New Work: "Clementine Reflections"

Okay, so this one's not exactly new. It's a few years old, but we just recently got it photographed.

I discovered a few more from this time period that inadvertently got skipped over and they'll be making their online debuts soon as well. I love finding happy surprises when I'm organizing!

"Clementine Reflections"   14 x 18   oil on canvas

Two Paintings Highlighted by BoldBrush

Well, we may not be part of the 1%, but this month at least we're part of the FAV 15%!

The online BoldBrush Art Competition just announced their September results and both of Charles' entries were included in their favorite top 15% of the submitted works.

"Lavender Lace" and "A Pause in the Revel" both caught the jury's attention. Way to go, girls!

"A Pause in the Revel"

"Lavender Lace"

BoldBrush Art Competition's website
BoldBrush September 2012 - FAV 15%
BoldBrush September 2012 - award winners

Painting Class Dates thru May 2013

Upcoming session dates for Charles' ongoing painting classes at Binders have been set through May 2013. These classes utilize still life, portrait and figure work. Hope we'll see you there!

Painting - Design and Technique
Tuesday afternoons (1-4 pm) or evenings (6-8:30 pm)
$140 for six weeks

next 4 session dates:
- October 30 - December 11, 2012 (no class on Nov. 20)
- January 8 - February 12, 2013
- February 26 - April 2, 2013
- April 16 - May 28, 2013 (no class on April 30)

Binders' Art School
Piedmont Peachtree Crossing
3330 Piedmont Road, Suite 18, Atlanta GA 30305
register online -- www.BindersArt.com
contact person: Jacob Gunter - 404-237-6331 ext 203

New Work: "A Pause in the Revel"

The lights are low. You can feel the late-night mist hanging in the air and smell a hint of incense . The music has slowed to a whisper and the dancers drift away. A single drumbeat sounds. She turns her head to listen.

"A Pause in the Revel"   24 x 18   oil on canvas

New Work: "Afternoon at the Monastery"

This beautiful plein air painting was created on the front lawn of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. Charles and I spent an afternoon there a while back with another artist friend. They both painted the afternoon sun striking the sanctuary's bright white facade, I sat in the shade with a book. It was a lovely and relaxing day.

"Afternoon at the Monastery"   20 x 16   oil on canvas

The Monastery of the Holy Spirit is a community of cloistered Trappist monks established in 1944. The main buildings were built in the 1950s by the monks themselves. They even created the stained glass windows. In accordance with their religious orders, they support themselves by the work of their own hands, selling honey (from their own bees), baked goods, rosaries, books and other treasures in their gift shop. They have an extensive selection of bonsai and bonsai supplies. The monks also offer spiritual retreats for groups and individuals. You can visit the monastery's website for more information.

Atlanta Fine Arts League Members Exhibition

AFAL members 2012 (thanks the Kristine Havens for the photo)

The members of the Atlanta Fine Arts League came together once again to create a wonderful exhibition of paintings and drawings. Charles has 2 pieces included: "Duet Modena" an oil-on-canvas still life, and "Dreadlocks" a lovely charcoal figure study.

Some photos from the opening reception can be seen on Charles' Facebook page.

The exhibition is hosted by the Roswell Visual Arts Center in Roswell GA, and will hang until September 28, 2012.

Atlanta Fine Arts League
Atlanta Fine Arts League on Facebook

New Work: "The Flutist"

The subject of this painting is a voice actor and showman who used to do a lot of work with the Atlanta Radio Theater Company. Charles and I knew him well many, many years ago, but then lost touch. Jump ahead 15 years. We're in a Petsmart of all places, and over the store's din we hear this voice out of the past. We look at each other, stunned, not believing, since it's so completely out of context. I peek around the corner and sure enough, that's him!

This is the second painting Charles has done of Terry. Here he's with his flute, paused between pieces, listening as the music fades away.  (16 x 20, oil on mounted paper)

"The Flutist"   16 x 20   oil on mounted paper

New Work: "A Halo of Roses"

For a week this past April, Charles and I were in Gadsden AL participating in the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational. Fifteen artists were invited to paint the city of Gadsden and its environs for 5 days, with an exhibition at the Gadsden Museum of Art at the end of the week.

On Friday morning some of the gardens in the historic residential neighborhoods were opened to the artists, which was where Charles found this beautiful vignette.
(oil on canvas, 16 x 16)

"A Halo of Roses"   16 x 16   oil on canvas

A Former Student Says "Thank You"

Charles regularly gets emails and notes of appreciation from his students. I like to include some of them on the classes page of his website. As I was going through my file in preparation for an update, I came across this lovely thank you letter that I just had to share (with her permission, of course!).

It's from Heather Watson, who was a painting student of Charles' when he taught at the Johns Creek Arts Center in Johns Creek GA last year. Not long after Heather started in Charles' class, she and her husband were transferred to the Chicago area with their jobs. She sent this note shortly afterward:

"When I saw the class being offered at Johns Creek, I jumped on it... The opportunity to learn from someone that created the paintings I saw on your website was EXACTLY what I had been looking for.

"I feel like I learned my money's worth in the first class, and in each one after that. You are an exceptional teacher, and I am so happy and grateful that I got to learn as much as I did from you. I will continue to put what I have learned from you to use, and I will become better and better at painting because of it. I will cherish my notes from your class over all the books and painting references I own. They are far more valuable to me.

"Thank you so much for sharing and teaching the way you do. You share your knowledge in a way that really hit home with me, and I will always remember every minute of these classes with admiration and respect for your art. You are truly talented, brilliant, patient, and unselfish...a winning combination!

"I wish you so much continued success in everything you do! Thank you.

Thank you, Heather Watson, for your heartfelt comments about Charles and his classes. He told me how your positive attitude in class and willingness to try really made teaching wonderful. We hope you are blooming in Illinois!

Heather Watson is on Etsy. Check out her paintings and notecards.

Figure Painting Workshop - Sept. 6-9, 2012 - Atlanta GA

The Essentials of Figure Painting
with Charles Young Walls
September 6-9, 2012

The Art School at Binders
Atlanta, GA
www.BindersArt.com
404-237-6331

$325 + $50 model fee

a PDF of the workshop flyer is available to share

Throughout this figure painting workshop, underlying structure will be addressed while emphasizing the importance of artistically bringing the figure to life on canvas. Skeletal study aids of the body and head will be available for aid in observation. Students will concentrate on the sculptural relationships within the figure and selective interpretation on the canvas. In addition to instructor demonstrations, students will enjoy one-on-one attention in a focused group atmosphere throughout the three days of painting the figure from life.

An Encounter with the Newly Restored "Nymphs and Satyr"

This past May, Charles spent a few weeks in New York City. On a Tuesday morning, one of the last days of his trip, he was at the Met visiting all his old friends as they basked in the glow of their galleries: Sargent, Chase, Rembrandt, van Dyck, Delacroix, Gerome, Rubens and countless others. And as always, he was also on the hunt for the next great artistic revelation. In the European wing he noticed a few roped-off rooms and one hidden by partitions and, always curious, went to see if he could get a peek. What he saw about knocked him off his feet!

It was Bouguereau's "Nymphs and Satyr" in the process of being hung. Even from across the room the range of values and the glow of the painting were amazing. Charles had never encountered this painting before and it blew away all the reproductions he had ever seen. He just had to get in there and see it, but this was his last day in the city. Horribly frustrating! Sympathetic museum staff let him know that that gallery would reopen on Friday and he called me that night so excited with his find he was practically breathless. "I'm sorry Honey, but I'm gonna have to stay a few more days. I've got a date with a Nymph."

William Bouguereau painted "Nymphs and Satyr" in 1873. From 1882 to 1902 it hung in the bar of the Hoffman House hotel in New York City. When the bar came under new ownership in 1902, it was consigned to a warehouse where it languished for 40 years. In 1942 it was purchased by Robert Sterling Clark, who remembered the painting from his bar-hopping youth, and who then hired a less-than-stellar art restorer to spruce it up. Well, that guy botched the job, and created more problems than he fixed.

Last year the Clark Art Institute decided that the time was right to finally have the painting cleaned and restored. Taking over 4 months to complete, the work was done by the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in Massachusetts. And now, fresh and sparkling, it hangs on loan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until the spring of 2014.

An article about the restoration was published in the WACC's spring newsletter: "A Bouguereau Reborn."

A high-rez photograph of the restored painting is available on the Met's website.

The painting's permanent home is the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown MA.

A detailed history of the painting can be found online here.

Three Must-Have Books for Any Artist's Library

Andrew Loomis' classic art instruction books, long out of print, have been republished in beautiful facsimile editions by the British publishing house Titan Books.

With wonderful quality reproductions and a strong secure hardcover binding, these aren't just cheap copies, but top-of-the-line re-publications.

I highly recommend that you get them while you can. Both Barnes & Noble and Amazon have them for less than $30 apiece.

Loomis at Amazon.com
Loomis at BarnesAndNoble.com
Titan Books

Oil Painting Beginner's Intensive - June 9-10, 2012

Don't miss this wonderful opportunity for a beginner painter to get started off on the right foot!

In early June Charles will be teaching a 2-day beginner's intensive workshop:  
Beginning Still Life - Getting Started with Oil Paint.
Two full days of solid nuts and bolts information on oil paint, mediums, brushes, canvases and everything related.

- June 9 - 10, 2012
- Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 - 5:30
- $175 - 16 years and up

For artists who have found oil painting daunting or frustrating, as well as those who want to paint but don’t know where to start. A nuts and bolts primer to get you started painting your first oil painting without photography or group pattern.

The workshop begins with a demonstration by the instructor, followed by a walk-through of the oil painting and other related sections of Binders explaining what supplies you need and what you don’t need. Students need to come prepared to purchase supplies the first day.

Students will paint a simple still life from life to begin exploring the principles of art. Charles provides a solid foundation of information for the student to take home, and to build on, to continue the beginning of their artistic journey.

Download the flyer in PDF format to print and share!

The Art School at Binders
Piedmont Peachtree Crossing
3330 Piedmont Road, Suite 18, Atlanta GA 30305
register online - www.BindersArt.com
contact person: Jacob Gunter -- 404-237-6331 ext 203

New Work: "Duet Modena"

It can be somewhat of a challenge living with an artist. Inspiration tends to strike at the oddest moments...

Charles makes a killer spaghetti sauce. We're in the kitchen one evening starting the preparations. He's already cut up the green pepper when he picks up the onion and starts to peel. Suddenly he stops, holds it up to the light, cocks his head to one side and grunts appreciatively. He carries it off to the studio, sets it carefully on his work table and returns to the kitchen with a big smile. I laugh and shake my head. Thankfully we had another onion - the sauce turned out great!

(oil on canvas, 16 x 20)

"Duet Modena"   16 x 20   oil on canvas

New Works: "Hay Bales at Harvest Time"

It was a lovely October early morning. As Charles set up his easel in the shade, I set up my camp chair in a sunny spot, sipped my coffee and watched the mist burn off the fields. Three horses wandered over to the fence behind us to investigate.

I'm not usually a morning person, but I really do enjoy accompanying Charles on his early morning plein air outings. As long as there's coffee not too far away. Lots of coffee.

(oil on panel, 12 x 16)

"Hay Bales at Harvest Time"   12 x 16   oil on panel

Upcoming Paint-Outs in the Atlanta Area

Spring is here! All that yellow dust everywhere means that it's time to unpack the outdoor painting gear.
There are several plein air events coming up in the Atlanta area:

March 31 - April 1, 2012
Marietta GA / Marietta Cobb Museum of Art
Plein Air Paint Out in Historic Marietta

March 31 - April 1, 2012
Suwanee GA / North Gwinnett Arts Association
3rd Biannual Plein Air Event

April 13 - 14, 2012
Buford GA / Tannery Row Artists Colony
6th Annual Plein Air Festival

May 26, 2012
Indian Springs GA / Generations Gallery
3rd Annual Memorial Day Weekend Plein Air Paint Out

Painting Accepted into Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art

We were thrilled to learn last week that Charles's still life painting "Tomatillos and Terracotta" was accepted into the 2012 Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art.

Although only in its second year, this now prestigious exhibition exploded onto the scene last spring amid tremendous buzz. The list of the 155 artists included in this year's show reads like a who's who of the representational art world. From over 1200 painting submissions from across the country, the jurors only accepted 187, and Charles' was one of them!!

Hosted by The Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale AZ, the Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art "will feature the finest in representational figurative, portrait, still life, floral, landscape, interior, wildlife and western themes ... and will utilize the 10,000 sq. ft. upper level of the gallery."

The Salon opens April 20 and will remain in place through May 20. But if you can't wait, the entire exhibition is now available online on their website.

----------------------------------------------------
Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art
April 20 - May 20, 2012
opening reception: Fri. April 20, 6-8 pm
The Legacy Gallery
7178 Main Street, Scottsdale AZ 85251
480-945-1113 -- Salon@LegacyGallery.com

Rembrandt and the North Carolina Museum of Art

Over the Christmas/New Year holiday, Charles and I made our way to the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh NC to view "Rembrandt in America," touted to be the largest exhibition of Rembrandt paintings ever presented in the U.S. Just under 30 authentic Rembrandts shared space with 20 other pieces originally attributed to him when they entered American collections, but which are now shown to be otherwise - pieces by students, hangers-on and other contemporaries. The pieces were gathered from two dozen American museums and numerous private collections.

The main centerpiece, of course, was Rembrandt's "Self Portrait, 1659" on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Velvet ropes set 5 feet back from the wall made it frustratingly difficult to lean in and study the subtleties of this masterpiece. I'll bet security guards hate encountering the artists in the crowds, always wanting to examine the brushstrokes!

Despite the blustery and wet weather, the crowds were very large on the day we were there. The earliest tickets we could get were for an hour after our arrival, so we headed over to the museum's new addition, the West Building, to see their permanent collection. Boy were we pleasantly surprised! What looks like a warehouse on the outside is a beautiful, sky-lit expansive venue housing an amazingly diverse and high quality array of artworks. We were stunned at every turn.

Rodin is given premier placement, for the NCMA holds the largest collection of his sculpture outside of New York and California, but the galleries surrounding the sculpture court are filled with all kinds of treasures, from the monumental 17th century formal portraits by van Dyke to a small gem of a painting by Sargent we had never seen before. In the end, we were pressed for time (Rembrandt called!) and didn't get to see the ancient art collection. Something to look forward to for our next visit.

Despite the velvet ropes and security's scowls, "Rembrandt in America" was a wonderful exhibition. It has already left North Carolina, but opens soon at the Cleveland Museum of Art (Feb. 19 - May 28, 2012) and then on to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (June 24 - Sept. 16, 2012).

We weren't allowed to photograph the Rembrandts, but other pictures from our visit to the North Carolina Museum of Art are available on Charles Facebook page.