George Thompson Fine Art

LAMBERTVILLE

2012-01-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

Phoenix Books • Oil • 8 x 10

Accepted into the 31st Annual Juried Exhibition

Lambertville and the Surrounding Area

Coryell Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

RECENT PORTRAITS

2012-01-11T07:01:00.001-08:00

Brooke • 16 x 20 • Oil

Gabrielle • 16 x 20 • Oil

Now that my drawing sessions are on hiatus, I've been working

on finished portraits of some of the wonderful models we've had over the years. Here are 2 that I just completed.

ANNUAL SMALL PAINTINGS EXHIBIT @ TRAVIS GALLERY

2011-11-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Bucks County Winter • Oil • 8 x 12

Snow Fire • Oil • 8 x 10

Winter Reflections • Oil • 6 x 8

MORE SMALL WORKS for the HOLIDAYS

2011-11-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

Cherry Top • Oil • 11 x 14

County Theater • Oil • 11 x 14

More paintings for the SMALL PAINTINGS EXHIBIT

at Travis Gallery... opening on December 3rd.

SMALL WORKS for the HOLIDAYS

2011-11-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

New Hope Morning • Oil • 6 x 9 • SOLD

Daybreak • Oil • 6 x 8 • SOLD

Phillips Mill in Winter • Oil • 6 x 8

Purple Sky • Oil • 6 x 8

I will have new paintings on view in the Annual Small Paintings Exhibit at Travis Gallery. There will be a Holiday Open House at the Gallery on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am - 8pm and Sunday, December 4 from 12 - 4pm. I will be at the gallery on Saturday from 5 - 8PM and Sunday from 12-4. Stop by! Travis Gallery is located at 6089 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA. 215-794-3903.

LIFE DRAWING/PAINTING & STILL LIFE SESSIONS!

2011-06-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Open Life Drawing and Painting Sessions Every Week!

Come Join Us...

Life Drawing/Traditional Short Poses, Wednesdays 6:30 – 9:30

Long Pose/Portrait Painting, Thursdays 6:30 – 9:30

Fee: $10

These are open sessions with no instruction.

STILL LIFE PAINTING / 2-DAY SESSION with optional instruction

These sessions will have a 2-day set up where the artists can leave their easel and paints. Instruction is available. I’m there to help with any advice or questions. We will talk about color, value, drawing, painting materials and technique. But more important, through still life, how to find your own unique artistic voice. Still life painting can be far more exciting and a means of expression than a dull classroom exercise. Or, if you prefer to just come and paint the still life with no instruction, that’s cool too!

Mondays & Tuesdays, 6:30 – 9:30

Fee: $15 per session

All levels welcome. Please email or call the studio for more info, directions and to reserve a spot. Space is limited.

Email: thompsonstudio@comcast.net

NEW PAINTINGS

2011-05-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

Rosemont View / oil on canvas / 16 x 20

Night Fire / oil on panel / 24 x 24

Haring's Farm / oil on canvas / 22 x 28

Clair De Lune / oil on panel / 24 x 24

Emily and I will have new paintings hanging in the main room at Travis Gallery this spring. I think hanging together will show how much we’ve influenced each other’s work, although the end results are miles apart. I love the way she applies paint. So free and exciting. Her colors are atmospheric and beautiful. Emily says that watching me paint the Bucks County landscape en plein-air has made her consider using her surroundings as a starting point for her abstracts. The design, colors and different seasons are endless sources of material for her. Check out the new work at Travis. 6089 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA.

2011-04-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

PAINTING THE LANDSCAPE WORKSHOP

Plein Air and Studio with George Thompson

Join us for this exciting new approach to landscape painting!

In this three-part workshop we will explore the challenges of working directly from nature. Afterwards we will take this valuable information along with sketches and photos and paint stronger and more creative paintings in the studio.

The first two plein-air sessions will be at picturesque Bucks County locations. I’ll break down how to handle color and value and how to control all that nature throws at you. We will discuss drawing, composition, perspective and expression. With demonstrations and material selection, I will show you how much fun and rewarding plein-air painting can be.

Our third session will be held at my barn studio in Plumsteadville. There we will work from photos or laptops. We will talk about photography, your camera, lenses and how to take a better photo. We’ll discuss what we can get from a photo and what we can’t and how working plein-air can help fill in the blanks. We’ll look at how to choose the right photo, how to crop and how the computer can help you get the value and color that would work best for your painting.

I’ll work with you at your individual level. Each artist has their own set of goals and I want to help you achieve them. I’ve seen painters fall into 2 camps – studio and outdoor – each rejecting the other. I feel the path is to embrace both and how one can help the other. This is my approach to successful paintings and may be your as well!

This workshop is recommended for oil painters. Advanced beginners and up.

DATES for Plein Air: Saturday, June 4 & 11 / TIME: 10am - 1pm

DATE for Studio: Saturday, June 18 / TIME: 10am - 3pm

Location: Outdoor locations TBD / Barn Studio

FEE: $135 per person / Class is limited to 12 students

You will receive confirmation of registration along with a materials list and directions for locations.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

RECENT LANDSCAPES

2011-03-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Blue Pine • oil on linen • 11 x 14

Plumstead Farm • oil on linen • 11 x 14

The Artist's Magazine Finalist Award • Landscape Category

Plumstead Sky • oil on linen • 11 x 14

Here are 3 new landscapes. All are local scenes.

They will be on view at Travis Gallery. 6089 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA 18938.

RECENT PAINTING: PROFILE

2011-03-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Pink & Green • 20 x 24 • Oil on canvas

Emily (yes, another model named Emily!) was a great model. She always surprised me when she came to a session. This time she showed up with this cool green hat and pink hair. It's fun to paint profiles. There's something very graphic about them. I love the abstract shapes.

RECENT PORTRAITS

2011-01-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

"Emily" • oil on canvas • 20 x 24

"Tiffany" • oil on linen • 12 x 16

"Eden" • pastel on paper • 22 x 30

"Kira" • pastel on paper • 22 x 30

Here are some recent portraits I've been working on. Two pastel drawings and two paintings. These drawings tend to be on the tighter side - more precise, while the paintings have a looser feel. Part of my on-going quest to maintain a more spontaneous look in my painting while being accurate.

RECENT PAINTINGS for TRAVIS GALLERY SMALL WORKS EXHIBIT

2010-12-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

Winter Reflections • Oil on Linen • 8 x 10

Bedminster Stream • Oil on Linen • 9 x 12

Point Pleasant Winter • Oil on Linen • 8 x 12

Night Light • Oil on Linen • 6 x 8

White Feathers • Oil on Linen • 8 x 10

Red Field • Oil on Panel • 8 x 10

Twilight in Winter • Oil on Panel • 8 x 10

18 of my new paintings are on view for the month of December in the

SMALL WORKS EXHIBIT at TRAVIS GALLERY. Here are a few!

For more information, please contact the gallery at 215.794.3903.

The gallery is located at 6089 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA.

RECENT LIFE DRAWING WORKSHOP

2010-03-31T07:57:00.001-07:00

The Bethlehem Palette Club invited me to teach a life drawing workshop last Saturday 3/27. It was an intense day and we covered a lot. Great group of artists! Thanks again to everyone!

The Big Three

2009-04-14T15:29:00.001-07:00

In my last BLOG entry I talked about taking an active interest in your own education. With the wealth of material on how to draw and paint, this task may feel overwhelming. You must have a strong foundation in the basics. By dividing them into categories, you can tackle each one separately rather than everything all at once. I found you can divide it into three courses of study.

FORM (Drawing):

The outlines of an object and the sense of it's bulk. The third dimension on a flat surface.

TONE:

The degree of lightness and darkness of what you want to paint. Changes of value and value relationships.

COLOR:

Hue

Form, tone and color are not the only things you have to master to complete your education. But they are the big three Everything hinges on getting them right.

I'll go into detail on each in later posts.

All Art Is Self Taught...

2009-03-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

All art is self taught whether it's painting, music or dance. Of course there are great teachers, books and all sorts of learning tools to take advantage of. What I'm saying is that you should take control of your own education. This means a little more work for you but the benefits are great. Look within yourself to seek your direction and goals. What type of art do you love? What painters excite you? What do you want to achieve with your work? Then by weighing your strengths and weaknesses you can clearly find what tools you'll need to get there. If you are in charge of your own training you will pick the right instructors who will fill your needs. The alternative is to study with teacher after teacher who will pour information into you... some helpful, but mostly not important to your particular needs. You may be led down the wrong path which for some, may take years to recover. Art education is confusing and contradictory. For example, you are told to use a limited palette by one instructor and then the next teacher will give you a list of 25 colors. You will do a tight monochromatic underpainting – or do a loose, colorful block-in. That's where you have to decide clearly on what you want your paintings to ultimately look like. You have to have a clear vision of your work not someone else's. There are so many options, all valid... but if you take control then you will be able to decide on the right instructors and pull from them what YOU need. You can ask the right questions – help them to help you. Every painting and drawing will be a path to success. Life drawing and plein air painting will be purposeful exercises not mindless activities. There is so much to learn... but if you have a clear goal and decide to educate yourself... of course with the help of instructors, books, etc... you will move ahead.

The Three Keys

2009-03-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

When teaching my painting workshops... I usually begin by taking the mystery out of “learning” to paint and draw. I have found there are three keys to developing success:

1. TALENT: Like it or not we are not created equal when it comes to talent. Some people are just born with more talent when it comes to drawing and painting. Years ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, they exhibited one of John Singer Sargent's sketchbooks. Page after page of the most beautiful drawings... done at age 14. The starting line for the road ahead is not the same for everyone. But remember the road is long and it's not talent alone that gets us to the finish line.

2. KNOWLEDGE: The basics are easy to find whether you get them from an instructor or from a book. The more you know , the better you will get. It's as simple as that. If you are going to paint in color you must know color theory. If you are going to paint figures and portraits you must know anatomy... landscapes... perspective and so on. I never found learning the basics boring or a burden. In my opinion it's pretty exciting with results ate very turn.

3. PRACTICE: You will never learn to draw or paint if you don't DRAW and PAINT. It's obvious. People who get really good are the ones that do it all the time. They think art, talk art and love art.

Some Books...

2009-02-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have enjoyed looking at artists BLOGS for some time now and I am happy to finally have mine up and running. Websites are great but BLOGS seem more fluid, immediate and informative. I love hearing the thoughts of other artists, seeing their new work and works in progress.

The first thing I want to post is my book recommendations. I have read countless books on art and art technique. Here's a few that I can't live without:

• Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F. Carlson.

The definitive guide to painting the landscape. It's brilliant! I read this book once or twice a year and find something new every time.

• Oil Painting Techniques and Materials by Harold Speed

• The Practice of Drawing by Harold Speed.

What you need to know about traditional drawing and painting... a lifetime of info!

• Composition of Outdoor Painting by Edgar A. Payne.

A beautiful book by one of the great California impressionists. Landscape painting taught by a master. (out-of-print for years but re-released at www.derusfinearts.com)

• Hawthorne On Painting by Charles W. Hawthorne.

A wealth of information...

• The Art Spirit by Robert Henri.

• Brackman: His Art and Teaching by Kenneth Bates.

I love this book. So clear, simple and to the point. It may be out-of-print but sometimes can be found at used bookstores or online.

There are also books on color and life drawing that I recommend as well... I will post those at another time.