Registration is now open for two new oil painting workshops with Lisa Gloria:

VIRTUAL, accessible from any computer anywhere: Alla prima oil painting from life.  Saturday, May 22, 10-4 CST.  Click here for more info.

LIVE, presented in person in Shorewood, IL: Painting the still life from life.  All materials included.  Saturday/Sunday June 19-20. Click here for more info.

P.S. By request, we have upgraded our web streaming service and now it has NO ADS.  That’s right. No ads.

Register now to join Portrait Society of America’s chairman Gordon Wetmore for a live webcast from his studio in Chattanooga, TN. Gordon will be doing a portrait demonstration, and answering your questions about the Portrait Society’s international portrait competition, and the art of painting portraits.

Gordon has enjoyed a life-long career as a portrait painter, and has created over 700 portraits of many distinguished and well-known subjects including: President Richard M. Nixon, Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, Dr. and Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale, Leon Uris, Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and Prince Albert of Monaco. Private commissions include: Ford, Wrigley, Hewlett, Bechtel, Post, Searle, Brock, Perkin, Baker, Duke, Gannett, The Lord Inchiquin in Ireland, and The Lord and Lady Tollemache of England.

When: Wednesday, May 19th

Where: Your computer!

Time: 6pm EST (10pm GMT)

Cost: $10

http://artstudiosecrets.com/premium/webcast-series-gordon-wetmore-live-registration/

Princess Grace by Gordon Wetmore

President Nixon and Gordon Wetmore

Juan Jr Ramirez has just published a collection of notes, observations, and technical details regarding Sargent’s painting technique and philosophy.  35 pages, loose bound, self-published, these are the notes of a self-taught painter in Chicago with a unique drive and passion. 

To me, the artists behind the books and videos are way more interesting than the books and videos themselves.  When people put together something for the purposes of sharing what they know, you can tell a lot about their character.  (I’ll review Kassan’s new video asap too )  At its best, making something for the benefit of others is a way of holding out one’s hand and saying (hopefully: kindly) “come, follow me.” 

Juan’s “Sargent Notes” are available here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Notes-Painting-Methods-John-Singer-Sargent-/190393215371?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Texbook_Education&hash=item2c5451e98b

If you haven’t seen him before, his new website is here: www.JuanJrRamirez.com, and you can follow him on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=664295189&ref=ts

On Facebook yesterday, Lisa posted a plea for magnolia branches from any of her friends who live near her. I say  - ask your neighbors!

I have asked 5 neighbors last year for their foliage. And, you know? Every one of them was delighted to help - to be a part of the artistic process.

1) Hydrangea - the ones in the store were too fancy, not the right color, etc. I have actually approached 3 different people about their hydrangeas in their yards. Usually, since this is such a prolific flower, they say “go to town”.

2) Garden roses - for a basket painting, I needed garden roses, not sweetheart buds. Hard to find, unless you find someone who cultivates them.

3) Daffodils - I was doing a demo, and my own daffodils were already wilty and brown. Ran across the street to ask my elderly neighbor if I could have half a dozen of his.

4) Lilies - ditto.

5) Magnolia blossom - only available for a short time every year - on a street I use daily there are a dozen. I picked the best one (with the lowest branches) and came away with an armful, and a happy new friend.

6) Bittersweet - usually you don’t have to ask anyone for this - it grows wild on the side of the road.

Tip - bring your own garden shears, a container with water, and then - promise them (and deliver) a print of your painting. They’ll love you for it.

Last chance to register for this weekend’s workshop in Aurora, IL with Lisa Gloria: http://artstudiosecrets.com/onsite-workshops/oil-painting-workshop-portraits-april-17-18-2010/  All levels welcome, all materials included.

This week, I got my hands on Michael Klein’s book, “Flower Painting - The Guide.”  I was really looking forward to it.  It was shipped in a right hurry, and arrived with a few cards with Klein’s work and a t-shirt for AVPM (see more below.)  Thanks for the shirt!

The book is about 80 pages, and has quite a few pictures.  But mostly it’s the text that’s intriguing.  It sounded very conversational, the sort of conversation you would hear if you were taking a workshop or a class, and the artist were wandering from easel to easel, explaining his/her thoughts on this or that.   I like that sort of thing - I confess I’m curious about the artists as people and like hearing them talk.   I can understand how some might think a book that’s called “The Guide” would have a cut-to-the-chase feel, with bullet points and demonstrative photos.  That’s not this book.  It’s a “guide,” like a sherpa is a guide.

http://michaelkleinpaintings.com/Store/store.html The guide is $25 + shipping (US).  His other movies are on the same page in his store.

Michael Klein’s other new project, American Painting Video Magazine also came out recently.  It’s about 2 hours of  interviews, portfolio, demonstrations from some of the biggest names in the business: Paul G Oxborough, Carlo Russo, Jacob Collins, Peter Trippi, Kerry Dunn, Travis Schlacht, Robert Armetta, LIAFA, Matthew Innis and Robert Liberace.  The camera work and sound on this is spotless.  I wish we had access to the terrific equipment Klein’s using.  It looks wonderful.  The pacing was a little sedate for my caffeinated brain, and some might find the file size an inconvenient download (about 800 mb across 2 files), but I liked being able to flip it on during lunch, turn it off for a while, come back again.  There’s such a rich array of information and stuff in there I found myself looking forward to dropping in for a few more minutes here and there.  Still my favorite part was the painting demonstration, sped up at many times natural speed.  Ah, caffeine.

The AVPM is a bargain at $10 for the download. I expect his upcoming issues will get better and better, and I hope to see some of my other favorite artists on there like Camie Davis, Edward Minoff, Graydon Parrish, Juliette Aristides, Kate Lehman….  In case he’s taking suggestions.  :-)

Jeremy Lipking released an app for iPods/iPhones this week, a collection of 20 of his paintings.  You can rotate, zoom, flip through them while you’re on the bus…. It’s nice.  And super popular too - eremy tweeted that he’d had 3000 downloads in one day. http://itunes.apple.com/kr/app/jeremy-lipking-figures/id365183687?mt=8

The app was made by EnsoMobile, a company that made a few collections of figures for “a figure drawing reference for the mobile artist.”  Those are $0.99 apps with multiple figures that you can rotate and zoom…  One even has a collection of casts to draw.  Neat idea.

We get asked all the time how to get into galleries, what will happen etc.  We’d like to put together the information you need to know - so what do you want to know?  Please speak up in the comments if your answer is not below….

Please click your top 3 concerns.  Thanks!  You know will will give you the straight scoop.

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REMINDER - Don’t forget to register for the upcoming workshops in April. A few spots are left. Click here for more info.

Linda Tracey Brandon posted a neat tip on her blog - use binoculars to make life drawing easier and more accurate.  Really!  Read about it here: Linda Tracey Brandon’s Blog: Using Binoculars.