Just One Week Left Until Red Door Studios' Grand Opening!

Mark your calendars! Just one week from today is the Grand Opening of the Red Door Studios. There will be music by Clay Hughes, a performance by Madame Meprise, and art by more than a dozen visual artists. Don't miss it!

Get Starting Next Week: New Long Pose Figure Sessions!

Photo by Nikki Moreno, Vixen Pinup Photography

Starting next week, I will be holding a weekly open figure session at the Red Door Studio. We will have one long pose the entire time, and then those attending will vote on whether we'd like to keep the same pose for the following week or if we will plan to change to a new pose.

This long-pose format allows you time to start off with thumbnail sketches so that you can work on coming up with a good composition, it allows you time to paint or sculpt or to start over if something isn't working. For those who want to work on more than one piece that night, you can feel free to move to a new location for a different view! The long pose is great for the beginner who doesn't want to feel rushed as well as for the accomplished artist who is interested in bringing their work to a higher degree of finished.

Models and themes will rotate between males and females, classic nudes and models in costume. Leading the way this month will be the lovely Eartha Delights of Two Gun Tease Burlesque! (Pictured above.) Please feel free to join us with whatever previous experience (or lack thereof) you might have. I'm looking forward to it!

Long Pose Open Figure Sessions with Eartha Delights
Wednesday, September 9th and 16th, 2009
6-9 pm
Red Door Studios
738 Armstrong, Suite 200
Kansas City, KS 66101
Contact: Lacey@LSquaredartwork.com

Later this month:
Long Pose Open Figure Sessions with Kent
Wednesday, September 23rd and 30th, 2009
6-9 pm
Red Door Studios
738 Armstrong, Suite 200
Kansas City, KS 66101
Contact: Lacey@LSquaredartwork.com

Red Door Studios is Coming Together!

"Sirens" Video Tour

"Sirens" closed last Friday, and before it came down I grabbed a cheap camcorder and created this video tour of the show.

Strawberries

This little one was painted some time last week and I forgot to post it. This was really a joy to paint and if I can just get the last few strawberries to last I'd love to paint more!

"Spoon" Progress Video

I made a little movie of the progress of yesterday's "Spoon" painting. Soon I will also make one showing the progress of the salt shaker, too.

Salt Shaker, Spoon

"Salt Shaker" 4"x 4"

"Spoon" 4" x 4"

Two more sketches. Both use just black, white, burn sienna, raw umber and ultramarine blue.

Three Sketches

"Silver Creamer" Oil on Panel 6" x 6"

Today I managed to get three sketches done. I started off spending a few hours on the above creamer. Shortly thereafter I turned around and saw my son had fallen asleep on the couch, so I got a quick sketch (below) in before he moved.

"Silver Creamer #2" Oil on Panel 4" x 4"

Later, since I still had the paint and brushes ready, I did another quick painting of the same creamer but this time surrounded by black instead of on a white table.


Yesterday I also worked on a painting of a figure from life, but I am saving that one for another day.

The New Studio - Starting to Move In

(My office space)

Here are some pictures, really quick, from my new studio. Thank you to my friends who helped me start to move heavy stuff over to the new place and who helped me paint the big, common area. Also, thanks to my new landlord who has been very accommodating and quickly installed new lighting (you can see half of the new lights up in this picture) and provided all the painting supplies, amongst other things.

More soon as I will be completely moved in less than a week from now and will hopefully very soon be setting up some open figure sessions.

Pictures from "Sirens" Opening and Other News

Last First Friday my show "Sirens" with special guest Jamina Bone (my apprentice) opened at Hilliard Gallery in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, MO. Above is a picture of Jamie and I at the show. Below are some more pictures from the show; some were submitted by my friend Jeff. (Thanks Jeff!) Keep reading below all the pictures for other news.








For various reasons, I have decided to move my studio. I won't be going far though; just one building to the east! I hope to make this a quick and painless move, but I have lots of new plans for the space. First off, I will have enough space to hold open figure drawing/painting sessions with plenty of room for several participants. I hope to offer instruction-free figure sessions for $10/person, and expand upon classes and workshops I have offered. I stopped offering classes in my studio some time ago because there wasn't a lot of room with all my large paintings hanging around.

Secondly, I hope to add to the growing art community in KCK by helping to create affordable spaces for artists. I am working with the building owner to make the entire 2nd floor of this building into artists' studios. For now I am going to refer to it as 'Art on Armstrong,' since the building is located at 738 Armstrong, and if this works out then perhaps we can take over additional affordable spaces in downtown KCK.

I am planning a big studio-opening bash next 2nd Friday, September 11th. More on that soon, but mark your calendars! Meanwhile, if you or someone you know is looking for art space in downtown KCK, contact me or call 913-262-0036 and ask about the artist's space at 738 Armstrong.

"Sirens" Opens Today - ARTKC365

Remember, "Sirens" opens tonight from 6-9pm at Hilliard Gallery! 18th and Oak in Kansas City, MO.

Thanks to ARTKC365 for this awesome write-up about the show.

"Sirens" Opens this Friday, Update of Painting

This Friday from 6-10pm at Hilliard Gallery (18th and Oak in the Crossroads Arts District) is the opening of my show, "Sirens." Also included is special guest and my apprentice, Jamina Bone! I would love to see all my friends there, and if you are local and we have never met please feel free to introduce yourself.

I also wanted to share some progress on this painting. You can see I have worked on the shoulder on our left, that arm, and his head. I hope to be able to post a progress slide show when I am done, but for now this is what I have to share.

"Lust" Completed

Today, I finally completed "Lust!" Now I just wait for it to dry so I can add a varnish. I will take new pictures after the varnish, as I expect this to look a little different afterward, and these pics are looking a little desaturated already. Below are a few detail shots. Keep in mind that the red around the feet will look a lot brighter with the varnish on.

"Testament and Transgression" Closing This Week at CityArts in Wichita

Photo by Steve Curtis

This Friday there will be a closing reception at CityArts in Wichita for the "Testament and Transgression" show with Marc Berghaus and Dan Coburn. Unfortunately, I am not sure if I will be able to make it, but I am seriously toying with the idea of heading out there.

Last week my buddy Steve Curtis was in the area, and he took these wonderful pictures of my work in the space for me. Thanks Steve!

Photo by Steve Curtis

Photo by Steve Curtis

Photo by Steve Curtis

Photo by Steve Curtis

Photo by Steve Curtis

"Lust" Update

I'm having technical difficulties, and am on a computer not equipped with a version of Photoshop that I can edit raw images on, nor do I remember how to crop a painting such as this in the version I am using. So, this is what you get! I am also concerned that perhaps the image is very dark, because people often tell me that my pics that I edit on my regular computer are very dark, and on this computer all my images appear even lighter than usual to me. So, if this image looks really dark, please know that the painting might actually be lighter. Oh, and if the left side of the painting appears a little blue in the middle, please excuse the glare.

I am pleased with the new background up top. The jury is out on whether the bottom half is now too bright, but it certainly wasn't quite enough before so we will see if I need to tone it down or not. I still see quite a bit more to get done on this one, but it will certainly be ready for my exhibition at Hilliard Gallery in August.

2nd Friday, Progress on "Lust"

This painting is getting close. I've noticed a lot of the changes at this stage don't show up in this larger view, even though in real life I feel they are pretty dramatic differences.

Feel free to stop by the studio at 750 Armstrong tonight between 5pm and 8pm and see it in person for yourself. More info on what's happening this 2nd Friday is available at www.kckartsnetwork.com.

Self Portrait Drawing Movie

I've been rolling around the idea of creating little movies of my art for some time now. This brings me one step closer to that... a movie made from JPG images.

Salmagundi Non-Members Show and "Testament and Transgression"

My painting, "Untitled Nude" is on display in the Salmagundi Club's Annual Non-Members Painting and Sculpture Exhibition in NYC. The show runs through July 10th.

Also currently showing is a group show, "Testament and Transgression" at City Arts in Wichita featuring Dan Coburn, Marc Berghaus, and myself. Dan Coburn has some excellent photos from the opening event on his blog.

Male Figure - First Layer Complete

This week I continued to work on the male figure in the studio. (Also, the show in Wichita at City Arts opened last night... anyone in Wichita?) I've included a picture of my palette, though I am not sure how informative it is. I created several piles of paint based on what I saw in my reference. There are several basic hues with one or two major piles of different values for each, and then I just lightened a couple of those piles when mixing with the brush. It wasn't the most organized way to approach this, but it worked for me.
The idea I'm trying-out with this layer is to focus on the major shapes and overall gradation from light to dark across the figure. Then I will put in more detail later.
I simply started working in one area, and then moved to an adjacent area when I'd completed a section. Still, it was important to get back from the painting often to judge the overall value/color relationships.
I keep a mirror at the opposite end of the studio so that I can get a fresh view of the painting easily. This helps point out major errors.
Here we are at the end of the first layer of paint. This is usually my favorite stage of a painting because all the horrible white of the canvas has been covered and I can see the possibilities moving forward. I haven't had time to ruin it yet!

Male Figure - Beginning Demo

Even though I said I wouldn't, I worked more on this painting today. While I was working I thought to take pictures to share the process with you. I started by making corrections to the drawing I previously posted and then adding some detail to the contour. Then, I used a cheap, large bristle brush to brush off loose charcoal from the canvas. (This, by the way, is an oil-primed polyester canvas.)

Brushing off the loose charcoal helps make way for the paint, or else the first half of all your strokes only serve to clear a path in the charcoal for future strokes of paint. As I go along with a small brush (this is always the brush I go to for outlining and small detail) I further refine the edge, showing the character of the contour.

Here it is with the outline complete and a few very small areas of shadow filled in.

Next, I fill in the shadow areas with thinned burnt umber using a coarse bristle brush. I've been wondering if I should've softened the edges on the shadows, but I do like how this way I see a simple pattern of light and shadow with no gray area between.

Finally, I add some middle gray mix to the background, mostly just because I want to cover the canvas and have something to judge the light areas of the figure against. Those light areas will be saved for another day, however.