Create Compositions That Work

So... just what is it that makes one painting work, and another one fall flat on its face (so to speak)?

Have you ever worked on a painting that was not coming together, no matter what, and you just couldn't figure out what the heck it was that was not working? It feels pretty frustrating, doesn't it?

Chances are the painting has got a problem with its composition. And if a painting's composition isn't working, it doesn't matter how beautifully parts of it are painted. Those parts are like lipstick on a pig... no matter how nice the lipstick, underneath, it's still a pig. (My apology if I offend any pigs!)

Composition study — why isn't this working?

For instance, if you were to sum up what's not working in the composition study above — or why it's not working — could you do it in one word?

Is it easier to identify when you look at it upside down?

Is it easier to see why it's not working upside down? Give it a good, long look.

There are so many variables to take into consideration when you paint — there's line, there's color (although it's not in the study above), there's value, there are the relationships between the shapes in the painting, there are questions about drawing and whether the drawing works, and more... and then there's composition, which incorporates all of them.

That's what we'll be focusing on in the workshop I'm teaching on October 25th and 26th, 2014, Create Compositions That Work, at the Calistoga Art Center, in Calistoga, California. Because if the composition ain't happy, ain't nobody happy....

And that's why we'll be looking at — to start with — the painter's intention; the two basic kinds of paintings, compositionally speaking, no matter what the subject matter; and how to identify and manage the elements of both kinds of paintings, and make them work.

The same principles apply, whether you're looking at landscape paintings, still lifes, portraits, abstract work, or work in pretty much any other genre.

If you come, you'll go home with specific, practical tools and know-how that you can use to get out of, and avoid, those painting predicaments from here on out. Join us, and learn to create compositions that work!

You can find out more about the workshop here, at www.NapaValleyArtWorkshops.com.

So, how would you sum up what isn't working in the composition study above — or why it's not working, if you only had one word?

Here's the one I would choose to explain why it doesn't work: confusion. The painter hasn't decided what's important about the painting. Is it the sheep? The trees on the hill? The pattern of the rows? The painter hasn't decided. It's a decision that is absolutely basic for the painting, and determines how the painter needs to handle everything else as a result. Its lack causes confusion.

Does that make sense? We'll talk about more about it at the workshop!

I've been working like crazy to prepare for my new color workshop on January 26th, Secrets of Color Harmony - Part I. I've taught workshops on color before, and I teach color in my Acrylic Painting classes, but in this workshop we'll be taking a slightly different approach.

So I've been painting new examples, and finding new examples, and creating new handouts – and  figuring out just how much I'll be able to pack into this day. Each participant will create their own book to take home and refer back to, to make this as practical and applicable as possible. The idea is that you go home with specific ways of creating color harmony in your paintings that you can put into immediate practice.

If you'd like to find out more, here's a link to my art workshops website with all the info.

Soft Block Printing workshop - Saturday

Dragonfly soft block print • © 2003 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Have you been intrigued by the possibilities of block printing? (If not, I hope you will be... it is a wonderful art form to work with.) Or do you like stamping, and feel like getting more creative?

Iridescence, an acrylic painting created using the same dragonfly soft block

© 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Block printing is kind of a next step up from stamping – and you can combine it with acrylic painting to create mixed media pieces, something I particularly enjoy (you can see it in the painting above, Iridescence). You can also use it to print on textiles – but it stands on its own as a wonderful medium.

Angel of Peace soft block print, printed as a holiday card

© 2003 Karen Lynn Ingalls

You can use it to create handprinted cards and fine art prints, which is what we'll be doing this Saturday in this year's Soft Block Printing workshop. Soft block printing is similar to, but much easier to work with, than linoleum block or wood block printing. We'll also be using non-toxic, water-soluble inks, as well as safety cutters, which have the added benefit of allowing you more control of your cuts, and giving you the ability to cut much nicer curves.

In the workshop, we'll design and cut the block for printing, and ink and print greeting cards and fine art prints. If you'd like to come, bring along some images you might like to make prints of – drawings? photographs? We'll be carving 4" x 6" blocks.

Songbird soft block prints drying, in process, with multiple colors

© 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 27th, at the Calistoga Art Center, 1435 North Oak Street in Calistoga (at the Napa County Fairgrounds). Bring your lunch! You can register online at the Calistoga art center's website, at www.calistogaartcenter.org.

You can also see photographs of the process from 2010's two-day printmaking workshop in my August 2010 blog post. And here's a link to Charles deLimur's block printing process, a marvelous block printing photo essay by Charles deLimur, a Calistoga artist who does Napa Valley Open Studios each year. Charley works with multiple colors and multiple printing runs, a difficult and challenging process, which he illustrates beautifully. If you click on each individual photo, you can read his commentary about the process.

If you'd like to come, I look forward to seeing you! And if you're not able to join us, think about the possibilities of block printing... it's really a wonderful medium.

A little review...

Here's a collection of some of the posts I've written on different painting topics over the course of this blog. If you want to learn - or refresh your memory - about how to start a painting, you'll find some good information here.

Click here for posts on Thumbnail sketches

Click here for posts on Blocking in a painting

Click here for posts on Negative space

Happy painting!

By the way, my next Painting Landscapes workshop is this Saturday, June 25th, at the Calistoga Art Center, in Calistoga, California. It's the only time I'll be teaching it this year. You can learn more about it here at my workshops website, NapaValleyArtWorkshops.com.

Soft Block Printing Workshop - Saturday

Join our Soft Block Printing workshop this Saturday, October 23rd! It's at the Calistoga Art Center, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In it, you will learn to create block printed cards and art prints with easy-to-cut soft blocks (much easier than linoleum blocks) and non-toxic, water soluble inks – for the holidays or any time. Above is an example of the possibilities of soft block printing – it's the holiday card I made a number of years ago. Don't be intimidated! Much simpler designs can be just as effective, and often even more stunning.

Bring potential design ideas (or sketches worked out for a 4"x6" design), and your own materials, if you have them – or you may purchase materials in class. If you have any words you would like to incorporate in your design, bring them, printed out in a font you like.

The Calistoga Art Center is located at 1336 Lincoln Avenue (2nd Floor), Calistoga. You can find out more and register online at www.calistogaartcenter.org.

This post, Soft Block Printmaking Workshop, introduces the process a bit (I posted it before this summer's workshop), and this post, Soft Block Printing workshop - Photos, shows the printing process (we will only have time to print one color per print, though), from this summer's workshop.

Painting the costumed model – looking back

Painting study © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

As I thought about this week's workshop, Painting the Costumed Model, I began pulling out studies I'd done in my Costumed Model drawing and painting group in Carmel.

Painting study © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Looking at what I'd painted from ten to thirteen years ago, I could now see so many things I wanted to work on!

Painting study © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

It was fun to deduce what colors I'd used in each one. My palette was very different then – mostly experimentational – and included colors I haven't used in years (like Alizarin Crimson - can you tell?). As you can also see, I was experimenting stylistically, too.

Painting study © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Here are some of the results.

Painting study © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Some I may still do a bit more to – and I have more in process. And more waiting!

Painting study © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

I like coming back to these with everything I have learned in the interim – it wasn't exactly like picking it up where I left off. I didn't have the model in front of me, too, but that enabled me to work on each study simply as a painting.

Soft Block Printing workshop - Photos

Jane inking the block © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

The soft block printing workshop was so much fun – it's an enjoyable process! Taking two days for it allowed us to spend the second day printing, while we needed much of the first day for carving the blocks and making test prints as we developed them.

Using a key for registration © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

We used various methods of printing multiple colors. These photos were all taken on the second day, so I'm sorry to say I don't have any of Connie, who was with us on Saturday.

Ready for the second color © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Here you can see Carolynne's printing in progress. This was the second color of her print. The first run was of yellow, striking against the lavender color of the paper.

Printing the block © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Carolynne was making a series of printed cards. This method works beautifully for hand-printed cards.

Carolynne's two color print! © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

This printing process was a reduction cut - with further printings from the same block, which you continue to cut more of. The tricky part is that you can't go back to print more of the first run, once you've cut the block further. You have to really plan in advance.

Hand coloring the block © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Notice the two blocks? Here you see a second block, using the same design, created from the first, as well as the first block (with its reduction cut), which is being hand colored.

Carolynne's cards and prints © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Here are some of Carolynne's prints, including several on rice paper, which works beautifully for block printing. Everyone was pleased with the results they got from printing on rice paper.

Donna and her beehives © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Donna experimented with different ways of combining different blocks or parts of blocks in the same print. She asked herself, what would the hive be like both with and without a background? And what would it be like with bees?

Donna's beehives, with bees © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Voilà! Bees!

Donna's Isis prints, in copper and gold © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

You can see both the cards Donna created from her Isis block and her Isis and beehive blocks.

Betsy at work, surrounded by blocks, inks, printed gift tags, and carving tools © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

You can see some of the tools we used in the course of creation during the weekend, in the array Betsy is working with at her table.

Betsy with her gingko leaf prints © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Betsy used several small blocks to create sets of gift tags, using different combinations of colors and different methods of creating multiple colors. Here is one of her wonderful gingko leaves.

Betsy's handmade gift tags, printed with multiple colors on different papers

© 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

It's amazing to see the variety of results you can get from one simple block....

One of Betsy's handmade gingko gift tags © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

The subtlety of this hand-applied second color adds a richness to the print. Red and copper make a beautiful combination.

Carolynne and Jane admire one of the prints of Max © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Jane created a series of prints of Max, her dog, using different combinations of red, black, blue, and gold, with white paper.

Max the Bichon, up close © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

The liveliness of her carving makes for a fun print. We realized, looking at everyone's results, that sometimes when the registration of the second color is a little bit off, it creates some nice special effects with the paper. Happy accidents!

Jane's prints of Max © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Look at the variety of possibilities! Again, these were all printed from one block.

Admiring Jane's prints of Max © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

This second day of printmaking was a wonderful exploration of possibilities. What a joy! That's what soft block printing is all about, for me.

I'm tentatively scheduling one more Soft Block Printing workshop for the year, in October, for those who would like to learn the process and create cards or prints for the holidays. I'll post the date and time when it is definitely scheduled.

Soft Block Printmaking Workshop

I'm looking forward to next week's Soft Block Printmaking workshop (either a one-day workshop on Saturday for those who want to try this out for the first time, or a full weekend workshop for those who want to really plunge into all the things you can do with this medium).

If you have done linoleum or wood block printing before, this is a little different. Soft blocks are made of new materials created in recent years. They cut like butter, and their ease of cutting makes it a much more enjoyable process (for me, anyway). The ones I recommend are Speedball's Speedy Carve blocks – the pink ones in the stack below.

Speedball's Speedy Carve stamps are the pink ones

In addition, Speedball, a printing supplies company, invented safety cutters – called LinoZips – that are easier to hold and to manipulate, and that create beautiful curving lines with much more ease. Besides that, we're using water-soluble inks – so there's no solvent smell. Ain't technology wonderful? Each of these things has made the block printing process simpler and, for me, a lot more fun.

One of my Christmas cards – Angel of Peace © 2004 Karen Lynn Ingalls

The first day will be about getting your design on the block, and carving the block and printing it. For those who are interested in printing more than one color, we'll get started on different methods of doing that, too.

The second day, we'll continue with different methods of printing multiple colors, including hand coloring, reductive printing, and using a key block. We'll also do a little block printing on fabric, so be sure to bring things you'd like to print on (cotton shirts from consignment or thrift shops, pieces of old sheets (for experimentation and something special!), white dish towels, canvas tote bags, T-shirts, or...?

You can register online at the Calistoga Art Center's workshop page. If you'd like me to supply your materials, please give me a call to let me know in advance at (707) 942-0197.

One additional workshop is coming up this summer – Painting the Costumed Model! Stay tuned....

Abstract Landscape Painting Workshop Photos

Here, I'm demonstrating layering (using a plastic fork) © 2010 Erik Bolijn

Wonder what you missed in the Abstract Landscape Painting workshop? Here are some photos, taken by Erik Bolijn and myself.

Erik working on his first painting of the day © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

We took three different approaches to painting the landscape in an abstract manner. Here, everyone is working on the first one.

Jaime, Pat, and Lois work on their first paintings of the day © 2010 Erik Bolijn

Lois's Horizon painting © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Painting abstract landscapes is a wonderfully freeing thing. We began with ideas or memories of images, or the images of the landscape themselves, but in abstracting it we're free to take the painting in directions we (and it) want to go. We're not tied down, and we don't have to get wrapped up in detail.

Demonstration, the second painting of the day, in its first stage © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Here is the beginning stage of my second demonstration painting.

Erik working on his second painting of the day © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Pat, Jaime, and Lois work on their second paintings © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

And here are some of the results. Pat had to leave us early, and hers unfortunately aren't included. Some of these may be completed – and some may still be in process. Creativity is a wonderful thing – we had a great day of it!

Lois with her second painting © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Erik and his paintings © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Two of Jaime's paintings © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Jaime with her ecstatic sunset painting © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Here's to creativity and taking images, ideas, feelings, and sensations to new places!

Mixed media painting workshop

Sweet Old Love Song, © 2009 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Expanding beyond your normal boundaries is a good thing for creativity. For me, mixed media is a wonderful way to push creative boundaries, and explore all kinds of things that are different from the painting I ordinarily do. That's why I'm particularly looking forward to my Mixed Media Painting workshop next week.

In it, we'll combine painting with collage, and use both in combination with fabrics to create different kinds of mixed media paintings. I found a treasure trove of exotic fabrics — velvets, embroidered pieces, gauzy fabric, even a tiny bit of mirror cloth — that call for an approach I hadn't originally intended to cover in this workshop. But, with these fabrics, how can I resist?

So at this point the workshop will cover three different approaches to mixed media painting and collage. I'm pretty excited! I get to play with these fabrics before anyone else does! If you're coming and would like to bring your own materials, add a hot glue gun, with glue, and a third surface to paint on (you may want to bring more than three, especially if they're small), to the materials list you can find at the Calistoga Art Center's website.

The workshop is Saturday, June 26th, from 10:00 to 5:00, at the Calistoga Art Center. For more information, click on the "Art Workshops" tab above.