Alla Prima Portrait Today

Today, I took advantage of the Saturday long pose open life session at the McLean Community Center (McLean, VA). What a treat! Monday, I start teaching my winter session at Great Falls School of Art (see classes) ... and I'll be demonstrating ... so I always welcome the practice of just painting before needing to paint and talk simultaneously.

Each session is three-and-a-half hours with a different model and pose. I will try to catch as many of these as possible. This is the first time I've used the session to paint (versus drawing). I'm so much faster painting! In about 40 minutes a lot of the portrait was established.

This is an alla prima painting ... painted all at once, wet into wet in a single session.

I'm loosening up ... getting all my painting muscles in shape for 2010. So far, so good!

"Alla Prima Portrait," oil on Senso linen, 14"h x 11"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

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

An Old "New" Favorite: Alla Prima Portrait

Last Thursday night, after returning from teaching at the Loudoun Academy of Art, I decided to take another look at some of my not-so-recent paintings to see if any of them might be good to show the Chelsea 32 gallery folks the next day. (Sorry, long sentence.) I came across this one ... a head study I painted alla prima (all at once, or in a single sitting) of John Irvine, a favorite model. I loved the painting -- but the paint was dull and flat -- something that almost always happens as the paint dries. So, I varnished it, along with many other paintings, with Gamblin's Gamvar Picture Varnish, a favorite varnish of mine. Voila! This painting, with its great "bones" became a real jewel. Thus, an old "new" favorite. Or is it the other way around?

See more artwork inspired by John on these two older posts: post 1, post 2 (John's holding his cane).

They didn't choose this one -- so it's resting in the Atelier waiting for a new owner.

"Study of John," oil on Raymar panel, 14"h x 11"w, copyright Jill Banks 2007.

Pear Painting of the Day

I love painting pears ... with their sinuous form. Here's today's painting. I started it thinking I might do just a modified grisaille (monochromatic painting) to concentrate on form rather than color. I held to that approach (using just a combination of burnt sienna/french ultramarine blue/titanium white) for all of about 15 minutes. Then I started adding in colors to the pear only, some cadmiums -- yellows, green light, oranges. I guess I couldn't help myself. I also added in the produce section sticker -- something that used to be a trademark of my early still life paintings. So, no, I didn't forget to take it off.

This is painted alla prima -- or all at once -- wet into sopping wet.

"Pear", oil on Raymar panel, 8"h x 6"w, copyright Jill Banks 2008.

Also ... start the New Year out right. We will be holding the Artists' Atelier, the studio I share with 13 other artists, open for First Friday, this Friday, January 2, 2009 from 7-9pm. Stop in to look at the art, and enjoy light refreshments and a glass of wine or sparkling water. The Artists' Atelier is located at 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA 22066. We are also open for regular open hours on Wednesdays and Saturdays, noon to 4pm -- except for Saturday, January 10. (The studio will be acting as host for a special workshop that weekend.)

Peppermint Stick Painting of the Day

This quick alla prima painting is a tribute to the holiday ... and will become my Christmas card. Of course, I still need to print, address and mail them. No rush, right?

"Peppermint Stick and Pencil", oil on stretched canvas, 6"h x 4"w, copyright Jill Banks 2008.

Painting of "Mom" in the "Fresh Perspectives" Exhibit

The painting I did of my Mom while she posed for my portrait painting class at the Great Falls School of Art in the Fall is in the "Fresh Perspectives" Great Falls Studios Exhibit at the Great Falls Library (in Great Falls, VA). The painting has some admirers, as does the subject. It's probably difficult to separate the two reactions. It's hard not to like the painting when you love the person it depicts.

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy reading the information I put on the tag next to the painting. I curated the show and asked the participating artists to put work into the show that was new and exciting and to write about what made that particular piece special. So, following my own instructions, here's what I wrote:

Title: “Mom”
Media: Oil
Artist: Jill Banks
Price: Priceless
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: (703) 403-7435
Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com (this is my visual diary of my life as an artist)
This year, I started teaching through the Great Falls School of Art (part of the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts) and the Loudoun Academy of the Arts in Leesburg. For my Great Falls class, I hired my mom to sit for a couple of sessions. It was tough for me to watch others paint her – and not be able to paint myself. (I live to paint!) During one of her sittings, a couple of students couldn’t make it – so I “stole” a little time to paint “Mom.” What joy!
Other 2008 highlights: winning Best of Show at the Art League in November, Honorable Mention at the Art League in December, Casey Memorial Award in NYC national show in October, Strauss Fellowship grant from the Arts Council of Fairfax County and placing as a finalist in Artist’s Magazine’s Annual Art Competition.

Please go by the exhibit to see "Mom" and "Deli Italiano" in person ... as well as the works by other artist members of Great Falls Studios. The exhibit closes on December 31. Great Falls Library, Great Falls, VA. Closed Sundays.

"Me O My! Donut": Latest Painting of the Day

More food paintings. I'm still on a diet. There's another painting, of four donuts including one of these strawberry sprinkled kinds in an earlier post. For this one, I stood it upright on a sculptor's stand that sits next to my easel. The "O" I kept staring at suggested its name: "Me O My!". 5" x 5", oil on stretched canvas.

These are great little paintings to group together -- and a nice comforting visual for difficult times.

Cherry Danish Painting

I've received and taken the advice that you should have a clear reason why you want to paint each painting. The reason I painted this one is that I've been intrigued with the idea of painting translucent goop--just exactly what attracted me to this cherry danish from Panera as a subject. I love the way the light reflects. Plus, it's red! A bonus, no doubt. This was fun. I was also using a new teeny brush for some of the details... something I rarely do.

"Cherry Danish", 5" x 5", oil on stretched canvas, copyright Jill Banks 2008.

Cupcake Alla Prima Painting a Day

So, "Cupcake" is yesterday's painting a day. It's 5" x 5", oil on stretched canvas, copyright Jill Banks 2008 ... so I'm back to the mini paintings and note: single object only (unless individual sprinkles count). Soooo much faster and easier!

Funny thing about all these paintings of food lately is that I've been on the South Beach diet for the last three weeks. So I get to stare at these goodies and paint them ... but not eat them.

Today's Donuts: A Painting a Day Continues

I bought six donuts today at Dunkin' Donuts... all different and chosen for their beauty, not to eat. So, I have some subjects for the next few days. Today's discovery? Sprinkled donuts take longer to paint than plain ones and powdered sugar ones make pretty interesting subjects. "Four Square", oil on linen, 5" x 5", copyright Jill Banks 2008.

Painting the Streets

Last night I finished this little painting that I'd started one morning this summer in Easton, MD. I've actually been dying to get back to this painting. I was in a workshop with Kim English -- an artist I admire. I had captured the backdrop of the toy store with the toy soldier, alla prima -- but couldn't come anywhere close to painting moving kids on site. I'll have to practice that.
Hopefully, you can feel the sunshine with this one.
"Toy Shop", 9" x 12", oil on linen (Senso canvas), copyright Jill Banks 2008.

Art at the Mill Show Acceptances

The Art at the Mill Show in Millwood, Virginia is a regular fixture in the exhibit schedule for regional artists. Artists submit up to five pieces, and the jury decides whether the piece is accepted, rejected or placed on reserve. There are two shows a year, one in the Spring and the other in the Fall. These shows are a bit quirky (my opinion) with what I consider a really wide range in quality and prices of the work, but they are well attended and a lot of art is sold each show.

Yesterday, I heard word that of the five pieces that I submitted, three were accepted, one was placed on reserve and one was rejected. I'm making progress! That's my best "score" so far.

The Fall Art at the Mill show will take place at the Burwell-Morgan Mill in Millwood, VA on October 4-19, Sunday through Friday, 12-5 pm and Saturday, 10am-6pm. There is an admission fee.

Every time I enter a show, I literally torture myself making a decision on what to submit. I try to think about the venue, notice what sells and what has appeared there before, and consider the juror, if that's publicized. Then I try to pick what I think best suits that combination. I still win some and lose some, but my odds seem to be improving.

Above, I included one of my accepted entries. "Striped Skirt" was painted a week and a half ago, alla prima, when Ellie modeled for the portrait painting class I teach. To paint something alla prima means to paint it all at once -- in a single session without layering the paint. This painting is super loose -- a nice respite for me. 20"h x 16"w, oil on Senso linen canvas, copyright Jill Banks 2008.

By the way, Richard Schmid, a favorite painter of mine, wrote a wonderful book titled "Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting." This is such a great book for artists of all levels! It's published in both hardback and softcover.

Alla Prima Painting of John Irvine

Today was a day I really was happy as a clam. I've been operating under a personal "cloud" for awhile now; yesterday it lifted; and today I painted and drew ... freely, happily, and well. This summer, I've been taking Rob Liberace's drawing and painting class at the Art League. It's actually interesting to be teaching class one day a week (Wednesdays) and a student another. I enjoy both roles.

I drew a black & white charcoal of John in the morning. This is done on Canson pastel paper using vine charcoal, some conte stick and black and white General's charcoal pencils.

The oil painting of John was done this afternoon. I'm working on Senso clear acrylic-primed linen canvases -- that I buy from Jerry's Artarama. Fellow artist and friend, Adrienne Kralick, was the first adopter of these. I try all sorts of materials -- every color of paint that catches my eye, and lots of different support materials. I love the Senso canvases. They're not perfectly stretched, but the linen has just the right tooth for painting from first to last stroke and I really like letting the unpainted linen show through.


This painting of John reminds me of two other favorite paintings I've done. One is "Robert" -- a painting that was done in the same period of time -- three hours max -- that benefits from the same fresh appeal and bravura of brushstrokes. You can't mess around when you aim to start and complete a painting this quickly. Thank goodness! Less opportunity to overwork or mess it up!

The other painting this reminds me of is another that I did of John. He's simply a great model. He's a favorite with artists throughout the Washington area, and he posed for the Portrait Society of America conference held in DC last year -- so many portrait artists know John's face.

See Tricia Ratliff's blog entry about painting John in Rick Weaver's portrait painting workshop.

"John in August", oil on linen, 20"h x 16"w, copyright Jill Banks 2008.