Stacy Weitz Minch

I was a little afraid that I would have completely forgotten how to do this stuff when I set out to draw tonight. It's only been two weeks, I guess, but it feels like a lot longer. Anyway, from tonight's critique: my line quality isn't masterful (surprise! ;), but I seem to be getting the hang of the procedure. I made the figure a smidgen too wide, and something about the way I draw the lines not suggesting three dimensions or something... Probably the heaviness of line? Anyway, I probably got a little out of control with the shading. When I start into shading one of these little studies, I seem to be wrestling between laying down the full range of values I see and trying to practice more restraint and simplify the masses. The latter is what I'm going for, but I just get out of control. Really either approach would probably turn out alright if I could just be consistent, but I vacillate, and I think it becomes evident in the cohesiveness of the drawing. 

5x7", water mixable oil on linen panel I took a little bit of French in Jr. High and High School, and the names of a few different fruits (along with how to ask if I could use the restroom, and say a few very important phrases, such as "I like to dance") are the only things I remember from those hours of my life. So I figure I might as well pull that very useful information out of the recesses of my brain once in a while, if only to come up with something a little more interesting than "peaches" for a title to this post ;) I had fully intended to paint in Montana. I lugged my backpack full of paints and easel there and back, and didn't pull them out once--not once! I used to bring homework on trips, and it never got done, either (hey, I get car sick if I read!). I don't like to think of painting as homework--it's much more fun. In fact, it was killing me not to paint in Montana. Everywhere I looked, there was a painting just screaming to

I don't usually post personal pictures here. But I can't resist today, because the day pictured here was an absolutely perfect work of art, orchestrated by my baby sister--this beautiful soul of a bride. I have this theory that everybody has a certain amount of creative energy, and that we're all suited to use that energy in vastly different ways. It's one of the things that makes life so beautiful and diverse. And I also believe that the act of creating is something essential to human happiness, something we can't escape without losing touch with what makes us human. And creativity can manifest itself in so many different ways--the traditional arts, of course, but also business, fitness, gardening, travel, spirituality, cooking, construction, etc. Well, this little sister of mine has a gift for seeing and appreciating beauty--and clinging to it like it's hers to keep. As we three sisters were driving out to the wedding venue in the morning, we had whole convers

(Later post--the wifi at the cabin was useless). I'm in beautiful Red Lodge, MT right now, just waiting for the rest of the gals to wake up. We stayed up late having an all girl dance party (glow sticks and all ;) in a cabin in the woods. I haven't danced like that in soooo long, but I've still got some moves in me (I guess all the time I spent at church dances as a teen paid off, ha!). We walked around downtown Red Lodge and had dinner at the pizza place, and well, if you're looking for something entertaining to do, try walking around downtown with my soon-to-be-wed baby sis--she could stop a train with her good looks (and probably find random strangers to buy her dinner and drinks for the rest of her life). But that's beside the point--and she's taken, fellas! The point is it's so gloriously quiet in his cabin. And the air is so fresh. And the company is so good. It all gave me a terrible itch to draw something, and since all the pretty girls are buried de

We had a new model last night, and she has such a sweet doe-eyed look about her--I was almost wishing I had spent the whole two hours on a portrait. But this pose is nice, too. I always like a seated pose. I had some trouble with the shoulders (one of my typical trouble spots of late). I'm finding it's better if I work from the inside out in that area, comparing the placement of the navel, chest, and armpits with the head before trying to place the shoulders. If I try to draw the shoulders first, I seem to want to make them too high, broad and boxy (though I over-corrected a little last night and initially made them too sloped). Anyway, this one started out a little slow (I wasn't warmed up at all, and pretty much started over after the first 20 minute session), but that's okay. I'm getting a little bit better about backtracking if I need to, instead of trying to plow through a bad start. Sometimes it's hard to throw away those 20 minutes (or whatever it

6x4", water mixable oil on linen panel Yesterday was a long day. I guess the problem was that I was trying to get a few things done. We were having dinner guests, so I was trying to clean up a bit. We had to make a run to the grocery store. And I needed to make some dinner preparations throughout the day. Which doesn't sound like all that much to get done, but seriously. If ever there is something I have to accomplish during the day aside from playing the constant entertainer and referee... well, it can be a little frustrating. Anyway, the evening went much better than the rest of the day, and while my husband got the kids off to bed, I painted this little rose. Somehow, doing something artistic usually makes my world feel a little more rosy--clearly not all the time, but most the time ;)  I've been experimenting a little bit with varying levels of paint thickness on the canvas.  I think it makes the surface more interesting. When we were in San Diego last fall

You know I won't be able to leave the yellow alone until I feel it hasn't licked me (so expect some more yellow flowers ;), but this one felt better than the lilies (simpler shape, for one). The background got a little out of control, but that's okay. I can always try again. The water mixable oil in burnt umber tends to come out really sticky, and if I don't mix it with a little more oil right away it gets all clumpy and uneven, and that's how this background started (I was just going to do a light wash with a mix of burnt umber and a couple other colors), but then I just had to keep adding more to camouflage the clumpy-ness, and there you have it--solid burnt umber background, ha. how boring :) The major difference I've noticed between water mixable and regular oil paint is that the water mixable doesn't thin as well with water as regular oils do with solvent. So it's harder to do a nice light wash of color to tone the canvas if you so desire (whic

First of all, let me just voice an apology with regard to my last post (I actually edited it a little and toned it down). I probably should avoid posting when I'm in such a mood, but sometimes I just really feel like venting, and this blog becomes an outlet. This learning process can be so difficult and frustrating, and I probably shouldn't throw it all out there for everyone to read, but I'm making it a point to be completely genuine in this space, and sometimes (so much of the time) it's not all sunshine and lollipops. Really, though, the frustration is all my own, and the fact that other people can compliment their own work is really good. In fact, I'd love to be more like that, and see the good in what I do--the truth is that when I see others acknowledging the good in their work,  it further highlights my inability to do so with my own--in any case, it's probably good that I'm going to have a forced break from this stuff in a week or so (summer road t

I don't know if my drawing is getting worse lately... or if my ideals have just been creeping ever-higher, but whatever it is, this whole drawing thing has felt like a bit of a bummer the past little while. A couple of the guys were commenting on how well they had done at this particular session (which is good--I'm not saying they shouldn't be praising themselves for a job well done).  But, ha! it's my natural  (and rather unproductive) inclination to think everything I do is terrible. Maybe it's cultural conditioning, maybe it's the result of my genetic makeup, the deep recesses of my subconscious mind, a habitual loop I've drawn myself into, or something else entirely? But I've gotta kick this mantra and adopt the, "I'm doing great!" mindset (it sure seems like those words would sit better when it's time to pack up and go home for the night). Of course, that mindset would also require that I know when I'm doing great, whi

Just another little Bargue copy--finally a new figure, too. I was getting tired of that skinny adolescent boy. I think there's more of him later on, but a little variety is good (too bad they apparently didn't believe in using female models back then too, eh?). I think I squished the lower body a little bit (and maybe the head too... though it might just be the way I drew the hair up front?). And as usual, I don't see it until I take the photo, ha. Well, next time maybe I'll take a photo before I've darkened all the lines and made it near impossible to erase without making a mess.  I might go for something with a little more form/shading next time I'm looking for something to copy. I love these little figures, but they don't have the variety of line I'd like to incorporate into my live figure sketches. That Charles Bargue, though--the guy could draw. I love how you can see where he established a few accurately described reference points, and ev

It's 4AM and I really should be sleeping, but I'm not. So why not pick apart this poor little drawing from last night?. The portrait is really messy, the line quality is less than desirable (isn't it always lately?), and I'm tired. Which really makes me feel like getting discouraged and irritable and wondering why I bother with this stuff. I'm afraid there are no good answers to that question right now (it's 4AM! best not to think too hard at this time of day), but it does remind me that I had this goal to be nicer to myself about all this--so here's something nice: I think the legs aren't all that terrible this time, and that's often a problem area for me. Now I'm off to read some more Moby Dick. Maybe it'll put me to sleep (it's really not too boring--just a lot of antiquated English and mariner jargon. and long--so, so long). And if it doesn't put me to sleep, well, top o' the morning to me (and I'll just hope I ca

I had intended to start a drawing today, but the watercolors were calling my name. And since the kids were happily playing in the sprinkler in the back yard, I just sat at the kitchen table and kept painting!  The great thing about watercolor is that it forces me to be intentional and direct. It seems like I read in a book somewhere (maybe Harold Speed's book on oil painting?) that watercolor is a master's medium, and the student shouldn't touch it. I can see where the author was coming from--it's a one touch and you're done kind of thing, so it can be really tough and you're sure to churn out a lot of flops along the way. But at the same time, I think it is a good way of learning to be less detail oriented and allow yourself some space to just play. There's something very organic about the way the colors flow from the brush to the page too, and I like that. I used to always draw the outline in pencil first and color it in later, but I don't

10x8", water mixable oil on panel Alright, time to give the yellow a rest. We've had these beautiful sun-bleached pink roses in bloom by our fence and they're just about to wilt into nothing, so I thought I would try painting one before it's too late. It seems like the values are just a little too segmented. Looking at other rose paintings I like, the lights are more or less connected, forming more of a solid value area with subtle variations within them (strangely enough, I kind of like the value structure my 30-second reductive drawing more than the finished product--the simplicity is nice). I think I'll probably go back to a drawing copy or something next. There's this teaching concept we use in speech pathology when working with dementia patients called errorless learning. Basically you teach people something on a level at which they can succeed every time, then increase complexity slowly, only as fast as they continue being successful. A little

4x6, water mixable oil on linen panel Ha, well, here I go again ;) If I made any improvements here, they are subtle (just like the value and temperature differences in that horrid yellow). I took one piece of Brock's advice (see comments on previous post--one step at a time ;) and tried mixing the complement for the shaded parts of the yellow. I think it helped, but the values are still off. I may have been looking into the color too much. Part of the problem is probably just in the drawing, too. These lilies look totally strange if the drawing is a little off. And maybe it's not even that the drawing is all that off--maybe it's something akin to how a prominent nose looks ever more prominent when you  try to translate it into definitive lines in two dimensions (I know this all too well ;). Sargent eventually made it work with good ol' Madame X, but he's Sargent (compare Sargent's Mme Gautreau with Gustave Courtois'--that nose). Maybe because

I probably started this drawing a little too small. Most of the lines are the same weight, which makes it feel more cartoony than I would like. But I was really chasing just to get the figure down--it was a bit of a twist-prone pose (seemed like it was nearly 1/4 turn in the lower body every 20 minutes), so it ended up looking a little pieced together and I struggled to get the proportions along the way. A bit messy, but there's always next time.  I guess at some point I'm supposed to have built up a better visual memory system to be able to recall what the figure looked like before it moved and make it work, but I'm not quite there yet. Maybe I should try some of that crazy memory drawing Robert Henri talks about in the Art Spirit, or I could just sketch my kids more--they only give me about 10 seconds to lock in a pose ;)

  6x6, 6x6, and 6x4" I've been trying to paint this poor yellow lily for the past few days--I'm not doing it justice. I've decided that yellow is just the most difficult color to paint. It's the shaded part of the petals that gets me... what  is  that color? Greenish? orangish? brownish? nothing-ish? Whatever that shaded stuff is, I'm not getting it. When you add black to yellow, it turns green. Blue, it turns green. Red, it turns orange/brown. So what is it? Probably something in between (or maybe a little of both). I'd like to figure this out, but today apparently isn't the day ;) On the first two, I had a white background, and on the third one went for a gray for contrast (and actually tried to paint it sight size--teeny tiny--thinking it might help me simplify all that yellow. and maybe it did. but still...). I've read it takes miles of canvas to make a good painter, and I certainly haven't filled miles yet, so it's fine. Mayb

When the figure model didn't show last night, one of the students volunteered to sit for a portrait. I like portraits, so it was fun for me. And I especially like having more than 15 minutes to get it done (anyone who I try to draw around here has about a 15 minute limit max, ha). They usually do portraits on Wednesday nights, and I've gone a couple times, but I'm not usually able to get away on Wednesdays (I'm really good at this whole run-on sentence thing). Anyway, here's Brian.