Wet Paint: New Hershey's Kiss Painting Today

I think that this will be painting #1 today ... I hope to start another as soon as I post this and consume some of the split pea soup I made yesterday. Painting comes easily in the midst of a major mid-Atlantic snowstorm. No potential distractions -- other than that soup.

This, my second painting of a Hershey's Kiss, reminds me of a pageant queen ready to put on her sash. Interesting to imagine her in a swimsuit contest.

I painted this on gessobord (that's how Ampersand spells it) made by Ampersand.

I'm conducting a materials experiment. The materials really affect both the painting experience and the end results. I was noticing a big difference between my two recent street scenes of New York and my portrait commission. The "Rainy Day in NYC" painting, my portrait commission and the Hershey's Kiss painting were all done on different materials (Raymar panel, Angel super-smooth lead-primed linen, and Ampersand gessoboard, respectively)  -- all of which are very smooth surfaces. In all three cases, it is difficult to get the paint to adhere (it slides off) for the first pass of the painting. The paint needs to set up a bit. The surface isn't absorbing the paint ... it sits on top. Another result is that all of your paintstrokes show -- which can be good or bad. If I don't like that effect for the entire painting, I knock down some of the strokes -- something that can be done with a soft brush and soft touch after the paint has set a bit.

My "Birds of a Feather" painting of the NYC street was created on Senso linen canvas -- a material I find attractive to look at and to paint on. It is absorbent and has a medium tooth -- making it enjoyable to paint on from beginning to end. Because of its absorbency though, I often need to go back to a painting later (after it's dry to the touch) to restate edges, highlights and darks. (You can purchase Senso linen canvases through Jerry's Artarama or  ASW Express.)

Next painting up I believe will be another street scene, though I also have another intriguing painting that I started last week of a market/snack shop that I might work on. Plus, a restaurant painting dancing around in my head. We shall see.

"Give Me A Kiss", oil on gessobord, 7"h x 5"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
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Phone: 703.403.7435

"Best of Show" at the Art League

Last night, Randy and I trekked down to Alexandria, VA to the Torpedo Factory to enter this month's "Small Works" and "Large Works" shows at the Art League. Regular readers know that I torture myself over what to enter and where my various pieces should be. This evening, after teaching my portrait painting class in Great Falls I called the Art League to see whether or not my pieces got in. Rose O'Donnell, the Gallery Director who I know well ... and love ... answered the phone. She told me in her most nonchalant voice that no, sorry, #76 didn't get in. Oh, and #77, my second entry in the "Small Works" show won Best of Show!!!! I couldn't believe it! Really.

The award winner is "Orange Peeled", oil on Raymar panel, 8" x 6", $450. Contact the Art League if you are interested in purchasing. The juror for the Small Works show was Dr. Susan Frank, Assistant Curator at the Phillips Collection. Nice!

I last won Best of Show at the Art League in 2005 with "Alice with a Bad Case of Wanderlust." The Art League, with its 1000+ artist members is very competitive with a high caliber of art work in each of its monthly shows. This is an exciting honor indeed!

On a personal note, my Mom was operated on today to remove a parathyroid gland at NIH. The operation went smoothly with the outcome as expected according to my Dad. Tonight she moved into the ICU because of an irregular heartbeat ... so all the people who love her -- which probably is the whole world, and if it isn't, it should be ... will be anxiously awaiting news that all is completely well. I LOVE YOU MOM.