I have recently painted the portraits of three dear friends. There was a little arm twisting involved but in the end they were pretty  good sports and gave me permission. It can be intimidating to have your portrait painted.  Like hearing your own voice recorded. (Do I really sound like a chipmunk?) Seeing yourself as others see you can be discouraging. So it is important that we do our best to accurately depict our model. Just as important, in my opinion, is to bring out the beauty we see in that person. The fact that the three recent portraits are of lovely young ladies was a big help.  But suppose you are not painting physically lovely or handsome people. Can you accurately depict a person and bring out what you find attractive about them? I think it is possible if you look for and define that special quality you see in the person. Kind eyes, an encouraging smile, a gentile spirit can be even more lovely than surface beauty.
There are plenty of unattractive qualities that creep into our lives. All of us have them. Some more than others. Grumpiness, negative outlooks, complaining and discouragements abound. These are easy to see for the most part since they seem to surround us. So it may take some effort to spot good qualities in a curmudgeon. I think it is worth a try.  If we start seeing the beautiful side of the people around us it stands to reason that we will be surrounded with beauty!  If , on the other hand, we only see the garbage...you get the picture.  Being an artist, I love being around beauty.  I just need to look for it. Best wishes, Jerry

I just finished teaching a workshop on "Still Life in Oils" at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield, OR.  I'm always going over in my mind what might be useful for future workshops.  One thing I have been aware of recently is the lack of drawing in my daily schedule.  I used to draw constantly.  And I think the drawing helped my painting.  But, thinking I would save time and paint faster, I've eliminated one basic step in preparation for the painting...the drawing.  Sketching ideas for painting is a great way to get inspired.  One idea leads to another as enthusiasm builds.  Making a drawing in preparation is an easy way to work out composition and lighting ideas.  This is especially useful when I don't  have the subject right in front of me for reference.
A while back my mom showed interest in a small painting I'd done of an antique silver "olive picker" with green olives.
The painting had already sold.  So, going from the basic idea in the first painting, I did a sketch with some changes here and there of the same objects.  With that sketch in front of me, I did the complete painting in just a few hours.  Guess what mom in getting for Mother's Day.
The painting went so fast and easy.  And the drawing was fun!  If you have been goofing off  in the drawing department of your studio get those pencils and erasers out.  A good sketch is a good road map to good painting.  Best wishes and a Happy Mother's Day, Jerry

I read recently of a people "having a zeal"..."but without knowledge". I can relate to the situation. Many times growing up my enthusiasm preceded my knowledge. My first "surf board" was an example. I did have experience watching my dad build a boat in the garage. So, using the principles of basic boat construction, I built a "surf board" that could float a battle ship and weighed a ton. It was all I could do to drag the thing to the water. Once in the water it took forever to get moving. Stopping was just as difficult. I can only say I'm lucky it never landed on me while while I was trying to ride a wave. They'd still be digging me out of the sand. The same held true for other "Zeals" in my life...my first skate board, first date, building a go-cart, second date, first car, third date. You may see a pattern here. I get excited and am ready to jump in and get started before I've read the instruction book. Later I discovered the amazing use of foam and fiberglass in surf board construction. Painting in oils started the same. But has taken a wonderful turn. As my interest in oil painting grew my desire to understand the "why's" of the process increased. Knowledge of the basics brought curiosity about the more advanced techniques. As my "how to" information has increased so my love of this art form has grown. In this wonderful age we live in there is so much information at our fingertips. Use every opportunity to gain understanding. Making the act of painting a joy is the product of knowledge.
"Let the wise hear and increase in learning..." Proverbs 1:5
Best wishes, Jerry

INSPIRATION won't happen if I just sit here.  If I am not INSPIRED at the moment to do a painting, say for an up coming show or competition, I need to take action.  This is painting time in the studio not goof off time.  So I need to prod "INSPIRATION" a bit.  How do I prod INSPIRATION?  Sometimes by looking at the beautiful work of other artist's one will be INSPIRED.  But, in the past, that usually has lead to a lot of time wasted browsing the pages of art books and magazines.  Then if an idea comes it is usually to paint something along the lines of the fine painting in the book I'm looking at.  For me that is not really INSPIRATION.  In fact I find it depressing.  So here's what I do.  Since, in the studio, I am both the boss and employee (I like that) I'll assign myself the kind of painting I'm going to do (portrait, landscape, etc.).  Then, say it's a landscape, if the weather is good I may step outside and look for an appropriate subject.  Or I will look at reference photos I have collected of landscapes.  I keep in mind NOT to look for the perfect picture, but for something of interest in the photo.  Then I'll go ahead and get started with a loose oil sketch.  Usually by the time I start placing paint on the canvas my mind has been stimulated in the painting process so that INSPIRATION  is beginning to take hold.  If it has not yet I know from the past, if I keep painting, it soon will.  So if, today, you need to get busy painting but are not yet INSPIRED, start prodding.  It's painting time! 
Best wishes, Jerry

I'm thinking that a good philosophy of life should be "Simplify". There are always things to make life more complex.
Details to work out. Fine points, rough edges, "i"s to dot, "t"s to cross. Why go looking for the complex? It will show up at the door anyway. I tell my workshop artists to leave out the details as they begin their paintings. And avoid getting distracted by details as the painting progresses. A subject for a painting can seem so complex that it feels impossible if one looks at all the details in the scene. But if we "simplify" the shapes, colors, and values the thing becomes do-able. Another reason I like to avoid those complex details in the beginning and middle is that it is not unheard of for me to place something in a spot that later turns out to be not the right spot. Yes it's true! And if I have put in a lot of time and effort on details in a area that needs relocation do you know what will happen? I've seen it happen time and again. The "details" won't let me move them! I will try to re-arrange the rest of the painting to avoid messing with those precious "details". I tell you "details" can be rude and bossy. Wait until the very last to invite the details in. Keep It Simple Stupid.someone told me. So, my advice for today is "Simplify".  

Usually I paint five or six days a week (sometimes seven). When I miss painting for more than two days, as on a holiday weekend, I can see and feel the difference. The painting will go much slower and have more corrections than usual. Recently the house needed some repairs that used up about three weeks. When I got back to the easel I felt like a kid on the first day of school after summer vacation. I had gotten "Rusty"! To shake off the 'rust" I do a few quick oil sketches. I'll use what ever is handy. It may be something around the house or any reference photo. The subject is not so important. What is important is that I get back to work (and back up to speed) in the studio. Like the athletes stretching and limbering up their muscles or the musicians tuning up their instruments, I'll "limber up" and "tune up" with a few oil sketches (how do surgeons limber up?). Here is one of the sketches I did after the long break working on the house. The oil sketch is a lot of fun to do and is a quick way to get back the skill level I had before taking a break. So, if you've been unable to paint for a while and are feeling "rusty", do a few quick oil sketches and get back to work. Best wishes, Jerry

  During the making of any painting there is an order that usually follows in a logical manner.  For instance tone the canvas, sketch the composition, apply paint-fat over lean.  When I'm toning the canvas that is my focus.  At that moment it is the most important aspect of painting to me.  The same goes for sketching, color mixing, brush strokes, edges....etc.  Whatever I'm working at has full attention (as it should).  However, more and more I find "location" to be my most valued tool in paint application.  Location of the point where the darkest shadow will be, or the corner of the barn, the eye or jaw shadow.  The location from which all references will be made.  "The chief corner stone" ,so to speak, that anchors the rest of the painting.  This is, of course, part of the composing process.  The locating of the objects on the canvas.  I have in the past chosen a "general" area for this or that and ended up moving things a little here or there.  What a waste of time and effort!  If this happens on just one painting it is no big deal.  But multiply by several hundred and you see my problem.  So now I make a special effort to get my first "locating" dot of paint in the correct spot.  You probably already knew that didn't you?  I love it when I think I've learned something.  Best wishes, Jerry

   It seems like the economic down turn has effected everyone I know.  Certainly galleries, artists, art material suppliers, frame material suppliers...well you get the picture...are all finding ways to cut corners or tighten belts.
Admittedly there are times I am too focused on the things I "want" or things I think I "need" but can't afford.  Yet I find there are always others in worse circumstances than I.  Many an artist has wished for a benevolent collector to come along and rescue them from the poverty their love of painting has created.  How about a White-Knight to put food on the table or a coat on the kids.  Since there are many less fortunate than I, why don't I become the White-Knight to them?  By donating artwork to "fund raisers" an artist can help the many in need.  How many paintings sit in the studio that could be used in this way?  Better yet, how about doing an exceptionally good work to be auctioned off for a charity or an individual?  I may not be wealthy, but I am a few rungs up the ladder from someone.  We can reach down to help others take another step up.  Best wishes, Jerry     

    Having a good foundation of understanding of your craft is essential.  I was reminded of this while listening to my step-son play his guitar.  Beautiful melodies, interesting chords, abstract runs up and down the frets can be heard through out the house when Ethan is home.  However it wasn't long ago that he was working on the task of pushing one string down with enough pressure to get a clear note.  So far as I know there is no shortcut to playing the guitar.  Practice and study build knowledge.  Grasp the fundamentals before going on to advanced concepts.  I find the same application in oil painting.  The fundamentals: proper use of materials, color, composition, lighting, shadows, values form the painting,  As our knowledge increases we begin to add other elements of concern to the act of painting.  The awareness of edges, color temperature, highlights or the lack of highlights, surface texture, atmosphere, even the choice of subjects is effected by our progress.  In my workshops I stress "painting with understanding" because for so long I painted to make a "nice picture" without knowing how or why one painting was "nice" while another was "excellent".  When I viewed an especially interesting painting by another artist I would wish I had painted it instead of seeking to understand how the painting was made interesting.  (Has that ever happened to YOU?).  The desire to gain understanding of the "what and why" of oil painting is now as much a part of my work in the studio as is the act of making an oil painting with which I'm satisfied.  As my understanding increases my awareness of the yet unknown looms in front of me.  The more I know, or think I know, the more I realize I don't know.  Well, so much running off at the mouth.  I need to get to the easel.  Best wishes, Jerry         

   A recent article by Lori Woodward Simons in Clint Watson's newsletter "Fine Art Views" mentioned, among many other things, the work of artists "before and after".  One of the greatest times of encouragement I received was when  an accomplished seascape artist courageously showed some "before" paintings.  Rare is the paintier who's first work is as good as his (her) paintings after some years experience.  Realizing the artists we admire were, at one time, just starting out.  Just developing their craft.  Learning, growing, maturing in abilities and understanding.  Most of us had help learning to ride the bicycle (maybe we even had "training wheels").  At one time was Vermeer just getting the hang of paint?  Did Michelangelo work at grasping the "sketch"?  Could Leonardo Da Vinci have had "training wheels"?  Which do I enjoy most, the satisfaction of turning out a "good painting", or the satisfaction of a new insight (knowledge)?  It's just about a toss-up with me.  But I think I lean a little more towards the getting of understanding. "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding" (Proverbs 3:13) is definitely true in oil painting!  Hang in there.