Field Trip: The Wilcox Museum at KU

Discobolos!

Last week I was reading a post in the Gurney Journey blog (currently my favorite art blog!) about the plaster cast collections that art schools used to have. I knew they were used in ateliers, but I didn't know that art schools or universities used to have relatively extensive collections of them, or that many of them were destroyed in protest against ideas that were deemed outdated. For a while now I have been coveting a cast of my own (a small one, of course, preferably a bust) and have a cast of a hand and/or a foot on my wish list as well. I was therefore understandably excited to find out this collection of casts is practically in my own back yard! A trip to Lawrence was added to my to-do list at once.

To me, a trip to Lawrence also means a trip to The Mad Greek. This time it just happened to fit the theme of the day! They also have a collection of casts, but they are small and located way up near the ceiling. No good for drawing, but good to look at none-the-less. After stuffing myself with yummy Greek food, I dragged my husband along to admire some [copies of] Greek art.
The collection is contained in two adjoining rooms at the Wilcox Museum, though the second room is primarily dedicated to coins and other artifacts. As mentioned on the Gurney Journey blog, the one drawback in the museum setting is lighting. There are lots of spotlights pointing in every direction, which would make getting a good range of values difficult. However, the cast of Hermes, above, is nicely lit for value drawing if viewed from the front.

While this sort of lighting is not conducive to drawing with a full value range, it would still be great to do line drawings from.


They have a pretty good collection of busts, as well. I think there were a couple more behind that wall that I forgot to photograph... I seem to remember two of Athena, one with a helmet, but I could be wrong.

Poor Homer is alone in a corner.

I had to. I know, I am silly and immature, but isn't the lighting great? I was wondering about the differences in texture here. If you look at the calfs, they are completely smooth. You start to see some marks on the buttocks, and then if you look at the top of the picture by the ribs you see a lot of texture. I want to find out if this texture was on the original and if it was common to have the various textures or if this was an artifact of repairs or related to the casting process.

This is one of the smaller casts. They ranged in size from about 18" to, well, larger than life. The following pictures are to give you an idea of the scale of some of the full-sized copies.


I read on the museum's website that the room can be reserved for events or classes, and immediately thought that it would be fun to lead a class there myself. Perhaps I can even get them to let me alter the lighting a little just for the class, or to bring in my own special lighting.

If you are local, you really should visit this collection. If you are elsewhere, visit plastercastcollecion.org to find a collection near you.

Teaching, Painting, Doing Stuff

The blog has been quiet, but I've been very busy! Right now, I have two portraits-from-life in progress, a small figure painting in progress, and the above nectarines also in progress. I also had lots of private lessons, my Thursday portrait drawing class, and yet another field trip last week. I will post about the field trip in another post shortly.

Portraits from life are a challenge! Right now is an exciting time for me because I am learning a lot now that I can regularly work from life in my studio and am doing these little still life studies (new subject matter each time!) However, it's also frustrating that I haven't been working on something more serious or narrative... though what is more serious than improving at your craft? Food for thought. Hopefully some more work on my little figure painting and bringing the life portraits up to a finish will help with those feelings.

*I almost forgot to mention that Friday I was art... I was part of my friend Rachelle Gardner's installation downtown. Check out her blog and she should have pics from Friday soon!

This week I will be working from life in the studio, and then in addition to my Thursday class I will be teaching a portraits from life workshop in Leavenworth Friday through Sunday. Check back for images as my paintings progress and for a recap of my Friday field trip!

Pears

I went a little crazy at the grocery store and bought some fruit, including these Bosc pears. Had lots of fun painting them! Pears just seem to have more personality than most fruits. In fact, there's another composition I will paint soon that I have had in mind for about a year now, but I had to fine the pear with just the right personality.

The individual pear painting is up for auction on Ebay, and the other one will follow soon. Click here to see all my Ebay auctions.

Field Trip: Signature Canvas

Today I took myself on a field trip to Signature Canvas in Kansas City, MO. I've heard lots of great things about their canvases, but have yet to try them out. After being in contact with them via phone and email, I placed and order and am anxious to try my new canvases out. Picking up the canvases provided a great chance to take a tour!

Meet Alicia! She's generally here to greet you in person or by phone or email, and she's very pleasant to deal with. We had a good conversation while I was there about materials, the art market, BBQ and frozen custard. It seems lately where ever I go, at some point I have to mention BBQ and/or frozen custard. She also showed me how to adjust my new canvases via the keyless frame, which is much more awesome in person than it looked to me on the website, and which they have a patent for.

This is a photo of the area where they cut lengths of poplar and build the frames for the canvases.

Here is where they actually stretch the canvases. This shot doesn't give a lot of information... I had to be ambiguous in this area with my photo-taking because they use a secret-special method for stretching.

Here's where they package the canvases before they are shipped out.

Not only do they make and ship custom canvases, but if you are lucky enough to be in KC, you can visit their outlet store which is right in the warehouse! I had no idea they would have this many canvases in their overstock area, and they are all deeply discounted. I'm certainly going to have to return for this.

When the tour was over and we were finished making small talk, Fernando helped me carry my loot out to the car. I'm really pleased that I've hooked up with this company. They are local, which is a plus, their product appeared to be much better than other canvases I have used, and I like that I can call them and know the person on the other end of the line. I plan to start a painting on one of these new canvases very soon, and I will report my experience here. Meanwhile, if you are local, take a tour yourself!

Demonstrations

I thought I'd post my images of the demos I have done during this weekend's workshop and last Thursday's class here on my blog. The workshop was small, so I was able to get more work done than during the portrait drawing class, where I seemed to babble on and on and let my hands float in circles in front of my flapping gums rather than putting them to work with the pencil. Above is a Bargue plate I used to introduce my students to the technique of sight size. We spent 3 hours on the first day of the workshop using sight-size to work from the 2 D reference, in order to prepare for the next day's stab at using the method to work from life. I certainly see lots of things that are 'off' on my copy, but seeing as these are intended to be worked on for a much longer length of time, I can't say I am too disappointed.

The second day of the workshop was 6 hours of still-life drawing. Again, I was able to work quite a bit on this since the class was small. The students' drawings came out *wonderfully!* They have said that they will email me pictures of both their Bargue copies and their still lives, and hopefully I will get to share them here. It was very satisfying to see what great work they were able to produce in just one day, especially with a method that can seem so complicated at first.

Here is my Bargue plate demo from the Thursday portrait drawing class, in progress. Due to the aforementioned gum-flapping, I only got a partial envelope and some shading on the cheek done before the end of class. That night I worked on it for a little bit and was able to finish the envelope and add a little more shading, but even what I have down is still not right. You can see the shading in the hair is still too light in places, and I haven't even begin to model that half-tone on the cheek, between the shadow and lit areas. I will continue to work on this and post the progress here!

Workshops and Open Studios!

Today I started a 4 week portrait drawing class at ARTichokes with a great group of ladies. I started them off with the daunting task of a head and shoulders Bargue plate. This always makes me very aware of just how tight a$$ed I really am, especially in the presence of artwork with such free-flowing brushstrokes and thick knife-work. I often thing, "Rembrandt did it, (at least in the highlights) so why can't I lay it on thick and leave it there?" As well, it's always a push/pull with me... lay the paint down like you mean it, but don't sacrifice accuracy!

I digress. I am looking forward to the following classes with these women, and also to this weekend's sight-size workshop at the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth. As I work on the demos for these classes I will post images here to give you some idea of what we're doing, and perhaps I will even get to post some student work. We will see!

If you are bummed you missed these classes, please check out my schedule here as I have quite a few classes and workshops coming up.

The only drawback (hah! pun) of this weekend's workshop is that it conflicts with this month's 2nd Friday 'Follow the Dotte' Art Walk in Kansas City, KS, which the Pressroom Studios (where I have my studio) is participating in. Therefore, unfortunately, I won't be able to meet and greet. However, my lovely apprentice, Jamina Bone, has agreed to open my space to visitors in my absence. Please do stop by and say hello! I will have some work on display there, and you will get to see Jamie's awesome work-in-progress oil painting of a skull.

Peaches and Cherries

Today in the studio, I finished this painting. "Peaches and Cherries" 5" x 7" oil on panel.

Starting a New Painting

Today has been a very productive day for me. I finished up the blue glass painting that was started last night, and I began a new painting. It is on a 16" x 12" panel.

I started off by drawing the above lines on the board with charcoal and a ruler. These help with composition and placement. Notice in the drawing below the placement of the head within the top-middle diamond shape and that the model's line of sight follows the triangle-shape through the bottom right-hand corner.

Here everything has been drawn in with charcoal and some shading indicated. I use charcoal instead of graphite because graphite may become visible through the paint surface as an oil painting ages.

With the drawing complete, I 'ink in' the contour lines with oil paint that has been diluted with OMS. In this instance I used raw umber, though burnt umber or asphaltum yield similar results.

After the contours are set, I generally begin painting in the darkest-darks and/or the background. Here you can see a couple shadow values were blocked in before the end of the session. I plan to work on this again tomorrow and will try to take more step-by-step pictures to post.

Blue Glass - Small Painting

There are now a total of four small paintings listed for sale on my Small Paintings Blog through Ebay. I'm happy to be getting so much practice painting these little works that are so different from my people. There are certainly more figures on the way, though!

Pressroom Studios - Website

The Pressroom Studios, where I have a space, now has a website. More will be added as I am able to gather more information and images, and as the place as a whole comes together! www.PressroomStudios.com

Two Shows Opening Tonight

My work is included in two openings tonight! I will be at the opening of my solo exhibit at the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth from 6-8 pm. The National Small Oil Paintings Exhibition will open almost simultaneously in Wichita, where my paintings Mala, Mortalitas, and Facade are on display. If anyone is in Wichita, please head out and let me know how it goes!

Solo Art Exhibit at Stacks Gallery 09-05-08 through 10-06-08
Solo exhibit at the Stacks Gallery at the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth, KS. Special workshops and presentations in conjunction with the exhibit will be held.

• Carnegie Arts Center
  913-651-0765
  601 South 5th Street,
  Leavenworth, KS 66048
  

National Small Oil Painting Exhibition 09-05-08 through 10-19-08
Three of Lacey's paintings were accepted into this juried exhibition. Opening Reception and Announcements of Awards September 5th, 2008 from 5-7 pm.

• Wichita Center for the Arts
  9112 E. Central
  Wichita, KS 67206
  316-634-2787

Bring the John William Waterhouse Exhibition to North America!

The John William Waterhouse retrospective exhibition is scheduled to open in Europe in 2008/9. So far, no North American museum has shown an interest in hosting it. The purpose of this petition is to urge one or more museums in North America to offer to host the Waterhouse exhibit.

The work of John William Waterhouse (British painter, lived from 1849-1917) is very popular today. Examples of his work include The Lady of Shalott, Ophelia and St Cecilia (they can be seen on the Waterhouse fan site @ www.jwwaterhouse.org).

The upcoming retrospective exhibition will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of us to view so many of Waterhouse's paintings in one location. It would be a major disappointment if Waterhouse fans in North America are unable to share in this experience.

By signing this petition, Waterhouse fans worldwide are showing their interest in seeing the JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE exhibition come to North America.

Museums of North America -- please heed our plea!

Bring the John William Waterhouse Exhibition to North America

"Security" :: Finished

"Security"
Oil on Canvas 40" x 30"

This painting was completed today, I think. I keep going back to it again and again, but that has to stop! It's time to move on to a new composition. For now, I am happy with the muted color scheme I have going on in this one. Hopefully everyone has had a swell Labor Day.

Midnight Oils - Long Island

I recently learned that the above painting, Mortalitas II, will be included in the Midnight Oils exhibition at the Smithtown Township Arts Council's Mills Pond House Gallery on Long Island. The show will run October 4th through November 5th.

Seamus II - Life Drawing

This is the first male nude I have drawn in a long time! Last week I worked on this for three sessions in my studio, with Seamus patiently modeling for me. I am not sure if I will be able to finish this from life or not, or if I will decide to leave it as-is. This week is going to be too busy to to allow for sessions long enough to really work at it, and I am not sure I will be able to either keep the set-up as is or recreate it later.

New Small Paintings Blog

I've decided to start selling my small paintings through this new small paintings blog. Go check it out! This is my first Ebay listing, a 5" x 7" framed candle study in oil on canvas panel. More work will be listed soon.

September Workshops and Classes

Following are all the classes and workshops I have scheduled for September. Please also note that I have added Hilliard Gallery as a venue! Visit the classes and workshops page on my website to see what classes I have scheduled at Hilliard for October and November. Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

09-06-2008 - Skin Tones Classroom
The class will begin with a slide show presentation and discussion, exploring all the variables that affect skin tones. We will see how the Old Masters portrayed flesh, will view and analyze contemporary works, and see step-by-step in progress images of Lacey's paintings. Then, we will use this information to analyze and mix our own skin tones. Oil color palette choices for flesh tones will be discussed, but feel free to bring your media of choice to work with in class.

* 11 am to 5 pm
* Location: Carnegie Arts Center
* Cost: $120 members / $130 non-members

09-11-2008 through 10-02-2008 - Portrait Drawing
In this 4 week class we will study the art of portrait drawing from lighting and posing the model and what makes a good reference photo, to proportion, creating a pleasing and accurate line drawing, and using value to give your portrait form and solidity. We will work from a combination of life and reference photos that we create ourselves.

* Thursdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
* Location: ARTichokes
* Cost: $145 plus tax

09-12-2008 and 09-13-2008 - Sight-Size Drawing
Learn about a technique used by the Old Masters and in the French Academy in this 2 day workshop. Sight-size allows an artist to learn to see accurately and depict life on a 2D surface without the use of a projector. We will start by copying a Bargue plate and then move on to drawing a still life in charcoal.

* 5:00 - 8:00 pm on Friday and 11:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday
* Location: Carnegie Arts Center
* Cost: $170 members / $180 non-members

09-19-2008 through 09-21-2008 - Portrait Painting Workshop
This workshop focuses on painting the portrait from the live model. Figurative and portrait artist Lacey Lewis will lead the class with demonstrations, discussions, and will work individually with students as they complete each step of the process. Model and a light lunch are provided, and a limited number of easels are available for student use. Please check easel availability when you register. A list of materials needed for the class available on the Hilliard website and at the gallery.

* Firday and Saturday 10 am - 4 pm, Sunday 10 am - 1 pm
* Location: Hilliard Gallery
* Cost: $175 includes a light lunch

09-26-2008 through 09-28-2008 - Portrait Painting from Life
This 3 day workshop will cover everything from posing and lighting the model, basic facial proportions, creating an accurate drawing and likeness in monochrome, values, and skin tone palettes. Lacey will both demonstrate on her own canvas and help students individually as they complete each step in the process. Focus will be on oil painting, but water media and pastel artists are welcome.

* Friday 5pm - 8pm, Saturday 11am - 5 pm, Sunday 10am - 1pm
* Location: Carnegie Arts Center
* Cost: $250 members / $260 non-members

La Forza Di Arte

Anyone here speak Italian? I found my work on the blog, La Forza Di Arte, which I never heard of before. I translated the blog title as meaning 'The Power of Art.' It appears to have art and women, right up my alley.

Scroll down to see the posts containing my work, or follow these links:
Post 1
Post 2
Post 3
Post 4

Thoughts on My Bias Towards the Female Form

I don't usually delve into the thoughts behind my work on this blog, but today I am taking the leap in doing so. Thank you for those who commented on my portrait of Seamus, and brought up the issue of adding the male figure to my work. It has come up more than once over the years that my work is almost exclusively of the female form, and to date the only men that have made appearances in my formal work are or have been murdered by women. I am sure this has prompted many to speculate on certain aspects of my psychology, as various Freudian theories could be applied, but for now I thought I'd explain my bias as I see it.

The first and foremost reason that I focus so much on women in my work is simply that I am a woman myself. I am often seeking to express an idea or emotion that is mine, and it is difficult for me to try and 'speak' through a male image. I'm not a male, and therefore I don't so much think or feel from the perspective of a man. Many ideas are universal and are experienced by both sexes, that is true, but there is still a difference in the way men and women experience life, and therefore the gender of the person in the image has an affect on the way the message comes across.

For example, in my painting, "Insecurity," and it's companion, the nearly finished "Security," try to imagine the same compositions, but with men inserted in the women's places. In my mind, at least, the paintings wouldn't make sense and would even seem silly... I mean, men in general aren't that self-conscious about themselves, or at least they aren't perceived that way in society and in my experience don't behave the same way as women when they are in the buff. Perhaps it is sexist for me to assume these things, and of course I know that men can and often do have body-issues as well, but I still can't generally seem to wrap my head around truly expressing myself through the male image.

Secondly, let us simply consider the natural beauty of the female figure. A woman's form, in my eyes, naturally composes itself without much hassle and has so many aesthetically pleasing curves and rhythms in comparison the the relatively utilitarian male figure. It seems to me that much of the really great art containing the male figure portrays the subject in a rather feminine pose. I've included two beautiful works by Michelangelo here as examples. The Dying Slave, especially, I see as not only a relatively feminine but nearly an erotic pose.

Slightly unrelated, I have had more than one conversation lately about male and female bodies in pop culture vs in fine art. It almost seems like the standards are reversed in each situation. In pop culture (even with TV news anchors, etc.) it is OK for men to have a sub-ideal body, so long as they have the personality and sense of humor to make up for it. Women, however, tend to need to be very thin, regardless of if they are a singer or a comedian. In fine art, though, quite a variety of feminine forms are and have been considered beautiful while throughout history only one real male body-type has been preferred by artists.

Edit: After I wrote this post, I found this image on my Michelangelo search... it is supposed to be an image of what the sculpture David might look like it done after a modern-day American model. Of course, it was done as a commentary on today's obesity 'epidemic,' but I think it also goes along with my point, above.

In closing, I have been planning for a few years to add the male form to my body of work. I do have a handful of paintings that I have had sketched out for some time, but have yet to be started. Stay tuned and these may appear in the near future. And no, the men in these new compositions are not there merely for the women to murder! However, it is going to be a real challenge for me to get past something purely academic in these pieces, for the reasons mentioned above. Also, for those that asked, yes, there will be more of Seamus soon. I have been drawing live from him this week, and am about to head out to the studio to finish up. I have yet to learn how to create an expressive pose with the male figure like the images in this post, but perhaps over time I will become more comfortable with the male subject and something will click.

Feminae - The Book!

You may remember reading back in June or July that I was putting together a small book/catalog of my work to bring around to galleries in NY. That book is now available for purchase at LuLu.com. If you follow the link, you will be able to see a small preview of the first few pages, as well as the front and back covers. I will also add a link and preview to my website soon.

• Paperback book $16.98

Printed: 33 pages, 8.5" x 8.5", saddle-stitch binding, white interior paper (60# weight), full-color interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink

Description:

A selection of figurative and narrative paintings and drawings by contemporary realist Lacey Lewis.

In case you are wondering, the paintings included in the book are: Reflection, Insecurity, Facade, Facade (Red), Staged, Nautilus, Nautilus II, Restricted, Pensive, Venus, Visceral, Inward, Mala, Ophelia II, Mortalitas, Mortalitas II, and Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil. The following drawings are also included: Back in Green, Visceral, Standing Nude, Nocturne, and Self Portrait.

Security - Still Plugging Away

Wow, do I ever want to finish this painting! I've just been so distracted by all the billion other things I have to do lately. I might actually be closer than I feel... the flesh *might* be done, I'm getting there with the drapery, and I have a new tube of a creamy-white paint to work into the background.

Hopefully soon I will also post info about my new book for sale!

Seamus

Today at the studio, I finished this charcoal portrait I had started Saturday while working with Jamina. Seamus (pronounced 'shame-us') sat for me and was very patient, never asking for a break or fidgeting. I'm pretty happy with the results, especially since I haven't done anything more than a sketch completely from life in a *very long time.*

This is approximately where I had left off Saturday. I think I came in and added some of the darker shading and the white today before taking a break and snapping this progress shot.

The Studio

I have the studio set up enough that I can work in it, though there's still a lot I'd like to do. I really can't express how happy I have been working there today and Saturday. I can't wait to get back there tomorrow, and almost want to head back this evening! It's just so awesome to be able to leave everything as is and know no one will mess with it while you're gone. And I have many times more room than I need!

Well, let me give you the tour. Above, obviously, is the entrance to my space. Eventually I'd like to have a sign of some sort up there, and perhaps a small table with business cards, etc., set out. I'll also have some more of my gridwall up at some point, with more paintings visible from outside the fence.

There's my cute little Oscar the Grouch type trash can, with my genius gridwall canvas/painting/paper divider. I didn't have any money to build one, but I already had some gridwall, and voila! Now I just need some canvas to store in there.

This is the end of the room where I plan to do most of my work. I figure I can more my easel to either side, and move where the model will be closer to or farther from the wall. I have a tent in the corner that I will open and eventually get black fabric to cover and hang from the sides in order to control lighting, and help me get dramatic lighting for some of my narratives. Oh, and I hope to paint that wall soon.

This is the end of the space, where the entrance is. I got those two black cubbies from Scott Fitness, and am using them to display my book, recent article, and postcards on top, wile my purse, camera, etc., can be stored on the shelves underneath. Then my stuff doesn't get all dirty, nor does it get in the way while I am working. On the left are shelves for smaller canvases, props, tools, etc.

So there you have it! It still needs some cleaning, and I need a few more supplies and some paint to really make it home, but it's so nice to work in. I'm a happy camp, er, painter. :-)