Hollywood and the love of art...

Although not officially released as of yet, two Hollywood films are creating quite a buzz in the art world and inspiring audiences and artists with their themes about the love of art. Both are on my must see list this year. Local Color.. Local Color, the new movie by award-winning writer, director and painter, George Gallo has been garnering accolades and awards, including taking Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay and Star on the Horizon at the Ft. Lauderdale International film festival among others. The semi-autobiographical piece about "one master, one student, one summer to dream," follows a young 18-year-old-artist (Trevor Morgan) in his search to find aging painter, Seroff (Armin-Mueller-Stahl) in an attempt to apprentice with the master and learn to paint in the tradition of the great impressionists. Gallo painted all of the oil paintings in the movie and those seen in the beginning scenes are the exact ones he showed to the person on whom the Seroff character was based. Check out the trailer at http://www.localcolormovie.com and look for its release in New York on June 26, 2009. The Maiden Heist... The Lonely Maiden, a painting by Jeremy Lipking plays the title role in the film The Maiden Heist starring Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman, and William H. Macy. The film is a comedic caper with an underlying message about a visceral reaction to art that people of all backgrounds can experience. Christopher Walken plays a security guard, Roger whose favorite painting The Lonely Maiden is sold along with other traditional works of art to make room for an installation of modern Dung art. Roger and two other guards devise a plan to steal the painting along with other favorites and replace them with reproductions. I met Jeremy this past summer when I attended one of his workshops at The Grand Academy of Art, NYC and subsequently wrote a feature on him, "Drawing Out the Riches" for the November, 2008 issue of the Artist's Magazine. As mentioned in that article, Lipking is widely recognized for his compelling paintings of women. It's easy to see why director, Robert Hewitt chose to make one of his paintings the film's intriguing centerpiece. The Lonely Maiden painting, by the way, was completed under a tight deadline. Says Jeremy: "When I first met with the director he opened up the Gabriel Weisberg book Beyond Impressionism: the Naturalist Impulse, (which is probably the most worn out book on my shelf) and said, 'We need something like this, a painting in the manner of Natural painters George Claysen, Emile Friant and Jules Bastien Lepage.' I had to finish the painting in 7 days. It normally would have taken me a month or longer to do something this size." The Maiden Heist is set to hit theaters this fall.

Feel Good, Colorful Celebration to benefit the "Love Fund" of Wycoff

"The Gift" 18" x 24" Oil on Linen

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Please join me for a "Feel Good, Colorful Celebration" to be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. 

I will be participating in a fundraiser at Mane on Madison Salon (238 Madison Avenue, Wycoff, NJ) for the benefit of  the "Love Fund," a non-profit organization that helps local families with such things as: food, clothing, dental care and professional counseling.

With an economic and personal stress climate surrounding us at every turn, here's an opportunity to enjoy some pampering, while helping to bring a little radiance back in the lives of others less fortunate.

 Day and evening events will include Fashion... Makeovers... Fresh Vision Haircuts... Goodies... refreshments... raffles.... in addition to an exhibition of my newest paintings .  10% of all sales will go to the "Love Fund."

To reserve an appointment, call 201/848-6969, or  stop by and join in the festivities (I'll be helping out on-premise from 5 to 8PM). Hope to see you there.

Color your World!

LBH

A winning Jump Start to 2009!

Attending the Award Ceremony at the Ridgewood Art Institute. 

Photo by Imagery by Kate

2009 KICKED OFF ON A HIGH NOTE as I attended the reception for the Ridgewood Art Institute's 29th Open Juried Show and was honored to receive the coveted Betty Kaytes Floral award for my painting "Asian Beauty." 'Twas a great way to start the New Year!

New Year Resolutions... with a little help from a friend

PAINTING: "Cheers!" Oil on Linen. 11" x 14"

Private Collection

Have you made your New Year resolutions yet? Hopefully, the kind that you can  keep and that will set you up for success. 

Coincidentally, while planning mine, I received some timely WORDS of WISDOM, from a brilliant poet/lyricist and longtime friend, Denice I. Ferrarelli.  Her sage advice inspired me to  draft some  painting pointers of my own,  (incorporated in hers below as parenthetical comments in bold typeface). 

This new list, posted close at hand on top of my easel, will be updated regularly as additional pointers come to mind. Care to add your tips to the list? Please do. I will assimilate and re-publish periodically.

20 Tips for a Better  (Painting) Life 

1. Take a 10 - 30 minute walk every day (particularly when you've hit a rough spot or are experiencing a painting block). And while you walk, smile. it is the ultimate anti-depressant. 

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. (Take time to stand back from your canvas, quietly review your day's work and take it in with a fresh eye.)

3. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is about. (Always be true to YOUR 'art and soul.')

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to _______ today.' ("truly see," "abandon preconceived notions," "take my time as I paint." "encourage my inner vision." "work from promise, not fear"

5. Live (paint)  with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy (Everyday, if possible).

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.   Take pleasure in the painting process and advance your skills in 2009.  Read instructional books, attend workshops and exhibits, frequent museums, study the masters.

7. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6. (Bring HEART to your work. Treasure wisdom and innocence wherever you may find it.)

8. Dream more while you are awake (AMEN!)

9. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk (your studio) and let new and flowing energy into your life. (Reassess unfinished work. Categorize as: salvageable or not. Discard or sand down any canvases that don't make the grade and move on.)

10 Don't waste your precious energy on  issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy (and talent) in the positive present moment.

11. Realized that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away  like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

12. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away. (Resist being over critical. Remember, oil paint is forgiving, can be wiped out if wet;  painted over when dry. ) 

13 Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.

14. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present. (Learn from the challenges that each painting offers and move on to your next masterpiece) 

15. Whatever other people think of you (or your work) is none of your business. 

16. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. (Be passionate about creating art, but do make time to nurture relationships.)

17. No matter how your feel, get up, dress up and show up. (Be consistent with your work habits. Set painting goals for yourself and stick to them).

18.  The best is yet to come. 

19. Each night before you go to bed complete the following: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished ______________.

20 Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life. Make the most of it! (Color your world!)

All good things to you in the New Year. Cheers!

Louise

Announcing new still life classes....

Happy to announce that I will be teaching an adult still life oil painting class at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly, New Jersey. The classes, which will begin on April 20 through June 15 (No class on May 25), will be held on Monday evenings from 7:30PM to 10PM. 

If you have a passion for painting still life, come join us as we have fun exploring imaginative ways to paint everyday, non-living objects, including drapery, fruit, china, metals, etc.

Focusing on new interpretations of traditional artistic principles such as composition, object interplay, lighting and form, students will have an opportunity to experiment while working from life at their own pace. (all skill levels welcome). Short demonstrations, one-on-one coaching and critiques will be offered at each student's easel. 

For more information contact: Judy Belinfante, Adult Program Director, 201/569-7900 x463

A few of my favorite things..

If you happened to see an article on my work in the June, 2008 issue of The Artist's Magazine, perhaps you will remember the lead painting, "A few of my favorite things" (24 x 24").  A commissioned piece, that, along the way taught me much about painting crystal and that sage old adage, " less is more," before putting paint to canvas, I welcomed the occasion to meet a new collector who had just months prior purchased another of my paintings, "Standing Tall."

Walking through my patrons home, as we decided on potential items to include in the still life (those that had personal meaning for her, yet also spoke to my aesthetic sense), I began to see an opportunity for a series, even envisioning its title: "My favorite things." 

And so, for the next few months I will be working on my second concatenation--a family wedding gift, commissioned by myself.  Along with the obvious inclusion of the invitation, I'm hoping to feature some personal riches that will please the happy couple; perhaps even put  a new twist on the "something old, something new, borrowed and blue" concept. 

Promise to post a picture upon completion. 

Little Diversions...

For the past few months I've been working on two large (at least for me) paintings. One is a 24 x 24 the other a 20 x 28. They were both rather complicated set ups and at various stages in the process, barely escaped being chucked in the trash. Working through the rough spots, however, I learned much and actually ended up being happy with the duo.  

Still, it was a tough go. So once they were  finished and out of my studio,  I decided  a little diversion was in order and immediately set up two small still lifes.  

For the first, Splendor in the Glass, I channeled one of my favorite artists, Henri Fantin Latour,  and purposely painted the setup without a table front, softened the edges where the background meets the table (a Latour trademark) and did my take on his subdued backdrop. With a book of his work  close to my easel,  between breaks it lifted my spirits and inspired my  effort Having started (but never finished) the second  painting sometime ago, still on a high from painting Splendor in the Glass,  I decided to give it another go. 

Whenever you rework flowers, it's easy to lose that spontaneous freshness. In an attempt to avoid that, and since the drawing  had good bones,  I decided to use my previous effort as a base and approached Sweet Sunshine with an alla prima mindset, painting extempore on top of the original and working wet into wet toward the finish. 

Thanks to these two little diversions,  I am back in my element ready to take on another biggie. Commission anyone?

The New Republic

Oil on linen canvas 24" x24"

I teach painting classes once a week in my Fort Lee studio. One of my students brought in this beautiful angel candelabra.  A few treasures from the prop stash: rich Damask fabric; candles; a feather quill and small ink well; well-read book and souvenir box easily fell into place. Not so easy was the task of painting that elusive cherub.

Challenged to get the relief decoration to "read" as three dimensional, I kept wiping it out and reworking to a point of frustration. What finally helped in the end, was a happy discovery that  hints of silvery grey (north light effect) placed on top of bright yellow highlights (the presumed color choice for brass) gave the impression of a raised protrusion. What a relief!