DPC Summer on the Go!

The DPC has really been having a lot o fun so far since school is out and the summer has kicked off. We have still been meeting weekly to paint and to do our group trips around the city and region to museums shows and First Fridays. We hit the Woodmere Museum to see the Violet oakley exhibition and then had a nice BBQ after at Jane's place.
I finished my painting I had going in our session at school.
Lexi working--er-joking away.
Two happy campers before their coffee break. We stopped in the Good Karma Cafe on Pine Street in Philly where we saw several painting hanging by PAFA alum Joseph Lozano.
Then this saturday Will and Jane and I went landscape painting over in Havertown, just down the road from me and I painted this little landscape.

here is Jane painting away.
Here is Jane's painting--she was on fire and finished her painting in about 90 minutes!
Will meet the owner of the farm or land and they invited us to come and paint any time.
here is Will's painting--a beaut!!

Friday Dave and lexi and I did the gallery walk for First friday--and i do mean walk--we walked just about the entire city it seems and hit all the major galleries from Gross Mccleaf, Seraphin, Rodger LaPelle, FAN and Artist house.

Lexi being stalked by a tree.....

Next week we plan on getting back out to landscape paint and work from the model.

Dirty Palette Club Summer 2

On what ended up being is very hot and humid day in Philly the DPC got together for our second summer session at PAFA. It was our second pose with our model Jessica. Some members like Alina didn't come this week but Lexi joined in to keep the balance of the force. We have two more sessions with the model and then we'll see what's nest, maybe some landscapes or even a still life. the nice weather-even if a bit warm makes us want to take it on the road and paint some landscapes and embrace the sunny dyas after an incredibly rainy Spring.
Dave with his painting.
Will started a new painting this week and here is his block-in.
Lexi started out strong with a great block-in.
Joel always looks comfortable as he paints away.
Here is my second pass on the painting, i went in and repainted and repainted again and again all over trying to dig in deeper and match values better and not worry about the details until later. It's always great to paint with the group, sometimes we laugh so hard it's hard to not mess up your painting or see through the tears of laughter! It is so incredibly important to have a great support group of friends as an artist out there swinging for the fences every day.

The DPC Summer Kick-off!

With the PAFA ASE a week past we decided as a group to keep things hot and the palettes flying by getting the group back for painting at least once a week as a group. We want to keep each other going and challenged too. So i booked a model for a few weeks to start the whole thing off and we'll be getting outside to do some landscapes as soon as this dreadful rainy spring weather get's better.
Here is William's start.
Joel's painting.
Dave is off to a strong start.
Joel talks with our model.
Alina's strong start.
Here is my painting after about 90 minutes or so. This week we'll all gather again and go at it---the summer is just beginning!

Annual Student Exhibition (ASE)

Hello Everyone,

In response to David's last post, I decided to add a few photos from this years ASE, held at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. I hope you enjoy, for it was a wonderful time for all of us. Please stop by the School if you are in town, the show will be up for quite some time.

This set of photos were taken the week before the show. Below you will see Mike, Joel, Dave and Jane, working to prepare there wall space.

This set of photos were taken during opening night. Below, are the DPC's members standing in front of their walls.

Jane Winter

Joel Shambe

Mike Manley

David Golas

If you have any questions about the shows location, or the duration of its hanging feel free to check out the schools web site.

DPC at the PAFA Graduation!

I snapped this pic tonight of the DPC crew at PAFA's ASE show after the graduation ceremony. Joel Shambe and I, David Golas, graduated today and all four of us: Joel, Jane Winter, Mike Manley and I exhibited at the Annual Student Exhibition. I am very glad to have shared this experience with my friends and I think we all have a lot to be proud of. More pics to come soon!

Summer Session 3 The Yellow Chair

The DPC gathered again for our weekly meeting, this time at school. I was taking the Painting Interiors workshop with Peter van Dyke this week and figured why not kill two paintings with the same brush. After searching a bit for a subject to paint, I along with Dave settled on the yellow chair again. I had painted it earlier in the week, but once again that chair just sung out to us to be painted. It would be one ugly chair to have in your house, but it's great to paint in that environment at school.

Eventually Joel and Lexi showed up and we spent the afternoon painting away before the light changed too much. As always we have lots of fun with jokes flying about as much if not more than paint. Its also funny how the school can become a different place and subject when you are not in class.

Dave's chair painting.

My painting of the Yellow Chair.


Joel looks at Dave's watercolors, you can see some of them over on Dave's blog. Next week we move into our group studio!

Dirty Palette Summer starts!

Hey, well its been a while since I've posted anything here but the Dirty Palette is back in full swing with our first summer outing at the Markward Recreation Center off of 27th street in Philly. The boys and I met up at school and then we trucked it over a short car ride to the park which is near the South Street bridge which is under construction. Sue biked over later and joined us for a little while.

The park is a really awesome little spot with lots of good stuff to paint nearby including plenty of old "Joker Hideouts" as i call the variety of abandoned or run down old buildings and factories which dot the city.

Once in the park we split up to find our spots, the sun gives you maybe 3-4 hours tops to get in whatever you are gonna do before it changes on you. It was a great day full of that silvery sort of light that Philly has, perfect temp too. Lots of people stopped by to watch or comment including a gaggle of school girls from a local school. They were all fascinated with seeing me paint and with the fact I had included Joel in the painting, "Hey you painted Joel!"

I found my spot and went at it quick, set up my palette based on what I saw. I always try and put down colors that are really close to the big color masses I see when I take my glasses off. I was using an old canvas that somebody had left in school, I sanded it down and re-primed it, it was still a bit chunky in spots and that added to the textured surface I wanted on this one-shot painting.



Using a 2B pencils I quickly sketched out the compositing and then using the biggest brush and one of those foam wedge brushes massed in the big shapes quick. I was also thinking a pre=planning the end of the painting as I knew the light world shift a bit and tried to take advantage of that. I also tried to really balance the interest, the red car vs Joel, so your eye would jump around and move. Sometimes nature hypnotizes you, and I have to stop and think and not get seduced by some glorious detail. I re-massed the foreground more than once to not end up fracturing that plane and unite that shadow mass. I would try and remember what Sargent would do in this case--each stroke counts, plane, color, value....

Here is a shot of the painting in the middle stage, here I could either go forward and make a decent painting or ruin it...

Here is the finished painting.




Joel found a great spot and did a great little Plein Air.
Sue broke out her sketchbook.
Dave did watercolors but refused to show them to me...

Joel and I take a break.

Will and Dave with Will's painting.

Joel painting away...