Classes with Artist Seth Heverkamp

Echo, by Seth Heverkamp

Artist Seth Heverkamp will be teaching one-day portrait classes at his northern Virginia Studio starting Saturday, 5th of September at 9:30am-12:30pm.  Class is limited to five students, however if there are enough student, Seth will conduct two sessions on Saturday.

The cost of the three hour class will be $55 which includes the modeling fee. Keep in mind that registration is first come, first served (which is why I only blogged about it after I told him I wanted in!).  If you’re interested in studying with Seth on the 5th or any other time, you can contract him at seth.haverkamp@gmail.com.

In 2008, Seth won the Best in Show Award from the Portrait Society of America’s Annual Portrait Competition for his painted Echo, on the left.

Seth is extremely talented.  He studied at Studio Incamminati with artist Nelson Shanks, has been in numerous shows and of course his talent was recognized by the Portrait Society last year.  So to say he’s talented is an understatement.

I took one of Seth’s classes in June at his studio and I saw an immediate difference in my painting.  Seth, in the tradition of Incamminati is a fierce colorist and I am rather timid about color.  With three hours, you don’t have much time to indulge in your fears and Seth is very encouraging and helpful.  I loved the portrait sketch I painted in class and also applied what I learned with a 2 hour sketch of Dee.

So if you live in Northern Virginia and you want to study with a phenomenal artist, email Seth today!

Utrecht Art Supply Sale

Utrecht Supplies is having a sale-they are giving 40% off of one NON-SALE item.  Which can be a phenomenal savings if you’re buying linen.

They sell Claessens 13 which is an double oil primed Belgian linen, the roll measures 82″ x 3yd and sells for $299.  With the 40% off it’s selling for $179.99 and the shipping is only $10.00.  I think it’s quite a deal.  I am not certain if I can publicly post the code here, but here goes.  Use promo code 86281 at checkout.  (dear Utrecht, please don’t sue me if I did a bad thing!)  Now the size of the rolls they are selling is slightly off since it’s  sold in a 54″x3yd size at Jerry’s Artarama for $217.29.  So you’re getting an extra 28″x3yd for cheaper than Jerry’s price woot!

This only works on non-sale items.  If the linen is too steep take a look at their Pld Holland oils which are actually decently priced with the promo code.

Enjoy.

Again I receive no remuneration or compensation from Utrecht for posting this.

Liberace DVD Release, Class Registration and Workshops in Virginia

 

The Figure In Motion

The Figure in Motion

DVD

Artist Robert Liberace is preparing for the release of his second instructional DVD titled, The Figure in Motion in late August.  If you are interested in this wonderful video or you want to purchase his first instructional DVD, The Portrait in Three Color Chalk, you can go to his website to order the video(s).  I can’t wait to see the newest video, it should be awesome!

 

 

Robert Liberace Alexandria Art League Workshops 2009-2010

I was in line again at the Alexandria Art League at 4am this morning.  It was dark and there were hordes of mosquitos flying in formation (don’t they ever sleep) but I survived and should be in class this fall!

For those of you in the local/metro DC area-registration at the Alexandria Art League starts today for the 2009-2010 school year.  This means that you can sign up online or via fax for classes in the fall term as well as workshops. 

For those outside of the local/metro DC area, you can also sign up for any workshop being held through out the school year effective today.  Robert is teaching four workshops through the Art League:

• Artistic Anatomy (lower), 11-13 September, 10:00am-4:00pm
• The Painting Portrait, 4-6 December 2009, 10:00am-4:00pm
• The Figure in Action, 19-21 March 2010, 10:00am-4:00pm
•  Portrait Drawing, 18-20 June 2010, 10:00am-4:00pm

If you can’t make any of these, check his website for additional workshops that may be closer to your home.  I know he travels to North Carolina, Washington State, Florida as well as Puerto Rico, Italy and Ireland.  You can find information about these addition workshops at Robert’s website. 

I am not certain if there are any slots still available for artistic anatomy-if you’re thinking about it I’d recommend trying to enroll online or calling the school directly at 703-683-2323. 

For those from out of town, recommend you stay in old town if possible there is a Hilton Hotel, Embassy Suites, as well as several Kimpton Properties (Morrison House, Hotel Monaco, Lorien Hotel and Spa and several others within a short drive of Alexandria.  If you stay close to the King Street Metro Station, or you’re traveling in on the metro keep in mind that there is a free trolley service that goes from the King Street Metro Station to Union Street (the street closest to the Potomac river).  Try to find something within easy access to either the metro or you can drive and park at the Duke Street Annex of the Art League where Robert’s classes and workshops are held. 

Feel free to leave a comment here if you have any questions regarding the information this post.  I’ve taken both the Portrait Painting workshop as well as the two Anatomy workshops (lower and upper) and I’d be happy to help. If you’re on facebook you can also post questions at the Robert Liberace facebook group.  Happy painting!

Ethics disclosure– I read an interesting post on the Pigtown*Design blog concerning a blogger code of ethics.  I love this idea, Meg suggests that we bloggers should warn their readership if they are being compensated for their postings. 

Since I am write a great deal about Robert’s art classes, workshops and products (DvDs, plaka, twinrocker paper-etc), I’d like to state clearly that I receive no remuneration or compensation from Robert Liberace, the Alexandria Art League or any hotels mentioned here.  I receive no products, trial samples etc from any product I’ve mentioned in my blog.  Ever.  I just blog about learning with Rob because he’s an awesome teacher and my classmates are amazing artists in their own rights. I also like to write about things that do or do not work for me with oil painting.

Slight delay

I am still not 100% up on the internet-have to work on installing a new router, which means unpacking a few more things.  So, I am still out of pocket for awhile.

Most of the painting on the first floor is done on my new place, need to finish the windows and some minor touch ups.  It’s a huge relief to be almost finished.  Yeah.

Friday at class was great- we have a model for a three-week pose and they put him in a gorgeous pose that looks great from any angle.  Because I have two more sessions I am not rushing things on the drawing.

A guy named Mark showed up for the class, he’s studying in Italy and after class he showed me the work he’s been doing in class-imagine; 4  hours a day for five weeks on one pose (charcoal).  The pictures were great but I’d like to see the drawings in person.  He’s showing up next week to talk about the academy he’s attending~I can’t wait!

Fundraiser for Artist Model Ada – 6 July

Ada

One of the models who works for the Alexandria Art League was involved in a serious accident several weeks ago.  She is slowly recovering but had no health insurance and has had two surgeries so far.  The wonderful folks at the Alexandria Art League have decided to host a fund raiser to help defray her medical expenses.

Artist Robert Liberace will conduct three painting demonstrations on Monday 6 July 2009 at the Duke Street Annex in Alexandria Virginia.  If you attend during the day there is a free trolley that shuttles between Union Street at the waterfront and the King Street Metro Station (blue and yellow metro lines) -it runs every 20 minutes.  Once at Union and King Street the Duke Street Annex is 2 blocks south.

Rob will be painting all day and should stop around 9:45pm.  If you’ve never had a chance to see him in action-whether you paint or not-now is the time.  I am pretty excited because usually during classes, I am torn between watching Rob’s demo and/or painting.

Throughout the day there will be a silent auction where you can bid on works by Robert Liberace.  Rob has been holding on to his class demos (which are wonderful!) and will have those for sale as well as the demos he creates during the fundraiser.  All of the proceeds go directly to help Ada.

So, if you’ve been fortunate enough to paint with Ada as your model, if you attended the paint-off at the Portrait Society of America (she was a model), if you’ve always wanted to see Robert paint and learn about his techniques-and best of all-if you want a chance to help someone in serious need—plan on attending! I will see you there.

Cindy

PS if you can not attend and would like to donate, contact the art league at 703.683.2323.

Final Friday Evening Pose

Final Class June 2009

For the final evening of the class, I decided to leave well enough alone on my previous painting and to try something different.  I wanted to try Seth Haverkamp’s technique for painting.  As stated in my last entry, Seth started with an very minimal drawing and taught us to render the colors in the shapes and forms we see.

I moved from the rear of the room to closer to the door and the model’s front.  There was some great foreshortening; I chose to work on her abdomen, legs and hips.

I liked how this came out in spite of the fact that I only had a few hours.  It forced me to focus on the colors and shapes and not get so lost in the details.

Artist Seth Haverkamp

Work From Seth Haverkamp's Class

Several weeks ago I took a one day class with artist Seth Haverkamp at his studio in Northern Virginia.  Seth is a talented student in Robert Liberace’s evening course.   I always look at how quickly he works and am amazed.

In 2008, Seth won the Portrait Society of America’s Best  of Show Award.  He painting of his daughter Echo is brilliant and I think it really reflects the time he spent studying at Studio Incamminati.

Seth had us set up and did a quick demo.  What he asked us to do was a very quick and minimal initial drawing of the model.  By minimal I mean some lines to show the shoulders relative to head and neck and a quick line to place nose, eyes, and mouth. That was it.

His point was that for the class we would be painting the shapes we saw in the models face, instead of taking the time to create a detailed initial drawing, we were to concentrate on matching the color and color temperatures as well as getting the exact shape we saw down on canvas.

Color, bright colors were our friend. This of course immediately made me rather nervous since color application to a grisaille is something I struggle with.  I joked about it in class and Seth did his best to reassure me.

I worked really had during this class to see and accurately paint the colors I saw on the model’s skin.  One of the great things about painting this way is that you have plenty of paint on the panel/linen and it really allows you to manipulate the edges and shapes of the painting.

I really liked the final results of the portrait I painted in this class and used what I learned to play with paint in the final session of Rob’s class.  Robert wasn’t there (they were all in Ireland painting) and I loved the painting that I had worked on for the previous four weeks.  I decided to leave my painting along and to  try Seth’s techniques.

Last Four Fridays

I started this post on the 23rd of May and then misplaces the pictures.   Although that probably reads like, “The dog ate my homework” sadly it’s true.  I have too many cards for my camera and somehow they were scrambled.  So, aplogies in advance…

Grisaille 15 May

One May 15th we started the final pose of the class.  We had a great model who has the kind of pale skin that really reflects and bounces light all around.  Marjorie placed her in a reclining position a tad reminiscent of  an obilesque.  Marjorie placed a screaming cadmium orange sheet and thicker ultramarine blue cloth beneath the model.  Colors bounced all over her; it was great.

During the first week of this pose all we worked on was establishing a strong grisaille painting.    I used a 6×8 inch raymar panel (Claessen’s #15 double oil primed – which I love-the paint just slides on the surface).

Second Night

I have to say that I wasn’t crazy with my initial drawing with the painting -I was afraid that I’d made her look a little like a guitar or cello, with that indention in her waist and the way you could see the models hip bone.  I decided to stick with it and see where the painting took me.  One of the most difficult moments I have at this stage is when I lay in the color.  I tend to be too timid and eventually I end up with a very washed out image that tends to gray out.  I’ve worked hard the last two terms to work on it-I guess realizing what I am doing is the first step towards fixing or at least improving on this.

The following Friday (the 22nd) I applied the color.  I don’t think it went too badly, and I really liked how things were going with the painting  so far.  The model’s pose is lovely and rather challenging since almost everyone is dealing with foreshortening of one limb(s) or another.  It has been a lesson in understanding that literal translation of what you see does not always translate well into the actual image.

I had trouble with the orange, I kept trying to put it into the foreground but it really washed out the colors of her flesh.  It was hard to be subtle with the reflections along her buttocks.  When I put the color in that I saw, it did some strange things to the figure.  Eventually I wiped the orange and most of the blue out of the foreground.

Fourth Evening

Another problem I had at this stage was with area of her lower back sometimes referred to as the dimples of venus-the dimples on her lower back.  In her position it formed a diamond shape that had orange, red, and violet.  In order to paint this area the challenge was how to paint these and not make them overwhelm that area-or even worse, to look like a diamond of color slapped on there.  I had to ask Rob to help me on this.  Mainly what he did was to take a #2 round bristle, and gently blend some of the paint around to soften what I had started.

On the third evening, I basically spent more time throwing paint at this- I can’t seem to find the pictures I took of it.  I worked on her legs and feet which came out well.  I really liked the feet because -well I usually would just gloss over them.  This time I think I got them right.  Basically I would add something, think dear lord what did I just do, gently blend it or move paint around a bit more to fix it.  Mainly at the end of the evening the upper back looked a little bit better, somehow I’d soften the shadows enough where they seemed to work-her head and neck weren’t working but I  decided to leave it as is.

On the fourth evening I decided to concentrate on her lower back and legs.  Again I ended up needing help from Rob to translate what I saw and was trying to accomplish and get it down on the canvas.

Rob had suggested leaving it and I think he was right.  So last Friday I went ahead and pulled it out set up-and realised he was right. I really like this painting just as it is.  Friday night, I decided although it was unfinished and I had to work on the uper back,  neck, arm -well everything above the waist- I wanted to leave it as is. So I pulled out another panel and set to work on something else.  I will write about that in another post.

Face Off Results (Pt 2)

Ada

The Portrait Society of America held a “Face Off competition” during their Art of the Portrait 2009 conference held at the Hyatt in Reston Virginia.  Think 15 artists and 5 models and about 100-200 fellow artists, collectors and students in one large room; if you throw in lights, chairs and organized (but deliciously fun) chaos you have an accurate idea of what being there was like.

Scott Burdick

Each model posed for three artists and each section held all of the artists working materials (taborets, palettes, easels and lights) as well as chairs about six-seven feet behind for attendees to watch the artists at work.  The final results can be viewed at the <a title=”Results of the 2009 Face Off Event”

I am linking the pictures I took of the artists at work.  Besides those I’ve already linked of Liberace, Carducci and Ryder; my most favorite ones were the three works by the artists lucky enough to paint Ada.

Paul Newton

She’s a beautiful model that we occasionally are lucky enough to paint in class.  She has pale translucent skin, dark hair and  very fine delicate features.  She’s also difficult to paint because (at least for me) I tend to lapse into painting what I think I see instead of what is actually there.  Not sure if this makes sense to you…sadly it does to me.

I apologize for the poor quality of the Paul Newton picture, but even though it is fuzzy I think you get the sense of how he was working on the painting;  I think he nailed it.

Scott Burdick

Chris Saper

Paul Newton

Other pictures of the artists at work.

Vasudeo Kamath

Rich Nelson

Thomas Nash

The rest of the paintings for the Face Off competition can be found at this link.

Face Off-Portrait Society of America Conference (Pt 1)

Desi's Pose for the Face Off

On Thursday evening (25 April 2009) 15 portrait artists participated in a face off with five models in the grand ball room of the Reston Hyatt in Reston Virginia. The following nationally known and reknown artists participated: Laurel Boeck, Judith Carducci, Vasudeo Kamath, Ann Manry Kenyon, Ying-He Liu, Thomas Nash, Rich Nelson, Dawn Whitelaw Paul Newton, Anthony Ryder, Chris Saper, Jason Bouldin, Scott Burdick, Wende Caporale and of course Robert Liberace (yes I am biased!).

Anthony Ryder

The difficulty for the artist participating was to produce a fairly complete portrait or at least as much of the portrait as they could while subject to the scrutiny of hundreds were watching, photographing, and commenting as well as asking questions. Participating in this is certainly not for the faint of heart!

Robert Liberace

The organizers set the room up so that there were three artist per each model. This worked out fantastically since it allowed each artist to have a fair shot at a workable angle of a model and reduced crowding between artists as well as the artists and the crowds.  Due to space limitations I’d like to focus on the model Desi.  Anthony Ryder was set up to the model’s right, Judy Carducci was directly in front of Desi and Robert Liberace was to the model’s left.

I thought I’d taken a picture of Judi Carduci but sadly I can’t find the one of her in action.

These are the final results from Ryder, Carduci and Liberace.  Judi Carducci won the event (the conference attendees voted on this).  Now the best part of this was that the winner was allowed to select their model and Judi selected Robert Liberace as her model.  So on Friday morning Ms. Carducci gave a wonderful demo on painting a pastel portrait.

Desi by Anthony Ryder

Desi by Judi Carducci

Desi by Robert Liberace

Due to posting length I will make a second posting with pictures of the other artists working during the event.