Changing a figure’s surrounding transforms its mood and meaning. In “Drawing into Painting: Reconfiguring the Figure,” an online class at Seattle Artist League, Fran O’Neill led students in rethinking figure placement through drawing, collage, and painting. Using historical artworks, Zoom models, and personal photos, students reworked compositions, developed drawings into paintings, and examined how shifts …
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Reconfiguring the Figure: art from Fran O’Neill’s class
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Simultaneous Contrast: Philip Guston’s Green
Colors have a way of playing off each other, creating energy and movement that grabs your attention. This is called simultaneous contrast—when two or more neighboring colors intensify each other, making them seem more vibrant and alive. I’m looking at paintings for simultaneous contrast examples. Paintings that set colors one right next to the other, …
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Unexpected Happiness in Landscapes by Kirchner
In art school, our art history course included a section on German Expressionism, featuring some paintings by Ludwig Kirchner. They looked something like this: Ludwig Kirchner, “Street, Berlin” (1913) I remember not liking them at the time. Expressionism? Everyone’s squeezed in like bristling sardines! The darkness behind the colors, the acidic contrasts, the dampening black, …
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A Fresh Start: V. Notes Returns
I never stop being inspired by art and ideas—they’re always there, bouncing around on my desk, waiting to be shared. After a long pause of wishing I were publishing, I’m tentatively restarting. V. Notes will be different this time: smaller, more in-the-moment—little ideas pulled straight from my desk, shared when time and energy allow. A …
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Catherine Lepp: Watercolors on Rice Paper
Catherine Lepp’s latest series of watercolors presents a striking yet delicate blend of colors on rice paper. I’m delighted to share some of her newest works with you. You can see right away that these watercolors are not painted on the typical cold press watercolor paper. This paper is smooth, delicate, ethereal. Catherine Lepp is …
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Sharon Wherland’s “Movement to Harmony: A Symphony of Color in the Landscape” at SAL Gallery
Join us in celebrating the remarkable solo show of paintings by League artist Sharon Wherland, on display through June at the Seattle Artist League Gallery (SALGAL). Closing reception June 15th as part of the Georgetown Art Walk. Spend a few minutes looking at these paintings, and you’ll begin to hear music. Sharon Wherland’s show, “Movement …
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Reductive Figure Sculptures
I’m teaching two new figure sculpture classes starting April 14. One is sculpting with wax and polymer clay on armature. The other is Colorful Clay Busts. To get the party started in my Colorful Clay Busts course, we’re going to practice some fundamental clay sculpting techniques. For inspiration, I collected some figurative shapes that really …
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Fran O’Neill’s Giant Figures Workshop, Day 2
Today we models in a changing interior, as the models moved between poses. I drew with my vine charcoal taped to a 4′ dowel so I could stand back and still reach the paper. The stick was a physical luxury so I didn’t have to reach high and low to reach the expanses of my …
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“I FUCKING LOVE MY DRAWING!!!!!” – Lendy Hensley
“Drawing this way is addictive. I just want to keep addressing every part of my drawing. Time flies. I can’t stop. Been looking at drawings all night and can’t wait to go back tomorrow. I am already sad that tomorrow is our last day.” – Our Provost Lendy Hensley talking about what it’s like to …
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