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 and MATT SMITH NOTES, WORKSHOP INFORMATION by TOM BROWN

ARTISTS: JOIN MY SPECIAL SATURDAY WORKSHOP – SECRETS TO PAINTING MORE “KEEPERS” ON LOCATION.

FREE BONUS: Everyone who attends will receive a free online tutorial of this lesson following the workshop. See me at class for details.

DON’T MISS THIS ONE!
I’ll show you tips, tricks and techniques that work every time. For example I’ll show you how to identify and nail down the “magic” you see in nature.

And how to spot the values and hues that will give your painting a solid foundation.

I’ll get you started on the right path right away, for an easy 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 location has convenient parking, restrooms and shady trees to sit beneath as we paint. Email for details: tombrownstudio@cox.net

About today’s painting:
On this blog recently I’ve been discussing some of the artists whose work I enjoy. Matt Smith and Camille Przewodek are among them. Matt Smith tends to use subdued hues while Camille Przewodek emphasizes bold, lively colors in her work.

I use whatever is most appropriate to express the mood I wish to convey at the moment. This includes the entire range of color, from the very saturated hues of yesterday’s painting to the more muted, restful colors of this painting.

On this particular day the lighting and colors were softer and grayer, so my painting leans toward colors that capture that feeling.

And yet I wanted to maintain a lively feeling at the same time, so I used a palette knife rather than brushes for this one. This was painted during a Plein Air workshop I taught for other artists. For comparison with my painting I’m including a photo of the actual location taken as I painted this.

“EDGE OF THE WATER” is a 6x8 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=

In coming posts I’ll discuss more of the artists whose work has influenced my own development. I hope this brief discussion was of interest. If you would like to comment, please email me here:
tombrownstudio@cox.net

Thanks for stopping by.
Tom Brown

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=

FARM, TREES, MOUNTAINS by TOM BROWN

Matt Smith and Camille Przewodek are two of the artists whose work fascinates me.

While teaching a workshop recently I was asked about some of the artists who have inspired me. Richard Schmid is one of those artists, and in yesterday’s blog posting I mentioned his comments on using the palette knife. Today’s painting was done using both the knife as well as brushes by the way.

Matt Smith and Camille Przewodek were two other artists I named whose work I greatly admire, each for very different reasons.

I have observed each of them during plein air competitions. Each of them creates marvelous paintings even though their styles are very different. Especially regarding the colors they choose to put into their paintings.

Matt Smith tends to use subdued hues while Camille Przewodek sees herself as more of a colorist, emphasizing bold and lively colors in her work.

The painting shown here tends to emphasize rich hues, which was the response I had to the landscape before me as the warm light of late afternoon washed across the landscape.

I’m including a photo taken at the site for comparison with my interpretation of the scene. This painting is a 6x6 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=

In coming posts I’ll discuss more of the artists whose work has influenced my own development. I hope this brief discussion was of interest. If you would like to comment, please email me here:
tombrownstudio@cox.net

Thanks for stopping by.
Tom Brown

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