Scenes from My Studio Pre-MPA and Color Lessons

Tonight I'm in "deer-in-the-headlights" mode. I've honestly got a gadzillion things to do to prepare for MPA Artfest (coming up this Sunday, October 4, 10am-5pm at McLean Central Park, McLean, VA) and I don't know how to wrap my arms around this particular challenge ... or to move out of my chair at the moment.

One of my tasks, of very high priority, is to clean out my car so that it can be packed (carefully) with paintings, screens, bags and bubblewrap for all the paintings and drawings I'll be selling, etc. at this weekend's event. My car currently cannot accommodate one more thing. I drove home today from the Atelier with my multitude of still life objects, painting supplies, paper, frames, artwork, art books shifting with every turn. I have passenger seats ... just can't accept any passengers.

Let's say I get the chance to clean my car. What's left between me and MPA Artfest? 1. Signing, matting, picking out frames, framing drawings and paintings. 2. Picking up screens. 3. Designing my display, essentially figuring out what works to bring and where to hang them -- the very hardest and most important task of all. 4. Putting together and printing labels. 5. Bringing my portfolio up to date. (Photographing new work, printing) 6. Putting together signage. 7. Putting up the new exhibit in the gallery at the Artists' Atelier (to do tomorrow). 8. Rearranging my walls in Suite D and G at the Atelier in preparation for First Friday (this week). 9. Varnishing paintings. 10. Packaging up all the stuff I'll need and loading it into Randy's and my cars. 11. Figuring out what to wear?

The one thing that I can say is that I'm not exactly short on work to choose from. Even though I've also been working on commissions, I've noticed that if you really are creating all the time, you can cover an awful lot of linen canvas. These photos give you a little glimpse into the overflowing nature of my environs. This is the tip of the iceberg.

Oh, and color lessons. This morning I taught my "Oil Painting from Life" class (that I teach through the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts). One student had requested instruction on color mixing. This is something I do well, but I researched it to form the lesson. In the process, I learned so much and passed it on. Here are the email comments from two of my students:

"I've been taking painting classes for over 5 years now and that's the first time anyone has ever explained to me how to keep my colors bright... Today's lesson provided a real insight for our class.
Thank you!"

"Thanks for all your help today – especially with the critiques and all the perspective help. The printout on the colors is EXCELLENT.
Much appreciated"

Pretty wonderful feedback.

Wish me luck this week.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Pumpkin Patch" Painting in Progress ... and Lots of Art Events

First, lots of special art happenings are well, happening in October ... and I want all the hard work organizing, thinking, etc. to pay off by seeing lots of people there.

So, this week...
Friday, October 2, 7-9pn
First Friday at the Artists' Atelier (the studio I share with 15 other artists)
1144 Walker Road, Suites D&G, Great Falls, VA
We're hanging a new show in the gallery on Wednesday ... so it will be fresh and new.

Sunday, October 4, 10am-5pm
MPA Artfest
An outdoor juried art festival
McLean Central Park (corner of Old Dominion Drive and Route 123 - Dolley Madison Blvd.)
McLean, VA
I'll be in booth #25 with a mix of classical drawings and paintings. Hopefully, I'll post photos later of the shape my studio is in at the moment with piles of paintings and drawings I'll be choosing from for this event. It's an interesting process for someone who has to agonize over every decision.
I really, really hope you can come to this one.
(This event happens rain or shine -- it just moves indoors to 1234 Ingleside Drive, McLean, VA if it rains.) Get more info at www.mpaart.org.
Mastercard and Visa accepted.

Also in October:
I'll be participating in the 6th Annual Great Falls Art Studios Tour
Saturday & Sunday
October 17-18
10am-5pm, rain or shine
45 artists will be talking and creating art in our studios all around town. More on that later ... but be sure to register for the art bucks program -- a $2000 giveaway of forty $50 art bucks to be spent on the tour. Register and get more info at www.greatfallsstudios.com.

I came up with a tagline for a brochure that I'm pulling together for the Artists' Atelier. "Be Original. Buy Original." What do you think?

So "Pumpkin Patch" in progress is a painting I worked on last Tuesday -- one of the still lifes I set up for my class. It needs a good bit of work, but other pieces have needed me this week. All the setups are very calm, with toned down color, as an exploration of color subtleties. One set-up is of a bowl of eggs inspired by a beautiful painting of ... you guessed it ... a bowl of eggs that a Dutch contemporary painter created. His name is Henk Helmantel. Here's his website. Definitely quiet, maybe a little dark, but beautifully painted work.

One more quick note. I updated my website with a links page. I hope it's useful.

"Pumpkin Patch" work in progress, 24"h x 18"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

Watercolor Wash Figure Painting Today

Finally ... a new blog post. Today, I worked on "Michelle I" a bit during open hours (it's looking good) and then went to the McLean Community Center for an open studio session late this afternoon. "Waiting" is the result. This is a watercolor wash done using burnt sienna artist's watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. hot press paper. See more of my drawings on this blog (keep viewing older posts) or my web site. I had gone to an open studio session last week (I'll post those results later) after a pretty extended break from live sessions. I miss painting people from life. If I miss something, I make sure I correct the problem. I'll catch all of these open life sessions I can, plus take part in planned modeling sessions at the Atelier that start in two weeks. So, I'll have at least two days a week working from live models. Yea!

I have been working despite not blogging. A portrait commission is in progress that is earning rave reviews. I'm enjoying it even though each portrait, and this one is no exception, comes loaded with challenges. I truly love "capturing" people. That's why I've returned to "Michelle I"; why I went to the open life session; why I'm bringing this latest commissioned piece to life on canvas. It totally fascinates me.

I've done some interesting things lately. Like spending Thursday in Reston Town Center drawing. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to catch up.

This coming Sunday, October 4 is the MPA Artfest, from 10am-4pm at McLean Central Park, McLean, VA. I will be under a tent with my (yet to be picked) work . I hope to see you there. I have one incredible boatload of work to do before then. Wish me luck.

Also... and I know this comes first ... First Friday at the Artists' Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Suites D&G, Great Falls, VA ... is this coming Friday, October 2, 7-9pm.

"Waiting", watercolor, copyright Jill Banks 2009. (This piece will be at MPA Artfest.)

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

Rooster Art: Cock-a-Doodle

I suppose this isn't quite a doodle ... those go a lot faster. But, here's my latest drawing, "Cock-a-Doodle". This drawing is of one of two ceramic roosters that reside in my kitchen. I guess it was about time it was captured, on paper.

In part, I created this drawing in preparation for my drawing class that started this past Monday. (For more information on classes, see my web site: www.jillbanks.com, click on classes.) For all my (massive) trepidation in teaching that class, it went very, very well. Every time I do something new -- like teaching drawing -- I fret, study, prepare, and finally go for it. I was talking to friend and fellow artist (and studiomate) Francie Vecchi today saying that I'm always jumping off cliffs and hoping for the best. This Monday's class turned out for the best. Again. I assume that the fact that each time I do something out of my element, the results are better than expected has something to do with my willingness to go out on a limb again and again.

My concerns about being able to teach this class are rooted in my not knowing how to "teach" drawing. When I teach painting, I'm teaching it based on a clear-cut understanding of how I learned painting myself. My painting instruction was recent and formalized. I could easily pass it on. But, with drawing, I've been drawing my entire life. While I've been trained in drawing (the focus was in learning to see more intensely and adapting to different mediums), I still needed to formulate a way to help students learn. Let's say I'm working on it and that I'll be studying my way through my nine-week class.

MPA Artfest (McLean Project for the Arts juried outdoor art festival) is a little more than two weeks away. I will be working on creating more drawings before that big day as well as organizing what I want to show, etc. The event is Sunday, October 4, 10am - 5pm in McLean Central Park (McLean, VA). Lots to do. Lots of fun. I hope to see you there.

I also posted "Rooster Ruminations", another piece of Rooster Art. It's not quite done ... note, no signature ... but almost. I made a new friend. A tube of yellow ochre, a color that's probably been on everyone else's palette, but not mine. It sure came in handy for the background. That is a Ty Beanie Baby.

"Cock-a-Doodle", 11.5"h x 8.5"w (inside mat), graphite, copyright Jill Banks 2009
"Rooster Ruminations" work in progress, 20"h x 16"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

Painting of a Stuffed Rooster in Progress

I bet you're asking why I'm painting a stuffed rooster. I set this scene up for last Tuesday's demo for my "Oil Painting from Life" class (taught through the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts) because I was looking to go beyond a still life -- more like an interior -- one that would fit in a small classroom. Since my students aren't ready to transition to people, a rooster seemed to do the trick. Perhaps it's mixing my figurative restaurant, interior and still life themes into one package. It's certainly a little quirky; but it is a rich space, warm atmosphere, just with an unusual diner.

I didn't have this setup in mind when I started laying out the three class still lifes. Each week I pack up lots of extra things hoping for on the spot inspiration. The rooster (I think it's a Ty beanie baby) was potentially going to be part of a three rooster setup -- one stuffed, one a copper jello mold and the third a ceramic pitcher I bought long ago at an Italian restaurant in Bermuda. Maybe later.

And I've been on a rooster roll of sorts. "Rooster and Geraniums" is back in my studio gallery after taking down my "On the Bright Side" solo show. That's rooster one. "Rooster Ruminations" (the one shown here) is one of the paintings for this week. That's rooster two. And, the last couple of nights I've been doing a graphite drawing of a large ceramic rooster that resides in my kitchen. That's rooster three. See what I mean?

That graphite drawing is one of quite a few I hope to complete in the next three weeks in preparation for MPA Artfest, a juried outdoor arts festival sponsored by McLean Project for the Arts. I will be under a tent in McLean Central Park on Sunday, October 4, 10am-5pm with both drawings and paintings. My guess is that "Rooster Ruminations" will also be there.

"Rooster Ruminations" work in progress, 20"h x 16"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Arance, Oranges" Finished

I should never say what I'm going to do the next day -- because inevitably I change my mind. Yesterday, I decided to finish this painting of oranges from a Florence, Italy market. (Instead of writing the post I told you I'd do the day before.) I thought that finishing "Arance" meant filling in the blank areas, that much of it was complete as is. But no. I worked on just about every inch in a 12 hour painting marathon. A little lunch. A very, very late dinner. At least I'm thinner.

I wanted to finish this one for a competition application that needed to go in the mail. So, after I painted it, I photographed it, downloaded that to my desktop computer, burned a CD, filled out my application, got it ready to mail. Read and answered email. Ate dinner. Life as an Artist, epitomized.

"Arance, Oranges", 24"h x 36"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009. This is the latest painting in my market series. See more on my web site and on this blog by clicking on older posts.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Caffe Bar" and "Lemon Yellow" at the Art League

Two of my paintings, "Caffe Bar" and "Lemon Yellow" are on exhibit at the Art League in Alexandria (VA) for the month of September. It seems appropriate that "Caffe Bar" was juried in. It depicts a scene from last year's art historical trip to Venice that my husband and I took, led by Rob Liberace and arranged through the Art League. Randy and I dropped off my entries last night for the Art League's monthly show. This may be more than you want to know ... but each month as an Art League member you can submit two works, only one of which can be accepted. Receiving happens the first Monday night and Tuesday am of each month ... and it's a regular ritual for area artists. The Art League chooses a different juror each month (and in the DC area we have a wealth of capable jurors from the Smithsonian system, area art institutions, etc.) and that juror selects the pieces that will make up that month's show. Each month's juror also selects award winners. While "Caffe Bar" didn't win an award, I've won two Best of Shows and two Honorable Mentions in other exhibits there.

"Lemon Yellow" hangs in the bin gallery -- an area of the Art League gallery where artists who have been juried into three (of the Art League's) shows that past year can hang a small work. So I did.

Today was the first day of my painting class taught through the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts. I'll post some works in progress from my demo painting tomorrow. One of the most important lessons I try to teach is patience. Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, painting is clearly an acquired -- through hard work, time spent, canvases covered -- art. You can't rush it. You can work toward becoming a good, even great painter, one step at a time.

"Caffe Bar", oil on Senso linen, 20"h x 16"w, copyright Jill Banks 2009 and "Lemon Yellow", oil on Senso linen, 8"h x 10"w, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Sarah" Drawing of the Day and the Grand National 2009

My daughter, Sarah, sat for me today. I'm "practicing" drawing in anticipation of teaching my drawing class next week through the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts. I spend most of my time painting, and draw more during vacations or sketching out ideas for portrait commissions. So, I get a little rusty at holding a charcoal pencil.

My still life painting class Fall session starts tomorrow at 9:30 am. I'm scoping out my house for set-ups and then will head to the grocery to find some more subjects. Get more information on my classes on my web site: www.jillbanks.com.

I found out this past week that "Sunflowers II" is accepted into the American Artists Professional League's 81st Grand National Exhibition 2009 that will be held at the Salmagundi Club (47 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY) in New York City from November 3 through November 13. This is my first time applying to this juried show ... and second time this year at the Salmagundi Club. The name of the exhibit, The Grand National Exhibition 2009, sounds pretty impressive. I'll give more details closer to exhibit time.

"Sarah", black and terra cotta charcoal on paper, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

Food and Wine Paintings and First Friday Recap

I could kick myself (that wouldn't be easy) for not taking photos at last night's First Friday opening at the Artists' Atelier (the studio and gallery space that I share with 15 other artists at 1144 Walker Road, Suites D&G in Great Falls). Despite my predictions, we had a fantastic crowd ... who appeared to be having a fantastic time. Lots of enthusiastic art lookers and conversations. Michela Mansuino and I were hosting the event and many of the Atelier artists were out of town ... so we were very busy. My legs are sore from going up and down the stairs.

The next First Friday will be on Friday, October 2, 7-9pm. Two days later, I'll be participating in the MPA Artfest ... so I'll fix up my studio gallery for First Friday and then mess it up for a day ... and then fix it up again before the Great Falls Studio Tour 2009 on October 17&18. We will hang a new show in October that will feature the Atelier artists who are participating in the Studio Tour. The gallery is always different -- and we keep creating -- so keep coming to visit.

Anyway, the show "Back to School" with a faculty show downstairs in Suite D and student show upstairs in Suite G is up for the remainder of this month. Make sure you check it out. My Fall session class "Oil Painting from Life" starts this coming Tuesday (September 8) and runs for nine weeks. There's still room in the class, but contact me at 703.403.7435 or email at jillbanks1@aol.com if you're interested in signing up. Get more info on my web site: www.jillbanks.com -- see classes.

Since being in charge of the party last night ... and because food and wine has been combined frequently in my paintings, I decided to spotlight a few of those paintings on today's post. Contact me if you are interested in getting more information on any of them.



My food and wine paintings, from top to bottom are:
"After Grace", 24"h x 18"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.
"The Toast", 40"h x 30"w, oil on linen, copyright Jill Banks 2007.
"Sunflowers II", 30"h x 30"w, oil on linen, copyright Jill Banks 2008.
"The Celebration", (a painting of L'Auberge Chez Francois), 12"h x 9"w, copyright Jill Banks 2009.
"Corner Couple", 24"h x 18"w, oil on board, copyright Jill Banks 2007.
"Food and Wine", (a market in Burano, Italy) 24"h x 36"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Oil Painting from Life" Class Opening

There's suddenly room for one more student in my "Oil Painting from Life" class that starts this coming Tuesday, September 8. The class runs for 9 weeks, 9:30am-1:30pm ... and it's a great class for students of all levels. Get more info on my web site: www.jillbanks.com and click on classes. It's not possible to have more fun. If you'd like to register, please give me a call at 703.403.7435 or email me at jillbanks1@aol.com

I'm getting my studio ready for First Friday. It's a mess at the moment ... but come tomorrow night, 7-9pm ... it will be beeeee-autiful. At least, that's the plan.

Come see. Friday, September 4, 7-9pm, 1144 Walker Road, Suites D&G, Great Falls, VA.

"Caffe Bar", 20"x16", oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009 is one of the paintings that I'll have on view during First Friday at the Artists' Atelier. It's one of my many restaurant/street scenes you'll see that night. This one's from a recent trip to Venice, Italy.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"An Apple Arrangement" Continues and First Friday at the Atelier

First Friday is this Friday, September 4, 7-9pm at the Artists' Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Suites D & G, Great Falls, VA. We're hanging a new show tomorrow "Back to School" in the upstairs and downstairs gallery. Downstairs, in Suite D, is a faculty show (I'm one of the faculty) of teachers' work at the Great Falls School of Art. Upstairs in the GFFFTA gallery, we'll be hanging students work. Plus, many of my fellow studiomates hang a whole new array of work in our individual galleries.

Having just gotten back unsold work from my solo show "On the Bright Side" and ArtSpace Herndon's "Still Life Poetry" exhibit plus "Lemon Yellow" from the Old Brogue "Food" exhibit, I have plenty to choose from for my walls. They should be beautiful! Come see.

Today I worked on "An Apple Arrangement" and visited one of my portrait commission clients to get approval on my sketch and decide on a size for the painting. I had fun painting and I had fun showing the sketch. Life is good. I'm really looking forward to getting started on the commission ... it's ridiculously interesting, great family, just what I like to paint.

"An Apple Arrangement" is going well, too. The apples are fading a bit (in real life) so it's time to wrap this one up. I'll paint on it again tomorrow -- around the show installation. I love paint. It's properties are amazing and it was showing off a bit on some of the apples. It can glow and mimic just about any surface.



I know my photos aren't the best -- I was a bit lazy taking them so you get all the glare from the wet, thick paint -- but I figured I had to at least let you peek.

"An Apple Arrangement" work in progress, 24"h x 30"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2009. Plus, a close-up of the pitcher.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435