Day 23- Tom Semmes, Glen Kessler

Day 23- Glen Kessler snuck into the Stone Tower early today to fix the upper left corner of the Self Portrait/Still Life painting.  "It has been really bothering me," said Glen, "I wasn't planning on working on it anymore, but I had a great idea and came in early to knock it out."
Tom Semmes finished up the day with some decisive surgery to the Carousel Painting.  "Now it's exciting!" said Tom, "It was kind of hovering between a really serious painting and... the hot dog painting.  I think that it's more unified with the balloons."
Personally, its a welcome view of a carousel that has been painted so seriously for so long.  It's nice to view the carousel much like a kid does, exciting!

There are a few loose ends that will be tackled when Jordan Bruns paints on our final day in the tower.  "Just clean up the last of the loose ends!" Bruns says, "For the most part, the paintings are done and I'm really excited about the work we ended up with.  I had moments of fear, but I  think that we came together in the ends to make good paintings."
 
Be sure to stop by tomorrow for our "Yellow Barn Open House" from 11:00-5:00pm.  You can see demos by our instructors and also have the chance to bid on the 3 collaboration paintings we've been working so hard to create!  They'll be worth something someday!

Keep checking back to our Yellow Barn Blog for any news regarding our instructors and their events.  They'll notify you here about art openings or events in the future!

Cheers!
-Jordan  

Day 22- Martha Spak

Day 22- Martha Spak, (with a little help from Walt Bartman earlier in the week) brought us a little closer to order in the paintings.  With the last couple of days before we say goodbye to our masterpieces, we are working hard to bring the pieces to a "finished" state.
"The abstract painting is closest to being finished at this point," says Jordan Bruns, "you could work on that one forever, but I think that all the major kinks are getting close to being ironed out.  I also think that once the upper left corner of the still life/self portrait painting is resolved, that piece could be considered finished too.  Tom's got a little more work ahead of him on Friday."
Let us know what you think!

Day 19- Walt Bartman

Day 17-  It was only a matter of time before something like this happens.  "Don't mess with my portrait."  Bartman says.  "I think it comes down to respecting what other artists do.  When your going to build on an idea its good, when you eliminate it, its not good."   We're all trying to make a painting that is our own personal signature.  If you take those personal signatures out, your deluding the uniqueness of the project."

Day 18- Jordan Bruns

Day 18-  Not sure how he did it, Jordan Bruns resolved his likeness in the self portrait/still life painting today.  It may take a magnifying glass, but he's in there doing his "James in the Giant Peach" impression.
"Not sure why I decided to paint that small... it took a brush that looks like it has 3 bristles!"

Article on the Yellow Barn Collaboration!

Check out the second article on our collaboration event!

Remember, next Saturday is the Open House where the auctioning of these three paintings concludes!

Day 17- Glen Kessler, Drawing and Painting

Day 17- Glen Kessler began the unification process today, using the previously painted information and melding it into a more cohesive painting.  Glen, a classically trained painter, created a dramatic space by using black paint.  He also brought up the light as was discussed with Eric Garner the day before.
"I approached the painting as if I were discussing it with my students," Kessler says, "three quarters the way done, it's time to start pulling it together."  Tomorrow, Jordan Bruns and Lida Stifel will be painting from 11:00-5:00pm.  Let us know what you think on Facebook!

You can also watch the interview with Glen Kessler here!

Day 16- Eric Garner

Day 16- While working on the Abstract Painting today, Eric Garner and Glen Kessler talked about the importance of pulling all the pieces together.
"We have a week left," said Kessler, "tomorrow I'll work toward unifying the pieces."
In our latest interview, Eric Garner talks about his suggestions for the three collaboration paintings.  "I'm most excited about the abstract piece," Eric says, "I think it's really coming together to be an interesting painting."
Watch Eric's critique on the three collaboration pieces here!

Day 14- Bonny Lundy and Walt Bartman

Day 14-  Just when you thought the Carousel painting was getting boring.... something happened.  It came in the form of a hot dog bought at Seven Eleven.

"It actually really breaks up that foreground space beautifully!"  Said Bonny.

The two of them worked on the carousel piece yesterday, bringing new life into the project.  No one said we weren't having fun.  

"You know, I go home and dream about this," Bartman says, "I keep thinking of ways to improve the paintings!"
Watch the interview with Bonny Lundy here!

Tell us what you think on Facebook!   http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Yellow-Barn-Studio-and-Gallery/185292206369

Join Facebook to see the progress!

We're posting the progress of each painting, day by day on Facebook.  You can check it out and "like" our page here!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Yellow-Barn-Studio-and-Gallery/185292206369

It's the best way to see how the painting changes by each painting session!

Day 13- Jordan Bruns

Day 13- After continuously observing the great work being done by the Yellow Barn artists, Jordan Bruns worked into the abstract piece.  "Needs more color balance",  he thought as he worked into the oranges and blues, attempting to create spatial effects with color.  "I still think that the piece needs a better entrance to the composition, but I did what I did."

It's really not an easy feat to preserve what other have done before you while still staying true to your beliefs as a painter.  There is a fine to walk between improving the piece and wrecking the fine work that had been done before you.

Day 11- Daniel Wise, Pastel Instructor

Day 11- Daniel Wise, a magician with pastels, chose to work on the Carousel painting today.  I often marvel at how patient some of our artists/instructors are here at the barn.  Daniel is definitely one who gives a lot of thought to the paint color, tone, and thickness before he places the brush to the canvas.
During our interview today, I found out that he paints every day from 5:30am to 11:00am, before going to his "day job".  Talk about passion and dedication to the craft!
Hear Daniels take on the "challenges the artists face" of the collaboration project here!

Day 10- Glen Kessler and Gavin

Day 10- Glen Kessler decides to throw us all a curve ball and a call to raise the bar.  He thoughtfully renders his likeness but as his fellow artists had envisioned. He juxtaposes his head into the painting as if it were a still life object. An an interview you won't want to miss.
He explains more here!  
Once Glen has left, Gavin Glakas,  paints his ode to his first art teacher, Walt Bartman.  He explains here...

Day 9- Eric Garner, Abstract Painting

Day 9-  The abstract painting is getting a little something different today.  The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery boasts a wide range of styles with it's instructors, and Eric Garner is all about the precision in his abstract work.
He talks about his collaboration with Natasha Karpinskaia, who's style is more "atmospheric".  While they have very different styles and approaches to painting, it's coming together as a cohesive piece.

Watch the interview here!  

Day 8- Lida Stifel, Advanced Figure Drawing

Day 8- Lida Stifel added her image to the portrait painting today.  Her face is peeking over Walt Bartman's shoulder, right above the mirror frame.  Lida set the bar for clever ways to incorporate the self portrait into the painting.
Finding an additional mirror from the Yellow Barn still life library, she used the mirror to paint her portrait from a different perspective than both Walt and Christine.

Day 7- Natasha Karpinskaia, Walt Bartman

Day 7- I could smell the oil paint the second I entered the first floor stone tower studio to take photos today.  Natasha started off this morning revamping the abstraction, turning it on its side, and painting out some of the more congested parts.  "It needed a place to breath, it was too busy for me." It certainly opened the piece up for the next artists!

Walt Bartman followed later, changing some of what he had previously done on Monday.  "Now we have a composition, now we have a story!",  he remarked after painting the frame of the mirror on the canvas as well as some of the still life objects.

Since we have completed the first whole week of painting, we've posted the bid sheets to purchase the artwork being produced by our artists.  Yes you can take home one of the pieces with all proceeds going to "The Friends of the Yellow Barn", our non-profit.

Why buy a painting by one artists, when you can have one done by 14 artists!  Just think, if just one of us makes it big, the piece will be worth a fortune! I put my bid in!

Day 6- Martha Spak

Day 6- Martha Spak, one of the Yellow Barn's newest instructors, was our painter du jour on Tuesday.  She enhanced the color qualities of the landscape painting by adding beautiful depth of color.  Although she is an accomplished still life painter by trade, she had no problem working on both the landscape as well as the self portrait.
See the interview with Martha Spak here!

Day 5- Walt Bartman

Day 5- This Monday, our one and only founder/director of the Yellow Barn, Mr. Walt Bartman added his likeness to the self portrait/still life collaboration piece.  He talks about his experience in his interview.
Click here to see the interview!
Walt will be painting periodically on each of the three paintings throughout the month, and you can find him in the stone tower on Mondays.

Day 4- Ann Wallace and Jackie Jouvenal

Visitors were thrilled to find two very talented artists working in the tower this Sunday,  Jackie Jouvenal and Ann Wallace.
Ann Wallace spent the majority of her time on the carousel painting, working into the foliage and sky.  She was able to capture push the sense of space in just a short period of time.
See interview with Ann here!
Jackie, traditionally a landscape painter, stepped outside her comfort zone and worked on the large abstract painting.  She still denies the notion that she might have a future in abstraction.

See interview with Jackie here!
Even though the work is abstract, there is a definite sense of a location.

Day 3- Gavin Glakas

Day 3- This Saturday, after his morning figure class, Gavin Glakas sped into the Stone Tower to work on the landscape painting.  Gavin's realistic painting approach enhanced the under painting first started by Tom Semmes the day before.
Tomorrow, we welcome two artists to the studio who can build upon the already great work.

Day 2- Tom Semmes, landscape, studio painting

On Day 2, Tom Semmes has given us a starting point on our large abstract piece, laying down a groundwork for the rest of the abstract artists.  " I think that there are some interesting color combinations, especially the oranges and greens.  Maybe the other artists can do something with that."  Tom also has a hand in the landscape painting, starting an under-painting for one of Glen Echo Park's most famous  landmarks.  Tom will be back later in the month where we'll do an interview focusing on how the other artists have expanded upon his original vision.

Day 1- Christine Lashley, watercolor instructor

Watch Interview with Christine Lashley

2-3-11   ---- Day 1
Christine started off our Collaboration working on a self portrait with still life painting.  It will be interesting to see how the other artists add to the piece by including their own portrait in the painting!

Local News

Hello, and welcome to our daily "February Collaboration: 14 Yellow Barn Instructors" blog update!  Our event has just been written about by Bora Mici.  Check it out here:  http://bethesda.patch.com/articles/artwork-comes-to-life-at-yellow-barn

We'll be updating this blog on a daily basis showing you picture of our 3 collaboration pieces as they evolve as well as video interviews of our artists.  So please pop by the Stone Tower (our schedule of artists is already posted on this blog) or just follow along on right here!
Cheers,
-Jordan

Schedule of Instructors

Stone Tower Schedule for February (14 Instructors)

Feb 2^nd Wednesday-             Jordan Bruns                      11:00-5:00pm

                                                 Walt Bartman                     2:00-3:30pm

Feb 3^rd Thursday-                  Christine Lashley               11:00-2:00pm

Feb 4^th Friday-                      Tom Semmes                      2:00-4:30pm

Feb 5^th Saturday-                  Gavin Glakas                       12:30-4:00pm

Feb- 6^th Sunday-                   Ann Wallace                        9:00-3:00pm

                                                Jackie Jouvenal                    12:00-5:00pm

Feb- 7^th Monday-                  Walt Bartman                     2:00-3:30pm

Feb- 8^th Tuesday-                 Martha Spak                        12:00-3:00pm

Feb 9^th Wednesday-             Natasha Karpinskaia          10:00-6:00pm

                                                Walt Bartman                      2:00-3:30pm

Feb 10^th Thursday-                Lida Stifel                            2:00-5:00pm

Feb 11^th Friday-                      Eric Garner                          1:00-5:30pm

                                                Natasha Karpinskaia           10:00-2:00pm

Feb 12^th Saturday-                 Glen Kessler                        12:-3:00pm

Gavin Glakas                        12:30-4:00pm

Feb- 13^th Sunday-                  Daniel Wise                         11:00-5:00pm

Feb- 14th Monday-               Walt Bartman                      2:00-3:30pm

Feb 15^th Tuesday-                  Jordan Bruns                        11:00-5:00pm

Feb 16th Wednesday-           Bonny Lundy                        4:00-7:00pm

                                                Walt Bartman                      2:00-3:30pm

Feb 17^th Thursday-                Lida Stifel                             2:00-5:00pm

Feb 18^th Friday-                     Eric Garner                           1:00-5:30pm

Feb 19^th Saturday-                 Glen Kessler                         12:00-3:00pm

Feb- 20^th Sunday-                 Jordan Bruns                         11:00-5:00pm            

Feb- 21^st Monday-                 Walt Bartman                       2:00-3:30pm

Feb 22^nd Tuesday-                 Natasha Karpinskaia          10:00-1:00pm, 4:00-6:30pm

Feb 23^rd Wednesday-            Bonny Lundy                        4:00-7:00pm

                                                Walt Bartman                       2:00-3:30pm

Feb 24^th Thursday-               Martha Spak                         12:00-3:00pm

                                                 Natasha Karpinskaia            10:00-6:00pm           

Feb 25^th Friday-                    Tom Semmes                        2:00-4:30pm

Feb 26^th Saturday-                All Instructors, Yellow Barn (Open House)