Peppers and Turquoise

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This is a very small painting. It is only 6" x 3". Therefore, I was able to do it in just
one afternoon. I like the colors. I deliberately made the background and foreground
turquoise. So often paintings of this type have brown backgrounds, or the reverse.
That can undoubtedly be beautiful - but it's done all the time. I wanted to try some-
thing that I don't see all the time. Whether or not it's successful, I'll leave up to
you. It sure is fun to be painting again though.

Thanks for visiting.

Margie's Angel

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This oil over brown under-painting was done on a gessoed 6" x 6"
masonite panel. The main part of the features that you can see
are the underpainting. There are many glazes as well: transparent
Gold Ochre, Indian Yellow, Transparent Red Earth, Transparent
Yellow, and then also a great deal of opaque paint.

This is a fun way to paint. Solve the drawing part first, and then
you are relatively free to fool around with color.

Thanks for visiting today.

P.S. You may have noticed that I've added Google Ad Sense to my
blog. I hope you don't think that mercenary of me.....times are
hard......for everyone.

Sgraffito Drawing/Demo of the Charioteer of Delphi

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This is actually the first sgraffito drawing that I ever did, and
I have used it for years as a demo piece when I am teaching this
unusual but ancient technique to my students. That is why it is
covered with squiggles, pieces of perfectly matched curved-cross-
hatching (done with a tool that has six pieces of wire all the same
length sticking out of a metal holder), and other various messy
marks. There is even some gold Sennelier oil pastel on his hair
ornament - unfortunately, the luminosity of it has faded over the
years.

I have described elsewhere in my blog how to do this technique, so
I won't repeat myself here.

Tomorrow I will present a painting I've been working on for a little
bit every day for a few days. It is the same composition as one
presented on this blog, but with a new interpretation coloristically.
It certainly was fun painting it! And I spent this day, mapping out the coming
week. I have so many paintings I want to do - and this is just the small
ones that can be done in a day or two - that I don't know how I'll ever finish
them!! It's so exciting.

I did a silly thing the other day though - and if anyone who is reading this
happens to have an "in" with Google, or is just more "internet savvy" than I am,
please let me know if you can help me out!

I was looking at my account here, and they suggested that I change my Google-given
URL for my blog to a domain name (at a price, of course...), so like a perfect
consumer, I bought one. Alas, AFTER I purchased it I realized there was a
serious typo in it. It was supposed to read: priscillatreacyfineart.com, BUT,
it reads priscilltreacyfineart.com.

I haven't been able to get in touch with them
through their byzantine "help" pages, I even contacted Enon, the company they
work together with in producing these domain name. Any query has lead
me to absolutely nowhere. And of course, there is never a phone number mentioned
ANYWHERE. There is nothing in Google's FAQ that even touches on this problem.
I offered to cancel, and start all over, but they didn't like that at all. No, no.

So, now I am stuck with a domain name with a misspelled name, and no one will
be able to find my blog, and I have NO idea how to fix it. Does anyone out there
know how! HELP!!

I would most grateful for any ideas - and thank you for visiting today.

Oil Color Monotype: Italian Geometrics I

NFS

I explained the procedure for this type of monotype in my blog
on Monday. This one was used as a book cover by the David R. Godine
Publishing Co. in Boston, in 1984, for a memoir by Iris Origo, titled
War in Val d'Orcia. I was very happy when they decided to use it,
of course. Also, I didn't have to deal with any art directors telling me
what to do! It was a free ride!

Thanks for visiting today.

Tomorrow is "P" day - I begin to paint in earnest. I am so excited!!

Pastel and Charcoal Head of Roman Warrior

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I have to admit that I love this drawing. It is done
in a method that I call "veils of color". It is done on
white bond sketch-weight paper. You do a drawing
with 1/8" round vine charcoal, and then go over that
with Nupastel in whatever color you want. This can
correct and mistakes if you are not done with the drawing,
or if you are, it can begin to suggest a color plan or direction,

Then I further develop the drawing with the vine, and add
more pastel, spraying between layers. I know that is contrary
to what most people think as pastel technique, but this is
just something I developed on my own, and I really like to
draw this way. It is very freeing, and fun. You never really
know what you are going to get. If you use regular fixative,
the paper remains smooth, and you can apply hard and soft
pastels, and charcoal pencils also - actually I prefer carbon
pencils, because they don't smear as much.

If you use Matte medium spray it leave little tiny globules
of spray on the paper, giving it a tiny tooth that is just great
for grabbing onto very soft pastel, in rich saturated colors.

Monotype of a Terracotta Pot at Nero's Villa on Capri

NFS
This is an example of how accidents sometime work
to our advantage in art. This is an oil paint monotype,
which I painted on a small zinc plate (4" x 5"). Actually,
I used this same plate over and over again.

This is the view from the patio of Nero's Villa which is
on the very top of the island of Capri off the coast of Naples.
It is said that he used to throw hapless people off just to amuse
himself.

Anyway, the procedure for this consists of drawing an
image onto the plate with a 6B pencil, and then painting
the image with oil paint diluted with turpentine. For some
reason turpentine works the best, which is a shame, as I
have developed a tendency to develop migraines if I get
anywhere near it. The paint isn't as thin as watercolor,
just "thinned", and it can be manipulated with dry brushes,
and also with brushes that are wet with solvent and then mostly
dried off. Apparently, during this process a bit of turpentine
got away and dribbled down the front of the terracotta pot.
But, what a happy accident! It's really doing a marvelous
imitation of the characteristic surface of these aged pots.

This was from a series called "Italian Geometrics". They were
all 4"' x 5", and they were all oil monotypes. I have two others.
One was used as a book cover once. I felt so lucky.

Essence Sketch of Reclining Model

NFS
Well, I am happy to say that my hand is finally healed,
and I no longer have to wear my hand support (excepting
when I am typing on the computer for long stretches). I
have been gathering ideas for things that I want to paint,
and I am looking forward to the coming week when I will
begin in earnest to become involved in my work again.

I know that after such a long time away from my regular
routine it will be touch and go at first. I have always
thought ( and I tell my students this) of "artistic ability",
whatever it is, as something that we don't really "own" per
se, it comes and hangs around for a while, and graces our
lives with happiness when we have it - but it can just as
easily leave for awhile. I console myself knowing that
Edward Hopper, whose work I truly admire, didn't paint
for five years at one point. Hard to imagine, but true.
Just think how unhappy he must have been!

Well, today I have an essence (check back in former posts
for a definition) drawing on Canson pastel paper. I am very
fond of this one. It is not for sale, because it was already sold.
I'm so glad I have a picture of it. I wish I had the real thing.

Thanks for visiting today.

Gouache Wash Drawing of Male Model in Class

NFS

This was a demo drawing I did in the figure
class that I teach at the Art League School in
Alexandria, Virginia.

I love working in gouache! It is opaque water-
color and can be used either opaquely or trans-
parently. Either way, it is fun to work with,
especially with the figure. It is easy to be loose
and free with gouache. If you love drawing the
figure you should try it!

Thanks for visiting today.

Rocks and Ocean

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This small painting is an example of using a monochromatic
under painting, in this case a brown one - as a base for adding
color. It is fairly easy to harmonize a painting if you use a tight,
limited palette of colors and such an under painting. The under
painting, or grisaille, from the French for "gray", has to be in a
discernible color, not in black and white. A gray could be used,
but it would work best if it were a gray influenced noticeably by
a color, such as blue, or lavender.

Monotype of the View from Rte.460, Blacksburg, VA

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This monotype was painted in watersoluble oils on Yupo watercolor paper, which
is really just a piece of white plastic rolled out very thin. It is fun to use this as
a support , because you can really see what your image will look like when printed -
except that it will be backwards of course, if you are using an etching press, which
I always do. -- This image is mostly done from memory. I rode up and down this
highway so many times that I can still see it clearly now, even though I was there
almost thirty years ago.

Thanks for visiting today.

Watercolor Monotype of a Versailles Statue

NFS
This image was created by painting with Prang
watercolors, and drawing with Caran d'Ache
Neocolor Water-soluble crayons on frosted Mylar.
Then, after soaking a piece of Magnani white
printmaking paper, and blotting off all of the
standing water, I ran the two together through
an etching press. A plastic plate of roughly the
same dimensions as the print was used to shore
up the image and create more pressure and
create a platemark around it, which is clearly
visible in this picture.

This is a really fun technique. If you cover your
Mylar with gum arabic, Watercolor Medium (gum
arabic with acetic acid in it to preserve it), or even
dishwashing liquid, and allow that to dry, you can
then create an image and print it by hand - but you
must be sure that your paper is damp enough for
the image to transfer. The watersoluble coating
underneath your drawing is dissolved by the damp
paper and lifts up with the drawing on top of it,
and the whole thing transfers to your printmaking
paper.

Obviously, using a press is easier!

Lesli's Back

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This is a painting of a young woman who used to model for me
before she moved to New York to seek her fortune in music and
the theatre. Not only was she blessed with physical beauty, but
with a lustrous operatic voice, and acting talent! She has already
performed with Shakespeare in the Park. I am so proud of her.
She certainly made an inspiring model though. We all miss her.

Thanks for visiting.

Drypoint Etching of Bassoonists

NFS
I did this drypoint as a commission for a man who collected musical instruments.

Because in drypoint you are drawing with a diamond point, the only way to create

tone is to build up layers of lines. It took me eight hours just to draw the large

bassoon in the front of the image.

Some people have asked me if I copied this from Degas, because it is reminiscent

of some of his concert paintings. I did not. I used various photo references of

musicians and made the rest up.

The man who commissioned it asked for an edition of twenty prints. I printed all

of them, which isn't easy with a zinc drypoint plate - the burr that creates the

image tends to wear down.

The man didn't buy a single copy. That's the life of an artist for you. But, I don't

care, because after all this time, this is still one of my favorite pieces.

Thanks for visiting today.