Lisa McShane Art

Deborah's printing press Etching lesson Deborah's Prints I have wanted to learn how to make prints for about 25 years. I longed to take printmaking in art school but I was a double major in metal sculpture and oil painting and loved my art history and drawing classes so there just wasn't time. I love the line and the inky blacks. Fortunately Deborah has a printing press and taught 5 of us how to etch one afternoon. She gave each of us a small zinc plate, some etching tools and we furiously worked to create small prints. Then we heated the plates, rubbed ink on and rubbed it off and each of us made a print. Mine wasn't good but I absolutely loved the process and can't wait to do it again!

On Friday our workshop group hit the road and went to the exhibit , The Hudson River School, Nature and the American Vision , at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth Texas. It was about a 3 hour drive from Deborah Paris' home and studio in Clarksville, Texas. The Hudson River school exhibit was very good and I especially liked the work of William Hazeltine. Because it was a traveling exhibit, we weren't allowed to take photographs. However the museum's permanent collection is terrific and I took photos, including closeups of several key paintings. Here is Martin Johnson Heade, Marshfield Meadows, Massachusetts, ca. 1866-76. And here are the closeups I took because I'm working on a painting with rain: Tomorrow: more paintings

Deborah Paris at her easel, April 2011. One of the very best things about Deborah's workshop is the opportunity to see an artist at work. She uses her own paintings to demonstrate technique and talk through ideas for us. In several years in art school I don't believe I ever saw one of teachers painting. I took one other workshop and again, didn't really see the teacher paint (other than on students' work...and that's just not the same thing.) Because Deborah teaches an approach to painting that's technically challenging - indirect painting - she spends time each day demonstrating for us. She also often simply works in the studio while we're painting in the afternoon. And that's really fun too. So here she is at the easel. Deborah Paris' palette, April 2011 And here is Deborah doing a paint mixing demo on her palette. That's seriously fun to watch and the discussion about transparent, semi-transparent and opaque is interesting.

I just finished an 8 day workshop in Clarksville, Texas with artist Deborah Paris. It was my second Texas workshop with Deborah and in some ways, even better than last year's. Writing up a workshop is a challenge. First, there's simply no time while you're in the thick of things. You paint all day, enjoy your meals with the other artists and then some of us paint again until bedtime. I had good intentions of taking time to write, reflect and take long walks. That didn't happen. I painted a lot. At this workshop, when I had a spare moment I looked through Deborah's collection of art books. She's got a great library. So I'll take this piece by piece and start by setting the stage. Here we are: the 2011 Texas Workshop group with Deborah Paris. The only person missing is Deborah's husband Steve Whalen. He is a remarkable cook, kept us all well fed and - bonus - is fun to hang out with. Left to right: Deborah Paris , Phoebe Chidress, me , Sara Lubinski ...

I'm at a painting workshop in Clarksville, Texas! This is a close-up of Deborah Paris ' palette during a paint mixing demo. Greens! We've had a great time here despite a bit of weather. More later.

Mt. Baker from Margaret's. 9x12. Oil on Panel. Lisa McShane On Monday and Wednesday afternoons we painted at Margaret's house, near Conway. There were a number of great views and I painted northeast, towards Mt. Baker. I especially like the gap between the trees on the Skagit dike. Through that gap you can see the layers of the foothills. Skagit Fields and Poplar. 6x8. Oil on Panel. Lisa McShane. Friday afternoon we painted at Terra Bella gardens. We were there painting several times and the afternoons were challenging. It was sunny and the views there were towards the south or west. I ended up both afternoons painting the view west simply because I could park myself under birch trees in the shade. This one, above, was an assignment to paint using complementary colors. I toned the canvas pink, my underpainting was purple and I added yellow. Then green to set it off. Poplar in Skagit. 6x8. Oil on Panel. Lisa McShane. This painting was an assignment to use analogous c...

Mitch Albala demo in the fog on Thursday, Conway Painters on the dike, in the thick Conway fog. Tedd Chilles painting in the fog. View of the field, Conway. Fog in the Slough. 8 x 10. Oil on Twinrocker paper. Lisa McShane Fog in the Slough. 6 x 8. Oil on Panel. Lisa McShane It was foggy until afternoon from Wednesday through Friday. Friday was especially thick and magical. We painted at a small park in Conway, working on small paintings. The fog lifted quickly. One moment I looked down for more paint and when I looked up, I could see all the trees.

It was a foggy day in Skagit County - I love painting in the fog! This is a picture of 2 artists painting the value changes in the fog. A great morning for painting. After we painted we stopped for lunch and then had a group critique. We each put 2 paintings out and used these to discuss bigger issues of painting, such as value, hue, texture and composition. I'm really enjoying my fellow artists in the workshop with me! And after the critique we took a break. Most people are staying nearby but since I live 40 minutes away, I find ways to entertain myself. Generally that involves painting! Here's a photo I shot on my easel (I'll take a better one later, but no time this week!) of the quick painting I did during today's break:

Skagit Wheat. Oil on Linen Panel. 9x12. This is the first painting I've completed in the workshop, of the view south towards poplar trees and a wheat field. Here's my easel with my subject to my left. And here's the view to the east and the North Cascades that I also wanted to paint! You can't see it in this poor, grainy photo but there's a peak in the notched valley just to the right of the middle. I'm certain I'll need to go back to this spot another time. It's stunning. We saw great views today!

Here's a shot of Mitch doing a demo in our morning session at a Skagit County farm. Our first task was to tone our surface, wipe that down and then, using the same 1 or 2 pigments, create an underpainting focused on values and shape. There are 12 of us in the class and slightly more than half stayed in this area to paint the barn and trees. On the other side of the barn was a field, a cottage and then a wheat field with poplars in the distance. Yes, a wheat field with poplars! Those are the best things in the world to paint, no?   Naturally that's where I set up shop. We'll be back there first thing in the morning and I'll take a shot of my subject and completed painting.

This morning - bright and early - is the start of a week-long painting workshop w/ Mitchell Albala. We'll be in Skagit County near Dodge Valley, one of the most beautiful areas in the Pacific Northwest. Here's Mitchell Albala w/ his new and exceptional book on Landscape Painting. I'll try to post what I've learned in the workshop during the week but the schedule is grueling - 7:45 to 6:30 every day. I'll be commuting from my home, about 45 minutes away. The weather report? Sunshine! Boy will I be tired.

Mitchell Albala, artist and author of 'Landscape Painting' Last Friday night artists in Bellingham were treated to an art critique by Mitchell Albala, artist and author of the book 'Landscape Painting.' It was terrific. But before I say more about that, there's a couple of things you need to know. First, Mitch is an exceptional painter. You can see his work on his website here . Second, his new book, 'Landscape Painting' is a comprehensive and much needed book on the subject and I highly recommend it. It was published in November. My copy is often open on my studio table, that's how good it is. I like to look at the images of paintings because he put together beautiful art to illustrate his points. I also tried out his exercises in things like underpainting and following his lead, experimented with different temperatures in my underpainting. The book is best described as an updated Carlson's Guide but with more information, more readable and with gre...

I took a number of paintings in progress with me to Deborah Paris' workshop to work on and also took along some blank linen panels just in case. I used those panels to start several more of my Northern Lakes/ Canoe paintings. I'm still intrigued by those images in part because I walk around the lake several days a week. I love to see the canoes in the water, and I love to depict them at dusk. The lake is always changing. I'm increasingly interested in the way we see lakes - often through a screen of trees and branches that we edit out. The paintings in progress I took with me were mostly the images I've been working with of the more arid part of Washington. The one on the lower left, of fog and eroded hills, is one of my current favorites. As you can see I lined up all of them, fresh out of their travel box, on my drying shelves to take stock. Including the one of the canoe in yesterday's post, there are 11. Actually the truth is there were 12. There's one whic...

Yesterday was a big day in my studio: not only did I return from my workshop w/ Deborah Paris, but my paintings, brushes, paintings and frames arrived home from their travels too! Most notably, my canoe painting - above - arrived home framed in a gorgeous hand made frame from Mountains Edge Frames! Check them out here . This one is perfect for my painting. It's a dark, strong and simple presentation. I love it - thank you Steve! And my apologies for my blog post title: this is what we've said for decades when we return from a trip. I can't help myself.

These are the first sketches for a number of paintings I'm thinking about right now. This is an area near Vantage on the Columbia River that I've driven by all my life. Sometimes I've stopped and always, for the past 20 or so years, I've wanted to be in a truck so I could stop and get a pillar of basalt for my garden. I'm in Fort Collins Colorado right now, checking out the town, visiting my daughter, sketching and planning my next 10 or so paintings. These two will be 22 x 30. I've got the linen stretched, hand primed w/ Gamblin's oil ground, polished and ready to go. With a show coming up in June, I'll be hard at work between now and then to be ready! There is much to do. My paints and the paintings I started or worked on at Deborah Paris' workshop are all speeding to my home via the nice people at Fedex. (Plus some gorgeous frames I can't wait to use! Thank you Deborah and Steve!) They all arrive home when I do and it will be a happy homecomi...

This is a closeup of Deborah Paris glazing. It's been a treat to watch her at work, from the underpainting through to the glazing. This is a beautiful painting and she's working on the grasses at the bottom.

Deborah Paris is known for her soft, luminous surfaces. You can see her beautiful work here on her website . Her brushes are fascinating. The one on the left is a newer one, a Winsor Newton One Stroke Sable (Dick Blick) and she uses this for glazing. The crazy looking one on the right was once as lovely and new as the one on the left. Sad little sable hairs are sticking out in every direction like a seriously bad perm. Once it's worn down like a stiff little mop, she uses it for underpaintings.

I'm on my way to Clarksville Texas where I'll be painting for a week with Deborah Paris! It's a workshop with 4 other artists and I'm super excited. For months now I've been telling friends I'm going to Texas and nearly everyone says this: "Texas?!? Why are you going to Texas?" :) Well, I'm going to study indirect painting with an artist who practices and teaches indirect painting. I love her work, you can see it here . Plus I think I'll find the countryside there to be exactly my cup of tea. A little stark, but with subtle detail. I checked the weather yesterday and there are tornado warnings for today. My husband says to 'find my safe place.' Will do Dan. I've been thinking about how to pack my art supplies and gathering my things for a few weeks now. The photo above is of my panel carrier. I'm taking 10 paintings in progress to finish there. I'm also taking a few blank linen panels, some lovely drawing paper, drawing sup...