Debra Keirce

I'm Sorry

9/27/2016 4:30:24 PM by Debra Keirce
Comment on this

I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry.

Sometimes I get on a roll. The other day, I accidentally listed the wrong last name in a shout out in my newsletter. I should have typed Judy Wengrovitz, when I thanked the woman who founded The Springfield Art Guild 45 years ago. I spoke to the group in September, and Judy was in the front row with her husband. I was so honored. And then I goofed up and typed someone else's name in my public thank you.

That got me thinking about all the other things I've done on my art journey that I am sorry for.

Here are my confessions, listed from most recently to a very long time ago.

I'm sorry I missed visiting my friend Maria Hock doing her copy at The National Gallery of Art a few weeks ago.

I was super busy that week. I would have loved to visit with Maria who lives in North Carolina now.

BUT I did accomplish everything on my to do list that week.

I'm sorry I cut my hair so short.

My husband hated it.

My gallery owner hated it.

My kids made fun of it.

BUT you know what - I LOVED how easy it was to take care of, and how comfortable it felt in the hot Virginia summer that year.

I'm sorry that I agreed to do a series of illustrations for a company that promised to promote and endorse me, but never did.

The good thing was that my friend Tessa Edwards loved these images and loved NYC. I didn't know she was so sick at the time, but she passed of multiple myeloma shortly after purchasing a print of this image.

BUT, suddenly, not getting the endorsement paled compared to Tessa's thrill over receiving her print of New York City, a city she would never have the opportunity to visit.

BLOG POST FROM 2009

I'm so sorry for thinking this quick illustration was a full blown painting, ready to enter into contests. I was confused for many years. No, scratch that - I was learning for many years.

I still am.

I actually hope to wake up 10 years from now and look at what I'm painting today with the thought that I can do much better.

That's what we all hope, right?

Maybe I'm not so sorry after all.

Maybe all of us who choose to be on the artist's journey should go a little easier on ourselves when we feel sorry.

Read Full Post

5 Tips When Hunting Reference Photos For Portrait Paintings

9/19/2016 8:15:04 AM by Debra Keirce
5 Comments

Let me add a disclaimer right up front - I paint mostly still life, know just enough about my abused Rebel Canon to be dangerous, and have this habit of modifying portraits I paint with. I even embrace the fact that most of my photos are blurry because I find tripods cumbersome. So I do not pretend to be an expert in any of this. BUT, I have gotten better at obtaining photos I can paint from, and I wanted to share some of what I learned along the way.

Saturday, I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Annapolis. This is hands down THE best Renn Fest I have ever attended. Highly recommend! I went there with a mission - to get enough photos to be able to paint the portraits I will need to paint in the coming year.

Right at the entrance gate, I found one of my subjects. I photographed this man every time I encountered him Saturday. Some people are just begging to be painted!

Here are the things I've learned getting reference photos for portrait paintings:

Number 1...

Sometimes photos turn out great when the person is posing for you.

and sometimes they don't.

He's trying to look his best for the cameras, but that king has an expression like the ones Fox news posts of all the democratic candidates. and the guard in the blue skirt - He'd never make it into the Beefeater guild.

Number 2...

It was my friend Maria Bennett Hock, a portrait artist herself, who taught me it's best to photograph subjects when they are not looking.

Number 3...

I watched Maria to see how she does this. It's a stealth move. hold your camera close to your chest, pointed just slightly upward. Click, click away. Stop each time you shoot, and maybe look away so it doesn't look like you are photographing anybody. Remember, you don't want the person to engage with you, the camera wielding stranger, lest they start to pose for you. Here are some photos I took in stealth mode:

Number 4...

Of course, when people are walking, you will often need to zoom in and crop to remove the blurry parts of their anatomy for your reference. But I always try to capture as much of the figure as I can. That way, I have cropping options.

Number 5...

The holy grail. I saved it for last - It's when you can get photos of a crowd that are engaged in another activity. They aren't looking at you because they are busy doing something. There are multiple people all with engaging expressions because they are interested in whatever they are doing. Look at all the little crops you can pull from a multi-figure photo reference!

Well, those are the top 5 tips I have to share about taking photos of portrait subjects in the "wild." I hope you have as much fun hunting and shooting photo refs as you do painting them!

Read Full Post

Oil Painting Workshops in 2017 at DebKArt Home Studios

9/4/2016 2:20:42 PM by Debra Keirce
Comment on this

Master oil painters instructing on everything - Floral, Figurative, Plein Air, Still Life. What an exciting line up!

I am so thrilled to offer workshops with:

Carlo Russo, a Studio Incamminati Instructor teaching floral realism

T J Cunningham, combining his love of plein air AND figurative painting

Teresa Oaxaca, teaching how she paints her luscious, loose flowers

Tina Garrett, portraiture done 3 different ways

Linda Fisler, author and artist teaches plein air painting with a palette knife AND writing documents all artists need

and not even listed yet - If you missed him in 2016, David Cheifetz, master still life artist, will be teaching palette knife and brush impressionistic techniques in October 2017.

NOTE: I do not advise the booking of non refundable travel and lodging tickets prior to 60 days before the workshop. I will contact students before the 60 day mark, in the unlikely event we will not be able to hold the workshop as scheduled.