Head Studies: Art of the Portrait (Local Art Seen)

Head Study by Jesse Kane

Form Study: II, Brock Larson

It's been a week of rarified realism and representational art here in the Twin Ports, and the local art fans are enjoying it very much. Last week the Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA) were performing their magic in our midst, culminating in a show at the one-year-old Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art. The preceding evening the Tweed Museum showcased plein air painters whose focus was America's Industrial Landscapes. Thursday we'll see a clan of local artists who have been doing representational work as well, and through November the Red Herring has decorated its walls with a new exhibit titled Head Study, Art of the Portrait.

The Red Herring show features work by GLA founders Jeffrey and Brock Larson in conjunction with their first year student body. The students are clearly marching along a good path here. It has to be gratifying to experience the progress they've made as they begin their second year of the program.

The Poet, Brock Larson

I've identified some of the pictures here but if you need complete attributions, the Red Herring Lounge is walking distance from the center of town on East First Street. The six student artists: Daralyn Pfeifer, Cam Conlon, Patrick Glander, Jesse Kane, Kelly Schamberger and Eric Rauvola.

Earlier this summer I spoke with some of the students about their experiences this first year and what they've been learning.

“I’ve learned how to see things better and judge values," said Kelly Schamberger, who added that she wasn't as good of an artist as she thought she was. This, of course, is the first step in teachableness, and she's become quite accomplished by the end of her first season.

Cam by Daralyn Peifer

“My taste has changed drastically," she noted. "My standards are higher. I've had to work hard and stay focused for long periods of time.” Like the other students she's also learning how to use the materials. “I can see, by looking back, the progress I’ve made. You don’t realize the progress as you’re going along. I think all of us are way ahead of where we imagined we’d be.”

Jesse Kane, from Wilmont, South Dakota had studied 2 years of graphic design before coming to the school here in Duluth. His dad is a farmer, mother an insurance adjuster, and both are supportive of his art ambitions. “Breaking down mental pre-conceived notions of what drawing is and putting full trust in what Jeff and Brock are doing," has been invaluable. He's always asking questions: what is the correct shape? Are these the right values? Is the edge right? It requires patience and discipline.

Self-Portrait by Jeffrey Larson

According to Jeffrey Larson, who co-founded the school with his son Brock, half the first year students had art degrees already when they enrolled.

Ellen, by Daralyn Peifer

Drawing by Patrick Glander

"Jake" by Brock Larson; Oil on Canvas Panel

Again, Head Study will be on display through the first week of November. A closing reception will be held on November 2. Do it if you can. It will be a great way to mark a moment in time for the school and this crop of second year students.

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Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it.

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EdNote: Some of black and white drawings have splashes of color on them. These are reflections off the glass and not necessarily intentional by the artists. I personally find them interesting, even if it does present a challenge for photography in certain settings.  

Plein Air Painting in the 21st Century: Last Night at the GLA

Jeffrey Larson, in his element here at Glensheen. (Photo courtesy C. Strom)

Fifty years ago people wondered if Warhol's "Brillo Boxes" were signalling the end of art. Everything's been done. Where else can it go. It half reminds me of the U.S.Patent office in 1900 when the director said, "We should just close our doors. Everything that can be invented has been invented." So it is that art continues, despite what many critics predicted.

As a long-time observer of the arts it would appear that the art scene is "still alive and well," as Johnny Winter once sang. The creative spirit continues.

It's funny how journalists and cultural observers keep making the same mistakes as regards what is to come. There was a time when radio was significant, but when television came along radio was going to be annihilated. Radio is still here, and cable didn't kill network television and the Internet didn't kill television or newspapers and magazines. So it is that photography did not eliminate realistic and representational painting and drawing.

Carl Bretzke's "Park Point" evinces an involuntary "Oh, wow."

This week a consortium of plein air painters has been in town to display of their exceptional translation skills, translating 3-D reality onto 2-D surfaces. The subject matter: our Twin Ports region. The results? Impressive.

Andy Evenson's "Rain on Canal Street" 14"x19" Watercolor

Last night the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art opened its doors and welcomed the public to see a range of works created by this week's visiting members of the Plein-Air Painters of America. It was a heady experience. Hundreds attended from the community, nearly everyone awed not only by the art but also by the renovation that has taken place here. This Catholic Church, which had at one time been inches from the wrecking ball, is itself becoming a museum-piece.

I spoke with several of the paints who are in town and there was a universal sense that Duluth is rich with subject matter for artists. Industrial, historical, natural and nautical themes are abundant and accessible.

Friday evening the Tweed celebrated a new exhibition of America's Industrial Landscapes, featuring a whole range of atypical subject matter... until you dislodge the idea that painting outdoors means painting water lilies or parks. There are certain features of Duluth that contribute to its being an exceptional locale to collect artists. The steep hillsides pouring into a massive body of water, the railroad yards and shipyards, the multitude of parks, the ever changing weather -- it all contributes. Here are a few more images from last night's show.

"Green Van" by Carl Bretzke of Grand Marais

"Trailer and Timbers" by Bretzke

Billyo O'Donnell's dense oils produced vivid images.

Related Post: Interview with M. Stephen Doherty, author of The Art of Plein Air Painting.

THIS WEEK: IN SITU at the Duluth Art Institute
Opening reception: Thursday, September 28, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Dorothea Diver, Lee Englund, Goran Hellekant, Constance Johnston, Cot LaFond, Dale Lucas, and Larry Turbes share a studio on Michigan St. in downtown Duluth. What does it mean to inhabit a space with other artists? What are the habits that develop throughout an artist's studio practice when working near others? This exhibit showcases five to 10 paintings from each of the seven while examining concepts of habitation and transposition. The artists will recreate their atelier environment within the gallery and create LIVE onsite 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Wed. evenings (Sept. 20 & 27; Oct. 4, 11, 18, & 25). The exhibit is on view through Oct. 27, sponsored by: Cartier Agency, Inc.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it!

Rewarding Insights About "Seeing" from a Dialogue at the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art

While preparing for a new season, Duluth's Great Lakes Academy (GLA) opened its studio for a special week of classes led by an instructor from the Grand Central Atelier in New York, Devin Cecil-Wishing. The guest artist's workshop this past week was titled Cast Drawing and the Mechanics of Light. Ryan Swanson, who is assembling a story on Plein Air painting that will include portions about GLA, invited me to join him Tuesday when he dropped in to gather info for his story.

The guest instructor's workshop came about like this. One of GLA's first year students, took time off from his summer to attend a workshop at GCA in New York. Through Alex, Devin Cecil-Wishing was introduced to Brock Larson, co-founder of the Duluth school which also specializes in the Atelier method.

On Tuesday Jeffrey Larson led Mr. Swanson and myself on a tour of the various rooms in the former Catholic church building on Third Street to see the progress that has taken place this summer. "The church has a lot of emotional value to the community," Larson noted. "Community support has been strong. The people have been wonderful."

(L to R) Devin Cecil Wishing, Jeffrey Larson and Ryan Swanson.

After the tour we settled downstairs and talked about art, painting and the creative process. The couch and chairs happened to be in front and beneath a study for a painting that Larson was commissioned to do for the Cathedral School titled, Mary Appearing to the Children of Duluth. Larson found the commission interesting as he strives to work out a way to depict his subject with two light sources, outdoor light and the light radiating from within Mary. "This is a study to work out values and shapes." It made for an interesting setting for our dialogue with Devin on the left, Jeffrey and Ryan on the right.

The artist's subject matter is as interesting as his interpretation.

DIFFERENT WAYS OF DEPICTING NATURE

The much respected artist from Queens.

All painters who do representational work encounter the same problem. "There's a 3-dimensional world we're trying to depict. There are multiple ways to depict that world," Devin said. "At GCA we're trying to model 3-D form into the picture frame. What you can do with paint is never adequate for perfectly depicting reality."

He explained the limitations of pigment and color like this. "It's like maps depicting the globe." In other words, a two-dimensional map will always only be an interpretation. Here's a page showing varieties of solutions to map-making efforts.

"100 artists will give 100 different interpretations (of a scene). We are always editing, always throwing out. The language is very inadequate. How can we convey what we so like?

COMPETING WITH A "NOW" ORIENTED SOCIETY
The studio painting that takes place here demands a slower pace than modern people are accustomed to. "To create it takes days, weeks, months or years," Jeffrey said. "We're not old-fashioned painters. We're aiming to be cutting edge artists."

"For me," Devin said, "I relish the fact that it's a little slow. There is a meditative quality to it. It makes the viewer want to slow dow, to see things with fresh eyes."

Jeffrey added, "Most people use their eyes for navigational purposes. Here at the school we train ourselves to see truthfully."

PLEIN AIR PAINTING CHALENGES
In recent years we've seen a growing appreciation for and participation in plein air painting, which is painting outdoors. Later this month, for example, there will be an major exhibition of plein air work titled Industrial Landscape. Painting outdoors has special challenges of its own.

"You're still breaking nature into components. The sunlight is moving, so you paint fast," Jeffrey said. He then compared it to the final two minutes of a football game. "Two minutes left and you're seven points behind. You start throwing Hail Mary's. You're just attacking it and you get it or you miss. When it comes together it's magical fun."

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Photo of Devin (above) and this one courtesy Ryan Swanson

The weeklong workshop now complete, Devin Cecil-Wishing will return to his teaching at Grand Central Atelier in the Queens, New York. The instructor's motivation for getting involved with the Atelier school was in part to help young artists move from the academic world to the professional world. "The transition from student to professional is usually rocky," he affirmed.

The weeklong workshop, for those interested, cost $475. Now that the week is done, I saw this post on Facebook: "We've had such a fantastic week learning from Devin and we're hoping he'll be coming back to Duluth someday soon."

The Larsons have indicated that they will indeed be inviting other painting instructors to come to Duluth to conduct workshops. Just like the various ways map-makers depict the world, painters take different approaches to depict reality.

As the new art school enters its second year, there is palpable excitement building for what's to come.

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More links of interest to this story.
Devin's profile at Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc.
Grand Central Atelier
The Devin Cecil-Wishing website.