Paint Happens

I love oil paint. I love the gooey textures and the thick, rich colors, and, yes, the smell. Unlike watercolors, I can change any stroke at any time; the entire painting experience is dynamic.

I also love to teach painting. My desire is to inspire others to create, and find their own “voice” and vision in their art. I’m happy to share all that I have learned about painting, creating and the “business side” of the art world.

Melinda Lomax Cootsona is a native of Northern California. She attended the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in Oakland where she received her BFA in Interior Architectural Design in 1981. She worked full-time in both the Interior and Graphic Design fields for over twelve years “from furniture systems to album covers.” She also taught design for two years at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, and now regularly teaches oil painting classes and workshops out of her studio in Menlo Park, CA.

Melinda’s work was originally influenced by the early California Impressionists, and particularly by the Northern California group called the Society of Six. She painted loose, vibrant landscapes, often in the “plein air” style, and learned about light and color and how to “bend the rules”, from observing nature, as well as workshops with Ted Goerschner, Jerry Turner and Leslie Rich.

Melinda’s work currently focuses on Abstracts and Abstract Figurative paintings, “after painting one too many Eucalyptus trees.” She is influenced by the Bay Area Figurative artists both past and present including William Rushton and Linda Christensen.

You can see more of Melinda’s work at her website: www.melindacootsona.com, and at The Studio Shop in Burlingame, CA,  www.thestudioshop.com

Girl in Chair, 36 x 36

Have you ever wanted to hand a letter to your art teacher and let them know your thoughts? I have had so very many students tell me of their horrendous experiences with thoughtless teachers. I’m certain that we have all shared in some of these experiences.

I think my favorite teacher horror story is my sister-in-law, Annie’s, tale of her drawing class. She got up the courage to attend a local drawing class. When she entered the room most of the students knew each other and no one greeted her (sound familiar?). The subject matter was a cow skull – no easy assignment for a first timer, geeze. The short of the story is that after much effort by Annie to sketch a skull in graphite, the teacher looked over her shoulder and exclaimed, “You’ve gotta be kidding, right?” This is amusing in the shock of absolute lack of empathy, understanding, or even good manners!  It’s like a TV moment; you’d see it in a sit com, but no one would believe that it could happen. Except anyone whose taken a lot of art classes. (It’s ok to laugh;  Annie quit the class, and has gone on to paint beautiful paintings!)

I’ve heard of teachers painting on student canvases without permission, ruining their work, even completely covering their work. And, much like Annie’s experience, I’ve heard of critical comments by instructors that have literally paralyzed student creativity. Like the breaking of a horse’s spirit.

An artist may be a brilliant painter, but not a good teacher or communicator. Artists may take up teaching for all kinds of reasons especially in today’s economy. Ultimately there should be only one true reason to teach: to inspire others. A teacher must have limitless compassion for the student and a true desire to see that person create joyfully. If you don’t have that kind of commitment to the student, you should honestly stay in the studio and continue to create your own work. Students tell me that I have endless patience, but I never feel impatient. Patience never crosses my mind. I am too focused on what is best for my student to consider any other option. Admittedly, I teach very small classes so I have an advantage here, but any good teacher should have similar intentions.

So, I have written a letter from Student to Teacher. Feel free to copy it if you wish and use it at will. Hand it out on your first day of class. Adapt it as appropriate. And let me know any of your own stories, good and bad, about “Art Class.” My next blog will have a letter from Teacher to Student….stay posted!

Dear Teacher,

I am so excited to be here in this class. Excited, nervous and scared. I have always wanted to create and I am now finally getting the chance. The art store was a small piece of heaven on earth: colors and textures and blank papers full of potential. I have all of my supplies and can’t wait to begin.

I hope I fit in. I don’t know any of these other students and they are probably all really good. I can see that you know many of them and they all seem to be friends. Please introduce me and make me feel welcome. Please ask that your students each share in the creative process.  I am nervous and don’t want to intrude.

I know this may sound silly, but it took a good deal of courage to come here. By being in a class, I will be creating in front of other people and exposing my work (my self) to judgment.  I am not a weak person, but this idea scares me. I am not confident in my abilities as an artist and I am not ready to be judged by others. Please give me words of encouragement, as the slightest doubt of my ability may crush my spirit. You will know if this happens, as I will not have the courage to return to class.

I’m ready for what ever you tell me, and your choice of words really, really matters. I respect you as an artist and I know that you are talented and knowledgeable about your craft. Your praise means more to me than you will ever know. I will remember your words for years to come. I realize that my work needs criticism in order for me to grow as an artist, but please be gentle and mindful of your comments. I will remember your words for years to come.

Thank you for your patience and generosity of spirit in sharing your knowledge. These qualities are paramount in a teacher. If you are patient with me I will absorb your knowledge as fast as I am able.

I am ready now to create.

Yours truly,

My Creative Self

Morning Cup O' 20 x 20

If you continue down the path of fine art for very long, there will come a time when just “accurately representing” the coffee cup is no longer of interest.  You will have painted so very many cups, pears, flowers, chairs, and eucalyptus trees that “accurately representing” them will no longer compel you. Abstract artists will find that “Expressionism”, or “Cubism” or other “ism’s” are just not fulfilling when imitated. You will want to actually “say” something about the objects you paint. You will want to “say” something with your paintings. You will want to truly OWN your work.

Definitions and explanations here get a bit slippery. But see if any of the following sound familiar or ring true to you:

You want to:

•  Capture the essence of the object or place.

•  Indicate a feeling.

•  Create a Mood.

•  Show the “true” object.

•  Paint an emotion.

•  Paint any of the above with no object represented (abstract).

•  Make up your image (representational or abstract) entirely.

•  Paint something no one has ever seen.

•  Paint in a “style” that no one has ever seen.

You are ready to Paint What You Know and Not What You See. You are ready to put yourself into the work, to say, “ this is my view of a coffee cup, the tea pot, the world.”

Side Step:  OK I need to include a few points here, lest I hear grumbling…

1. You will always be creating your own view of the subject matter from day one. (Thus the class where everyone is painting the same thing but all of the paintings look different.) However, the difference here is that you are conscious of your work and its outcome.  You are paying more attention to your painting and your creation than to the original subject.

2. These are concepts for both realist and abstract artists.

3. As a matter of fact, these concepts apply to all creative forms. The pianist learns the scales to improvise. The knitter learns the stitches to create a design of her own. The photographer learns the correct F stop to then manipulate the image, etc. etc.

4. Art created this way can be painted, sculpted, written at any “level”.  You do not have to be an “advanced” artist. It just seems that often this approach to our art occurs after some time at it. After we have worked through “the scales” and they become part of us. Not always, there are always exceptions (Mozart), but often.

And once you travel down this new path, you will see your art (and other’s) in a whole new light. Originality and expression combined with the skills developed from “practice” (all those paintings, drawings, mounds of clay, that led you to this point) will become the true test of an artist’s ability. We know these works of art intuitively when we see them. We know them at the gut level and at an emotional level. Whether it is a Rothko abstract, a Mozart sonata, an Ansel Adams’ moonlit valley, a Rodin figure, or Haystacks and Water Lilies (you know the ones).

Both “Painting What You See and Not What You Know” and “Painting What You Know and Not What You See” are equally valid and necessary. If you feel that you are learning to “Paint What You See and Not What You Know” and that the reversal seems confusing at best, have no worries. Travel happily on your path and create away, experiment, play and create as much as you can. If you create long enough, you will find the other road (or it will find you).

If you have found that you are “Painting What you Know and Not What You See” (or are ready to), travel happily on your path and create away, experiment, play and create as much as you can.  Look to your work to tell you what direction to follow. What gives you the most pleasure? What do you want to create? Try not to edit your immediate answers, but instead, “paint (create) faster than you can think.”

Let me know where you are creatively!