THE BLOG
The Clandestine Life of a Children’s Book Illustrator
I was out as evening broke, when car lights had to be on but it was still light enough to see the color of things. I was snapping pictures of cars as they drove by. I could see drivers inside the vehicles with questioning looks. What is she up to? Why is she taking pictures of my car? She doesn’t look like James Bond. I wanted to see the effects of headlights on the back of the vehicles in front of them.
It’s just one of those activities that I get involved with because of illustrating children’s books. I run home to get my camera when I walk by a field of sheep with curly horns. I’m sure I can use those sheep in some illustration I’m working on. And more often than not, it will end up in a book.
Other times I just happen to have my watercolors in the back of my car and I get a call that says your mom is upset, can you come over here. I’ll head over to mom’s and she watches me paint one of the other ladies. She is fascinated with the process. She asks me how long those paints last. She asks me where do you start when you draw a face. She tries to get the lady to sit still because I’m painting her. I tell mom it’s ok. People move. That’s all part of painting from life.
So how long was I out their taking pictures of cars? Well I was out there long enough to see the cows come home.
Art in Transit
I just received a video from Aurora Hughes Villa who is the Cache Valley School District’s Art Coordinator, about the artist-in-residence that I was invited to participate in at Evergreen Elementary School. The student art was put into a city bus up in Logan, Utah.
Here are a few of the things that I thought the students got out of the experience:
Students witnessed the creation of art in person and the fun an artist can have creating art.
It gave kids confidence in their own decisions.
It helped teachers be ok with a little creative chaos.
How to begin and how to end their own project.
How to take a risk.
How to follow directions.
Helped kids go beyond the directions.
Helped kids to reach out and ask questions.
Students had the joy in seeing something they created, displayed for others to see.
One boy that never commented in class before, raised his hand excitedly and contributed his answer to the group.
Art really did become a way to communicate.
Here is a link to the Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-uKKvxjK60&feature=youtu.be
A Weekend of Show Openings
This last weekend was a weekend of show openings. Friday was the opening for the Utah Images, Equitable Life show, down stairs in the City County Building at Salt Lake. I have a painting of the Cocks Comb close to Torrey Utah in the show. As you come down the stairs, it is to your left. That is if you go down the same stairs I came down.
Later that night was the displays of the paintings from the Plein Air Watercolor Society Show in Conjunction with Entrada Institute and Capitol Reef National Park at the Concept Gallery. It was fun to see all those paintings again. They were there for one night only.
Saturday Night was the opening for the Show “Prophetic Visions of Peace and Justice” Artists took inspiration from Isaiah 11:6 Here is my artists statement from the show:
Artist Statement
I love Isaiah and the beautiful images that come into my mind as I read “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. I pictured a child leading all these animals but didn’t know what the child should carry. It seems very appropriate that I asked my granddaughter what should I put in the child’s arms? She said a baby lion. It was the perfect image. The adult male lion trusts his offspring to the little child.
I love the promise of righteousness and peace that Christ will bring to the world when he comes again and the love and peace that He brings to us as we invite him into our lives.
This painting can be seen at the the Cottonwood Presbyterian Church 1580 E. Vine (6100 S.) Murray, Utah. I believe it’s open 3 p.m. til 5 p.m. but I would call to double check on that.
Finally I have 15 paintings on display at the Centerpoint Theater at 524 N. 400 W., Centerville, Utah 84014 with Robert Mackay for about a month. They are on the second floor of the lobby and can be seen from 10 a.m. until show time. This is a fine show. So if you would like to see some of the paintings I’ve been working on lately, head to these shows.
My next watercolor class will start at Bountiful Davis Art Center January 6th 10 a.m. Go to www.bdac.org to register
Robert McKay www.robertmckayart.com
Controlled Spontaneity
There is some anticipation when you sign up for a workshop. I have heard the name Charles Reid from the time I started painting with watercolor and he was coming to Utah.
There is so much to learn in a week. I tried to capture all the information in my sketch book and watch how he painted through binoculars. It was suggested in the equipment list for the workshop and proved very helpful. I could see how he mixed the paint on his paper and made his washes and how he used his brush even from the back row.
I love to see people work who have worked for a long time. There is an expertise in motion, flick and spatter of brush. You can learn a lot from watching how painters put color on the paper and use their brush. You learn from watching how they work and you learn things that can’t be taught from a book.
There is also what you learn when you try to apply what you’ve watched and incorporate it into your technique of painting and bring it in to enhance how you paint. I have noticed that some of the painters who look like they attack the paper and fling paint around on their paper also are very careful and controlled in some areas, much more controlled than you would realize.
People want to capture that loose free feeling in their paintings. Charles Reid called it controlled spontaneity. So even though Charles’ paintings look free and loose there were times when he was very slow and controlled and careful when he puts paint onto the paper. At other times he flicked his brush and the spatter went out and around making a perfect shape of the feather. Now that is controlled spontaneity.
A couple of things that I personally learned from the workshop were don’t be afraid of the white of the paper. It can enhance your paintings and make them vibrant. It is a great advantage to be continually sketching in your sketch book. It helps you to see angles and shapes quickly and put them down on paper.
And last of all don’t be afraid of pure pigment. Thanks to Charles Reid and his wife for a great week of learning and getting to know them both better.
#Inktober
In high school I spilled a bottle of India Ink onto my mother’s living room rug. You can’t get that out of the carpet. We ended up moving the endtable over the spot. Now that is a mother that supports the arts.