Catherine Stock's Blog, page 12

Roger

My friend Roger posed for the Monday drawing group last night. I got quite a nice painting out of the evening, though I am not sure how good a likeness it is.

One thing I tend to do, and am criticized for, is cutting off the top of the head. Sometimes it makes a more interesting composition.

Muses and magic

My mother, Frances Stock, was a painter. Soon after I finished my studies yet didn't quite know how I would proceed with my life, my mother commissioned to paint the family portraits. I started with a painting of her.

The painting progressed well at first, but I was struggling with an overworked mucky face. One evening I came into the room to find my mother working on her portrait! I was livid. At about 4am I stormed back into the bedroom where the painting was set up on an easel and my mother was sleeping and flipped on the lights. I squeezed out a smear of white paint and blotted out the head, flipped off the lights and stormed out.

The following morning, I sketched in the head and face in about half an hour and after signing the painting, put down my brushes.

I have tried to work myself into a similar froth on subsequent occasions when a painting wasn't working but the magic didn't work on command.

Now, working on the illustrations for the Emily Dickinson biography, I find that I can't start work before nightfall. The book is demanding its own quiet time. Sometimes, as now, I have scrubbed off all the work I have done on it, redrawn in the figure sitting at her small desk, and seen it come together almost on its own.

Large ladies

When I was an art student, I was mocked for my fascination with painting large ladies.

But now that I can paint what I want, hey, I paint what I want!

Ron

I promised my friend Ron a portrait two years ago for Christmas. He hated the result. Tonight he posed for my group and I came up with this picture. Something is wrong with it but I can't quite figure it out. The head is just not working with the body.

ZzzzzzZzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzz...

So how's a gal supposed to meet a deadline with all this bloody sawing going on in my studio?

The pleasure and pain of Emily

Two attempts at the same spread. First didn't have good tonal contrast and definition, but the second one seems a little stiff in comparison. This is not an easy project.

The three elements of a portrait

There are three attributes to a successful portrait:

Good likeness of the sitter
Original and personal interpretation by the artist
And finally and most importantly, the painting has to work as a good painting, irrespective of whether or not the viewer knows the subject.

Tonight we had a model for one long pose. I did a careful drawing and started washing in colour and then it was time for our pause. Sipping a cup of tea, a newspaper clipping of a Modigliani hanging on the wall caught my eye.

The wonderful simplicity inspired me to scrub off the paint and quickly sketch in this painting.

Emily&Carlo

the Dog is the noblest work of Art...
his mistress's rights he doth defend-

She called him her Shaggy Ally.

Return to the Moulin de St.Martin

Last month we were back in the Moulin de St. Martin in Crècy-la-Chapelle. We were there for the Maison&Objets salon in Paris. The old mill is on its own small island in the Grand Morin river and only has two guest rooms. Our hosts, Agnès and Bernard our wonderful. Bernard is very proud of his homemade jams and marmalade.

Only wish we could experience the Moulin in summer.

Mmmnnnn...Louisiana gumbo!

The New Orleans writer and poet Sheryl St.Germain is spending her sabbatical in my winter cottage. The other night we were all treated to a traditional gumbo, complete with shrimp, chicken, spicy sausage, and lobster claws. Wow- was it delicious!

I spent six years in New Orleans as a kid, but I was too young to appreciate the city and its cuisine. My 40th (!) class reunion is coming up in April this year. Time for a return visit to the Crescent City, and some more gumbo...