Mara Schasteen, Come on Down...

My blog has won an award! Nominated by the talented Kevin Minzer. To quote my notification:

The Liebster Blog Award has been given to

Mara Schasteen - Expressive Naturalism

by

Kevin Minzer - Maine-ly Painting.

Liebster is a German word that translates as
favorite or dearest. 

The award originated in Germany

 and is intended to recognize up and coming bloggers.

 Those distinguished by this award have
fewer than 200 followers. 

In keeping with its pay-it-forward tradition, 

I have nominated the following blogs for the award:

Laura Kurk

I've blogged about Laura before. I could blog about her daily, probably. She gets this award from me hands down because her blog is soooooo real. If you have young women in your life, or know of any, get them to this blog. Laura is a young adult writer with one published novel under her belt and another right around the corner. She pretty much rocks in person and I love her!!!


Kevin Minzer

If Kevin hadn't already won the award, he'd be on my list, as well. His blog is mainly about painting, but he is so stinkin' funny that his blog would be fun to read even if one couldn't draw a stick figure.


Natalie Hunsaker

Natalie is a dear friend, fellow artist and young mother. We met via the Stroke of Genius Portrait Artist Forum and hooked up in person a few times for painting. Natalie is incredibly gifted as an artist, but her focus is definitely her children and her passion for her spiritual journey. Her blog keeps morphing into new things, but she has a heavy focus on deafness and cochlear implants -- as her oldest child was premature and has experienced many medical challenges thus -- as well as prematurity, religion, politics and Biblical imagery! WOW! This chic is busy.

Fresh Insight on an Older Painting

Last month, I got my hands on an older painting of mine that I hadn't seen for almost two years.

"Yuck!" I exclaimed as I took a fresh look.

The painting needed varnished, but it needed more than that. I sat it up in my studio and stared at it for several weeks considering how I might use some of my newer knowledge and experience to re-work it. You may recognize it...

"A Little Dance"
MSchasteen  ~  2010

There was a lot about this painting that I liked. In person, the rich color and simple strokes in the flowers were a pleasure to take in. The background, however, left something to be desired. It seemed to compete with the energy in the subject and some of the impact of the color was lost.

Last fall, Jeff Legg taught me about glazing as well as how to consider using "space" and darkness to create a more sublime image. I decided to shoot for a bit of mystery and do something I rarely consider: going darker.

Using Gamblin Galkyd as a medium, I mixed Raw Umber and Ivory Black and began glazing the background in layers. I was timid, so it took about three layers to get to the new value I had envisioned. Once complete, I took a clean bush and removed some of the glaze to reveal bits of color I didn't wish to become dull and to break up some of the even glazing. I was fairly satisfied with the results, but something else kept nagging at me: composition.

Perhaps it is because of our "widescreen" culture, but I dearly love landscape dimensions, so I started cropping (in my mind). I agree that the original crop is not horrible, but I figure if I am going to do this, I'm going all in. This painting is linen on birch...so hello, table saw.

Finally, I am pleased. Actually, I like it a lot! Can't wait to get it into a nice, new frame. In celebration, I gave it a new title and will spice it up with a new signature, as well.

"Balance"
11" x 20" ~ Oil on linen/birch

Bathwater Coffee and Pin Curls

Yesterday my three year old daughter, Emme, was taking a bath while I stood at the sink twisting my hair into pin curls – just like my granny taught me. Emme splashed around with her bath toys which consisted only of measuring cups and spoons and a mug.

“Ear you go, Mommy! I made you coffee!” She exclaimed, holding out a mug full of warm bathwater. As I pinned my last curl, I bent down and sipped my special bathwater coffee and realized it was time for a blog post.

Emme post bold roast bathtime

Life changes. A lot. Mine has changed so drastically in the last couple months, I don’t even know where to begin writing about it. In context with my art and career, life had really presented me with some challenges. It had me down.

The reason I wanted to write about bathwater coffee and pin curls is because a month ago (even 6 months ago), I would never have bent over and lovingly sipped my daughter’s coffee and I would certainly never be twisting my hair into pin curls. Those two simultaneous events symbolized a marked change in my spirit and my priorities. Many more changes have occurred and show themselves in handmade plastic canvas coasters sewn by tiny, uncertain fingers, an unfinished wool blanket sitting in a basket by the fireplace, a simpler schedule, a slower paced life, six pair of muck boots by the back door and fresh baked bread on the kitchen counter.

My dear sister in law, Sam Schasteen, and I had some long talks over our time together during the holidays. Sam is one of those super beautiful, stylish, smart women whose inner wonderfulness is difficult not to envy. God sent Sam and her husband, Kyle, a special gift 3 years ago; a gift that no one can deny was handpicked just for them. Maddie came all wrapped up in a five pound bundle with tons of hair and an extra chromosome. She was born with Down’s Syndrome and to make a long story short, Kyle once said to me, “I want a shirt that says, Down’s Syndrome: What’s the Down Side?” Sam has approached her mothering of Maddie with incredible enthusiasm and heart and I have watched their family’s world become more perfect by the day. Comparatively, my world was feeling disconnected and just plain hard.

I shared some of my feelings with Sam. She directed my thoughts toward my life as a mother and she got me reading, among other things, a book entitled, Simplicity Parenting.

Since I began reading the book, my thoughts have traveled from, “I’ll never paint again,” to “I’m quitting my job as a teacher so I can paint during those few hours a week.” Most importantly, however, my priorities have been given a kick in the pants. Suddenly, I’m not just trying to survive each day. I’m reveling in each day. I’m not counting down the hours until bedtime, I’m savoring them. I’m not depressed because I have no creative outlet, I’m sewing and simplifying and enjoying my house in the country. I’m not encouraging my kids to “go play,” I’m chasing them through the house and tackling them for a good old fashioned wrestling match. I’m even having fun.

Brielle inside one of our many clothespin and fabric forts

A telling image from our kitchen: this is me making a handmade doll with vintage fabric, there is my son Taylor behind me strumming a guitar and you can even see our binoculars handy for enjoying all the wildlife that wanders through our yard. Not a lot of painting going on around here, but a lot of creativity, nonetheless.

The parallels of the ideas in Simplicity Parenting to making art have astounded me! I may not be painting a whole lot over the next year, but I will be growing in a deeper, more philosophical way.

As I gain understanding in using the extraordinary power of less, I will continue to apply it to making art and I’ll try to write my thoughts to the blog as often as life allows.

Coming up, “My House is a Still Life.” Not to be missed. :)

God bless.
Mara

To Everything There is a Season...

Happy November 10th to all my art friends around the world! I really felt the need to drop in today and write a little update about what I've been doing lately. As you know, I haven't posted to the blog much in the last few months. The main reason for this is that I simply haven't had time to paint! AAAH! I miss it so...I've only had about 3 opportunities to work in the last three months and although sometimes I think it's killing me, I know that my time is coming when I can paint as often as I'd like. To everything, there is a season. For now, I must get these little ones nurtured up into lovely little people.

My three beauties: Brielle, Angelina and Emmelyn.
Not pictured: one super handsome, all grown up young man, Taylor.

Another reason for my lack of blogging is that we are moving! We've been working on this deal for several months and it is finally happening next week! I'm neck deep in cardboard boxes and packing tape. I am not even sure where my paint is. We've been blessed with the opportunity to buy a house in the country where our chickens can scratch around for miles and our plans for a miniature milk cow and some honey bees will surely come to life. I will also have a bright new studio space that is just for me! Once we are settled in, I hope to hire a nanny once or twice a week and get to work!

View of my new (still empty) studio. Once I am moved in, I'll post more images.

I would like to share with you some of my recent successes. Though I am not painting, paintings are selling! It's so exciting! My painting, Orchid, sold in Calistoga, California at the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition hosted by Lee Youngman Galleries. I was thrilled to receive that news! Davis Gallery in Sheridan, Wyoming has sold several of my works lately including Backyard Chickens and Petunias.

"Petunias"
16" x 20"

I feel very undeserving of what I have. Truth is, I am undeserving. For some reason, however, God has chosen to bless me and my family. Despite my failed commitments and lack of strength of character at times, The LORD still has me living a life I hardly dared to dream of years ago. His faithfulness astounds me. No matter where I go or what I do, God is there waiting for me at the end of the road; patient, forgiving, delighted to bless me again. This is what believing in Him is about. This is what learning to love Him is about. As I mature in my Christianity, I learn more and more often that we just can't put God in a box; we cannot mold Him to fit our expectations and we cannot pick and choose what to believe. God must be experienced. To experience Him, I guess we just need to be near Him as wholly and as often as we can. To live life reliant on our own ability to achieve success means to live a life of failure -- failure to ever know what "success" really is.

I hope you are all having a week rich with blessings and true successes. As always, feel free to email me with any art related questions or prayer requests. I'm always happy to oblige!

Happy Painting!
Mara

The Chickens are Coming!

"Backyard Chickens"
12" x 20"  ~  Oil on linen
unframed

 
I am placing "Backyard Chickens" up for sale this week - for this week only! If it doesn't find a good home in the next few days, I'm planning to enter it into an important national juried exhibition where it must be available for sale in order to qualify.

If you are interested, please send me an email at mara.schasteen@gmail.com and I will send you a larger file to preview and all the juicy details. Thanks so much for your support and encouragement!

UPDATE

I am happy to announce that the Backyard Chickens found a home! This painting sold within 24 hours of my announcement. The Lord has been so good to us. God bless. -M

A Week With Jeff Legg

I recently had the honor of studying with Jeff Legg in his studio in Estes Park, Colorado. Believe me: this was one of the best weeks of my life! There is so much to write, it's too much. I've decided to share a few photos for now and I plan to incorporate some of what I learned into some future blog posts. Enjoy!

View from outside Jeff's studio

Jeff had a lot of still life items for us to choose from

Jeff's first demonstration

Jeff's third demonstration

This is the set up for my first painting

"Brass & Pears"

This is the set up for my second painting

"Cobalt & Clementine"

What a guy! A great artist, teacher, mentor and now friend. Thank you for everything, Jeff!

Some Challenges of Alla Prima Painting

Recently, a friend of mine (who is an extremely talented artist) was looking for ideas about building lighter paint on top of darker paint when working wet into wet. She was experiencing some of the common issues with alla prima painting such as top layer strokes scraping off underneath layers, highlights mixing too much with the ground work paint, and paint not sticking when applied on top of wet paint.

I wrestled with all these challenges as I began experimenting with single session, wet into wet techniques. At some point, I made a discovery that was so huge for me: alas, when painting wet into wet, I don't have to build my lighter values on top of my dark! What a novel concept!

I almost always (99% of the time) paint my paintings in one session. Wet into wet always. The solutions to the challenges are many:

• Quickly paint in the dark values, then wipe out the paint where your lighter values will be placed. Wipe with a paper towel, a finger, a clean brush dipped in solvent, etc.

In "Three Chickens," I washed in some dark values first and then wiped away the basic shape of each chicken with paper towels and a brush dipped insolvent. It was a wonderful technique for creating a variety of edges. Before I began painting in the white chickens, I continued to darken the background around my wiped out shapes.

• Use mediums sparely, if at all. I have found the use of mediums kills most alla prima efforts. You lose control, things dry faster, etc. I think mediums are great for effects that can be achieved with layers and time - both of which you do not have in single session painting.

• Paint the lighter values first! What a concept! To me, this was a huge epiphany. Why not paint the middle tones of the flowers first and then paint the darker background behind them? It works like a charm, really. Also, that push and pull of painting subject, then background, then subject, then background again gives you a huge variety of edges that could never be painted "on purpose."

In this detail of "A Little Dance," I blocked in the middle tones of each flower over top of a light value, colorful wash. After the initial block in, I painted the deep shadows around the subjects and then added details to the flowers.

• Whenever I have had the problem of the paint not sticking, it is either because I have used too much medium in the beginning and things are slimy, or because I am not using ENOUGH paint toward the end. I literally have to load my brush or knife with enough paint that I could actually fling the handle and a huge glob would land on the wall. Then, I take that severely loaded tool and carefully, but playfully, "hit" it onto the canvas. One time is all you get. If you go messing with your highlight "blob," you'll almost always ruin it. I had to play with paint like this for a long time before I learned how to appreciate it in my own art and to leave it alone long enough for me to actually decide if I liked it. I never like things right when I do them. I have to live with them a while to appreciate them. Weird, I know.

In "Potato Leek Soup Sketch," I gave myself 30 minutes to paint a practice sketch before attempting the larger version of this painting. As it turns out, I think I like the sketch better than the final painting due to it's loosely painted objects and especially, the "highlight blobs."

• Occasionally, I mess around with a dry painting and hit some highlights over top of some good texture created in the first session. It works like a charm and I love the effect, so this is definitely an option. In my experience, I'm a better painter when my time is limited. I tend to ruin things I continue to revisit, so I tread lightly.

In this grass detail from "Backyard Chickens," the top image has some lime green gently dry brushed over top of the richly textured surface that had dried from the first session (bottom image). Achieving this effect was worth the wait as the  ground came together in a more harmonious way and delivered a lot of great eye candy when viewing the painting up close in person.

Paint well and have a wonderful week!
M

From Garden Rows to Oil Primed Linen

"From Garden Rows"

I found a little time to paint today!

It's been a while since I posted process photos, so please enjoy them!

 A straight line sketch (my favorite way to start)

Middle tone block in of the back drop to help with edge variety

 Immediate establishment of light and shadow helps me paint with confidence.

Block-in of all subject matter. Now when I squint down and look at my set up and my canvas, I can see how accurate my drawing, edges and values are (and what work I have to do to make it sing).

Squint and compare: such a priceless tool for the direct painter.

 Time to work on detail! Here I work on the large tomato and begin work on the beets and cabbage.

 More detail work on the cabbage (lots of bug holes since it came from my garden).

The set up and the painting shortly before the signature.

"From Garden Rows"
8" x 13.5" ~ Oil on Belgian Linen

I am so proud to tell you that all the items in this still life came from our mini farming efforts. It was inspiring to harvest them from the garden this morning and paint them this afternoon. Tonight, I think I'll continue the theme and eat them for dinner!

Have a great week!
Mara

Tweaking

There are two things about being a painter that I loathe: washing my brushes and re-working a painting I thought I had finished. From time to time, I must do both.

The last time I had a chance to sit down and work, I painted Backyard Chickens. That was over a month ago! Since then, my mom duties ruled over all artistic endeavors and the most artsy thing I've done is stare at this painting as it dried propped up on my piano. For me, this was torture. Each day that went by, I saw more and more little places that could be tweaked and finally - enough was enough. I put it back on the easel and went back to work.

Did I mention that I just despise re-working a "finished" painting? Well, I do. I have a short attention span. I get bored easily. I don't like piddling around. I use these reasons to excuse myself from working back into a dry painting. Today, as with all other blog posts I write, I write to remind myself of what I've learned. And today I've learned that re-working a painting can be...(yes, I will admit it)...productive, if not fun.

Originally, I really loved the painting. Posted it immediately to Facebook. Dreamed about it. Kissed it goodnight. But as the days grew into weeks, I began to obsess about areas of the painting that could be better.

Here is the painting as it stood on the easel (or the piano) after the first session:

Here is the painting after a brief "tweaking" session:

"Backyard Chickens"
12" x 20" ~ Oil on Belgian Linen

I thought it would be interesting to note the changes I made and why...

- I softened some of the choppy color notes in the upper left hand corner to help that complex area recede into the background more and push the little red hen forward.

- I brightened up the leghorn flapping her wings in the distance by giving her comb one more drop of bright red and a pale blue highlight on her back.

- I lightened the darkest values in the tree in the upper right corner and warmed the shadows to help it seem further away and more sun soaked.

- I dry brushed a lot of lime green into the grass which seemed to pull the ground together and gave it more illusion of depth. Also, I hinted at the shadow in the grass that our little red hen was certainly casting in the morning sunlight.

- I warmed up the two white chickens in the foreground just a little.

- I minimized that intrusive highlight on the breast of our curious red hen in front.

- Lastly - and most importantly - I completely repainted the white hen on the far right. THIS was the area of the painting that was really driving me crazy! The first version seemed to lack magic. Though she was purposefully placed on the edge of the composition, I still didn't like this chicken looking like an afterthought. She needed solidity and she needed some personality!

"Backyard Chickens" before and after detail

I am so happy I did it! This is yet another example in my art-life of how my perceived weaknesses can really be my strengths. In this case, my "weakness" was my lack of time to devote to painting. This lack of time became my strength as it allowed me to slow down a little and do some analysis of a painting which had the potential to be better. Had I just bulldozed right on to the next project (and the next and the next), I'd have forgotten all about les poulets and framed them up as they were.

Do the models approve?

 

I think they do.

The Great Outdoors - Lesson 2

It's been a while since I wrote TGO, Lesson 1. Obviously, I am out painting in the summer sun and not inside writing down what I've learned. OK, OK...That's not true. Truth is, I'm not painting much at all this summer because I'm too busy being a mom. I have been doing a fair amount of gardening along with wild berry picking and canning. My summer yield has been lots and lots of fresh, homegrown produce, but very few plein air paintings. Poo.

I have been out painting a few times and I have been reading a wonderful book by John F. Carlson entitled, Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting. It was recommended to me by the great artist Phil Starke, and then gifted to me by my dear friend and fellow artist, Paulette Kucera.

The Four Planes

This little article is a summary of Carlson's thoughts on the four planes in an ordinary landscape. He stresses that this is not a formula, nor a rule, but a guideline for practical application under usual outdoor painting circumstances. I have discovered that the knowledge of this little idea of the four planes has helped me tremendously! So here I share with you...

1) The sky plane: the lightest plane in value, even lighter in value on an overcast day than on a clear day

2) The flat plane: the ground, second lightest in value, a mid value range of color generally more yellow than the upright planes 

3) The upright plane: trees and bushes receiving the least amount of light and representing the darkest values 

4) The slanted plane: hills and mountains lighter than the upright planes and cooler in color temperature than the flat planes

Carlson emphasizes that each plane should be quickly blocked in at the beginning of a plein air painting and once the masses have been painted correctly, then they should be broken up with color variation and details that do not disrupt the basic values of each shape.

Big Horns Sketch ~ 6" x 8" ~ Oil

In this plein air painting, I think I broke up the upright plane (the tree) with too many light values. To the novice outdoor painter (me), highlights on leaves tend to read more intense at first glance than they really are. This tree would appear more accurate if I had painted none of the highlights and simply left the darker green massed in with no detail. Also, the little sliver of foreground, the flat plane, should have been painted with more intense color and a slightly darker value than the middle section of the painting which also represents a flat plane. These tweaks would have delivered more depth to this sketch. Other than that, I like it.

Big Horns Sketch ~ 6" x 4" ~ Oil

I really liked this tiny painting. It was fun to do. I tried to paint each plane with one or two big brush strokes just for fun. I restrained my tendency to break up each plane with too many details. One thing that would have made this painting have more accurate depth is to have painted the upright planes (the trees and bushes) a more intense green and darker in value than the distant mountains.

Big Horns Sketch ~ 10" x 10" ~ Oil

This painting was a real challenge (sorry for the blurry photo). Each plane of the rolling hills presented a slight color and value shift. The sliver of foreground at the bottom was a field of mint colored grasses and although I painted it with accuracy, I should have used my brains and pushed it lighter in value and more yellow in color. That would have helped the depth of field read better. Also, again I broke up the mass of the tree with too many lighter values, therefore disrupting the upright plane a little. Overall, I was pleased with my attempt and I think I might repaint this one larger this winter when I am stuck inside.

Of note, not all outdoor compositions include all four planes. In fact, removing one or two planes can be very effective. In my painting, Piney Creek Dreaming, only the flat and upright planes are depicted. Also, this painting displays a variation in the generality of the upright planes being darkest in value. Those beautiful quaking aspens really glow against the muted greens surrounding them.

"Piney Creek Dreaming"
20" x 24" ~ Oil on canvas

In the next TGO article, I will write about painting en plein air using just three colors plus white. This tip was taught to me by Phil Starke and it has been a lifesaver in the field. Stay tuned!