Painting Classes Roswell, GA.

Andrew Wyeth – American Master Artist  (1917-2009)

He was the quintessential example of a true American artistic genius. He was, Andrew Wyeth, my favorite American Artist. 

When Andrew Wyeth died in 2009, he left behind a body of work that depicts a simpler, yet somewhat complicated time in American History.  He wove together his love for the African American community over the hill from his home, and the farming community just outside his doorstep.

After reading no less than four books on this mans life, I discovered Andrew’s disciplined artistic journey began as a young boy and his respect for the human spirit never wavered.

He is the only artist I’ve ever known who was given unequivocal license to enter the homes of those he knew.  At any time of the day or night, he would enter with canvas, brushes and paint, to render some of his most haunting work of his subjects while they were sleeping, cooking or just sitting and looking out the window.

Several years ago, in Atlanta, GA., The High Museum hosted an Andrew Wyeth exhibit that contained an extraordinarily large body of his work.  Just viewing one of Andrew Wyeth’s emotionally charged paintings was such a powerful experience that seeing such a large body of his work in one place was almost overwhelming.

Andrew Wyeth once said, “I search for the realness, the real feeling of a subject, all the texture around it, I always want to see the third dimension of something.  I want to come alive with the object.”  

Andrew’s desire was to capture a moment, not a frozen moment, but a fleeting moment.  I suppose that’s why his work is so haunting.  He succeeded! - Jill Saur  

www.JillSaurFineArt.com

Andrew Wyeth Painting

Painting Classes Roswell, GA. A Restful Space

"Like blank spaces around words and paragraphs on a printed page, the gap between the sounds uttered by our speech set the boundaries within which words, phrases, and sentences can take shape and morph into images in our minds. Structurally speaking, the pauses in one’s speech pattern are the mortar that keeps the building blocks of language together. Ultimately, how we lay those bricks, and the amount of plaster we employ, is what confers us intelligibility while tagging our unique phonic signature." - Ewandro Magalhaes

I love everything about that paragraph written by Ewandro. You probably already know where I'm going with the thoughts he expressed.  I'm thinking about the spaces between the images in our paintings, the areas where the viewer is able to breathe as their eye moves around the painting.

Below, you'll find Van Gogh's painting of wheat fields.  Although this painting has a lot of movement, there is a beautiful space, a resting place, in the inviting golden fields.

My hope for you during this time of sheltering in place, is that you will find a restful space.

Van Gogh's Wheat Fields

Art Classes:

www.JillSaurFineArt.com

Painting Classes Roswell, GA.

Beethoven

We can’t breathe tomorrow’s air.  We can only breathe one breath at a time in the moment we live in.

Each breath builds upon the one taken before it.  Every work of art builds upon the one created before it.  Be patient with yourself.  When you learn one thing, then you move on and learn the next thing.  Beethoven didn’t write a symphony the first time he sat down to learn to play the piano.  First, he learned the keys, he learned how to read the notes, and then he started to play other composers works.

With his newfound understanding, Beethoven was able to express the inspiration he felt from other composer’s works by composing his own music.  His tenacious perseverance and genius entertains us to this day! - Jill Saur

Listen to the genius in his work performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Hilary Hahn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cg_0jepxow

Consider your own artistic journey, for it is an abundant one!


www.JillSaurFineArt.com

Painting Classes Roswell, Ga.

Greetings to all my students! During our lifetime, we're seeing and experiencing an unprecedented event in our country. I hope all of you are doing well. I have students in the medical profession at our local hospitals, and my thoughts and prayers are with you.

I spend my days reading in my studio and working on different projects. I've been taking this time to work on the continuation of my color studies. This is something that all of you can be doing. Right now, I'm simply working on one color at a time. You can paint the color in the first box, and in the boxes below that, you can add a little white. This gives you insight into the full range of values for each hue. It doesn't require a lot of inspiration to do this study, but this study can be the impetus to give you inspiration and ideas for future paintings.

I miss all my students and seeing your smiling faces every week. Please take care of yourselves and I hope to see you all when we get through this time.

I'll leave you with my favorite Psalm.

Psalm 23: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Jill Saur's Color Charts 2020

Jill Saur's Color Charts 2020