LARAINE ARMENTI

Student of Painting

ANE / Bennington — Week 1, no. 3

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Last painting was done on Friday in the acryla-gouache figure class. The female model alternated between two poses within the same paintin, while the third figure is from a photograph. Saturday we had final critique and discussion of the week's work. ABOVE: 3 figures, acryla-gouache on panel, 16 x 20 inches ( 41 x 51 cm), 07/22/11 Eleven paintings in a week, acryla-gouache on panel, … [Read more...]

ANE / Bennington — Week 1, no. 1

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During my first week at Art New England, I am in a class called "The Figure in Context" taught by Susan Lichtman. The first night we were assigned two homework paintings: a quick twilight landscape and a still-life, leaving space in both to fit the figure. We did a direct painting of the figure on the first morning of class. In the afternoon, we painted her into the still-life using light tones … [Read more...]

VSC Walkabout

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VSC Walkabout was made while in residence last month at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. As daily drawings accumulated, a narrative emerged from the sequence of places seen: the studio, dining hall, bedroom, campus, and town. VSC Walkabout presents the architectural and emotional places that form the backdrop of still-life work done in the studio. This project was made without … [Read more...]

ANE / Bennington — Week 2

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Week 2 of Art New England / Mass Art workshop at Bennington College, Vermont. After all this time, I was thrilled to finally be in a class called "Advanced Painting." As a complementary medium to working in oil, we were shown methods of using pencil and a slurry of graphite powder in stand oil/OMS on mylar. It's a deliciously slippery medium to use for filmy values. The drawing/paintings have … [Read more...]

ANE / Bennington — Week 2

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My time on the road included a side trip to visit Tad Spurgeon. After years of appreciating his work online, Tad generously let me interrupt his painting time to meet him and see his work in person. His studio is a wondrous cavern filled to the brim with paintings stacked and hung on every surface; it is a marvelous workshop of intense explorations. His extensive experiments with materials are a … [Read more...]

ANE / Bennington — Week 1

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Week 1, continued. These pictures are hand-held snap-shots of the last two paintings done during a one week independent study offered by the Art New England / Mass Art workshop program at Bennington College, Vermont. ABOVE: Scone and Rose, oil on paper, 5.5 x 9.5 inch (14 x 24 cm), 07/23/2010 EE:  "Category bending: still-life as landscape." PY to EE:  "They're doing baked goods; watch … [Read more...]

Outdoor Painting Workshop

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If you like the way your paintings look as they are, don't take a class with a guy who paints from life every day and will tell you what he sees. Instructor's comments below. ABOVE: North Bridge, oil on paper, 10 x 10 in (25 x 25 cm), 06/07/2010 • ... has bounce; you protected the drawing; bridge is the best part; shape of field not clear; were trees as bright in highlight -- yes or no?; squint; … [Read more...]