Chair and Books Oil Paintings

Chair with a Bowl 16" x 20"
oil paint

We had a double session in my Oil Painting class at Art Center this week to make up for the Thursday we lost to Thanksgiving and thus produced two paintings. Wow, I have NEVER done two paintings in one day. The first one, the chair with a bowl, was fun and I had a ton of energy and stamina as I searched for color changes and highlights. We had a break and then switched set ups--to a more challenging mantle like set up (below). It was exhausting. I felt like my eye wasn't as sharp, I was lazy with my brush, and misjudged depths. Considering this class produced my first ever painting in three hours, I think this was expected. It's like a marathon after just completing a 5K. Well I made it, sort of, the second one may be gesso-ed over soon. We'll see.

Mid-Read 14" x 10"
oil paints

What was really interesting this week in class were the artists of inspiration: The Bloomsbury Group, and English group of painters, crafters, and sculptures. We saw portraits of Virginia Wolfe, Keynes (the economist), and of their work from their omega workshops. I didn't even know this group existed--and they did every style--Cezanne, pointillism, Manet, from the previous century that was just tapping into being anti-academic. Their work deeply influenced literature, criticism, and economics as well as modern attitudes towards feminism, pacifism, and sexuality. I highly suggest looking into their works.