The Passing of a Legend

On April 18, 2021, the art world lost a modern legend, Richard Schmid. Richard Schmid was and will always be an artist that I look up to and one that I have learned a great deal about art and how to paint. I have almost all of his books and DVDs, and I refer to them often, their pages well-worn and many sections streaked with yellow highlights. Now as an art instructor, I often turn to them for inspiration for art instruction. Some of you may have seen some of his work, heard me talk about him or read about him in my past art emails.

My admiration for Richard Schmid goes back several years when I was just beginning to look for alternative art education. In 2007, I was searching the Internet for artists who were hosting workshops in the New England area and came across an artist named Albert Handel. I loved his style, which was modern impressionistic, and I wanted to learn his methods. He worked both with oils and pastels, and his paintings would sing with color in a relaxed manner that belied years of practice. 

I saw that he and Anita West were going to do a five-day workshop in Putney, Vermont at the Village Arts of Putney, a reclaimed New England barn turned art studio, so I decided to sign up for it. The first four days were spent at the barn and on location with Handel and West with demonstrations and plein air painting. I was in heaven! On the last day, we were all treated to an indoor still life demonstration by both Handel and the secret bonus artist: Richard Schmid. I had heard of Richard Schmid, read a lot about him and loved his work, but my painting studies came a little late and I missed being able to take instruction from him.

 Nancy, Anita, and Albert.

I couldn’t believe my luck when they told us that he and his wife Nancy, who is also a fabulous artist, would be there that day. He and Albert painted, each from their own angle, and the class took up positions behind them and watched in awe as both of them turned out terrific paintings, each in their own style, in less than four hours. Richard spoke about his love of his craft, intertwining serious thoughts about art with delightful jokes as he worked, but Albert was mostly quiet and took Richard’s occasional ribbing with graceful ease. They were lifelong friends, so as he worked, Richard regaled us with wonderful stories of their adventures painting together.

 Richard painting a floral still life.

Albert's pastel rendering.

I consider myself very lucky to have met Richard and be in his presence as he constructed another masterpiece in front of a enthralled group of students. From my notes of that day: “But the best part was meeting Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik, and getting to watch Richard paint-what a treat!” and, “When Richard painted, all of his strokes were deliberate. He never repainted over an area, and he thought out every stroke.” As you can tell, I was captivated by his methods. I was also entranced by Albert’s pastel rendering, which was so deceptively casual and bursting with color.

Village Arts of Putney

At the end of the session, Richard, Nancy and Albert answered questions and signed books and prints. I bought two beautiful prints, one of Nancy’s and one of Richard’s, and a signed copy of Richard’s first book, Alla Prima, Everything I Know About Painting.

In 2008, I drove up to Putney, Vermont on Saturdays to take classes at the Village Arts of Putney with one of Richard’s students, Jack Keledjian. It was a fun place to gather with like-minded artists and to share our thoughts on art and painting, and it’s a memory that I will always treasure.

Additional reading: Richard Schmid

“Each one of us is here to make this world a better place through our art. What you create is important and who you are is to be treasured, and that together we can fill this world with beauty and make it a better place for all.”                                                                                        -           Nancy Guzik

“The most enjoyable experience for me is still plein air painting … and its natural companion, alla prima (painting from life),” writes Schmid. “What could be more exhilarating than getting out under a great sky and feeling a fresh breeze while I paint the delights of nature? Painting on the spot from life is the method I learned from the start of my training, and the one I regard as the most challenging and therefore most rewarding.”                                                                              - Richard Schmid

Two-Point Perspective

Recently, I presented an example of one-point perspective that uses one vanishing point. This week, I’d like to talk about another type of perspective in the Linear Perspective group, the two-point perspective. Two-point perspective is mostly evident in street and building scenes, as well as interiors. However, whenever there is a need to project depth and dimension, you will find that understanding two-point perspective will help in sizing and drawing all of your subjects.

The “two point” in a two-point perspective grid is referring to two different vanishing “points,” where each becomes an anchor that we use create a 3D object on a 2D plane (your canvas or paper).

Typically, these two points are at the opposite sides of the composition, with one on the far left and another on the far right.

Create a Two-Point Perspective Box or Building

To create a two-point perspective box or building, draw a straight line on a sheet of paper. This will be your horizon line or sight line. Place two points at opposite sides on the line.

Now, draw a line where the corner of your box or building will be in relation to the horizon line.

Connect the top and bottom of the corner line to both vanishing points.

Draw more lines that begin at the vanishing points and end at the lines that connect the corner line.

Draw perpendicular lines to finish the outlines of your box or building.

You can use this method to draw street scenes, such as this one. In this case, the vanishing points are off to the right and left of the scene, the horizon line cutting through the building horizontally.

“Perspective is to painting what the bridle is to the horse, the rudder to a ship.”

-Leonardo da Vinci

More on Perspective

Last week I wrote about how, with linear perspective, an object appears to diminish in size as the distance from the viewer increases. Linear perspective is a way to create an illusion of spatial depth in your artwork. It enables you to replicate a 3-D object on a 2-D canvas or drawing surface.

There are three types of linear perspective drawing: one-point perspective, two-point perspective, and three-point perspective.

One-Point Perspective

One-point perspective is a type of drawing created on a 2D plane that uses one point in the distance (the vanishing point) from which everything in the drawing is set out.

One of the best illustrations of single-point perspective is to imagine that you’re looking at a straight road. All of the elements of the composition—particularly the road itself—will converge at a single point on the horizon line.

Single-point perspective can be at any point along the horizon line; the only stipulation is that all lines lead to the solitary point.

 “Art happens-no hovel is safe from it, no prince can depend on it, the vastest intelligence cannot bring it about.”

-James Abbott McNeil Whistler

The Horizon Line and Linear Perspective

 Linear perspective is a method of representing space in which the scale of an object diminishes as the distance from the viewer increases. Essentially, objects that are farther away from us appear smaller than those that are near. 

A horizon line is the intersection of where the ground or body of water meets the sky. The point at which diminishing directional lines meet on a horizon line is called the vanishing point. A city street is a great example of linear perspective. 

On this photo, you can take a ruler and run a line along both sides of the sidewalk into the distance to where they converge. The red dot in the second picture represents the sidewalk vanishing point on the horizon.

Skyline Vs. Horizon Line

Be careful not to confuse the skyline with the horizon line.

The skyline is also where the sky and land meet, but is generally in reference to mountains, which are almost always above the actual horizon line/eye level. The red line in the second photo shows the horizon line.

Scumbling

What I find so compelling about painting with oils is that there are so many ways to apply it. To make a strong statement, you can lay it on thickly like impasto. Thick paint goes hand in hand with coarse brushwork, often using bristle brushes to create a raised effect. The result immediately draws the viewer’s attention, and the three-dimensional strokes can evoke strong emotion. Oil paint applied thinly is equally great for portraits and realistic styles because you can softly blend areas while the paint is still wet, thus creating a subtle transition from one color to another. Another method of paint application that involves a “blend” of two colors is scumbling.

Scumbling is a painting technique that can be used to modify the color on a canvas, using a thin layer of paint. The under layer must first be dry. Using a dry bristle or synthetic brush or a clean lint-free rag, dip the brush or rag into a slightly thinned, semi-opaque color and loosely brush or scrub it on over the under layer with a circular or back and forth motion, only partly covering it. The scumble color should be lighter than the under layer to be most effective.

 A unique look can be achieved by using a complementary color as the scumble color, for example, a cadmium red over a viridian green. When it dries, you will notice that the green will resonate through the red layer. Similarly, you can cool down a hot color by scumbling over it with blue or green mixed with a little titanium white.

Here's the final result of my Composition painting with a scumbled background.

It’s a great technique that is worth investigating. I’ve applied a scumble layer to dark backgrounds with great results. Give it a try!

A Word About Varnish

Varnish is a clear, colorless solution containing a solvent and either a natural or synthetic resin that has been used for centuries on oil paintings and more recently on acrylic paintings.

Varnishing your paintings adds a layer of protection and can measurably affect its appearance.

Air contains a variety of pollutants that in time will cling to the surface of a painting and will alter the colors. Besides the air, your painting will be susceptible to moisture, including humidity, liquids, dust, and other contaminants. Most conservators recommend varnishing paintings because environmental pollutants are more easily removed from the varnish layer than from paint layers. Some prefer varnishes containing synthetic resins, which allow for the most reversible, least invasive conservation treatments. Some artists prefer more traditional varnishes containing natural resins such as damar and mastic, which are slower to dry than synthetic resin varnishes and, therefore, are more easily applied with a brush. But there are drawbacks to using traditional varnishes.

Color and Surface Unification 

 When you apply varnish, you will notice the color intensifies. A gloss varnish will deepen the color, while a satin finish will slightly strengthen the appearance.

Applying varnish also helps to create a unified surface. Sometimes a finished painting will have both shiny and dull areas. This variation can happen for several reasons.

Mixing paint brands-Different brands of paint use different ratios of ingredients (binder/pigment) and the types of fillers may differ. This inconsistency results in different levels of sheen.

Using Medium-Some oil painters use medium to control the viscosity of their paint. Some mediums, like Liquin, are glossy. If you have a different amount of medium in each stroke, you are likely to end up with an uneven surface.

Glazing - A glazed layer of paint will dry glossy. If you glaze only parts of your painting you should varnish it to even out the surface sheen.

When to Varnish

How to decide when it is safe to varnish is tricky. Drying rates vary greatly based on the thickness of the paint and on the temperature and humidity levels they are exposed to.

There’s no hard and fast rule. Thicker paint will dry slower while thin layers of paint will dry faster. The fingernail test is one way to determine if your painting is dry enough to varnish. Press a fingernail on the paint. If it can leave a mark, the paint is not dry enough to varnish. If it doesn’t leave a mark, like a dent, then you can varnish it. If your style of painting is impasto, you may have to wait a year to varnish.

Types of Varnish

There are several types of varnishes on the market. They include traditional natural varnishes both hard and soft, and synthetic varnishes.

Traditional Natural Varnishes

Traditional natural varnishes include Dammar, Copal, Amber and Mastic.

Copal and Amber varnishes, referred to as hard varnishes, were used by the Old Masters.

They are a golden in color and give a rich glossy and enamel-like appearance. However, they are susceptible to cracking, extensive yellowing and become increasingly difficult to remove from painting over time.

True hard Copal and Amber varnishes are rare in the world today, though some specialist manufacturers still offer unique historically-accurate painting varnishes.

Dammar (can be spelled Damar) and Mastic varnishes are referred to as soft varnishes because they dissolve in solvents such as turpentine and mineral spirits. They can be removed from an oil painting surface without greatly affecting the paint layers below.

Dammar varnish comes from tree resin and is paler than Copal but has great viscosity and is still used commonly in oil painting today. However, Dammar (because it’s a natural resin) has a tendency to yellow over time. It also becomes more brittle as it dries, leaving your canvas more likely to crack if the canvas is disturbed.

Synthetic Varnishes

Some examples of synthetic varnishes are MSA, Gamvar, and Alkyd Synthetic Resins.

Synthetic varnishes offer a lot of advantages over the traditional natural varnishes including:

• A clear coat on the first application that stays clear over time, therefore non-yellowing and more flexible.
• Are available in liquid or aerosol form, are readily available and cost-effective and they come in a variety of sheens, such as matte, satin or gloss.
• They allow for relatively easy removal with less risk to underlying paint layers.

Alkyd Synthetic Resins such as Schmincke Picture Varnish provide a glossy, non-yellowing, colorless, highly resistant topcoat. but they must be applied after eight to twelve months.

Mineral Spirit Acrylic varnishes (MSAs) have a high molecular weight and tend to offer a better protective surface, have greater elasticity and more resistance to blooming. Must be applied after eight to twelve months.

If You Can’t Wait

If you need to show or sell a painting before it is completely dry, you can use retouch varnish. Retouch varnish offers some protection and unification of color, though it’s not as strong a coating as a regular varnish. Some recent varnishes also have the great advantage of being able to be applied when the painting is just touch dry – rather than waiting for the painting to be fully cured.

Gamblin makes a varnish called Gamvar which has been developed specifically for this purpose.

Drying Time

Drying times of varnishes vary, depending on the absorbency of paint, ground and substrate layers. Paintings on panel supports, for instance, might absorb less varnish and therefore dry more slowly. At any rate, try to avoid any dust settling into the fresh varnish layer. Place your varnished painting away from drafts and if possible, keep it covered.

Varnish Need Not be Permanent

Varnishing a painting need not be permanent. After a varnished painting has lost its luster over time, the varnish layer can easily be removed, taking the built-up of pollutants and particles with it. (As a general rule, varnish should be removed and reapplied every fifty years or so.)

Workshop News

The first week of class went really well. The room is quite large and the supplies were well organized so that all of the students had everything they needed at their table. The door was open and the fans drew air to the outside. Everyone was careful and wore their masks. As I worked, my actions were taped and transmitted on a large screen. Here’s a photo of the first class at Artsplace. There are eight students, each with their own table.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying their time back in the classroom. It sure feels good to be teaching again!

Aerial Perspective in Landscapes

Aerial perspective or atmospheric perspective refers to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of an object as it is viewed from a distance, the appearance being its color and value.

In my last post, I talked about the curtains of water particles that inhabit the atmosphere and how these curtains change the color of the sky as it approaches the horizon. The same effect holds true for landscape subjects in the distance. As colors recede from the eye over terrain, they become cooler, with the exception of white. A cooler color means a color that tends to contain blue, while a warm color is made up of reds and yellows. In this picture, the trees in the distance appear cooler in color and change to blue in the far distance.

Color Changes

The greater the distance and the more atmosphere, the bluer the distant objects become. As your eye travels, you will notice that the color yellow disappears first, including all of the yellows that mix with other colors such as yellow green, browns, and oranges.

A warm yellow green in the foreground will transition to an emerald green and then a cool blue-green.

In this picture, the closest greens contain more yellow, and as we look further, the yellows dissipate, until the greens in the distance become a blue-green. The sky at the horizon is also lighter and changes to a gray-rose in color.

Reds will prevail slightly longer than yellow, before they too succumb to blue. That’s why mountains tend toward a warm purple before they change in their farthest distance to blue. Atmospheric particles affect the value of a color as well as the temperature in a landscape. You can see in this photo of a mountain range, the transition from green to blue-green, to purple-blue to blue.

Value Changes

All colors will become lighter as they recede, the lightness tempered by the prevailing sky color. As I said last week, whites tend to become slightly warmer and darker as they recede, due to the atmosphere.

 As you would expect, objects close by are deeper in color, their shapes are sharper and the values are more distinct.

It’s important to note that a flat ground plane is always going to be darker than the sky (except when snow is involved), but never as dark as the upright planes such as trees and buildings.