The Importance of Drawing From Life

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"Sunday Morning on the Cliffs"

We are just coming down from September’s successful workshop at The Grand View Ranch, and are planning for the last workshop of the year that will take place on October 16th-20th. We still have one opening if you are interested in spending an inspirational weekend in Mt Shasta. This year, artists from all over the country have come to Shasta for a fun and insightful weekend of painting, and I am committed to creating an experience that will inspire you and change the way you paint forever. Please register on the www.thegrandview.com website if you wish to attend the workshop in October or call me at 415-606-9074.

As I go through my sketchbook from my travels in the National Parks when I filmed my PBS Television series, The Grand View, I came upon several sketches that I made in Glacier National Park. This big boy, un-startled by my presence, sat still for hours letting me draw him from many different angles. If you learn to draw and paint on location, you will experience many exciting opportunities to capture the wonders of nature in your sketchbook or on your canvas.

Sketching on location is one of the most important activities that one can do as an artist. The impulse to want to draw is as natural as the desire to talk. Learning to draw is a rewarding and important exercise that allows artists to be capable and free to express themselves when they want to paint what they see flawlessly. I recommend that every artist take a figure drawing class and practice drawing every day. Drawing is a skill that is learned, but drawing accurately requires practice and tenacity. The best way to learn to draw is to use all of your senses to observe, and then, record the impressions of life that catch your attention in the world around you in a sketchbook, and build your collection of “I’ve drawn that” images that is stored in your imagination for your use as you begin your painting on location.

If you are interested in experiencing a breakthrough weekend that will take your art to the next level, visit our new website at http://www.thegrandview.com/, and you can download my FREE BOOK where I share “Everything I know About Painting.”I hope that we can build a community of artists that can share information with each other.If you know of any artists that might appreciate being included, let them know about this blog.
I hope to offer more painting tips as this conversation continues. If you have questions that you would like me to answer, please don’t hesitate to email me anytime.
I welcome your feedback. Stefan_Baumann@yahoo.com

Finding Your Artistic Muse

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“Moose, Opus 1”
Those who know me know that painting landscapes on location in nature is one of my greatest passions. The Grand View television show features my experiences on location in the national parks. What many people don’t know about me is that I also have a deep passion for painting wildlife. I have returned from time to time to visit my artistic muse as I paint animals, and this week, sketches that I made when I hiked and painted in the Teton National Park inspired me. As I searched through my sketchbooks, my senses filled with the memories of that trip, and I recalled the feelings of awe that I felt when I personally encountered so many magnificent animals that exist in America. Those memories served as my source of inspiration as I painted, “Moose, Opus1.”

Finding one’s muse refers to the unintentional and unplanned burst of inspiration that beckons us to create. Many artists say the experience of finding their muse moves through them like the “breath of god.” They do not feel in control the process, but they feel compelled to “go with it” while they are transported beyond their own abilities to see and express their experience on canvas, paper, sound, or movement. The muse seems to be the connection between the inner soul or the unconscious mind and the artist who creates with paints, pens, musical instruments, or dance.

When you cannot find your muse, it feels like you can’t seem to get started with your work or that you just can’t get it right. You can work on a project for hours, and then, wipe it all off, or toss it into a pile of paintings in your garage. You know that you want to create, but you can’t imagine what to paint. There can be a great sense of frustration and unhappiness as an artist struggles to find his way back to feeling inspired again. Often artists will look for inspiration by searching outside of themselves and will look through pictures in books and magazines. Musicians spend hours exercising their connection with the keyboard hoping to hear a pattern, beat, or melody that inspires their creativity. The following ideas may help you to connect creatively within yourself in preparation for your muse’s return.

#1: Ask yourself, “Why did I want to be in artist in the first place?” When you create, you choose many paths, and occasionally you may find yourself feeling lost. Being in touch with why you began creating art is the first step in finding the way to your artistic muse.

#2: Take a long and relaxing walk. Do something that is physically active to clear your mind. It will calm any frustrations, and give you time to have fresh ideas or new approaches that may come to mind when you are away from your studio.

#3: Don’t do anything at all! Don’t even look or think about your painting, Inspiration will come to you when the time is right. Instead, watch TV, go out with friends, or go to bed. Just do something to separate yourself from your art. Sit back and enjoy being creative in other ways.

#4: Think of a book or movie that moves you to feel your emotions and paint a picture about something in the story that touches you. Every great work of art is inspired by connecting to life in some way.

#5: Listen to some inspirational or unusual music. I prefer tribal music, Classical music or movie soundtracks. Few things are as artistically stimulating as a great symphony by Beethoven. Let the music guide your art. Allow yourself to let loose and go with the sounds. Leonardo daVinci felt that he painted better when he listened to music.

#6: And go outside of yourself for ideas and inspiration. Browse through books to see and experience other artists’ work. Sometimes, we are so concerned that all of our work has to be original, and we forget that other artists have had huge breakthroughs after losing their muses, too. Visit a museum or surf the internet to see what other artists are creating, because it can be insightful, inspiring, and can connect us with the ups and downs that others in our special group of human beings known as artists experience.

If you are interested in experiencing a breakthrough weekend that will take your art to the next level, visit our new website at http://www.thegrandview.com/, and you can download my FREE BOOK where I share “Everything I know About Painting.”I hope that we can build a community of artists that can share information with each other.If you know of any artists that might appreciate being included, let them know about this blog.

I hope to offer more painting tips as this conversation continues. If you have questions that you would like me to answer, please don’t hesitate to email me anytime.

I welcome your feedback. Stefan_Baumann@yahoo.com

Artist’s Block

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Farmhouse in Mt Shasta

My parents came to stay with us over the summer, and my father loved working on the ranch clearing the property and making trails for visitors to explore. After my father retired, he took my advice and started painting. Over the years, I have seen his focus and drive increase, and the quality of his work improve. Recently, we painted together in Mt Shasta, and although he is new to painting on location, he is discovering the importance of being able to paint on location. This little painting is the result of a grand morning when I painted with my father.

Artists often create with passion and drive, and much of the time are inspired and determined to express themselves with no limitations. However, other times, they find that they fall into what artists call an “artist’s block.” This is very common among artists, and this term is widely used by painters, writers, musicians, and poets. When the fear of not being able to create makes an artist question what talents they might have or not have, passion and inspiration disappear. This state of mind can go on for years, and it is the reason that people stop creating forever. That is why it’s very important to do something about it.

To move on from an artistic block, it’s important to encourage yourself to set new goals, and change your thinking from “I can’t” to “I can do this.” Stop focusing on yourself and your feelings of being a failure. Ego is one main factor that will block your creativity. Consider what is important to you and share it though your art with another person. Art is a conversation between you and another person, and the other person wants to share a moment with you and experience your personal insights through your paintings or writings.

Ask yourself, “What if?” “What if I completed a book?” “What if I had a show in a major gallery?” “What if I could change the world with my art?” These questions are more than just dreams. They are magnificent possibilities about what your art can be.

Take a trip somewhere that you have never considered going before, even if it's only to a local town you have never explored. Always take a sketchbook, a notebook, a journal, or a thumb box everywhere you go. Commit to write, draw, or paint your observations every day, as grand or silly as they might be.

If this does not work, look for a coach or a class, or someone you can talk to because you might just need a mentor to give you a new perspective or to change your view of something that you may take for granted. Remember, you are unique and significant in the world, and few people possess the talent that you have right now. So don’t keep them waiting.

If you are interested in experiencing a breakthrough weekend that will take your art to the next level, visit our new website at http://www.thegrandview.com/, and you can download my FREE BOOK where I share “Everything I know About Painting.”I hope that we can build a community of artists that can share information with each other.If you know of any artists that might appreciate being included, let them know about this blog.

I hope to offer more painting tips as this conversation continues. If you have questions that you would like me to answer, please don’t hesitate to email me anytime.

I welcome your feedback. Stefan_Baumann@yahoo.com

Sky & Harmony

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Just north of The Grand View Ranch is the small farming town of Gazelle. This little old town on Hwy 99 was once a bustling town but it has shrunk in size, just like so many other rural communities in America that have disappeared because of commercialism and the popularity of box stores. I found this barn as I was searching for new locations for my workshops in Mt Shasta. The morning light was just breaking over the mountain, and I quickly set up my pochade box, and sketched it before the light changed.

Sky and sunlight together harmonizes a landscape, because the color of the light source (sunlight) shining through the atmosphere fills the scene with harmonious colors. But, how do you harmonize your painting? I have heard that some artists mix a mother color (a color that is made of red, yellow, and blue) on their palette, and once they have mixed a tone that is close of a color in the scene, they add it to all the colors. Other artists have a blue or red glass that they look through to see the changing values and see color temperatures. Other artists tone their canvas purple or brown. Although these methods work for some artists, I feel that if you paint all your paintings with the same approach or method, your work will look the same and can become boring. I recommend that you paint what you see. Nature harmonizes everything and always provides the best example: so if you paint what is there, the colors will be harmonious. Whether you paint from still-life setups, figure studies, or by looking out your window or painting outdoors, painting from life provides the most realistic, original, and true to life color, allowing you to create your own view of the world as it appears to you.
.Painting outdoors is not an easy task. You must have everything at your disposal to make it go smoothly. It requires even more discipline than painting from still life or a live model. If you do learn to paint outdoors, you will acquire the ability to see color and analyze values in a very exciting manner that will inspire you forever. If you want to grasp the secret of painting, just paint from life. With practice and experience gained by painting outdoors, you may not want to paint any other way and in a very short time, you will have the power to paint anything that you desire.
We, at the Grand View Ranch, are preparing for the fall workshops, and if you have not had the chance to come to a workshop, I invite you to visit our website at http://www.thegrandview.com/ for information about painting outdoors in Shasta, California. While you are on the website, you can download my free book, “Everything I know About Painting” under “Information” on the home page of the website.

I am offering (for a limited time only) the readers of our blog and Outdoor Painting newsletter, a $75.00 discount off of the price of the workshops that will be held in September and October, 2008. You can call me at 415-606-9074 or register on the website. Space is limited, so call soon.
If you are interested in experiencing a breakthrough weekend that will take your art to the next level, visit our new website at http://www.thegrandview.com/, and you can download my FREE BOOK where I share “Everything I know About Painting.”

I hope that we can build a community of artists that can share information with each other.If you know of any artists that might appreciate being included, let them know about this blog.

I hope to offer more painting tips as this conversation continues. If you have questions that you would like me to answer, please don’t hesitate to email me anytime.

I welcome your feedback. Stefan_Baumann@yahoo.com