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Cake At The Bubble Room, 3 1/2 Strokes

by cooper on 4/30/2009 8:23:40 PM1 Comment

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio. No painting today. But. If you are the person the real estate agent brought to look at my house this afternoon, I sure hope you thought it was sort of clean. I spent all day making it that way. Dios Mio.

Yesterday I found the last 3 1/2 brush strokes that were missing from the cake painting. Photo-ed this afternoon, and here for your viewing pleasure:

Cake At The Bubble Room, acrylic painting on canvas, measuring a perfect 24 x 24 inches. And if you are wondering about the Bubble Room, think Captiva Island, Florida. And it's coconut cake! Available in my portfolio.

And while we are talking tasty, I feel compelled to mention the top two bakeries in the state of Iowa. My opinion and I'm sticking to it. Spencer has the privilege of being home to Carroll's Bakery, right on Grand Avenue, and if you are driving through, you simply have to stop and go in. They make a pastry called (and I have absolutely no idea how to correctly spell it) (but to get my point across we'll do it this way) a buterday. At least that is how it's pronounced. If somebody knows the pastry and how to spell it, feel free to correct me. The perfection of the pastry, is however, UNarguable. And it's just a short Saturday morning bicycle ride away. :) The second most outstanding pastry in Iowa comes from the other end of the state, in Marion, Iowa, right next door to Cedar Rapids. Napoleons. Jules Bakery. Enough said except for mmmmmmmmmmm.

Wow. It must be dinner time.

Later, Cooper

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Grey Area: Creating Art Versus Making To Sell

by cooper on 4/25/2009 9:29:54 AM1 Comment

Good morning!

I just read a blog post by KeikoTanabe (thank you Keiko), which included a link to an article found in Sunshine Artist magazine. I am stating right up front: I am not a subscriber to said mag for very definite and highly opinionated reasons, but the article did have one point that I found thought provoking.

The problem is the point they made, they called a positive, while I see it as a negative. Hmmm.

We are talking about the summer art fair here, yet again. The magazine had interviewed an artist on looking forward to this summer and what he was doing to prepare. Talking about making smaller stuff that doesn't cost much that will sell easier.

Is it worth it, and IS it worth it? For the artist: make a bunch of small, cheap (ahem, inexpensive) stuff, drive 500 miles, pay a $300 dollar booth fee, and sell it. Is it worth it? Now let's assume the artist has created some really lovely work in the past, and a collector walks by and sees the (ahem) inexpensive stuff stacked around. Do you lose a fan, and what's that worth?

And then let's talk about the rest of the art fair patrons. So they see that lot's of artists have inexpensive (ahem, cheap!) stuff sitting around this summer. That gives them two options:

1. Wow! Everything's so inexpensive this year. Isn't this one cute, and isn't that one fun, I'll take'm both. Gets home and three months later gets rid of said cute and fun, because really, after all, it was just cheap stuff.
OR:
2. Wow. Everything has gone so tacky and cheap. Is this how it's going to be at art fairs now? Where's the good art?

I contend there is that grey area out there that divides artists. Way up above the grey cloud, you have artists creating purely for the creation. Maybe they don't have to worry about money? Whatever. Way down in the black murk below the grey area, you have people, still say they are artists, making whatever they can that they can talk somebody out of their money for. In the middle is the grey cloud. Artists creating, working hard at creating, striving to improve their creating, and yet, still needing to sell some of their creating, just so they can keep on creating. In that grey cloud, there is no firm dividing line. But I think better to shoot for living on the top side of that grey cloud, than hanging on with slippery fingers to the bottom of it.

Enough said :) Have a lovely day!

Later, Cooper

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Was That A ChocolateRaspberry Martini?

by cooper on 4/23/2009 6:13:31 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio on a stunning spring Thursday in Spencer, Iowa.

So is it fair to paint something when you don't know what it is? There are those people who say "must paint what you know". I think today was an exception to that rule. And besides, I know the person, I just don't know what she had in her glass. Ha! Yet another hazard of painting from a photo---you can't ask a photo a question. Here's a look at the day's adventure in paint:

Was That A ChocolateRaspberry Martini?, acrylic painting on canvas, measuring a delightful 12 x 12 inches. I think I might finally be getting used to this canvas size! Painting available at $135, in my portfolio. Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

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Getting In The Zone, Or SwimmingHeadDisorder?

by cooper on 4/20/2009 6:50:29 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio. And I know you're all dying to find out if swimming head disorder is real, and the hypochondriacs amongst you want to know what the symptoms are. Ha! Calm down. It's just one of those -isms. It means you've got so much going on in your head that it's giving you that underwater sensation where everything is just hard to sort out and get clear. And maybe it's just a Nebraska-ism, used when I was a child. Bear with me a minute here.

Do you read the Empty Easel articles? You should. Even at the risk of swimming head disorder, which you might become susceptible to, due to the vast quantities of information available to you there. A regular writer at EmptyEasel, named Rose Welty, has been doing a series of article regarding resources for free online art education, "The Big List Of Free Drawing Resources, Educational Books, Videos, Podcasts, and More", which of course, is yet another opportunity to make your head swim with massive amounts of information.

One of Rose's references was to an online text The Practice and Science of Drawing, by Harold Speed, which I am currently enjoying. It's a great text by a colorful (make that colourful) author. His word pictures are quite visual. I am also going through (again) Advanced Drawing Skills, by Barrington Barber. Yes, those two, concurrently. I set myself up, didn't I? One of them made a statement about if you don't get it right in black and white first, it'll never be right in color. Which author said that? Darned if I know, blame it on swimming head disorder.

It can carry through to the easel as well, you know. The current on-the-easel-canvas is the lunch break scene. The canvas is a 30 x 40 inch, so it consumes me with size alone. Then there's the matter of composition, and am I on track with the values? Hey, one of those guys said it's got to be right in black and white. I decided it was time to back off, get a photo, and turn it to black and white. God bless the person who invented photo editing.

It's a life saver when you've got swimming head disorder. Regular people call it getting in the zone, or drawing on the right side of the brain. Ha! But I grew up in Nebraska. Stay tuned. I'll get this painting sorted out yet.

Later, Cooper

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Life Drawing, Or How Many Scratchy Marks Can You Make In 90 Seconds?

by cooper on 4/16/2009 10:28:06 AM1 Comment

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio.

Last night was life drawing at the Pearson Lakes Art Center. Something interesting always occurs. And by the way, the Pearson Lakes Art Center is located in Okoboji, Iowa. Our group welcomes new artists, so feel free to contact me regarding your interest in the group.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we use spotlighting to create good light/dark contrasts on the model. That means we also turn off any overhead lighting in the studio, and THAT means the easels we work at are very dimly lit. No big deal for those working in the tradtional charcoal, but some of us are addicted to color and paint. Ha! The suspense begins.

As a group, we vasillate on the issue of warm-up sketches, or gesture drawings. Do we, or don't we? My track record says the 'long pose' after the mid-session break always goes better if we do use those warm-up poses. The main problem is none of us want to lose focus by watching a clock. We have arrived at a loose arrangement where the model guesses at the time, and changes poses at what might be 90 seconds. Aren't we slackers?! Anyway, we are finally getting around to the title of this post. Just how many scratchy marks can you make in 90 seconds? Lately, I have been working very hard at seeing those aforementioned light/dark contrasts, spending about 60 of those precious seconds on locating them, which means not much time left to grab a mark-maker and put down my thoughts. That's my excuse for scribbly messes, and I'm stickin' to it. In all humbleness, (ahem) here's one of those poses, oil pastel on paper, 90 seconds, give or take a few, per the model!

We always give the model a break halfway through the session, and upon returning, go for what we call the long pose, a pose comfortable enough to hold for most of an hour. This is the pose where quite a few of us like to get out some paint, and really play. But remember earlier I alluded to 'suspense', and not much lighting except for what's on the model? Just you try painting when you can barely see your paints. Your only real chance of grabbing ultramarine instead of violet is in knowing and remembering which corner of the palette they live on! Here's last evening's 'long pose'. Don't you just love those red and violet shadows? What fun!

Studio Model 9, acrylic on heavy paper, not yet signed but maybe I will eventually. Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

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Daily Painting Went To Life Drawing

by cooper on 4/13/2009 6:59:15 PM2 Comments

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio. Paint scattered all over the place today.
1. I've got a cool photo of a HermanMiller chair, and I'm painting a person right into it.
2. I told myself I'd get it, and the 'bubble room cake' painting done before I got out another canvas. But. I was into some files, and presto. A photo of three people sitting on a ledge during their lunch hour grabbed me, or at least my attention. I guess it grabbed my attention in a big way, because it's started on a 30 x 40 inch canvas. There's not much there yet, but I can already feel the fun :)
3. And then there are these two from our life drawing group. The first is very sketchy, but it's a feeling-done kind of sketchy. Yup. I signed it. The second is very sketchy, but not making me think done at all, and it might not ever. That blocking in of the dark shadows on the left is disturbing. For our life drawing sessions, we turn the room lighting off and just just go with spotlights to light the model. The light/dark contrasts can sometimes get pretty intense. It also means the easels are pretty much not lit. Sometimes when the overhead lights get turned back on and we see what's actually on the canvas, we are amazed. Possibly I will get around to some adjustment there, but first, the HermanMiller chair person, and the bubble room cake person, and oh yeah, the people on lunch break. It should be a busy week!

Studio Model 8, acrylic painting on a 20 x 20 inch canvas. We'll let those last few brushstrokes 'mellow' and then varnish tomorrow. Whereupon, it will be available, $280, in my portfolio.

This pose is on a 20 x 16 inch heavy paper. As I said in the above paragraph, where I blocked in the shadowed area---hmmm, maybe this one gets to lean on the studio wall for a while.

Later, Cooper

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Off The Wall, And Signed

by cooper on 4/7/2009 3:46:10 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio. A few days ago I (ahem) whined about the buildup of paintings leaning on the studio wall needing those finishing 3 1/2 brush strokes of paint, yet not quite sure of what those finishing brush strokes might look like. Well, problem solved on one of them. It's signed. I'm pleased.

But before you go too crazy with the "buy now" button, the painting is not varnished yet. My varnish accidentally went to an artist in Brooklyn, New York. I got his box of art goodies, and they looked very interesting and fun, but probably not applicable to what I'm working on! Hopefully my supplies will arrive shortly and then the varnish will happen.

However. While we are on the subject of art supplies, let's continue there momentarily. Let it be known I am a big fan of 'buy local'. Unfortunately Spencer, Iowa is not lucky enough to get a Dick Blick store, and therefore my paint, etc comes from the UPS folks. There is one store in Spencer that supposedly carries some acrylic paint, but I consider them not local, and a detriment to main street America. Sure, you know who I mean, and I am ever so pleased to say I have not been to one of their stores since October of 2004. Yea for stubborn me! But back to business here, hopefully my varnish will arrive this afternoon and Saturday Morning, Nothing Much To Do will be it's first recipient.

Saturday Morning, Nothing Much To Do, acrylic painting on canvas, 32.5 x 36 inches. These folks are seated outside the Unicorn Cafe in downtown Evanston, Illinois. It truely was one of those mornings you revel in, where sitting outside and drinking your iced latte, was the top item on your to-do list for the weekend. This painting is framed in a black canvas floater frame, and I would be happy to send you an image showing that as well. Just let me know. The painting with frame, $750, available in my portfolio Enjoy!

Later, Cooper

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Daily Painting, "Everybody Needs A Little Treat Now And Then"

by cooper on 4/3/2009 5:52:06 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to daily painting at the Cooper studio, where the title of the little painting I'm going to show you happened twice. "And how is that possible?" you ask. Well. It's Friday, and a blizzard is supposedly on it's way to Spencer, Iowa. At least those are probably playing a part in the subliminal way. But I'm crediting two other factors as the real impetus.

1. I have a growing collection of 'mellowing' paintings leaning on the studio wall, that I am waiting/hoping to get an "aha" moment about. They need to finish up and go out into the world. But the painter procrastinate-ith. No, wait, that word is not supposed to be part of the artist vocabulary. Maybe we could just say "I need a little treat now and then". And it's ok to get out a little canvas and play, even though there are a fleet of canvases still needing their final three and one half brush strokes. Leaning on the studio wall. Mellowing.

2. I have been sketching/playing with an appealing little reference photo of a person thoroughly enjoying a treat. (I'm thinking Blue Bunny Strawberry Ice Cream) In this country where the experts and the media constantly harp at us about what's good for us to eat and what's going to kill us day after tomorrow, even though three days after tomorrow they change their minds and say it's really something else, isn't it pleasant to flaunt risky in the face of danger, and just go ahead with that little treat? Ha! Here's the painting:

Everybody Needs A Little Treat Now And Then, an acrylic painting on canvas, measuring a perky 12 x 12 inches. Available, $135, in my portfolio, of course. Enjoy!

Later, Cooper

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Daily Painting, Cake At The Bubble Room

by cooper on 4/1/2009 12:39:59 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the morning edition (!) of daily painting at the Cooper studio. So: inspiration struck. We have a family gathering this coming weekend, and everyone, of course, brings food. I have a recipe for a nice gooey coconut layer cake that I really like. And I've been thinking that would be excellent food to take.

When I walked into the studio this morning, the blank spot on the "cake at the bubble room" painting was the first thing to talk to me. Coconut layer cake, at that point in my life, seemed like a extremely logical thing to paint into the blank spot. Surely you follow my train of thought on all that, right? Heaven help you.

At any rate, it's beginning to look like cake, if I do say so myself. It's not done yet, but when something comes together that quickly, trying to finish at that exact moment is often the first step to an annoying disaster. Intuition says it must be that time which sometimes happens in the formative stages of a painting, know as "lean it on the studio wall and let it mellow" time.

progress photo: cake at the bubble room

Time to go find a new canvas to play with while the aforementioned one gets mellow.

Later, Cooper

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