FREE PAINTING DEMONSTRATION

Bull Run Bluebells              16x20                       Oil on Linen

I will be conducting a painting demonstration  For the McLean Project for the Arts at the McLean  Community Center this coming Friday April 27 from 10:45Am to 1:30 PM. The demonstration is open to the public.

 

The address For the McLean Community Center is 

1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, Virginia.

info@mpaart.org

 I will start and finish a large oil painting from a small sketch painted outdoors. If you are in the area come on by and watch and ask questions about the painting process or the business side of being a professional artist. Last time we had quite a turnout with over 75 people showing up.

Composition

by
Armand Cabrera

Not too long ago I was given a link to another art website where someone was going on about

the rules for composition.

How’s that again? This person had 20 or so rules to avoid for bad composition. There is only one rule of composition-

You emphasize the center of interest and deemphasize the rest of the painting so as not compete with it.

Achieving that goal has no set boundaries. There is no rule about placing the elements of your painting. Rules about leading from the corner or avoiding the center of the canvas are developed by people who have no understanding of painting. They are lazy truisms by lazy painters; just like don't use black or the color blue always recedes rule or the term muddy color.

If your eye goes to a corner when you don't want it to, it’s because you haven't got a strong enough focal point, not because you have a lead in at the corner.

Sayings like, don't put something in the corner or in the center or don't divide your canvas in half, can't be rules because they can't know how the elements of the painting are organized for every possible painting.

To prove my point every painting I’ve posted goes against the truisms you hear repeated in bad art classes by incompetent teachers. Dividing the canvas in half, placing the subject in the center of the canvas, Starting a lead in with the corner, the use of black paint and don’t have vertical shapes too close to the edge of the canvas. All of these paintings are better than any of the paintings by the people handing out the advice.

Great Falls Workshop Demo

By

Armand Cabrera

This little profile was painted on the last day of my three day workshop in Great Falls Virginia over the weekend. The class was a studio class and we had 15 people in the workshop. Everyone worked hard and hopefully came away with some new ideas for improvement.

Every day I tackled a different subject for the demos. I wanted to show that the process I teach and the color palette I use works with any motif. I limit my demos during class so students get more painting time. This was a one hour demo with some touch up at home to finish it. I usually finish things in one sitting but demos are a special circumstance and sometimes I feel the need to finish them when I’m home.

The Recruit 12x9 oil on linen

Workshop in Great Falls Virginia

I've firmed up my teaching schedule for next year and for my first workshop of the new year I’ll be teaching a studio class in Great Falls February 3rd, 4th and 5th in 2012; the hours of the class each day will be 10am to 5pm. I will demo every day for an hour right after the lunch break. The price of this workshop is $425.


Registration is through the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts (GFFFTA)

Right now there are still spaces available. The workshop will focus on honing your skills for landscape still life and portrait painting. I will address drawing, color, and brushwork and good studio practices. We will also discuss what makes a successful painting and what step an artist can take to make sure their work has a focused idea from the start.

Students can work from sketches and photographs and I will discuss how to use each effectively to maximize the success of the final painting. We will also have some still life and cast set ups for those that want to work from life in the studio. The instruction will be targeted toward the individual student’s goals as a painter regardless of level of ability. The class size is strictly limited to 15 students.

This is the only completely studio workshop I am scheduled to teach next year, the other two are plein air landscape workshops. For those of you with a broader focus this is the workshop for you.

Focus

By
Armand Cabrera

We’ve talked about practice and tenacity as essential parts of becoming a successful artist. The cornerstone of all good habits though is focus. Focus is the engine that drives all accomplishment. I’ve never met anyone who has succeeded without it. You may not have money or a helper or even talent but if you have focus there is no stopping you.

Focus allows people to take all their energies, resources and time and commit them to a single goal. This is not easy in my experience. People don’t like it when someone is committed to a goal. People will want to distract you and vie for your attention; don’t allow it.

Research studies show that people who multi-task get less done and the quality of their work suffers when compared to people who focus on completing one task at a time and finishing it before moving on to something else.

Tasks like painting, music and mathematics require long periods of focus to achieve successful results. If you want to improve your painting the best way to do so is to cut out distractions and work for as long as you can in an uninterrupted block of time. You don’t have the time you say? That is a matter of priority; you prioritize things everyday so choose to prioritize your painting time.

Here are some ideas for staying on track and keeping your focus.


Be clear about what your goals are decide what you want and how you will achieve it.


Don’t set arbitrary timelines or unrealistic objectives for yourself that is a recipe for failure.


Set a fixed amount of time for practice and study and make sure it is consistent and uninterrupted time. Keep distractions to a minimum and you will accomplish more in the time you do have.


Let the other people in your life know your intentions so they have a chance at supporting your plan.


Don’t victimize others with what you are doing. If you have made prior commitments to family, friends or employers, fulfill those commitments first.


Surround yourself with people who are supportive and respect what you are trying to achieve. It doesn’t matter what level of success you are after.


Always give any chosen task your full attention and best effort.

Translating the Idea

by
Armand Cabrera


I constantly see people in my classes and workshops struggling to find the right approach to painting from life. In my demos I try to stress the importance of good drawing and accurate color and value relationships. These tools allow you to make the marks you want to make when and how you want to make them. This is facility but facility only gets you so far. Many people think if they can just copy what they see the painting will be successful. The problem is you can’t copy, ever. What you can do, once you have the facility to make the marks you want is translate what you see into an intended arrangement of shapes.


Translating is the key to a successful painting from life. Everything you do, no matter how tightly or expressively you paint when working from life, is always translating.

Translating is turning 3 dimensional objects into 2 dimensional marks on your painting surface. What separates the more successful artists is the ability to only use the information that enhances the painting and doesn’t detract. This is easier said than done.

Everything is relative- color, value, shape and edges. All must be used in service of an idea that you hold in your mind for the finished painting. Translation requires more thought and ability than copying which is why so many artists struggle with painting from life successfully. You must understand that you are trying to fool the eye for the viewer and at the same time be aware of the marks you make and how they relate to the whole as just marks of color and value. It is this last part that gives the viewer the emotional response to your work. This is especially true for outdoor work.

When you paint outdoors you are always keying the color and value. Keying is limiting the range of color and value available to you in pigment and observed in nature. It is your exaggeration and sublimation of the information presented by you in an intelligent way that leads to a finished painting with clear intent.





No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition. Claude Monet

New Paintings

by
Armand Cabrera

I’ve returned from two weeks on the road. I got back just in time to catch peak color of autumn on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I taught a workshop, attended my reception for my one man show and visited with a new gallery owner in Florida.

The workshop was small but I had a good group of students. The weather was perfect. The reception for my one man show was well attended and sales were good. The show will continue through the end of the month.

Here are some outdoor paintings. The first three I did as demos during the Saint Simon Island workshop. The last are some fall color paintings from here in VA. All are 12x16 inches.

Gascoigne Bluff

Clam Creek Inlet

       Christ Church Afternnon

       Old Rag from Skyline

     Pinnacles Picnic Grounds

I was unable to finish this painting. I started it in heavy fog and rain but the sun came out and stopped me from finishing it.

Bull Run

Chin Ridge

Professional Framing Techniques

By Armand Cabrera

Framing is almost as important as the painting itself. While people can disagree on the color or style of frame there are some basic approaches to framing that makes your work look more professional.

These are the steps I take when framing a painting

Here is how my frame looks just out of the box.

When I remove it from the plastic the first thing I do is put my name on it. This prevents galleries and venues from swapping my nice metal leaf or in some cases gold leaf frame with finished corners for some cheap chopped frame from Graphic Dimensions or Michaels. I also put the title on the back of the painting and a sticker with contact info. This allows collectors to find me since most galleries nowadays don’t give out collector info to the artists.

Next I put rubber bumpers or felt bumpers on all the corners so the frame doesn’t leave marks on the wall. If I have a case where I am framing stretched canvas I put them on the corners of the stretched canvas if it makes contact with the wall instead of the frame when it hangs.

Never nail your paintings into your frames if someone wants to swap the frame down the line you have to use something that doesn’t hurt the wood. I use offset clips or S clips to do the job. This way I can swap my paintings in and out of the frame with just a screwdriver.

I keep a number of sizes for the different sizes of my paintings. Because this image is on linen panel the clip is facing down into the frame.

If it was stretched linen I would flip the clip over so it stood out away from the frame to hold the canvas.

Once I screw in the clips I place the wire holders and attach those to the frame low enough that the wire will form a triangle shape when hanging but not stick out above the frame.

Next I get my picture hanging wire and attach one side to the wire holder. I do this by looping the wire thought the holders ring twice and then twist it back along the wire.

This insures it won’t unravel and bonk someone on the head while my painting is hanging above them on the couch.

 I then measure where I want the wire to end at its apex. I do this so when it hangs it doesn’t stick out above the frame. I cut the other side of the wire and fasten it in the same way.

I’m done and the picture is ready to hang on the wall. Only 24 more to go for the show this week at Narmada.

Workshop and one man show at Anderson Fine Art Gallery

by
Armand Cabrera

Clam Creek 36x48

Passing Rain 24x36

For those of you in the area I will be teaching a four day workshop followed by my one man show in Saint Simon’s Island Georgia. There is still room in the workshop if anyone is interested. I will be showing students how I approach a painting outdoors and in the studio and how to organize and complete small sketches on location in one sitting. We will go over composition, color theory and mixing from a limited palette, drawing, and application. Information is here or you can call the gallery directly at 912 634 8414.

View of Cumberland Island 24x30

                                                               Marsh Edge 18x24

My one man show is called Seascapes and Shorelines and I will have 15 new paintings. The paintings range in size from 36x48 down to 18x24. These larger works represent 6 months of my studio time this year. All are done from onsite sketches and photos from my trips to the area. I was really focused on emotional content and mood for these paintings. I love painting in the golden isles of Georgia I am looking forward to the show. The show will be up for a month and the artists reception will be from 6 pm to 8 pm October 7th.

First Light 36x48

Sunrise 24x36

Drawing How To: Process

by
Armand Cabrera

When I’m drawing it’s important to have the simple value plan. I like three or four values at the most depending on the image. I start with placement. After observing the scene and getting the sense of the light and shadow patterns I come up with an arrangement that I think will convey the sense of this place. I want to incorporate the cloud patterns across the landscape and use them to help my center of interest and create a feeling of depth.

When I draw initially I like to keep my lines flowing and not too broken and scribbly. This establishes a sense of rhythm for my shapes.

I fill in the values for the sky and big hill and lay down some strong darks around the house. All the time I am working I’m watching the cloud patterns and thinking about how I will integrate them into the final scene.

Next I work on the foreground and decide on the lights and darks placement there.

After laying in the tones I clean up with a kneaded eraser and add a few more details and I’m done. Total drawing time is about 40 minutes on an 8x 11 pad.

These exercises help in a number of ways. It helps you to reduce shapes to contour lines first. This requires organization on your part. You learn to simplify the scene to a black and white image and to design the elements not just copy. The more you work at it the more you can take it to a high degree of finish and control. Learning to control the pencil and the strokes will help your painting. You will break a lot of pencil lead but I think it is worth the extra trouble in the long run.

If you work in concept or production art this type of sketching will help you build a mental library of real life experience to help in construction and design of environment drawing. I always felt one of the advantages I had getting work in those industries was the amount of drawing and painting from life I did and how it affected my work in the studio..