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

Pattern and its Unifying Effects

Pattern is an underlying structure that organizes surfaces or structures in a consistent, regular manner. Pattern can be described as a repeating unit of shape or form, but it can also be thought of as the “skeleton” that organizes the parts of a composition. It is one of the most effective ways to unify a painting.
A compositional technique that is not new, Pattern can be found in ancient Chinese, Egyptian and Greek art. It was used extensively as a mode of design by artists in the 17th century when the chiaroscuro technique became popular. Chiaroscuro is a method of painting using strong contrasts between light and dark. 

An excellent example of pattern is “Descent from the Cross,” by Peter Paul Reubens. In this painting, the eye is drawn first to the white drapery, and then to the figure of Christ. The eye flows downward from the upper right side toward the lower left and then the middle, with strong contrasting shapes, using light values and vibrant color.



Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee
     by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

Another example of pattern is Rembrandt’s "Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee," where the lighter values emphasize the focus of the painting, while the darker values deemphasize everything else around it. The brightest shapes, the waves that are lashing the boat and the crew that is struggling to manage the sails are bathed in light, while the rest of the passengers, including the sleeping Christ are in shadow. 

 "Cumbrian Waterfall" by Richard Schmid

Nature sometimes provides excellent examples of pattern. In “Cumbrian Waterfall,” Richard Schmid used the natural formation of a waterfall and created a single connected shape of light value that winds its way downward between two shapes of contrasting dark values. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the flowing water and follow it downward.

Creating Pattern

Pattern can be a large shape (or a grouping of shapes) within a picture that forms an abstract design. You can create this shape by connecting dark or light shapes of a subject against a contrasting background. Sometimes nature provides a ready-made pattern. Other times, as in still life setups, you can manipulate your subject to achieve an interesting pattern.
Patterns in Nature

Peter S. Stevens, a Harvard biologist, in his book entitled “Patterns in Nature” claims that there are only a finite number of ways that patterns can be structured in nature.

He says that pattern can be classified in five different ways:

• Flow
• Branching
• Spiral
• Packing
• Cracking

All things Flow, following paths of least resistance. Flow can be seen in water, stone, and the growth of trees and other plants. A meandering form of flow shows a movement and repetition of an undulating line.

Branching occurs in the plant world in trees and many plants, but it can also be seen in geological formations, including river deltas.

Galaxies form Spiral patterns, but you can also see evidence of spiral patterns in the opening “fiddlehead” buds of ferns and in nautilus shells.

Packing refers to the way in which compacted cells define each other’s shape. A densely packed cluster of mushrooms will grow together, deforming the circular form of each cap because of crowding.

Cracking Surfaces (like mud or old paint) that shrink as they dry may experience cracking, resulting in a similar cellular pattern.