Practice makes portraits:
Blountstown-based artist to share technique
A long road and many years were required to bring Charles Carman Pierce to northwest Florida, where he now lives and paints, and teaches art
Who: Charles Carman Pierce
What: Teaching a course on Basic Drawing Study of the Head
Posted Aug. 13, 2015 at 1:33 PM
Updated Aug 13, 2015 at 1:39 PM
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A long road and many years were required to bring Charles Carman Pierce to northwest Florida, where he now lives and paints, and teaches art.
“You must create 2,000 head studies before you can do a portrait of any value,” one of his instructors once said, and Pierce took it to heart — completing untold numbers of sketches, pastels and paintings from life and photos to build a solid technique.
He will be offering a 3 day work shop on the basic part 2 of portraiture on Feb. 3, 4th and 5th 2017 at the Palms in Panama City Bch.
For more info see below and for a supply list email artist at [email protected] or call 816-813-7911.
THE NEXT STEP
My fellow artists, 1/16/2017
It has been a year since our last meet up at the Palms where you all honored me by attending a three day work shop. As most of you requested I am contacting you in regards to my next step workshop at the Palms, Panama City Bch.
On Feb. 3rd I will offer another 3 day workshop on the study of basics and the next step of portraiture. Your study will be working in my three favorite mediums.
Day one will begin with a demo of the full face as it sets on the head. I will be working in charcoal and will start with a sketch of the face showing the values and half tones of the face, moving to using layering to bring out the features. I plan to allow 1 hour for this demo. The beginning will be a refresher for some, layering will be the step forward. You will create studies of the steps enabling you to create a record of fundamental tools for future reference. Each person on day one will work from the same photo. At the end of the day we will discuss, critique, and compare.
On day 2: I will offer the same demo as day one but this time using the medium of pastels; this will enable you to see the full face in color values. Once again you will work from the same photo and your charcoal images from day one. You will refer to the photo and measure from your charcoal studies, you will realize the value of the first day study and how basic they are to moving forward in this next step. Again we will discuss, & critique, and compare.
On day 3: I will demo once again, this time in Oil, I will be working today from a live model. This will challenge all to see what a difference a live model contributes to the creative process verse working from just a photo. Again we will compare, critique, and compare.
Each day we will discuss the process of seeing the shapes of dark to light on the mask, measuring and sizing of the head and face, seeing the shapes and planes of the face when working each of the mediums. This is basic and must be realized through measure, squinting, and the less is more from the beginning of the process to the end.
I want to keep this simple and offer you this opportunity to move forward in your art study in both the mediums and subject matter. I know the portrait is difficult and challenging, but of all subjects is most basic. It has been stated over and over through the years in the art world schools learning to draw and create from life, the study of the portrait and figure are the basis for creating all other subjects.
I will be ordering material needed for wksp by Jan. 24th for anyone who would like to join in on this order and be responsible for paying for their part, this will give you the best price and save on shipping.
I hope you can attend, I look forward to see all again. If you are not able to attend please pass this along to a friend who may be interested. Regards Charles Carman Pierce
Questions: Bch art group web site or call me @816-813-7911 or Helen 850- 541-3867, or email [email protected]
P/S; remember our main objective here is to create a group of artists to create portraits so we can offer a day a week for the public to come by our facility and have a portrait study created.
Pierce was 15 in 1957, when he studied under his first mentor, Obe Smith. Smith demonstrated the use of the charcoal stick and values of the medium, the secrets of the feather touch and use of layering so as to bring the subject out of the paper and to life, Pierce recalled.
“Study many different artists and styles as you can, do not duplicate any, find your own style from what you learn and be your own artist; feel your art in your heart and soul, do it for yourself and work at other occupations,” Smith told Pierce. “Learning to draw correctly is basic and must be mastered before thinking about color or painting.”
The rest was “practice, practice and practice,” said Pierce, who spent years self-teaching and learning to draw from life, including continued study at Joliet Junior College with his High School art teacher, advanced study at Chicago’s American Academy of Art. But Vietnam interrupted with “military obligation” in 1964-66, and the after-effects of that experience kept Pierce from further study for 10 years.
In 1979, he found the John Howard Sanden book, “Painting The Head In Oil” while attending an evening portrait session at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Later, he attended an exhibit of John Singer Sargent’s work in Detroit, Mich. These events “fired up (my) artist spirit to the point of tears and gave direction.”
Pierce moved to Florida in 1983 with his French easel, charcoal sticks and pastels, setting up at art shows and festivals, and sketching patrons in 20 to 45 minutes. He considered this his greatest learning tool. In 1985-86, he moved to Tallahassee and joined a weekly portrait group at the Senior Center for the Arts.
“This was great practice for a three-hour portrait session from life,” he said, and resulted in sales as well as personal growth. His large painting titled “Adams Commons 1984” sold to the city of Tallahassee as part of its permanent collection; it now hangs on the fourth floor in the City Commission reception area.
More decades of practice and study followed, as well as memberships in galleries and art associations. More advanced study with award winning portrait artists M.C. Baumgaertner and at the Scottsdale AZ, school for art. He studied and exhibited his work in Missouri and in Georgia with the Portrait Society of Atlanta and other locations. But his life again changed when his 90-year-old mother needed assistance, and he became more connected to this region than before.
Now living in Blountstown, Pierce continues to work on commissions, portraits and more paintings. He has exhibited at the “Sunday Afternoon with the ARTS” at Chipola College, his portrait of a young ballet dancer waiting to dance, "ALIINA" won the top prize, the Kathy J. Wycoff memorial award in 2011; he has painted portraits at the Senior Center for the Arts in Tallahassee from 1986 to 1995, 2011 to present; paints Plein Air studies throughout Northwest Florida; and exhibited paintings of the Cloister of Sea Island with Left Bank Gallery of St. Simons Island in GA.; guest artist at New Cloister Hotel beach club to sketch faces of guests 2009 and 2010.
He is now offering mentoring classes and workshops on the basics of drawing the head in charcoal combine with Pastel and oil paint for more advanced students after they have learned the basic drawing approach.
We all draw before we write, it is unfortunate that in our educational system history we have discouraged the young artist to draw and now we do not even want them to learn to write. We are all creative from birth, it is so natural and a great means of therapy for dealing with life and its many bridges which need to be crossed.
In my last years I want to help artists of all ages how ever possible, share and advance their natural ability to create and understand its value.
