Discussions with Mark Norseth

A quick post of a three hour portrait sketch done last night.  Jeff was a new subject who had never posed before, and he did very well. Jeff, oil on lead primed panel, 10 x 8″

I worked with thick, straight paint over a warm wash of some ochre and Gamsol.  The biggest shapes came first, working from the outside to the inner smaller shapes.  No details of the features until the end.When painting on these small panels, I use this larger  16 x 20″ support panel, toned a middle gray . This helps keep the little panel from getting visually lost on the easel, and provides a consistent neutral tone to help me see the colors and values when the light on my painting is less than ideal.  Works well with outdoors  subjects, too.

Members of our Honolulu gallery are often invited  to participate in art fairs and public activities. Sometimes it’s fun to just show up and paint something to see what the general public makes of it.

I no longer have a problem with working while people watch…a decade of painting in Central Park got me over that.  People are usually decent, and the occasional coots, codgers and  malcontents are really little crash-courses in diplomacy.  Over the years I’ve learned to enjoy the responses from people  looking over my shoulder, trying to figure out what on earth I’m doing.

Jeff Chang oil on panel , 10 x 8″

In this particular event, artists were assigned a space on a shaded pedestrian mall, and I, with my intention of painting something from life, happened to have the esteemed potter/entrepreneur Jeff Chang across from us doing his demonstration.

Since Jeff  was in the sunlight,  doing something interesting, and holding fairly still, he was fair game for this two hour sketch.

Surprisingly, only a certain percentage of people were able to look at my painting and connect it with what was actually in front of us physically.  I don’t know why that is, but it’s interesting. Probably something to do with our modern tendency towards a  life predominated by second-hand visual experiences  (television, print media, and computers), rather than looking and seeing the world directly.

Anyway, I came away with this small piece from the experience, and some good will from some delightful new acquaintances.

I love doing these!   A 20 x 16″ oil study, done as the first exercise in my portrait class. Starting with the biggest color masses of background, a general flesh tone, and hair, I worked towards the smaller masses, using the largest brushes possible, solid painting, and avoiding details of the features.

The whole idea is to teach oneself to work from the general to the specific. The neutral gray background and black outfit give a value range against which the flesh tones can be measured.  It’s a great way to appreciate how much the likeness is in the greater shapes.