Art Review - "The Sunlit Room" by Carl Holsøe

This week's #MuseumTourTuesday is an interior by Danish artist Carl Holsøe.

This piece has such a wonderful control of values. Notice how the values all around the window are light enough that they give the impression of the sunlight blasting out the scene. The tile floor in the foreground also reflects this strong light, differentiating it from the wood floor beyond, but also creating a sense of depth by contrasting so severely with the darks between the tiles.

Born in 1863 in Aarhus, Denmark, Holsøe studied under the great Peder Severin Krøyer. While he painted a variety of subjects, Holsøe is primarily known for his interiors.

 

"The Sunlit Room" • Carl Vilhelm Holsøe • Oil on Canvas

• 21.3" x 18.9" • 1922 • Private Collection

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

We all love color, but trying to match the colors of nature perfectly can drive artists to madness.

Sign up now for my latest art newsletter and read why the perfect color might not be as necessary as you think: 

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“Neil Reflected” • Oil on Linen • 14" x 18"  • Private Collection

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

SOLD - Dana Point Harbor Plein Air Painting

This piece has gone home with a new collector. It was painted at Dana Point Harbor in southern California. That sea of boats was a lot of fun to capture!

"Day On the Dock" • Oil on Linen • 12" x 16" • Private Collection

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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 - "Team and Wagon" by Nicolai Fechin

This week's #MuseumTourTuesday is an oil sketch by the great Russian artist, Nicolai Fechin, that I find as inspiring as any larger, more ambitious composition.

Despite its small scale and economy of brushstrokes, the painting conveys so much detail and movement. All of this comes from Fechin's skill in simplification and confidence in paint application. It's a great reminder that loose paintings are not sloppy, but require well thought out strokes, perfectly placed. With just a few expert brushstrokes, one can say more than with a hundred haphazard dabs.

"Team and Wagon" • Nicolai Fechin • Oil on Canvas • 10" x 16"

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

SOLD - "Trails of Jupiter" Plein Air Painting

Happy to see this piece go home with a new collector. It's a plein air painting from one of my favorite tranquil spots in Florida, the Blowing Rocks Preserve on Jupiter Island. I've always loved the way the palm trees meld together into a protective canopy, creating a beautiful pattern of dappled light.

"Trails of Jupiter" • Oil on Linen • 16" x 20" • Private Collection

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

SOLD - "Paper Lantern" Floral Painting

My thanks to Janice at Hindes Fine Art for sending this floral painting home with a collector.

“Paper Lantern” • Oil on Linen • 9"x12" • Private Collection

Reference and painting photos by Saunders Fine Arts. 

 
© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Landscape Detail Demonstration - Day Three - Plein Air Southwest Plein Air Painting Workshop

Today’s demonstration for my second plein air painting workshop at Plein Air Southwest was all about finding interest in a simple, everyday subject. No big vista, no flowers, no figures, just simple leaves. Another challenge was to overcome the mass of greens, using color temperature, saturation, and chroma.

 

“Leaf Study” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 12” • 1 Hour

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Architectural Demonstration - Day Two - Plein Air Southwest Plein Air Painting Workshop II

My demonstration this morning on day two of my second plein air painting workshop for Plein Air Southwest. Once again, I painted architecture today for my class, in order to show that painting a structure can often be easier than something organic, in terms of measuring and gauging its correctness.

This demo was a tough one, as the weather changed back and forth from stormy to sunny no less than four times while I was painting. In the last five minutes of my demo, sunlight hit the bottom of the stairs, adding clarity to the center of interest.

 

“Changing Light Demo” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 16” • 1 Hour, 30 Minutes

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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 - "Hafen von Triest (Harbor of Triest)" by Egon Schiele

I've been in Galveston, Texas for the last week teaching workshops and judging the Outdoor Painters Society's Plein Air Southwest event. The many beautiful paintings of boats brought to mind a number of great paintings of boats from art history, so this week's #MuseumTourTuesday features a piece by Austrian artist Egon Schiele.

This painting is a rich stylization of the subject in an expressionistic manner. Many of the lines, both in the rigging and the water reflections, were created by dragging the back end of a brush through the thickly applied paint, revealing a darker color below. Painted when the artist was only 17, it shows the quality of draftsmanship that Schiele would become known for in his later figurative and self-portrait work.

 

"Hafen von Triest (Harbor of Triest)" • Egon Schiele • Oil and Pencil on Card
• 1907 • 25 x 18 cm • Private Collection

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

 

Landscape Demonstration Painting - Day One - Plein Air Southwest Plein Air Painting Workshop II

My one hour landscape demonstration from life this morning on day one of my second plein air painting workshop for Plein Air Southwest. My goal was to demonstrate how I drive the eye straight to that dappled light on the tree trunk, using a combination of value and color temperature contrast.

“Dappled Light Study” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 16” • 1 Hour • SOLD

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Pet Portrait Commission - "Ava"

My latest dog portrait commission was an absolute pleasure to paint. I never met Ava, but I could just feel her personality from the photos I was provided to work with. What a beautiful girl.

"Ava" • Oil on Linen • 12" x 16" • Private Collection

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Landscape Detail Demonstration - Day Three - Plein Air Southwest Plein Air Painting Workshop I

My one-hour demonstration this morning on the last day of my first plein air painting workshop for Plein Air Southwest. I focused on a much more intimate close-up today. With a subject like this, you are forced to paint shapes, and let the leaves slowly reveal themselves.

“The Overgrown Fence” • Oil on Linen • 11” x 14” • 1 Hour • SOLD

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Architectural Demonstration - Day Two - Plein Air Southwest Plein Air Painting Workshop I

Another stormy demonstration this morning on day two of my first plein air painting workshop for Plein Air Southwest. I pushed color and value on this one to add depth. I wanted to do an architectural demo for my class in order to show that painting a structure can often be easier than something organic, like a tree, as it is easier to measure and gauge its correctness.

“Rainy Demo in Galveston” • Oil on Linen • 14” x 18” 
• 1 Hour, 45 Minutes • SOLD

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Landscape Demonstration - Day One - Plein Air Southwest Plein Air Painting Workshop I

My landscape demonstration from life this morning on day one of my first plein air painting workshop for Plein Air Southwest. Due to a heavy thunderstorm, I had to paint this one indoors, through panoramic windows. Hopefully the forecast will change enough to give us, and the event, more breaks from the rain tomorrow.

“Tree Study” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 16” • 2 Hours

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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 - "A Capriote" by John Singer Sargent

This week's #MuseumTourTuesday features an early work by the great John Singer Sargent from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. It's a well known piece, so you may have seen it before, but I just wanted to call attention to what I find so interesting about it.

Unlike his later work, the paint is very thinly applied for the most part. So thin, if fact, that we can clearly see the texture of the canvas throughout the painting. The thickness or lack of thickness in the paint makes no difference to the final outcome. It's a beautiful work, and Sargent's mastery of value is on full display, even at the age of 22.

 

Sargent went on to paint two copies of this piece, and featured the model, Rosina Ferrara, in a number of other paintings while visiting the island of Capri. The painting was exhibited at the French Salon in 1879, where it was negatively received, while in the same year it was praised by critics in New York at the Society of American Artists exhibition. 

 

"A Capriote" • John Singer Sargent • Oil on Canvas
• 1878 • 30.24" x 24.87"

 

Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.

 

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Animal Portrait Demonstration - Day Three - Booth Art Academy Animal Portrait Painting Workshop

My demonstration this morning on day three of my animal portrait painting workshop at the Booth Art Academy. It felt fitting to paint a horse on Kentucky Derby day.

“Horse Study” • Oil on Linen • 14” x 18” • 2 Hours • SOLD

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Cat Portrait Painting Demonstration - Day Two - Booth Art Academy Animal Painting Workshop

My pet portrait demonstration this morning on day two of my animal portraits painting workshop at the Booth Art Academy. It was all about painting thick fur, using shape, and never painting individual hairs. This is Opal, one of our beloved cats. She was the sweetest thing, and we miss her still. She had the most beautiful green eyes, and the cutest little pink nose.

“Opal Study” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 18” • 2 Hours • SOLD

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Pet Portrait Demonstration Painting - Day One - Booth Art Academy Animal Painting Workshop

My 90 minute pet portrait demonstration painting from a photograph this morning on day one of my animal portraits painting workshop at the Booth Art Academy.

“Rescue Dog Study” • Oil on Linen • 14” x 18” • 90 Minutes

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Pet Portrait Demonstration Painting - Day Three - Booth Art Academy Painting Workshop I

My pet portrait demonstration painting from a photograph this morning on day three of my first painting workshop this year at the Booth Art Academy.

 

“Shelter Dog Study” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 12” • 2 Hours

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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 Demonstration Painting - Day Two - Booth Art Academy Painting Workshop I

My 90 minute floral demonstration painting from life this morning on day two of my first painting workshop this year at the Booth Art Academy.

 

“Yellow Lilies Study” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 12” • 90 Minutes • SOLD

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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 - "Still LIfe With Hydrangeas" by Arthur Streeton

This week's #MuseumTourTuesday is another uncharacteristic painting by a well known artist. Australian painter Arthur Streeton is highly regarded as a landscape painter, but his flowers were also quite impressive.

The hydrangeas are deftly painted, with the dark background allowing the shapes to clearly stand out. Of particular note is the variation in color within the petals. We can see purples, pinks, greens and even yellows. This range of color provides a sense of volume that goes beyond a more simplified value scale.

Born in 1867, Streeton was heavily influenced by French Impressionism. He served as an official war artist during WWI, and was knighted in 1937.

"Still Life With Hydrangeas" • Sir Arthur Streeton • Oil on Canvas
• 1925 • 67 x 84 cm • Private Collection

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.

Demonstration Painting - Day One - Booth Art Academy Painting Workshop I

My two-hour demonstration painting from a photograph this morning on day one of my first painting workshop this year at the Booth Art Academy. This one is pretty loose because I talked more than I painted, but I absolutely love working with artists who are so curious and engaged. It’s invigorating.

This is a study of a sunrise on Smith Cove in Gloucester, MA, the view from the North Shore Arts Association, where I taught a painting workshop last year for Cape Ann Plein Air.

“Smith Cove Study” • Oil on Linen • 12” x 16” • 2 Hours • SOLD

© Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Patrick Saunders Fine Arts, 2023. 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.