Monday, March 30, 2009

Painting and Poetry

Music and poetry inspire my work. I write haiku poetry in my sketchbook while working out the ideas of my paintings. I lay no claim to producing anything notable in my poems, especially when you read the words of a master. Here is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it.

Spring is like a perhaps hand
by E. E. Cummings

          III

Spring is like a perhaps hand
(which comes carefully
out of Nowhere)arranging
a window,into which people look(while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here)and
changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there) and

without breaking anything.


(from the website Poets.Org)
Edward Estlin Cummings was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 14, 1894. He began writing poems as early as 1904 and studied Latin and Greek at the Cambridge Latin High School.
At the time of his death, September 3, 1962, he was the second most widely read poet in the United States, after Robert Frost.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Watercolor Demonstration

8x10 Watercolor Demonstration
$100

This is the demonstration of painting a watercolor from your own original plein air oil. (See previous posts for watercolor step by step process of painting still life and landscape on location.)

It was truly a pleasure to present my program to the members of NWWS. If you were there, thank you for coming. Comments are welcome.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Demonstration at NWWS

8x10 Oil on Canvas
Plein Air painting from Lavender Hills Farm.

Typically, artists will make a watercolor field study, then take it to the studio to make a more finished oil painting from it.

In my demonstration for NWWS last night, I reversed the processs, showing how to interpret an oil painting in watercolor.

My topic was "Using Positive & Negative Space in Watercolor". If you would like a free copy of my handout, please request it by email to michelecooper@michelecooper.com

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Presentation at NWWS tonight

Here is a section from a handout I am giving to the audience at Northwest Watercolor Society tonight. Click the link for times and location.

I am honored to have been invited to be the guest presenter and am looking forward to seeing friends, guests and colleagues. My program is on "Using Positive and Negative Space in Watercolor".

If you have an opportunity to attend, I would love to see you there.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Color with a little salt

8 x 10"
Still life demo


Another small demo from last week's classes.

We are SO ready for color here in the NW!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Orange and Blue

Small study of an orange.

This was a quick demonstration for one of my classes, in which the "direct" method of watercolor was used.
Charles Reid's work is typical of this technique.