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Museums in Philly

August 27, 2013, 1:07 pm
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Everyone knows about the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but what about the other museums in Philly? For an easy way to find fun museums, simply walk down Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

You can also visit With Art Philadelphia at the link below.

http://withart.visitphilly.com/?gclid=COm9qcutnrkCFbFQOgodgisA4g


The Barnes Foundation
A Museum and a classroom the Barnes Foundation display modern and contemporary realist art and many things in between, and surprisingly, horticulture

http://www.barnesfoundation.org/
2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130
215.278.7000

300 North Latch's Lane
Merion, PA 19066
215.278.7350

info@barnesfoundation.org

Open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
10 am–6 pm
Friday until 9:30 pm
Closed Tuesday


Rodin Museum
In the museum's own words: The Rodin Museum is a "unique ensemble of Beaux-Arts architecture and a formal French garden in which to experience the sculpture of Auguste Rodin."

http://www.rodinmuseum.org/
2154 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 763-8100

Closed: Tuesday
Wednesday-Monday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.


Woodmere Art Museum
A museum of artists of Philly. That's right. This museum tells the story of art and artists in Philadelphia.

http://woodmereartmuseum.org/
9201 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215-247-0476

Tues. – Thurs. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.


Underground Art Museum
Not much is known about this mysterious museum, probably because it is underground. But their
facebook page holds a collection of fine paintings.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Underground-Art-Museum/233409516692398
525 S 4th Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(610) 565-2000


Artist's House
A gallery of emerging artists from the Philadelphia area. Art for sale here.

http://www.artistshouse.com/
57 North 2nd Street
Philadelphia PA

Current Hours
Saturday and Sunday
12 noon to 5pm or by appointment


Dalet Gallery
A gallery that connect the artist and the viewer. Has shows for music, sculpture and painting.

http://www.daletart.com/
141 n. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215 - 923 - 2424

Gallery hours: Wed - Sat 11am - 6pm,
Sun & Mon by appointment.


Pennsylvania Academy of Modern Arts
A wonderful collection of art, online and in person. Boasts shows, exhibitions, classic masterpieces, and masterpieces to be by today's rising artists from around the world.

http://www.pafa.org/museum/
Historic Landmark Building
118 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-972-7600

Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building
128 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-972-7600

Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and legal holidays.

Admission
Adults: $15
Seniors (60+)/Students (with ID): $12
Youth (13-18): $8
Children 12 and under and military personnel (excluding groups): Free
Members: Free


There are many more galleries and tiny museums out there to find. Art-Collecting has a wonderful list of some, as well as a list of artist's websites.
http://art-collecting.com/galleries_pa_philadelphia.htm

Go forth an be inspired!
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Do Re Mi

March 26, 2012, 5:10 pm
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I have been thinking about the importance of the basics, and how we practice them here at Incamminati over and over. A level one student does one-minute gestures all first semester and even into the second. Second year students do a ton of black and white studies, and a gazillion color studies. I have to say that I was starting to wonder if we were beating a dead horse.....but then.......I got invited to a Halloween karaoke party last fall.....
I chose to sing two fairly difficult songs, and decided that the only way to do this was to take voice lessons.....I hadn't really sung in about 30 years.....and girl oh girl was that first lesson ever painful...more for the teacher than me!!
I actually had two teachers, which meant two lessons a week...I had limited time to get ready for the party.....6 weeks if I remember correctly. Both teachers focused on getting me to relax my vocal cords, and how to breathe correctly. This was not an easy task, I had to think about what I was doing. The lessons revolved around exercises designed to help relax my vocal cords. For an hour twice a week, and with practice in between, I ran (sang)up and down scales, practiced catching and holding my breath in my abdomen...not my throat (news to me!! and not so easy to do at first!), practiced singing different vowels and simple sounds....all these exercises over and over.....then I would practice my selected songs.
The whole time that I was taking these lessons I was reminded constantly of how we practice here at Incamminati. Gestures over and over, 10 minute block-ins...grisailles...and then into actual paintings using these building blocks,
The political satirist Stephen Colbert was cast in Stephen Sondheim's 2011 production of Company, and commenced taking voice lessons. Here is what he had to say about the experience: "What I rediscovered was the therapeutic nature of singing lessons," he says. "They're like doing yoga but for [the] inside of your body. You open up and use muscles that you don't think of as malleable. ... You can turn your head into a bell. ... That's what we kept working on: resonance and projection and relaxation and just remembering or relearning how to breathe through a phrase. The technical aspects of it are fascinating to go through in the lessons. And then you have to forget all of it, and sing." Just liking painting....the technical aspects of drawing and painting are in and of themselves fascinating.......but are in no way the end result. At some point you have to forget all of it and just paint. The exercises and the drawing lessons ultimately give us the ability to express ourselves from our inner being.
We are not taught to paint like Nelson Shanks at Incamminati.......he has never wanted that, but for each of us to be our own authentic artist, and you get there from repetition, and then more repetition, and then some more repetition.

By the way, I won best performance at that party.
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Structural Drawing with Dan Thompson

December 10, 2013, 7:13 pm
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Hello to all our subscribers! I'm Alexander Soukas, currently a level 2 student in the full time professional program here at Studio Incamminati. Alongside other students in the program, I will be updating you weekly on classes, events, and other happenings here at our school: every wednesday, I will be chronicling level 2's adventures in Structural Drawing of the figure. After half a semester of anatomical and planar sculpture, we have entered the life room to examine the long pose.


Last week, our fearless leader Dan Thompson guided us through the concepts and techniques of working through and interpreting the integral start of the drawing. Dan stressed the importance of staying open and designing the drawing with the use of the background and other elements as you compose the figure as a coherent whole. Dan also laid out several of his concepts for helping to "map" out the drawing, all pertaining to shape and proportion. Although anatomy and structural integrity are the cornerstone of this class, he told us to be wary of introducing that filter too early, "Don't get too human, too quickly."
(Dan Thompson demonstrating) 

(Dan Thompson's result from the morning demo) 

 With the addition of a simple shadow value, darkest dark, and average light tone, Dan demonstrated the beginning of setting up the value hierarchy in the drawing, continuing to draw and refine shapes as he went. Due to the large class size, we had two models, each with their own respective set-up. Due to travel plans for thanksgiving, I didn't manage to snap a picture of everyone's work - my apologies! More pictures to come this week of our progress. Below are student examples:







(the army of heads from previous weeks, standing before the clay eyes of Dan's Demo!) 

What are your strategies for planning out a long pose? Start the conversation! 


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An Introduction and a Beginning

December 28, 2013, 8:19 am
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Hello all,
I hope you had a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whichever other way you choose to express well wishing at this time of year.
My name is Jason Patrick Jenkins and I am a new member of Studio Incamminati's blogging team. I am very excited to be here, both as a blogger and as a member of Studio Incamminati, where I am training in the full-time professional program.
First let me tell you a little about myself.  As a blogger, I don't tend to write articles rife with insight and profundity. However, I am an avid repurposer and sharer of hidden gems, pearls of wisdom, kernels of truth, and such, composed by other people. This may actually be the most verbose you'll ever see me, but I intend to re-post to the blog with regularity.
That being said, lets begin...

First, over the holidays, I stumbled upon a video demonstration by David Gray. Its always good to see how other artists work, and I have been following David's work for several years now. I adore his Still lifes (yes that is grammatically correct) and he does beautiful drapery and figures. I have heard many speak of how they see Vermeer in his work (and often count myself among them),  but I believe he has said his primary influence is Ingres.
Either way, check out his website hereand his blog (complete with tips, techniques, and demos)here.
Also, on the topic of drapery, Stephen Early suggested to me a few weeks ago that I take a look at Da Vinci's drapery studies, as reference material for a piece of my own that I have been working on. Well, after a little google time, I actually found them all in one place, on Jeffrey Hayes' blog. I haven't been following Jeffrey's work for  long time, but I am certainly keen to see more. You can check out the Da Vinci drapery study post here and the rest of his blog here.

Finally and I'll call this it for now, Graydon Parrish recently started a new group on facebook, called the Atelier Exchange. According to Graydon:
"This group is for people who want to buy, sell and trade drawings, paintings and sculpture studies made at the various worldwide ateliers, by atelier instructors and talented friends. Works will only be slightly vetted to maintain a standard. Try to post things you are proud of, and only post one or two works at a time, so that the images are larger. Links to exhibitions are appreciated. The Atelier Exchange takes no commission and all sales are the responsibility of the artist and buyer."

I quite frankly love the idea. Especially the vetting aspect, as I have always been an advocate of the idea that a little critical feedback is good for "the industry/tradition" with regard to maintaining standards, and for individual artists and their practices, as it provides a means to gauge ones progress and continually drive one to achieve greater heights.

Check out the Atelier Exchange here, and please do let us know what you think of it. The display and sale of studies? The vetting of content? the use of social media to connect artists and buyers? Leave your thoughts in the comments. We look forward to hearing them.
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Boot Camp

January 10, 2014, 6:44 am
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Blog by Level One student Michela Mansuino





By now we have finished our "Boot Camp" part of Level One Training at Studio Incamminati.  Although we started drawing very simple still lifes of boxes and teapots in the beginning, we have now graduated to creative arrangements that are compelling and rewarding.   As part of our training, we are assigned a day to create a still life that every one will enjoy working from, and from a variety of angles.  Here are some of our arrangements.  Our aim is to accurately describe the value of each object, compose the picture in a balanced way and practice a process whereby we don't get into details until we have massed in the values and planes. 

We are always learning something new each Thursday with our still life instructor Katya Held.  We also learn from each other.  It is amazing how each one of us will achieve a quality apart in our drawings.  Here Katya is giving us a group critique.



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Dan Thompson - Portrait Drawing Demonstration

January 10, 2014, 7:22 am
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Our last week before the holiday break, Dan Thompson gave an all day portrait drawing demonstration, elucidating the principles and techniques necessary towards building a drawing with gestural and structural 
integrity. 



Dan stressed the importance of placement, and looseness in the start. Using light, long lines, Dan oriented Marie on the page and composed the image as a whole, using both her figure and the environment to construct his shapes. Dan almost never lifted his pencil from the page during the first 20 minutes, explaining that maintaining contact with pencil to paper helps keep you engaged and tap into the world of the drawing. 

As his gesture and placement became more or less decided upon, Dan continued to push the drawing with a false value in the shadows. The light and dark abstraction was a continual series of corrections and adjustments to get closer to the gesture. After placing his darkest dark, Dan used that value as a key to build up values in the lights, sculpting the form as simply as possible. 

Among Dan's many talents, is being able to conduct a lucid conversation while drawing at the same time. During the demo, Dan spoke about everything from pencil sharpening to aesthetics. He stressed that drawing is about an intelligent search. He spoke about the often made accusation towards realist draftsmen and painters as being "mimetics" slavishly copying their optical field. Dan explained that the long pose is impossible to copy - the final product is a total fabrication, a sum of truths about light and form. This distillation of the human figure is what makes the process and the product meaningful. 











The finished demonstration. "Marie" graphite on paper, 18x24"


 Our wonderful model Marie sat patiently for nearly 6 hours. 



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Your Workshop Needs, Mattelson on Black, and Rob Goodman's Yell

February 4, 2014, 7:54 am
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Hey out there,
Jason Jenkins here to share a few more interesting items with you.

First off, I was reading Underpaintings blog by Matthew Innis recently (which is brilliant and I highly recommend) and I came upon a schedule of upcoming workshops. I was very pleased to see our own Natalie Italiano, Dan Thompson, Lea Colie Wight and Kerry Dunn Listed amongst them, as well as Studio Incamminati's Daniel Sprick Workshop and those of many other artists I hold in high regard from outside Studio Incamminati. Be sure to check this out to meet your workshop needs.

Next I recently read an article regarding the often taboo use of black in painting by Marvin Mattelson on his blog Brush Aside. As usual Marvin is well spoken and doesn't hold back on sharing his thoughts. I found it a very interesting read and I hope you do too.

Lastly I would like to congratulate and spread the word regarding the recent opening of Yell Gallery by Studio Incamminati alumni and teacher, Rob Goodman. According the website, Yell is an arts and performance space located in North Philly. So if you are in the Philly area, get your submissions in. As stated on the website, "A thorough but brief description of your proposed show along with relevant images and accompanying details should be sent to yellgallery@gmail.com." 
According to google, there are a lot of Robert Goodmans out there, but this is the one of which I speak.

Anyway, thats it for now,
Jason Jenkins
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Level One Still Life Set Ups, Part Two

February 5, 2014, 3:00 am
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For my blog on Studio Incamminati, I would like to continue with the subject of our still life drawing class, level one.  These pictures were taken at the end of our first semester, in December, 2013.
Here, our instructor, Katya Held, is giving us a group critique in front of the still life and at our easel.


Our still life set ups look very different depending on which angle they are seen from.  When we set them up, we make sure they look good from four or five different views.  We spend time adjusting the light, which is fixed to a boom on a sturdy light stand. 

We always start with a thumbnail sketch to block in the basic value relationships.  The thumbnail is kept simple, done in five values.  In this picture, you can see student Jason Jenkins continually comparing his thumbnail to his larger drawing and his larger drawing to the actual still life in front of him.


Student Jason Jenkins' drawing after two days.


From a slightly different angle, Anna Sang Justice’s drawing after two days.

Student Lynn Snyder's view and composition after two days.

From across the room, and a very different view of the still life, student Dale Longstreth's drawing 
after two days.


Our group had a still life life that was completely different, but it looked good from various angles.



One of the biggest decisions is whether the composition will look better vertical or horizontal.

I drew two thumbnails from this angle before I decided I wanted to compose it in a vertical format.

Student Mark Pullen got a rather oblique view of the skull and composed it elegantly.  From his angle there was a significant effect of light.

You can see from student Wendy Wagner Campbell’s drawing, that the still life was made up of many elements that were the same in range of values, with only two white and one black.

My favorite was this view of the set up that student Hope La Salle had.  Hope has kept her five values consistent throughout the drawing.

I’ll end here with a bit of writing by John Henry Fuseli (1741 - 1825) Swiss, on composition, because it  has everything to do with making pictures. 

“COMPOSITION, in its stricter sense, is the dresser of invention, it superintends the disposition of materials.  Composition has physical and moral elements: those are
     perspective - unity
     light - propriety
     shade - perspecuity

Without unity it cannot span its subject.
Without propriety it cannot tell the story.
Without perspecuity it clouds the fact with confusion, destitute of light and shade it misses the effect, and heedless of perspective it cannot find a place”  Fuseli














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Angelique Benrahou's Art School Confidential

February 7, 2014, 3:00 am
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Hey there, my name is Angelique Benrahou, but you can call me Angie. This is part one of my series on my experiences through different art programs.

I have wanted to be an artist for as long as I could remember. Wait, I wanted to be a bus driver in kindergarten, but that probably doesn't count. I was fortunate to be able to attend several summer programs throughout my teen-age years: Fleisher Memorial, Moore College of Art, University of the Arts and Tyler School of Art. I enjoyed the environments for the few weeks I was there surrounded by people who shared similar interests. When I became a senior in high school I made a huge decision that separated me from the other 98 kids in my graduating class; I wanted to go to Art School. 

It was very different from applying to other liberal art schools, it involved creating a portfolio tailored to each specific school and also preview my desired focus in art. I researched a lot and read about the three types of general art institutions out there. Little did I know I would be attending all three types later in my college career! Those will be in later posts. 
I decided to go to University of the Arts, with a scholarship, one of the best illustration programs in the country and it also being in my hometown of Philadelphia, PA, it was an overwhelming "YES!". 

I enjoyed my first year and a half there, having room to experiment with different approaches, mediums and target market assignments:(book covers, poster, fairy tale illustrations). However through out my many hours of critiques I kept hearing a pattern of suggested improvements, boiling down to technical skills. The literal representation of life on paper, my ideas were great, that you couldn't teach was said, but the fineness of my hand was in question. 

As the weeks went on I searched the library for art books, the internet and professional artists' blogs. I decided firsthand to visit an art convention in science fiction and fantasy art, IlluXcon. I was blown away by all the technical skills flowing out of the doors, that this was the level of professionalism that needed to be reached. 

I knew that with a year and a half left of art school to go, I would not make it to that level with my current program. With many advising me not to, I left University of the Arts, with no plan in mind, just the visions of where I wanted to be and knowing that there must be a way, if not,I was going to make one. 

To be continued . . .

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Article 2

February 28, 2014, 10:31 am
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This month we started a new approach to still life.  We kept our set ups simple.


We knew we would have three days to work on this particular charcoal drawing.  We spent the first day working out the composition in four thumbnails sketches.


Here is Linda Denin's finished study of the still life.


Here is Hope La Salle's finished study of the still life.


Here is Lynn Snyder's finished study of the still life.


Here is Dale Longstreth's finished study of the still life.


We used but three objects and drapery, and spent more time adjusting the light.


Some of the objects were truly simple.


As artists, we ought to start with a story about the objects before we compose our picture but sometimes the story evolves as we think about the condition of the set ups.  Our four thumbnail sketches helped us find various compositions, horizontal, vertical, cropped and all inclusive.


Here is Wendy Campbell's finished study of the still life.


Here is Paul Worley's finished study of the still life.


Here is Angelique Benrahou's finished study of the still life.



The drawing of a still life is usually much more beautiful than the actual still life.  This is because we interpret the gravity and the light as it appeals to our senses.



We used but three objects and drapery, and spent more time adjusting the light.



Here is Kathleen Moore's finished study of the still life.


Here is jason Jenkin's finished study of the still life.



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Dan Thompson: Composition and Light Key Figure Painting

March 5, 2014, 6:13 am
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Dan Thompson: Composition and Light Key Figure Painting

Since my last update, Level II and III students started a new semester with Dan Thompson, "Composition and Light Key Figure Painting." Dan gave a very informative lecture this morning on Edgar Payne and Henry Poore's ideas and writings on composition and design. In the afternoon, we had the atypical and fun pleasure of having two set-ups to paint from, both multi-figure compositions. Each model stand had extensive drapery and props for us to work with, giving us the opportunity in  graphite, charcoal, or oil paint, to create a balanced and compelling composition. Do you do any preparatory studies for compositions such as these? Let us know

Happy painting,
-Alexander Soukas
Christopher Nixon
Alexander Soukas (value study and "notan" study) 
Nell O'Leary
Daryl Burkhard
Barbara Zanelli
Lis Dembling
Shira Friedman
Mitsuno Reedy
Dian Paramita
Jared Fisher
Hayley Owens
Carolyn Gabbe 

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Still Life Drawing Class, Level One, Part Three

March 5, 2014, 6:38 pm
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This month we started a new approach to still life.  We kept our set ups simple.



We had three days to work on our drawings although the first day was spent doing four thumbnail sketches of various compositions, horizontal, vertical, cropped and all inclusive.


Here is Linda Denin's finished study of the still life.


Here is Hope La Salle's finished study of the still life.


Here is Lynn Snyder's finished study of the still life.


Here is Dale Longstreth's finished study of the still life.


We used but three objects and drapery, and spent more time adjusting the light.



As artists, sometimes we start with a story about the objects before we compose our picture and sometimes the story evolves as we think about the condition of our set up.


Here is Wendy Wagner Campbell's finished study of the still life.


Here is Paul Worley's finished study of the still life.


Here is Angelique Benrahou's finished study of the still life.


The drawing of a still life is usually much more beautiful than the actual still life.  This is because we interpret the gravity and the light as it appeals to our senses. 



Here is Kathleen Moore's finished study of the still life.


Here is Jason Jenkins finished study of the still life.




Some of the objects were truly simple.



After composing the thumbnails four times, a wonderful wonderful drawing usually happened.



Here is my finished study of the still life.  About half way through the drawing I had a story in my mind about these objects and the condition of their arrangement.  I call this drawing "Habitat" now, because it makes me think of a middle class condition of life.



Here is David Clark's finished study of the still life.












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Light Key Color Study with Dan Thompson

March 13, 2014, 6:24 pm
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Due to technical difficulties, I come to you 2 weeks late with an update on Level 2 and 3's class with Dan Thompson. My apologies!!!

This blog entry is an account of our first day into Light key color study. Dan started with a very thorough, 3 hour lecture and discussion on Henry Hensche and the tradition and lineage of colorist  methodology in painting. Here at Studio Incamminati, we inherit a tradition of a colored approach to seeing from our founder Nelson Shanks.  Nelson studied briefly with Henry Hensche, but was profoundly influenced by his ideas and teachings on color study which are an integral part of our program and curriculum.

After lunch, Dan demonstrated the process of a color study. Color study is a way of arriving at an understanding of color by stating and properly relating the colors of various masses to one another. By disregarding highly refined drawing (aided by the use of a palette knife) the artist makes a series of color 'notes', or guesses, at the color of each shadow and light mass of the subject. These initially garish and chromatic statements are an attempt at capturing "the shock of the light" or what Hensche called the "light key," the correct arrangement of colored relationships that will give the sensation of the light condition the subject is bathed in, in this case, artificial light. Unlike tonal painting where a local color is chosen for each object and is lightened or darkened to describe its form with black or white, colorist painting seeks to also describe the 'color of the light' whether it's the warm orangey glow of a halogen bulb, or the cool and ambient blue of natural light. Disassociating the color of the light from the local color of an object is the great fun and struggle of color study.

Dan's initial drawing

Dan's First pass

Dan's final pass

Dan's palette - note how separate and clean his piles are
Carolyn Gabbe
Alexander Soukas
Nell O'Leary
Christopher Nixon



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NYC and Some Recent Reading

March 26, 2014, 1:43 pm
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Hey Everyone,
I hope you all are doing well, and enjoying lengthening days.
If you have the opportunity to get to NYC between now and April, you should get to the Met. That is how long Bouguereaus's Nymphs and Satyr (seen above) will be there on loan from the Clark Art Institute (which is undergoing renovations). I managed to go see it a couple of weeks ago (I actually got to the Empire State building, Grand Central Station, Times Square, The Frick and The MET all in one day. My first time in NYC, and a whirlwind of surgical proportions I assure you), and was in awe before it. Not to mention all the other spectacular works whose company it is currently in.
Otherwise, I thought I'd share a few interesting articles I've read recently.
Firstly a couple of pieces that I thought were steeped in a bit more gravitas.
Today I came upon this piece by Roger Scruton, (who I first discovered in his documantary, "Why Beauty Matters" and who is a Keynote Speaker at TRAC2014). Not everyone is in agreement with Mr. Scruton's work, and I've heard him come under critical fire, but I am a fan.
I also recently read this Keynote address given by Fred Ross of the Art Renewal Center, at the Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists, where our very own Nelson Shanks was being honored.
This piece from Brandon Kralik over at The Huffington Post also caught my interest.
On a lighter note, not that long ago I found this gem. And a few days ago, I found this one. I think it was shared on the Atelier Movement Group on facebook, but don't quote me on that.
In other news, I hope you all got your submissions sent in for the Portrait Society of America's International Competition. The deadline was on March 4th and sent mine in just in time. As you all know Kerry Dunn won last years with his piece "Toto and I", and I'm looking forward to see what dazzling pieces are chosen by the judges this year.
Well, thats it for now. I'll leave you with Kerry's prize winning piece.
Till next time,
Jason P. Jenkins




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Article 1

April 10, 2014, 1:20 pm
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LOL 
Level One played a prank on our beloved instructors Natalie Italiano and Joe Dolderer.

For the last seven weeks we have had an assignment to copy a master painting in the grisaille technique, that is to paint the values in a reduced scale of five tones.  Usually we use burnt sienna and ultramarine blue and a number 4 Silver bristle filbert on a toned canvas or canvas paper.

As usual we hung our homework up on the board and gathered around to see each other's efforts and critique the work.  We especially enjoyed our instructors reactions....
to Picasso.


 To copy Picasso's self portrait was revealing in that it was so blatantly primitive.  There were no real values to speak of and the flatness of the picture plane was painfully boring to us after having drawn from the model every day seven hours a day for the last nine months.  It takes years of practice to learn how to see and draw accurately.



  Antonio Mancini 1852 - 1930, Italian
We studied Mancini's realist subject matter and dark palette, we learned a lot about painting the mouth by copying this painting. 

And we didn't get in trouble at all.

  




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Dan Thompson Color Study Portrait Demo

April 11, 2014, 5:00 am
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Before our spring break, Dan Thompson gave us a 3 hour color study demonstration. In the study, Dan demonstrated side by side on the same canvas, the two key components of form we've been studying independent of each other up until this point - form and color.

In the first stages, Dan proceeded to block in the model's head and first color notes in the same manner that we have been practicing the last 4 weeks, described in my last blog post here.

Dan painting Dan!

The first pass of color notes on left, and first planes of head in grisaille on right. 
The 3rd pass of color notes. Note the unified lights and shadows. 

After 2 or 3 passes of adjusting his color notes, Dan worked in grisaille during the model's breaks, to construct a planar head. This head, based on the sculptures we had made in our first semester, served as a guide in breaking down the innumerable color variations seen in nature, into a coherent and dimensional form.

Dan in action

The finished demonstration

By acquainting ourselves with the forms of the head in the first semester through hands on sculpture, and opening our eyes to light key and color in the second, the simultaneous demonstration of grisaille and color study brought Dan's lesson home beautifully- that every plane change is a color change, and every color change, a plane change. The better your perception and understanding of both color and form, the more intelligently you can interpret and break down form with convincing solidity and realism.


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Open House Spring 2014 Demos

April 14, 2014, 1:06 pm
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Hi Again,
Recently, Studio Incamminati had is annual open house. During the open house the facilities are open to the public, tours are given and questions are answered. It is a great time to meet with the community and potential future students, and satisfy any curiosity about the school and the program, and to get a look at the studios and student and faculty work.
We also had guests from New Wave Art, Strathmore, Gamblin, and Silver Brush, sharing information about their wares and generously distributing samples. Coffee, and remarkably good cookies amongst other fare was provided, and stimulating conversation abounded.
Center stage however was held by faculty, alumni, and student demonstrations from the live model. One of the precepts at Studio incamminati is, in order to learn, it is often optimal to ioslate one skill in an exercise, and in isolation push it, even to the neglect of other skills, to the brink of its breaking point (and possibly beyond), in the service of learning its limits and its capabilities. Then in can be reintegrated with other the other skills and employed with greater knowledge, assurance, authority, and proficiency. In a manner of speaking, that is the difference between study and performance, and as Henry Hensche said, "we must have both." In the demonstrations at the open house, each artist took one skill each , and demonstrated them as the school teaches them in exercises.
Duotone by Sakiko Shinkai

Duotone by Stephen Early

Color Study by Joseph Dolderer

Charcoal by Josh Breslin

Portraiture by Katya Held

Color Study by Leona Shanks

Grisaille by Rob Goodman

Charcoal by Peter Kelsey
The open house was a good experience for all, and the demos were an enlightening experience for me as a first year student. I highly encourage prospective students, artists and art lovers, and the community at large, to come by next time, and see what we are all about. Perhaps we'll see some of you there next year.
Thats it for now,
Jason P. Jenkins

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A Demonstration on Painting the Features with Peter Kelsey

April 22, 2014, 9:37 am
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Hi again,
Recently, it was Spring Break at Studio Incamminati. For some, a chance to rest up, and for other it is a chance to travel, or visit family. For me, it was a chance to take an intensive workshop on Ecorche Drawing and Anatomy with Peter Kelsey. The workshop itself was fantastic, and provided an opportunity to go deeper and get more specific than we did during the Ecorche and Anatomy portion of the full-time program. I brought all my left-over question with me, thought of more on the spot, and got all of them answered. For an anatomy enthusiast like me, it was a brilliant experience and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
As a bonus, and in a display of generosity with his time and his knowledge, Peter Kelsey stayed late one evening and offered a three hour demonstration on painting the features in oil. The demonstration was open to the public, and I for one, eagerly ate it up. Here it is, as it progressed.





The demo was thoroughly enjoyable, and very much appreciated.
Until next time,
Jason P. Jenkins
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Color Study with Natalie Italiano

April 28, 2014, 2:21 pm
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Today level 2 continued our recent foray into painting color studies of the figure in natural light.
Natalie set a lovely pose and put up some fun and tricky colors. Here are the results of our labor!
-Alexander Soukas


Sharon Mchugh
Jarred Fisher 
Tom Plassa
Alexander Soukas 
Grace Jackson

Nell O'leary

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A Portrait Demonstration by Kerry Dunn

May 2, 2014, 8:55 am
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Hi again,
As some of you may be aware, I have been taking an extra class in Studio Incamminati's Continuing Education Program for the past ten weeks. Portrait Painting with Kerry Dunn has been informative and enjoyable, and I have certainly gotten a lot out of it. As it turned out, one evening circumstances called for a short notice change of plan, and Kerry agreed to provide us with a three hour portrait demonstration. As a student who frequently gets to see 20 and 40 minute demos emphasizing of portions of the process taught at Studio Incamminati,, it was a treat and a valuable lessons to see a longer demo tying the various stages together. I thought I'd share the demo with you as it progressed, in 20 minute intervals.







I was pretty astounded at how Kerry started with what looked like so little, and still managed to pull form and substance from seemingly out of nowhere. 
I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek,
Until next time,
Jason P. Jenkins
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