Saturday, December 27, 2014

Summer 2014


Just finished this oil Christmas present.  It was shown to the owner, but I needed to do some adjusting to the figure and brought out more of the sand area in for foreground.

24"x 48" Oil on stretched canvas
Here's the finished piece. The model?.....my Grandson Nevan!  He spent several weeks in Florida with his Grandpa Tom this past Summer.  A real treat to experience the ocean.

Friday, December 26, 2014

A Father's Love

15.5"x 22"  Soft Pastel on Wallis paper

Here's a bond that is sooooooo precious!  When my daughter shared with me the photo taken of Clint and my new grandson Aden, I knew right away that I wanted to paint this moment using pastels.

Aden is only a few days old here.  I'm pretty sure this picture was taken while they were still at the hospital.....probably getting ready to go home.  He's 7 months old now and just a bundle of Joy!

I've been blessed with kids that embrace the electronic age......have GREAT camera/phones and get that "kodak" moment when I'm not around.  Thankfully, then share them either on Facebook or by gifting me with photobooks.  I'm a happy camper :D

Thursday, December 25, 2014

"Phoebe"

click image to enlarge

Oil - 48"x 24"

I really had fun with this piece.  Colors are actually brighter then what is shown here.  This was the best I could do with the photo I took before delivering this to my son & daughter-in-law tonight.  I applied the last few strokes of paint this afternoon.  Talk about a last minute Christmas gift. (it was actually started  a month ago.)

Just for a change, I decided to not cover the entire area of toned canvas and let it be the "background" in this work.  The only exception was to add a few strokes showing the shadow play on the sidewalk where Phoebe was standing.  I intentionally left detail out of her hands, dress, and feet as well.   I guess this would be called....a "sketch" instead of a finished painting.



Wednesday, December 3, 2014

'tis the season.......


Here are 4 individual 3"x3" stretched canvases painted with acrylics.  It seems every year I create mini paintings by either using oils or acrylics and give as gifts or sell as stocking stuffers.

I have a collection of snowmen and they've been my models over and over the past 2 years.  
This year, I've added magnet strips to the back of these paintings.  New title.."Refrigerator Art"!
Enjoy!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Painting at the Parlor Art Studio


Here's an overview of how the studio looked today while Jessica, Connie, and I painted at the Herman Greef House.  This is the parlor room transformed! 
The paintings on the walls are original to the home.  The girl portrait was a recent donation to the Bentonsport Improvement Association and is of a family member of the last postmaster of Bentonsport.  

The studio is a "work-in-progress" in that easels will change and I'm building a small platform to put the winged back chair on for days we have a model to sit for us.  The platform will be something easy to dismantle for storage when not in use.

For workshop/classes where we all do a small still life study, I'll have a folding 6ft. table that can be set up in the center of the room.  This should allow for up to 5 people to sit and work comfortably on projects.

Here's the first oil study for the day......and.......


here's the second oil I worked on this afternoon.
Practice! Practice! Practice!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

"Ripe, Ready to Eat!"


Here's the set up.......


Here's the finished piece on the easel.  Sorry.....I didn't take pictures at different stages this time.


finished painting..... Oil on 12x12 Gallery stretched Canvas.

No painting today :(  I have to make a delivery trip with my daughter to the northern part of the state.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.  I'm ready to finish several projects that have been lingering for a month now.  All work and no play......but wait......I LOVE what I do for work :D.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Ah.....another Pear painting/

6x6 soft pastel on primed board.

I can't help it....I paint pears when I don't have time to paint anything else.  I love the shape, the shadow casts.....what can I say.

I have noticed....I'm craving "brighter" stronger hue in my work.  I don't know if that's the influence of the beautiful fall we've had this year in Southern Iowa,  time of year or what.  My daughter says it's because my eyes are changing.  Hmmmmmm ...food for thought I guess!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Ah....Pretty with pinks

6x6 oil on gessoed board

I think I have one more painting that will continue to immortalize this apple. (He's posed for 3 small oils so far.)

I've joined 2 pears with this fellow.  The colors look rich......now......let's see if I can get them painted before taking a bite out of my still life. Hmmmmmmm, I know that would make an interesting composition as well.  Oh the choices!

Sunday, October 26, 2014

John Preston's Plein Air Workshop


Yesterday I was a student at the Villages Folk School Plein Air workshop hosted by artist John Preston.  He is truly a MASTER of Oil  and Pastel painting.. 

There were 7 of us in attendance and the weather was FANTASTIC for painting outdoors. The photo here shows John giving a demo on the Iron Bridge crossing the Des Moines river from Bentonsport to Vernon, IA.  We ended up painting along the bank of the river and the rose garden in Bentonsport.

I posted a picture album on my facebook page .  Click the link here Gin Lammert Fine Art  or the button to the side to view the workshop album.
Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

New studio space!


This will be a new studio space for me beginning next month.  The owners of this historic home have graciously said YES to letting me use the parlor area as a working/teaching space.  I plan to work here on Wednesdays.  Saturdays it will either be open to the public or my drawing/pastel painting workshops through the Villages Folk School will be held here.

This room is what  I used as a "gallery" area during the SE Iowa Studio Tour last weekend.  The  furniture  will be moved to the "Main room" so I may put up easels and work stations for students.

The advantage of this for both myself and the owners is, this room has doors so it can be shut off from the rest of the home if need be.  There are times when other people like to use the main room for meetings or family members can use it for an overnight stay.

More details later....................  I'll post pics of the transformation.  Keep watching :D

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Last of a Bushel

Here's the setup.....strong light source makes Great shadows!
Laying out placement of my subject on the toned canvas.
Blocking in color ....focused on my value range.
Here's the finished work.
Oil on 12"x12" stretched canvas

The title "Last of a Bushel" came from just that....this was the last apple of a full 5 gallon bucket of ripe red jewels gifted to us.  I canned them by mixing them with Bartlett Pears....made a puree and placed in quart jars.  Better then store bought Applesauce...and NO ADDED SUGAR! 
YUM!

Saturday, October 18, 2014

SE Iowa Studio Tour this weekend

Street sign so everyone can find me :D
This is the Herman Greef House.  Built in the early 1800's, it's one of the oldest brick homes in the community of Bentonsport, IA
Here's the view when walking in the front door.  For this weekend, I've transformed the main room and parlor of the home into Studio/Gallery space.  
To the right of the front door is this view of the parlor area./ gallery and reading area.  
A BIG Thanks goes out to my artist friend, Deb Baughman, for allowing me to use her ProPanels for the weekend.
Now, here's a view from the parlor area looking into the main room.  Next we'll go around the corner to see the goodies on the kitchen island.


And.....last, but not least, a few fun Christmas Tree ornaments I worked on today.  Tomorrow I'll have my oil paints out so I can work on a 12x12 canvas for the  Fairfield Art Association show that will open November 7th.

The SE Iowa Studio Tour will continue tomorrow (Sunday) 12noon to 4pm.  Come and see me!

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Something Different

I just created a NEW  gallery page on  my website www.ginlammert.com . Below are a few images that are under the title:  "Simple Designs".





Friday, August 15, 2014

The making of this years wine poster

 ~click images to enlarge~
Above is the beginning  layout on the Wallis paper.  This is actually step 2 of when I start a work like this.  1st step : drawing out the design on either drawing paper, or poster paper........ reworking everything to come up with the exact line work I want, then  turning the sketched paper into a carbon.  This is done by taking pastel and rubbing it all over the back of the drawing.  Then, carefully lay it over the Wallis paper, go over the line work and "Ta Da"......the end result as you see above.

I like the spontaneity of brush and line work applied in a painterly light stroke when starting a work.  When there is need for me to be tight with line work,  I prefer to use the above method of starting a painting.  This way, I don't fill the tooth of the paper with working out the elements of the composition. 
 Now the fun part begins............
Step 3 :  Blocking in color and balancing the light values with the dark ones.  The color of the paper remains in the middle value range.
 Step 4 :  continue refining line work and blocking in color......
Step 5:  The finished piece!  Here I study what I've completed.  I look at the overall  "balance" of lights and darks / cool and warm color and make changes if necessary.

"2014 Iowa Nouveau Wine"  24"x18" Soft Pastel on Wallis paper.
The owner of Tassel Ridge was pleased with the finished work.   I feel this is a sophisticated version of Art Nouveau style.  I've been told it feels more "Modern".

Poster reproductions of this work will be available in November.  I will be at the winery signing them on November 20th.  The signed poster is "Free" with purchase of a bottle of 2014 IA Nouveau wine. 

I'll re-post the final image in November with detailed announcement of the winery's IA Nouveau wine celebration.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Raku Still life

~click on images to enlarge~
Here's the set up for the following 8"x8" pastel.  These lovely pots were fired during Betty Printy's last Raku workshop, May 2014.  I've added the silk flower Irises for added interest.

Here's my initial sketch  for the composition and establishing my lights and darks. I've used matboard as support and applied AS Colourfix multi-media primer to the surface.


.....and here's the finished work.  Pastel - 8"x8"
I like the play of brush strokes left on the surface when I apply the primer. Layering the pastels creates an interesting texture.  I've smudged a few places, but overall, I like the look and color play of the layers overlapping each other.

Most of the pastel sticks I used for this work came from my student box of Dick Blick Pastels.  They are Semi-soft....much like the Rembrandt brand.  I couldn't find an exact match for the purple in the Irises....so playing with other colors made them "Pop" with life.  

Here I'm practicing what I preach to my students.......if you can't "match" the color you see in front of you, don't be afraid to use a color that comes close to what you want.  As long as it's in the right value range and you pay attention to Warms/Cools of a color, it will work out.

.......and YES......the Raku pots have these colors in them.  That's what drew me to them in the first place.  

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Lace Utensil Still life

~click on images to enlarge~
Here's the set up
First stage....developing the composition on the board, spilling over onto frame.
Starting to block in color
Finished Painting!

Oil on framed board, 8.25"x8.25" (outside dimension of frame)

I love spilling over on to the frame when painting with Oils.  Changes the feel of a piece.....a picture within a picture so to speak.  It's easy to tell my light source here is from above.  The camera just doesn't give this piece justice.  Looks much better in life.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

View of Iron Bridge

~click on image to enlarge~
Here's a view of the easel area at Iron & Lace in Bentonsport, IA.  I've had this 10x8 canvas on the easel for a week.  Most the time I can finish this size of work during one day.  I've been in total procrastination mode.
Here's the view (cropped and brought up close from what can actually be seen ) looking out the picture window to my left when standing at the easel.

Here's the work in progress.  I forgot to take a picture when it was just the value sketch.  There is still a bit you can see on the right side of the painting.  Yes...a LOT of red.  I like using Cad. Red Light for the undertone in a landscape work.  Time of day is mid afternoon......say around 2:30pm Central time.  
"Iron Bridge across the Des Moines River"  10"x8" Oil on Canvas board

Watching the shadow cast from the bridge onto the water is almost like a Sun Dial. The lights and darks create interesting abstract patterns that dance across the area around the rock monument.  

This scene is part of the Riverside Park in Bentonsport.  To the left is a Gazebo where performers come to sing and dance. To the right....the fabulous Rose Garden area where many come to exchange vows of marriage or family photo shoots.

Can you tell.....this is generally a very peaceful place. The river can be ugly with water over the top of the bank or serene and so shallow, one can walk the length across it without getting your knees wet.  

Monday, June 9, 2014

Drawing Class Sat., June 14th

students creating value scale during a VFS class

I have 2 Drawing classes set for this Sat., June 14th to be held at the Stone House in Bentonsport, IA.  These classes are offered through the Villages Folk School of Van Buren County, Iowa.

Drawing I will be held in the morning.  It's designed for those individuals that feel they can't draw but want to learn the basics of how to translate what they see to paper.
Drawing II is during the afternoon and will consist of warm up exercises followed by time to create a finished detailed drawing.  

Students have the option to attend one or both classes and may work from either  the still life set up created that day, or from photos they bring to class.  
.......about the location.......
The Stone House is the newest addition of space available in Bentonsport Iowa.  It is handicap accessible and is centrally located in the community. (On the main hwy of J40 - directly North of the Business District).

You may register for these classes in advance via the folk school website or call the number they offer on their website.  Third option is to pay the day of the workshop.  For more information, please contact me either by email: ginlammert@yahoo.com or my cell 641-208-5968.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The finished work...."The Demo"

Here's a view of the painting on my easel with the photo reference.

Checking values here.....

~click on images to enlarge~
23"x 17"  Pastel on Wallis paper.

I love that I'm able to get some candid camera shots when Bill Printy is giving demonstrations at Iron & Lace. This particular day he was working at his outdoor forge, creating a metal leaf in front of a group of 3rd & 4th graders.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Easel work space at Iron & Lace store

~click image to enlarge~

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post.
I've been working the past week on this painting at the Printy's store "Iron & Lace".  It could've been done long before now and I'll continue working on it today.  The shirt and hands area aren't finished yet.

The view out the window is the front porch of the store.  To my left, a large picture window that has a spectacular view of the Des Moines river.  Betty's Raku pottery is highlighted in this area. (the rabbit here).

I have endless inspiration for paintings around me.  Bill Printy (here- the Blacksmith) provides plenty of opportunities to watch him work at his craft.  The photo I'm using as reference for this pastel was taken last year while he was demonstrating for a group of Elem. school kids.