Following an introduction by Di Roberts of Whistler’s sojourn and subsequent paintings of Venice we were then challenged to produced pastel paintings of scenes similar to those that Whistler had painted.  I really enjoyed the day and being able to paint using Whistler’s techniques and colours was a joy.

Thank you Di and Insight

The Vermeer exhibition was very good and although only 4 of Vermeer’s paintings, that included The Lacemaker, were on display the other paintings of the period were very very interesting.  A great exhibition and free.

It has also been used on their promotional material Wow!.

1. Let’s start with the most painfully obvious, buy an original piece of art work. Go to an art gallery, visit an artist’s website, or visit their studio. Look for something that takes your breath away, makes your heart leap, and makes you feel wonderful when you look at it. Then buy it. Just do it. You will never regret the beautiful painting or sculpture that enriches your home and your life.

2. Commission a painting: a favorite view, a person you love, spouse, child, grandchild, a beloved pet, or as a memorial of a loved one who has passed, painted from a favorite family photo.

3. Can’t afford #1 or #2, ask the artist about acquiring your new painting by making installment payments over time. Or offer to barter, remember artists are creative sorts and will be open to creative ways to get their art into your life.

4. Give yourself a gift while supporting an artist, sign up to take a class or workshop in 2012.

5. Buy a gift certificate from an artist or gallery for an art lover, or for a couple recently married and furnishing a new home or a family that’s just moved into a new home.

6. On a tight budget this year? Find an artist who offers smaller works or giclee prints of their work and buy something that makes your heart sing without making your wallet cry.

7. Share the love! Artist share their art freely for all to enjoy on the internet via their websites, blogs and Facebook pages. Share the love! Click “Like” when they post artwork and leave positive, encouraging comments and most important of all “share” their posts with your other Facebook “friends” and help get the artist’s work in front of more eyes.

8. Do you have friends who love art, visit galleries and museums?  Get some business cards and postcards from some of your favorite artists and pass them out to people you know who love art.

9. Go to an art opening, sign the guest book and include all your contact info. Sign up for the artist’s newsletter. Better yet bring along a few friends and encourage them to do the same.

10. Buy some art supplies for a child in your life, ensuring that the next generation of artists has a good start on the creative journey.

All their paintings were stunning but I particularly  loved the pastels and watercolours.  I have been reading and trying out Ann Blockley’s Watercolour Techniques which are very similar to those used by the Glasgow Boys back in the 1880′s.

The exhibition is only on until Sunday 23rd January so I urge you to go and let me know what you think.

It was wonderful to see such fabulous paintings all in one place and be able to compare the different techniques.  I loved the way they all adapted what they saw to make it fit the canvas.  I was stunned by the amount of detail in each of the paintings and to read that they employed their students or another artist to paint figures and the more tedious repetitious sections of the work.  The comparisons of each of the paintings by Canaletto and his nephews Bellotto and Bellotti were extremely interesting and those of Guardi whose work took on more of an impressionist appearance.  It was also fascinating to read how they were commissioned to paint ceremonial occasions and that the British Ambassador John Smith bought and displayed these in his home in Venice for visiting people to see and then commission Canaletto to paint a view of Venice for them.

It has again inspired me with some of the paintings I am currently attempting.  I bought a DVD of the Exhibition which I found truly inspiring and much more useful than the catalogue.  It gave an insight into Venice at the time of The Grand Tour that was undertaken by so many in the 18th Century.  My Great Great Grandparents used the Grand Tour for their honeymoon and I have a few of the watercolour paintings that my Great Great Grandmother did.

Some years ago I saw the collection of Canaletto paintings that are on display at Woburn Abbey, but I must go and see them again as they appear to be more representative of Venice as a whole rather than just the Grand Canal.

Definition and Meaning

In fine art, the Italian word ‘Impasto’ (dough or paste) denotes a painting technique in which undiluted paint is applied so thickly (like toothpaste) onto the canvas or panel (often with a palette knife) that it stands out from the surface. When using this impasto technique, the artist often mixes paint on the canvas itself to achieve the required colour.

Oil Painting is most suited to the impasto method, due to the viscosity of oils, their thickness and slow drying time, although acrylic paint or even gouache can be applied in the impasto style. Tempera is too thin to be impastoed without adding bulking or thickening agents (eg. Aquapasto™).

Advantages

The impasto painting method offers the artist several advantages.

First, its raised surface causes light to be reflected in new ways that the artist can control. It was used frequently to mimic the broken-textured quality of highlights – that is, the surfaces of objects that are struck by an intense light. Second, expressionists (notably Van Gogh used impasto to convey feelings and emotion. Third, impasto can convey a three dimensional impression. Baroque painters like Rembrandt, Hals and Velazquez used minutely and painstakingly worked impastos to depict lined or wrinkled skin, folds in robes, or the glint of jewellery. Lastly, the rough texture can draw attention to certain points or aspects of a composition.

Famous Painters Who Used Impasto

Modern exponents from the eras of Impressionism (c. 1870-80), Expressionism (c.1905-30), Abstract Impressionism (c.1948-60), Neo-Expressionism and other styles of contemporary art have frequently resorted to impastoed paint to achieve specific effects. The Dutch-American abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning, the Russian-French colourist Nicolas de Stael and German-born painter Frank Auerbach are three such exponents. The impastoed paint on Auerbach’s paintings, in particular, can be as thick as a bread crust. Since then, impasto or any similar method of applying thick layers of pigment paste to a canvas have become a staple technique of abstract and semi-figurative art.

Other famous artists known for their impastoed paintings include: the ‘Action Painter’ Jackson Pollock, the French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and the Expressionist Vincent Van Gogh. The technique is also used by famous Irish artists such as: the Neo-Impressionist Arthur Maderson, the Irish landscape artist Donald Teskey, and the Impressionist Roderic O’Conor.

Tips On How To Use The Impasto Method When Painting

• Impasto can be applied with a brush or palette knife. The paint itself can be used straight from the tube, or diluted, to make it malleable yet thick enough to stand upright.
• When thick layers of pigment are left to dry slowly, wrinkling or cracking of the paint film may occur. To avoid this, use a fast-drying alkyd medium or one specially designed for impasto work. These mediums thicken the paint without changing its colour, expedite the drying process and make the paint go further. Excessively oily paint usually makes it awkward to achieve highly textured impasto brushstrokes. In such a case, squeeze the paint onto absorbent paper and leave it for a few minutes. The paper will absorb the surplus oil lending the paint a stiffer consistency.
• Flat bristle or synthetic brushes are ideal for impasto work, because they hold a lot of paint. Load your brush with plenty of colour and dab it onto the canvas, working the brush in all directions, thus creating a sculptural texture.
• For extra texture, mix sand and sawdust with oil paint to create a highly impastoed surface. You can also make expressive marks by scratching into the wet paint with a palette knife, the end of a brush handle or any sharp tool.
• If your oil painting becomes clogged with too much paint, the surplus can be removed when still wet by a technique known as ‘tonking’. Simply place a sheet of newspaper, toilet-tissue or other absorbent paper, onto the overloaded area and gently smooth with the back of your hand. Then peel off the paper, lifting the excess paint with it.
• Once your impasted layer is completely dry, you can glaze over it with a thin film of paint mixed with a glaze medium. However, in order to prevent cracking, the glaze medium must contain more oil than the layers underneath

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