Author: Aiii

New Church Art Dedicated!

New Church Art Dedicated!

On April 29, 2017, artist Eilee George dedicated with Calvary Community Baptist Church of Northglenn nine new works, many of massive proportions, depicting significant sites in the walk of Jesus, and including a triptych featuring three key trees in the Bible. Knowing that people often want to know the background, reasoning, symbolism, technique and inspiration for works in order to make a deeper connection with the art being viewed, the Church asked the artist to give a presentation explaining the works in the context of meaning and method.

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Redemption: The Tree of the Cross" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 48"w x 60"h, part of the "3 Trees" Triptych within the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, red, salmon, yellow, purple, blue, olive, charcoal, black, green, lime, violet, fuschia, indigo, sepia, gold, brown, beige and white, depicting the Tree of the Cross Calvary/Golgotha against a background of distant Jericho's barren mountains and dunes, a symbolic blooming dogwood sapling and life-affirming vines growing at the base of its trunk and a dramatic burst of sun rays from darkened clouds with the light of hope sent by God; signed L. Eilee George with logoDigital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Reunion: The Tree of Life" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 48"w x 60"h, part of the "3 Trees" Triptych within the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, red, salmon, yellow, purple, blue, olive, charcoal, black, green, lime, violet, pink, periwinkle, sepia, gold, brown and white, depicting the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem as it descends, a tree that grows on either side of the River of Life with 12 crops and leaves for the healing of nations which are represented by many styles of world architecture in the great City and lit by the throne from which the River emits as described in Revelation; signed L. Eilee George with logo

 

 

[To jump down in the post directly to one of the works, click a thumbnail above or a title below: Garden Tomb; Gethsemane; Jordan; Galilee; Calvary; Ancient Tree; 3 Tree TriptychRebellion; Redemption; Reunion.] [To read in more detail about the Triptych, go here.]

This post shows a longer draft of the speech than actually given, with more detail than time constraints at the event allowed, but all of the key points are present in both versions. Several attendees specifically requested that I publish a copy of this. A Power Point presentation was used as a visual aid to illustrate each of the paintings as they were being discussed. The presentation was whittled down to eight minutes from the original twenty, and was well received. An edited adaptation of the original presentation follows, with painting illustrations:

I’ve been asked to give some context to these paintings you suddenly see everywhere. Pastor Brian is a brave man to ask someone as verbose as I am to make a “brief” presentation – but I’ll do my best!

When I was asked to highlight our renovation with some artwork two years ago, I jumped onboard with both feet. I was very honored and intimidated and full of hope. I had full artistic license to do whatever I wanted – creatively, an artist’s dream commission. I took my responsibility very seriously and had plans to study my brains out.

Sheryl & L. Eilee in front of floral bush at Mt. of Beatitudes
Sheryl & L. Eilee At Mt. of Beatitudes, Galilee, Israel

Not twenty-four hours after I was given this opportunity, another one fell in my lap. My mother in-law, Sheryl, called and said their tour group to Israel needed another body to hit quota. She offered it freely, no obligation to me but to show up and have her back – and she offered it without any knowledge that I had received a request to paint art for a church. God’s will mobilized both her and myself. There was no other way I could have afforded to go. I had never been out of the US and had no passport and just a short time to get one, but God moves in very purposeful ways. Is there any more perfect trip to gather resources for church paintings than eleven days in Israel? Amazing. Now, I feared traveling so far, and flying in general, but cast fears to His care, and He got us through a very difficult flight and a few exciting episodes while abroad, and got us all home safe, praise the Lord. It’s a trip every believer should take.

I was looking at sorting through some 10,000 photos I had taken. I kid you not, I’m very OCD. I needed material for this work and I had one chance at it. Once home, I had to choose images to paint that weren’t just great photos, but also would gel well with my very patterned, Neo-Pixelist style. Not just any work will do; it needs a balance of space and detail. When I paint, the patterns create an entirely different painting up close than you see when all the strokes melt together from a distance. This involves a lot of walking back and forth across the room while painting, squinting, and juggling different types of eyewear, in my case. The technique displays the particulate nature of all matter – that on an atomic level, we’re all made of the same stuff – but more than that; we’re molecular and systemic and all connected; relationships are key between us, and that parallels our relationship as the created to our own Creator. It’s atomic Gestalt theory in pigment: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Too many photos!
Decisions, decisions….

After months of sorting, choosing, revising and second-guessing, I chose what to paint. Then I had to get enough courage to put brush to canvas. I didn’t feel talented enough for such a mission! But God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips those He calls. When I prayed for His help, I literally felt the Holy Spirit guiding my decisions and my brush until I had enough confidence to persevere. I listened to a huge playlist of inspiring music while I worked, and eventually just listened to sermon after sermon on Grace FM to paint by. I sang hymns and cried and prayed and laughed, and it all worked out very well I think.

So on each of the individual paintings, a few words. There’s the triptych, here behind me…a word that refers to 3 artworks shown side by side as a unit. Then there are six smaller ones.

We’ll start with the six. Each depicts a site that is significant in the life of Jesus, and each features a scripture that directly relates to that site. In most of them, I purposely worked the scripture into the pattern of my brush strokes for a reason: it is subtle, in order to force you come closer, to pay attention, to meditate on the work – just the way one should meditate and linger in the Word, to increase comprehension and mindfulness.

The Garden Tomb

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Garden Tomb" © 2016 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 16"w x 20"h, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptistt Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, charcoal, taupe, sepia, gold, brown and white, depicting the tomb of the risen Christ with the door rolled open; includes the scripture: "He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." - Matthew 28:6 signed L. Eilee George with logo
Garden Tomb © 2016 L. Eilee S. George

The first work I did was the Garden Tomb. There are differences of opinion among different denominations as to actual site of the tomb; being so long ago many sites were “best guesses” but you still felt something “real” at times. We went through Church of the Holy Sepulcher but I did not feel Him there like I did in the area of the Garden Tomb. For this work I decided to go with theories that seem more compatible with Baptist beliefs. The Garden Tomb area is more peaceful, humble, and simple – and a place of quiet contemplation – devoid of icons/idols, rituals and dogma. For me it had to be the Garden Tomb.

This little 16″ x 20″ jewel was the first of the series, and I did a lot of experimenting. As I paint, I shoot progress shots with my camera to show its development, and this one had a lot of initial experimentation in technique; I recorded having put 22 layers on this relatively tiny work.

The Garden of Gethsemane

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Garden of Gethsemane" © 2016 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 30"h x 48"w, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptistt Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, green, aqua, charcoal, taupe, sepia, blue, periwinkle, terra cotta, orange, yellow, mint green, gray, gold, brown and white, depicting the Garden of Gethsemane; includes the scripture: "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will but Thine, be done." - Luke 22:42 signed L. Eilee George with logo
Garden of Gethsemane © 2016 L. Eilee S. George

The Garden of Gethsemane is actually split in half by a narrow street; one half is adjacent to the Basilica of the Agony. This painting is from the the Basilica side of the street, although I saw the other side to be more restful for meditation. The trees are certainly ancient. In my test versions of planning, I tried both day shots and night shots. I wanted to think about doing a night scene because it’s my impression it was night when Jesus went there to pray right before His arrest. In the end I thought that a night scene would not have the right color palette for a church and I went with daylight. This 30″ x 48″ work has 33 layers of paint to achieve its molecular effect.

The River Jordan

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "River Jordan" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 24"h x 36"w, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptistt Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including many greens, aqua, terra cotta, lime, ochre, cream, blue, periwinkle, charcoal, taupe, sepia, gold, brown and white, depicting River Jordan where Christ was baptized; includes the scripture: "And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him and behold, a Voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased." - Matthew 3:16-17 signed L. Eilee George with logo
River Jordan © 2017 L. Eilee S. George

Next: the River Jordan, a 24″ x 36″. Few sites are available to tourists who are getting baptized in the Jordan as we were. We went to Yardinit, a deep area of the river except on the side of the baptismal stations. Much of the structure in this area is obviously modern, so I replaced with interpretations of random rocks and plant life, reminiscent of an early ruin, once I got around to Photoshopping my concept. The area we were in was lush, and it spoke to me of new life – like that represented by baptism itself – so I kept that aspect in my own version. I weighed the possibility of actually depicting Jesus and John the Baptist in the act of baptism, but sometimes depictions of Biblical persons can be controversial for a few reasons, and I am mostly a landscape artist, and that is what I was known for when I was asked to do the work, so to keep all of the work consistent I stayed with landscape, deviating only to superimpose a luminescent dove representing the Holy Spirit. The water is where my style really started getting flexible and curvy, and it developed even more in the next painting.

The Sea of Galilee

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Sea of Galilee" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 24"h x 36"w, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, charcoal, blue, orange, yellow, purple, pink, lavender, navy, gold, brown and white, depicting the Sea of Galilee with silhouetted boat and mountains; includes the scripture: "And on the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the water." - Matthew 16:25 signed L. Eilee George with logo
Sea of Galilee © 2017 L. Eilee S. George

For a while I considered the simple shots I had taken of the Sea of Galilee, testing them for compatibility between my style and their composition; I found that they could be terribly dull unless I really stretched out of my comfort zone. Looking at all that sea and air, and painting the way I do bringing life and vision to smaller elements of matter, I decided to imagine both the air and water currents and those elements swirling around in them. This, plus sunset colors, made my 24″ x 36″ Galilee look psychedelic in the early phases, but many layers of tinted glazing took the edge off and gave it harmony. I briefly considered including a ghostly image of Christ walking on the water, but again, I decided to stay consistent and retain the original scope of landscape art, which is often contemplative on its own.

Calvary

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Calvary" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 36"h x 48"w, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptistt Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, charcoal, taupe, sepia, gold, brown, beige, blue, yellow and white, depicting the Cross aglow in light bursting from dramatic clouds over the Antonia Fortress adjacent to the Temple of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period; includes the scripture: "Then Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." - Luke 23:34 signed L. Eilee George with logo
Calvary © 2017 L. Eilee S. George

Calvary…in front of the Old City in the Second Temple Period…while in Jerusalem, we went to the Israel Museum, which had an enormous model of the Old City during the Second Temple Period, the time Jesus walked among us. I planned this painting, like I did with most of them, on Photoshop, but it was more complex, in that I had to remove the walls and tourists, and figure a more fitting background, and I had to choose an appropriate angle for the emotional impact I had in mind. I scrutinized the legend of the model, and guesstimated the approximate historical location of Golgotha and the cross in relation to it. You only see a beginning of the Temple’s Women’s Court on the right; mostly featured is the adjacent Antonia Fortress. This structure seemed to mirror the hardness of the chronical it faced, so I superimposed from my photography portfolio a dramatic post-storm sky from our very own Colorado that seemed to hold God’s light. This canvas is rather imposing at 36″ x 48″.

Ancient Tree of Galilee

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Ancient Tree, Gethsemane" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 24"w x 24"h, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptistt Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, greens, blues, charcoal, taupe, sepia, gold, brown and white, depicting a tree in the Garden of Gethsemane rumored to be old enough to have been there during the life of Christ; includes the scripture: "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." - Matthew 26:41 signed L. Eilee George with logo
Ancient Tree, Galilee © 2017 L. Eilee S. George

This Ancient Tree of Gethsemane is adjacent to the Basilica of the Agony and is estimated to have been there at the time of Jesus’ life. Today the trunk’s girth measures more than 13 feet. It is weathered and scarred, showing the wounds of a long and fruitful life. To reflect this, the painting shows this survivor with a sturdy, solid trunk, but tissue-paper collage delicate greenery. It was overwhelming to be in the presence of such an ancient olive and consider that He may have prayed at the root of this very tree. This work is 24″ square.

So that’s the six. Now the triptych.

 

Triptych Intro

Digital photo of an early in-progress shot of 3 acrylic paintings comprising the "3 Trees Triptych": respectively entitled "Rebellion: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil", "Redemption: The Tree of the Cross" and "Reunion: The Tree of Life", all are © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 48"w x 60"h each, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in many colors; each signed L. Eilee George with logo
The Three Trees Triptych (TTT) in progress

The Three Trees Triptych were by far the most challenging of the group – I had no photographs to lean on; only Scripture and my imagination. For the group as a whole, I decided after long consideration and several other failed ideas to simulate the idea of the gothic-arch frame, along with an exaggerated version of the mosaic/stained-glass effect that my work is known for – an appropriate technique…for paintings to be hung in a sanctuary!

Digital photo of 3 acrylic paintings comprising the "3 Trees Triptych": respectively entitled "Rebellion: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil", "Redemption: The Tree of the Cross" and "Reunion: The Tree of Life", all are © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 48"w x 60"h each, part of the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in many colors; each signed L. Eilee George with logo
Three Trees Triptych, finished © 2017 L. Eilee S. George

I kept a log through all the paintings and took progress photos as I went. This got really complicated with the triptych because I had to regularly work among them in order to coordinate colors, align adjacent elements, and figure the direction of the light. I even had to rearrange my entire studio in order to accommodate three such monsterous works side by side (each canvas is 48″ wide and 60″ tall), and they barely fit in the dim little basement cave that I call my studio. Just finishing them was a small miracle. Let’s take a look at each of the three works individually.

Rebellion: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Rebellion: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 48"w x 60"h, part of the "3 Trees" Triptych within the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, red, salmon, yellow, purple, blue, olive, charcoal, black, green, lime, violet, fuschia, indigo, sepia, gold, brown and white, depicting the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, a serpent wrapped around its trunk and two bitten and hastily discarded pieces of fruit at its roots; signed L. Eilee George with logo
Rebellion: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil © 2017 L. Eilee S. George

Rebellion is the first panel of the triptych. Not a lot is available for source material to paint the Garden of Eden. There are scriptural references of course, but much is left up to the imagination. The area of the intersection of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is suspected, and any river valley should be lush, as was the Garden itself from all extrapolation. This Tree is the hardest of the three to depict, as it has no distinguishing characteristics by which to recognize it. To reveal its identity, I wrapped a serpent around the trunk, adding two hastily-dropped half-eaten pieces of fruit in his shadow.The concept is loosely based on the account in Genesis. This scene was the catalyst for the fall of man in his relationship with God – a rebellion.

Redemption: The Tree of the Cross

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Redemption: The Tree of the Cross" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 48"w x 60"h, part of the "3 Trees" Triptych within the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, red, salmon, yellow, purple, blue, olive, charcoal, black, green, lime, violet, fuschia, indigo, sepia, gold, brown, beige and white, depicting the Tree of the Cross Calvary/Golgotha against a background of distant Jericho's barren mountains and dunes, a symbolic blooming dogwood sapling and life-affirming vines growing at the base of its trunk and a dramatic burst of sun rays from darkened clouds with the light of hope sent by God; signed L. Eilee George with logo
Redemption: The Tree of the Cross” © L. Eilee S. George

In Redemption, I turned the composition to face Jericho’s distant barren hills, and to include the sun bursting through dark clouds as on the day of the crucifixion. This also serves as the main light source for all three paintings of the triptych, the throne in New Jerusalem scene to the right notwithstanding. Inclusion of the non-indigenous dogwood sapling is a nod to our own culture and its symbolism in the four white, blood-stained petals that draw a parallel to Christ on the Cross. It isn’t even native to Colorado, but it is very much from the place where this artist grew up. The vines emanating from the base of the Cross symbolize the new life offered to us in the presence of our God for all eternity by Christ’s sacrifice and atonement for our sins.

Reunion: The Tree of Life

Digital photo of acrylic painting entitled "Reunion: The Tree of Life" © 2017 (Linda) "Eilee" S. George, 48"w x 60"h, part of the "3 Trees" Triptych within the Israel Series for Calvary Community Baptist Church in Northglenn, CO; lovingly painted with squarish strokes in a Neo-Pixelist style in colors including ochre, cream, mauve, plum, red, salmon, yellow, purple, blue, olive, charcoal, black, green, lime, violet, pink, periwinkle, sepia, gold, brown and white, depicting the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem as it descends, a tree that grows on either side of the River of Life with 12 crops and leaves for the healing of nations which are represented by many styles of world architecture in the great City and lit by the throne from which the River emits as described in Revelation; signed L. Eilee George with logo
Reunion: The Tree of Life © 2017 L. Eilee S. George

I thought I had a decent idea of what to do with the last panel, called Reunion – until I started comparing Revelation to Ezekiel. I had several meetings with Pastor Brian and others on these seeming conflicts, and consulted various tomes including Randy Alcorn’s book entitled “Heaven”. I pored through heavenly depictions through art history; I watched videos that alluded to it; I read online comparisons between accounts by different prophets and apostles. I prayed hard on it and decided to go with a version from Revelation, realizing it is likely not any inherent “contradiction” but rather speaking of a different time from Ezekiel (eternity versus the 1000 years); therefore it makes sense that there would be some differences. Showing the great City from the inside out also presented a challenge, as many descriptions talk about the gates and foundations that would not be visible from the interior of such a vast place, and descriptions aren’t highly detailed from that perspective. The Bible reveals that the Tree of Life grows on EITHER side of the River of Life, so I had to resolve how that works. The Seven First Fruits and other native crops were used for the twelve crops on the Tree. Combining the reference to the healing of nations as well as Christ’s promise to go and prepare a place for us in His father’s house of many mansions, gave me license to show architecture of many cultures in close proximity and harmony.

Conclusion

These works are a labor of love. The whole time I painted them, I prayed that they might inspire someone to seek God, to seek closer relationship with Him, to seek their own spiritual gift and to dedicate themselves to honoring Him with those gifts. I did this and found that the gift again is to me, and at this crossroad I look for God to guide me to His will for my next steps. Thanks, Sheryl, for taking me on the trip of a lifetime; thanks Greg for your steadfast support through all of this; thank you to my families by blood, marriage and here at the church for your inspiration; I couldn’t have done it without you; thank God for His help and facilitating my spiritual and artistic growth. Thank you for sharing my journey.

Eilee George image

 

Prints of these works are available through special order. Contact the artist directly here.

See better pix of these works in THE GALLERY.

Speech derived from this copy © Linda Eilee S. George and performed live April 29, 2017 at Calvary Community Baptist Church, Northglenn CO. Visit their site to learn more about CCBC. You can find them at 11980 Irma Drive (at 120th), Northglenn, CO 303-452-0056; services at 10:30 am Sundays.

 


 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.

 

 

Eilee’s Favorite Supplies & How They Earned the Distinction

Eilee’s Favorite Supplies & How They Earned the Distinction

When you have been creating art for *mmgfrgm* decades – ahem…you have sampled a LOT of different products, and found that some really perform well consistently, while others fall far short of that distinction. When you’re new to it, you kind of wish you had someone to guide you when looking at shelves of products; someone who is not compromised by the prospect of a sales commission. Here I am.

There are brands of sketchbooks I wouldn’t touch now because of the texture of the paper and the way it makes erasures smear rather than erase. There are colored pencils so waxy that the color saturation is all pastel, preventing any depth or contrast. There are paints that are of the consistency of tar and sand. If you’ve been burned by bad art supplies, your self-preservation takes over and catalogues what to avoid and what to seek. I thought I’d share my catalogue with you today.

In this post, I will mention brand names only of my favorites – not to suggest that there are no other good ones in each category that I will still use from time to time – and I will not name the ones that I dislike at all – indeed, a few of them have already gone out of business, since I’m sure many other artists felt about them the way that I did, or people just retired or got bought out. Nobody is paying me to say nice things about their product or company. If that ever changes, I will update the post to inform you of that development.

I guess I’ll go by medium.

PAINTING

Colorussia 3 Detail SmallI’ve used a lot of brands of acrylic paint, but Golden acrylic paints go on smooth “like buttah”. Where some brands are grainy and textured, Golden brand never lets me down, with a creamy consistency that makes mixing and painting a joy. For my purposes, I use heavy body paints, but they also offer fluid, open (for longer drying times, which I achieve instead with a combination of medium and a very small amount of retarding liquid), and high flow, which is for airbrushing now (use a respirator and ventilation please). I have not used every other brand out there, but now that I’ve tried Golden I don’t need to – I’m so impressed with its products that I won’t buy anything else now. They cost a little more, but you totally get what you paid for; it’s worth it. No more fighting grainy goo!

Golden Soft Gel is awesome for wet-in-wet and texture or isolation layers. You can get it in gloss, semi-gloss, or matte. The matte is a little harder to work, as it dries very quickly and leaves a bit more of an atmospheric fog behind – which is great if that’s the look you’re aiming for. I prefer semi-gloss myself. Gels also come in regular, heavy, extra heavy, and high solid textures; I haven’t tried all of these yet, and will update this section when I do. It takes a little getting used to doing a wet-in-wet with gel, because it goes on reasonably opaque (but dries clear), so you have to both envision what you’re doing without really seeing it at the time, and be open to serendipitous surprises. You can brush layers of it over a base layer of paint to make things look atmospheric. You can whip it up like frosting and then put paint into it while it’s still wet. You can do a dry-brush technique over it once it’s dry. It’s fabulous for creating an eerie sense of depth in 2-D.

Digital image of the acrylic painting entitled "Catreedral" by L. "Eilee" S. George, 48"x60", acrylic on canvas, painted in 2012, of a dreamy stand of trees filtering powerful light spilling down from above
“Catreedral” © 2012 L. Eileen S. George a.k.a. “Eilee” George, 48″x60″, acrylic on canvas. Original and some prints available by custom order.

Likewise, Golden Glazing Liquid is great for atmosphere in a much more consistent, delicate application. I’ve done some really nice lighting effects by applying multiple, slightly-tinted-with-paint layers over a painting to create a glowing light, blending around the edges; it’s also great for subtle transparent overlays of color to soften an area. Either way the results are magical. This is yet another product I can use to extend my drying time to facilitate much finer blending than I would be able to achieve with straight paint and water (too much water inhibits the polymers in the paint adhering to your work anyway). Yes, I’m a Golden fan.

Good old Prang watercolors are what I came through grade school with, and they’ve always been adequate for me. There are far fancier-looking ones out there named after great master artists, but I can’t say that watercolor has been a major focus for me personally. The one thing that irked me was painting around white areas, and that was remedied when I was introduced to (1) frisket (an example can be seen here but I haven’t tried this brand; my old one is no more), and (2) gouache, or opaque watercolors, which can come in tubes rather than trays – including white! Opaque watercolors sit on top of the paper and on each other, rather than soaking into the substrate. Winsor & Newton gouache has been perfect for my needs whether applied by brush or airbrush; I’ve never had a problem with it. I also like watercolor pencils, and have been experimenting with ones by Artist’s Loft of late. As far as the old-fashioned Prang paint tin is concerned, my all-time favorite is the one my brother custom decorated for me as a gift when I was in grade school; I refill the trays whenever I can.

Brushes are a matter of taste, and in my case, abuse. I don’t like to buy high-end brushes because I’m quite rough on them and it’s cost-prohibitive to always get the best if that’s your modus operandi. I’ve gotten adequate use out of the cheapest of brushes, but I aim for the middle ground as far as cost. I’m not loyal to any brand here: I use natural-hair brushes for watercolor and gouache, and synthetic ones for acrylic, except for fine blending applications. I keep a wide variety of styles and sizes for different uses. You’ll just have to experiment and find what works for you and your art.

DRAWING

Digital image of colored pencil drawing “Up Close and Poppy” by L. Eilee S. George © 2009 L. Eilee S. George

Remember the cheap colored pencils you used in grade school? You could never get really dark, true colors out of them no matter how hard you colored. In some cases, sub-standard art supplies can only produce sub-standard art. Prismacolor pencils have the intensity of paint pigment, unlike those waxy, washed-out box-retail specials. The first time I used them it was like seeing for the first time after a veil had been lifted from before my eyes. I use them on white, black, and different colored papers as a base. They blend very well; they’re able to be quite opaque; they’re sturdy and bold. The only other good pencils out there are the ones that are copying them.

Vine charcoal is very versatile for unique styles and techniques. It’s put out by a lot of companies, and the one I used for some twenty years has long gone out of business, so I’ve switched to Art Alternatives, which is sold at many retailers and does the job. Some people seem to hate this stuff because it’s a little messy, but they haven’t learned to appreciate their potential. These little charred sticks allow you to wear them into the shape you need with a few strokes, and you can use their end or their side, or you can angle them to get a broad, velvety stroke. You can use them softly for light tones; they blend well with blending stumps (tortillons) or cotton balls, and they can mark down to a dark-medium value even though they’re still what I would call delicate. Add compressed or brick charcoal for deep darks to blend in with them; they work very well together (especially love General’s #15 Charcoal Kit). Combine them with kneaded erasers and you can do some real magic….

Digital image of charcoal drawing “Be Still Life” (Peekaboo) by L. Eilee S. George © 2008 L. Eilee S. George

Kneaded erasers are the ultimate in control and technique for erasers. Not only can you mold and point them to erase in the tiniest corner of a drawing, you can turn them into a drawing and blending tool under the right conditions. They don’t leave crumbs, so you won’t need a brush or risk smearing your work with your hand swiping them away, and any little squiggles that do occur from aggressive erasing are easily picked up by the rest of the eraser and easily worked back in. They also don’t go “bad” (rock-hard, greasy, or otherwise useless) like many rubber erasers do with time. There are many great brands of kneaded erasers, but I trust Prismacolor ones most. I’ve also had good luck with General’s and Prang Design ones, and there are many more. Above I mentioned that these work well with vine charcoal. What I used to do a lot was to turn the vine charcoal on its side to make a nice all-over gray tone. Some drawings I would do that to the entire page before drawing anything. Then I’d lightly sketch some outlines of things with the tip of the vine charcoal. I’d figure out my light source and where highlights and such would be – and I’d take my kneaded eraser and erase out the highlights from the colored-gray background; you can also dab or roll them on surfaces for various degrees and textures of erasure. Then I’d darken shadows with a firmer pressure on the vine charcoal by using the tip, and for dark darks, I would move to a compressed charcoal pencil or brick charcoal and blend that in where appropriate. This works similar in concept to chalk and charcoal on gray paper, but you’ve made the paper gray, and it has a very cloudy, dreamy look. Another thing you can do, and this takes a bit of practice, is use a very charcoal-dirty and smooth area of the eraser to blend with (it doesn’t remove as much charcoal as a tortillon). Then when you need a fresh clean area for a starker, white erasure, you just stretch it, knead it, pull it inside-out and fold and mold it like Silly Putty to find and shape one tailor-fit to the area. This rejuvenating capacity renders this type of eraser good for use for many, many years. Brilliant!

Digital image of graphite drawing of a dirt road and bridge over a stream in rural Kansas © 2014 L. Eilee S. George

Good old #2 pencils are fine for everyday drawing. I grew up using the ones with my dad’s job’s logo; never been without one. I still use them today, even though he’s gone and he had retired some twenty years ago. It’s kind of a comfort thing to hold onto them. In my artistic history, such commonplace implements pre-date my more official art tools. It forced me to do more with less: I can get all the light and dark I need from just a plain old #2 pencil. To be specific, I mean 2B…B leads are soft and can get pretty dark, and I never had a lot of use for H leads because I can use a B with a steady, soft touch (but H’s smear less, so there’s that). Sure, I have the fancy drawing pencils, but these are like an old loyal friend, and despite the existence of fantastic pencils out there and even in my studio (my old Venus pencils, and Pentalic brand), I always gravitate to one of Dad’s old pencils for old time’s sake, as I did several works for him with those, and continue to in spirit. So I guess you can choose supplies for sentimental cause.

Ballpoint pen rendering of Rocky Mountain Waterfall in Idaho Springs CO done by L. Eilee S. George onto a pizza box in which we brought home leftovers from Beau Jo's Pizza
“Fall to Your Knees” – ball-point pen on a pizza box, L. Eilee S. George

I loves me some Bic ball-point pens for drawing! When I’m on the go and just must draw something now I will grab anything to draw with and on. These were a nice surprise; I love how adaptable they are, especially when you control the pressure you’re using (there’s more than one darkness, folks). I don’t even use their fancy ones; I use the discount writing ones, but this brand is better than lesser-known brands that can skip and blob and ruin your doodle. Bic pens are ubiquitous and affordable choice you can get anywhere. If people can spray-paint abandoned buildings, then I can pen-draw on used pizza boxes!

Strathmore produces sketch paper with just enough tooth that it is smear-resistant. Time was that I would buy any cheap sketchpad out there, but I learned my lesson. Cheap papers smear irreparably if you try to erase; they lack tooth and can ruin some otherwise good drawings. Yes, occasionally artists do have to erase – especially if you block in some wire-frame type structure lines that later need to be removed. Not all sketch papers are made the same. Some of them just are not good, and when I find something I like, I stick to it. Strathmore isn’t quite as high-end as Canson (which is truly excellent), but it is affordable in bulk and perfectly fine for any drawing needs, and comes in a vast array of types for different media uses.

Digital image of pastel drawing “Painted Trail” © 2009 L. Eilee S. George

I have to say I haven’t worked much with pastels (do not confuse with colored chalk) and oil pastels (I’ve used Grumbacher a little), but they seem pretty consistent from brand to brand. I’ve used Faber Castel Design no, now they’re called Prismacolor Nupastels and the more compressed Prang Pastello pastels; the former is firmer and seems a little easier to blend for me. I definitely recommend using them with a pastel-specific paper with a very coarse tooth for better blending capacity and durability; Canson has a great selection of pastel papers. Some of you artists out there may argue that pastels should be under the paint category instead of the drawing category, but you will not win that argument with me. It’s still a dry medium.

OTHER STUFF

Occasionally I still construct models or sculptures using acrylic sheet and super glue. Sometimes working with it, it gets scratched. Novus plastic polish is fantastic for buffing small scratches out of acrylic. It comes in different viscosities for different depths of scars, and it requires some elbow grease and a little patience, but it can save your project outright.

Epoxy works best for joints needing a tiny bit of flexibility. I’ve used various super glues, because I like the wicking properties to get them into tiny cracks, as well as accelerators to get glue curing quickly, but these can become very brittle on non-porous surfaces. If your project needs to shift a little or is going to be under strain, an epoxy is often a stronger, more flexible bond. I don’t really have a brand preference on this because I’ve never run into a bad one; JB Weld, Loctite, and Gorilla all make good versions as well as others. You want the two-part type that you mix together. Don’t be intimidated; it’s really easy.

When you want to mount something to a board, spray mount is the way to go. For years people used rubber cement, and I hated it going through university. It was what all our professors used when they were going to school, so it’s what they had us use. But rubber cement is terribly messy and lingeringly fumy; the built-in brush always gets messed up; it’s hard to keep the can clean enough to close and not partially dry up; it doesn’t age well; it gets stringy and goes on in blobs and is hard to apply smoothly so that it doesn’t show through with bumps. On top of that, after twenty years, the project fails completely and the rubber cement doesn’t stick any longer. Then the parts are stained with some nasty brown smearing that won’t take other adhesives to put it back together. But one professor introduced spray mount to us, and it was like a godsend. 3M Super 77 spray mount renders the old-school rubber cement “boogers” obsolete. Yes, you should have a spray booth, or point it downwind, outside, with a large disposable drop cloth or liberally spread newspapers for overspray – but it goes on smoothly, and none of my projects with this have failed. You can even carefully lift, shift and re-position the work you’re mounting at first, in case you didn’t get it aligned quite right, so that short initial flexibility in curing time is another super perk.

X-Acto is X-actly what’s needed, but Olfa kicks butt too. I’ve used X-Acto for years and love all the different blade attachments that come with them, not to mention the custom carrying case. Sometimes I do paper cutting and it’s so much more accurate than using scissors. While I was a modelmaker I had chance to use a retractable Olfa blade – the kind with the scored blade where you can use pliers to break a dull region off the end, to have a fresh new blade where you broke it off – and I loved the idea. Since it’s retractable it’s easily transportable, and since sometimes I’m doing little set-design jobs off-site, that’s important. It’s also easy and safe to store when not in use.

More modern media also reside in my portfolio. Photography is a supplement art to my stickier medias, as I do a lot of my own photography of my work as well as art photography for its own sake. I use a Canon Rebel T3i for the really good stuff, and a Canon A630 for quick pix. I miss my old manual Minolta X-700; it was damaged by someone I once lent it to. But that forced me to learn that digital photography is far cheaper than film and developing. Adobe Photoshop is a vital tool with my digital photos, as I use it for color correction in the case of color correction (say, a green tint from an old fluorescent fixture), for cropping, for stitching things together, and for artful editing of all sorts when I’m feeling really experimental. I use Adobe Illustrator for vector graphics like logos I design in my branding business. I use Adobe InDesign for a lot of my graphics jobs, and of course I design all of my web sites on a WordPress platform (if you’re not a web DIY’er and don’t want to self-host, visit here instead).

WHERE TO BUY

I certainly haven’t shopped everywhere, or anywhere online for that matter, but from my artist friends I’ve heard good things about JerrysArtarama.com, CheapJoes.com and DickBlick.com. There are other online venues that are, I assume, also good, and others who certainly too big to need my humble promotion. Brick-and-mortar stores I’ve gone to of course include Hobby Lobby and Michael’s, as well as the Denver giant, Meininger. Some supplies can be gotten (perhaps more cheaply) at hardware stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s or Ace, or at office supply stores like OfficeDepot or Staples, or even big box discount stores, supposedly. I’ve found that framing and hanging hardware is much cheaper at hardware stores, but I’ve heard it’s even cheaper online, and you can get it discounted in bulk. Cameras I’ve picked up both at specialty shops and big-box retailers, and software I get from the developers.

Part of Eilee’s art studio

Please email me via my CONTACT page if you have questions about other media; I haven’t mentioned every category that I work in on this post. I have experience in various types and media of sculpture, ceramics, and I’ve recently procured two kilns and a lot of china-painting supplies from my mother, who has retired from the practice after creating a beautiful legacy of work (I’ll be teaching myself and my mother in-law this art after I finish a few commissions and we both find the time). In more traditional painting, I also have worked in oils, but acrylics are my preference, since they can be manipulated to resemble various other types of painting, and are far less toxic than oils and don’t require the ventilation that oils would demand to be truly safe (turpentine, anyone?). I understand that there are turpentine replacements out there, but they are still stinky, and I just plain like to work faster than oils do. The only time acrylics are toxic is when basically atomized through an airbrush (don’t just do that unless you want something like black lung disease! Use gouache instead, and always use a respirator!) So, yeah, I’m kind of prejudiced against oils, although I did some lovely ones back in the day. If you’re willing to deal with their challenges, more power to you; it’s just not me. It’s probably best to consult someone besides me on oils.

The links in this article are, as much as I could manage it, to the original manufacturer rather than a retail destination, which I only provided when I couldn’t find the maker. I cannot guarantee the quality of any products I have reviewed here, as companies sometimes change their processes or even go out of business, without consulting little old me – nor do I guarantee forever function of any of the links here, as some webmasters seem to like to move stuff around arbitrarily, and I can’t police all these links every week. My apologies in advance for any links that may become outdated in the future. I would like to point out again that there are no ads on my site and none of these companies have compensated me in any way for these recommendations (they likely don’t know I exist); these are the same recommendations I would make to any friend, and I don’t get paid for that either. 🙂

Truth be told, to help fund my work, I am very interested in learning how to monetize the site eventually, and should any of these links become income in the future, I will let you know in a short legal disclaimer statement in close proximity to the relevant reference. Until then, I hope you have found something helpful here. 😉

 

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

Evolution in Faith & Art

Evolution in Faith & Art

FindingMyNoHisWayLogoI’m gonna spill a secret.

For the last few months I’ve been working on a new series rather covertly. It’s one I had been gearing up for since April of 2015, when I went to Israel. I had just been asked to do a bunch of artwork for my church following a renovation, and literally the next day, without my initiation or anticipation, a trip to Israel just dropped into my lap. Is there a more perfect way to gather sources for art for a church? These things happen for a reason, and it was with this in mind alongside my trepidation in leaving my native country for the first time ever (to visit a place which, while immensely inspiring, was also in the news constantly for violence and unrest), that I trusted God’s plan, told my irrational fears to get lost, and accepted the invitation.

Detail of the Garden Tomb painting with its scripture: "He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." - Matthew 28:6 - painted in a fractured, pixelated style in beige, ochre, cream, plum, mauve and gray
Detail of the Garden Tomb painting with its scripture: “He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” – Matthew 28:6 – painted in a fractured, pixelated style in beige, ochre, cream, plum, mauve and gray

Knowing I’d never be able to afford to return in time to gather more material for my commission, I took many thousands of photos while on tour there. I was determined to capture some amazing photos, and luckily I had trained for years to frame a balanced composition in a split second. Being of the philosophy that one has to take a hundred photos to get one really magical one, I took almost 10,000. Yes, you read that right. God bless digital cameras.

Needless to say, it took months to sort through them all, and to identify all the places and rename the better ones appropriately, decide on a theme, pore over fonts, carefully curate between so many good options, and narrow down what I would actually paint for the church (who are giving me a stipend). I also cropped a few reference photos for emphasis or stitched a few photos together, and decided that each painting would contain scripture tying directly to each site being depicted, so there was additional research to be done (hence the font poring). The extent of artistic license and interpretation also had to be determined to some degree. Distractions from this mission were swatted away until I “got it” that this was what I was supposed to do now. Between the epic amount of sorting, the self-doubt, a detour almost getting a really cool job (which had such a horrific commute it would have obliterated any time or energy to paint), and several poignantly-timed illnesses that forced me to stop, think, and re-assess my priorities, it was nearly a year before I actually touched brush to canvas. Luckily my clients were in no rush, and gave me full trust and creative autonomy.

Here I had to face another fear: that I wasn’t good enough for the project. Most artists have this gnawing self-doubt, even when it isn’t earned. Society gives creatives a lot of mixed messages concerning their “worth”, but they aren’t the ultimate measure, nor is money. Don’t get me wrong – funds to afford food, shelter, a studio and art supplies are quite vital, but that isn’t necessarily the purpose for creating; it is essentially a facilitator. Money is a terribly inadequate means of measuring the value of most things that matter, and public response can be swayed by too many fickle factors. Art is nearly as impossible to measure as a feeling or a life. It is more a matter of quality than something quantifiable, and what I mean by quality is how it impacts lives – either that of the artist, or of cultures or sub-cultures, or that of others such as collectors or anyone else who views art with varying purposes. It can calm, inspire, educate – even be a call to action. I have hope with this series that I might inspire viewers to seek relationship with God, if not simply to serve to glorify Him with the passion and skills He graciously and abundantly bestowed on His not-quite-humble-enough servant (hey, I’m a work in progress too). I may never learn what impact anything I do actually occurs, but my knowing is nonessential.

There’s a subconscious meme in our collective awareness that is a picture of the writer facing the blank page – or the artist in front of a blank canvas – that it is the most intimidating thing in the world to pull something from nothing and create something there. This is where I was after all my preparation…preparation that probably took longer than it should as an indirect result of that fear. Eventually I had to face the fact I must do something. Not that I hadn’t been doing something, but I had to get on with the show, so to say. Restlessly wandering around in my mind  with a feeling of disquiet, I frankly wasn’t putting the right effort into figuring out what was wrong yet. Then the Spirit hit me with the notion I needed – duh, I needed to pray about it. So I did. I dropped to my knees, and told God I didn’t feel worthy of my commission, and that I probably wasn’t – but that I knew I could do all things through Him Who strengthens me. I asked for divine assistance. Boy, did I get it!

Now…I’m a very analytical person. I know my skills and limitations: where they lie and where they stop. I know when something is happening beyond what I am currently capable of. So I don’t care if anyone thinks I’m delusional. I own what I say here. I know what I have experienced and nobody can take that from me: I did my initial drawing and blocking in of the painting, in the faith that God won’t steer a parked car so I had better drive…and then I felt Him take the wheel. When I got to a place where I didn’t know how I’d place the strokes or what look the painting would have, I paused for a quick prayer, and immediately I felt Him take control of my decisions and my brush, and guide me into my new techniques.

This doesn’t happen every session, or even every painting in such a dramatic way. But I have felt His presence and influence in every stroke since then, even though it thankfully is a logical progression of my style that’s still recognizable as mine. I have also watched my style subtly evolve with each painting. Usually that only happens every few series of paintings. The work I’ve put into this series surpasses anything I’ve ever accomplished – because I didn’t do it by myself. We worked in concert, and continue to (as I’m not half finished with this series, but wanted to let you know I’m still producing, and just what’s going on – quite a lot!)

It has been a labor of love. What a gift that God arranged for me, in answer to my plea to find a way to serve Him that was custom-tailored around the talents He had given me. And to think I almost turned down the trip because of a dumb fear. I actually heard more gunshots in my own neighborhood the first 24 hours after returning home, than I had in eleven days in Israel, including 5 days in Jerusalem! How silly of me to have hesitated, knowing there’s nothing I can really do to alter the number of days He ultimately planned for me to live anyway.

This is My Son, in whom I am greatly pleased
Detail of the River Jordan painting, inspired by the scripture: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:17

I must say that Israel was far more beautiful than that which is depicted in many movies set in Biblical times generally shows. Much of the land of milk and honey is a varyingly lush, blooming oasis in the Middle East, and my artist’s face was wet with gratitude at being able to witness it, and to walk the steps that Jesus trod, and to be able to witness layers of history excavated before my very eyes. I recommend a visit to the Holy Land for every believer – and even for those who aren’t…and it may just make a believer out of you, if you dare.

When I returned home, I was exhausted but exhilarated, and among ideas for paintings, I started writing a book about my trip, and separately I created a slideshow-video of some of my best photos – played to a background of me reciting a poem I that wrote about the journey. This was an experience that produced a creative tour-de-force.

If that weren’t enough of a present, my methods and techniques began to evolve further as I’ve already mentioned, and I embraced experimentation in a way I hadn’t for years. I’ve progressed so much that I may have to edit my artist statement.

When I embarked into this style, I was acutely aware that matter and light were of a particulate nature: that all things, living and otherwise, are made of atoms with electrons furiously spinning about their respective nuclei, and that light is a blast of speeding photons. I was thinking on an “atomic” level, and was using that microcosm to allude to the parallel that we humans, however different we may seem superficially, are all made of the same stuff – unique yet unified. Now, in the Holy Land series, I have progressed into showing the relationships between these entities, by making my brush strokes and shapes interrelate in a more “molecular” way. It is not enough that we have things in common; it is imperative that we recognize and act on those common bonds by nurturing relationships.

...nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done. - Luke 22:42
Detail of the Garden of Gethsemane painting, utilizing the scripture: “…nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done.” – Luke 22:42

And now my subject matter is sites that were significant in the life of Jesus Christ, He who became the very liaison between the Creator and the created. There is no higher relationship I could portray. I chose not to depict literally the countenances of Father, Son or Holy Spirit; rather to use the light and beauty of nature, another creation, to, appropriately, reflect Them. Then, to reinforce the participation of the Trinity in my visual message, I include the Word, or scripture, within the compositions – scripture that is relevant to the scene illustrated and is relevant to those who read it, regardless of their understanding or even agreeing with it; it is a relationship offered nonetheless, in the context of free will and dependent on one’s voluntary acceptance since, by definition, true love, respect and loyalty can only be given, not taken by force. Similarly, this same push-and-pull tension is also described in the relationship between brush strokes, among which the scriptures are nestled and purposely partially camouflaged, necessarily so one must come closer to read them – just as one must meditate on the Word to absorb its meaning.

The paintings are each two works in one; from afar one sees a realistic scene, but close up one is confronted with intricate patterns and harmonies, creating that Gestalt that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This echoes the responsibility of all humanity to keep a balance between the big picture and the important details, a dichotomy not unlike that of our calling as believers – to repeatedly attempt to transcend humanity while still shackled to it and all its flaws; to balance self and others; to balance discipline and compassion; to balance life in this realm versus that in the next. Mindfulness in relationships are key, and as one progresses, the journey is every bit as important to consider as the destination.

It bears mentioning that each individual’s act of creating is yet another testimony to the fact that we are made in our own Creator’s image, a divine gift He gave us to feel kinship with Him. I can scarcely wait to finish this series and dive into the next one, since I have several waiting in the wings and my mind is so full of ideas, I wish I didn’t have to sleep (and I really like to sleep). I even have yet another Israel series planned beyond the collection for our particular house of worship.

You may have noticed this post is only illustrated with a few details. I feel it wouldn’t be right to show the finished paintings here before I present them to their ultimate home. Looking forward to the day I can post all the finished works after the unveiling at church!

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

Upgrading Imagery

Upgrading Imagery

When I first built this site, I uploaded small images of my artwork for the galleries…too small. I have finally corrected this in an effort to provide easier viewing for my visitors.

So I recently uploaded newer, larger images of the paintings already in the Painting gallery, along with a few new paintings. I hope you enjoy the improved viewability! These new ones include very detailed descriptions, for both information about the work, and as a verbal aid for the visually impaired. The new image descriptions are all prefaced with an asterisk (*).

For reasons only known to my subconscious, I’m letting the old ones linger, but the big new ones are the first 34 images in the painting gallery; the smaller, older ones that follow are redundant and will eventually be removed. I plan to repeat this process in the Drawing, Early Work, and Digital pages in the near future, but painting is my first priority today.

All paintings are available as prints (please contact me to learn available sizes and price structure), and originals are up for sale unless a painting image is specifically noted in its description that the original has been sold. You may also request some detailed views of a work (or works) that you may be interested in acquiring. Details can include shots from different angles to showcase texture, reflectivity, or other pertinent features. New versions or entirely different landscapes may be commissioned by contacting me as well. I will even paint custom scenes of personal meaning to you, if you send me viable photograph(s) from which to work.

I hope you enjoy the upgraded painting images! You can see them here.

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

 

New Music Page!

New Music Page!

This is just a little announcement that I’ve come along enough in my musicianship and singing to feel worthy of performing publicly (at small venues), and that means I should add a MUSIC page to my site. I’ve already played some small gigs, have more in the works, and designed and started handing out business cards. I waited to put the music page in the menu tabs at first, because its content was early in development, but now you can look at it here. [Subsequent note: the Music page has grown enough that I added a VIDEOS page as well!]

UkeNook4I want to thank my musician contacts, friends, blood/extended/in-law and church family members, art community, and others for the great encouragement I have received in developing my musical chops, thereby helping to make this little step happen. As I grow musically, I will periodically make blog posts, letting you all know how it’s going.

I also want to thank Claire Cleveland at the Denver Post for interviewing me at the Make Music festival, (an annual, worldwide summer-solstice event that started in France, spread to many world cities including Denver – sponsored by our own local Swallow Hill), as she partially quoted me and linked to my site on the online version of the article she wrote on the event – very classy of her to do. I really enjoyed the celebration, and I hope you all get a chance to attend Fête de la Musique, wherever you may be next year!

In designing some of my promo materials, I even generated/put a QR code leading to the new MUSIC page on my biz card, along with a wee image of my fluffy Yeti cat guarding one of my growing collection of ukes (it’s cropped from this version) so here’s a gratuitous something cute to look at:

So in addition to painting, designing web sites, doing a lot of outreach and volunteer work, assembling various manuscripts (slowly), playing uke and singing, I’ve been writing a ton of songs, and converting a fair amount of my old poetry into songs; it’s going better than I ever dreamed it would. My repertoire of covers is growing steadily and covering a nice variety of genres. And it’s fun.

EileeUkePortrait2No worries, artwork is still a big focus in my life, and I am currently working on a series based on my trip last year to Israel. After it is finished, I have a couple more series waiting in the wings. There will be plenty of paintings and prints to come. I just wish I didn’t have to waste so much time sleeping! Thank you for visiting. 🙂

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

How to Make a Legible Garage Sale Sign

How to Make a Legible Garage Sale Sign

Ah, it’s spring…time to clean out that house so you can bring more stuff into it…time for people to trade each other’s junk via garage sales. It’s time to drive around squinting and nearly killing everyone on the road while trying to read the tiny, light, thin scrawling on a sad poster board that’s flapping in the wind….

Oh, honey. You don’t have to die this way.

So time for the public service announcement: if you’re throwing a yard sale, be kind and use your mind. People driving by are supposed to keep their eyes on the road as much as possible. Your job is to make that sign as succinct and legible as possible, so that a glance or maybe two – not scrutiny – is all it takes to get folks to turn that wheel – safely.

I understand there are store-bought garage sale signs but you still have to fill out the day/time and the address on those – and a lot of folks rush it and it’s awful. Still, many choose to make their own, because the pre-made signs are small, but not cheap.

There are several factors that go into a winning yard sale sign:

  • Substrate (the sign itself) size
  • Substrate strength
  • Contrast between lettering and background
  • Lettering/type/font height
  • Type thickness
  • Type clarity
  • Content pertinence/relevance

I’ve seen little flaps off cardboard boxes with ballpoint pen scrawled on them, taped to a signpost before. I don’t know what they said, because I wasn’t willing to park my car, walk over to it, and use my Dick Tracy decoder ring to figure out what was written. I can’t be alone in that.

It’s best to consult your local ordinances before planning your signs!

Some cities have ordinances that you cannot affix signs to telephone poles or street sign poles (mostly because people are lazy and forget to remove them when the event is over – don’t be that guy). In that case, you may have to prop your signs up on something, and you’ll have to be prepared for that before the time comes for your sale. You could go to the office supply or hardware store and get one of those wire-frame sign holders like realtors use, but you can achieve the result cheaper with a simple cardboard box with some bricks or stones inside so it stays put – roll some duct tape backward over itself in a loop and firmly attach the back of the sign’s corners to the outside of the box – and this is great for two- or even four-sided signs as well. Ideally, you’re posting at or near one or more intersections, so you want people to know about your sale no matter what direction they’re traveling. Also know that cities may require that your sign be back from the intersection a given distance, which could increase the number of signs necessary. Some municipalities even limit the number of sales you can have a year without having to obtain a permit or even a business license, so make this sale count! Some cities are even more restrictive, and some less. Do your homework and avoid pesky charges for breaking ordinances.

I’ll describe how to make the signs (and why to do it that way) first, but if you need a visual while you’re reading, scroll down a little bit and you’ll see that I provided you some examples to illustrate what I mean. Pay attention to the following CONSIDERATIONS:

AUDIENCE: Keep in mind that drivers are already busy going somewhere, and you need to make it as easy as possible for them to spontaneously come to you. Also remember that many people have impaired vision – some of them don’t even know it. They still have money, though, and they just might want to buy your stuff – if they can see your sign.

SIZE: Even on a two-lane road, your sign needs to be at least 22”x28”, in order to allow enough room for letters large enough to be legible while driving from any direction. This is a standard size for both neon poster board and for foam core, which you will want to glue your neon poster board to for strength, if you’re not already going to stick it firmly to a box. Unless you can find neon foam core, you’ll have to combine them this way. On windy days, flimsy poster board alone will flap and fold, and possibly even blow away. That won’t help you (or those trying to find you) at all. If there’s going to be precipitation, you ought to re-schedule your sale, because even if you protect your signs (and your merchandise), your possible customers will likely not want to get out and shop in the rain, no matter how good your deals are. If inclement weather forces a reschedule, update any of your online/newspaper ads if at all possible.

COLORS: Neon poster boards are not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that some colors lend more visibility than others. Your hot pinks, reds, and neon oranges and blues are in the middle of the value scale (to read about value, check out this post and scroll almost half way down to the heading “Value and Intensity – In Theory“). Reds, blues and purples are the worst for this. Don’t even think about black with white lettering – it’s a black hole no one will see. Also do not do happy little colors on a white or colored background; there’s not enough contrast. If the background is in the middle value range – not really light and not really dark – there’s nothing that you can write on it with that will really stand out in contrast. Electric yellow is the lightest, most visible and highest-contrast background you can get, with bold black ink writing on it. White is technically lighter, but it’s more common and people may overlook it because it looks like other elements in the landscape (e.g., street signs, trash, etc.), whereas fluorescent yellow is not that normal, and draws the eye. Get neon yellow, or if the neon orange you find is as light as the yellow (rare), you can get that if you prefer.

CONTENT: Now, you have a limited amount of space to work on, and you need to make that space count. This means telling only what is necessary – but all that is necessary. Think of making the sign the way reporters used to be trained to get the whole story, by using the W’s to consider what questions your readers may ask to get enough about the story to follow it. Who isn’t really important to tell them, (yes, you’re awesome, and they’ll learn that when they get to you), but Where, What and When are essential to bring them in. How comes into play when you’re trying to lure your quarry back into one of those rat mazes that builders call subdivisions, and to do so may require subsequent directional signs. But your initial invitation, out on a well-traveled road, must have all your W’s: What – SALE…When (both day and time) – FRIDAY-SUNDAY 9AM-2:30PM…Where1790 THISISA ROAD. If you put nothing else down, put down these vital bits of information, or no one will come, or they’ll come at the wrong time and get mad. Below these things you might write a word or two about the main content of the sale, which is more What: BABY STUFF or FURNITURE. This will pique the interest of those looking for just that, and if that’s all you’re selling, it may weed out those who aren’t interested in your wares. However, if you, like most people, have an even variety of items, then I do not recommend highlighting one thing for just that reason – people will assume you have nothing except what you mentioned – so in that case just leave it off – and then you’ll have plenty of room for 3 lines of text announcing the vital info above (the sale, day/time, address). You have to decide if your sale is the “yard” type or the “garage” sale (and “moving sale” excites buyers who will think your desperation will mean better deals), but I’ve always hated the term “rummage”; it sounds like people ransacking your undesirable castoffs and making a general mell-of-a-hess. It’s just not the image either party wants.

PREPARATION: Lay out on some scrap paper, roughly to scale, how you’re arranging the letters and spaces and count how many there are. Spaces between words should be a full space that a real letter would have taken up. I know it seems like more work to do a mock-up, but it saves you driving to buy more materials because of poor planning. Once you’ve worked out your mock-up on scrap paper, it’s time to lay it out on your neon board.

LAYOUT: So if you have 3 lines of text to draw on something 22” tall, you can use approximately 6” tall letters with enough breathing room between the lines and around the edges (it’ll be about an inch between lines, and between lines and edges). If they’re touching from line to line, it hurts legibility – space is important. If you’re caught without a ruler, you can use a dollar bill for a guide as letter height, since it’s 6” long – and a quarter is about an inch wide – everyone has these available. Measure out along edges where lines should be for top and bottom of letters, and then find something to use as a straight edge (even another piece of poster board) and lightly pencil in some lines on which (and between which) to letter.

Yard sale sign layoutTIPS: Note that this is based on a standard 22″ height. If your material is a different size than this, try to apply the same spacing principles as best you can. In the next step, you will need to find the center between left and right. If you don’t have a yardstick or tape measure, but merely a straightedge, you can locate center by finding the intersection of lines connecting opposite corners of your board in an “X” – you don’t have to draw the entire line, just make a little hint of each toward the middle. That’s how you find the center of any four-sided shape.

CENTERING AND LETTERING: Count your letters and spaces to figure out where center would be on each line of text, and lay out your letters one by one, on each side of it accordingly, from the middle outward. When you sketch out each letter, use clear all caps…and lightly pencil where they fit in, either by making evenly-sized boxes for them to fit into first (don’t forget a little space between), or if you’re more confident, by directly (but still lightly) drawing the actual letters to trace over with a marker – but remember you’re going to use a fat marker, so loops on letters like “P” and “D” should not be wimpy, or they’ll look filled-in, or like fat lines instead (and don’t over-exaggerate the loops either, or letters start looking like different letters). Also remember to allow for ample spaces between words and enough between letters; having either run into each other also makes it very hard to read.

Is everything spaced nicely and visually centered? Now you’re ready to ink it in. Use the fattest black marker you can find.

INKING: Draw your letters carefully, smoothly and clearly. Don’t get overly frilly: it’s not an art object; it’s a form of communication that only works if it has clarity. Use letters that are like the ones on charts from which you first learned to print – very clear, with no serifs (those funny little lines clinging to the ends of some kinds of letters). If your marker tip/surface is longer one direction than another, angle it so that your “down” strokes are thicker – and hold it consistently. If there are “skips”, you can fill them in using a small edge of the tip later. Don’t rush this. If your hand printing is abysmal, ask someone with decent writing to help you, or get some stencils (make sure they’re the right size). Follow all the above instructions for each main-road sign you need to make (perhaps you even have two main roads nearby, lucky). You know your area.

ADDITIONAL SIGNS: Unless you live right on the main road, you’re going to need secondary signs to direct traffic to your house. Map out your neighborhood and all the ways that the most people are likely to come in to your address. Take note of how many left turns and right turns there are for each, and make arrow signs accordingly, to place along each route. You could use ½ sheets of the board instead of the full 22×28, say 14×22 (a little bigger than necessary), or even make 4 to a sheet of 14x11s if your arrows are nice and crisp. You might put the address below the arrow, as many people will forget it, but they already know now that it’s a sale today, so you really don’t need anything more. You could even just print out or (since ink is “spendy”), draw and color in arrows on coordinating neon sheets of printer paper if you’re just doing arrows (if you’ve placed arrows well, you won’t need the address with arrows, and once they see your set-up they’ll know they found the sale). Any of these you can affix to smaller boxes with their respective bricks, and once they’re all out, you’re in business – so put the main road one out there last, right before you open for commerce, or you’ll be inundated with early birds low-balling your already reasonable prices before the rush. For this reason also, if you’re posting your sale in advance on your local craigslist.org page or in the local paper, do NOT put your actual address, but instead just put what-hundred block of your street the sale is to be on, and they can find the address when they drive there – when you’re ready. Otherwise, you may get precocious or even creepy strangers ringing your bell in the wee hours of the morning or the night before, looking for a bargain (or casing the joint). Such inconsiderate vultures are not to be borne; do not enable them.

COMPETITION: It may so happen that yours is not the only garage sale in the neighborhood that weekend. If your competitors happen to use the same colors as you, it could confuse folks, but don’t fret! You can differentiate your sign by putting something of a little unofficial logo in the same corner of every directional sign that you put on the main signs. It could be a trio of stars or some scrollwork or a square with a monogram letter in it. Whatever it is, it should be simple, and consistently used on every sign between the beginning of each route in to the house itself, and always in the same corner (top right figures well, if your type isn’t crowding it). Or you could do a shallow border, of a line or dotted line, or zigzags or scallops, or just do something little on the corners if the border is too shallow and you’re crowding letters. Or you could affix something unique to the whole assembly, like a blue balloon or a large hot pink feather, or anything else, as long as it’s consistent through all of your signs.

3 samples: bad, better, good

EXAMPLES:

Now, which one of these three examples above is easier for you to read from across the room? Which one impresses you more? On the left, the red doesn’t allow for much contrast to help reading from a distance. The border is hurriedly applied and would best be left off. The smiley face is too dominant and looks a little creepy. Most importantly, all the words are too small, thin, and poorly written to read except right up against the sign. There’s no prioritization through sizing of text to differentiate vital information from extra unnecessary details thrown in as an afterthought. This one is a fail. The one in the middle is a sad off-white; it looks a tad dirty. Is that what you want people to think of the things you’re selling – or of you? Your advertisement reflects you and your product. Make it look good. It’s barely legible but not impressive at all. The one on the right looks crisp, clear, it pops, it says all it has to and it has a unique mark on it to distinguish it from others.

ARROWS: Now for your auxiliary signs to direct traffic through the ‘hood. We’ve decided the color and marker, and you’ve decided your size and picked boxes or stands, but how are you doing your arrows?

Arrow Signs…Do I really have to ask? I’m certain you already know the answer. There is a reason ONE WAY signs use arrows in that proportion: optimal visibility, because lives very well may depend on heeding those. The same reasoning applies here, believe it or not. Make it easy for them.

FURTHER TIPS:

Now that you know how to make signs to get people there, get to polishing up and pricing those items, and setting up a tidy atmosphere; turn on some tunes, pour some lemonade, lock your doors, put on a fanny pack for your cash/change reserves/payments (it ain’t a fashion show) – and make some road-trip stash/gift fund/pocket change. Remember to be safe: have some backup watching folks who come in groups and try to distract you, and never let strangers in your home – know where you can tell them the nearest public restroom is – there are common scams out there and that’s just a couple of many. As soon as your sale is finished (each day of a multi-day sale if your take is good), take the cash straight to the bank; houses have been broken into after sales. Be sure and thank your neighbors for putting up with the increased cars, and be understanding with them when they have their sales. Better yet, do a neighborhood sale and market it well to get more traffic (again check your city’s rules).

I hope that with these tips and your (undoubtedly groovy) merchandise, that your event is a booming success! Happy sales!

 

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

Elements of Design: HUE, VALUE and INTENSITY

Elements of Design: HUE, VALUE and INTENSITY

Your teacher Eilee George here, with a lesson on color. One of the most obvious properties of a painting is color. Artists (and scientists) have analyzed and categorized them in various ways, in order to understand working with different aspects of how color is used.

Hue (Color) – In Theory

In our world, color can be first of all and most widely broken down into two major categories: additive color and subtractive color. They are separated because they work differently than each other. Additive color is made with light – it’s what you see on your cell phone screen or your TV or computer. Pixels change to different colors to give you an impression of some blend or other, in order to make an image – an image made of light. In additive color, mixing all the colors of light together produce white. Also in additive color, the three primaries are red, blue, and green. This can get very confusing because what most people know a bit about is subtractive color, but I’ll get to that in a little bit. With light, red and green make yellow. The other primaries mix much as they do in subtractive color, but this difference is significant to note. You are probably familiar that if you pass white light through a prism, the colors are refracted differently and a rainbow of color-blocked light results on the other side of the prism. In additive color, white is all color, while black is absence of it.

Unless you plan to work in light, a lot of that won’t be useful…but it has its place. Today I shall focus instead on subtractive color – the realm of the painter.

A first difference you’re likely to know is that in subtractive color, the primaries are red, yellow, and blue – and that red and yellow make orange while yellow and blue make green. Blue and red make purple (usually called “violet”) as always (well, in additive color it’s more magenta). When you mix all the subtractive colors together equally, however, instead of making white, they create black. In subtractive color, white is basically the absence of color – that is, if your paper or canvas is white!

Subtractive color, which I may from here on refer to as just color or hue – another, more technical word for color – can be divided up further, in different ways. First, let’s take a look at a color wheel – a tool to help organize colors and their relationships to each other.

Color Wheel by Eilee

If you take it apart – as I have in the picture below – you can see, from left to right, the Primary colors (red, yellow, blue), the Secondary colors (orange, green, violet), and the Tertiary colors (red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet). Note that the hyphenated names for tertiary hues are named with the primary color first.

ColorPrimSecTerBreakdown

Put them all together and you can see how they relate to each other. This makes it easier to find what colors look really good together. The line shown below separates warm colors from cool colors. Warm colors have a visual “heat” and contain dominant amounts of red or yellow. Cool colors seem to lack “heat”, and mostly have dominant amounts of blue. This is known as color temperature.

Color Temperature

Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel are called analogous colors. Examples of analogous color scheme would be blue-green, blue, and blue-violet. Analogous colors are harmonious together and do not contrast strongly against each other. There are lots of ways to use colors together:

Color Combos

So far we’ve only talked about rather pure, basic hues. What happens if you start mixing them up?

Value and Intensity – In Theory

Both black and white are relevant to this topic. They are neutral: one being the very darkest, and one the very lightest. When you add one of them to a color, you create new categories.

Value is how light or dark a color is. If you add white to make a hue lighter, it is then a lighter value. This is known as a tint of that hue. In popular culture, tints are often called pastels. Not all tints have common names, but an example would be if you added some white to red – the resulting pink color is a tint of red. If you add a lot of white in proportion to the red, it’s even a lighter tint of red – but it’s a tint all the same. Conversely, if you add black to make a hue darker, it is a darker value of the same color. That is known as a shade of that color. An example of that would be navy blue – a shade of blue made by adding some black to it. These terms tint and shade, as well as value, are very specific in the art world and it’s best not to confuse or misuse them. The most notable property with tints and shades is that you have NOT altered the base hue’s identity by adding any different hues.

Intensity is a property of a color in relation to how pure it is, versus how much of its complement has been added to it. To really understand this, we must refer to the color wheel again. Note that red and green are complements. If you were to add a little green paint to a lot of red, you would take down the intensity of the red; it would be a less pure, less intense, less true red. (Note that in some texts the word “intensity” is replaced by the word “chroma”; they are the same thing.) Likewise, if you were to add a little red to a lot of green, it would be a lower-intensity green. Any mixture of complements is known as a tone. You can vary the amounts of each of the complements to achieve any tone you wish that is in the range between those two complementary hues. When you reach equal strength of pigment (your colored paint), then you should (ideally) have something close to black (you usually have to tweak it a bit). On either side of black in that middle ground should be some rather muddy-looking colors that possess very low intensity, and are difficult for many eyes to distinguish from what most would consider simply ugly browns. You can see this in the rectangular illustration below to the left. What you get in the middle depends on how much of which colors you’re mixing. It is significant to note that the value contrast between complements yellow and violet is far different to that between, say, red and green. Yellow particularly is not a very strong color in pigment and by its nature is a very light value compared to other primary and secondary colors.

In the circular diagram below right, you can see that all of the lighter tints inside the white circle are tints of all of the hues, and all of the shades outside the black circle are shades of all of the colors. The space in between holds the pure colors without any black or white added. Note that there are no tones in this model, because at no point do any of the complementary hues mix with each other.

Color Tones Tints & Shades

Also note that the complement of any primary is a secondary – made of the other two primaries, which, in effect, means that you’re mixing all the colors together, which is another way toward black. Then, if you add white to make a tint of whatever mixture you’ve made, it’s more of a gray or a lighter brown, or a lighter grayish hue, depending on how much of each paint you added. The same goes for any other complementary pair of hues – you can mix value and intensity modulations to get an infinite number of subtractive colors. Below you can see some ranges between complements, and how tints and shades affect those ranges, as well as a value gradation between black and white.Color Tint Shade Tone Value Intensity

Note how complements theoretically make a black or dark gray between them, but sometimes you get something else. This is especially true in these samples because I’m generating them on a computer screen, polluting the issue with additive color, since your screen illuminates with light. But once you start mixing paints, you will see what really happens. Play around with it and get familiar with what happens with different combinations.

Hue, Value, and Intensity – In Practice

Of special note for those working with transparent watercolors: since there is no “white” in this medium, you have to thin your paint with water to let the whiteness of the paper show through. If you’re a beginner in paint and you want to get the feel for mixing with actual white pigment, use gouache, which is an opaque watercolor, or acrylic. Oils are more complex and need a certain type of environment to be used safely. You can add water to acrylic because it is a water-based medium, but do not add too much or the paint will not adhere properly to the substrate (paper or canvas). Remember that acrylics can dry quickly, so to keep them workable, get some medium – I like soft gel medium, personally. If you instead find and want to try a fluid retarder for acrylics, then remember to use it very sparingly – or the paint will not dry at all. And do not run acrylics through an airbrush (see previous post). Always read all instructions thoroughly.

For those using drawing media like colored pencils, you can lay them over each other in light, layered overlays; I find that laying lighter colors over darker ones works best, as does altering your stroke direction very slightly and keeping strokes tight to each other while working. If you use pastels, remember that there is a limit to blending because of their texture. You can get nice textured paper to hold more pigment, but think before you blend because once you crush the tooth of that paper, it won’t hold any more…plus you have to seal it heavily with spray fixative or it will smear and disintegrate with time. Oil pastels and crayons blend similarly but with a little less mess. Other drawing/blending tips can be found here, all through the “In Practice” section.

You will find that finer points of blending colors vary from medium to medium, and that’s okay. If you find a medium you particularly enjoy, you can do lots of experimenting to get really familiar with its properties and idiosyncrasies, and develop your technique to an expert level through trial and error and refinement.

 

Hue, Value, and Intensity – In Cyberspace: Master Works

George Seurat: The Watering Can - Garden at Le Raincy, c. 1883, oil on panel, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Georges Seurat (French, 1859 – 1891 ), The Watering Can – Garden at Le Raincy, c. 1883, oil on panel, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 2014.18.51

You’d be hard pressed to find art that didn’t use some version of the element of Hue. Still, some just sing with it. Artists that seem to have a winning ability with hue are often labeled colorists, but it’s supposed to be a more specific term than is often used. Impressionists like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Georges Seurat are probably most popularly associated with special attention to color theory and how it works, even figuratively dissecting how the eye visually blends contrasting colors placed next to each other in small amounts and capitalizing on that to allow the viewer to “complete” the works. Fauvists like Henri Matisse and Maurice Vlaminck used riotous, bright colors in expressive strokes. De Stijl artists like painter Piet Mondrian, architect/designer Gerrit Rietveld and sculptor Georges Vantongerloo reduced hue to its most basic primary colors. Black-and-white photographers like Ansel Adams showed how sparkling value contrasts can be even when limited to a gray scale. Art Nouveau artist Maxfield Parrish liked to work with a complementary color scheme of blue and orange to contrast warm light and cool shadow. Since the works of many of these artists are still under copyright I cannot always put images here, but search these artists online and get a feel for how they use color by studying their works at various great museums, online or, even better, in person.

 

Be sure to check back occasionally for more lessons on the Elements and Principles of Design.

If you have any questions or need clarification concerning any of these design concepts, feel free to contact me using the Contact Form. Be sure to put the words “Lesson Question” in the Subject line (but the quotation marks aren’t necessary). I run several sites as well as my fine arts production projects, so I will get back to you as quickly as I can. Thanks!

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

Master work images courtesy of nga.gov (National Gallery of Art)

All other content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

Cleanup: An Ounce of Prevention…

Cleanup: An Ounce of Prevention…

Colorussia 1 Detail SmallI have heard some people actually be less willing to do something because of the mess involved. However, the old axiom holds true that an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure – while perhaps not a literal ton, at least it does save much frustration and extra toil.

Let’s give some examples of what I mean.

Art time is no time to wear a prom formal or your favorite shoes. Have some old sweats and an old work shirt or smock available for painting days. I’ve used old shirts of my dad’s, shop aprons, or whatever I could find depending on the job being done and the temperature in which it is done (sometimes I paint outdoors). I have designated “paint socks”, since shoes aren’t really necessary in the studio, but I don’t care to stick to the floor in my bare feet either. Of course, if you’re working with heavier things than paint, old flip-flops or steel-toed boots may be appropriate.

I realize that many who wish to paint or sculpt or carve (or whatever) have neither an appropriate room at home to convert to a studio, nor the budget to rent a dedicated space elsewhere. I have made a temporary studio out of my living room in the past, and been able to protect everything there. In my current home I have a studio in the basement, and I added better lighting as well as a couple of large scraps of linoleum to protect the existing floor.

Large, clear plastic drop “cloths” are incredibly cheap at the hardware store, and can be re-used over and over. Even the plastic that is shrink-wrapped over your canvases can be used to cover smaller work surfaces, although this stuff is flimsy and will likely last only one or two uses, if you’re careful not to tear it while removing it from the canvas to begin with.

If you’re particular about preserving your nail work, stock up on latex gloves – there are plenty of sizes available and you can get them either powdered to facilitate putting them on, or non-powdered, for those whose skin is susceptible to rashes arising from clogged pores when the powder mixes with sweat (they’re not really that much harder to don). I prefer function to form as far as my hands go, so I just use gloves to avoid painful chapping if I’m doing a painting marathon or using something that requires lye soap and steel wool to scrub off.

Having long hair is a definite problem when working on anything messy, so I have an arsenal of implements to pull it back, up, and away from my face and work. It’s long enough to sit on if I don’t, so it usually takes more than one tool to handle it all. I sometimes finish it off with a bandana over it, especially if I do any spray-painting.

Safety equipment is essential while spraying anything, as well as if you’re cutting anything. I always have in stock safety goggles, dust masks, work gloves, and knee pads (to ease working on large pieces on the studio/garage floors). Always understand directions to use any equipment you employ in making art, and make sure it is in good working order.

Colorussia 3 Detail SmallIf you’re painting in a medium that will require brush cleaner to get it out of your brushes, by all means, make sure you have ample supply ready, along with some jars and a good sink handy – before you start working. Wash your brushes right after finishing your work – or even if you plan to come back later – so they’re not ruined (leaving them in there bends the hairs). It’s so much cheaper than replacing them.

If you’re working in a clay that needs to dry slowly and evenly, make sure first that you have some plastic to wrap your work-in-progress or finished work awaiting the kiln, so that it doesn’t crack and then explode in the kiln. If you’re sculpting in plaster but can’t finish building up the form in one session, be sure you have a vessel large enough to soak the entire piece in before you add more plaster to it, or the existing dry plaster will suck all the water out of the second coat and prevent adhesion. If your sculpture needs an armature to give it strength, make sure it’s not made of metal that will rust from the plaster’s moisture or wood that will rot of it, or use a tested method of sealing the skeleton first, lest your sculpture stain or fail.

You know…stuff like that.

Being prepared also means avoiding health issues while working in many media: understand the dangers of whatever you’re using. If you want to airbrush, never use acrylic without a full respirator and a strong ventilation system near the application site. Sprayed acrylic is the only form in which it is toxic – this is because it breaks down into polymers that are so fine that when they are inhaled they clog up the lungs – forever – like black lung disease suffered by miners. It is far preferable to use gouache or enamels, and still with the respirator and the ventilation, by the way. If you’re using some form of permanent glue, be prepared with a solvent just in case some of your own parts take an unexpected liking to each other. If you’re working in oils you need ventilation, too, because things like turpentine are very bad things to breathe. Spray paint should obviously be used with the same precautions as airbrushing. Read all cautions with each product and tool you utilize.

I have actually seen a coworker drill a hole through his own thumb because he thought a few seconds was too long to clamp his work down instead of holding it. As much as the image sticks in my mind, I’m sure the victim has a daily reminder the rest of his life. Always secure/guide your work when using tools! Never put yourself in harm’s way; the price you pay may be permanent. Sometimes the ounce of prevention is preferable because there IS no cure.

Feel free to use the Contact form if you have other specific questions, or do a few detailed searches online or consult with qualified experts. Your best tool is common sense. If you don’t know about something, then knowing how to find out – and using that information properly – is the key to success.

Be careful out there!

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

Failure Redefined

Failure Redefined

FindingMyNoHisWayLogo

FAILURE.

It’s not a happy word. But it’s got some serious weight; I’ll give it that. Still, it’s illusory. Hollow. An outright lie. And I’ll tell you why.

YOU’RE ONLY A FAILURE IF YOU STOP TRYING.

Ah, now…that’s better.

Wow, that’s something to wake up with. When I conjure them, I nearly always have blog posts in my head right upon awakening. I guess I just feel a need to school people on failure – after all, I’ve had a LOT of experience, making me an expert!

Failure is a label oft’ misused in place of more accurate phrases such as: life lessons, temporary setbacks, process of elimination, narrowing one’s focus, character building, and general progress.

“What? That’s almost the antithesis of the word failure,” you may blurt. Oh, now come on; we all know the saying that the opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference (however much we may disagree with that axiom when there is genuine hate; I’m certainly not indifferent to nor enamored of, say, terrorists or child molesters or people who prey on others’ livelihoods). The point is, you have to take the concept of failure and turn it inside out, examine it for what it is, and take away the mystery.

I won’t take the word away from you and tell you to replace it with some watered down substitute. I just want you to take that seemingly sinister word and change what it means to you: to change it into something far less foreboding and intimidating, to figuratively whip its butt and tell it who’s boss.

  • Failure is proof positive that you tried something. People who don’t make mistakes aren’t very busy.
  • Failure teaches you what you don’t want – and that’s just as important as knowing what you do want.
  • Failure leads you to analyze and research what went wrong and what to do differently next time.
  • Failure toughens you up and smartens you up, each and every time you survive it.
  • In short, failure is just another step toward success. It’s progress. It’s opportunity.

Another thing that makes people think they’ve failed is having expectations that are unrealistically lofty to begin with. We sometimes expect too much of ourselves (or others expect too much from us and/or those around them). Not everyone is destined to be a celebrity in his or her field of endeavor, or to make a sweeping change to better the world. Most of those who do only did so with the help of countless (often unacknowledged) helpers in the wings, without whose help nothing would have been accomplished. Each person’s contribution, no matter how thankless, is a vital cog in the machine, and ultimately, it isn’t getting credit that is important – it’s achieving the goal, however big or small.

And how small is too small to matter? Everything matters. You may not think that weak smile and sincere “thank you” that you mustered to the nurse is worth anything, but I dare you to say that to her – she might have felt at that moment, for other reasons, that all her hours and her education were not paying off, and then she saw that someone noticed. No, she’s not doing it for the recognition, but instead to know that she can help others – still, now and again we all need a little encouragement when under the yoke. That kind word at the right time can make an epic difference to someone; you don’t know how they might be suffering behind that brave façade. And you could make their day…or week. You could help them make a major decision. And you may never know it – but you’re not doing it for credit.

Little things we do can make a big impact. There are successes you’ve had without even realizing it.

Trust that this is true. Spread spontaneous kudos. Share pearls of wisdom. Do it – because you can – not because collateral benefits may include winning allies. It’s easy, it’s free, and it doesn’t hurt a bit.

Although: “No man is a failure who has friends.” – Mark Twain….But sorry, social-media-only contacts and drinking-buddy bums don’t really count. He’s talking deep, committed relationships, and that can include family or anyone else you have a meaningful influence on and from.

Finally, you must analyze by whose judgment you have “failed” – in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? Does their opinion really matter? Who is the they that you succumb to?

It matters not if you submit your activities to the masses. Only you know your true intent, compared to them. If you are God-fearing, then you know that God also knows your intent better than even you do, as we often are in denial and fool ourselves in weakness to one fear or another desire or some other motivating or limiting factor. Our baser instincts can distract us and sway us from reality. Are you submitting to the fickle opinions of the world? I don’t mean the ones that keep society functional, like laws and ethics – those obviously you must observe and follow unless they are proven to be unjust. What I mean is: are you a slave to little traditions and trends, like not wearing white after Labor Day or having to blow your money on every new gadget to look cool? Just who makes these rules, what’s their agenda, and why do these kinds of rules matter? People used to think having a record player was advanced when those first came out; now many shun them, yet those who appreciate a warmer tone treasure them. Who’s right/wrong? Both. Everyone has been telling me for a decade I should get on social media, but although I could see some advantage to doing so in the near future, I haven’t suffered one bit from lack of participation thus far – it’s just not that important to me. There are some who, I’m sure, would look at me like I had three heads for feeling that way, because they can’t imagine being disconnected from their virtual world for five minutes; I, on the other hand, feel positively liberated; even creatively empowered in my isolation. The key is to find what makes you happy, not what makes “them” happy. Why bend to peer pressure mentality, and why would you give that power to others regarding such insignificant facets of life? They won’t curate your life to your satisfaction – only you can do that.

Some people blame their failures on others. True, once in a while there are those whose purpose is to foil your plans, to steal your thunder: to take credit for your success or blame you for their own duds. I have known at least one of these types of people at every job I’ve ever worked. (Note that I’m a freelancer now). These people are a fact of life – but don’t be one. Look at your life and what you blame on others. Perhaps someone, a boss or a parent, held you back from some opportunity – and you have a right to regret and even grieve that – but that has an expiration date. Your life didn’t end at that moment. Take accountability for yourself – you could have done something else about it afterward. You are an autonomous adult making your own decisions, are you not? You could have better used your time, gone to that school, tried for that better job somehow – if you had the gumption. Motivated people do accomplish an awful lot. Some call it stubbornness, but flip to the good side of that coin and it’s called things like determination and perseverance. It’s a bitter pill to swallow: that you might have to take responsibility for your own subsequent life choices – but is it any more bitter than festering in your resentment over that one thing you blame on someone else, while denying your own culpability on all else? It’s your life and you have to fight for it. It’s nobody else’s job to fight for your best interests. Grow up and make it right – or else quit whining, blaming, and taking it out on everyone around you.

Failure is a state of mind, and it’s often an illusion; if anything, it’s temporary – because with every failure (and barring any dogged devotion to things that clearly haven’t worked), the odds improve that next time will be a success. And every failure takes you closer. Then you’ll have success – and then maybe fall down again – don’t let it daunt you. This track called life is one that lurches forward, so stop looking back – except to gain wisdom – and then apply it now, and ahead.

People make the mistake of thinking that someone is a failure when they only have failures. And those who are judging have failed as well; anyone who claims otherwise is lying. Some may even look at themselves as failures, instead of merely having had failures. And anyone who is successful will tell you that they failed a lot to get where they are! This is the process of finding your way: you try something, fall on your face, get up, try something different, rinse and repeat once or a few dozen times, and then through the process of elimination or a brilliant idea sparked by the knowledge you earned through other tries, you come upon the right solution. You can’t achieve anything without also risking failure. Distinct shadows exist only in the context of light.

As a growing artist, I shun stagnation; therefore I must experiment, and there have been plenty of failed experiments before I found new techniques that worked. You must be willing to risk failure in order to gain. That’s worth repeating: YOU MUST BE WILLING TO RISK FAILURE IN ORDER TO GAIN. In any investment there is a possibility of loss, because all of the factors are not always up to you. Fail? Just try anew. This is like life. This same concept can be applied in all scales, great and small: from the task of potty-training your toddler to overhauling your career, from working in a new media to starting a movement, from changing a tire for the first time to mastering a language; all activities of mankind are endeavors that involve trial and error to some degree – and none of us is realistically expected to be perfect. Keep trying – try again, try harder, try smarter or better, try something different as the results lead you – but keep trying. Embrace your beautifully flawed and unique humanness, and be the best that you can be within that shifting, progressing paradigm.

As a Christian, I read in the Bible that we were never expected to have the capacity to become perfect, because only the triune God of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is perfect. We strive to become Christ-like, and that is an ongoing journey, yet never the destination, because we never get there and we’re never “done” trying. As many times as we fail, He will forgive us. As long as we keep trying, He sees that. And it doesn’t matter a whit what others see, because they don’t know our heart, but He knows it better than we ourselves do. Our results may not be in alignment with our motivation, but He sees our longing and our intent, and it counts. It matters. And if it doesn’t matter to anyone else; if no one else sees or acknowledges our efforts, it’s irrelevant because He sees them, and knows the sincerity behind it all. This yields the ultimate freedom to continue trying earnestly.

If you’re not a Christian, but you want to understand our motivation and beliefs more accurately, I encourage you to read the book of John in the Bible (or any of the parallel gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke); it’s very true to the comprehensive message of Christ, and a good starting point. Another good one to start appreciating the Word is Proverbs. If you feel lost and ineffective and useless, you can find the answers to these questions of life all around in the Word of the Bible, when the world only leads you astray. Don’t just listen to what others say about the Bible; get a good study Bible and read it and the cross-reference notes for yourself, and then ask questions of respected pastors when you get stuck. The Bible is complex, and some of the historical “begat’s” are tedious (don’t get bogged down; just go to John) and there are many misconceptions out there that are wrongly presented as factual. The Bible is one of the most misquoted tomes in the world, often with passages being taken out of context and twisted to an aberration opposite their true meaning. Take the initiative to see for yourself, and know that it’s not just all out there on the surface; you have to invest a lot of time, and dig. You’ll find it frustrating, fascinating, and increasingly compelling. For instance, before I was saved, I thought that the Old Testament and New Testament had a lot of inconsistencies and contradicted each other. I did not think that because I had read it, though, because frankly, I hadn’t. I thought that because I had taken, at face value, the statement that they contradicted from someone else – someone whose credentials I didn’t even question! Even if they had read those portions about which they complained, they didn’t study it enough to understand why it seems that way or the reason behind it. They never told me about dispensations or what they mean. They didn’t know. Of course the rules are different in the dispensation of Grace because Christ has already come to save mankind, and man can now have salvation through accepting Him as his personal Savior. They didn’t have that option in the Old Testament in previous dispensations such as Law or Human Government or Innocence or the others, because He hadn’t yet manifested Himself on Earth to walk alongside us and die for us and rise again to absolve us of our sins if we accept His offer – by His doing this He changed everything! Other earlier dispensations progressed as man progressed; changes were allowed in different times because of man’s capacity (or incapacity) to understand them. The Bible shows that the relationship between God and man changes, because man Himself evolves in mind and spirit – and God accommodates that. Oh, well, funny these detractors from the Word didn’t mention that…because they didn’t know it! So don’t just accept what they tell you. They aren’t acting or speaking in your best interests. I finally took it upon myself to learn more, and I learned far differently than I had been told before by those who were uninformed – or worse, had a dubious agenda. Seek knowledge where it resides. Any good pastor will gladly make an appointment to address any questions you have without judgment. If you happen upon one whom you feel doesn’t have that attitude, that’s only a cue to try a different church; they’re not perfect and some are better than others – just like is true of individual people. Good grounded pastors know that we are all seekers, that some folks are ahead or in back of us on the track, but we who seek Him get there in God’s time, and no one has the right to say, “Why are you so far behind?” because each of us is behind someone else still – if that makes sense. I sure took my sweet time, so I am aware that I need to be patient with others who aren’t where I am yet, knowing that I have, figuratively speaking, light years to catch up to even more folks of my acquaintance (and I’m honored to have them as mentors).

Well, I didn’t mean that to be so wordy, but some things are inherently complex if you try to explain them to an audience, a part of whom likely hasn’t met that information yet. I’d say a picture is worth a thousand words, but on that topic, I’m just not that good of an artist…yet. 🙂

I went into the faith aspect of life because it’s extremely pertinent to mankind’s perception of failure. God gives me the strength to keep going. People might think I’m exaggerating to say that, but they don’t know what I’ve been through. Those that saw me lose half my family to cancer and two jobs and my health within 14 months some time back, knew what I’d been through, and a couple actually said, “If I’d been through that I would have killed myself already” (an utterance I highly discourage since it’s likely being addressed to someone who is contemplating that very action, as I had been) – but nothing short of God’s helping Hand could have held me safely back from that fate. I am very self-analytical and know where my abilities exist and end, and where my limitations are negated and surpassed by God’s power. Testify.

I have come back from many failures and tragedies. I have had blinding pain and agonizing grief and crushing blows to my fragile ego – and through growing faith, stubborn will, and nothing truly better to do, I bounced back. I’ve even had some successes here and there. Imagine that.

You can, too.

So, just to recap….

YOU’RE ONLY A FAILURE IF YOU STOP TRYING.

Keep the faith.

 

– Eilee

 

 

 

 

All content on this site © 2013-2018/present L. Eilee S. George; all rights reserved.

Elements of Design: FORM, TEXTURE and PATTERN

Elements of Design: FORM, TEXTURE and PATTERN

Hello, this is Eilee George with another art lesson. This one focuses on form, texture, and pattern – they are each Elements of Design. I do recommend going through these in the order posted, since I may refer to previous lessons in subsequent ones. If you don’t know what the Elements of Design or the Principles of Design are, you can read about them here (it will open in a new window). If you like, you can just start from there and you will be led from lesson to lesson in the order of their creation, but plan on reserving a block of time for each in advance.

In this lesson, I won’t include any of the Principles of Design, as these three present LOTS of material to cover on their own. There are explanations as well as theory and illustrations. This entry also includes lots of drawing technique tips in paragraphs that are in italics. All you’ll need for the exercise in this lesson is some sketch paper, a pencil (and eraser), and some good colored pencils. So let’s get to it!

Form – In Theory

Form is the three-dimensional (3-D) extrusion of the two-dimensional (2-D) shape. But first let’s put that in context by going backward to how 2-D shapes work. 2-D shapes exist within an x,y axis – each shape exists within a single flat plane (in which could exist, say, a flat square or circle). 3-D forms exist in an x,y,z axis in space (in which cubes and spheres can exist). A line would theoretically be one-dimensional, if you could perceive it without thickness – it theoretically has a length and no width or height. A rectangle is two-dimensional because it has a length and a width, but theoretically, no height (or depth). A sphere, cylinder, cube or cone is three-dimensional because it has a length, a width, and a depth.

To visualize the difference of some of these, try this: imagine first that you have a point. It really has no thickness – no length, no width, and no depth, but for all practical purposes, it’s a speck. See Figure 1 below. If you were able with magical powers to move that point in one consistent direction for a little while, its path would create a line, as in Figure 2. Now we have an entity: a line, with one dimension: length (see Figure 3). Now (as in Figure 4) take this line, and drag it sideways from its former path, and it leaves a trail of its new path: it would form a rectangle as you go (see Figures 5 and 6). The movement created a second dimension, and a shape known as a rectangle, which has length and width. That’s two dimensions.

0-1-2-Dimensional ProgressionNow, imagine you can move this rectangle in a direction perpendicular to the plane it lives in, and collective path that all its sides create will make the planes of a 3-D box – a box with three dimensions: length, width, and depth. You could do the same exercise with a square (shape) to make a cube (form), or with a circle (shape) to make a cylinder (form).

So how, you may ask, do you get a cube? In that case you would simply move a vertically-oriented square forward or backward (or, if you prefer, a horizontally oriented one up or down) in space – and only move it the precise same distance as it is from any side to its opposite side. To get different proportions of boxes, simply move differing distances, and/or differing proportions of rectangles to deal with. Here’s an illustration for the cube or various boxes first:

Extrusion: Square to CubeInterestingly, there is more than one way to make a cylinder with a shape. You can also make one with a rectangle or a square. Pretend that there is an invisible line that passes through the center of the length of that rectangle, and you spin the rectangle around that axis in place – really fast. The corners of the rectangle would always be the same distance from the centerline, tracing a radius. Those corners, spinning around that axis at that radius distance, would trace lines around in a circle around that axis. The top (or bottom) edges would at their widest width become the diameter of the circle made when the rectangle is spun. Therefore, the path that its vertical sides traced would in effect illustrate the form of a cylinder. This is the method shown on the right side of the following illustration, whereas the previous explanation of making a cylinder from extruding a circle is on the left half; each results in the same goal of a cylinder.

Extrusions and RotationsSimilarly, if you spun a triangle around a central vertical axis, it would make a cone, and if you rotate a circle around a central axis, it would produce a sphere. Now, a square, if rotated the same way, would also create a cylinder – just a shorter, wider one than a vertical rectangle would produce. I made an animated gif to better demonstrate the concept; click on the image.

Form Animation
(Please click on image to activate animation; use your Back button to return to this lesson.)

 

Now you can see why it is important to not use the words shape and form interchangeably – they are quite distinctly different things!

Now that you understand the basic forms…what do you do with them?

Well, we must understand that these basic forms, or some version of them, make up a very large percentage of the objects we see (and draw). Breaking down complex forms into the simple ones that make them up is a far less scary way to analyze and draw things.

Look at your television. It’s pretty much a flat box. Chairs may be a series of long, skinny boxes (or square prisms), or their legs might be cylinders. Spheres are all around in globes, tennis balls, even the rough shape of some more perfect trees, excluding, of course, their cylindrical trunks. Other trees look more like cones (especially those in the evergreen family). Look at your own hand. Your fingers are somewhere between cylinders and cones – they taper toward the end although they don’t come to an absolute point. Yes, there are lots of modulations and bumps but try to look at things in simpler terms, like you did as a little kid. Little kids are naturally gifted at simplifying things: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” – Pablo Picasso

Knowing what the basic shape is will help you as you decide to draw and to shade the thing you’re drawing. Light wraps around cylinders and spheres in different ways than it bounces off of a cube.

Texture and Pattern – in Theory

You must also take these light-and-shadow characteristics and apply them loosely if you’re drawing something with texture or pattern.

Texture is an element of design that, in drawings, is mostly only simulated, through applying a pattern of pencil strokes to make it look like the thing you’re drawing is made of stone, or burlap, or whatever. It isn’t actually those textures, but it looks like them, and that is what is important. The paper is still smooth-ish in most cases (although we can beat up the paper a little bit, shy of actually tearing through it). Texture can appear smooth, rough, toothy, furry, cobbled, woody, grainy, etc. – whatever look you’re going for. In painting and sculpture, texture can also be literally a tactile surface quality as it would be on an actual object.

Pattern is a similar element of design, and is more of a surface application that looks decorative, like a floral motif, or stripes, or something more graphic in nature rather than trying to depict the way an object feels. Pattern can be on an absolutely smooth surface, like the silk upholstery on a throw pillow, but still have a very busy design -such as polka dots, plaid, stripes or paisley, or a floral pattern. Pattern quite often repeats in a regular fashion, at regular intervals. Texture can be either regular or random, depending, again, on what you’re trying to achieve.

Examples of texture include grass, fishnet, sandstone, woodgrain, velvet, carpet, gravel, bark, or fur. These are things that you can feel the distinctive bumps and consistency of on objects in real life, without even looking. In a drawing, an illusion can be created that suggests that you could feel those bumps and textures – but really on a drawing you would just feel the texture of the paper and perhaps some minor dents created by the pencil or other media (and likely you would ruin it by touching it because it would smudge – so don’t do this literally!) Conversely, pattern you may not be able to feel at all in the real world or in an artwork. A store-bought notebook cover may have a busy design on it that you can see, but when you touch it, it is still just smooth and flat, and you couldn’t tell which (if any) design was on it if feeling it while blindfolded. It doesn’t appear to have a texture, just a flat design.

Understand also that these two elements, texture and pattern, can also both exist together at the same time. An example of this would be a piece of velvet that has been printed with a floral design, or a nubby rug with different colors woven in to make a geometric pattern.

But texture and pattern have to be on something. That something, in your drawing (be it a landscape or portrait or still life), is likely a form of some sort.

Form, Texture and Pattern – in Practice

Let’s start simple. A tennis ball is a sphere, and it’s fuzzy. Know that you needn’t get so detailed as to draw every single hair on it. Although some people like to get into such painstaking detail, it simply isn’t necessary to get the point across. All you have to do is suggest a texture with a few well-placed and well-spaced strokes. Experiment and you’ll get the feeling for it.

You met some of the basic forms in the Line lesson. The still life in that was drawn and “shaded” by using lines in different ways. What you may also notice is that those lines that were used to “shade” those forms – those lines created a pattern. It’s mostly stripes, but that’s still a pattern. The sphere in the example drawing was “shaded” by using concentric lines that seemed to bend around upon the surface of the ball, closer to each other to make darker areas. Those long lines could be replaced by tiny little lines – tiny little lines that go in all random directions that are straight, curved, bent, multi-directional, and rather light and delicate – much like the tiny pieces of fuzz you see on an actual tennis ball. It’s effective to draw the lines very lightly and softly in the areas where light is strong, and as shadow creeps across the ball, start drawing the little lines a little darker. You can even start shading the surface “beneath” the fuzz more smoothly in addition to those darker lines – as long as the “fuzz” lines are a wee bit darker than their background – unless the shadow is dark and heavy, as it would be in a stark spotlight in an otherwise dark room – then the eye tends to lose its perception of detail so you could blend it.

So, you may wonder – why on earth would I draw a tennis ball? Well, for the sake of a drawing exercise, they’re pretty accessible…and you can control the light they’re in and they won’t go bad and they’ll sit still for you – and – they’re a basic form. Hey, lighter and heavier fuzzy textures are on plenty of other drawing-worthy subjects: peaches, puppies, moss, caterpillars; even clouds. The way that you apply your strokes is going to differ with the details of what you’re drawing – peaches have very fine, short, and almost transparent fuzz. Puppies have longer furry fuzz. Moss is a little more stiff; caterpillars have rather long hairs compared to their overall size, and clouds can be kind of…curly or feathery, depending on if they’re cumulus or cirrus clouds (stratus clouds get blended more). The thing with the tennis ball is that it is a simpler form for you to begin with, and then you can work into more complicated, compound combinations of forms in more complex subject matter like animals, still life scenes, and landscapes. Walk before you run. And, whenever it’s possible, draw from something that’s directly in front of you.

So let’s set up a little still life for you to draw – just regular household items that are representations of the basic shapes as you can find them. It doesn’t matter if you have the same things as I use in my examples; it’s the principles that I point out that are important. If you don’t have a tennis ball, try an orange, or a baseball, or whatever simple spheres you can find that have just a little texture or pattern to them. Grab a roll of toilet paper, a can of beans, a short can of tuna, or some other simple cylinder. Grab a party hat or a funnel or a megaphone or whatever odd cone you have around your place, or make one with a piece of paper and some tape. If you’re desperate, a lampshade might work. Boxes should be abundant in your pantry and all over the house. Just try to find good representatives of each of the basic forms, that are of a size that you can work with. If you can get these things in a solid color, that’s best for the beginner. The fewer patterns and printing on them the better, but feel free to experiment with that if you are more advanced or feel adventurous or confident (practice is always good). Scattered through this I’ll put some still life setups that I gathered. At first the photos will be rather monochromatic (shades and tints of mostly a single color), to ease the translation into a graphite pencil drawing (or charcoal, etc.)

Monochrome simple formsMonochrome complex formsPut the items on a table under a light source, and study how the light and shadow wrap around them. Note how the light and shadow and the gradation between them change depending on how smooth and how reflective they are. Shiny things have stark reflections without a lot of gradation between light and dark. Dull things have a more gradual and even transition between light and dark.

Draw a light outline of the still life once you have the objects arranged in a way that pleases you. Don’t do heavy cartoon outlines; that will flatten things no matter how well you shade them. Save that for more expressive work down the line, if you decide to get all political or emotional about things. For now, let’s just learn to draw what we see – and we don’t see lines around everything in real life; this is just a little guide for you to shade up to, either on the object, or on whatever’s behind it, depending on whichever is darker. You can see in the adjacent illustration that there isn’t even much contrast between the box and the background. It’s up to you whether you want it to stay that way or punch it up to make the box stand out a little more. Take note of the pattern in the tile and the texture on the candle, and the differing wood grains in the puzzles, and the slightly shinier reflectivity as well as the partial translucency of the funnel. And study the different shadow appearances. You’ll note shadows act differently in hard light than in soft light, or in areas with multiple light sources (even more exciting when those light sources are different colors, but let’s not get too advanced yet).

Forms with more colorsA note about sketching style: I see a lot of beginners drawing short, loose, almost “furry” lines when they aren’t confident about getting the shapes right on the paper. I find that such a technique creates a lot of erasing and mess. Try drawing the outlines in a single line whenever you can. The secret to getting a smooth line is to draw not with the fingers, but with the whole arm, and if you are able to draw at a table or counter standing up, that’s even better because you can move your whole body in a fluid line to get smoother results from your pencil. The further back your force comes from, the steadier the line will be. It’s almost like a graceful dance, or like the fluid motions of Tai Chi. If you’re drawing only from the knuckles in your fingers or even from your wrists, your range of motion is too restricted and you won’t like the results when you’re drawing larger shapes – they’ll look bumpy and stiff. Draw with your whole body if you can find the space to do it. Practice it if you like – that’s how I do straight lines – horizontal, vertical, whatever – and circles, and arcs, and serpentine lines – and the results are fantastic. You won’t have to practice much, just till you get a feel for how all your body joints work in harmony for the common goal.

Once you add color to your still life, you’re going to have to be extra careful to not let that throw you off on light-and-dark values among them. There will be another lesson on value and hue in the near future (here it is), but a little of it was touched upon in the Shape lesson.

Forms with lava lampOnce you have your outlines and they’re nice and clean and you like the proportion, it’s time to start shading in your value modulations. I like to start light and go dark, but it’s a matter of personal preference and not a rule. My rationalization for it is to reduce the possibility of smearing all over the paper by my hand touching some dark spot before I’ve done other areas and “contaminating” an area I really didn’t want dark. One can wear cotton gloves, or put a piece of paper under one’s hand, or position one’s hand in a manner where it wouldn’t rest on the paper (putting your drawing pad on an easel and standing at it is ideal). I don’t know your setup so you’ll have to find what works for you. Another possibility, although it’s rather stiff feeling, is to shade from the corner opposite where your hand is coming from and work your way back. This isn’t really natural, and you get better results working the whole composition rather evenly phase by phase. I used to do detailed areas one after another, leaving other areas completely untouched, and sometimes never finished the drawing, and it looks unfinished because there was this photographic detail in one area and a mere outline in others. Some people dig that, but it’s often better to work around the whole drawing in stages…that way, if you’re interrupted, it’s cohesive and can be developed further, and you can record the stages with a camera if you want to analyze it. This way, if, like I was, you tend to be too tight in your style, you may find that an earlier stage is “enough” and even beautiful in its simpler, stylized or even more abstract form – or you may want to even take off more in that stylized or abstract direction and abandon photorealistic accuracy for expression. You can add life to that still life that only your imagination can breathe into it. But that’s likely not going to happen on an initial still life of a bunch of boring stuff of basic forms. Thank goodness you can choose to only do boring basic forms once or twice or however many times it takes to get you ready for more complex subjects. But this is a fantastic foundation, and I highly recommend it; the payoff is great in the next phase.

Here’s how to shade really light areas: instead of grasping the pencil solidly as one does while writing, hold the pencil loosely between the thumb and index finger, letting the weight of the pencil itself be the only force laying marks onto the surface of the paper. It should be so light it’s hard to see at first, but patience and repetition will let you shade it gradually from white to successively darker values. Eventually you can find where you can hold the pencil more naturally for the mid-tones, and then for the darker values. Make sure you don’t get so regular in your motion that you create edges that shouldn’t be there; move around evenly but randomly, and overlap your strokes so there is no one line between passes, and fade them out at the edges from pass to pass until they blend together seamlessly where they meet. Try to angle your stroke direction to relate to the perceived “direction” or “grain” of the surface you’re modulating.

Now, the difference between shading spheres, cones, and cylinders is largely the shape that the light and shadow take on these forms. Light and shadow follow the “shape” of the forms – on a cone, you will see both highlights and shadows that are triangular – narrower toward the point. On a cylinder, they’ll be more rectangular in nature, and on a sphere they will be in ovals with crescents wrapping around them.

Again, I’m assuming you’re starting with pencil or charcoal or some other drawing medium (pencil is best at first). Whatever drawing medium you use, the stroke of the implement will show as you shade; therefore, care should be taken as to how that stroke is applied. Whether you’re shading an object, a cast shadow, a background or whatever, make your marks and strokes work with whatever you’re depicting.

With cubes, there is very little modulation on the flat planes – but they are rarely completely one flat tone per side. Let atmospheric perspective step in to make a side a little lighter or darker as it recedes away from you or advances toward you – and exaggerate light and dark in a way to create maximum contrast along where the edges visibly meet, to emphasize their sharpness and make them pop. You can do a little of the same with the flat ends of the cylinder versus the curved sides. (You can read about atmospheric perspective on this page about Shape in Simple Space, around the 12th paragraph, between the two colorful flat shape graphics that look exactly alike).

Reflect/Refract form studyReflect/Refract form study w/ notesHere are some more photos of objects that show how they reflect upon each other in more detail. Note how the glass jar refracts and warps the shape of the tennis ball as you view it through the bent glass. Note how the reflection of the tennis ball is a duller yellow in some of the objects near it because of those objects’ local color mixing with that reflection, making a relative color. (Local color and relative color are also discussed in the Shape lesson.) See how the silver base of the lava lamp is dull rather than a mirror finish, and how it tones down the color of the objects that it reflects. Notice the reflection on the box from an area we can’t even see from this angle. In the other photos above, note how shadows act under the jar, as they recede away from more opaque objects – they go from sharp to blurry as they go away from the object that casts them (for instance, under the weight). Look at how shiny objects’ reflections are very sharp and sudden, but the highlights on dull objects are smoothly gradated.

If one of your objects has a pattern, design or printing on it, note that within the shadow, you can’t really see as much detail or contrast – embrace that. Remember to draw what you see, not what you know. What that shaded side of the box would look like in good light is unimportant. Draw it as it looks in the shadow you’re looking at now.

If one of your objects is rough, like a box made of rough stone, you can use a loose pattern to depict that roughness, like a toothy crosshatch pattern or a pointillist bunch of dots or even controlled scribbling. On the other hand, if it is smooth, try this:

For shading very smooth objects, shade in light layers over each other, with your strokes a little longer, overlapping randomly as possible, and when you change stroke direction, only change the direction by a couple of degrees, so that they’re almost parallel – this will give you much smoother results.

Also, pay attention to how shadows are cast from the objects onto the surface upon which the objects sit. Note that in most cases, the shadow is darker closer to the object, and the line of the shadow edge is sharper closer to the object. As the shadow travels away from the object, it may become slightly lighter and blurrier. Shadows also follow the form of whatever they fall on, so if that surface bends, the shadow bends with it. Showing shadows accurately will give as much believability to your drawing as drawing the object itself precisely will.

Also note that if the surface the items are sitting on is a bright color or white, it may cast a tiny bit of reflected light (or reflected color) back onto the shaded part of the objects. The usefulness of this is twofold: it helps to make your object pop more – to look more three-dimensional – and it is very useful for making a darkly-shadowed area of an object stand out a little from an area of background or cast shadow that is also dark. You can emphasize that, if necessary, to make your depiction a little easier for the observer to look at and understand what’s going on. This is just another example of “taking artistic license” – manipulating how things look just a little to make the picture “clearer” – or to create a mood or to emphasize an object the artist may feel is especially important. Once you work in color, you will notice on close observation that colors also reflect on each other within an environment, and this can make for very lively work when you freely express those reflected colors. You will come to understand that there is no such thing as a “white” wall, because it reflects everything around it to some degree – as long as there is any other color in the room, that white wall is a rainbow of very subtle variation in relation to those colors, to their intensity, their proximity, and their hardness or softness. Life and art and vision just got a lot more interesting.

A final note on blending in graphite, charcoal or other pencils or chalk pastel:

Although it’s tempting to do so for the convenience, I recommend never, ever using your fingers to blend your work, because the natural oil on your hands will make the paper shiny in those areas when it isn’t anywhere else, and it looks unprofessional and sloppy. Use a tortillon, or a blending stump. These are available in art supply stores near drawing tools. They are tightly-rolled bits of paper that taper at one end to allow for detailed blending. This allows you to control the blended area much better and keeps the quality and matte/sheen of the media consistent with the rest of the work. It also keeps you from transferring, with filthy fingers, color onto areas and objects you may not want it! In a pinch, you can substitute folded bits of tissue, cotton swabs, or fluffy cotton balls, particularly for larger, appropriately scaled areas where detail isn’t an issue.

Form, Pattern and Texture – in Various Examples

It occurred to me that it might be helpful to see some beginning work when learning these lessons. Here are some old student works of mine as I was progressing through the topic in school. Some of them are incomplete, as they were executed under strict time limits and I was still trying to judge how fast and how much detail to go into in relationship to the time given. That being said, it doesn’t reduce the usefulness of these examples to show some of what I’m talking about here. The one thing that bothers me is that in those drawing classes we didn’t do much in the way of color (it was saved that for painting class) and I’m just trying to teach you to draw right now. When I find some basic forms (or pretty basic) I’ve done in color, I’ll insert them. I have an enormous library of archives to sort through.

Old Form Line Drawing in charcoal

This was an early assignment – yet still after we had done many, many drills on individual forms, one at a time. Now we had to figure out placement, proportion and perspective as they existed together in space. Before we tried shading, we had to accurately draw positions in relation to each other, and to ground. This drawing was done in vine charcoal on large sketch paper. You can see there’s been a lot of erasing. That’s okay.

 

Form still life, shaded, student workThis one is a little more advanced. Bottles have been added, and they represent some composites of different forms together. Also, of course, it’s more than a line drawing; it is shaded to represent the light placed very near the still life and the shadows that the objects cast, not to mention some degree of reflection of the objects on the slightly shinier table. Due to the age of this piece it has smeared, and some of the details have been lost. The strange lines in the background represent random pieces of masking tape stuck to whatever that was (I don’t even remember). Overall, this technique was achieved by taking vine charcoal and coloring the entire page gray with the side of it, blending until it was nearly homogenous, and then darkening objects and shadows with heavy brick charcoal and pressed charcoal pencils, and erasing out the highlights to varying degrees with a moldable kneaded eraser. It’s one of my favorite techniques, giving a soft, sculptural feel to a drawing. I also can’t sing enough praises for kneaded erasers; I simply won’t use any other kind since discovering them years ago during my first art degree program.

Still life with kettleThis one with the kettle is just a little later and was never finished (due to another time limit I fought with my detail level – I did eventually get that timing thing down very well on much more complex subject matter: figure studies). Here we see a few more complex shapes and then pattern, in the unfinished striped cloth in the foreground, as well as an excellent bent reflection in the shiny surface of the tea kettle. Looking at the dish behind the central bottle, you can see some very odd and unpredictable shadows in its recesses. This sort of thing is precisely why it is best to do still life work from actual objects instead of from your imagination, because it is those quirky, difficult-to-imagine details you see in real life that make a drawing come to life – even if it isn’t finished. It is graphite on paper, totally pencil blended, meaning that nothing was smeared to blend, giving a fresh, lively yet delicate appeal.

I’ll throw in some more student work in future lessons. I thought it might be a little more encouraging than simply showing you master works…but those are good too, to give you something better to aim for. So….

Form, Pattern and Texture – in Cyberspace: Master Works

Try looking up images by these artists for more appreciation of these concepts:

"Virgin of the Rocks" by Leonardo da Vinci
“Virgin of the Rocks”, ~1505-1508, by Leonardo da Vinci

Artists who work well with Form include: Edward Hopper, John Constable, Jacques Louis David, and Leonardo da Vinci.

 

 

 

 

(More images below…)

 

 

"Le Chahut", 1889-90, by George Seurat
“Le Chahut”, 1889-90, by George Seurat

Artists who work well with Pattern include: Henri Matisse, Gustav Klimt, Jackson Pollock, and Georges Seurat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The River Seine at Chatou", 1906, by Maurice Vlaminck
“The River Seine at Chatou”, 1906, by Maurice Vlaminck

Artists who work well with Texture include: Jean-Antoine Watteau, Edvard Munch, Julian Schnabel, and Maurice de Vlaminck.

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check back occasionally for more lessons on the Elements and Principles of Design.

If you have any questions or need clarification concerning any of these design concepts, feel free to contact me using the Contact Form. Be sure to put the words “Lesson Question” in the Subject line (but the quotation marks aren’t necessary). I run several sites as well as my fine arts production projects, so I will get back to you as quickly as I can. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

Master painting images in this post courtesy of the old Ookaboo.com

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