Report on Whitelaw Workshop

Mary Sparrow · 11-22-2005, 09:26 AM

HI -

Just thought I would report back on this workshop.

I'll post several photos, so this will be in more than one message.
The workshop was held in the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga. Very nice facility and had some nice portraits in their collection.
Dawn did her demo for us Friday night. About 50-60 people attended. She used only a few basic colors, explaining that she is learning to think according to the color spectrum rather than in terms of "alizarin crimson" or other tube colors.
Here are a few shots of her at work and her palette.

__________________
Julie Deane
www.jadeaneartist.com

Mary Sparrow · 11-22-2005, 09:28 AM

30 people attended the workshop. We had three models to work from.
Dawn was a busy lady! Luckily, the Portrait Society had plenty of people to help her out with the details.
We drew a playing card, which matched a place on the floor to set up our easels. Dawn had prepared an instruction sheet giving an outline of her process with some detail. The bare bones outline is as follows:
1. Design concept 2. Drawing 3. Establish pattern 4. Establish the value key 5. Develop form and structure 6. Finish
I like this quote from her paper "If you are not pleased with design or drawing, wash the canvas off and begin again. It is easier to "give birth" than to "raise the dead".

Mary Sparrow · 11-22-2005, 09:34 AM

A few more photos. That's my work in progress.

Mary Sparrow · 11-22-2005, 10:32 AM

Hi All, I made an error while trying to edit something for Julie and lost the earlier resonses to this thread. I'm so sorry if your response was deleted.

Julie Deane · 11-22-2005, 08:38 PM

That's okay, Mary. Although I will post my workshop "finished" piece again, because I was happy with the progress I made.

Thanks again, Steven and Michelle, for your kind comments.

Marcus Lim · 11-22-2005, 11:10 PM

Hi Mary and Julie,
Thanks for sharing insights from the workshop. You guys are so lucky to have workshops like this in your country. I'm curious about Dawn's palette.
Would you be able to provide a description of the colors used? (I presume she must mention it somewhere on the buying list attached to the workshop programme?)

And strangely, i don't see ceruleum blue on her palette. If she mixes her own flesh tones, wouldn't it be an essential color on her palette?

And last but not least, i was wondering about the green (circle) that she used. Any idea what's that green?

Sorry for so many questions, hope you can indulge this curious cat here (meow!)

Julie Deane · 11-23-2005, 02:26 PM

Hi Marcus -

Actually, it was just myself that went to the workshop. Mary was changing the title for me and ran into technical glitches and had to reinstate some of the message, hence her name and photo attached to messages that I sent.

Dawn actually only used three colors and white. Utrecht Cadmium Yellow Light (her preferred yellow), French Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red Medium. I believe the red and blue were Winton - nothing special. In fact, she commented that she usually doesn't buy expensive paints. She does have preferences for whites: Holbein Titanium White or Gamblin Replacement Flake White.

The green you see is a mix of the ultramarine blue and yellow. White and possibly a bit of the red may also be added. She says that a simple color mix helps her to "think in terms of the spectrum".

Personally, I had to add colors. My portrait used an extra blue, Prussian Blue, so that I could get that green you see. I also used a transparent earth tone. I also used an extra yellow and red, but could have probably mixed them from my primaries.

Dawn did not insist we use her colors, but I am glad I tried.

She did have a canvas preference. She orders a linen with alkyd primer from an art supply store in New York City. Unfortunately, she couldn't remember which, but I believe they have "New York" as part of their name. It had a little bit of texture to it - not a whole lot, and I noticed little "nubbies" in the cloth. By that, I mean that some parts of the cloth protruded, not perfectly smooth.

Marcus Lim · 11-24-2005, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julie Deane

Dawn actually only used...Utrecht Cadmium Yellow Light (her preferred yellow), French Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red Medium.

The green you see is a mix of the ultramarine blue and yellow. White and possibly a bit of the red may also be added. She says that a simple color mix helps her to "think in terms of the spectrum".

She orders a linen with alkyd primer from an art supply store in New York City. Unfortunately, she couldn't remember which, but I believe they have "New York" as part of their name. It had a little bit of texture to it - not a whole lot, and I noticed little "nubbies" in the cloth. By that, I mean that some parts of the cloth protruded, not perfectly smooth.

Hi Julie,
Thanks for the new insight on your experience. I'm surprised to know that Ultramarine is used in portraiture. Since i started painting, i did away with Ultras for my portraits! The only blue i have is Ceruleum Blue!

Alkyd primers? That's the second time i heard this term. How is it compared to acrylic primers used in usual canvases?
When i think about using linen, i naturally think about smooth surfaces, so it's quite a surprise for me to have textures on linen!

It must be quite a different feeling painting on this type of linen then?

Linda Brandon · 11-24-2005, 01:18 PM

Julie, thanks for posting these images and the description of Dawn's workshop. She is a terrific artist and I am a big fan of her fresh, painterly alla prima working method. And I really like how your painting turned out as well!

Julie Deane · 11-25-2005, 08:16 PM

Thanks, Linda -

I really like her things too.

Her website is www.dawnwhitelaw.com, for anyone interested in checking out her work.

Marcus, I would hate to have to limit myself to one blue. I like cerulean for its beautiful blues but also for the greens I can mix from it. But if I want a more reddish blue, I would go for ultramarine. I am also liking Prussion Blue, because it's dark like ultramarine, but with a greenish tinge, so it mixes into a green very nicely when yellow is added.

Alkyd is like an oil paint, I think, but it dries faster. I'm not an expert, so I'm sure you can get a better description from someone who knows more about it.