Masters Who Inspire Artists (Me)

What makes a painter a great role model? ~ 

I am often asked who my reference artists are, great masters of the past and contemporary authors. Not an easy answer, artists in history are endless! And just as many today, when visual access to art is global and often overflowing. I look with admiration at Turner, Monet, Hopper, Fattori, Segantini. But also living artists the like of Dean Mitchell or Sean Cheetham. Each of them has something specific that inspires me and pushes me to learn.

Under the Awning, on the Beach of Zarautz

See more of Sorolla's works

However there is one who somehow represents them all: Joaquin Sorolla (b. 1863, Valencia, Spain). I was blown out at his exhibition at Palazzo Reale in Milan in 2022. It completely overwhelmed me! Not even the visit to the Sorolla Museum in Valencia had such an impact on me. 

Why Sorolla?

Because his work expresses a complete range of fundamental aspects of pictorial art, in his case in oil but not only.

• The composition of his scenes, often complex, with unusual angles and a combination of figures and landscape, never intimidated by very large size. 
• The absolute mastery of drawing, which emerges from proportions and anatomy.
• His tonal strategy and his sense of light. For me his dynamic power surpass Caravaggio, the monument to tonalism.
• Sorolla's palette is an infinite vocabulary of colours, warm and cool, often high key -- which make his phrasing very rich, like the timbres of an orchestra.
• Finally his alla prima brushwork, energetic, fat and sensual. It ties everything together in a rhythm and a fantastic dance!

As if that weren't enough, many of Sorolla's masterpieces were painted en plein air. He's not the only artist to do this for sure -- Monet and Cezanne even a little before him. But he worked outdoors on larger formats and in challenging conditions, on the seashore, under blinding light and with water, boats and figures in motion. For days.

He was able to transfer this vibrancy to his studio works as well. 

Studying Joaquin Sorolla therefore means for me studying almost everything about the artistic practice of painting. He   became a model later in my career. This means to me that reference models change over time and are perhaps an achievement of maturity. Just at the stage where you no longer need to imitate them.

Happy Art Life! - Francesco

PS. Sorolla is a genius of  alla prima painting, which was re-actualized by a great personality of recent times, Richard Schmid. The American master who passed away a few years ago, influenced a couple of generations of oil painters around the world with his iconic book Alla Prima.

PPS. There are so many historical and contemporary artists that I admire. I think I will need more posts to talk about it. So be ready by signing up now and receive my (News) Artist Letters!

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The Beauty of Geometry

Why do I paint lot of houses? ~

A student of mine tells me I often paint houses, at least in my demos and en plein air sessions. Figurative is another story. How might this interest you? Whether you are a painter or a collector, this post helps you better understand the composition behind a painting. The beauty of geometry My attraction is maybe a reminiscence of when we were kids and used to draw houses with sloping roofs and chimneys. Perhaps what appeals to me are geometric shapes: trapezoid, rectangle or the triangle, also found in the shape of my umbrellas. Rational forms and line of emotions Actually my facades are always connected with trees and vegetation, combining geometric shapes with more random shapes, Euclidean rationale with intuitive lines. Mountains like camels The placement of elements, their variety, their proportions are a crucial framework for the outcome of a painting. Perspective is also critical. It's a good practice to break curves into segments. Beginners e.g. have a tendency to exaggerate the mountains profile, which often ends up resembling the humps of a camel! Geometrical shapes in a watercolor by Francesco. Fontana

I draw a lot of preliminary studies, to make sure that there is a good variety of shapes and an interesting connection between them. Which combined with tonal values establish the weights of the composition.

Paintings of semi abstract realism

Visualizing the geometric boxing in of organic elements is definitely more effective than details. If I have a boat in front of me, thinking of a trapezoid and two ovals helps me in two directions:

-- Control of curves and inclinations
-- Achieve a semi-abstract quality

These compositional principles can be fully appreciated in the beautiful small works available on my website Studio Sale. This selection of demos and plein air watercolors represent my design style to the full. Collect these works at a clearance fixed price thru November 2023. 

Happy Art Life! -- Francesco

Francesco Fontana Fine Artist francescofontana.com

Liberation From Fear

People's judgment hold you back? Five insights to help ~

Silvia wrote to me: 'The fear of people's judgment paralyzes me or at least slows me down in my artistic expression. What to do?'

A recurring dilemma that afflicts even some accomplished artists. And I know the problem firsthand. As a teenager I was writing music but when it came to show on stage and sing I would go zero salivation! Finishing a song was a pain. I stopped making music despite some career opportunities.

You are not able to do it

At the contrary, since I was a child, showing my drawings was not a problem. Good or bad that my art was, people's judgment was none of my problem. And that despite one of my works was rejected in a competition at primary school. It could have been a trauma, but as I made a career in painting, I guess that  disappointment didn't paralyze me. A the contrary I had students telling me they were left stranded for decades after a school teacher's cynical ruling on an art assignment: too good to be your work. 

Feeling authorized

It's not easy to understand why we are so self confident in some field and feel terribly inadequate in others, although we're equally capable. My mother supported my talent and sent me to art school. But my father didn't approve and it took me years to free myself from his disapproval. And that recovery costed me some professional help. My sense of identity and my psychic balance were at stake. Whether I was good or not at painting was not the point, not my concerne. 

Digging into emotions

My struggle was to give myself permission to become an artist in life. The minute I felt authorized, a huge relief happened and I ultimately took the road for the dream to come true! What I'd suggest to Silvia is digging a little into her emotions, especially if the fear of judgment is effecting other aspects of her life.

To begin with, I would do a little self interview, asking myself:

• What exactly am I afraid of?
• What concrete consequences would a negative judgment have?
• Would someone really look at my works and say out loud 'that sucks'?
• Has it actually ever happened that someone mortified me?
• What do I not feel adequate in: the subject? The technique? The style?

I'm sure that by honestly answering these five questions, Silvia can find insights to start removing the obstacles that block her. And take a path not to be too hard on herself and offer her art to the world without fear.

Happy Art Life! -- Francesco

PS. If you appreciate receiving these little reflections, I call MuseLetter, you might also like what I post on Instagram and follow me. Thank you!

PPS. And if you're in the mood of surrounding yourself with beauty, take advantage of the Small Works Studio Sale on my website.

What price for your art? Know your value

How to ask more for your talent

~ I was around 25 when I was called by the boss I was already working for, in a famous live jazz organization. He wanted to hire me as press secretary, for he had noticed that as a junior manager of their jazz club, I had shown good communication skills and some attitude I had brought from my time in Paris and London.

Fontana with a collector in the studio

Stellar artists

At theaters and large outdoor venues, headliners were stellar names. One for all Myles Davis! I thought it  was a cool opportunity. I would have had relationships with the media and interviews with music legends! Seeing me excited, the boss asked me point blank:

~ How much do you want?
~ What do you mean?
~ How much per year do you need to live well?

I mumbled something but I wasn't able to put a figure on it.

~ You tell me.. - I said

I accepted the offer he made, it seemed great. But what if I was prepared to figure my value? Years later I would understand that, for funding reasons, he had no interest in keeping costs low. (Italian politics, don't try to understand!). So I could have shot high! 

Millionaire until proof to the contrary

It took me years to make a psychological change and stop basing my requests on the economic standard of my social class. I have learned to value my work more, never less! As far as I know, the potential customer in front of me, it's not the small official my father was, he's by default a millionaire - at least until proven otherwise!

Time for pro bono

I hate having a rich guy pay peanuts for my art, more than I hate losing a client who can't afford it. In this case I always have time to be generous, or do some charity. How do I practically calculate the price of my paintings? Well, ask me and I will explain it to you.

Happy Art Life! -- Francesco

PS: I'm not selling anything today (check my site on weekends for that). I will just be happy to hear your comment on this post and what topic you want to read about next. 

www.francescofontana.com

Why Talent is Overrated

Do art students really love painting?

Gazebo - Francesco Fontana, watercolor, 2018

Some time ago I spent an entire morning tearing out about 100 canvases of old studio students and throw them in the trash bin. These were works of students who gave up classes at least a year ago. The fact that these guys left their efforts behind and never showed back to pick their paintings and drawings, was very sad to me. 

Don't tear up that painting!

I thought they don't love what they did. The clearing process involved a review of each of these paintings and drawings and let me tell you, some are more than decent pieces. So I decided to save a bunch of the best ones. Some were confiscate by my 10 yo daughter Flora: don't tear up that dad, I like it, give to me!

So today I've learned that skill and talent don't make you a good painter. Love does.

Thanks for reading. Your comment is very welcome!

Francesco
PS. Of course there are many students around the world who are enthusiastic about their experience with my workshops. And many who love and collect my paintings. 
PPS. Use this Golden Friday week end to make your self a gift at a reduced price!