Daniel - Scottsdale Artists School Model

One of the trios I love to make when I visit the Scottsdale area, in addition to the many and varied galleries of course, is to the Scottsdale Artists School open studio. They have one on Friday, Saturday and Monday evening. You need to arrive early to get a good spot, which is why my friend and I were lined up at the door waiting for the doors to open at 8:30 am on a Friday morning. We weren't the first ones there, but we did manage to procure spaces in the front row for the five hour session.

The model whose name was Daniel, arrived. He was a long-legged young man with melancholy eyes. He wore a nice suit and struck an interesting pose--and how lucky I was in my choice of easels because he was staring right at me. The props were sweet too: a trunk and a couple of suitcases, which made me think of a train station, and that's why I added "SORTIE", or 'exit' in French, to the wall when I was finished. They do a nice job with their model setups, which is why they were lined up at the door I suppose.

So the title is a bit ambiguous. Is he leaving someone or something, or is he just waiting for a train?

Sortie

12" x 16"

Painting the Nude Alla Prima

I painted this nude during my class with Romel de la Torre at Scottsdale Artists School on the fourth and fifth day of class. It was a challenge to me because I never get the opportunity to paint or draw the figure from life for an extended period. I have attended a few life drawing sessions but they are nothing like rendering in paint. So much goes into the painting process that must be planned and thought about, whereas a drawing is flexible and easily adjusted.

Our beautiful model really liked my painting. She kept posting pictures of the face on her Instagram feed and then she contacted me after I came home about purchasing it.

22" x 18" oil on linen

Romel De la Torre Workshop

I wish I could have stayed in the sunny 80 degree weather a bit longer but I am back from my annual trip to Arizona. I try to take a workshop every year at the Scottsdale Artists School, They have the largest selection of classes that I am aware of and they are taught by the best painting and sculpture instructors.

This year I took a figure and portrait class with Romel de la Torre, whose work can be seen here. He is an excellent oil painter who spent a lot of time talking about technique, color temperature and brush strokes. It was a fun class.

It was recommended for the class, so I purchased a roll of Utrecht Double Oil Primed Belgian Linen Roll, Type 820, Smooth Texture and I did not realize until I was in class that there was a long thread embedded in the primer. It is currently on sale here and although I got it for a good price I was not expecting that kind of low quality from an oil primed linen. I didn't really notice until I started painting and by then it was too late.
Oh well, it was just a study. This is the one and only picture of my painting of the man we painted the first day. I chopped it up and used the remnants for some plein air paintings.

abt. 20" x 16"

The thread running through the middle of the canvas. sigh

 Here is the instructor, Romel de la Torre, with his finished painting.

A Provocative Pose

We drove down to Scottsdale on the Friday before I came home to attend an open studio at the Scottsdale Artists School that lasted five hours. Three hours in the morning and another two after lunch. We had free tickets for the model session, which normally costs $15.00 for the entire day.

It was very crowded in the morning but most of the locals didn't come back after lunch so we had more freedom to move around. There was a lot of discussion about how best to set up the light in the morning. With so many people packed into the room it was not easy to find a place that didn't shine the light in an artist's eyes. Somehow they came up with a 'lit from below' design, which gave the woman an almost malevolent gaze. The lighting, in combination with the tight red dress and the riding whip really created atmosphere. I loved the opportunity to actually finish a painting in one session and it was interesting to try the blue underpainting I worked with in Nancy's workshop. I was a little surprised when I finished and looked around. No one else had even tried to get her entire figure on the canvas --some people had even left the riding crop completely out.

I'm pretty sure no one from the Hyter Group back home would have missed the chance to paint the entire figure. We relish our costumed models.

I call her "The Dominatrix"

16" x 2o" oil on canvas