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Sunday, December 16, 2012

A Diary of Faces

Way.........back  in  July---I  started  what  is  now  one  of  my  favorite  online  classes  taught  by  one  of  my  favorite  artists  Sharon  Tomlinson---A  Diary  of  Faces.    It  wasn't  a  self-paced  class--it  was  a  weekly  class  being  taught  'live'  by  Sharon--she  was  working  along  with  us.   It was  all  about  studying  famous  painters  from  different  countries--  going  for  their  painting style--not  necessarily  copying  them,  but  learning  different  techniques  and  ways  of  portrait  painting.
 
I  was  able  to  keep  up  with  the  class  for  3  weeks,  until  I  just  got  too  busy  with  my  show  season,  but  in  that  3  weeks,  I  LOVED  it,  and  I  learned  that  I  could  do  things  with  my  pencil  and  paint  that  I  never  would  have  tried  (like  trying  to  paint  what  I  saw  from  another  image).  I  have  to  admit  that  I  was  very  intimidated  by  the   other  students--I  have  never  seen  such  a  bunch  of  naturally  talented  artists--I  almost  didn't  want  to  continue....but  I  did....and  I   learned  something  new  with  each  painting...
 
 
 
She  is  inspired  by  Georgette  Chen's  Portrait  of  Malay  Woman.  At  first,  it  was  attempting   the  same  face  as  the  original,  but  then,  for  me--it  was  more  about  the  clothing--trying  to  achieve  the  look  of  folds  and  shadows.
 
And  the  next  week..
 
 
...was  Nicolae  Grigorescu--Portrait  of  Alexandrina  Filonescu.....with  this  one--I  went  for  the  same  effect  as  in  the  original--a  very  loose  painting  style,  and  limited  palette  (which  is  hard  for  me!)  I  almost  gave  up  on  this  one,  but  I'm  so  glad  that  I didn't.
 
And  the  next  week,  I  wandered  just  a  bit--we  were  studying  a  Danish  painter,  but  I  decided  on  another  one--
 
 
....Peder  Severin  Kroyer--This  is  his  wife  Marie,  whom  he  painted  a  lot.  On  this  one  I  was  practicing  that  dreaded  profile,  and  also  I  was  trying  to  achieve  the  angle  of  her  head  resting   against  the  back  of  the  chair--a  little  fustrating  for  me  again--but  I  kept  going.
 
So  then  I  stopped,  and  now  (in  December),  I've  picked  up  my  "Diary"  again,  which  is  actually  a  gessoed-over  children's  board  book  (which  I  intend  to  fill with  nothing  but  these  faces).   This  time  I  went  to  England...
 
 
She's  my  favorite  inspired  by  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti's  Santa  Lilies.   With  her--it  was  the  hand--they're  killers  for  me.   Now  I  always  thought,  just  because  of  his  name,  that  Rossetti  was  from  Italy.  But  after  reading  about  him,  I  found  that  he  was  born  in  England  with  Italian  parents--another  bonus  from  this  class--I  found  that  I  love  researching  these  master  painters.
 
So  the  class is over  now,  but  it's  always  accessible  for  all  of  the  students.....BUT,  also,  Sharon  is  offering  it  now  as  a  self-paced  class  HERE  in  2  parts--this  was  an  amazing  18  week  course--so  you  can  either take  the  first  9  weeks  or  the  last--or  both.   I  also  want  to  mention  that  she  teaches  a  lot  of  different  painting  techniques  especially  with  different  skin  tones--it's  just  a  Wonderful  class  that  I  highly  recommend--it  challenges you,  and  it  doesn't  matter  what  your  skill level  is  either--I  learned  how  much  I  enjoy  this  process--and  the  best  part---it's  just  for  me  and  my  'diary'--so  if  I'm  not  happy  with  a  particular  painting--it doesn't  matter--I'm  still  learning.  It's  really  true--the  only  way  you  can  learn  is  from  making  mistakes.
 
P.S.  Don't  forget  about  my  Etsy sale  HERE--from  now  until  Dec. 31,  you  can  get  a  15%  discount  by  entering  the  word  JOYFUL  in  the  coupon  code  when  checking  out--there's  still  time  for  Christmas!
 

24 comments:

  1. Diane, these painting are beautiful. In the first one my eyes went straight to the dress and then you mentioned that was where you focused. Same thing with the hand in the last one. I read somewhere that being able to paint hands was a mark of a good artist because they are so difficult, especially getting the proportion right. You nailed it!

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  2. These are beautiful Diane, thanks for sharing! Painting from the masters is truly a great way to learn. I love to take my sketchbook to the museum; whenever I go I get some great revelations about technique that I hadn't thought of before.

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  3. These are wonderful Diane!

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  4. FALLING OFF MY CHAIR oh talented one! your talent ABOUNDS! they have such wonderful emotion in them diane along with fantastic talent! xo
    oh did i use talent too many times? nah!

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  5. such stunning art wrok! Hugs Juls

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  6. That is such an interesting class by the sound of it. Loving your beautiful paintings. Annette x

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  7. Thanks for sharing this, what a great class it must hav e been! and even tho you weren't able to "keep up" with the actual class what you did do is remarkable and inspiring! Takes courgae to move out of our Artistic comfort zone!

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  8. Such wonderful pieces, Diane! Expanding your horizons and your amazing talent one Old Master at a time :)

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  9. nicely done diane! these are terrific.
    you are very a very talented artist.

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  10. These are all wonderful but the best part is that you show emotion in each face. Sometimes that is difficult to achieve! Great job.

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  11. Dearest friend Diane, Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful art and for sharing a review of my class. It means so much to me to hear such nice words. I am so happy that you are continuing with the lessons now that you show season is over. I think a perfect way to relax the winter days away.

    All of you painting are great and the hand you painted is outstanding!
    Again, thank you.
    Sharon

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  12. Wonderful work Diane! Thanks for sharing!

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  13. You paint SO well. And your faces don't look the same every time, either. That's one of the things I enjoy so much about your art. Don't kid yourself. You are truly gifted!!

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  14. So glad you shared these, love the richness of the tones, lines with each of them.

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  15. Diane - these are just lovely! I took a portrait class on line this year, too, and am still back at the drawing stage...these paintings of yours are just beautiful! Keep it up! Kristin

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  16. hello Diane,

    it is wonderful to see your paintings. each one is a delight to see. How wonderful that you pushed yourself beyond your comfort and were happy with the results.

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  17. A great idea to gesso a book for one subject...love it!

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  18. these portraits are absoluely gorgeous Diane! You have done a fantastic job...keep going!
    Wihing you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year!

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  19. These paintings are amazing, Diane!

    Merry Christmas and a very Happy Healthy New Year to you and all your loved ones.

    Hugs,
    Gaby

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  20. Diane, if you like Rossetti you would love this BBC drama http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lvyq2 if you can get it.

    In the picture Rossetti is the very handsome one standing slightly forward of everyone else!

    It's a fascinating story - I think this dramatisation stretches the truth a bit, but the general story is there!

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  21. Hi Diane!
    Wow, your paintings are beautiful! I love the Rosetti one and think you did a marvelous job! Well done!

    Have a wonderful Christmas filled with special blessings!
    Ansota :)

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  22. Really beautiful. Thanks for sharing your art and progress as an artist with the rest of us. Inspires me to keep on keeping on. Merry Christmas and blessings to you in the coming year,
    T

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  23. ciao
    è un pò che non commento ma ti faccio tanti auguri
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    buone feste!!! rosa

    http://kreattiva.blogspot.com

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