Christians in the Visual Arts and the drawing class

The first event at the CIVA conference that I participated in was an all-day figure drawing class led by  a famous figurative artist Edward Knippers.
The greatest benefit for an introverted artist like myself who almost never leaves the studio was that I met some fantastic people,  famous in their work and with broad exposure world-wide and...they talked to me! These are articulate people who can get up in front of a huge audience and speak of the things that matter most to me-our Christian faith. They write and can express clearly what I struggle to say in my own work. I feel much less alone now as I continue to do what it is I vision in my work.
So, here I am at the figure drawing class with this famous man who I did not realize was so famous and accomplished until later that evening when I went home and looked him up. His oil paintings of Biblical figures and subjects are so revealing, so truthful, and beautiful.
Well, I am little cocky about my skills as a figure drawing artist, as I do go to a regular Saturday group of life drawing and keep up the practice.

(I am in the back of the room in this photo, see the white hair and the black t-shirt which turned out to be a good choice since I was soon covered with charcoal dust)
I was taken aback when the class got off to an uncomfortable start, (for me).



 Mr. Knippers specified that we would be drawing on giant sheets of newsprint and using big chunks of the softest charcoal. I usually rely on a contour line drawing and here we were told to go with the broadest sort of silhouette of the figure. Next, our instructions were to find the lightest part of the figure and go into and erase toward the modeling. This approach took me out of my usual practice and soon I was head-to-toe black with charcoal dust. Now I remember why I have not used charcoal  since back in the old Art Center days.
Later in the day, we switched from a female model to a male and were instructed to use charcoal vine as a method of cross hatching, again, modeling the darkest tones first.
Taking me out of my old comfort zone was such a good for me sort of time, I learned and worked, came home exhausted, (drawing is such hard work) and was going to throw these black messy stacks away but took a record for my blog. And then, I threw them all out and took a shower. Whew.

Just Art

I attended a conference in June. The organization hosting the conference is CIVA. Christians In the Visual Arts. 

That definition pretty much describes me too and the location for the bi-annual meeting of this  international organization this year is in my hometown, Wheaton, Illinois. Wheaton College, where my husband teaches, was the venue for everything presented and I only live a few blocks away.
When I first heard about the conference, I was confused. I thought they meant it was just about ART! Nothing else, no agenda, no issues. I was clueless as usual, they meant it was about Justice in ART. What is the role of justice for artists, should we be defending the poor, upholding the law, giving our money to the needy?
The official description in the conference publication is "A conversation about making things and making things right".
Well, I think it was about some of those things but for me, actually more just about ART.
I saw some art exhibits, met new-to-me artists, attended an all day life drawing session, listened to some great voices in contemporary art, met some gallery owners, and absorbed a ton. I will post a couple more bits of experience in the next couple of days. I am now, almost a month later, just beginning to process this time for myself.





I met some famous artists, (name-dropping time right here), these are people who are accomplished and known in the contemporary art world now. Makoto Fujimura, Bruce Herman, Edward Knippers, Tim Lowly, Matthew Milliner, Joel Sheesley, Greg Schreck, a writer David Taylor, and the owners of a gallery in Philadelphia, Susan and Derek Hooks.
I will post some more as I get myself pulled together after such an intense "people" time.

Icons in Transformation art show

This show is officially over now but I am told that the sanctuary still has a few of the works on display. A number of the people who are congregants at this church would like to keep them permanently because of the powerful effect of the art on the worship atmosphere.

Ludmila Pawlowska is an artist educated in Russia who now lives in Sweden. She uses her art to express her faith and spiritual journey.
I was very affected by my viewing of her work. The church has also sponsored a series of lectures by icon historians along with evening of sacred music.
This is how churches should approach the arts! Combining the visual with the other usual worship forms.
The work shown was called "contemporary icons" and came in many sizes including giant slabs of heavily textured materials with a realistic eye (eye-con), painted by the artist, or a precious stone embedded within the abstraction. Some were normal-sized paintings on canvas using jewel like colors or gold leaf, and there were many smaller works, all intriguing in material and composition. Included within the displays were traditional Russian icons.

The influence that I will carry away from my encounter with this woman and her art will certainly affect my approach to the 10 worship paintings that I still need to finish for my church. (Church of the Resurrection) 
My artists team members at church have had the same type of Icon and ancient art forms approach along with exciting uses of texture and a modern sense of abstraction of forms to illuminate the scriptures.

perfect day

I am storing up the warmth and memories for later this year. For now, I just want to go back and enjoy some more summer. Both of these tiny paintings would be good to revisit with my travel easel and a canvas to make a larger version with oils. Maybe I'll get one more chance this summer to go back? I sure didn't want to leave last week.We picked blueberries at a farm in the country, came back and made our own frozen yogurt blueberry cheesecake concoction.

beach artist

Here I am, getting lots of sun, storing up the warmth and good memories. I had slathered myself with sunscreen, and was wearing a big shady hat too, because I was so absorbed in drawing and watercolor in my little book that I hardly knew when it was time to leave. I did swim, a little, just to cool off and get some more water for my paint cup.

sunset on the beach

I loved the Lake Michigan sunset from this location. The sun hung out there, giving us one last glow until 9 at night, so long to play and so long to watch.

My volleyball player son-in-law.

beach time on Lake Michigan

Late afternoon on Lake Michigan, the other side. (I live on the Illinois, Chicago side, this is the eastern beach side along the southwest coast of Michigan.) We had a picnic dinner while watching my son-in-law play volleyball in the sand. The day grew late, the sun eventually sank, glowed intensely, and then gave us a very satisfactory sunset. I kept sketching and painting.

little sketchbook painting on the little lake

This says it all.
Late in the day, 6 PM on a misty color-saturated lake in Michigan. I hear a loon calling and calling as I sat alone painting.

more little sketchbook memories

Our grand Michigan vacation consisted of visiting cottages or lake houses of good friends and family around the south and west of the state. If people had invited us "come, see our lake place!" We did, and enjoyed a nice visit courtesy of invitations. Reminds me of those Jane Austen novels where the poor relations spent their summers visiting the estates of the upper class.

My view as I sat on a dock looking out at the lake on a cloudy day.  No blue sky but some intense and saturated colors as the day changed. There was a swan, just one single lonely swan on this lake. He, (or she), swam past me warily all afternoon. Swans mate for life, I wondered what happened to this one's mate? Is it a sad story?

Later on that same day, I heard a loon crying. Is there a way to express the chill longing sound of the loon on a misty lake with a sketchbook and paint?

memories of Michigan

We managed a week long vacation this year to Michigan. Not as adventurous or far away as previous years-such as the south of France, but lovely and very close in miles from home. I kept a small watercolor sketchbook with me and it is now full of many treasured memories. Here are some to share.
A hummingbird and a red zinnia on the lakeside cottage deck, viewed as we ate our lunch on a pleasant day in July. And, the cherries, Michigan produce, that we ate during that same lunch, how sweet.

My cell phone camera is a handy way to keep a record of my painting days and places. Here you can see my little traveling set-up, my fold-out watercolor palette, my 3 1/2" by 5 1/2" sketchbook, and my water supply. It is all I need and I can paint on a deck, a boat, on the beach, by the side of a lake, in a restaurant, or while everyone else is talking(!).