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Hello again! It's been a wonderfully busy past month for me and I have some interesting information and images to share with you. We're going back into the Baroque period today. There is a painting method called 'chiaroscuro' which is a technique that emphasizes the contrast between light and dark... to create a sense of drama, depth, and emotion, in artworks. The subject matter of that time was also contrasted and intense...life, death, heaven, hell, spirituality and materialism. Caravaggio was one of the leading Italian artist of the time. He mastered the chiaroscuro method and is well known. I am not fond of his work. He was a belligerent man who painted religious violent depictions of torture, and murder. Not my cup of tea. The only painting of his I appreciate is...'The Narcissist'. Google it...quite lovely. And a perfect example of his mastery of the technique I am going to be discussing. My favorite Baroque artist is a woman...Artemisia Gentileschi. In an era where woman were not accepted or acknowledged as artists... she was the first to be accepted into the Florence Academy of Art! Her paintings are moving and beautiful and she painted in the chiaroscuro method.  Darks and lights help to create the drama and emotional interest in this painting. Want to see how Artemisia did it?  I mixed a black and purple oil paint. It went onto the canvas thick and dark and when I subtracted the light shapes of my image, it left a purple staining color. I can adjust this to any color I want for a blue, red, turquoise, etc, under painting. I can even remove all of the paint with thinner to get down to the white of the canvas. The more I remove at this phase, the brighter the colors will be when I start adding paint. The masters would lift less amounts of paint to get a moodier feel.  And here I am starting to add color....Transparent color. I work from the top back with cooler tones and work my way down, and to the front, with warmer colors. This gives the depth. And next comes the magic...  Opaque paints! I add them being careful not to cover up the yummy transparent color and darks that are so important with this contrast method. The focal area are the light bright colors mid and upper right of the hydrangea. Once I had those in I picked up bigger brushes and got loose...allowing my intuition to play. I added a light background... which is not representational of the Baroque painters....but I'm not living back in that time, and I can add my own flair into the painting. Take a look at Artemisia's painting above...it's dramatic, moody, and questioning with a limited palette of color. Light, dark, color, and subject positioning. Now take a look at this up and coming contemporary artist... Cameron's painting... contrast, with a fresh and uplifting feel and loads of color! Ha! My take on Baroque methodology..... influenced then, and painted now. I am already halfway through the classical art portion of this curriculum. I have learned, and enjoyed, so much! One of my best decisions!
Spring is coming because my daffodils and hellebores are all blooming in the front yard. This is a time for me to start preparing for my art exhibits and sales. I have 7 new oil paintings I'm going to introduce at the April exhibit, along with my Panther Creek waterfalls, which I have not yet shown. (No lesson work... I work on my original paintings when my lessons work is done.) More information will be coming your way next month. Enjoy the beauty everywhere. Life is a living art scene...allow yourself to be immersed in it. Blessings, Patrice www.patricecameronfineart.com [email protected] SALEM ON THE EDGE GALLERY 156 Liberty St NE Salem 97301 CURRENTS GALLERY 532 NE 3rd St McMinnville 97128
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