Home Away From Home in Italy

"L'Appartamento," oil, 10"h x 8"w, ©2017 Jill Banks

This is home away from home in Italy. It's getting close to the time to say goodbye and I'm sure that mustering turning in the keys is going to be difficult.  This is the second of two interiors created during the heat of the day. ("La Cucina Due" is the first.) In a few moments, I'll head out for dinner and a nocturne painting session.

"La Cucina Due," oil, 10"h x 8"w, ©2017 Jill Banks

Sometimes it's good to not know how to speak Italian.  We've been watering the geraniums on the balcony each day and cars/people do pass underneath. There's a good chance that the words spoken by a driver directed at me overhead were not complimentary.  So, what am I supposed to do?

The owner of our apartment in Italy trained as a set designer. Her artistry is everywhere in this place. I love it. I love it. I love it.

There. I've hidden my feelings well.

Painting out on the streets in all these different places makes you appear like a native ... to the tourists.  I am often asked directions and whereabouts. Today it was to the antiteatro Romano ... a place I know.  Despite a deficiency in my sense of direction, I sent the family to the right general location. Surprise, surprise.

September Featured Artist of the Month at Ellis-Nicholson Gallery in Charleston, SC

Come to the First Friday Art Walk there on September 1. More pieces will be added to the ones that have recently arrived in the Gallery and I'll be there on First Friday to meet you! 

Really looking forward to being in the gallery, meeting you and introducing my work in this new venue.

More info to come but my tentative title for this collection/show is "Close Encounters." Hope I encounter YOU!

Upcoming Events

Shadyside: The Art Festival on Walnut Street, Pittsburgh PA, August 26-27

"Close Encounters" Featured Artist of the Month, First Friday Art Walk -- Charleston SC at the Ellis-Nicholson Gallery, September 1

Long Beach Island Plein Air Plus, Long Beach Island NJ, July 1-August 31 - Exhibit September 8-October 31

Gracie Square Art Show, Carl Schurz Park, NYC, September 9-10

Alexandria King Street Art Festival, Alexandria VA, September 16-17

Armonk Outdoor Art Show, Armonk NY, September 23-24

MPA McLean Artfest, McLean VA, October 1

 Sedona Plein Air Festival, Sedona AZ, October 14-21

Great Falls Annual Studio Tour, Great Falls VA (Artists' Atelier, 756 Walker Road, Great Falls -- I'll be there Sunday only.) October 20-22

Fall Classes and Workshop ... Register Now
Still Life Plus (Personal Projects Also) starts September 12.
Evening Paint starts Tuesday, September 12.
Painting the Portrait -- Three-Day Workshop -- October 27-29, 2017.
Class size is limited. The class and workshop are taught through the Arts of Great Falls School at 756-C Walker Road, Great Falls VA.
Get more info on my Classes page.  
I was chosen as one of the Top 9 Painting and Drawing Teachers in the Washington DC area by Expertise.com. (Pretty cool endorsement.)
https://www.expertise.com/dc/washington/painting-and-drawing-classes

Read the Article: Southwest Art Artist to Watch,  July 2017
Here's a link to the PDF of the wonderful Artist to Watch article written by Kim Agricola.

Paint Great Falls 2017 - September 6-9 - CALL FOR ARTISTS

Artists are invited to participate in this third annual event to paint plein air anywhere in Great Falls VA from September 6-9, 2017. Generous awards. Open to the first 40 registrants -- non-juried. I was the competition judge last year -- and it was tough to pick the winners from the fine work that sprang to life in the span of a few short days. Get more info at: www.greatfallsart.org/paint-great-falls/

Thanks for reading!

Jill Banks

Chosen as one of the Top 9 Painting and Drawing Teachers in the Washington DC area by Expertise.com.
https://www.expertise.com/dc/washington/painting-and-drawing-classes

Blog: For my latest news and works, visit or subscribe to my blog Life as an Artist at jillbanks.blogspot.com

Email: jill@jillbanks.com

Website: www.jillbanks.com

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"Dining Room Roses": A New Interior Work in Progress

Quick post. This is really a work in progress. I see plenty to fix and do ... and it's sopping wet ... so I can't do too much more at the moment.

It's the latest of my home interior paintings. This is a scene I was dying to paint as the roses opened up. While my other interiors are tiny, I decided to go larger with this one. Much. I'm working toward being able to tackle my restaurant paintings and scenes on site ... not from photos. These interiors are a stepping stone. What I need to figure out ... is what size I can accomplish in a single painting session live and how to achieve some of the lighting effects and contrasts I love in an alla prima painting. A lot to learn.

"Dining Room Roses" work in progress, Yarka oil on linen, 18"h x 24"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

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

A Little Intermission: Back at Home

One of my great tasks is keeping my head "fit" for painting ... particularly when facing my biggest artistic challenges. I'm really, really, really (enough?) close to finishing my major portrait commission. Worked on it all day yesterday. I've set a deadline for myself that is tough to meet. I will be working on it again as soon as I put up this post, but I postponed today's start on it by working (again) on one of my home interiors.

You see, it's been a tough day on my artistic head so far. I didn't get into an exhibit that I really wanted to ... hmmmph ... ouch. I usually fill this blog post with tribulations. Still, life as an artist has its trials too. There. I admitted it.

The good news is that I'm always popping right back up on the horse after a fall. I painted today already and I'm happy with this latest rendition of my tiny home interior painting. (I did have to photograph it three times however to get this pretty good version. See? Lots of perseverance.)

See earlier posts about this painting:
"Did Some Redecorating on My House Paintings"
"Corner Seat: Welcome to My House #3"

That was fun (all but the photography part) and a good exercise for my head. It should be in better shape for the rest of today's painting challenges.

"Corner Seat", oil on Raymar panel, 8"h x 6"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

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

Did Some Redecorating on My House Paintings: Round Two

I couldn't help myself. Made some changes on the latest two home interior paintings ... including making my free model (husband Randy) disappear. Today I'm home alone ... he managed to leave the house for errands, lunch with his Dad, etc. and so I painted him out of the picture. These two are improved, but I could use painting on them each one more time after the paint's dry. Currently, try as I might, I cannot get the paint to stick. So it's streakier than I'd like.

Round Two.

"Corner Seat", oil on Raymar panel, 8"h x 6"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.
"Snow Day"work in progress, oil on Raymar panel, 9"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

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

"Corner Seat": Welcome to My House #3

Being snowed in certainly has its advantages. I like this latest painting ... of a spot in my living room ... a lot. I may work more on it tomorrow morning when the sun streams through again. I kept with the simple shapes,  a goal of mine mentioned in yesterday's post. It's all about the light.

All these interiors are inspired by a number of factors. Our house is on the market and I'm not sure exactly where we'll end up living. So, uncertainty ... inspires my wanting to capture the beauty, comfort, coziness of home. I also just admire interiors. One of my favorite paintings at the Allied Artist of America show (that I was in) was a little interior painting. Almost overlooked, the painting became more special ... like a little gem that drew you in. (Hmmm ... (in)terior.)

Some of my favorite paintings are of interiors. Among them are John Singer Sargent's (American, 1856-1925) "Repose" at the National Gallery of Art. I liked this one so much I copied it and it's hanging in Randy's office. I also love Sargent's "The Breakfast Table" that hangs in Harvard's Fogg Museum. I've included a photo I took of that one here as well. There's so much to learn by just looking.

As I'm adding these photos to this post ... it dawned on me that I need to be brave (or stupid) to put my own painting, my copy of a Sargent and a photo of a Sargent painting on the same post.

From top to bottom: "Corner Seat", oil on Raymar panel, 8"h x 6"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.
"After Sargent's "Repose"", oil on linen, 24"h x 20"w, painted by me (Jill Banks) 2008.
"The Breakfast Table", oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent, painted 1883-84 (according to the plaque on the wall at the Harvard Museum. Photo taken by me.


By the way, Harvard's Fogg Museum was truly an unexpected treat. What an unbelievable collection!!! Randy and I visited Boston in the Spring of 2008 and thoroughly enjoyed the art treasures there.  In one, two, three order for Boston's art destinations are: the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Art (Boston), and the Harvard Art Museum

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

Home Interior Painting #2 and My Free Model

The setting of "Snow Day" is my family room where I set up "shop" today. Husband Randy, a notoriously paintbrush-shy kind of guy, modeled at no charge and willingly. This is his normal reading and computer-browsing spot ... so not too painful or taxing an arrangement.

The star of this painting, though is the blue chair and ottoman. Draped over top is a Virginia Tech afghan that our son Sam, a VA Tech student, gave to his two University of Virginia grad parents. Perched on the seat is a rabbit pillow I sewed in my craft-making period ... when I was working in career #1 and hadn't yet realized that painting was my passion. Painting interiors is interesting, particularly painting my own home ... because there's a history and life that belongs to the space. It's in the furniture. (Blue chair and ottoman that previously belonged to my parents. Oriental coffee table that was inspired by my oldest brother and sister-in-laws furnishings.) Even when a space is empty, it carries with it the family gatherings it held host to ... talks and laughter. Naps on the couch.

I'm taking a rest from painting on the commissioned portrait today. So today's agenda is this painting, some cooking, and later, I'll see what else I can squeeze in.

What I want to work on: narrow my focus for interiors, too ... select fewer objects to contend with, concentrate on bolder, larger shapes.  This was a lot to pack into this little canvas, but I think no matter what the canvas size, that's a good goal for me.

"Snow Day"work in progress, oil on Raymar panel, 9"h x 12"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

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

"Pool Room" Painting: Welcome to My House

So far, this is just a great day. As my "warm-up" today I decided to start a series of interiors around my house ... something that I've been wanting to do for a very long time. My painting is always best when it's deeply personal, when I'm showing you a moment, place, memory that's important to me.

The pool room depicted here is just feet away from my home studio ... where I've been stationed due to the Mid-Atlantic snowstorms and the large portrait commission that I can't create at the Artists' Atelier (my shared studio at 1144 Walker Road, Suites D&G, Great Falls, VA). This is pretty close to the view I'd have from my easel if the portrait I have on it was smaller. I'm perpendicular to it ... still with my own cozy view of the fireplace. Not a bad place to be during a snowstorm.

"Pool Room" is tiny ... only 6"h x 8"w. It was fun to wreak havoc on the sense of scale that way. Like constructing a dollhouse. There's a special intimacy and charm with this small size.

Since I decorated and thought through this house, it has all these wonderful places to be, to sit, to enjoy. I hope this painting is one of many home-based interiors to be accomplished soon.

Other interior paintings from my restaurant series can be found in the Places section of the Gallery pages on my web site: www.jillbanks.com.

Now, back to the portrait.

"Pool Room", oil on Raymar panel, 6"h x 8"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

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