Fast & Flexible Oil Painting Techniques

DeviantART

2011-11-19T13:56:00.001-08:00

I have now started to post on deviantART although I will continue using blogger.

God is not Three People

2011-11-09T13:41:00.001-08:00

The typical explanation of the Trinity as god in three persons has never satisfied me. Here is what I was raised to believe:

God the Father who is in heaven has condemns mankind because of sin; but the Son mercifully intercedes for all in general and for some individually, so that the Father, being moved by his love for the Son, accepts the Son’s agony and suffering on the cross as atonement for the sins of those who believe. Following his resurrection from the dead, the Son sits at the right hand of the Father, while the Holy Spirit goes forth into the world, dispensing the gifts of justification.

Who reading this can imagine anything other than three gods?

The Secret of Happiness

2011-08-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

The secret to happiness is low expectations.

Man in a Box

2011-06-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

"Man in a Box"

oil on canvas

The Iowa prairie continues to inspire me though I now live far from it. Recently I was driving to Iowa to visit my folks and a dense fog filled the distance. The vague outlines of the landscape felt evocative and I had to paint it. Simple allegories have crept into my recent work. Maybe it's a phase, maybe not.

A New Church Meal Blessing

2011-06-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Lord, as we share the blessings of your Divine Providence, open our hearts to receive the warmth of your eternal Love and the light of your infinite Wisdom.

What Creative People Do

2011-06-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Even though I recently completed two paintings. I have not been in the studio nearly as much as I would like/need/want/should. That's because I have been working on securing a patent for a simple mechanical device I invented.

Still I can't feel too bad about painting less lately. Creativity takes many forms. Besides, that's the kind of creativity the world rewards (hopefully.)

The Folly of Economic Stimulus

2011-06-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

Economic stimulus proposals have nothing to do with economics and serve only as cover for governmental social engineering and politically motivated market interference. Mathematically, federal stimulus money cannot work better than letting the market correct itself. This can be simply explained as follows:

Stimulus package proposals assume that putting more money into the economy by funding infrastructure projects and business assistance programs will put more capital and resources into the marketplace. In turn companies with government contracts will hire workers and businesses will make capital improvements and purchases of durable goods.

But there's a problem.

The stimulus money comes from borrowed money that is expected to be recovered (someday) by increased tax revenues. The funds put into the economy will always be less than the amount removed from the economy through taxes. Why? Since the money was borrowed the government has to pay interest on it. First some of the money must go to the governmental agencies leaving less stimulus funds for the market. The result is a net loss for the market, i.e. a drain on the economy. By contrast doing nothing maintains the status quo. No more goes in. But no extra money is drawn out of the economy either.

If our goal is to help the economy by maximizing the capital and funds operating within it, then leaving the money where it is, i.e already in the market, is better than taking it out and losing a percentage of it to interest and bureaucracy before putting it back in. A stimulus package merely allows the government to take funds from one party, skim some off the top, and give the remainder to politically favored entities.

Through taxes the government limits the spending choices of the private sector by reducing the buying power of the private sector. This means that businesses have fewer resources with which to hire and make capital investments. Government chooses where the money will go. Can anyone honestly believe that central government planning allocates resources more wisely and efficiently than the free market?

Admittedly this analysis does not take into consideration any issues of "social justice" or tax code fairness. Those have nothing to do with economics. The primary goal of such market interference is not about stimulating the economy, but rather to pick winners and losers to advance a "progressive" political agenda.

Note to Readers: To date I have avoided political topics. Everyone has an opinion and I have no special expertise in such matters. But I try think things through logically to the best of my ability. If anyone chooses to comment on this post, please spare everyone the talking points.

Defining Perfection in Art

2011-05-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

You have to respect Julia Cameron. Her advice to ignore the "inner critic" helps many artists come to grips with crippling perfectionism. Yet, one needs to remember that perfectionism is different from trying to make something perfect.

Perfect means complete. It means that nothing can be added or taken away from a piece without making it worse. You can do that. Make something as good as you can. If you think you can make it better from where your're at without starting over do so. If not leave it alone. It's perfect...perfectly complete.

With perfectionism you try to attain an infinitely unattainable standard. Only God can do that. And we should never try to compete with God.

What Oil Painting Techniques Teach Us About Life (Maybe)

2011-05-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder if the oil painting techniques an artist uses reflect their general approach to life? I do. In my book, I identified two approaches for depicting form: Simple-to-Complex and Vague-to-Clear. By separating drawing from massing and line from tone, Simple-to Complex seems to imply an overall logical way of working. It works from discrete first principles to build larger concepts. If you paint that way does that mean you think in a more logical, deductive way? Conversely, groping through clouds of uncertainty towards resolution using the Vague-to-Clear approach seems more appropriate for the intuitive person. Any thoughts?

My Studio is a Mess!

2011-05-22T07:12:00.001-07:00

Easel Modifications

2011-05-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

The easel comes with a channel on the top and the bottom made to hold a thick stretcher bar. But I work on a variety of supports of differing depths. So I put a 2 x 4 in both the top and bottom. A rubber strip (a door threshold) nailed to the lumber holds the support tightly in place. (see below)

Man in Ditch Looking at Fence

2011-05-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

"Man in Ditch Looking at Fence"

oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

Chad Wooters

This painting shows the direction I am moving. The figure represents no one in particular, a human being. I hope to evoke pre-verbal affect from the position of the figures and their context. The background depicts a foggy day, a recent experience of mine. The sky takes up most of the picture’s area. We tend to forget how big the sky really looks in relation to everything else we see.

Hand of Blessing - Oil Painting Technique of...

2011-05-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

"The Hand of Blessing"

oil on canvas 2011

Chad Wooters

Blue Ridge Colors and Oil Painting Techniques

2011-05-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Blue Ridge Colors is private label paintmaker in South Carolina. With a recently received order, I experimented by making a small portrait over an absorbant acrylic ground on a hard panel. My colors were brown ocher, Turkey umber, and raw sienna. Scrumbles behaved similar to other paints. The best results were with a dammar, linseed and turpentine medium. The high pigment load allowed the paint to cover well even when diluted with the medium. I like it. I'm certain that I will order more from Blue Ridge.

Personal Achievement and Artistic Success

2011-05-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Now I’m not the type of painter that insists that every picture use naturalistic depiction. A good picture has more virtues than just skillful execution. Those virtues can even sometimes overcome awkward technical treatment. I enjoy both modern abstract art and even simply decorative surfaces. I also enjoy Medieval alchemical engravings and some so-called “Outsider” art. As I explore my creativity these non-realistic visual expressions do influence my developing vision.

Even though I like to look at the resulting paintings, based on decorative abstracts or primitive figures or symbolism, I just don’t get the thrill of accomplishment, the feeling that I had stretched slightly beyond by limits and made real progress.

My formula, “Sales + Peer Recognition + Personal Achievement = Artistic Success” still applies. While I enjoy modest sales and the occasional praise of other painters, but I confess that moving away from “strict realism” has left me without a good measure for the development of my talents, i.e. personal achievement.

Any advice?

Figures and Portraits, Oil Painting Techniques

2011-05-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, I like to return to basics through the intense study of a particular area. I've been drawing anatomical structures like the skull, rib cages, pelvic bones, etc. Every time I learn a little bit more, regardless of how much I think I already know (which I'm quite sure is much less than I actually know.)

Gallery Etiquette (for Dealers)

2011-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

We often hear about the do's and don'ts for artists approaching galleries. Yet so little is discussed about the respect due to artists and patrons of galleries. My wife and I went gallery hopping yesterday in the River North area of Chicago. Even though the area is definitely past-peak, they sport a number of established high-end galleries. As an artist I often wonder how it is possible to justify the four and five figure prices demanded by most of the art. I know many artists whose work superpases what we saw. Part of it's the hype machine, but I also acknowledge that the artists displayed have paid their dues (not all) earning their reputation.

As a collector though, I want some attention,...but not too much. A couple galleries simply ignored our presence. Saying hello is just a common curtesy and not doing so is down right rude. Makes me wonder how they get new clients if they treat walk-ins so poorly.

Other galleries smothered us with facts about the artists. When I stopped to notice a painting, the dealer would try to impress me with the technique (as if I didn't have eyes) or the significance of the artist (like I care). I was afraid to pause in front of the art for fear of having my attention interupted and steered.

Fortunately most treated us with the standard greeting..."Hello, take a look around and let me know if you have any questions. And if you're interested our next opening is next Friday." Somehow I found the art in those places more interesting.

Figurative Images in Oil Painting

2011-04-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

I have always questioned my ability to make figurative paintings interesting. Perhaps I have seen too many "reclining nudes" and other cliched gestures. Maybe images that only display the skill of the artist have started to bore me. I am not saying these types of paintings aren't good, just that you can only see so many breasts and backsides before you start to ask if they have any meaning.

So I start with a sketch. Some image that came to my mind while reflecting on my current mood. From this I hope to develope a full size drawing, and if I think it worthy proceed with a painting.

8 Page Books - Excerpts from Fast & Flexible

2011-04-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

8 Page Books has three titles taken from my book "Fast & Flexible." I made PDFs that you can download for FREE! They cover little discussed oil painting techniques, tips, and methods. Did I say they were free?

Go to 8 Page Books

The Muse and the Mess

2011-04-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took some time to reflect on my Vision. During this time of transformation, I have stretched myself thin across too many projects. To help me regain my focus, I brought out big pieces of paper and started “mind-mapping”.

Artistic Advice from Tales of Mere Existence

2011-04-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Good advice for every artist...

Let Art Fill Your Heart

2011-03-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

Still wrapped in brown paper, six sheets of copper serve as my paperweight. Originally I wanted to return them because I felt guilty about spending so much money on art supplies. Yet I keep it. It reminds me of how much more I love art than my dayjob. The dayjob gives me the resources to continue my existence, but art fills my heart.

Depression vs. the Melancholic Artist

2011-03-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Many people believe that artistry and depression go hand in hand. While this myth remains popular, I doubt that it has much merit. No doubt some artists do indeed suffer from depression. Yet it seems depression shares many traits with melancholia. A subtle distinction separates them. Depressed people express feelings of helplessness, despair, and psychic lassitude. On the other hand, a melancholy person reflects on the vanities of life, sees futility in existence, weighs human folly, and still struggles to find meaning through it all. Unlike those with depression, many artists continue to engage the world, but with a sad thoughtfulness. I think this exemplifies a unique kind of courage and wisdom.

Rhymes with Orange

2011-03-23T11:48:00.001-07:00

Flange rhymes with orange. Yet another urban myth dispelled.

Visual Art, Music, Swedenborg and the Language of Angels

2011-03-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

One joy of browsing among the stacks of books in a library is discovering the unexpected. The books that are most interesting are often those that introduce you to eccentric characters and facinating subcultures. My latest find is "In the Land of Invented Languages" by Arika Okrent.

Ms. Okrent surveys the people, ideals, and motivations of those who invent and use created languages. These languages include Esperanto, Interlingua, Klingon, Basic English and a whole host of attempts to make an easy to learn universal language that doesn't suffer from the irregular forms, inconsistent rules, and counterintuative spellings of natural laguages. Most of the language inventors had utopian aspirations, others just wanted the intellectual challenge.

While the proposed universal languages easily denote concrete things, like chairs and running, they become increasing culture specific when they try to express the nuanced connotattions between abstract ideas and emotions. For example, consider the differences implied by the words, scent, smell, and odor. These differences extend beyond fornulations like "good smell", "neural smell", and "bad smell."

Most people have heard the expressions "music has no borders" and "a picture is worth a thousand words." This suggests that both music and art can both express feelings and ideas independent of culture. But there also lies a difference. Music more effectively expresses affect, or basic feelings like joy, playfullness, and morning. Meanwhile art exceles at showing things, i.e. presenting concrete objects to the understanding. Perhaps this explains Max Meldrum's quest to "Truth in Art."

I image the language of angels can be understood throughout the spiritual world, from the most elated heavens to the dark recesses of hell. According to Emmanual Swedenborg, the language of angels consists of images. These correspond to specific ideas and have a musical beauty that exceeds beyond any earthy sound. Swedenborg presents heavenly speech as a unity of music and art. I doubt that any earthly means could so perfectly couple beauty with truth.

Nevertheless I still hold out for the possibility of making truly universal art. Am I following in the vain attempts of the language inventors? Perhaps. But my goals are more modest. I do not try to develop a system capable of expressing the full range of human thought and experience. My curiousity leans toward determining the limits of pictoral representation. How much meaning can a picture hold without resorting to graphic conventions and culturally specific symbols?

If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Three Small Abstract Oil Paintings

2011-03-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Three Small Abstract Paintings

each is 9 x 12 inches

The Box Schleper

2011-03-07T14:24:00.001-08:00

"The Box Schleper"

18-inches x 24-inches

oil on canvas

Wanderlust and Oil Painting

2011-03-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I worked on four very different paintings - large, small, bright, muted, abstract, figurative. Each approach has its own allure. They say that the dog that chases two rabbits catches none, but sometime you have to go through an exploratory period. I have set aside thoughts of gallery strategies, marketing and self-promotion to focus on the work that makes me happy.

My mind keeps returning to the idea of universal art and the unique means of expression provided by visual art. This is the beautiful agony of the need to know.

Quiet Self-Acceptance

2011-02-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

In middle age we shed many fantasies of youthful ambition. Reflecting on the delusions that motivated me for most of my 45 years, it has become clear that the stories I told myself have outlived their usefulness. Age has erased many possibilities. Most opportunities, if not squandered, have nevertheless been lost never to return. By Grace these have been replaced by focus. A quiet self-acceptance has replaced the clamour of conflicting desires. Where before I wanted recognition, I would prefer a life of anonymous significance just to know that my efforts have made a difference in the lives of others.

Like many of my major life changes, two timely movies have accompanied the shift in my thinking. The first movie was "The Weatherman" and the second was "The Hurt Locker."

In "The Weatherman" Nicholas Cage plays a local television forecaster. His life is a shambles. In marriage he has been supplanted by another man. The relationship with his daughter is strained and he can never seem to gain his father's approval. As a final indignity, random strangers pelt him with food as he walks down the street. He fantasizes that moving up into the position of a national morning talk show weatherman will salvage his marriage, restore the relationship with his daughter, and win the respect of his father. Yet when he accepts himself and his life as it really is does he attain true happiness.

Similarly, at the end of "The Hurt Locker" the main character, speaking to his infant son, explains that as you grow older you realize that you only truly love a couple of things, maybe only one.

Do you love painting? Are you willing to let go of obligations and even responsibilities that keep you away from the source of your happiness? Maybe the question is more important than the answer.

Paint Faster, Part-Timer

2011-02-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

Going back to a previous post I paraphrased Anthony Robin who said that success depends less on having resources and more on being resourceful. One of our most precious resources is time. While we can admire artwork that displays meticulous and time-consuming effort, the part-time artist (which most of us are) can ill afford to construct paintings in inefficient ways that only waste time, like waiting for paint to dry when a different faster method would produce a comparable effect.

More than likely you already have collected a bag of painting tricks from a variety of sources, but integrating all the numerous and seemingly incompatible techniques can be difficult. Here I try to pass along useful tips here in my blog, like the two colors plus white rule. But Blogs by their very nature present information in piecemeal fashion. And because my interests extend beyond technique into theory and aesthetics my speculations are interspersed throughout the blog. In my book "Fast & Flexible" I present concise instructions for making the most of your studio time.

Admittedly, the original purpose of this blog was to sell books, you should understand that I will not actually make a profit from "Fast & Flexible". The book is priced to break even. It has been a labor of love. My only hope was to share with others a simple framework for organizing the multiple techniques all of us accumulate over time.

Black is a Blue

2011-02-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

For all practical purposes, black is a blue pigment. A very low saturation blue, but a blue none the less. If you don't believe it try mixing it with any yellow pigment. The result is always a shade of green. Make your cool greys with black. If you need to darken a yellow, raw umber, which is a dark yellow, is the better choice.

The Only Art You Can Make vs the Art Only You Can Make

2011-02-24T15:48:00.000-08:00

It is important for your audience to know that the art you make is intentional and not purely the result of happy accidents. (No doubt random effects can be used for effect, but not as a crutch.) Evidence of craft should be clearly visible in whatever kind of art you make, abstract, realist, whatever. For example, jazz "scat" singing displays the skill and inventiveness of the singer. Shouting nonsense without purpose shows nothing and only expresses that the shouter is a moron.

The Proper Functions of Art

2011-02-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

I posted a comment on another blog ( http://catherinemeyersartist.blogspot.com/ ) in which I referred to the “proper functions of art.” In the post I specifically called ornamentation a proper function of art. Yet art is not defined by a limited set of functions. For example, you cannot say that something is not art because it doesn’t (choose a function) uplift, entertain, depict something, make a political statement, etc. Like all human activities, the practice and products of art have many functions.

The question is not whether any given object has a certain function that makes it art. The real question is whether a given function is best served through art. For example, art can be used for political ends, but so can a petition. Which is more effective? Art can be used to convey a moral principle. So can a story or poem.

This goes back to a question that continues to haunt me. What is it that visual art can convey more effectively than any other medium or activity?

How to Stay Motivated as an Artist, Have a Plan

2011-02-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

How to Stay Motivated as an Artist

How do you stay motivated as an artist? Recently I found a TED conference lecture by motivational speaker and author, Anthony Robbins, which I have embedded at the bottom of this post. My “take away” from the lecture concerned the need to clarify goals. You know the importance of setting goals, but somehow you don’t progress as much as you’d hoped. And you end up berating yourself as putz. At least I do.

A part of me, believes that creativity and goals don’t mix well. However, you can organize you artistic activities to further you along a desired path. Now, even though it is a long-shot, most artist’s still dream of practicing art full-time. Here are my steps to that goal:

Use sketchbook to generate painting ideas.
Develop sketches into preliminary images.
Time and effort in studio painting.
Build a body of work.
Create a portfolio.
Market portfolio to galleries for representation.

Each step builds on the next. It starts with the sketchbook and ends with gallery representation. That’s the plan.

Copperplate Engraving

2011-02-13T10:08:00.001-08:00

I've decide to pick-up copperplate engraving again. Engravings lend themselves to small meticulous pieces. I was always good at engraving and I like the idea of making multiples (ACEO's for Etsy).

I know what you're thinking. But heck, even artists have to eat.

Praise for Inconsistent Oil Painting Techniques

2011-02-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

"Leap of Faith"

Progress Detail

by Chad Wooters

One goal of my book "Fast & Flexible" is demonstrating that a mastery of different oil painting techniques allows you to change your approach mid-stream based on your mood and the needs of the painting. What started with a tonal simple-to-complex method shifted to a hue-based method from the first to second layer. Now in the third layer I again shifted to from a simple-to-complex approach to a vague-to-clear one.

This would not be possible for artists that rigidly cling to one style or oil painting technique. While the art market favors those who cling to a consistent definable signature style, anyone can see that some of the greatest artists, like Rembrandt and Reynolds, experimented wildly and moved fluidly from one oil painting method to another.

Oil Painting like I Sketch

2011-02-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

"Carry On" matches the style of the figurative images in my sketch book. It preserves the loose energy of my quick gestural studies.

Progress Photos of Oil Painting, The Box Schleper

2011-02-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

Progress Photo of Painting

"The Box Schleper"

First Layer

by Chad Wooters

Against Transgressive Art

2011-02-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

Many times I have heard from famous and not so famous artists alike that good art is always transgressive. This idea comes mostly from people who feel that art must offend the sensibilities of ther audience in order to be effective. The usual targets of their mockery consist of the suburban lifestyle, American consumerism, social conservative beliefs and right of center politics. While everyone is entitled to their opinions, the mixture of politics and art is problematic. It provides cover for lame art and pretands that left-wing agenda ideas are somehow repressed, which is certainly not the case within the circles of the "art establishment." Rather than let this post turn into a pointless rant, I propose an alternative view of art that is more honest and ennobling than that of the political art pack.

Artworks at their best inspire and enlighten. They make us aware of the transcendant forces that support meaning and inform experience. No doubt that on some occations higher truthes offend the narrow-mind and surpass the understanding of the willfully ignorant. In those instances art does indead transgress the prejudices of limited and lazy thinkers. However, such offences are not essential to art's function. For the vulgar resist enlightenment and challenges to restictive beliefs meet with self-righteous indignation.

Such is the nature of contemporary life. It's nearly impossible to speak intelligently on any topic without raising the ire of someone. Even still, why would anyone go out of their way to offend? Ultimately, the need to be artisticly transgressive stems from arrogance. These artists use their craft to mock positions of which they disapprove, secure in the belief of their own moral and intellectual superiority.Only the misguided practicianers let the tail wag the dog.

Compare this with the humility of the artist who realizes that what they seek will forever remain beyond the grasp of our meager tools. They do not seek to impress. They yeild to the wants and needs of the image. Art is meant to be transcendant, not transgressive. It should seek to inspire not insult. Politics is such a common and debased arena. Surely we do not wish to conscript Art, with a capital "A", for such a lowly pursuit.

The True Spirit of Modernism

2011-01-31T19:35:00.000-08:00

Words pass between us. We share images. But these are merely prompts that have no inherent meaning. They allow meaning to rise up and grow within the reader or viewer. These are colored by our experiences and conform to the habits of each individual mind. Yet this does not mean that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Just as each particular references an ineffible universal, so also does a universal idea transcend the particular meaning one person assigns to the prompting of shared forms. This universal idea, the meaning that informs meaning, exceeds the capacity of any one person's understanding.

Approaching that universal ideal is the project of modernism. The modernist rejects, not only the empty conventions of tradition, but also the solipsistic simulacrum of post-modern self-reference. Art is stripped of extraneous gestures and forms to reveal what is human in what is seen and heard.

New Painting, Work In Progress, 2nd. Layer

2011-01-25T14:37:00.001-08:00

Truly Universal Painting is not Political

2011-01-25T14:32:00.000-08:00

You learn to paint from your last painting. That’s a phrase I picked up from an art book the title of which I have forgotten. Vision does not come fully formed. Instead each painting moves you closer, inch by painful inch, toward the images only you could make.

That’s where I’m at. No longer the still life realist, I am reaching out to the question that has always been a part of me. What can visual images convey unassisted, without the benefit of title, explanation, supporting narrative, graphic conventions, or pre-established, symbols?

Here’s what I mean. An artist friend of mine, Mike Fritz, once posed an interesting question. If 500 years from now, a naïve person found your painting at a flea market, not knowing the title, anything about you, its country of origin, or even when it was made, would they be able to understand your artistic intent? In other words, would it be strong enough to stand on its own? And could it do that even without the support of culturally specific symbols like crosses, eight-spoked wheels, or eyes of Horus?

That’s a good question, isn’t it?

The question brings to fore the weaknesses of many current artistic practice, particularly political art. Social commentary loses its relevance with the passage of time and has little relevance outside its cultural context.

My contempt for political art is obvious. If you want to change the world, go circulate petitions. And stop pretending your didactic art will make a difference.

New Painting, Work in Progress, 1st. Layer

2011-01-17T06:45:00.000-08:00

Leap of Faith

Work in Progress

Sacred Space in Oil Paintings

2011-01-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

In L. Caruana’s book “Enter Through the Image”, the author reflects on pictorial space and the meaning of how each artistic period conceives it. He believes that artists up until the Renaissance planned images according to sacred geometry thus representing the universal nature of divinity. Then with the dawn of the Renaissance, the invention and use of perspective placed the sacred images within a “humanist” context.

For my own part, I believe that modern sacred art must forge ahead with a pictorial strategy capable that transcends both the geometric organization of a flat panel and the placing of elements within an illusionary space beyond the canvas. I imagine the colors being not on the surface; but rather in the space between the painting and the viewer, reflecting the type of I-Thou relationship described by Martin Buber.

Jonah and the Divine Human, New Painting

2011-01-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

"Jonah and the Divine Human"

24" x 36"

oil on canvas

5 Ways to Sell Your Art

2011-01-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

5 Ways to Sell Your Art...

Write an incomprehensible manifesto and include references to Derrida and post-structuralism.
Find a sugar daddy
Paint your house purple, wear a silly wild hat and call yourself an “outsider artist.”
Mock religion, Republicans, and suburban consumer culture.
Paint horses and dogs.

Early Church Vastation

2011-01-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

According to Swedenborg churches decay as growing falsities and the evil desires of congregations interfere with their relationship with the Lord. The painting shows the bust of a figure turning the light of the Lord, which has been obscured by the falsities that swirl around the individual.

"Vastation of the Church"

15" x 22"

oil on board

The Corruption of the Flesh, a New Painting

2011-01-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

"Corruption of the Flesh"

oil on canvas

48" x 30"

Never Paint with a Dry Brush

2010-12-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

As a farm boy painting the barn, my dad kept reminding me “never paint with a dry brush.” This rule of thumb also applies to fine art oil painting. Scrumbling has its place, but dry brush techniques are generally confined the finishing stages to create textural effects or in the very beginning for setting landmarks. Covering large areas of canvas with paint is really the main goal.

What most beginners do not realize is the oil painting and watercolor have completely different ways of loading their brushes. And since most of most people’s early childhood experience with paint is with watercolor, they are easily frustrated. With watercolor, brushes hold the paint in the bristles with capillary action. The brush is soaked with pigmented water then swished around on the paper (I’m generalizing here). In contrast, an oil paint brush holds a glob of paint on the tip.

Many painters make the mistake of trying to pick up oil paint by drawing it out of the pile. Better ways of loading a brush include scooping paint out of the pile or pushing the tip of the brush into a spread of paint. Once you have the glob positioned where you want it, you them smear it around to the shape you want.

Two Colors Plus White

2010-12-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

Simplify the replication of previously used paint mixtures by limiting yourself to two colors plus white. Ninety percent of the time you can mix any hue you need from two pigments. Boost low key colors with a high key one, knock-down intense colors with a compliment, or create a secondary hue from two primaries. Then tint with white as needed. You find it much easier to pick-up from where you left off if you follow this simple rule of thumb: two colors + white.

The Divine Human

2010-12-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

The Divine Human

by Chad Wooters

36 x 48 inches, Oil on Canvas

This painting represents the direction my visionary work is headed. Early work, I suppose. The work is titled “The Divine Human”, one of the Lord’s revelations to Swedenborg, and takes as its starting point images taken from the Apocalypse. Embedded within the painting are images of Saint John in prayer, four Seraphim, the twenty four elders, the book of Life (represented as a Torah scroll), seven seals (one for each Chakra), the seven horned lamb, the voice like many waters, the key to Hades, the Lord’s eyes like flame, and the seven candles and seven stars of the seven churches. From there I break down and blur the boundaries of these discrete images so that they flow into one another with graphic abstraction. Outlines create tonal progressions to animate and unify the whole.

Isabey brushes.

2010-12-14T13:41:00.001-08:00

Isabey makes some darn fine brushes. I love their round bristle brushes. Nuf said.

Admiration and Enjoyment, Realism and Abstraction

2010-12-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

The philosopher in me likes to make subtle distinctions. Have you ever reflected on the difference between Admiration and Enjoyment. For example, there are many artists that I both admire and whose work I enjoy. But there are also artists who I admire and whose work I do not enjoy. And there are painting that I enjoy viewing without any overwhelming admiration or the artist. Perhaps you’ve had this experience as well.

Speaking for myself, I admire excellent craftsmanship and the skillful execution of intense realism. I have often been moved by the faithfulness of a depiction, but paintings of fruit-in-a-bowl, flowers-in-a-vase and naked-woman-on-couch leave me cold. One the other hand, there are certain paintings and painters, like Matta, that I find both fascinating and compelling.

When a painting is realistic you are always an outside observer never a participant. Realistic images are excellent for depicting very specific things. They do not lend themselves to representing abstract qualities. For example, a highly realistic portrayal of Jesus is modeled after a very specific person, perhaps appropriate to expressing His historical humanity. A more abstract iconic image of Jesus though better expresses the idea of Christ universal.

I’m reminded of Martin Buber’s concept of the I-Thou relationship. When a good abstract painting ceases to be Other. I fall into the image and become part of its world.

Can Christian Art be visionary?

2010-12-07T14:12:00.001-08:00

If I show Christian images does that make me a “Christian artist.”Type in the keywords “Christian art” and most of what you get for contemporary painting will be realistic images of Jesus doing Jesus kinds of things with rays of light shining down from heaven. I’m not disparaging the work of these artists. Some very good craftsman are working to make truly moving and inspirational art. I am both a Christian and an artist but I don’t want my work confused with traditional “Christian art”. That is not my path. Maybe it’s not yours either.

But type in the keywords “visionary art” and you’ll get a lot of things. It’s certainly a wide category, but general themes are clear. Visionary art invites viewers into the world of the painting. It expresses the inner life of what is Human. Visionary art employs overt symbolism from a wide variety of sources. Much of it attempts to unify the spiritual traditions of many cultures – East, West, Primitive, Esoteric, etc. Because New Jerusalem concepts fall outside orthodox Christian belief (some consider Swedenborg a heretic) and I manipulate tones and colors to produce almost psychedelic effects, “visionary” best describes my new body of work.

Great Advice on Oil Painting Mediums

2010-12-07T12:16:00.001-08:00

Some artist love experimenting with various oil painting mediums. God bless them. I admire their passion for what I call “backyard alchemy.” One artist who comes to mind is Tad Spurgeon (http://www.tadspurgeon.com). He’s done the research and practices what he preaches. His work is not for those that fear lead. Most of his recipes include leaded or black oil. I’ve already spent a small fortune experimenting with some of these mediums, including the infamous Maroger’s medium. As for myself, I believe the simplest approach is generally the best. Most of the time I use only linseed oil. Sometimes stand oil diluted with mineral spirits. Lately I added a bit of Canada balsam because I like the way it handles. But to each his own. Check out Tad’s website. It’s well worth the read and his paintings are pretty good too.

Icons and Observation

2010-12-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

The dominant art history narrative goes something like this…

Painting techniques evolved over time as the painting technology improved. The earliest painters had limited materials and naïve technique. The development of more flexible mediums like oil painting and the invention of techniques like perspective, artist were able to achieve greater and greater realism. According to this story, the Fin de Siecle marks the high point of this evolution, but the rigidity of the Academie de Beaux Arts discouraged artistic expressions that did not conform to the Salon’s ideals, i.e. Impressionism. Finally, the upheaval of WWI lead to a rejection of established institutions, including entrenched artistic traditions and painting degraded into a pale shadow of itself until it was finally declared “dead” in the 1980’s.

Or so the story goes.

It seems to me that something important and quite profound is missing from this history, something spirtitual. According to the founder of my faith (New Jeruselum), Emmanuel Swedenborg, church dispensations are vastated as love of the Lord is displaced by love of self. What this means is that over time our perceptions and understanding of the Good and Truth becomes corrupted as falsities that grow out of our evil desires.

So how do Swedenborg’s ideas relate to art history? Here is what I suspect. From the ancient period and through the Middle Ages, artists worked anonymously. They received their wages, but did not get any recognition nor did the idea of self expression exist. For example, the creation of a religious Icon follows traditional patterns. This situation changed with the Renaissance, which marks the beginning of the modern period. From that point on, certain artist’s rose to prominence and earned acclaim, giving rise to personal ambition and ungodly pride. Novel forms and exceptional craftsmanship became valued over other artistic virtues. During the Romantic period the idea of the artist’s unique “genius” emerged. The overwhelming desire for notoriety has come to a head with the celebrity artists of today.

This speculative history mirrors my personal journey as an artist. Twenty years ago, I realized that I needed to listen to that “soft, still voice” calling me to pursue painting. Yet I was not content to make the abstract splashes of color that today pass for self expression. I knew know my work had to be the result of my conscious intention and not merely the result of happy accidents. So I learned and practiced realistic representation for its own sake. I focused on still life, which is a traditional genre for displaying an artist’s skill, and I attained a modest amount of success and peer recognition. But recently, I’ve come to recognize that I am now skilled enough to depict whatever I want and become mature enough to realize that continuing to make highly detailed still life paintings was not necessary to prove my skill to myself or anybody else anymore.

I have forsaken ambition and have started painting just for myself. I have gone visionary.

5 Time-saving Oil Painting Techniques

2010-12-02T14:42:00.001-08:00

You have make every minute of precious studio time count. For that reason, I’m posting just a few time-saving of the time saving techniques from my book “Fast & Flexible (shameless plug, I know.) So, here they are:

1. Mix large paint batches and save them for reuse. Tube colors you commonly use. Some retail art stores sell empty tubes, but it is much cheaper to buy them in bulk from www.sinopia.com. For example, I pre-mix a complete tonal range of sky blues. I also have tubes of green made from mars black and yellow ochre, sap green made from ultramarine and Indian yellow, and a warm transparent chromatic black made from ultramarine and transparent oxide red.

2. Learn to paint wet-into-wet. Wet-into-wet techniques are not just for alla primera or plein aire painting. You can just keep working on your easel painting with just a few simple adjustments to your working methods. Learn to alter the viscosity of your paint, making it shorter by loading it up with extra pigment or longer with a touch of medium. Just be careful to ALWAYS follow the fat-over-lean rule. It’s also easier to float one color over another using a soft sable brush and a light touch.

3. Keep your working palette consistent. It’s better to get really good at mixing the same six colors then it is to be mediocre at mixing 20. See my earlier post about “workhorse” colors and “boosters”.

4. Use alkyd resins. Liquin, Gamblin’s Neo-Meglip, and other alkyds are useful when you want to be able to work over dry layers for several days in a row. Just remember that you can begin with alkyds and finish with a straight drying oil medium, but you should not paint with alkyds over layers mixed with only drying oil.

5. Store your extra, oddball, and infrequently used paints in labeled storage bins. When you need just the right color, you need to be able to find it quickly. Otherwise you may be tempted to compromise with a color that only sort of match your observations and/or vision.

Oil Painting Techniques & Historical Styles

2010-12-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

In “Fast & Flexible” I describe four main oil painting techniques. Many artists wonder how these four approaches relate to historical painting styles. To clarify this issue I made a short video that pairs each of the four oil painting techniques to the traditions of Tonal Realism, the Pre-Raphaelites, Classical Realism, and Impressionism. Enjoy.

"Enter the Image" with Visionary Art

2010-12-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

Some of you may remember OMNI magazine. It had truly great art direction. Visionary artists like De Es, Earnt Fuchs, and Boterro, graced its pages. My artistic journey is leading me to incorporate New Jerusalem (Emmanuel Swedenborg) imagery into my paintings. Not sure how this will play out but I find myself developing my own visual language to manifest personal spiritual experiences. Curious to see how self-identified Visionary artists express these ideas I found a very compelling text at the following link: www.lcaruana.com. M. Caruana is very talented visionary artist. Even though my pictorial strategy is very different from hers, she has a book called "Enter the Image" about the meaning and significance of images in visionary art. Check it out.

Tips for Choosing Your Palette Colors

2010-12-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

We oil painters obsess a great deal about our color palette. And for good reason. Limiting the number of colors helps us develop consistent mixing formulas. That familiarity allows us to easily replicate previous mixtures and create new mixtures to match our observations. However, the palette has to extensive enough to provide the full range of colors we need.

Many of us study the so-called “limited” palettes of previous Masters. While there is some value in that, it would be foolish to ignore enormous potential of modern organic pigments. I have found it very useful to divide the colors of my palette into two categories: workhorses and boosters.

Workhorses cover a wide tonal range and generally consist of inexpensive opaque mineral colors. Basically, the earth tones – mars black, burnt umber, raw umber, burnt sienna, raw sienna, yellow ochre, and (of course white).

Boosters cover the spectral range of hues and generally consist of transparent high-key organic colors. I have just about every organic pigment under the sun, from perylene red to pthalo green, although I have my favorites, specifically diox purple, Prussian blue, Indian yellow, and napthol scarlet. Most artist find that their high tinting strength makes these colors difficult to work with. But that’s only if you use them as your starting point. I have found that the best approach with these colors is to mix them into the workhorse colors to boost color saturation, which is why I call them “boosters.”

For example, I will start a green with a mixture of black and yellow ochre, then adjust its tone with white as required. But if I need a brighter green, then I will tint the “workhorse” colors with an organic “booster” like pthalo green, viridian, etc. The “workhorse” blue is a cool grey made from mars black and white. This can be boosted with paris blue, ultramarine, and pthalo blue. Even still some color mixtures lie outside this approach. Bright sky blues need cobalt blue and cerulean, both of which are mineral colors.

You’ll also notice that I haven’t mentioned a specific white pigment. I’m intentionally avoiding controversies about the health hazards of lead, the chaulkiness of titanium, and the inherent vice of zinc white. As for myself, I favor Gamblin’s Radiant White mixed with Williamsburg’s flake white (lead) and will not use zinc white. But that’s just me, you have to decide for yourself who to believe when it comes to white, and anything else for that matter.

The Purpose of this Blog

2010-10-06T07:08:00.001-07:00

In the various manifestos and artist statements that I’ve issued throughout my art career, I’ve repeatedly stated that I have little interest in the use of narrative in visual art. That is no longer entirely true. If we are talking about story illustration then, yes, I maintain that pictures are far less effective at telling stories than drama or literature. At the same time, it is clear to me that pictures communicate far more than simple depiction, and often more than the artist consciously intends.

The subject of this blog is significance in pictures and how meaning gets embedded in them. I will discuss what pictures can say and how ideas get expressed by still two-dimensional images. While many of the issues discussed could also apply to architecture, sculpture, film, and drama, those arts are beyond the scope of this work. This blog focuses on drawing and painting to the exclusion of all other craft.

Art Has Real Value

2010-09-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

My guess is that the general consensus of museum curators, gallery owners and dealers and most institutionally educated artists would be that you could frame a turd and it would be Art, with a capital "A". And as I recall that's already been done...and yes, it was considered Art. End of story. The real interesting questions, in my mind, concern how various kinds of artists respond to this aesthetic and conceptual free-for-all.

Once we accept the premise that anything properly contextualized can be art then we can focus on questions of value. For example, the turd is art, but is both literally and figuratively sh*tty art. So what I want to know is what is it in art that we value, since, by its superfluous nature it lacks usefulness?

My current speculations lead me to believe that artistic value is defined by a paradox. Superior art fully embraces its own nature. It openly reveals the means of its creation and the materials of its construction. Yet superior art also displays the illusion that it has transcended its own materiality. Stone seems fluid. Flat surfaces become deep. This leads me to believe Art's value lies at least partly in its ability to inspire us by sheer physical example.

I would say that dogmatic assertions of quality are perilous at best, yet that should not prevent us from making value judgments with regards to the quality of visual art. As artist's we're constantly engaged in evaluating the quality of our own work. That is how we improve. At it root, the concept the improvement is predicated on standards of quality.

A relative value need not be illusory if, and that's a very big if, that relative value is found to be contingent on some absolute value. For example the value of water is relative, depending on whether it's in abundance or if you're stranded on a desert island. Yet water always has real value because it is a basic human need and is linked to human life, which has acknowledged value.

This raised two questions. First, does human life actually have any value? If one believes that life has no value, meaning, or significance, then neither does art. That conclusion is inescapable, so there really is no point in pursuing or defending such a nihilistic position. Second, does art, either by its creation or by its viewing, relate to any real human need? From there its value can be determined in relationship to other human needs and values.

So I answer that the value of art is real, not illusory. The quality of art can be evaluated, but it is always evaluated in the same way that all other useful resources and artifacts are, i.e. within the context of both individual and community wants and needs.

Creativity Cannot Be Taught, Only Stifled

2010-09-24T08:48:00.001-07:00

Creativity cannot be taught, it can only be stifled.

This is best illustrated by an experience I had in college. Some of my fellow architecture students and I took a business class. In it there was a brief section on “Creativity in Business” during which the class was presented the following thought problem.

“One end of a steel pipe is embedded in concrete the other is open and facing up. The inside diameter is 1/16” larger than that of a ping-pong ball, which oddly enough rests in the bottom of the pipe. Your problem is to remove the ping-pong ball without damaging either it or the pipe. And you have at your disposal only a hammer, a wire clothes hanger, and a light bulb.”

All the other groups “found” the obvious solution, such as filling the pipe with various body fluids or proposed various complex arrangements of flattened wires and filaments. Our solution : Forget about the ball in the pipe, sell the hammer, the light bulb, and clothes hanger then buy a whole pack of new ping-pong balls.

The professor with his Ph.D in Business Management condemned our group because we didn't “solve the problem.” If you're committed to a particular ping-pong ball then he was right. But in my opinion he was more interested in the students arriving at the pre-approved solutions, not showing true vision by questioning the problem.