by guest blogger Curtis Jaunsen of Ocean Springs, MS
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| Plein Air East Beach, Morning 8x10 by Curtis Jaunsen |
One of the things I’ve read about in art marketing essays is
that the artist benefits from having a consistent “look” or style to their
work. According to this theory, consistent work is easier for the potential
collector to connect with, particularly if it is different enough from other
artists work that it stands out just by that virtue.
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| Lemons and Vase 18x18 by Curtis Jaunsen |
I don’t dispute this, it’s
something I’ve been trying to be a little more careful about with my work, its
just something that I haven’t really achieved yet. I paint inside my studio
probably around 75 percent of my working time and outside, ‘en plein air”, the
other 25 percent.
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| Studio Painting, Ocean Springs Sunset 24x36 by Curtis Jaunsen |
I probably paint an even number of landscapes and still lifes
with an occasional portrait when the spirit moves me. When I first started out
though it was almost exclusively still lifes and then always painted in the
slow and careful method I learned from the Florence Academy of Art. In those
paintings the subject was light and how it revealed the objects and surroundings
in my still life setup. My sole focus was on capturing the atmosphere that gave
it all a sense of life.
A couple things happened over the last few years to
change my approach. One was that when I went outside to paint I discovered slow
and careful doesn’t really work. The light conditions change too quickly and
the artist is almost required to be bold. The other was that after painting a
few hundred still lifes in a classical, traditional manner the whole process
started to feel repetitive and boring.
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| Bowl with Lemons, 9x12 by Curtis Jaunsen |
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| Studio Painting, Coast Harbor, 16x20 by Curtis Jaunsen |
Now I have an almost two separate
approaches when working. When I’m outside or when I’m inside painting something
that I feel needs a more direct treatment I try to paint with the concern being
accuracy. I look for the subtleties that require a bit of careful observation
but then I try to put it on canvas pretty much as seen with little concern for
paint handling, just straight forward brush on canvas. Hopefully these
paintings have emotional content but if so probably more from the observation of
the scene and less the painting process if that makes sense.
When
I’m inside my studio however the rules are different. Whether it’s a landscape
or still life being painted, I am still looking for subtleties, still looking
to create a sense of close observation. I start off my painting as before,
carefully drawing and establishing the accurate values and colors, but rather
than refine and continue this process, while the paint is still wet, I like to
use a variety of methods to move it around, blending objects into the
background and vice versa. The process becomes a lot more important, making the
paint and how its pushed around as important as the scene being rendered. In
the studio I use several different palette knives, a large scraper, a few
different putty knives, tissues and paper towels and of course different
brushes to put paint down and move it around.
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| Glass Vase and Lemons 16x20 by Curtis Jaunsen |
During the process I’m looking at
the canvas more and the subject less. I can push it into a more realized
rendering of the subject or a more abstracted direction. Which direction I go
while painting is determined by what I’m seeing on the canvas and whether I
think it’s working or not. This open ended process makes the final painting
more of a discovery than something predetermined. The best result is one where
both the scene and the painted surface look fully observed, meaning you can
tell the artist really understood the shifts of light, the gesture of the forms
in the scene being painted and the paint itself.
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| Plein Air- Biloxi Harbor 9x12 by Curtis Jaunsen |
One thing I think I’m going to try
in the future is bringing some of the studio methods outside. Its good to keep
trying new things and maybe that can lead to more consistency.
Curtis Jaunsen is a Mississippi artist who lives on the Gulf
Coast. Formerly an architect practicing in Atlanta, Curtis moved with his
family to Mississippi almost twenty years ago to be closer to his wife’s
extended family. He began his life as artist by first studying classical
painting at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. Since 2005 Curtis
has been painting portraits, still lifes and landscapes, outside or in his studio
in Ocean Springs, MS.
Curtis’s plein air paintings are available at the Pink
Rooster Gallery in downtown Ocean Springs. His studio work, including
portraits, landscapes and still lifes can be see at the Carol Robinson Gallery
on Magazine Street in New Orleans. He will be having a solo show at Carol’s
gallery this September 8th. Additionally his work can be seen online
at curtisjaunsenart.com. A link to his facebook and Instagram pages can be
found on his website.
A big thanks to Curtis Jaunsen for his story!
Follow this blog about Mississippi artists... In the coming weeks, this site will be publishing works by several plein air painters from around Mississippi.
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