workshop with Joseph Mann

I spent two weeks in an intensive workshop with Joseph Mann, Portland artist and popular teacher at Portland Community College. I never go into a workshop expecting that I will paint a masterpiece, and I did not paint one this time, but I did paint differently and boldly and I learned many things that will work their way into my work in the days and years ahead.

The first week, we painted the figure in the interior. The space, a warehouse in Northwest Portland, was perfect! We all had enough room to spread out and the models had a protected space for their poses.

In the photo at the top of this post, you see how I am trying to fit the elements together like a puzzle where the figure is one piece among many. My head got the concept right away, my hands and eyes had trouble getting it on to the canvas. Line. Value. Color. Shape. Pattern. Shake well ...

Figure drawing is different from figure painting. We had a chance to do both. Since I have drawn figures longer than I have painted figures, I feel much more ease with drawing. The ease I feel translates to fluidity. With time, I hope to create that same energy in my paintings. Practice. Practice. Practice. I get it.

The second week of the workshop was all about painting the figure in the landscape. Take all of the distraction and overwhelming information of plein air painting and add figures into the mix. Easy to find chaos. In the painting above, I used a device from Japanese woodblock prints and put giant leaves in the foreground to give a sense of peering through the screen of foliage to the figures.

Under the shade of leafy trees at Laurelhurst Park in Portland, we were cool in the nearly 90 degree weather. Line. Value. Color. Shape. Pattern. Bugs. Passersby. Lawnmowers. Shake well ...


Speaking of "shake", here's KC and the Sunshine Band singing "Shake, Shake, Shake."

 

summary and overview of my monotype class

My first monotype became a self portrait of my feelings about becoming a grandmother. The yellow fields become a pathway that connect the figures. 

With an inked plate and a scraping tool, I drew this figure from a live model. It felt like juggling a bowling pin, a machete, and something on fire.

Artist teacher, Joseph Mann, suggested that I consider the design of my next plate, so I drew the live model with graphite and charcoal onto paper and then came back to my work station to design my print. I created this piece with an eye toward making a sense of depth for the model to stand in a three dimensional space and to contrast straight planes of the color blocks with the model's curves.

Wheat paste and carefully torn mulberry paper created the dress in this print in a process called "Chine Colle" which means "Chinese collage" in French.

We had a live figure model again on the night I printed these two pieces. The model posed some of the time in a knee-length dress and some of the time nude. I like how these pieces go together. I used buff colored Arches to soften the "white" figure. 

I have no answer for the question: why did you paint your vocalist friend without a mouth? I'm sure that there's some weird psychology going on here!

 From copy paper stencils I cut out prior to class, I arranged various figures to create what finally became this print. I inked the plate and then used the stencils to block the ink from coming into contact with the paper. I am intrigued with the way multiple figures in a composition entices the viewer to imagine how the figures relate to one another. Does this arrangement suggest a story to you?

 More work with stencils. First, using the stencil to block the ink from the paper, creating a white figure. Second, inking the stencil black and using it positively (and reversed) in the bottom photo. I enjoy a lot about these last two prints. I like the color, use of light/white, and shapes. It was not until I picked them up from the drying rack that I realized how much they looked like certain designs on trucks' mud flaps. The whole class had a nice laugh over that.

I hope to take more monotype classes in the future. As with anything new, the first order of business if learning how to use the materials. After that, the fun can really start. Let the games begin!

monotype 1

"It sets up a tension when you place more than one figure in your composition" Joseph Mann.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Joseph said that, when I came in to my monotype class with nothing but single figure sketches. Sigh. But, he invited me to consider how some of my sketches might combine nicely to create a story, or suggest something beyond what either figure could communicate alone.

As I manipulated my sketches, I settled on this design. It was only after I printed it that I realized it was autobiographical. It startled me to see how my thoughts and feelings translated into the creation of this image. Since becoming a grandmother, I feel like I am walking off the stage and the next generation is coming on. It's not bad, not good, just the reality of what is.

If you are not familiar with monotype, this video does a nice job explaining the process. Enjoy!

Jane Pagliorulo pulled prints for Wolf Kahn!

holding my breath for monotype

I'm taking a monotype class here!

Jane Pagliarulo, master printer and teacher

Joseph Mann, artist and teacher

I have started a new monotype class! I fell in love with monotype in my 2010 class with Jef Gunn. You can read about it here. And here. And here.

Pulling a print is amazing. I always hold my breath as I fold back the blankets and peel back the print. Good things ahead for me! Hooray!