I skipped the Strada Easel painting challenge last January because January is one of my busy months in the studio.
Since February 1st is the picture deadline for the spring museum show, I often procrastinate until the time is really tight to finish the paintings and email them high-res photos by midnight on the final day. Procrastination is wrong, but the “performance under pressure” technique is how I did my term papers in school. This article will be published tomorrow in The Press, so I may never learn. In the past, artists had to send glass slides of their artwork.
Like everything else, technology makes things easier, but it also fills our days with pointless side hustles, and if we have to take pictures of finished paintings, have movies made into slideshows and snail mail them to us, we Just waste no time visiting the museum before February 1st.
I wrote about the Strada Easel Challenge a few years ago. Bryan Mark Taylor, renowned artist and founder of The Easel Company, has launched the month-long semi-annual (September and January) Artist (anyone can participate) challenge to draw or paint from life – not photographs – and Publish entries daily on social media with the hashtag #stradaeasel. He drew names from artists who completed the month-long challenge and presented five of his luxurious Strada easels. As with many things starting on January 1st, there is a dropout rate. More than 1,100 artists from around the world started the challenge, and about 800 remain. A few years ago I started entering contests to win easels. I continue to participate (except last January) because the daily practice of drawing quickly from life has been very beneficial for my skill development.
Bryan Mark Taylor launched the challenge to emphasize the importance of drawing from life rather than photographs. I often airdrop photos from my iPad to the TV, where I can zoom in on the colors, shapes, and musculature of the animal (picture Charlie Russell shakes his head in amazement, disgust.) The animal stands still on the screen, but even our newest Camera technology also flattens surfaces and evens out nuances in value and color into flat uniformity or strong contrast. I love the ease of looking at a reference photo up close and drawing it out. Instead of trying to replicate the more flattering, “lost” colors or values in the photographs, I apply my experience with animals to life. Sometimes I do paint outside without being forced, but the challenge of allowing myself to paint from life every day for two months out of the year has taught me a lot about light, color, and perspective. It has improved my studio drawing and made me a better artist.
Brian Mark Taylor recommends drawing the same thing over and over for a month. I only did this a few years ago, in the end because it saved time driving around looking for topics. For the past two septembers, I’ve been focusing on the sunflowers outside my studio door. A few years ago, I drew a little tin car and added it to a still life scene until my puppy stole it. This January, I often park outside Dayton to paint a field of willow trees. I was mesmerized by the shapes the hard-packed snow made on the warm brown dry grass, and by the hopeful orange of the willows against the dark blue bighorn sheep.
Near the end of the challenge, looking at this month’s air painting, thinking back: Those were the days I really didn’t have time for; I listened to a good radio sermon while I was painting in the car; The day I ran out of white; The day I forgot A small paintbrush; the day I forgot to bring my phone to take pictures; but mostly I remember what I learned from each painting. The experience of painting from life allows me to practice observing and depicting the natural light and colors that I bring back to my studio. Standing in front of the easel – looking at the photos on the iPad – as I finish the last painting for the spring show, I see those quick Strada easel challenge sessions shown in my latest work.
