Discussions with Mark Norseth

This is a pastel demonstration piece I executed at Spalding House for my Painting the Model en Plein Aire class last week.

Our topic that day was “Selection and Emphasis”…the idea that one must select from what Nature presents according to your priorities, and then appropriately simplify. Every element must be considered and it’s value to your picture determined, much will  need to be eliminated, and what is left must be simplified and refined.

         Dulce in the Sun      Pastel on Canson       12 x 9″

I thought I’d start the New Year with something from the end of the old.   This is the last piece I did as a pastel demonstration in the Drawing and Painting the Portrait class I teach, and it’s been nestled in the flat files for a couple weeks for safekeeping until I get a frame made for it.

The model, Sarah, is an artist herself, and the granddaughter of the distinguished teacher and painter Snowden Hodges.  We did this over about 4 sessions, if I recall, which was just about right.

S.H. in Profile, pastel on Canson paper, 16 x 20″

Sarah has agreed to be my subject for a drawing demonstration I’m doing at Art After Dark on the 25th of January at the Honolulu Museum of Art.

It will be a very active affair overall, I’m told that 1000 + visitors can easily pass through the doors of the Museum that night, but  Sarah and I are  promised safe haven in the very lovely Mediterranean Courtyard, and it will be  a  pleasure to spend the 3 hours drawing Sarah and providing some insight into the process for interested guests.

The finished painting is now happily and safely framed,  and hanging.  Here’s a look at the finished piece, plus a couple  of other working shots.

I won’t get into much about the painting here, because I’m in the process of  getting each day’s work into shape for a step-by=step demonstration piece on the website this week.  I hope you’ll look it over when it’s ready!

Commencing the last day’s work in exactly the weather conditions I needed. And the artwork is level with the horizon, a big deal when working outdoors.

Unfortunately I didn’t  shoot the painting in it’s mat and  frame before the glass was placed. The final combined effect contributes to the work a great deal.  Most of my attempts to shoot work already behind glass are an exercise in frustration, so you will just have to visit Hawai’i to check it out in person.

I can’t  believe I’m still wearing that t-shirt after all these years.

One of my favorite Renoir quotes is “Make much out of little”.  It’s a good aphorism for artists, and flows into a lot of our activities.  In planning for upcoming trips, I wanted to pull together an absolute minimally sized, trouble free setup to carry around with me.

Taking this old Schmincke box, I spent an hour or two customizing it for my backpack.  It’ll be carrying a selection that’s designed for making general color and value statements only.

The box measures  4 ” x 11 “, and is about 2″ deep.  I’ve decided to put in some  simple dividers to create five divisions.  The original clasp on this box works well, which is something to test before starting.

I cut some thin poplar scraps into 3/4″ wide strips that fit  snugly into two grooves I carved into the walls of the box. Scoring the wood with a boxcutter was all that was necessary to create the strips.

I then carved some grooves into these to acommodate the smaller vertical separators.

After carefully dry-fitting the pieces for a good fit, I glued the horizontals into place with some carpenter’s wood glue and clamp for a bit.

After dropping in the vertical pieces with a spot of glue, I cut an old piece of chamois to fit the top of the box.  This will serve a couple purposes; as a bit of padding, a palette for pieces I’m using while painting,  and as a cleaning and erasing rag.

Cleaning the pastel sticks in a bag of uncooked rice.  I then select just enough colors to meet my needs, plus a range of grays, and include a black and a brown sharpened Cont’e crayon. The small, broken pieces from other sets are fine for this purpose.

And  I’m ready to roll now.

I’m haunted by ocean images, no doubt about it. While I’ve come to  know that this subject doesn’t  resonate with everyone, I return to it often and for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.  It’s beautiful, suggestive, sensitive and dangerous. It’s mysterious, and  all five senses are involved in appreciating it.  The ocean is a response to something larger, and points back to that larger source.

This small pastel ( 12 x 16″) is a product of  imagination and recollection, supported by drawings and lots of looking.  The ocean won’t sit for me like other subjects, which is part of the challenge. Good thing, too. I need to tailor the craft to suit the mood as well as the look.