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