This blog has migrated...

My name has changed due to marriage, so my blog has moved to www.nlundeen.blogspot.com.

:D

Whooaaaah!! A new post!

Please forgive me! Please! I beg of you. Whoever you are. I have so many excuses for why I haven't posted a blog in so long.

1. I moved to a place where I don't have anywhere to

paint.

2. I got engaged, and have been very busy being in love with my fiance.

3. I didn't feel like it.

Those are my excuses. Feel free to volunteer any of your own.

The News:

I started my next set of classes with Joseph Todorovich. So far, 3 out of 4 paintings have been very mediocre. I think this is because I've been experimenting with each class this time around, trying new things. I'm learning things, but after awhile I just want to have a nice product at the end. I think there's a balance. I have one more experimental class to go, and then I'm going to go back to just trying to do a good job. But I did paint one that I'm really happy with:

I had my first proper gallery show! And even better, my painting sold about two weeks later! To someone I didn't even know, which is infinitely cooler than, say, my dad buying it. Silly me, I didn't take a picture of the painting. But I will at some point, and I'll post it. (Promises, promises.)

I'm going to be in another group show at the same gallery in March. It's called The Barn gallery, in La Crescenta, CA. They have a website up, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is. So I'll post a link to that, too, when I get my hands on it.

In a couple of weeks I'll be moving again, this time to my very first, very own apartment. One day I will not have to seize control of my poor fiance's living room for my painting needs, but for now it's at least something!

I also just turned 24. This came with the startling realization that I really need to get it together now and put the pedal to the metal on the achieving-my-goals front. The time is now to make myself a booming career if I want to have kiddies in a few years. Things are definitely shaping up, though! My paintings sales are by far higher than they've ever been before, and it's just going to get better!

More soon. Love, Nat

Great American Figurative show

I saw the Great American Figurative Artists exhibition at the Waterhouse Gallery in Santa Barbara. I was working the day of the actual reception, but lucky for me I was in Santa Barbara the day before and got to see all the paintings without a crowd blocking me from putting my nose up against them. Too bad I missed the schmoozing oppurtunity, but for the pure purpose of looking at beautiful artwork, it was wonderful. So inspiring!!! It's always cool to see paintings by artists that you've only seen in magazines or online. The real thing is always 100x better. I have to say, this beauty by Lipking was my favorite:

You just have to see his paintings in person to really appreciate the 3 dimensional quality and the ingenious nuances that go into them. Mr. Lipking really knows what he's doing. Another favorite was this one: "It's Sunday" by Benjamin Wu

Another one that is just WAY better in real life. Just take my word for it. Oh yeah, and obviously Joseph Todorovitch's. I probably should just turn this into a Todorovitch fan site for all the mentions he gets.

Hopefully someday I will have some more of my own art to show you! I moved to a small place, and now I am about an hour away from all my painting stuff. But I'm going to have at least one long painting day a week. I have a couple of big, time consuming paintings to complete, and then I'll probably do some smaller paintings so I can feel the pleasure of finishing a painting more than once every couple of months.

Pet portraits!

Jimmy - oil on canvas - 12"x12"

I am now offering my services for custom pet portraits!

You send me a photograph by mail or email and within 30 days of payment you will receive a beautiful oil painting of your special friend.

This includes, but is not limited to:

Dogs

Cats

Birds

Iguanas

Hamsters

Horses

Snakes

Livestock

Mice

Fish

Turtles

You can find out more on my website here: www.nataliecrittenden.com

On the easel

Alright, well this painting is not exactly on the easel, but I don't know the technical name of the piece of furniture that I keep all my stuff in. I'm working on a 30"x40" painting right now, I'd say about a quarter finished. I'm pretty excited about this one!

I've been kind of negligent lately on making this an interesting blog... but I'll be posting more in-progress shots of my work. The next few months will be spent making paintings for a show, which I don't want to keep under wraps until then, so this will be a happy medium.

Charles Bargue Drawing Course

Yay! Early Christmas! My copy of the Charles Bargue drawing course came in the mail today. I've wanted it for a couple of years now, and I finally decided it was worth it to spend the $80.

It's a beautiful book. I can't wait to read more of it and start on the drawings. Although, I'll admit it's a bit intimidating!

Classes with Joseph Todorovitch are going to be over soon, until January, so this will keep me busy in the meantime! It will be great to start up again next year with a new familiarity of the figure.

The Zorn Palette

Last night was my first stab at using the Zorn Palette. This is a set of colors named after Swedish painter, Anders Zorn.... because that's what he used. It consists of ivory black, white, yellow ochre*, and some kind of obnoxiously bright red (vermillion, or in my case, cadmium red light).

* This is yellow ochre, for the color-impaired.

Anders Zorn Self Portrait

The range of colors you can get is pretty amazing, though the study I did (below) doesn't fully demonstrate that. I hadn't used a limited palette in way too long, it was so fun. There is definitely freedom in simplicity. I may have another go with it on Saturday at the five hour class.

3 hour figure study with the Zorn Palette

Back pain + sore feet = Self-portrait

I started working on a self portrait yesterday. I've never tried to paint one before. I'm happy with how it's coming along, but it's an interesting experience adding the challenges of posing to the challenges of painting. I wasn't really able to get my easel in a position where I could paint myself without having to move my head back and forth constantly, so every ten seconds I have to figure out exactly what position my head should be in. I'm quite a drifter, it seems! Also, I have to concentrate on not making ridiculous painter faces. If I had any dignity, I would never paint in public, with the looks my face settle into. Yikes.

I transfered my studio to the bathroom, as you can see in these pictures. Hopefully I will be done by the end of the day, so my brother can use the shower again.

Fame and fortune

The other day Joseph was being filmed for the Fall issue of the American Painting Video Magazine (www.americanpaintingvideomagazine.com = longest URL ever), and a few of us students were able to paint with him. I may have a .67 second cameo in there when it comes out, so make sure you get your virtual copy!

See me there, sitting on the right? I'm famous. Soon I won't be able to go out in public without hearing, "Can I get your autograph, Blurry Background Painter #4?"

I was really happy with my painting, think it has kind of a Sargent-y vibe. It came out a lot better than the recent stuff I've been painting in class. I don't know if this means I'm improving, or if it is because I was painting during the day, when I was awake. Class is in the evening, at the time of day when I am really tired and want to be vegging out on the couch in my pajamas. I like to think I can be a night person, but mostly I'm just a night person when I am walking around or eating things and don't have to be particularly witty or exhibit any kind of skill.

Lynda, portrait study - 9"x12" - oil on canvas

Anyway, I really liked the model. Very pretty, and nice. I always enjoy painting more when I like the model's personality. I recognized her when she came in, as the subject of this is beautiful painting by Aaron Westerberg. He has some great work.

Guy Rose

OK, next week! I promise I will have something good for you.

While you're waiting, here is a beautiful painting by California impressionist, Guy Rose (1867-1925). This has been one of my favorite paintings for awhile.

The Green Parasol by Guy Rose

Intermission.

I have to admit, I took a little break from painting this week. I had a good excuse... something in the vein of, "No, painting is hard, you can't make me."

But today I finally forced a paintbrush back into my hand, and pushed through the feelings of just wanting to do something easy like burger-flipping, until I ended up with a painting that I have to admit I impressed myself with.

One of my next paintings will include these origami cranes, and my beautiful friend, Jacqueline. I intended to make about twice as many cranes, but I didn't realize how few I had until about an hour before Jackie arrived to model for me. Whoops! Well, the nice thing about painting is that you can improvise.

How to Draw

For about two years I went to one three-hour class each week at Mission: Renaissance art school, in Pasadena. Aside from my recent workshops with Joseph Todorovitch, that's the only training I've had.

When I started there my drawing skills were very limited. I could draw bushes or clouds with relative ease, but I used the ancient art of holding my paper up to a bright window and tracing if I needed something to actually look proportional. Come nightfall, I was screwed. I don't think there is any place that does a better job of teaching the fundamentals of drawing and painting as simply as Mission: Renaissance. I only wish they had a version of their school that was more conducive to full-time study. As perfect as the training is at Mission: Renaissance, it isn't a hard-core academy kind of place, and I'm learning that it takes a @#%load of practice to get REALLY good. At any rate, I'm glad I went there before jumping into figure painting. It's made things a lot smoother than it would've been otherwise!

If you're interested, here is a video from the founder, Larry Gluck, that will tell you how to draw. There is a lot more to be learned, otherwise they wouldn't have three drawing courses. But I think knowing just these couple of fundamentals can make a huge difference.

Oh, and just in case you get inspired: you can see where they're located, or check out their home-study courses at www.fineartclasses.com.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin - 16"x20" - conte on paper

I finished this drawing today, from a couple of photographs I took in Wisconsin awhile back. It was around 10 degrees out that day and my feet were freezing through my rubber rainboots. Unfortunately, being a Californian sometimes has the side effect of wearing shorts in December and not being prepared when shipped off to an actual Winter. But impending frostbite aside, I couldn't get enough of this dog. I took pictures until someone started staring at me suspiciously through the window and didn't respond to my smile and my "Is it OK if I take a picture of your dog?" hand gestures.

Workshop #2, Painting #1

Portrait Study by Yours Truly

I started my second Mr. Todorovitch painting workshop last night, and produced the above. I'm getting a bit tired of being perpetually dissatisfied with my work. The good thing is that I realized I actually am getting better. If I had produced the above portrait a year ago, for example, I'd be giving myself an almost crippling pat on the back (which is hard to do, with your own hand). But my standards always rise higher than my skills.

So... it would be really nice to just be happy with what I do, but the upshot is that I know I will continue getting better until I'm on my deathbed. Even then, I will probably be drawing my deathbed sheets and periodically setting down my pencil so I can shake my fist in frustration and curse the heavens in my little old lady voice, "Yes, I am finally as good as Bouguereau! But why can I not be BETTER than Bouguereau?!"

Joseph Todorovitch drawing workshop #1

So I decided a couple of days ago to do Joseph's drawing workshop as well as the painting one, and the first drawing class was last night. Here's what I did:

I'm pretty pleased, though I know that there is much to be improved. First painting class is in a couple of days, I'll post my work from that soon!