Chris Saper's Blog, page 2

Samantha, life study, monochrome oil with Torrit Grey

At the Portrait Artists of Arizona open studio yesterday our model Samantha held a STANDING pose all day! In order to try out some methods that I'll be incorporating into future workshops, I came with an oil-primed linen panel, already primed opaquely with Gamblin's Portland Gray Medium (PGM). Materials were white, black PGM, and Torrit Grey.

At each step, the toned ground offers the option to cover up mistakes, either by lifting marks out with mineral spirits or just painting over them with another coat of PGM, which will match the background perfectly.

Apologies! I posted the incorrect dates ---Just scheduled: Workshop November 15-19 Birmingham AL, hosted by Portraits Inc

Please contact: workshops@portraitsinc.net  to register.This workshop is open to all artists - please contact me if you have any questions about whether this is the right workshop for you!

Janet Napolitano, Preliminary Study, oil 20 x 16

This small study is one of several I am doing to prepare for next month's opening of "Women Making Faces", an exhibition of the Chandler Center for the Arts's Vision Gallery.

Janet Napolitano is one of three subjects I've selected for my entry into this inaugural event, showcasing the work of ten women portrait artists who live in Arizona.

The show opens with an reception from 7-9 pm on August 14, 2015 and will run through October 24, 2015, with an Artists' Meet and Greet, along with live painting demonstrations from 7- 9 pm on September 18 - stay tuned for more details!!

Tumbling Roses, oil on linen, 18 x 14

With this still life, I decided to experiment with non-lighting- diffuse, non directional light. I thi8nk this makes for a more difficult approach since it doesn't allow for strong light and shadow patterns to created form and design. The plus side is that the light and colors are so soft, they seem to melt into the atmosphere.

Dori and Rachel Double Charcoal Portrait from Life

This morning we were in for such a treat - our open studio coordinator, artist Dorothy Ray, arranged for two models, a mother and daughter, to sit at the Mountain Artists' Guild in Prescott.

I wish I could remember what kind of paper I used - some type of pastel paper that's been in my closet for way too many years- mainly because I don't like the surface and would never buy it again, sigh. But I did like the color:)

Dori and Rachel, charcoal on something, 16 x 20.

Harley Brown: American Artist oil study, 20 x 16 - accepted into the OPA Western Regional Competition, August 7 - September 7, 2015

Harley Brown has been one of my closest mentors and has also become a very dear friend since I first studied with him over twenty years ago. I am really honored to be included in this Oil Painters of America competition, and wish I could attend! 





Wild Horse Gallery
802 Lincoln Avenue
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
(970) 879-5515

Painting Luann, Mountain Artists' Guild, Open studio

It is always a delight to find out what our wonderful model artist coordinator, Dorothy Ray, has  lined up:)

This morning, Luann...I thought I had more canvases here, but the only one I did have was a Fredrix panel, but too absorbent for my tastes. I found that I couldn't get the surface covered with enough slickness to really let me move the paint the way I wanted to... so here's the thing: you dance with the one who brung ya, right?

Portrait Society of America 2015: Opening Night Face-off

At 5:00 pm on Thursday night, fifteen artists gathered to paint 5 models before a packed crowd in the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt in Buckhead, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. Both artists and models draw numbers so no one knows in advance where he or she will paint nor whom will be modeling - it is such fun, and in my group were Kate Stone and Carol Arnold, both spectacular painters. The finished demonstrations are auctioned during the weekend, with the proceeds going toward the scholarships the PSA offers each year. Here are several photos showing the process - time flying until the final bell rings at 7:30 and the event is concluded. You can see all the paintings here, on Matt Innes's excellent blog, "Underpaintings"


Above, an overview of one end of the ballroom. All of the painting stations were set up in the center, so that conference attendees could move around the perimeter to watch each artist's progress.



Above, part way through painting our model, Sarah. You can see artist Katherine Stone painting next to me. Carol Arnold was on Kate's left. I used for the first time the Natural Pigments's Artefex oil-primed linen panel, with thanks to George O' Hanlon who graciously donated the panel. It's a beautiful panel, and I will look forward to using more of them.


Above, artists painting the model in red. And below, my artist friend Annette Goings must have been saying something funny as she took these pics:)


 Below, my finished portrait of Sarah. Oil. 20 x 16.


Below, showing artists my brand new fabulous NewWave grey palette, complete with a thumb gasket to prevent aching hands while holding the palette. It's a beaut,and best of all I got to keep it - thank you Kyle!

Jaime's Lemons, oil 6x9, for The Portrait Society of America's Mystery Sale, Friday May 1, 2015

One of the wildest and most fun highlights of the Portrait Society of America's Annual Art of the Portrait Event is the 6x9 Mystery Sale - more than 200 small panels, unsigned on the front, are donated by the PSA Faculty and invited artists, where all are both unveiled and sold in a matter of 30 very, very short minutes. Only after the panels are purchased (each at a fixed price of $250) is the buyer allowed to take the panel, turn it over and find the name of the artist who painted the panel. So much fun!

Here is the panel I donated,  fresh lemons painted from life, picked from my niece and nephew's yard.

Promoting your work in the 21st Century: Self-publishing - presented at the 2015 Portrait Society of America, Atlanta, GA

As part of a panel discussing various approaches to promoting your work in the Twenty-first Century, I joined teammates Scott Jones (Legacy Gallery) and David Gluck and Kate Stone (artists and bloggers, Painting Stuff to Look Like Stuff) and addressed the concept of self-publishing for artists.

Rather than try to guess at how many handouts to bring, or to see people frantically trying to write down the notes from powerpoint slides, I'm just sharing the info here so it can be read at your convenience.

To simplify, I focused on three basic tiers to publishing art books:

1. Self-publishing, Print-on-demand (POD);
2. Self-publishing, short run (up through about 5,000 copies); and
3. Big publishing clearinghouses (e.g., North Light Books,Watson-Guptill).

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The following table highlights the basic differences between self published POD and short-run:



Courtesy Amy Strickland, Matter Deep Publishing
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Considerations in Self- Publishing
 •Template flexibility

•Hard/soft cover/digital options

•Cost/Pricing/mark-ups/profitability

•Editing
•Design assistance
•ISBN
•Marketing
•Distribution

…all of which should be driven by your book’s purpose.
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Some examples of Print-on-demand publishers
•MyPublisher•Blurb•Lulu•Shutterfly•Createspace•LightningSource•MagCloud (now part of blurb)….and more being added every day :)
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Why stop with books?
Zazzle

RedBubble

FineArtAmerica

CafePress

FinerWorks

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Oh. And if you want to hire some help with your soon-to-be-published book?
Don't call me. You already know what I know.

Contact Carly Stickland at Matter Deep Publishing. contact@matterdeeppublishing.com