A moment that always makes my heart feel lighter is when people gather on a beach to applaud a sunset. There is no need to do this. The earth continues its rotation regardless of our appreciation and yet it is a moment when we, as humans, share gratitude for beauty.
This is what I strive for in my work, that moment of beauty that captures our hearts and makes us forget about division. Beauty brings us together and we give thanks for its presence.
Beauty is not always in the spectacular. Beauty exists on cloudy days in the tapestry of muted color. It is in fleeting moments where a dead tree is spotlit and becomes majestic. Beauty can be a moon rise over a newly frozen lake with the landscape softening into the darkness. Beauty is whatever captures your heart and makes you forget the noise of everyday strife.
Enjoy that moment, capture it in your memory and if you can, share it. Writers write, singers sing, gardeners nurture plants so cooks can transform the bounty. Beauty can be shared in many different ways. I choose paint to tell the tales of what moves me. As I work, I walk around in my mind remembering what sparked deep appreciation for that moment.
This act brings me peace and gratitude. That is what I wish for all of us in the coming New Year: moments of beauty that we can applaud.
Below are a few moments of beauty that I would like to share with you.
It has been a long time since I published a blog or posted artwork. Sometimes life takes an unexpected turn and a new journey begins.
It all started with a bump on my right calf in the fall of 2022. It was looked at by a physician’s assistant at a dermatology office three times before I insisted it come off, and I am glad it did. It turns out the bump was melanoma.
I had surgery in January but there were cancer cells found outside of the tumor and I was sent to an oncologist. The oncologist suggested PET and MRI scans and also 13 infusions of an immunotherapy drug that would help my immune system seek out rogue cancer cells and destroy them. This therapy is considered safe with few side effects but not in my case. After two infusions I was hospitalized with diabetic ketoacidosis. It took awhile to figure out what was going on but the end result is my pancreas was severely damaged and I am now a type 1 diabetic, dependent on insulin to stay alive.
Learning to manage my blood sugar became the focus of my life. I stopped Patreon, canceled in-person classes, turned down workshops and demos and spent little time in the studio. Most of the summer I worked in the garden and hung out with family and friends all the while learning as much as I could about type 1 diabetes. Previously I knew nothing of this condition. Now I can talk endlessly about bolus and basal doses, lowering highs and combating lows, CGMs and carb/insulin ratios.
There have been a lot of lifestyle changes and surprisingly my training as an artist was great preparation to learn these new skills. Identify what you want to learn, see what tools you have to work with, propose a solution, test, evaluate the results and decide if they were successful or not. This process is the same whether I am creating a painting or figuring out meals to keep my blood sugar in range.
Now with my diabetes somewhat under control and the weather turning cooler I am back in the studio. The break from the easel was necessary and I waited until I felt the call to create again. For all the challenges that diabetes has presented it has given me the gift of time. This winter, without teaching obligations, I will have time to work on a series of color videos. I will have time to work on my paintings and move deeper into watercolor. Sometimes the unexpected turns in life bring you where you did not know you needed to be.
I appreciate all of you for following and supporting my work throughout the years. I am not stopping. I am just changing direction after a much needed break. My goal is to continue to paint and share what I learn by creating a library of videos that can be downloaded. My pastel “Standing Strong” is the first painting I have finished since I became diabetic, the tree feels like an allegory for my new life.
Thank you again for all your support and please wear sunscreen.
I had a great time last week teaching my simplified version of color theory on Art School Live with Eric Rhoads. Here is the link to the video Everything You Need To Know About Color and below are large images of my demo and the color sample board.
I spent a lot of my studio time recently experimenting with different ways to apply paint. An artist can learn about the foundational elements of art such as drawing, value, and color mixing but it is the act of applying pigment that makes each artist unique. Paint application is a personal rendering of how all the elements are brought together. In oil paint this is called brush work and in pastel it is called mark making. Both terms describe the manner of application that creates a surface quality.
Paint application is usually not the first thing you think about when you look at a painting. You might like the subject or the colors yet the application says so much about the mood and the intent of the artist. We read the surface of the painting like we read handwriting. We read the words to understand what the author is saying but how they are written affects our perception.
As with handwriting, paint strokes can be analyzed. They can speak of confidence or tentativeness. They can be bold and thick or barely perceptible. Paint application gives us insight to the mind and mood of the artist. Think of Van Gogh and his frenzied application of thick, short strokes of paint that transform a bucolic landscape into a frenzied panorama.
Compare that to the works of William Adolphe Bouguerau and his smooth application created through a long process of glazing and scumbling. This careful application creates realistic skin tones that are lustrous and translucent.
Now imagine if the artist painted the other’s subject matter. How would the mood of “Wheatfield with Crows” painted by Bouguerau look compared to Van Gogh’s? How would “The Nut Gatherer’s” change in the hands of Van Gogh?
Last November I set up to do a computer presentation for my local art guild. Due to a technical glitch I had to switch at the last minute to doing a painting demo. I always come over-prepared just in case something happens, so I had my pastels with me and a reference of a sunset over a lake.
It is a scene I am very familiar with so I was able to talk through the the process while I painted. It was done in one hour start to finish and has a different energy than this pastel of a similar scene which was planned and worked on in the studio for a long period of time.
The paintings are the same medium and similar subject matter but painted under a different mindset that affected the application and created different moods.
This watercolor was an experiment and I had no expectations of how it would come out. Sometimes the freedom that comes with experimentation adds an undercurrent of ease to the painting.
This oil has been a grand experiment of textures - from the smooth coat to the broad passages of thick snow and grass played against the thin transparent darks of the trees. The play of textures adds interest to a somber palette.
If you want to explore more about mark making, I have an online workshop, Expressive Mark Making in Pastel, May 14-15. There are a few spaces open if you are interested. Click here for more information.
Would you like your pastels to look more painterly?
Are you unsure what stroke to use to create certain effects in pastel?
Are you new to pastel and not sure how to apply them?
Are you an experienced pastel painter who would like to expand your mark making techniques?
Then this video is for you!
Painters are visual storytellers and pastel application is how you tell your story. Learning to express yourself with a variety of marks will help you develop your style and define what makes your pastel paintings unique.
At the request of many of my students, I made this video to share with you what I have learned in over 30 years of pastel painting. This video is for the beginner and advanced painter alike and will teach you to paint each stroke with intent to get the effect you want.
The video begins with a short discussion of materials, which is followed by a demonstration on the best way to hold the pastel to get a variety of marks. Then I show you a series of different strokes for specific purposes. Each stroke is explained, demonstrated and followed by examples and short demos of that stroke.
At the end of the video there is a 50-minute demonstration in real time where I paint a still life of an onion. From start to finish you will see me using and combining the different strokes that are covered in the video.
In this video you will learn how to……
choose hard or soft pastels for specific purposes.
hold the pastel to get a wider variety of strokes.
use specific strokes to add dimension to your paintings.
mix color through layering so your paintings sparkle.
blend color using only your pastels.
paint fine details.
use thick application.
use a brush and paper towel to create irregular marks.
combine strokes to make them your own.
A unique feature of this video is that the pastel strokes are filmed close- up so you can see exactly how the pastel is held and how it touches the paper.
The cost is only $39.95 and is available for streaming. You can watch it on any device that is connected to the internet. To watch the trailer or purchase this video please click here.
When bright light hits an object, it will bounce into the surrounding atmosphere and go beyond the object’s boundary creating an aura. This property is called halation and it is an effect artists can use to add a feeling of light to their paintings.
We see halation in everyday life but are not necessarily aware of it. Brilliant sunlight will bounce off of white buildings and our minds register that effect without being conscious of it. If you do a painting of that building and contain the light to the boundaries, the painting will never look quite right. If you are finishing a painting but it feels like something is missing, then add halation to your painting by extending the light beyond the boundaries to illuminate your composition.
The first time I became aware of this effect was in the painting of my daughter titled, “Turnaround.” The pastel slipped and the bit of light that accidentally extended from her arm to the background was the finishing touch the painting needed.
You can also see how halation was used in the still life painting, “It’s All About The Vase.” The aura is more obvious around the eggs but also occurs at other highlights in the composition. Without halation the painting would lose some of its impact.
"It's All About That Vase" with halation
Painting without halation
This is my most recent portrait commission of musician Nathan Mondry. He was at home and practicing the harpsichord. I sent instructions to his mother on how to photograph someone for a portrait and this is the pose she captured.
Hearing and touch are crucial to a musician so I knew I wanted to play up the light on those features of the portrait.
On the top of the ear, I left a little break of paint. The thin warm underpainting is showing through and added to the feeling of the light on the ear.
The hands were complicated so I did a study first to understand their form.
When I was finishing the painting, I chose a couple of small areas on the hands to illuminate. I broke the boundaries by dragging the tip of the brush into the surrounding areas. The effect was to give the hands a sense of light and movement on the keyboard.
The light rising from the hands and ear was analogous to music rising from the instrument. It was the small touch that added so much to this portrait.
Spreading light beyond the boundaries seems a good metaphor for the holiday season and the promise of a New Year. I hope your light shines brightly and spreads to those around you.
Happiness is when you are interviewed by your favorite Podcast, Carol Olson's The Artful Painter. If you have never listend to his podcast it is like hanging out with your favortie art buddies discussing all things painting.https://carlolson.tv/artful-painter/vianna-szabo-57
I have heard from a lot of artists recently that they are feeling frustrated and discouraged. Their paintings are not good enough, they don’t paint fast enough, and they feel the pressure to create a masterpiece each time they stand at the easel.
The events of the world are not making it any easier. Nine months of quarantine may have given you more time to paint and yet the very thing you love you avoid. You berate yourself for not taking your art seriously, for not being good enough and the vitriol spikes when you look at the easel.
What I want you to know is that the resistance you feel is natural and has been heightened by the instability of the world. To help you out I would like to introduce a series of blogs outlining steps you can take to revive your creative spirit. Let's start by looking at two truths:
You are not alone.
Your artwork does not care about you.
You are not Alone
Even in the best of times artists struggle with the expectations of what they wish to create and the limitations of their current skills. Learning to work through the discouragement and frustration is where artists and the “wanna be” artists separate. Those who accept the frustration as part of the process will continue to learn and grow. Those who stop painting will stop learning about painting.
If painting was a passing interest then good for you for trying it out and moving on. It is a choice, not a survival skill- there are other ways to make a living and/or countless other hobbies to pursue.
If the thought of not painting makes you sad, then paint. Put brush in hand or pastel to paper and make marks - do something - anything. Even the humble #2 pencil and a scrap piece of paper will do. Action feeds creativity and every artist goes through cycles of frustration and inspiration. It is a rhythm shared by creative people and is what spurs new levels of learning.
Your Artwork does not Care about You.
Artists talk about hating a painting, which is interesting because the painting has no feeling for you. The dislike is one sided so it is up to you to change that emotion. Disliking your work won’t make you a better artist but accepting your mistakes as a necessary part of learning will. Messing up a painting is not a bad thing. Mistakes reveal what you need to focus on next to take your work to the next level. Only by identifying where you struggle can you come up with a solution. Embracing your mistakes will make you a happier and better artist.
I have been though the cycle of frustration and inspiration so often that the frustration feels less discouraging and the inspiration less joyful. I know that with each new level attained there will be a new one to breech and for that I am grateful. I hope knowing that you are not alone in your struggle and that there are actions you can take will bring you back to the easel and guide your artistic journey.
Debra Zamperla, who is a workshop organizer extraordinaire, has a series of interviews on her website, Artensity. Many of artists who Debra has hosted for workshops have been featured, with my interview being the most recent release. To listen please click ArtTalkInterview:ViannaSzabo
