Surviving the Bermuda Triangle & painting in paradise...

Day one at the Botanical Garden

"I dream my paintings and I paint my dreams." It would seem Van Gogh had Bermuda in mind when he uttered these words. I just returned from teaching a workshop on this magical island and each day was an inspiration. The weather was perfect for outdoor painting except for the occasional passing clouds. Given the large group, I chose locations both for scenic beauty and their central location on the island with room to spread out. 

The workshop began at the Botanical Gardens with a lecture and demo on painting the nude and the outdoor figure. I explained the benefits of using a limited palette to create realistic flesh tones. A more chromatic palette was discussed when painting the live model in the afternoon sun. 

The following day we painted the landscape at the famous, Horseshoe Bay Cove. The location offered stunning views of aquamarine sea, pink sandy beaches, rock formations and plenty of cover from the sun. We had a great lunch at Whaler Inn where everyone enjoyed a Rum Swizzle - Bermuda's national drink - which I'm sure improved our paintings immensely!

Lunch at the Cabana

The group shows off their awesome paintings!

On our last day, we were invited to paint on the grounds of the Salt Kettle House. This little inn has been in operation since 1970. Salt Kettle is so named after the salt trade that existed between Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The salt was delivered by ship and unloaded in the bay at the back of the Guest House - the bay is in the shape of a kettle, thus the name.  Parts of the Guest House are nearly 300 years old. The owner John was very hospitable, serving a lovely, afternoon tea and cookies to the group.

Winslow Homer painted this view from Salt Kettle

Winslow Homer was familiar with this scene. He painted Prudens Bay in 1899. The location offers views of boats and old houses on one side and a lovely inlet on the other. 

Tea is served!

Eli recommends Fairmont napkins for painting!

This year we were joined by a lot of Bermudian artists. They were so welcoming, offering rides to visiting artists and extending an invitation for an impromptu, farewell cocktail party. It was great making new friends and reconnecting with old. I'm already planning the next workshop for 2017, I hope you'll join us in Bermuda!

Farewell cocktails overlooking Salt Kettle. Thanks Jennifer!

Some comments by participants…

It was a fabulous time enjoyed all of it ...loved meeting the local Bermudians. You are a very energetic teacher and I can't wait to finish the paintings I started in Bermuda - thank you -thank you! Mary M.

Thank you for the great course, I really enjoyed it and very much appreciated your patience and inspiration in getting a novice through that post "Amazing' state! I am now encouraged to put in more time to painting - hopefully I will be much improved when you next visit  - may you come again in the not too distant future! Christine D.

Rum Swizzle Recipe

This is from Bermuda's famed Swizzle Inn.  Ingredients: 4 oz. dark rum, 4 oz. Barbados rum or amber rum, 2 oz. triple sec, juice from 2 lemons, 5 oz. pineapple juice, 5 oz. orange juice, 2 oz. simple syrup, 4 dashes Angostura bitters, crushed ice. Add all the ingredients and shake vigorously in a container until a frothing head appears. Strain into cocktail glasses and let the fun begin. Avoid riding moped!

One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.

I’ve had a love affair with Bermuda for over 40 years and just returned from a week long art festival on island. A big part of Bermuda’s charm is its natural beauty and as an artist it represents a dramatic change of scenery from what I’m familiar with in Boston. Plein Air painting celebrates the making of art in the great outdoors. Visiting new places allows us to experience the world with a fresh eye and revitalizes our spirits. I’ve found that a radical change of scenery shakes up old ways of working and forces a reconsideration of seeing and interpreting the landscape.

"The purpose of the painter is simply to reproduce in other minds the impression which a scene has made upon him. A work of art does not appeal to the intellect. It does not appeal to the moral sense. Its aim is not to instruct, not to edify, but to awaken an emotion.” George Inness

Local and visiting festival artists

Painting in Somerset Bermuda

The ultimate moveable studio!

National Gallery with Bill Hanbury (CEO of Tourism) and wife Valerie

The gala reception was held at the Bermuda National Gallery. Each artist had the opportunity to enter up to 6 paintings for the final exhibition. I have no idea how the committee managed to hang so many paintings in such a short time but they did a fantastic job! I'm very pleased that several of my paintings sold and I'm looking forward to exhibiting some of my work later this year on island. To read more about the festival visit:

http://www.bermudapleinair.com/plein-air-festival/meet-our-2015-winners/

Castle Point 11x14 Oil on linen

Ely's Harbour, 9x12 Oil on linen

Stalking My Art Heroes

"I do not judge, I only chronicle. Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend." J.S.S 

I recently visited the Metropolitan Museum to view the exhibit Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends. The exhibition brings together paintings that have seldom been shown together. This collection of diverse and often unfinished portraits allows for an in-depth exploration of Sargent’s extraordinary talent. Every painting was a revelation, each displaying the effortless, virtuosity for which Sargent is most notably recognized.

“La Duse" While in London in 1893 Sargent managed to persuade Eleonora Duse to pose for him, but for barely an hour. In that brief sitting he was able to capture the essence of her enigmatic personality.

“In art, all that is not indispensable is unnecessary” 

From Velasquez he had learnt to simplify. Sargent worked with an economy of effort in every way, the sharpest self-control, the fewest strokes possible to express the truth. 

“George Henschel" This portrait was painted in approximately five sittings during which Henschel was required to stand on a platform and sing for Sargent. When Henschel’s wife saw the portrait for the first time, she remarked, "How beautiful! It’s George having arrived in heaven."

I suspect from reading notes on Sargent’s technique that he began by laying in a middle flesh tone, light on one side and dark on the shadow side, carefully sweeping the flesh into the background while maintaining the accuracy of the drawing. Every head is painted as a sculptor models, alway with an eye for the great masses.

“Painting is an interpretation of tone through the medium of color drawn with the brush."

Sargent strove to achieve a balance of shape and color as he developed the image, ever mindful of the relationship of figure to background. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the way in which he painted a forehead, expertly expressing the receding planes of the head. I was in awe of the subtle drawing of the mouth and eyes, fusing tone into tone, until carefully applying highlights and accents. Above all maintaining the principle of oneness.

“The thicker you paint, the more color flows.”

Sargent’s interior scenes were rich with ambient light, beautiful form and incredibly well designed. From Duran he learned that “objects in nature relieve one against each other by the relative values of light and shade which accompany and are a part of each local color, an outline or contour is a pure convention.”

Sargent believed that a sketch must not be merely a pattern of pleasant shapes, pleasing to the eyes, or a mere fancy but that It must be a very possible thing, a definite arrangement. He drew with his brush as readily and as unconsciously as with a pencil. Carolus Duran (Sargent’s mentor) stressed how important it was “to capture the envelope of the figure” and the dynamic relationships between the model’s contours and it’s surroundings.