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Jessica Libor

~ Studio Journal

Jessica Libor

Tag Archives: inspiration for artists

Florence Memories

15 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by Jessica Libor in art, Inspiration, Journeys, lifestyle

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advice for artists, art, artist, beautiful, beautiful art, classical realism, contemporary art, contemporary realism, creative, creativity, drawing, emerging artist, emerging artists, female artist, Florence, Florence academy of art, how to be an artist, how to paint like the masters, inspiration, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, oil painting, pafa, painter, painting, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, PHiladelphia

“Everything about Florence seems to be colored with a mild violet, like diluted wine.” —Henry James, 1869 • I was fortunate enough to spend a summer in Florence a few years ago, studying painting with the @florenceacademyofart . It was the first time I experienced a step by step process of building a painting, and was amazed at the results that could be achieved—paintings that looked like old master works—by following the same steps they used carefully. I was instantly hooked in this ultimate fantasyland of classical painting. That summer seems golden and beautiful, in part because of the overwhelming art that filled the city. This photo is from Florence, Italy, at the Villa Medicea de Lillian… I couldn’t find the photographer, but it is representative of the beautiful structures and paintings that are around every corner in the beautiful city. What is a city that has influenced your art?

Cherry Blossom Painting Time

29 Sunday Apr 2018

Posted by Jessica Libor in art, fashion, In My Studio, Inspiration, lifestyle

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advice for artists, art, art expert, artist, beautiful, beautiful art, cherry blossoms, classical realism, contemporary art, contemporary female artists, contemporary realism, creative, creativity, drawing, emerging artist, emerging artists, Fairmount Park, female artist, female artists, fine art, forever 21, h&m, how to be an artist, how to paint, how to paint like the masters, inspiration, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, Lawrence Alma tadema, Lucy Paris, oil painting, oil paintings, painter, painting, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, philadelphia artists, social entrepreneurship, spring fashion, technical advice for artists, the roses of heliogabalus

Ohh April! My very favorite time of the year is when the cherry blossoms are out in full bloom, and the great long stretch of summer is out before us in glorious, warm possibility. I spent some time this week painting the cherry blossoms and happily reveling in their heavenly beauty… I was in the park almost every day! Check out my time lapse of the painting done and a few of my other pieces. Send me a message at jlibor@jessicalibor.com if you are interested in collecting any of these oil sketches.

White top and pink skirt: Forever 21. Lavender dress: true vintage. Blue dress: Urban Outfitters. Floral dress: true vintage. Striped top: Lucy Paris. Hats: Forever 21. Sunglasses: Green Street Consignment.

Which is your favorite look? What about favorite cherry blossom painting?

I can’t leave without posting the most epic floral painting ever. “The Roses is Heliogabalus” by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema. Enjoy! Until next time,

Jessica Libor

Www.jessicalibor.com

Beginning my “Let’s Connect Philly” painting for the Barnes Foundation

23 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by Jessica Libor in Exhibitions, How To, In My Studio

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advice for artists, art, art expert, artist, beautiful, beautiful art, beautiful paintings of women, classical realism, contemporary art, contemporary female artists, contemporary realism, creative, creativity, drawing, emerging artist, emerging artists, female artist, how to be an artist, how to paint like the masters, inspiration, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, Let’s Connect Philly, mural arts, pafa, painter, painting, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, residency, the Barnes foundation

This month I am lucky enough to be living in a Philadelphia zip code, so am eligible to participate in the Barnes Foundation and Mural Arts competition and exhibition at the Barnes Foundation, called “Let’s Connect Philly.” It’s a really cool idea– artists are to pick one piece that inspires them (I picked Renoir) and do a small piece inspired by it! During the exhibition (in May–June) the public can go and vote on their favorite pieces, with the winning artists getting a residency and stipend at the Barnes! Needless to say I’m very excited to enter! Above is a time lapse for the first 7 hours of painting I’ve done on my piece. It’s not done yet, but when it is, I’ll post a side by side of the piece by Renoir that inspired me and my own.

Jessica Libor

Www.jessicalibor.com

Beginning a new painting: Magical Creatures

12 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by Jessica Libor in art, In My Studio, Inspiration, Shop

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advice for artists, art, art expert, art school, artist, beautiful, beautiful art, beautiful paintings of women, classical realism, contemporary art, contemporary female artists, contemporary realism, creative, creativity, drawing, emerging artist, emerging artists, female artist, how to be an artist, how to paint like the masters, inspiration, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, MFA, pafa, painter, painting, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, social entrepreneurship

It’s always the first day that it goes the quickest. After that, it is all about refining the details. Here is a unicorn painting inspired by my visit to the Met Cloisters and seeing “The Hunt of the Unicorn”. Click the video to see the time lapse!

You could spend forever on a painting, but it’s all about the quality and focus of the time you spend on it. Blocking out all other distractions and focusing all your mind and skill on the painting is like a meditation practice. I am always surprised by how much more quickly and better quality work comes out of a painting session when I’m in this state! I read a book once that described this state as “flow.” Perhaps it deserves a post of its own!

This painting I’m currently working on, “Magical Creatures,” is not completed, so be on the lookout for another post about the finished painting.

In the meantime, my recent painting after Fragonard, ” The Chase,” is completed, with a limited edition print run available in my shop. The prints turned out beautifully…every little brushstroke is captured in detail, and each one is on acid free archival quality paper that is velvety and smooth. Hand signed by me! To grab yours, click here.

The artist’s role in society

30 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Jessica Libor in art, beauty, Inspiration, Journeys, lifestyle, Uncategorized

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advice for artists, arch street press, art, artist, beautiful art, beautiful paintings of women, beauty, Bible, calling, classical realism, creative, culture, drawing, dress, female artist, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, lera auerbach, painting, pay, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts, philosophy, profession, queen victoria, service, society, thoughts, winterhalter

queen-victoria-1842-1 by winterhalter

“Queen Victoria,” by Winterhalter, 1842.  Victoria’s job was to lead her people well.

Recently I’ve been thinking about professions, pay, and service.   Why do some professions pay more than others? For instance, why does a doctor get paid more hourly than a barista?  This has nothing to do with the worthwhile efforts of either of the people holding these jobs.  You could be the best barista on the planet, make the best cup of coffee in the world and serve it with pleasantness, with a design in the foam of your own making.  However, as long as you stay a barista, you will not be compensated for your time and expertise in the way that a doctor will.  Why?

Because people need doctors.  “But I need coffee!” you may exclaim.  You may feel that you need coffee, and you may be addicted to coffee, but you do not need coffee to survive.  However, if you had health issues that needed fixing, you would need a doctor.  A doctor meets a need that the world has.  Many times, a very urgent need.   There is also the skill level that is necessary to become a doctor, one that takes into account years and years of intensive, difficult study and exacting practice.  Enough practice that the doctor can then do what they do best, whether it is general practice or surgery, and feel confident enough that they will not mess up.  You can’t just wake up tomorrow and be one.  It requires decades of planning and dedication.  This service they provide to mankind makes them valuable.   No offense to Baristas here–I love coffee! 🙂

This got me thinking about art and the profession of an artist.  Why would someone become an artist?  At first glance, it seems that making art serves no direct purpose to mankind.  Does it make you healthier?  Safer?  Smarter, calmer or wiser?  Perhaps a little.  Is it simply to amuse?  To inspire?  To send a political message?  There are too many kinds of art to say that all art is for one purpose and one purpose alone.  As varied as there are people on the earth, so are the many kinds of artworks and motivations of the artists that make it.  But the highest paid artists are usually the ones with the strongest vision and best work–so in the same way that doctors are compensated for their service, artists are compensated for their vision.  The more compelling the vision, the greater the contribution to mankind.

Proverbs 29:18a of the Bible reads, “Without a vision, the people perish.”  Perhaps it is we as artists who take our profession too lightly.  It’s a lot of fun to paint, to sculpt, to create things out of your head.  This enjoyable aspect of creativity has given some artists guilt over making a profession out of something they enjoy so much.  But have we as artists ever truly stretched ourselves to find out what the capabilities of our creativity are?  Most of us are capable of far more than we imagined.  It is the job of artists, and creatives, to make this vision in the culture we live in today.  Because it’s vision, hope, imagination that make life worth living.  If you look at it that way, an artist’s job is one of the most important jobs in society of all.

Do you feel called to be an artist?  If you feel that it is a calling, then what if you thought of it also as a responsibility to the world?  That you, not doing your best, would be taking away something great that mankind would otherwise have without you.  Are you truly doing your best?  As Lera Auerbach states in her book Excess of Being: “The gap between good and great is much larger than between good and bad.”  What if you created not for the fame, accolades, fortune or respect, but out of a duty to give your best to the world?  To not think of it as an indulgent thing, but in a service-minded way.  Your art serves a purpose, a unique purpose only you can fulfill.  It is up to you to discover what exactly that is, fulfill it, and give it to the world.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and start the conversation!

By Jessica Libor, June 2016

 

 

 

On Rest

07 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by Jessica Libor in art, In My Studio, Inspiration, Journeys, Uncategorized

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advice for artists, art, artist, classical realism, drawing, emerging artist, female artist, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, pennsylvania academy of the fine arts

Vista, oil on panel (1 of 1)

Vista, oil and butterfly wings on panel, 8″ x 8″, Jessica Libor 2015

Last week, the snowstorm Jonas raged around the Northeast and I found myself trapped for 4 days, unable to move my car out of 3 feet of snow.  Most of my neighbors were in the same situation–living on a street that the city doesn’t plough!  I had my milk and eggs, and was stocked up for the storm, so I embraced the time to really spend some time painting in the studio.  For the first couple days it was great.  I was able to spend some quality focused time painting and creating new artworks, without having a time limit of having to be done by a certain time or making it to an appointment.

However, I noticed that by the 4th day my hands were tired of doing the same thing–painting all day, every day.  My eyes needed a rest from looking at the surface of a canvas so close to me.  My body needed to move around and explore past the bounds of my house.  I was stir crazy, but the desire not to waste time made me keep painting and creating.

By the time  I could move my car down the road, I couldn’t paint without pain.  I had overdone it in my zest for using every moment.  Therefore, for the next week, I had to take a rest from painting in order to get my hands back in working order.  It reminded me of the importance of balance.  In order for something to be sustainable, there has to be balance.  Life cannot be spent entirely in the studio, or else what is there to paint about?  You must experience life to paint about it.  It reminded me that rest is just as important a part in the creative process as creating is.  Rest allows the mind to be at peace, which brings unexpected creativity.

However, I find too much rest dull…my mind seeks something to accomplish, figure out, challenge itself.  And  I believe each of us is put here on earth with something great to do that only that individual can do.  The thing is to decipher what that is, what that thing is that you want to do.  Usually it has something to do with our interests and passions.  To find that passion, to corral it, and to make use of your interests in order to add value to humanity, that is a great thing.   As Lera Aurbach writes in Excess of Being, “Without desire, nothing is possible.”

 

Painting in Progress

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Jessica Libor in In My Studio, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

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advice for artists, art expert, artist, artists, beautiful paintings of women, classical realism, drawing, emerging artist, how to paint, inspiration for artists, painting, romantic

This week I’ve been painting away at a new work.  It’s got lush folds and fabrics that are delicious to paint, and some mouth watering fruit that’s nestled in the hand of a figure that’s not seen in the picture.  It’s been fun playing with the different textures and colors in the painting, bringing the fabric, flesh, and fruit to light.  It’s 10×12 inches, oil on board.  No title yet.  Still got a little ways to go on it.

Work in progress by Jessica Libor, 2014

Work in progress by Jessica Libor, 2014

The Genesis of the Butterfly

03 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by Jessica Libor in In My Studio, Inspiration

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beautiful art, butterfly, fine art inspiration, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, poetry, victor hugo

Blue Morpho Butterfly created 1864, artist unknown

My inspiration for the next art piece strikes me, usually, when I am concentrating on what I am struck by visually or emotionally.  Sometimes, however, a beautiful inspiration strikes when it is least expected.  It could be triggered by a song, a person, a moment or memory, a story, an object, or a conviction.

Chasing Butterflies, by Berthe Morisot, oil on canvas

Ballet Dancers in Butterfly Costumes, by Edgar Degas, 1880

 Recently, I’ve begun to think about different variations of the butterfly used with the figure.  It started when I was in a flower shop a few weeks ago, and came across the most beautiful replica butterflies, each handmade with beading, shimmer, and handpainted paper wings that glistened in the sunlight.  I have a few images in my mind that will no doubt turn into a painting or two by the Spring.  While researching the topic, I came across this beautiful poetry by Victor Hugo about the fanciful origin of the butterfly:
The dawn is smiling on the dew that covers
The tearful roses; lo, the little lovers
That kiss the buds, and all the flutterings
In jasmine bloom, and privet, of white wings,
That go and come, and fly, and peep and hide,
With muffled music, murmured far and wide.
Ah, the Spring time, when we think of all the lays
That dreamy lovers send to dreamy mays,
Of the fond hearts within a billet bound,
Of all the soft silk paper that pens wound,
The messages of love that mortals write
Filled with intoxication of delight,
Written in April and before the May time
Shredded and flown, playthings for the wind’s playtime,
We dream that all white butterflies above,
Who seek through clouds or waters souls to love,
And leave their lady mistress in despair,
To flit to flowers, as kinder and more fair,
Are but torn love-letters, that through the skies
Flutter, and float, and change to butterflies.
-The Genesis of The Butterfly

My Conversation with Steven Assael

05 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by Jessica Libor in Artist Profiles, Inspiration, Journeys

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artist interviews, artist profiles, classical realism, established new york artists, figurative artists, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, new york artists, oil painters, prominent figurative artists, steven assael

Homebound, by Steven Assael, oil on canvas, 60"x72"

Last year, I attended a visiting artist lecture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where Steven Assael, a New York native artist, was the guest speaker.

I was electrified at his presentation, and sat eagerly forward on my chair throughout the entire slideshow.  Seeing his work blown up large in a darkened theatre brought a new intensity to it.

D, oil on canvas, 62.5x92.5 inches, by Steven Assael 1998

What struck me about Steven’s work was the emotional pull of it.  In each of his characters that he paints, it is as if he put thier very soul into the image.  He is unflinching in depicting the relationship of the sitter and the painter, and lets you in to see the vulnerability and inner workings of his subjects.

There is also a drama, a sweet strain of sadness and mystery that runs through his work.  It seems as if he purposefully chooses unusual subjects physically, so that through his paintings he can give them a dignity and humanity that many people overlook.

Drawing by Steven Assael

After the lecture, I spoke to Mr. Assael about his work.  He was truly one of the kindest artists I’ve ever met, with a humility and quiet gravity to him, much like the work he produces.  It struck me how much you can tell about an artist by simply the work that he or she does.  In most cases, you are very much what you paint, for it comes out of the deepest place in your soul.

Nicole and James, oil on canvas, by Steven Assael, 32x20 inches, 2005

For more information about Steven Assael, check out this documentary on his work here.

Image

How to Paint Like the Masters: Part 6, Painting the Ebauche

03 Friday Feb 2012

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advice for artists, art expert, classical realism, ebauche painting, education in new york, emerging artist, grand central academy of art, how to be a skilled artist, how to be an artist, how to draw, how to draw from the live model, how to draw like a pro, how to paint like the masters, how to succeed as an artist, inspiration for artists, jessica libor, technical advice for artists

Almost-completed Ebauche stage by Joshua LaRock 2011

This post will continue our journey we began several posts ago, picking up where we left off at the last stage of rendering the drawing.  We are beginning this post with the assumption that you have in front of you a canvas with the transferred drawing on it, the very correct drawing that you’ve been working so hard on!

These are notes that I am sharing with you again from that particularly helpful workshop led by Joshua LaRock that I took at the Grand Central Academy of Art this past summer.

I remember when this day came at last, it was the beginning of the second week, and a Monday.  I was so excited to begin painting!  However, the teacher lectured for a while before we could begin…which was exactly what most of us needed.  I gained a wealth of information, without which my painting would not have improved.

We began the morning with some basic definitions, and built from there.

The Ebauche: Layer 1 of paint, a thinned down value study with mostly turpenoid and a few drops of oil.

Beginning the Ebauche, by Joshua LaRock 2011

Value: the lightness or darkness

Hue:  Color (red, yellow, green, blue)

Chroma: the intensity relative to neutral (gray)

All skintones are a mixture of yellow and red.

The plane most perpendicular (most facing) the light is the most chromatic (the most color, ignoring the hightlights).  As a form turns away from the light, the color gets darker in value and less in chroma.  The highest chromatic (color intense) colors are straight from the tube.  The hightest chroma paints are the cadmium colors.  When painting shadows, remember that black is actually a very dark blue.  On a one color object, keep the HUE (pure color) at all costs, no matter how light or dark things get.

shapeimage_6

Mandarins, 11″x14″, Joshua LaRock 2009

When setting up the pallete, try to stay organized.  Your pallette is a reflection of your mind.  Start out to the left with the yellows, then go to the reds, then the greens, and lastly blues.  Below is a list of the exact paints we used for the full pallette, in order of how they should be laid out on the pallette.

1. White

2. Lemon Yellow

3. Cadmium Yellow

4. Naples Yellow

5. Yellow Ochre

6. Raw Sienna

7. Raw Umber

8. Cadmium Orange

9. Cadmium Red

10. Venetian Red

11. Alizarin Crimson

12. Burnt Umber

13. White

14. Cadmium Green

15. Sap Green

16. Viridian Green

17. Cerulean Blue

18. Ultramarine Blue

19. Cobalt Blue

20. Violet (Dioxazine Purple)

21. Ivory Black

22. VanDyke Brown

25% Raw umber, 25% burnt sienna, and 50% black make a perfect neutral, that you can make lighter or darker with white.

As far as a medium when you are painting, I personally use Walnut oil, because it’s so environmentally healthy you could theoretically eat it and be fine.  However, the traditional method is to use linseed oil or poppy oil to mix with the paint to make it more buttery.  Poppy oil doesn’t yellow as much as linseed oil, however.

Either way you go, you DO NOT need to use an oil at this point while doing the traditional Ebauche (underpainting).  If you use too much oil with your paint at this point, then in subsequent layers, your paint will bead up.  When doing the Ebauche, use paint thinner to thin the paint, or an odorless turpenoid (natural substitute for turpentine).

When beginning painting the Ebauche, keep in mind that it is to get the overall general effect of the painting, with colors, values and feel of the work.  Don’t lose your drawing at this stage.  You can start correcting your drawing if needed.  When you paint a dark over a light, you get a chromatic rise–this is what happens when you glaze.  So overall, your ebauche should be a little lighter in value than what you want your painting to look like at the end, if you’d like to glaze over it.

Start painting the ebauche with the lights, the highest in chroma and value (for instance, typically the nose and forhead), and go darker in value and lower in chroma in the shadow from there.

Mix up a separate mixture for the shadows, and use a separate brush to keep the painting as clean as possible.

Also, mix up a separate mixture for the hair.

Protect the hight value, high chroma parts of the painting!  Get all the lights and darks established before going into detail.  For example, do a section on the forehead, side of cheek and shadow and hair, then do the rest of the face, using those sections as keys of light or darkness on the form.

Sometimes, when two complementary colors are set next to each other, they both appear brighter.  This is a similar optical effect to simultaneous contrast.  Don’t let your eyes deieve you!

Think again of sculpting, same as the drawing!  You want the picture to leap out of the canvas into life.

The legendary William Adolphe Bouguereau painted in for layers, and this was the first.  Only three more to go!  Below, check out his unfinished painting, where you can clearly see the ebauche stage showing through.

Unfinished painting by Bouguereau

Posted by Jessica Libor | Filed under How To, Inspiration, Journeys

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