Painting Makeover, Craig Berry and Choc'la Cure

McPhee From Highway 264

after 

(painting makeover)

12 x12"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold (at auction)

I haven't done a "painting makeover" in awhile, but recently I collected my artwork from The Black Spruce Gallery and decided to freshen up those pieces. I am constantly amazed at how my eye has changed over the last several years and for this I give kudos and props to Craig Berry (Atelier 2302). Happily, all of the extraordinary information I garnered from the courses I took with him is starting to take hold. At the time, I was overwhelmed by how much I needed to learn, but I pushed through and hoped that what I was learning would begin to seep into my consciousness. I think some of it has... and there is still more stored information just waiting to take hold. I think the biggest difference I can see in my own work is my understanding and use of value. When I paint, I can hear Craig's words in my head saying, "You have more range than you think". I love that nugget. It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks- at least if they are open to learning!

McPhee From Highway 264

before

12 x 12"

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2015

I am very proud to say that, this year, I have been able to donate about $1800 of my artwork to five different organizations for their fundraising. It is not something I am always able to do, but whenever I can, and if it is an organization/charity that is important to me, I will try to find a way. Recently I was approached by a committee member of Choc'la Cure and I did not hesitate to say yes. The problem was that I did not have much art on hand to donate.

Slivers of Blue

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2017

sold (at auction)

However, this particular year, this particular fundraiser meant a whole lot to me. Cancer has darkened the doorstep of too many people I know: friends, colleagues, neighbors, friends of friends and people I love deeply. This year it got too close to home again. Donating a couple of paintings seemed like the very least I could do. In the end, I gave them this "made over" piece as well as "Slivers of Blue" in a shadowbox for the silent auction table. Choc'la Cure is a local charity which raises money specifically to purchase equipment for the Saskatoon Cancer Centre. Please read more about Choc'la Cure and the incredible accomplishments of these volunteers here and here.

Whew! I packed a lot in to this post. Happy Monday everyone!

Prairie Intensity II

Prairie Intensity II

8 x 8"

oil on cradled panels

© Nicki Ault, 2015

available exclusively at Lifestyles By Darrell Bell Gallery
sold

A couple of months ago I did a painting for Lifestyles called "Prairie Intensity". I was really happy with the vibe it had (see below), so I decided to try to capture that same power in another painting (above). Maybe this will be the start of a few more.

Prairie Intensity

8x8

oil on cradled panel

© Nicki Ault, 2015

sold

On a side note I am extremely excited for my weekend. On Saturday and Sunday I will be attending "Landscape Painting with Gord MacDonald" at Atelier 2302. It is part of a series of workshops Craig Berry is bringing to Saskatoon this fall and I am so happy I got a spot! I will be in student mode for forty-eight hours and I can hardly wait to be more knowledgeable come Monday! Here is a link to view work by Gord MacDonald.

The Ear

The Ear (in progress)

graphite on Stonehenge paper

© Nicki Ault, 2015

I was at Atelier 2302 all day today working on my drawing. It seems like I have been working on it for ages and progress has been slow. It doesn't help that I only go once a week and I can't bring it home with me to work on. After the last two classes, though, I have really begun to see things start to take shape. I spent a good chunk of time working on and filling in that cast shadow; trying to get it to a correct darkness so I can then have a better read of the values within the cast itself. I've also done a bit of work in the light shapes which has begun to give the form volume and dimension. I feel like I am at an exciting stage- there is still plenty to do, but the pieces of the puzzle are actually fitting together!

In other news, I am also going to the atelier on Monday nights for figure drawing sessions. The sessions are not instructed, in fact my teacher, Craig Berry, is in the trenches with us drawing the model. This is going to be a great way to continue to train my eye and strengthen my skills. It is also an opportunity to practice some of the things I have learned at the atelier- like how to build a good construct, how to draw with "ghosty, bandy" lines, how to measure and use alignments and how to define the shadow shape. I can say in all honesty that these concepts were never on my radar before. 

in the sketchbook

graphite on newsprint

© Nicki Ault, 2015

The above drawing is my favorite effort from the sessions so far. In it I can see growth in my thinking and my approach as opposed to how I would have sketched the figure pre-atelier. Sure there is room for more practice and improvement, that will never end, but it is encouraging for me to discover that this old dog can learn some new tricks after all!

Dark Cloud at Sunset

 

Dark Clouds at Sunset

6 x 6"

oil on board

© Nicki Ault, 2014

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/nicki-ault/dark-clouds-at-sunset/251363
sold

Well, today is a special day- five years ago I gave myself this blog for my birthday. I didn't know what I was doing but I kept going through the steps on Blogger and the next thing you know I had a blog. I began because I found myself inspired by the daily painting blogs of Duane Keiser, Abbey Ryan and Edward B. Gordon. Although a daily painting blog has not been for me, I do believe my blog and your reaction to it has kept me producing on a semi-regular basis over the past five years. This blog has pushed me to continue to paint and work and grow. "They" say most blogs don't last more than three months, so I feel like this has been a bit of a feat. I mean, five years is a chunk of time. Each month I have approximately 3000 people checking in and viewing what I am producing. WOW! Thank you! Canada is my biggest audience, with the United States being a close second. Believe it or not the third country to tune into this blog is Russia- and at one time Russia was in first place!

I am excited to have been painting for five years and I am even more excited with the response I have received. When I was a little girl all I really wanted to be was an artist and a mother. Today I am both. Thank you for watching me on my journey and for both bearing with me in my ruts and for helping me to celebrate my accomplishments. I hope in the future I will produce work that will be worthy of your attention and that will make you feel proud of my growth. I know that with help of Craig Berry at Atelier 2302 I will be able to paint at a higher and higher skill level. The thought of that is exciting to me.

Bargue Drawing - Stage Four

Bargue drawing, stage four

I cannot say enough about the drawing class I am taking. I have learned so much in such a short period of time. I think we have finished four classes and I was worried I would get a bit impatient with the process, but I haven't been at all. I feel so excited about learning these old master techniques and I really believe I will be so much more skilled when I complete this module and the ones to come.

We are working on Bargue drawings (based on Charles Bargue's lessons of old masters' skills and techniques); I just completed stage four which involved rendering the darkest shadow areas more fully. I learned the importance of edges, the airplane stroke and how to get a nice crisp, clean contour. At this point I have also worked in some of the reflected light into the shadow. The photo isn't the greatest because the shadow area in the actual drawing is darker in reality... though I may still have to darken it up a bit more. So far all the work has been done using a 2B pencil, but this week for stage five when we start working on the mid-value areas it will be time to bring out the HB pencil.  

Bargue drawing, stage three:
image transferred to Stonehenge paper 
and mid-dark values rendered

Bargue drawing, stage two
(totally didn't think to take a photo of stage one)

Tonight I ordered the book recommended by my instructor, Craig Berry, and which I recall one of my favorite painters, Edward B. Gordon, recommending at one time. The plates used for our exercises are from this book. The Canadian Amazon site has a really good price on this book right now:

Charles Bargue Drawing Course

I think I will do more Bargue drawings on my own time, so as to really make sure I have a grasp on things.