A working artist/ Studio Channel Islands Art Center

Today's "sitting area"

Anyone who has read this blog knows just how much I love what I do.  I'm one of those fortunate people who has a job that doesn't feel like work. (Well, it does actually, but I love it too much to care.)  I have long hours and cyclical business cycles.  But...I get to paint, teach, connect with people, and work in a place that is pretty perfect for me. The campus where I work http://studiochannelislandsartcenter.org has forty professional artists who work in various media.  

Working/ Class area

I can take a break and visit the worldwide rep for the Ansel Adams Gallery, a potter who exhibits with LACMA, nationally known weavers and other exceptional California artists.  Today I got an art history lesson from one of our board members who took the time to bring in his first editions of books by Paul Klee.   Basically it's a vibrant, working campus where true professionals are plying their trade; an amazing place for inspiration and a pursuit of excellence in the creative field of fine art. Come visit if you're in the area!

Process

When I paint I enjoy the journey I take.  I will usually have some kind of concept or vague image in mind when I start a piece.  As I move forward that image evolves and usually clarifies itself.  This painting has been evolving since January.  I posted my start on January 15.  It's only now beginning to feel finished!

Tempest, I thought I'd finished
it here...Ha!

It's a confusing piece that reminded me of a cove I visited on Anacapa Island last fall with a friend.  It was beautiful and felt very remote from the boat that was moored below the lighthouse.  The sea lions and the green of the algae on the rocks were amazing.  We ended up in a surge of water that began to pull us in towards the cliffs.  I really didn't know what was going on and was glad to be in a kayak with someone who knew what he was doing. We left quickly.  I don't think the front end touched the water until we got back around the rock. I'm glad I didn't understand what was going on...I'm also glad I was able to go there.

This piece has been interesting because it fascinates me and continues to draw me in...I can't stop messing around with it.  When I finally finished (see Tempest) I put it to the side in the studio where I could live with it for a little while before mounting and sealing it.  I've developed that process to the point where I feel very comfortable with it.  Ha!  I'm really glad I continued what I was doing because there was more to learn.

Obfuscation

After I put a few more layers of matte medium than I usually do and ended up with a nice even finish that should have protected the piece I discovered a potential disaster.  The medium lifted just a touch near the edge of the paper where it was mounted on the masonite.  When I tried to re-glue it I ended up with a mess that I had to pull apart.  I ended up with a piece I call Obfuscation. It just needs a small amount of bright color to make it work.

Below you'll see the beginnings of another piece.  The film that came off of "Tempest" is hung over  an architectural rendering of a lamp and a frieze I designed years ago.  I'm playing with layers and this looks amazing backlit.  I'm not sure where that will go but...It would never have happened without the "mistake" I made sealing the first painting.

The film layered over other renderings

Backlit layers

Frieze detail

Detail of lamp rendering

Yupo instructions

The Painted Cave, 20"x20" Watercolor on Yupo

Working with Yupo

All of the information in this article is copyright protected and is the intellectual property of Mary-Gail King, Inc.  It may only be distributed with the author's permission.

Yupo is a synthetic paper made of plastic.  The surface is impermeable to water so watercolors float on top of the paper.  As the water dries the pigment adheres to the surface.  Because it will reactivate if it gets wet I recommend sealing with matte medium to protect your painting.  Using this material helps you create intensely colored, loose and textural work.  I find these qualities emphasize what I focus on in my paintings.  It allows me to express an emotional  and painterly quality that is essential to my work.

 

Very opaque paints can be used to  supplement your regular transparent watercolor palette.  You can add Titanium White to your palette to help paints become more opaque.  I’ve discovered that these paints along with other “heavy” paints like the cadmiums and cobalt will stay in place better on the paper than transparent colors.  Just remember not to over mix these.  They will go muddy just as they do when painting on traditional paper.  

The transparent colors tend to travel and create beautiful watery patterns that I integrate into my paintings.  

I also use alcohol and water to manipulate the paint once it’s on the paper.  These along with an assortment of very soft brushes are my painting tools.  Once I get the painting to a place where I’m fairly happy with the abstract quality of the design I work on more definition with Prismacolor pencils and watercolor crayons.  Then I seal the painting with a spray matte medium.  Finally I seal and sometimes mount the finished piece to a backing board such as masonite, board or gatorboard.

Materials:  

Yupo either 140 lb. or 300 lb.

Regular brushes and soft brushes (for burnishing)

Alcohol

Spray bottles with water 

Spray bottles with alcohol

Spray bottles with a mixture of red/ blue and yellow watercolor to tone specific areas of your painting

Droppers with alcohol for taking the paper back to white and for creating unusual effects

Prismacolor Pencils

Watercolor Crayons

Spray Matte Medium

Liquid Matte Medium

Brayers and Rollers

Printing press if available

Printmaking paper to lift paint and create monotypes if desired

Rice paper

Mounting board made of Masonite, wood backing or gatorboard

Your regular watercolor palette

Supplement that palette with:

Cotman cerulean blue

Holbein:  Shell Pink, Compose Green (#1, 2 & or 3) 

Any brand of Naples Yellow, Titanium White

I especially like Indigo as a starting base for intense darks

Viridian Wave, Watercolor on Yupo

Watercolor and  Mixed Media Classes

Join Studio Channel Islands Art Center instructor Mary-Gail King to learn more about painting with watercolor on Yupo.  Classes are held at Studio Channel Islands Art Center, 2222 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, CA in Studio A-2. Contact Mary-Gail to schedule a workshop or demonstration for your art organization.

Yupo and Watercolor Classes at Studio Channel Islands are $100 for 4 classes and run continuously.  The Yupo Workshop is $95. 

Beginning/ Intermediate Watercolor:  Tuesday morning classes 9-12 AM

Yupo Classes: Thursdays 7-10PM 

____________________________________

Please return this registration form to: Mary-Gail King, 79 Daily Drive, Box 186, Camarillo, CA 93010.  Contact me at: mgking@mac.com or 805/ 217-9539

You may view my work at www.mgkingdesigns.com and my blog at www.marygailking.blogspot.com

Name:

Address:

email (most important!):

cell phone:  

I’d like to sign up for:

Tuesday morning watercolor  ______

Thursday Yupo class  ____________

Workshop on August 20 from 9-1:30 ($95 includes yupo and use of some specialty materials.  Other materials list available upon registration.)  ______

Please return this registration form to: Mary-Gail King, 79 Daily Drive, Box 186, Camarillo, CA 93010 or ontact me at: mgking@mac.com or 805/ 217-9539

You may view my work at www.mgkingdesigns.com and my blog at www.marygailking.blogspot.com

Name:

Address:

email (most important!):

cell phone:  

Amount enclosed:

You may use check, cash or credit/ debit.  Please call if you want to pay with cash or a card and we can do that in a secure manner.  Please contact me  before your first class so you can be ready to paint at your first class.  Thanks!  Mary-Gail

Whew

Milky Way Over San Miguel Island, watercolor 9"x 9"

I haven't posted in a while.  It's not because I'm lazy. Anyone who knows me would laugh at that suggestion!  I've been painting and working on the business aspects of my art business.  One of the things I've caught up with is my web site.  There's more I want to add but here's what I have right now.  Enjoy!
www.mgkingdesigns.com

Thanks and enjoy!

Guerilla Art

We have a  couple of "underground" artists here at the studios who just put up this awesome photo. There's a parking lot out back that was the old playground here filled with basketball poles that used to have goals :) A few of them still have their backstops.  Now one of them is extra special.  Thanks Carol and Rich!  Check out the inspiring link.  http://vimeo.com/20543283

Guerilla Art, Inside Out Project

A New Path and Planning Ahead...This is Big

I took a walk this morning.  I could have taken some more photos or a sketchbook or any number of things with me but a good old-fashioned walk was perfect.  Gotta love my Iphone aps.  I clocked myself for just over two miles at 3.2 mph.  So it was an amble more than a walk...I did take a detour or two and made plans to come back to the woods with boots, jeans, deet and sunscreen to explore.  (I'm big on preparation.  I'm not taking a snakebite kit but I will have my phone:)  I'm also bringing a pocket kit of paints.  There are TONS of subjects.  It rained for the second evening in a row so there are more wildflowers than usual blooming right now and the hills will get jungly soon.  

I'm also having a great time getting ready for my new classes.  Intro to Yupo starts tomorrow.  I don't expect a big response right away but I'm on the calendar now.  My design class on setting up a creative space is going to be wonderful.  I did a little bit of research at Barnes and Noble and plan on delving into my design library for ideas.  I'd like to get photos of some friends' studios as well.  It may take a while to get everything I envision together for this first class but it's going to be great.  

Like a spring garden I feel nurtured and ready for growth.  Expect great things!  

It's already evolved or an exploration in shape and color

I've been getting settled in my new home for a while now and am finally at the point where there's more I'd like to do but none of it is necessary.  I just need to live there.

So,  back to the paint.  I'm painting in watercolor on Yupo here.  Yupo is a plastic paper I specialize in.  More on that at the end of the blog if you're interested.  

Red Coral, WC on Yupo, 36x36

Photoshop version of red coral

The piece you see here is just a second layer.  This is the largest painting I've tackled in a while.  It's 36" x 36"  which will be fun if it doesn't exhaust me.  I've forgotten how much harder it is to work all over on a piece this large.  I may have mentioned this before but I like to work organically as I paint.  I pour and manipulate the paper as the image I envision emerges on the paper or canvas.  This piece is no different.  

I've played with a photo of the painting  a little on Photoshop and love what one of the filters does to it.  It exaggerates and intensifies the hue and values.  It isn't possible to make the painting look like this because the paint lifts and moves every time I touch it.  So this beautiful photo is only the idea of a painting.  It may never exist except as my  idea and a digital image.  It will be part of my inspiration as I continue.

Here's another piece I'm working on in oil.  I started this one about a month ago en plein air and have been working on it in the studio off and on since.  It has hours and hours of work painted in and I'm still not satisfied.  To me the textures throughout the painting are too uniform.  The door doesn't have a handle yet either.  Maybe once I get that handle on it will resolve itself.  Hmmm

One of the things I find fascinating about how I work is that for some reason I seem to depict the same shapes/ textures and forms as I move through painting images.  I explore different imagery in different mediums and still seem to be depicting the same abstract ideas. Reduce the blog here and look at the thumbnails of the paintings and you'll see what I'm talking about.  Any input on that one?  Another hmmm

A Green Door in Old Town, oil on canvas 9x12

Now, on those classes.  I'm teaching at Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Old Town Camarillo.  I have a beautiful, spacious studio designed for painting and study!  Here's the schedule:

Tuesday 9-12 AM Basic/ Intermediate Watercolor  $100/ 4 classes

    I cover basic materials, painting techniques, color theory and design.  You'll start painting on your first day.

Thursday 7-10 Introduction to Yupo  $100/ 4 classes

  I cover the same things I do in watercolor but focus on the unique qualities of Yupo.

May 31, June 7, June 14 from 7-9 Design Seminar on Setting up a Creative Space  $120 Three week seminar

   Put aside three weeks of time and follow the suggestions we cover in the seminar and you'll have your own space set up in no time.  We'll brainstorm, journal, create idea boards and finally come up with a step by step plan to make your dream a reality.

I have one last note.  Look at my February 12 post.  California Springtime or Roses in Winter recently won honorable mention in the May Exhibit at the Studio Channel Islands Art Center Gallery.