8OM/ViF4n9J9iQI/AAAAAAAACZs/a-Qzt9Ah2fw/s320/Roadside%2BRed%2BSketch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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3.5" x 1.5" Sketch for "Roadside Red" </div>
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This year before Sonoma Plein Air started I was able to scout some painting locations before the event began and I took the time to create some sketches. While this was a great exercise for nailing down my composition it got a bit tricky when the weather changed from full sun to cloudy he day the event started.<br />
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Here you can see my small value sketch for the painting above. Working in three values helped me keep the overall design clear, massing areas with similar values together.<br />
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It was challenging working on the painting under different lighting conditions. Also, while some value areas worked fine in my sketch, in the finished painting they required more fleshing out. For example, the distant green hill behind the barn should have been all one color and value but I felt splitting that area into two values with different hues would make the barn pop more against the background. That cool green hill which is the opposite of the warm red of the barn makes the sides of the barn stand out in the foreground, additionally, the light tan of the farthest distant hill is a nice counterpoint to the cool gray of the barn roof. If I had made the entire hill green then the barn roof wouldn't stand on it's own as well since both those paint mixtures contain blue. The same goes for the light tan hill, behind the barn it might have worked just fine but, since there are reds in both the barn and the hill paint mixtures I felt having a color opposite on the color wheel would work better. <br />
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Kim VanDerHoek at the Gala dinner with fellow painters - Richard Lindenberg and Debra Huse</div>
<br />Scouting painting locations in advance gave me a plan for where I wanted to go and gave me some idea of what time of day was best for painting in each spot. It also cut down on the amount of time I usually spend driving around looking for a view I want to paint and feeling rushed to get something onto the canvas. <br />
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Kim VanDerHoekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887812083449239276noreply@blogger.com1