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January 2008 Return
to Newsletter list
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Arleta
Pech's Art Newsletter
"The medium does
not define the art, the artists vision
does". Arleta Pech
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Greetings
Happy
New Year, I hope you find it full of love,
art and Ah-HAS!
I
thought I would start the year off with a
studio tour.
I
don't have a fancy studio; it's a 14'
x 20' room in a walk down 1/2 flight basement,
with a low ceiling and tiny windows. So I
use artificial (full spectrum florescent
lighting) so it's like daylight no matter
the time of day. I have one other room
that holds crates, a mat cutter, and framing
stuff, but I'm to embarrass to show you what
a mess it is. My whole house is really my
studio, since I photograph in south, east,
or north windows all over the house depending
on what type of light I want. Most of
my still life objects are scattered through
my home, and I prop paintings wherever
I'm at so I can look at the progress
and make decisions for the next day's
painting.
The
top photo is looking straight into
my studio from the stairs. The big canvas in
the top photo is a new painting that will
be 30" x 60" and is an oil on
canvas. I have not worked on this size of
painting for a few years, the last time was
a watercolor garden piece which I did on
watercolor paper, that came on a roll
that is 44" wide and 10 yards long, and
I stretched it on Gator board. So you can
work this big in any medium if you're brave.
(Did you hear my knees knocking) ha!
The
cat is "Peepers" who is the
old lady of the house. Look to
the back wall there are several paintings
that are waiting to be shipped, they sit on
a wall easel that Bruce and I designed out
of shelving brackets to hold paintings,
or I can even place the big canvas on this
wall to let it dry.
The photo
below is other side of my studio,
which is just more shelves with still life
props. A standing easel on the right side to
see paintings that's in progress. I work on
several images at a time to allow drying
time and to look at my progress on each
image as it develops. Getting in a rush can
lead to problems, so I try to think as I
paint. But the other benefit is if I
encounter a problem, I have other images to
work on while I solve the first problem.
That way I don't have to start something
brand new.
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Quote:_______________________________________________________
"Trust
that still, small voice that says,
"This might work and I'll try it."
Diane Mariechild
"One of my galleries gave me a
challenge to paint a large still life for the
corporate market, so my small voice said
"Try it" so this will be
the first still life of this size.
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A Day In The Studio
This
is where I spend the most time, planted
in my painting chair. The long
counter to the right in the photo
holds my brushes palette, CD player and
stuff. IF the big easel were rolled away I
would have my painting table in its place. The
computer monitor shows the photo I'm
working from for this big painting
-it's a crystal bowl with a spray of Sweet
peas to be called "Sweet
Perfection". So it's easy to
zoom in and out on the computer monitor,
instead of having a ton of photos
printed. (And this is a Mac screen, which
I find much easier to look at than a
normal PC monitor-less glare and its flat
screen doesn't distort.)
The
drawers hold paint, rulers, pencils and all
the other fun gizmos we all own. IF
you're right handed, you should have your
paint, brushes, water or other needs on
the right on a extra
table, not on your painting table, so
your free to move the painting.
In
this photo I'm working on the drawing,
there is a painting Maul (the long
dark line in the middle of the canvas). Bruce
designed a maul hanger that slips over the
rod and hooks over the top of the canvas, so I
don't have to hold it's weight with my
left hand, and just resting my right
hand on it will keep it in place. The
Easel tilts and will even lay flat, and
has wheels, which helps allot in my LOW
ceiling area.
I
have a dry erase board near my table to
put deadlines on, saves trying to find the
post it note that just walked out of
the room on my cats tails.
You
might wonder about the color of the room,
it's a dark gray green; this color helps
to balance the full spectrum lights I must
work under. IF the walls were white it
would just be TOO much light.
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Art
Tips on Photography!!!
My
photography area. (The easel is taking up
part of the photo)
I
have another shelf bracket attached to the
wall to set the paintings on with a narrow
shelf (a 4" board). Then my two
external flash lights and the camera are
on tripods. I had to move them in
closer to show you in this photo. But the
lights sit 6-8 feet from the painting at a
45-degree angle. And the camera is in the
middle about 3-4 feet from the painting. I
have a dull gray cloth on the wall that
the painting sits against. The photography
lights are attached to a power source and
to the 9-mega-pixel camera with a flash
cord. So when I take the shot the flash
goes off. I have extra lights on in the
room in this photo so you can see the
set up, but IN REAL life all lights are
off except the photography lights.
Tips
to consider when shooting artwork:
Use
only one type of lighting (no windows or
other lights, if you do this the digital
cameras don't know which lighting to
adjust for.)
No
frames or mats
Keep
the painting square to the camera at YOUR
eye level
Use
a tripod for a steady in
focus shot
Use
the Manual White Balance to set your
camera for the area your
photographing (read camera manual for this
information).
It's
easier to use a room or basement inside so
the lighting is always the same.
Save
your painting file as a Tiff, this saves
ALL the digital information. Then you can
change it to a JPEG when you want to
e-mail it or send to a gallery. But just
like a master slide your "Tiff"
file is your master so never corrupt it or
change it.
NEVER
change the original file the camera photographs to
make it look good on your computer
monitor, this is a BIG mistake as your
Monitor is NOT color accurate.
To
double check your camera settings and
lighting: Have the original digital
file printed at a good camera store to
check the cameras light
settings and white balance. Take this
photo and LOOK at your painting,
if it matches.... then that is the
setting you should always use to shoot
paintings.
If
you take digital shots, but need a slide
to enter a show you can find places
on-line to change your digital file into a
35 mm slide like. http://www.iprintfromhome.com
Best Digital
Cameras for art work (look like old 35 mm
cameras)
I
own a Fuji S900 (9mega pixel) Canon is also
good in the 9-10 mega pixel
Have
a manual white balance to adjust for the area
you photograph.
Buy at least
a 9 or 10 mega pixel
Be
able to turn off the built in flash and work
with an external flash unit
Has
grid lines in the viewfinder to square up
your painting
Has
a focus light (digital cameras have trouble in
dark places trying to focus)
I
also USE a tri pod with a level indicator
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