December 2020 Newsletter - The Right Reds

Happy New Year's Eve to all!

Even though I didn't travel much in 2020, I was often distracted from painting because it's been such a turbulent year. My new year's resolution is to tune out the noise and re-focus on my art. I'm going to end the year by sharing some of my thoughts on color.

 

Red is one of the most difficult colors to work with in painting. If you struggle to get just the right reds in your work, there are steps you can take to simplify the mixing process.

 

Sign up for my latest newsletter to learn more about how to mix a range of reds: http://bit.ly/PSFA-Newsletter-Sign-up

 

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - "Twilight" by Nicolai Fechin

It's the last #MuseumTourTuesday of the year, and I'd like to share one of my favorite winter scenes by one of my favorite painters.

Nicolai Fechin takes this simple scene of a mountain cabin and makes it glow. The painting flows from the cold brutality of the snowy slope at the bottom of the painting to the bright warm colors of the trees and the mountains beyond towards the top. This dramatic color change makes the cabin feel inviting despite its dilapidated appearance, and the presence of the horses lets us know that it is not abandoned. What I find most appealing is the way Fechin treats the background almost like watercolor, creating a depth in the scene from which the cabin emerges.

 

"Twilight" • Nicolai Fechin • Oil on Canvas • 30" x 24"

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Plein Air Painting - "Dockside at Guanabanas" - Jupiter, Florida

This wasn't intended as a holiday themed painting, but colored lights and a warm night can sure make you feel festive.

I hope you are all looking forward to the New Year!

 

     "Dockside At Guanabanas" • Oil on Linen • 16"x20" • Available at www.patricksaunders.com

 

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Floral Painting - 2013 "Holiday Poinsettia"

For #ThrowbackThursday and in keeping with the holiday spirit, here's an older floral from 2013. Even though I worked at Hallmark Cards for a decade, this was the first poinsettia I ever painted, more than 10 years after leaving the company.

 

Merry Christmas to everyone!

 

"Holiday Poinsettia" • Oil on Canvas • 12" x 16" • Private Collection

Painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - Winter Landscapes by Stepan Kolesnikoff - Siberia, Russia

I've always loved paintings of snow scenes, but I've never been a fan of cold weather. I guess that excludes me from personally painting any, but it doesn't mean that I can't admire the efforts of other painters.

In keeping with the holiday season, I'll be sharing a few of my favorite snow scenes for the next few #museumtourtuesdays.

Today, I'm featuring Stepan Kolesnikoff. Born in 1879, Stepan was a Russian realist painter who spent most of his life in Siberia. His work in oil and gouache won him the regard of Ilya Repin, the most distinguished Russian artist of the time.

The color palette of this first piece is just magical.

Through the use of warmer blues in the landscape surrounding the house, Stepan is able to call our attention to the structure by giving it a cool purple cast, calling it out from the swirling branches surrounding it.

Once again, Stepan uses dramatic color temperature differences to draw our attention into the church, and the busy color patterns of the crowd contrast nicely with the calmness of the sky above.

One of the first things that drew me to Stepan's work was his handling of trees. The branches have a calligraphic feel, and you can almost feel the movement.

This piece balances both color temperature and value in order to play off the primary and secondary focal points.

The dark shape of the wolf stands out from the surrounding lightness of the snow, while the warm window stands out from the surrounding cool shadow.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Floral Art - "Unfolding" - Orange Rose Painting

I’ve always been fascinated by the way flowers open and close each day to take in the rays of the sun. This one was painted near midday, when the rose was fully open. The petals are far more defined at this time of day, but the color temperature differences become much more subtle.

 

“Unfolding” • Oil on Linen • 8” x 8” • Available at www.PatrickSaunders.com

   

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

In Progress - Portrait Painting

I have a larger painting with multiple figures currently developing in between some smaller works. Here's an in progress. There's a lot going on here with six portraits and intricate figures, so I'm taking my time.

 

• Oil on Linen • 15" x 20" detail of a 48" x 38"

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - "Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler" by John Singer Sargent - Smithsonian American Art Museum & the Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Today's #MuseumTourTuesday features a portrait by John Singer Sargent at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C.

"Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler" • John Singer Sargent • 1893 • Oil on Canvas • 49 3/8" x 40 1/2"

Looking at the painting from a distance, it appears almost photographic, but Sargent's true genius is in how little he painted in order to achieve this effect.

Elizabeth Chanler was twenty-six years old when the portrait was painted, and according to Sargent had "the face of the Madonna and the eyes of a child." This was a rare compliment from the artist, who often expressed contempt for his sitters.

Elizabeth's mother died when she was young, leaving her to care for seven younger brothers and sisters, and we get the sense that Sargent had great respect for her from the sense of strength imbued in the painting.

Behind her are a painting of a Madonna and Child and a copy of a Frans Hals, one of Sargent's favorite artists.

Moving closer, you can see the almost effortless look to Sargent's brushwork, especially in the hands. The strokes are so quick and decisive, there is a sense of movement that could not be achieved with a more detailed rendering.

"Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler" Detail • John Singer Sargent • 1893 • Oil on Canvas • 49 3/8" x 40 1/2"

The pendant that she wears is simply dots and dabs of paint, fading directly into the dark fabric of her dress. This illusion of detail is what sets a master like Sargent apart from most painters, and gives his work a greater sense of reality.

"Elizabeth Winthrop Chanler" Detail • John Singer Sargent • 1893 • Oil on Canvas • 49 3/8" x 40 1/2"

Painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

"Tapestry" Floral Art - Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition - Reinert Fine Art Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina

I was pleasantly surprised to learn yesterday that my entry into the Oil Painters of America 2020 Eastern Regional Exhibition at the Reinert Fine Art Gallery sold to a new collector last month.

 

               "Tapestry" • Oil on Linen • 12"x16" • Private Collection

I was inspired to attempt this floral painting after seeing the rich floral works of Maria Oakey Dewing, and by a Jules Bastien-Lepage piece, "Joan of Arc", at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

My subject matter in this painting is totally disconnected from that of the Bastien-Lepage, but I found something fascinating in the tapestry-like richness to his work, featuring varied textures and patterns throughout the painting, and tried to apply it to this floral.

 

Sometimes inspiration leads to something completely different.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Holiday Floral Painting - "Holiday Star"

Kimberly and I want to wish each and every one of you a very happy holiday season.

Each year I create a holiday themed painting. This year, I chose another red poinsettia. You just can't beat the iconic nature of this flower. Reds can be tough to capture, but that pop of green puts it all in balance.

 

                  "Holiday Star" • Oil on Linen • 9" x 12" • Available at www.PatrickSaunders.com

 

Reference and painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - "Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl" by James McNeill Whistler - National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Today's #MuseumTourTuesday features a beautiful painting by James McNeill Whistler at the National Gallery of Art.

Whistler painted this portrait of his mistress, Joanna Hiffernan, for the 1862 Royal Academy of Arts exhibition in London, where it was promptly rejected. Whistler then entered it into the 1863 Paris Salon, but was again rejected by the jury.

What did Whistler do next after these two heartbreaking rejections? He exhibited the painting in the Salon des Refusés, a protest exhibition organized by Gustave Courbet in response to the Paris Salon having rejected two-thirds of all submissions to its 1863 show.

Courbet's exhibition made history, with over one thousand visitors a day, legitimizing the emerging avant-garde in painting.

If Whistler can face multiple rejections and still move forward, we all can. The only opinion of our work that truly matters is our own.

 

"Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl"
 • James McNeill Whistler 
• 1862


• Oil on Canvas
 • 83 7/8" x 42 1/2"

 

While the painting overall is beautiful, I am personally drawn more to the rug and carpet than the portrait of Joanna. The contrasting paint application of the organic wolf skin rug vs. the more rigid carpet make them far more interesting.

Detail - "Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl"
 • James McNeill Whistler 
• 1862


• Oil on Canvas
 • 83 7/8" x 42 1/2"

Photo by Saunders Fine Arts.


 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Favorite 2020 Floral Painting - "Tulips Mingling With Daffodils"

Here is one of my favorite floral paintings of 2020.

It's a bit different from most, as I normally focus in on only a few flowers. It has much more of a full yet natural garden feel, with intertwining leaves and stems, and that's what I love about it. 

 

Kimberly photographed this scene at the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis, Missouri.

 

“Tulips Mingling With Daffodils” • Oil on Linen • 16”x20” • Available at www.PatrickSaunders.com

 

Reference and painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Southwest Art Magazine Cover - December 2020/January 2021 Issue

I'm so incredibly honored to have another painting on the cover of Southwest Art Magazine.

The December issue hits stands soon. My thanks to senior editor Kim Agricola for the write-up on "War Dancer."

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Artist Talk - Booth Artists' Guild, Booth Western Art Museum - Cartersville, Georgia

My thanks to the Booth Western Art Museum's Booth Artists' Guild for inviting me to give an online artist talk last night.

It's a great group of artists who were a pleasure to talk to, and they had lots of good questions. Some of you I've already met in my workshops, and I hope to paint with more of you in person someday soon!

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Art Review - "The Flower Woman" by Felicie Waldo Howell - Telfair Museum, Savannah, Georgia

I love this painting by Felicie Waldo Howell. It's a simple scene, laid out in graphic blocks, and yet numerous elements are slightly askew, adding interest and whimsy. 

 

Notice the slight curve in the telephone pole near the street sign, and the wavy nature of the stairs on the left. The pinkish color of the architecture also adds to the storybook feel.

The painting was purchased in 1921 by the Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia, on the advice of their fine arts advisor, the great painter Gary Melchers. I can understand why he chose this piece.

 

"The Flower Woman" • Felicie Waldo Howell • 1921 • Oil on Composition Board • 13.5" x 11.5"

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s authors/owners is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Patrick Saunders for painted works, or to Kimberly Saunders for photographs and/or videos, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.