Gail Sauter - Artist & Creativity Coach Extraordinaire!

Gail Sauter's Oil Painting Boot Camp is designed  as the class she wishes she could have taken as a young artist - combining a mix of drill sergeant, motivational speaker, confidence builder, and creativity coach.

Her critiques are, first of all, kind, but with an emphasis on getting each student to reach into themselves. She feels that technique should serve the intention of the painter and that it is more important to express your message with power than it is to accurately report on what is in front of you. Style develops through the process of learning to paint and it is in our individual painting strengths and weaknesses that we flavor our paintings and present our viewpoint. She feels that her job as instructor is to help students get out of their own way by encouraging them to identify their personal painting quirks, to value them, and to paint the paintings that are inside of them by growing those quirks and building on them.

“Gail's classes have led me to search confidently, trying new methods and techniques in order to find my own personal voice. Our weekly class discussion, based on Master artists, personal experience and reflection on my goals, has given me a solid base and encouragement to explore and discover my strengths. Hands on class painting has opened new avenues to seeing and seeking solutions in my own avenue of creating.” (Judy A, artist)

Gail has always known she would be an artist. Her mother is a musician and her father a photographer. She grew up drawing while her mother practiced, and got her first camera at age 5. They were living in Japan and Gail has vivid memories of taking photographs of the countryside and people. Living in different cultures and in many parts of the United States has given her an insight into the universality of people around the world. This is an important thrust of her work today and she travels extensively to paint on location. She feels it is important that artists reach out and connect one with another and share our sameness while we celebrate our differences. Painting is her vehicle for expressing those deep connections and speaking a universal language across cultures.

Many people are talking about Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outlier" which says success in a profession is the result of hard work - with 10 years of endeavor required before becoming “successful”. It is intriguing that Gail, in order to express herself more strongly, has worked with three major mediums in the past 30 years (10 years in watercolors led to 10 years working with pastels which led to 10 years working in oils). Each move to another medium has been prompted by her need to grow and express her vision in new ways. Each medium has brought with it its inherent strengths and weaknesses—the transparency of watercolor, the opacity of pastels and the endless combinations of both in oils. She has learned from each and is synthesizing her experiences in all of them in her current work.

Whether you are a stale old-timer, a newcomer wanna-be, or in a mid-career muddle, a class with Gail Sauter can shake you up - in a very good way.

Upcoming workshops and classes:

Spring 2012

Plein Air Boot Camp - Southern France - wait list

Boot Camp - Level 1 and 2 - wait list 

Summer 2012

Plein Air Boot Camp - Kittery and environs

Plein Air Boot Camp -August 13 - 16 $600 - Peninsula Arts, Fish Creek, Wisconsin

Boot Camp - Level 1 - August 17 - 19 $400 - Garage Arts, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Fall 2012

Plein Air Boot Camp - Venice Italy

Boot Camp - Level 1 and 2 - Sanctuary Arts

For more information contact: Gail@GailSauter.com

I'm very thrilled and excited to announce that my work is now being carried by the Harrison Gallery in Williamstown, Massachusetts! It's a beautiful gallery, set in a classic New England University town (Williams College) and home to the Sterling and Francine Clark Institute - one of my most favorite museums. They will be specializing in my figurative work and also my 'Almost Masterpieces' series. If you are in the area, please stop in and say hello.

Click here to see my work at Harrison Gallery.

 The Courtyard (after Sargent ) - Oil 10x10

Love it – love it – love it! I just absolutely LOVE this painting! The simplicity, the glow of the sunlight, the red door, the shadow, the big abstract shapes, the brushwork, the elegance. Sigh…. Ol’ Johnny could really paint, couldn’t he! I find it rather amazing that there are so few elements in this painting but it is so completely satisfying. I guess it really is true that sometimes less is more.

Background Tidbit: Sargent is known to have created over 900 oils and more than 2000 watercolors in his career. A pretty amazing body of work in my opinion – and rarely a ‘dud’ among them. All artists can have ‘off’ days but rarely so for good ol’ John. His technical virtuosity is astounding and as incomprehensible as it is to me, he is sometimes criticized for painting too well! In what other field can a virtuoso be knocked for being too virtuosic? The art world can be a crazy place.

By the way: Thank you so much for all the emails telling me how much you are enjoying this series of paintings. I didn’t intend to panic you in my last post when I said the series is winding down. It will continue, but I need some time to catch up with myself – posting three times a week has been strenuous! I’ll pickup again in the New Year although maybe not posting quite so often.

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 ‘Almost Masterpieces’

Imaginary Landscape (after Matisse) - Oil 10x10

Artistic Outrage Rant: How can they do this – those old guys, the ones in the museums – how can they get away with putting a tree straight through the middle of their painting? AND a purple tree to boot!! Haven’t they heard of unequal balance and the added interest of asymmetry? Haven’t they heard you shouldn’t divide your painting in two? Didn’t Matisse know better than to have this huge dividing line going from the top to the bottom of his canvas? Every one knows to not to break this rule – even beginners quickly push the ‘no-no’ buzzer when they see something like this. What’s going on here? “Rules are made to be broken” I hear you say? Well, yes, that’s true (or is THAT another rule?) … or maybe the rules don’t apply to the people who are hanging in the museums... or maybe that’s why they are there in the first place.

Background Tidbit: I took great liberties with this painting – that seems to be the direction I’m going now… swinging farther afield from the original. But, it was interesting to note how much courage it took for me to place that tree trunk like that! I expected a knock on the studio door from the art police!

Heads Up:  The major thrust of this series is nearing its end. I will be posting only one more week of ‘Masterpieces’ for you… I do hope you’ve enjoyed them. I have a few surprises up my sleeve for you – so stay tuned!  

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Cantata - Oil 40x40

I'm very pleased to announce that my painting entitled Cantata will be on exhibition at the Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, NH until November 25th. If you are in the area, please stop in and say 'hello' to her.

‘Almost Masterpieces’

Nor’easter (after Hassam) – Oil 10x10

Hassam is fascinating to me because he often did snow scenes with warm yellows rather than the more usual cool blues and greys. It’s quite a challenge to make it feel cold by using warm sunny colors – but he did it! Maybe the richness and comfort of those yellows and golds make the weather seem more bearable and less blustery. This is only a small segment of the overall painting. I was fascinated by the coach, the power of the horse and their movement through the snow. And, as usual, I love seeing a glimpse into old time-y Boston in the background.

Background Tidbit: Hassam repeated the snow/winter motif often in his work, but his people never seem to be suffering from the cold. It’s hard to imagine them slipping on the ice, but with their smooth leather shoes the streets must have been treacherous (they certainly are today!). He often included gaslights in his paintings, although they were rapidly being replaced with electricity. He once said “I believe the man who will go down to posterity is the man who paints his own time and the scenes of every-day life around him.” However, it must be noted that he painted a romanticized version of that every-day life.  

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Three Wishes (after Vedder) - Sauter - Oil 10x10

Three wishes? Do you see the genie in the smoke? I find this painting to be absolutely beautiful, regardless of the subject matter (Vedder always manages to surprise!). The glow of that turquoise water sparkling in the distance surrounded by pinks and salmons with deep rich darks is just wonderful. It’s an elegant composition – your eye freely roams over its whole surface stopping to enjoy lovely juicy paint and layered brushstrokes and to bask in the sunshine of a lovely day – a day full of surprises, apparently!

Background Tidbit: Elihu Vedder was one of the most imaginative American artists of the late nineteenth century. His subject matter was drawn from fantasy, literature and legend including his own prose and poetry. This painting was derived from Tales of the Arabian Nights (think Sinbad) with the intention to combine “the observed with the marvelous”. Today we tend to think of illustration when we think of paintings based on literature, but this is not the case with Vedder. These paintings were well conceived and executed with the goal of intriguing the viewer and enriching their lives. They were not illustrations for the stories but, instead, are paintings that were intended to be enjoyed and lived with. The Fisherman and the Genie resides at the Boston MFA.

 Artist at Work (after Sargent) - Oil 10x10

I’m sure he’s asking himself “Is it finished?” I adore the way the artist’s white suit glows against the background in this painting – very dapper (I wonder if there are paint smudges on it). I found it necessary to hit just the exact combination of simple hues in the suit to get this effect. It was quite a challenge. The suit itself is actually a very simple form - basically one large shape created by a thick slather of paint, but too many blues and it died, too yellow and it looked dingy. This is a prime example of the thickness of the paint itself being what gives the subject its strength and power.

Background Tidbit: Dennis Miller Bunker, a Bostonian, was an American Impressionist who visited Sargent in England and he is shown here standing back and evaluating his own painting while Sargent’s sister Violet (age 18) sits by the river bank. This is a free flowing work in the impressionist style and you can feel Sargent’s joy to be painting free from his portrait commissions and just for his own pleasure. Dennis Miller Bunker Painting at Calcot is housed at the Terra Museum in Evanston, Illinois.

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Carousing (after Brouwer) - Oil 10x10

Ahhh simple pleasures - life before the internet, or tv, or radio, or cars or Wal-Mart, or just about everything else we know today! Sometimes you just gotta laugh while you paint! I had so much fun with this scene. It made me realize how formal and constrained our modern paintings are – and, by extension our everyday lives. This is called a ‘genre’ scene, meaning a scene from (then) modern life. Interesting to think about what our current genre scenes would be – driving in cars, the food court at the mall, talking on the cell phone…. For one thing, there is always a great joy of living expressed in these old pub paintings… It leads me to wonder - have we lost the art of carousing?

Background Tidbit: Adriaen Brouwer (Belgium) painted this in the early 1600’s. It’s a complex and busy scene with people laughing and drinking (and passed out with their heads on the table). I chose to focus on the main figure calling for more beer. I love these funny scenes of days gone bye (way bye). Brouwer only lived to age 32 but he was very much admired in his day and several of his works were owned by both Rembrandt and Rubens. Isn’t it odd to think of Rembrandt owning and admiring someone else’s work? Peasants Carousing in a Tavern is in the Boston MFA.

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Hmmmmmm (after Copley) - Oil 10x10

I wonder what he’s thinking about. It’s always fun to paint high contrasts. With that deep dark background, the face and that wonderful snowy white sleeve really glow. However, notice that the background isn’t solid black. There’s actually a lot of rich, glowing color in it and it progresses as it moves across the painting. As to what he’s thinking about? ‘Should I polish this teapot some more’, or ‘ I hope he doesn’t make my nose look too big’, or more likely – “I wonder what’s for dinner”! What do you think?

Background Tidbit: Both Paul Revere and John Singleton Copley were in their early 30’s when this painting was done in 1768. However, they sat on opposite sides of the political table. Copley was about to marry into a leading Tory family of tea merchants (of tea party fame) and Revere was a firebrand rebel. Having your portrait painted was very expensive and it was unusual to be painted without a gentleman’s coat. In fact, Revere’s family stored this painting in their attic because they thought it made him look too commonplace. However those huge billowing sleeves are a political statement. There was supposed to be no linen produced in America, but the ladies of Boston objected to this and made their own. Revere is honoring this act of defiance. Copley signed this portrait but in letters so tiny they are almost impossible to read. Paul Revere (and the real teapot) reside in the Boston MFA.

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What Am I Doing? (after Gauguin) - Oil 10x10

Picking Fruit or Shooting hoops? What do you think he’s doing? Here we go with Gauguin’s predominately blue and orange combo again, but look carefully at where he placed the bits of oranges and reds. He surrounds the figure in blues and forces our eyes to keep jumping from one orange bit to the next. The swirly trees mimic the up-raised arms and lead us down into that lower corner of red – quite a compositional tour-de-force. This is how he breaks this huge canvas up into ‘chapters’ like a book and keeps us focused on the story. But what is this guy is doing? I haven’t a clue!

Background Tidbit: Gauguin vowed to commit suicide after this painting was finished… he didn’t, but he did say “I believe that this canvas not only surpasses all my preceding ones, but that I shall never do anything better – or even like it"  He was 49 years old and lived a further 4 years. This is the center third of his enormous painting symbolizing the cycle of life. This one symbolizes the daily routines of young adulthood. This painting resides in the Boston MFA. Its full title is ‘Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?’ and it measures 12 feet in width (big title, big painting)!  

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Rocking the Cradle (after Van Gogh) - Oil 10x10

This is the postman Roulin’s wife – Augustine. They had 3 children and Van Gogh painted portraits of them all. I’ve become intrigued with this family and the strong role they played in Vincent’s life during his time in Arles. It’s been reported that Augustine was afraid of Vincent and refused to be alone with him while he painted her, but it seems to me that, based on this portrait, he felt very warm feelings toward her. This is a comforting painting, which is interesting because usually complementary colors are used for conveying energy and vitality – they’re the big guns for adding power through color. However, ol Vinnie manages to convey a solidity and steadfastness with his red and green here. Although vibrant, there’s a deep resonance and strength in them.

Background Tidbit: Van Gogh wrote to Gauguin and Theo that he conceived of this painting as a painting for the people. He said it was a picture that might console fishermen far out at sea in a storm. Instead of being thrown about by the ocean, they would feel they were being rocked in a cradle and remember their own childhood lullabies. The cord that is in her hands is fastened to the cradle and was pulled to set it rocking. He was so fond of this painting that he painted 5 copies of it.  La Berceuse is in the Boston MFA. The others reside in the Metropolitan in NYC, the Chicago Art Institute, the Stedelijk in Amsterdam and the Kroller-Muller in Otterlo, Netherlands.

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The Duchess (after Degas) - Oil 10x10

This is not a Degas ballet dancer! Some of my favorite Degas paintings are the early ones he did. They are simply realized and are exquisite. The original of this painting actually has 2 other figures in it but I just loved this woman staring us straight in the face. I won’t say she’s a warm and fuzzy person, but there is forthrightness about the way she is so directly presented. I love having her in the studio – she gives great no-nonsense painting advice! I only needed 3 colors for my interpretation – blue, orange and red (plus white)… nope, no black.

Background Tidbit: Edgar Degas seems never to have been comfortable with being called an Impressionist. He preferred to be called an Independent or a Realist. Nevertheless, he was an important founder of the movement and he sought to capture fleeting moments in the flow of modern life. He generally used oil for this major studio pieces but also experimented with printing techniques and, of course, pastel. The Duchessa di Montejasi and her Daughters is in the Boston MFA

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Heading In (after Homer) - Oil 10x10

Now THAT’s a fish! …Ok, the answer is… it’s a halibut… makes me wonder how big a mackerel is (as in “holy mackerel”!). The color palette in this painting is really beautiful. Notice how the fish and the sky are built with the same colors which are the only places they show up. It really keeps you anchored in the painting and sets an ominous tone for the approaching storm. Actually, the water is built of the same color mixture but the emphasis is on the blue spectrum rather than the red and the boat flips it over to the yellow side (only three colors used here - ultramarine, alizarin and ochre). This is color harmony at its best!

Background Tidbit: Homer had always been inspired by the sea and made his home in Prout’s Neck which is near Portland, Maine. This painting is about the heroic struggle fishermen face to make their living. It is said that Homer’s neighbor posed for him by sitting in a dory propped on a sandbank and that Homer threw buckets of water at him to keep his oilskins wet and glistening. Sounds like a good time was had by all! I only hope he didn’t have that fish lying out in the sun the whole time! Fog Warning is in the Boston MFA.

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Morning Fog (after Monet) - Oil 10x10

Fog! Mist! Mystery! One of my very favorites of this entire series – it looks like it was just whispered onto the canvas – but it wasn’t!! There is a very good and thick build up of paint on this canvas and that is what makes it seem ethereal. Seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? But it’s the thick paint which masks all the brushstrokes and allows the very subtle color shifts to suggest the forms. The brush strokes are there, but they are intensely worked to soften the edge definition. Our eyes and minds make up all the rest!

Background Tidbit: Limiting his palette to a range of delicate blues and reds for the lavenders, soft ivories/yellows, and greens that he mixed from those same blues and yellows, Monet also restrained his brushwork in this painting. He established a hazy atmosphere that dissolves the outlines of his forms, making it difficult to distinguish the trees from their reflections. The paintings in this series are roughly square in shape, which allowed him to base his design on abstract concepts of symmetry and balance. For example the viewer intuitively understands the presence of a horizon line separating foreground from background, even though Monet did little to delineate it. These paintings form a springboard for the later paintings of his water-lily pond at Giverny. They are predecessors to abstraction. This painting is in a private collection.

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