Reflections on Teaching in 2016

 

student working on the underpainting

This year has been an exciting journey in teaching.  It has been such a wonderful experience!   As an artist I feel I've grown so much by sharing my classical method of painting with students and the feedback has been amazing.  It began last April when I traveled all the way to Virginia to Deb K Art Home Studios and taught an intensive five day workshop to a full class.  At the same time I also became a member of the faculty at the New Mexico Art League and started teaching Classical Still Life.  It has been a joy to work with students and introduce many to a way of painting that is completely new to them.  The classical indirect method of painting is growing in popularity and I'm glad to be part of a new generation of painters interested in techniques of the past.  Many are amazed at the paint quality that results from layering paint and glazes in oil and continue to study this method by signing up for more classes. 

 finished and signed!

Here are a few examples of students' work:

 

 

My next class at the New Mexico Art League begins January 9th, Mondays from 9-12 for eight weeks. click below for information (space is limited!):

                                        3409 Juan Tabo NE,  Albuquerque                               

                                                 P.O. Box 16554, Albuquerque NM 87191                                                   505-293-5034

I have developed a curriculum that begins with drawing and composition.  I teach how to use a basic armature and thumbnails to begin playing with design ideas.  I want students to think of objects as simple shapes, the simpler the better.  We study classical still life with the armature as examples.  We also study the importance of value by changing classical paintings to black/white:

Emil Carlsen 1853-1932 

Chardin 1699-1779

Next we move on to monochromatic underpaintings that concentrate on compressed values, we don't want the shadows too dark:

 

Once the underpainting dries we begin to study the local color and make individual plans for future glazes and scumbles based on the subject matter.

 

I introduce a glazing chart, illustrating how brilliant color can be created with a limited palette and knowledge of transparent vs opaque oil paint.

 

 

 Dennis Crayon's completed artwork

By the end of the class it is my goal to have students experiment with new ways of approaching oil painting.  Each day in class a new concept is introduced and practiced, from drawing and composition, value and color, to final details and color harmony.  I share different ways of applying and handling oil paint.  It's been quite a year, and I'm so thankful to have these opportunities.  Meeting other artists and talking about art has added a new dimension to my personal art life and I love it a lot!  I want to thank my students for allowing me to share their work here and hopefully inspire other artists to try new ways of painting.  Here are what a few of my students students are saying:

"I have learned more in this class than at the university."

"Great, the best art class I've had.  Would love to have and even longer study/class time to share with Sarah.  Her knowledge of materials and techniques and help with problem solving is truly helpful and valuable."

"Excellent-I learned a lot about composition, underpainting and glazing, as well as problem solving that will help me in whatever style I paint in."

"Excellent, well organized with a generous instructor."

"Thank you again for a fabulous 5 days. Sarah is an excellent teacher. Her calm supportive demeanor allowed for a stress free experience. I just want to keep painting in this style."

Mulling Smalt PIgment and Crystal Glass Medium

 Blue Morpho  10"x8"  oil/panel by Sarah Siltala

I was reminded recently of a couple failed attempts in the studio, one: to make a medium with powdered crystal glass and two: make Smalt into paint.  In my previous experiments I had used linseed oil alone without any other additions to the mixtures.  This was a mistake, both Smalt and crystal glass are heavy particles that do not mix easily with oil.  They need an additional stabilizer to create a smooth consistency that will not separate.  I thought about my experience with both and suddenly a light bulb went off, I immediately pulled out my unusable tube of glass medium and ordered another batch of powered smalt pigment.

While I waited for the smalt to arrive in the mail I went to work on my tube of hardened glass medium. It had separated in the tube and I had to cut it open to scrape out the hardened mass of glass and re-mull it.  Below you can see the hardened chunk of medium and the oily residue.  It needed some sort of stabilizer but I did not want to use wax, and I did  not want to use alumina stearate-a paint stabilizer and cheap filler found in modern manufactured paints. 

I re-mulled the leftover glass chunk with my handmade linseed oil, below you can see the result, a nice smooth mixture.  

I divided the linseed/glass mix into two jars afterward.  To one of the jars I added fumed silica.  I've experimented with making my own medium with fumed silica before and thought if I added this as a stabilizer maybe my mixture would not separate like it did before.  Below on the left is the glass/linseed oil mix and on the right I am adding powdered fumed silica.  I have a post about my previous mixture with linseed oil and fumed silica HERE.  When fumed silica is mixed with linseed oil to make a medium it creates a lovely clear gel and is fantastic to add to oil paint.  It thickens up quite a bit and I'm hoping to have the same effect with my crystal glass mixture.

I also fill a third jar with linseed oil and fumed silica, to prepare for my later experiment...

 Here are my three mixes:

And, 24 hours later:  The linseed/glass mix is already settling and the oil rising to the top, the mixture with linseed and fumed silica is consistent and has not separated.  The fumed silica addition created a stable mixture.  I go ahead and tube it and label it. 

You have probably guessed by now that I intend to mix Smalt pigment with linseed and fumed silica.  Smalt is incredibly difficult pigment to make into usable oil paint.  I've read that adding wax can help as a stabilizer, but when I asked the director of Natural Pigments about using the pigment in oil he recommended mulling and using it the same day.  In my first attempt to make paint with just oil and powdered pigment I found it to by totally unpredictable and when I let it sit for 24 hours to 'sweat' it had solidified completely and had to be re-mulled.  It never really became a stable consistency I could use for paint.

Smalt is a historical pigment and a beautiful, delicate shade of blue.  Very unusual.  It's incredibly transparent and has been known to fade or turn green over time.  Luckily potassium has been found to combat the discoloration and fading and Natural Pigments brand of Smalt contains plenty of potassium so no worries there.  Mixing with lead white will also help against future fading, but Smalt has such a low tinting strength I prefer to use it as a glaze.

I add the smallest amount of oil I can to create a thick chalky paste, this will thin out to an ink like consistency immediately.  I don't have to work hard at all to mull it and it's best not to over-mull this pigment anyway.

 

I'm surprised at how thin the oil becomes, but now I add my previously prepared mixture of oil and fumed silica which has become a thick gel.  After a quick mix together with the ink like Smalt I have an actual paint like consistency!

 The paint has become buttery and smooth:

 Here are my tubed up experiments, both with the addition of fumed silica as a stabilizer:

Below you can see them again, almost two weeks later.  I wanted to wait before posting to make sure the tubes wouldn't seize up and pigment and oil separate again over time.  So far both the Smalt and the crystal glass medium have remained consistent in the tube and I'm really enjoying using them in my current painting.  So far so good! 

Book of the Bird, Birds in Art

 

  I'm happy to announce that I have several images in the new book:

 

BOOK OF THE BIRD

 The Book of the Bird celebrates the bird in art with an elegant, international collection of paintings, illustrations, and photographs, featuring all kinds of birds from the smallest tits and wrens to colourful exotics.

Interspersed though the illustrations are short texts giving background to the pictures and information on bird species. This is the perfect gift for all bird lovers.

 Click on the link above to order your copy!

 

National Gallery of Art

I wanted to share a few of the pics I took when I got to visit the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.  I was overwhelmed at the vast halls filled with art, from every great artist that I ever wanted to see.  I didn't have time to visit every room, the day went by in a blur.  I am really sad that I missed a few rooms with my favorite artists, but I'm looking forward to planning another trip in the near future.  One day is just not enough when there's so much to see!