The Blue Monster

In perusing the internet on websites that discuss artist marketing I came across this beauty from a blog by Clint Watson. The blog was rather useful and spoke about the concept of marketing more than a step-by-step approach. I thought he ended his article beautifully by saying:

"Successful artists want to change the world. They are Outside Zebras that avoid the Herd, they live on the edge, they make purple cows that become Blue Monsters via smart conversations with their clan."

-Clint Watson
The idea is a loaded statement and you'll have to read the article to deconstruct it but the gist of what he is saying is moving. http://clintwatson.net/blog/7604.   Essentially, if I were to spend a minute or two to dissect the meaning of this quote I would say that successful artists want to change the world, to be influential in a manner that challenges conventional thought, to make the world a better place through his/her art.  They are different in their own way as to suggest individuality but do not break to far from convention so as to preserve the sanctity of the group, the movement, or a school of thought.  They are ground breaking in their approach or their look.  Their work is not convention in that they do the unexpected.  This is key.  You must provide a unique product so as to differentiate yourself…..you must have a look.    These artists thus become a force unto themselves via the circles of artists and discourses that they travel among.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

6 Ideas for Better Painting Compositions

This blog posting from M. Stephen Doherty ( Editor-in-Chief of American Artist) is magnificent.  It speaks to stronger compositions.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe


6 Ideas for Better Painting Compositions
Over the past 25 years, I've heard my friend Jack Beal address art students on the critical importance of pictorial composition—the ways in which artists can develop their paintings to create a convincing illusion of space and to direct viewers' attention toward the elements of primary or secondary importance. Some of his advice is commonly offered by other art teachers, but many of his recommendations are not generally understood or consistently applied. Here is some of the advice Beal and other knowledgeable teachers offer their students.

1. Avoid putting the center of interest in the middle of the painting. It's very hard to engage viewers in a complete painting if they are focused on what's happening in the middle, or the "dead center," as it is appropriately called. It's better to move the horizon line up or down in a landscape, to make the focal point into one of the four quadrants of the rectangle, or to use one of the time-tested principles such as the golden mean to determine the best placement of the center of interest.
   
2. Use a diagonal shape to bring the viewer into the painting from the bottom. Think of the bottom edge of a painting as a ledge the viewers have to cross to enter the space. If you show them where they can easily step over that ledge, they are more apt to feel invited into the picture. The diagonal can be established by a large, dark clump of bushes in the foreground; a road or pathway to walk along; a knife lying on the edge of a table pointed to the rest of a still life arrangement; or a shaft of light coming from over the viewer's shoulder into the space.
   
   Once you have persuaded the viewers to enter the painting, it is helpful to lead them through the space and out again. Don't take them down a road that ends in the middle of the painting or suggest they follow a piece of cloth that disappears behind a box within your still life arrangement. Use a well-defined diagonal shape to lead viewers out of the painting.
   
3. Recognize that fences, roads, railroad tracks, and other pathways are like arrows pointing viewers' eyes in a specific direction. Make sure that if you point them toward one area of the painting you don't leave them there.
   
4. Don't shy away from leaving some areas of the painting open and airy. Many people who work from photographs fail to adjust for the fact that the camera has a limited depth of field and will only document what happens within a narrow space. When they paint from those photographs, they wind up filling their paintings with all the leaves and flowers shown in their close-up shots or with just the foreground elements of a landscape. Since everything in the background of their photographs is a blur, they don't know how to develop those sections of their paintings. That's why it helps to take a lot of photographs of a potential painting subject—details, overall shots, various exposure settings, etc.—so that you have enough information to paint a complete view of the subject.
   
5. Consider repeating colors, shapes, and patterns to help create interest throughout the painting. This is one of the "rules" of composition that often gets repeated, and it certainly has merit. If you only have one red object in your still life, it will overwhelm the rest of the picture. If you only have one orange shape in your landscape, it will likely become the focal point of the image. The best thing to do is to repeat colors, shapes, and patterns. You don't need the exact same mixture of red or the same textural pattern. Just make sure to maintain some level of repetition and variety.
   
6. Try to look at the paintings objectively: Turn your paintings upside down or look at them in a mirror. Put them away for a few days. We all become so completely engaged in our drawings and paintings that we can't judge them objectively. It helps to turn the image upside down, put it away for a while, or look at it in a mirror so you begin to see it differently and can therefore recognize how to improve it.

M. Stephen Doherty
Editor-in-Chief

Salmagundi Demo

I will be holding a portrait painting demonstration at the Salmagundi Club on Sunday June 21st from 1-3 pm.  There will also be a $20/ person brunch prior to the presentation.  Please visit www.salmagundi.org or register by calling (212)-255-7740.

Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

Delia Brown

I came across this painting in an article of "W" Magazine and it was a feature on figurative painter Delia Brown. I must say that I enjoy her semi-erotic paintings paired with an academic realism. These figurative subjects are often complimented by patterning and sometimes various prop-like elements. However, I must say Delia is a bit edgier than my work. She is certainly someone that I am looking and will continue to look to for inspiration.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

What to do with all that unused wet paint on your palette?

A quick note to those of you wondering what to do with all of your unused paint on your palette after a day of painting. You may be wondering what to do to avoid that unwanted skin which begins to form on your globs of paint after being left out overnight. I have tried everything from adding extra drops of linseed oil to covering it with a damp towel. Both approaches do little to actually preserve the paint's integrity. Instead, try getting yourself a small plastic or rubber container such as a Tupperware bin or a plastic chinese take-out container which is more my speed.

You can scrape off any good remaining paint at the end of your painting session and with your palette knife place it into your container. Place the container in your freezer and your paint should last a good length of time and sometimes upwards of a couple of weeks however I wouldn't wait that long to revive it. You can also simple place your palette (if it is smaller enough) in your freezer as well. Happy painting.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

Phillip Pearlstein

Recently, I was compared to the great Phillip Pearlstein by my friend Tim Coolbaugh. I had the chance to see some of his work before I ever knew who he was and I must say that the work was impressive. I especially liked the the random props which he incorporated in his work to provide strong compositional elements such as wrought iron, inflatable chairs, and neon lights. I was not overly impressed by his painting technique but the over all presentation of his work was certainly effective. Additionally, it's interesting to know that Phillip Pearlstein was a close friend of the late Andy Warhol and had travelled with Andy from Pennsylvania in the 1950's to become an artist in New York. Taking all of these things into account I will greatfully accept that comparison. Thank you Tim.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

Figure Drawing by Time Dose

Above is a figure drawing from my good friend Tim Dose which he did while studying in Russia last year. He stresses that I must include the hand of his teacher in this entry but I can assure you that 99% of it is Tim's hand alone. To make him happy as he is a humble guy I will put his instructor's name (Vladimir Mogilevtsev) in here as well. Onto the work. I find this piece to be an excellent example of just how to approach the figure both in drawing and painting alike. As a good drawing is intrical to a successful painting it is easy to imagine how this study might appear as a finish. At first blush the piece seems to take on a highly polished approach with an almost saccharine-like sensibility to detail in the upper portion of the figure however at further examination it's clear to see that this feeling is attained simply through accurate observation and solid academic draftsmanship. In sculpting terms, his marks take on a refinement of small and accurate chiseling developed from larger forms. The study really starts to become interesting in his decision to leave certain parts of the piece unfinished. It is here where you begin to observe the carved and sculpture aspects to the work and discover it's true strengths. It is this dichotomy of a highly rendered torso to a nearly unfinished and suggestive lower-body which simotaneous directs the viewer as to where to look but also indicates a stage, a process, with an underlying structure, and Dose offers us a glimpse into these thoughts in his development of a strong academic drawing. I'd encourage you to visit my friend Tim's website www.timdose.com as it offers a great source of both solid draftsmanship and portraiture alike.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

Plein Air Painting

This series of pictures was from a plein air painting trip that my good friend Tim Dose and I took over the weekend of April 25th. We found a great Monet-like garden near my house in Metuchen, NJ. The paintings took about 3 hours.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

Salmagundi Club Spring Art Auction '09

I recently had the privilege of participating in the Salmagundi Club's Annual Spring Art Auction held over the past three weekends in March. I had two pieces in the show (one drawing pictured above) Westcott Street Model. While both pieces sold, the club was not immune to the current economic conditions that we are all facing. Artists could donate up to three pieces for the auction and 50 percent of the proceeds raised were given to the club. Sales were down for the event while bidders held onto their money and attendance was moderate.

Most artwork sold in the range of only a few hundred dollars which was a noticeable decrease of nearly 50 percent compared to the past few years. Although sales slumped it was still a great opportunity to meet art buyers and artists alike while drinking some good wine. One goal of the club as of late is to find ways of encouraging growth and new membership. Being a newly elected member of the Salmagundi Club's public relations committee we will be agressively persuing new members and moreover participation in the upcoming months through updating email listings, contacting various artistic organizations, and seeking cross-promotional opportunities.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe

Developing a Series

The letter below was forwarded to me by my former high school art teacher Kay Polito who is a talented naturalist painter.  Her work focuses primarily on nature and animals.   It stresses the importance of developing a series or body of work that focuses upon a specific goal. The lesson learned is invaluable.


Billy Seccombe
www.billyseccombe.om
https://twitter.com/wseccombe



May 16, 2006

Dear Kay,

Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam was recently bemoaning the
current sad state of British film comedy: "The worst thing that
can happen to anyone in the movie business," he says, "is
success. It takes away the desire to strive. At the same time
it makes one prone to repetition--which is the death of
creativity."

In my modest practice as art mentor (I do it for free), I
frequently get letters that say, "Please take a look at my work
and tell me in which direction I should go--and, by the way,
how do I get into galleries?" I often find myself replying,
"You need more consistency. Your work is all over the place.
You need to develop one style or another and go in that
direction." In other words, I'm advising, "Repeat yourself."

In the painting game, repetition is one of the disciplines
needed for self-realization. Variations on a theme, however
subtle, lead to development and refinement. I'm a believer in
the concept of "set." Making a set or series of any subject or
idea is the way to further invent and codify style. The
unification of set can be managed by subject matter--for
example, all you ever wanted to know about peonies, or pumas,
or Pontiacs. As well, format, size, medium, colour and time
development are just a few of the other set-makers that invite
creative repetition. The benefit of set is to draw an artist
along on a purposeful voyage of discovery. Often, when I look
at an artist's collection of works, particularly in early
career, it reminds me of a flotilla of unique rental boats tied
up at a pier. Any one of these boats could be rowed off in any
number of felicitous directions.

Fine art is not like the movie business, where huge amounts of
capital and a variety of skills are needed to keep pace with
accepted norms and financial risk. Fine art is generally a low
investment, individualist industry, where private sweat pays
dividends to a self-directed, exploring soul. This takes place
with a combination of courage, stick-to-it-ive-ness and
character. Not everyone can pull it off. These days there are a
lot of distractions. There may also be too much information out
there. The current rage for diversity and the perceived need
for exploring new materials have spread the virus of
dilettantism. Jack of all trades--master of none.

Best regards,

Robert

Understanding Values in Skin Tones and Painting Facial Features - Sharon Sprung DVD

Recently I purchased the instructional DVD by Sharon Sprung, "Understanding Values in Skin Tones & Painting Facial Features." The material Sprung goes over is very informative and rather helpful. She speaks about color mixing and her palette which is an arrangement of Vasari Paints. She also speaks to her brush selections and value relationships in building up the form. The video is about 2 hours long and broken up into sections. I have found it very informative and useful in helping me with my painting approach.

-William Seccombe

DuCret School of Art Painting Demonstration

The following images are taken from a portrait demonstration at DuCret School of Art on Tuesday March 10. The demonstration lasted for 3 hours and outlined a basic appraoch to painting a portrait. We discussed value relationships and color palette mixtures for flesh tones.
The first stage in beginning a portrait is to block in the figure or in this case the head with simple, geometric forms. It is a direct, painted sketch method with a sculptural approach in mind. This process is essential in capturing not only crucial relationships in form but the initial energy and impressions of your drawing. Here your observations want to be simplified by dividing the form into basic lights and darks. This initial process is done on a mid-toned gray panel and a thin mixture of burnt sienna and cobalt blue.
Once the painted sketch is completed and basic forms have been addressed, the next step is to lay in basic highlights.
This is a midpoint stage indicating not only the highlights but also the shadows that have been put into place.
Here I've begun to include background color blocking as well as the model's hair color. This is an important step in being able to address flesh tone relationships and the value shifting that occurs within the model. It is a great way to re-assess your color choices and values.
At this stage it is important to include half tones of warms and cool colors where the highlight and shadows meet.
I have begun to lay in the model's clothing here with a focus upon keeping it loose and gestural. You do not want to draw attention away from the face so it is important to keep your strokes soft and loose to create a focal point in the portrait.
And finally I will refine the portrait with some slight adjustments to color, value, etc.

New Palette

I recently developed a new palette for myself which has been very successful for me. After reading the Art Spirit by Robert Henri as well as observing similiar approaches from artists such as Joseph Todorovitch and Richard Schmidt it seems to me that this is the strongest approach as for building a palette. The color choices are a hybrid of Robert Armetta and Nelson Shanks. I feel comfortable with both the colors and palette construction. I will post this as I see this blog not only as a way to reach others but as a tool for educating myself.

Palette:
18x24" double strength glass glued to a masonite board that is painted with an earthy middle gray.

**This approach helps to keep your colors clean and always based upon the same mid-toned value.

Colors:
Spanning from left to right:

Windsor & Newton - 17 colors
-Titanium White
-Raw Umber
-Burnt Umber
-Burnt Sienna
-Alizarin Crimson
-Permanent Rose
-Cadmium Red Light
-Cadmium Orange
-Raw Sienna
-Cadmium Yellow
-Brilliant Green
-Veridian Green
-Cerrulean Blue
-Cobalt Blue
-Purple Dioxazine
-Ivory Black

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com

World's On Fire Painting Exhibition

I recently found this post very interesting. It is an excerpt from Jeremy Lipking's blog speaking about the World's on Fire portrait painting exhibition. It recently took place in L.A. and was the creation of Will.i.am, former member of the Black Eyed Peas and pop music celebrity. Essentially, a selection of artists were invited to participate in painting various pop music icons. Below is a list of the painters and the musicians they painted.

Excerpt from Jeremy Lipking's blog:

Will.i.am presents Worlds on Fire, a pop music and art collaboration. Worlds on Fire will be the first art exhibition of its kind featuring portraits of 2009 Grammy nominees as drawn by pop surrealism and representational artists. The exhibition’s opening night celebration will take place on Monday, February 2 from 7:00 PM - 1:00 AM at the Pacific Electric Lofts in downtown Los Angeles. Entertainment to be provided by live D.J. sets from Will.i.am and special guests. Worlds on Fire: Grammy-Nominated Artist Exhibition will be the premier event to kick off Grammy week.


List of artists (and musicians they are doing portraits of):
SAS CHRISTIAN – Riverview, FL (Rihanna)
LORI EARLEY – Red Bank, NJ (Madonna)
COLIN CHRISTIAN – Riverview, FL (M.I.A)
JEREMY LIPKING – Los Angeles, CA (Snoop Dogg)
SHEPARD FAIREY – Los Angeles, CA (Paul McCartney)
IAN JOHNSON – San Francisco, CA (Al Green)
DAVID STOUPAKIS – New York, NY (Will.i.am)
PAUL CHATEM – Los Angeles, CA (Rick Rubin)
RON ENGLISH – Jersey City, NJ (Metallica)
GREG GOSSEL – Minneapolis, MN (Jay-Z)
HENRY LEWIS – San Francisco, CA (Nas)
SHAWN BARBER – San Francisco, CA (Shawn Barber)
TRAVIS LOUIE – Red Hook, NY (Nine Inch Nails)
MATT BONE – Los Angeles, CA (Beyonce)
JOSHUA PETKER – Los Angeles, CA (Radiohead)
VAN ARNO – Los Angeles, CA (BB King)
HEIDI TAILLEFER – Montreal, CAN (Coldplay)
KRIS LEWIS - Los Angeles, CA (Beck)
MIKE MAXWELL – San Deigo, CA (Bruce Springsteen)
GARY BASEMAN & NABIL ELDERKIN - Los Angeles, CA (Kanye West)
CHRIS PUGLIESE – Hoboken, NJ (The Eagles)
HELEN GARBER – Los Angeles, CA (Will.i.am)
SAUL ARMAS – Los Angeles, CA (Lil’ Wayne)
TRAE KING – Los Angeles, CA (Duffy)
NATALIA FABIA–Los Angeles, CA (Pink)
R.C. LIPKING –Los Angeles, CA (Alison Krauss & Robert Plant)
JOSEPH TODOROVITCH – Los Angeles, CA (Alicia Keyes)

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com

NYC Current Art Fairs

Currently, there are 3 art fairs happening in New York City. They run during the weekend of March 8 and most shows span from Thursday to that Sunday. Here are few of the art fairs and the links to them. There of course is the NYC Armory Show held at Pier 94, followed by the Fountain Exhibit at Pier 66, and finally the Bridge Art Fair. The links are provided below.

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com

FYI - Current Art Fairs:

NY Armory Show - International Fair of New Art, Pier 94, March 5 -8, info at: thearmoryshow.com

Fountain Art Fair Exhibition, Pier 66 at 26th St., March 5 - 8, info at: fountainexhibit.com

Bridge Art Fair New York 09, The Waterfront 222 12th Ave., March 5 - 8, info at: bridgeartfair.com

Gypsy

Here is the latest piece I just recently completed entitled "Gypsy" for the upcoming Portrait Society of America competition to be held in Washington, DC. It's 36x48" and is oil on panel.

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com

716 Fine Art Featured Artist

David Geisler and Michael Lynch of the 716 Fine Art Gallery and Podcast based in Racine, WI have been nice enough to interview me on one of their upcoming Pocasts. Their show on ITunes is really inspirational and uplifting as artists and entrepreneurs, they broadcast about their adventures in running a small storefront gallery. They are rockstars and I'm sure I'll be talking about them again soon. We should be recording the interview this week and I will include a link to the conversation in a future blog entry.

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com

Syracuse University Symposium

I have recently been invited to speak at Syracuse University on March 25th at the School of Visual and Performing Arts visiting artists symposium. It is a forum for professional artists and designers to educate Syracuse University students on various aspects of the art and design field. The symposium is put on by VPA's Tim Coolbaugh and the poster seen to the left will be circulated around campus.

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com

DuCret School of Art Painting Demonstration

The attached image is a promo for an alla prima portrait painting demonstration. It will be held at DuCret School of Art on Tuesday March 10.

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com

Salmagundi Club Spring Art Auction

Through the month of March I will be participating in the Salmagundi Club's Spring Art Auction to be held on the first three consecutive weekends. I will have 2 pieces in the show. To learn more about the event please visit http://salmagundi.org.

-William Seccombe
www.williamseccombe.com