RICHARD SCHMID NOTES, COASTAL PLEIN AIR by TOM BROWN

Most collectors familiar with my work know me for my brush paintings, but I also paint frequently with the palette knife, which provides a very different visual experience. This 6x8 inch coastal painting was done with a combination of brushes and the knife together.

Artists often feel they should limit themselves to just brushes or the knife in order to maintain a consistency of style. Many of the great masters disagree, and so do I.

Richard Schmid is an excellent example. Richard Schmid is one of the most accomplished masters of our time, known best for his masterful use of the brush in both figure painting and landscapes. Interestingly he also endorses and uses the palette knife in his work.

In his book “Richard Schmid Paints The Figure” (published in 1973) he mentions being inspired by one of his heroes, Nicholai Fechin as a master of the knife as well as brushes in his work.

In another of his books “Richard Schmid Paints Landscapes” (published in 1975), Richard admonishes artists to learn to use the knife. He suggests locking away your brushes for a time and painting only with the knife to master this “amazingly versatile instrument.”

More than two decades later in his classic book “Alla Prima – Everything I Know About Painting, by Richard Schmid” he again devotes time to knife painting and describes situations when the knife is the best tool. An example shown in this book is “Cascade Barn” which was painted exclusively with the knife.

Emille Gruppe, another artist whose work I admire, describes how one of his teachers the great Charles Hawthorne forced students to spend time learning how to use the knife exclusively in order to broaden their skills.

I enjoy using both tools. I often use the knife to complete portions of paintings that are primarily done with brushes. And I also create many paintings using only the knife, which creates a very different visual experience than paintings done with brushes.

I hope this brief discussion was of interest. If you would like to comment, please email me here:
tombrownstudio@cox.net

Thanks for stopping to look. If you would like to own this painting click here to bid:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/tombrownfineart/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

CAMILLE PRZEWODEK COLOR NOTES and WORKSHOP INFORMATION by TOM BROWN

ARTISTS: JOIN MY SPECIAL SATURDAY WORKSHOP – SECRETS TO PAINTING MORE “KEEPERS” ON LOCATION. DON’T MISS THIS ONE! You’ll learn my techniques and tricks that work every time. For example I’ll show you how to identify and nail down the “magic” you see, and transfer that without fail into a large canvas.

One way to do it is to use a small quick study to capture the moon fast, while it’s fresh. A combination of the brush and palette knife works great for this. Then you can work at your leisure on a large canvas, using the quick study to keep you on course. I’ll show you how.

I’ll also show you how to “see” both values and hues simultaneously, to more easily visualize the potential of a scene before starting. It puts you on the right path right away, for a solid start and successful finish.

The workshop will be held at an inspiring location on Saturday morning, February 11 from 9am to noon and the cost is just $20. This spot has convenient parking, restrooms and shady trees to sit beneath as we paint. Email for details: tombrownstudio@cox.net

Recently on this blog I’ve been discussing other artists whose work I enjoy, including Matt Smith, Camille Przewodek, Richard Schmid, Nicholai Fechin, Charles Hawthorne, Henry Hensche, Emille Gruppe and others. My comments until now have dealt with their thoughts on brushwork, palette knife techniques and color usage – all of which relate to this painting. If you haven’t read those posts yet you may want to scroll back on my blog to check them out.

Today’s painting was done using both brushes and the palette knife, and it combines rich hues as well as subtle grayed colors to bring out the mood I wanted to capture. (Check out the detail image above.) This is a 5x6 inch original oil painting on a Masonite art panel. To bid on this painting click here:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/tombrownfineart/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

I hope this brief discussion was of interest. Thanks for stopping by.
Tom Brown

RICHARD SCHMID NOTES, FULL MOON NOCTURNE by TOM BROWN

Most collectors familiar with my work know me for my brush paintings, but I also paint frequently with the palette knife, which provides a very different visual experience. This painting is an 8x10 inch palette knife oil painting entitled “THE MOON AND THE STARS.”

Artists often feel they should limit themselves to just brushes or the knife in order to maintain a consistency of style. Many of the great masters disagree, and so do I.

Richard Schmid is an excellent example. Richard Schmid is one of the most accomplished masters of our time, known best for his masterful use of the brush in both figure painting and landscapes. Interestingly he also endorses and uses the palette knife in his work.

In his book “Richard Schmid Paints The Figure” (published in 1973) he mentions being inspired by one of his heroes, Nicholai Fechin as a master of the knife as well as brushes in his work.

In another of his books “Richard Schmid Paints Landscapes” (published in 1975), Richard admonishes artists to learn to use the knife. He suggests locking away your brushes for a time and painting only with the knife to master this “amazingly versatile instrument.”

More than two decades later in his classic book “Alla Prima – Everything I Know About Painting, by Richard Schmid” he again devotes time to knife painting and describes situations when the knife is the best tool. An example shown in this book is “Cascade Barn” which was painted exclusively with the knife.

Emille Gruppe, another artist whose work I admire, describes how one of his teachers the great Charles Hawthorne forced students to spend time learning how to use the knife exclusively in order to broaden their skills.

I enjoy using both tools. I often use the knife to complete portions of paintings that are primarily done with brushes. And I also create many paintings using only the knife, which creates a very different visual experience than paintings done with brushes.

I hope this brief discussion was of interest. If you would like to comment, please email me here:
tombrownstudio@cox.net

Thanks for stopping to look. If you would like to own this painting click here to bid:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/tombrownfineart/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

LANDSCAPE WITH TREES, MOUNTAINS, CLOUDS, by TOM BROWN

Painting with the palette knife as compared with brushes is an interesting subject. Artists often feel they should limit themselves to just one or the other. Many of the great masters disagree, as do I.

Richard Schmid is a excellent example. Richard Schmid is one of the most accomplished masters of our time, known best for his masterful use of the brush in both figure painting and landscapes. Interestingly he also endorses and uses the palette knife in his work.

In his book “Richard Schmid Paints The Figure” (published in 1973) he mentions being inspired by one of his heroes, Nicholai Fechin as a master of the knife as well as brushes in his work.

In another of his books “Richard Schmid Paints Landscapes” (published in 1975), Richard admonishes artists to learn to use the knife. He suggests locking away your brushes for a time and painting only with the knife to master this “amazingly versatile instrument.”

More than two decades later in his classic book “Alla Prima – Everything I Know About Painting, by Richard Schmid” he again devotes time to knife painting and describes situations when the knife is the best tool. An example shown in this book is “Cascade Barn” which was painted exclusively with the knife.

Emille Gruppe, another artist whose work I admire, describes how the great Charles Hawthorne forced students to spend time learning how to use the knife exclusively in order to broaden their skills.

Most collectors familiar with my work know me for my brush paintings, but with this topic in mind I’ve decided to show another example of my own palette knife work. This painting is a 4x6 inch oil entitled “THE INSPIRATION OF NATURE.”

Thanks for stopping to look. If you would like to own this painting click here to bid:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/tombrownfineart/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

I hope this brief discussion was of interest. If you would like to comment, please email me here:
tombrownstudio@cox.net