ART OF THE MASTERS Workshop

Hello, Artists,

gilbertsunnewsarticle6-2016

We are planning a workshop the week of November 14, 2016, which is our only opportunity window for quite a few months. Can you make it? We will also have a Free Prep Day on November 7, a week before the workshop, in order to help you get a wonderful start. The cost for the 5 days is $489.

Art of the Masters Workshop
When: Nov. 14-18, 2016
Where: Gilbert, Arizona
Time: daily, 9:00 – 5:00

If you feel undecided, maybe now is the time to get off that fence and embrace your true art self. We promise that you will get more step-by-step art instruction in one week with us, than you will get anywhere else, even in workshops that cost more than twice what we charge. We also give you helpful handouts (most art classes don’t) because we want you to be able to remember and continue working on what we’ve taught you. To us, the most important thing is continuing the legacy of the Old Masters, and we are passionate about passing on their wisdom and techniques to others. We would love to have you with us!

And like Maestro Frank Covino always did, we offer $100 off the cost of your tuition for each of your friends that sign up for the class.

Below is a sample of first-time student drawing (24″ x 30″), in preparation for painting. Amazing, huh!

Here are things needed for the Free Prep Day:

Materials for board preparation, graphing, and drawing:
Ampersand Gessobord brand surface
metal yardstick and ruler
ultra-fine Sharpies, various colors (black, blue, and red are probably enough)
General’s charcoal pencils, soft
kneaded eraser
High quality photo of Old Master painting to work from, printed on 8 1/2”x11” glossy photo paper, one grayscale, one color–Art Renewal Center is an excellent online museum source– https://artrenewal.org/pages/search.php
blending stumps (tortillions)
Exacto knife
spray workable fixative
clear tape
acetate

Other helpful items:
transparent 18” triangle
India ink and sable liner brush
artist’s white tape, removable

Please respond below, and we’ll get right back to you!

Marsha and Karen
Art of the Masters

ART OF THE MASTERS Workshop Wonders!

Jul6

Hello, Artists,

We thought you might want to see some of the work just completed at our first Art of the Masters workshop last week in Gilbert, Arizona. Karen and I were so proud of our students’ success thus far. Here are some pictures:

Shelly H. in early stages of drawing At the Fountain, after William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1897

Shelley B. drawing The Laundress, after Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1761

Teachers Marsha Gilliam (in the mirror) and Karen Schmeiser, with student Shelly H.

Completed charcoal drawing~

Completed drawing with partial verdaccio underpainting~

Below are the students’ drawings alongside actual paintings by Greuze and Bouguereau. When completed, students’ works will look like these original works, and Shelley and Shelly will have learned much about seeing, drawing and painting during this process of copying the Masters:

We hope you enjoyed seeing some student work, and hope you will be able to join us for our next event. Where else can new artists get a five-day workshop with two teachers for $489? We are in this to perpetuate the systems and processes of the Old Masters, and are planning another workshop in the fall, to be announced.

YOU CAN CAN CAN do this too,

Marsha and Karen 🙂

THE SPIRIT OF FRANK COVINO

Jun25

Hello Artists,

The spirit of Frank Covino visited me this morning and I wound up with white paint on the back of my hand, that had transferred to the sink and countertop before I realized it. I searched all over but couldn’t find the source, and was blaming the cats for perhaps stealing a tube of my paint–so I was frantically looking for that as well–don’t need any mentally challenged lead-white-eater kitties in my life.

My husband found the source on the underside of a shelf wire in the refrigerator, the result of a paint storing fiasco last week. I thought I had cleaned it up thoroughly, but I guess not. It’s amazing how far a little dot of paint can travel when you don’t want it to.

Remember how Frank was so good at getting more paint on our painting tables and on himself, than on our canvases? 🙂 So, two days before Karen Schmeiser and I begin our Art of the Masters workshops in Arizona, I’m guessing Frank stopped by this morning on his Memorial Celebration Day to remind me to loosen up and not be so picky about making a mess with paint.

Frank will always live on in all our hearts and memories of him. Will you please share below, some of your memories with the rest of us?

Peace.

FRANK COVINO OBITUARY, 2016

Feb25

Maestro Frank Covino’s obituary has been published on the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home site and quoted below:

Covino Portrait1

https://prod2.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/print.cfm?type=obituary&o_id=3608351&fh_id=12898

Perkins-Parker Funeral Home

Frank G. Covino
(October 16, 1931 – February 16, 2016)

U.S. Veteran

Born to Italian immigrant parents in 1931, Frank Covino discovered his love for art at an early age. By 1950 he enlisted to fight in the Korean war, with a promise of paid college education. Extensive casualties awarded Air Force Sergeant Covino and his Battalion the prestigious Syngman Rhee Presidential Unit Citation, a distinguished medal of honor.

Upon discharge, Frank enrolled at Pratt Institute, earning his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Art Teacher Education in 1959. By 1960, Frank was hired by Norman Rockwell to teach the portrait course for The Famous Artists School in Westport, Connecticut, before establishing his own Academy of Art in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1963. Twenty-four years later, Covino closed the doors to his Academy and took to the road, where he continued to conduct seminars in major cities from coast to coast. In 1995, Frank led 15 art students on a precedent-setting trip to the Louvre in Paris, where they each completed a copy of an Old Master.

Over the course of 5 decades, Frank was commissioned to paint a wide range of portraits, including British Prime Minister, Sir Harold McMillan; retiring President of RJR Nabisco Corporation, Ross Johnson, the notorious subject of the year’s top selling book, “Barbarians at the Gate“. Frank’s life-sized portrait of singer Dinah Shore was dramatically unveiled during the popular national television show 20/20, and was displayed for years at the Mission Hills Country Club in Palm Springs. Covino was also commissioned to paint a large portrait of film actress, Gloria Swanson and another study of Marvin Gaye. In the 1980’s the World Wrestling Federation commissioned Frank to sculpt the original bronze Slammy Award.

Frank has authored three major art books: The Fine Art of Portraiture, Discover Acrylics With Frank Covino, and Controlled Painting. His latest and final book, The Left Brain Alternative, is set to be released later this year as an eBook. He has also produced 12 instructional art videos.

Stationed in the Rocky Mountains before his Korean deployment, Frank discovered a passion for skiing. After he survived the war, he pursued the sport relentlessly, becoming a ski instructor in 1955 and continuing to teach for 22 years, guided initially by his mentor and close friend, Olympic ski champion, Stein Eriksen. Stein invited Frank to participate in a clinic held at Sugarbush Valley, from which would develop the new Stein Eriksen Ski School. Over the years, Frank and Stein collaborated on a nationally syndicated newspaper column entitled “Ski Tips From Stein Eriksen” which Frank edited and illustrated. Together they invented the “Chalk-Talk”, a popular audio-visual presentation that involved ski instruction narration by Stein supported by live action sketches, which Frank drew on an overhead projector. In 1975, Frank was asked by Digest Books to collaborate with Olympic Gold Medal Champion, Jean-Claude Killy, which resulted in the book “133 Ski Lessons by Jean-Claude Killy. Frank’s three ski instruction manuals, illustrated by the author, were published by Digest Books in the seventies, culminating in his most significant ski book, “Skiers’ Digest “ in 1976.

In 1999 he co-authored the popular health and fitness book, “Rage Against Age” with Dr. Charles Anderson. An avid body builder and health enthusiast throughout his life, Frank decided to enter the Vermont Regional Bodybuilding Championships, and took home two Silver trophies and a First Place Gold for the Super Senior Division at the advanced ages of 79 and 80. Frank loved life to the fullest. His many adventures also included bareback bronc riding in the Federal, Wyoming rodeo; skydiving; heli-skiing in British Columbia; surfing; horseback riding and kayaking.

Frank leaves behind the love of his life Barbara; his son Mark; daughter Cameron; his sister Carol; his brother Lee; his sister in-law Geri; as well as cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family. Frank was predeceased by his beloved brother Bob. The family will hold a celebration of Frank Covino’s incredible life in June at a date and time to be determined. For more information, please visit: http://www.frankcovino.com In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Mad River Ambulance Service, PO Box 305, Waitsfield, VT 05673, or the Mad River Valley Community Fund, PO Box 353, Waitsfield VT 05673. Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury. To send online condolences please visit http://www.perkinsparker.com or the funeral home Facebook page.

FRANK COVINO, LONG-TIME FRIEND AND MENTOR, HAS PASSED

Feb20

Covino Portrait1 P1070431 PaintingWorkshopCovinoFrank4-2015

Dear Artists and Friends,

It is with ineffable sadness in our hearts, that I must report this news. Our friend and long-time art teacher and mentor, Maestro Frank Covino, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, February 16, 2016, after being pronounced “cleared of cancer” just last week.

If I may use a bold simile, his loss feels like looking up at the mountains in Sugarbush, where Frank worked hard to build the home he loved, and seeing that the grandest of summits has disappeared from our sight.

Here is a note from his wife, Barbara Covino, that you will all want to read:

Subject: It is with a deep abiding sorrow in my heart that I write this letter…forgive the delay but it has taken time to believe this is true…

Beloved friends and family , one and all,

After two days of profoundest shock, and countless tears I realize I must write you. It is with a heavy, heavy heart that i must inform you that dear Frank has passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday night, February 16th. It was quick and he did not suffer–a death we would all prefer–but he had been progressing so well, it was a gut-wrenching shock that still is unbelievable.

I truly cannot imagine a world, or a life without him…32 years of happiness and adventure. Life was never boring with him!!! What an amazing talent, a brilliant man with a wealth of knowledge, a gentle and sensitive man who had to excel in everything he did, and was thus an inspiration to all who knew him. He encouraged others to strive for excellence and to believe in themselves, giving them the tools to create a positive reality in their lives, whether it be art or health. We all can repeat that golden maxim: IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO AMELIORATE! Wise encouraging words, those.

But he was more than the sum of his parts; he was a genuine force of nature, a real Renaissance man, but above all else, he had a kind heart and a very great soul. We all loved him so; there will never be another Frank. But I know it is now time for each and every one of us who was touched by his life, to take that spark and pass it on. He gave us wings and it is time for us to fly…Make him proud!!!

I am too choked up to continue writing. God Bless each and every one of you who had a place in his heart…family, friends, students….He loved you all sincerely and without guile….

We are in the process of collaborating with the family and planning both a smaller family funeral as well as a larger set of celebrations of his life and legacy open to all who loved him–one in Vermont and one on Long island. As soon as the Covino south clan and Mark and Jennifer and I hammer out the details, I will email you all, soon as can be done.

We are going to give that wonderful man a send off he won’t soon forget!!!

Love and blessings , Barbara Covino

PS: PLEASE FORWARD THIS to everyone you can think of. It has grown into a cast of hundreds, and forgive the delay but it has taken time to believe this is true.

WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT!

Sep27

Dear Artists,

The Frank Covino Workshop is seven weeks away. This may seem pointed, but…

We never know if this is the last chance we will have of being taught by one of the world’s greatest master teachers of oil painting in the manner of the Old Masters. In October, Frank will be in his mid-eighties and his traveling might be curtailed at any time. When we are with him, I think we sometimes take his presence for granted, but in this next workshop, as much as possible, we should hang on his every word, watch what he does at each workstation, audio-record what he says, take thorough notes, and ask good questions.

Have you priced workshops lately? There is no big-name artist today holding a serious workshop for less than $1,000 (Frank’s is $695), and a big name, does not a great teacher make. I have forked out my money for this, first hand, and I can tell you, Frank is one of the few “greats” alive today that can actually TEACH others how to paint. They may be wonderful painters themselves, but they frequently can’t convey their knowledge to students. Thus, you come away learning less than a tenth of what you would learn spending one week (and a lot less money) with Frank. That’s like getting 10 half-days VS. just 1 half-day, $300 cheaper.

I apologize if this sounds a bit like a sales pitch, but it isn’t–I have to pay the same amount as you do, plus do some of the behind the scenes prep work. It’s just that to avail ourselves of the joy of this knowledge while Frank is still with us, is such a privilege. There is nothing else like giving pleasure to our family and friends through our art–that wonderful feeling of giving a painting or a giclee’ to someone you love, and seeing their smiles and pride when they hang it on their wall. It would be terrible to look back and think, “If only I had taken his class when I could have…now it’s too late.”

Here is a sample of what you can learn to do at Frank’s workshop:

Here are the details–

What: Frank Covino Workshop
When: November 9-13, 2015
Where: Gilbert, Arizona

A $200 deposit is due on Oct. 9, three weeks from now.

There will be space for a maximum of 12 people.

Frank is offering a special treat–If you sign up a new student, you AND the student each get $100 off the tuition (only 2 given per workshop).

Keep your tunnel vision set toward Frank’s instructions, and you will be creating exquisite paintings this year that will still be around 300 years from now, because they will be so good that anyone who owns them, will not part with them! Remember, it’s better to spend a few weeks creating one work of significant art, than painting 10 quick ones that will end up in garage sales and bought for the frames they’re in (I’ve done this many times–have you?).

If any readers out there would like to join this workshop or have any questions, just comment below, and we will be in touch.

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All the best,
The Arizona Renaissance Art Guild

PAINTINGS FROM A WORKSHOP

Jun10

The Arizona Renaissance Art Guild had a workshop with Frank Covino in April this year, 2015, and since we plan on another one later this November, I thought I would post these paintings for everyone to see some of the processes and quality of work generated. Keep in mind that all of them are in different stages of completion. Some were just begun by new students in the workshop, and some are the result of weeks of work by seasoned artists.

Whether you are someone who has always wanted to paint but never had the time, or whether you are a seasoned artist wanting to learn different techniques, you are welcome to join our workshop in November. Stay tuned. As soon as I get definite dates, I’ll let you know. Enjoy the photos:

Work in progress, by Charlene Higley

Work in progress, by Glori Robison

Work in progress, by Pat McKinley

Work in progress, by Cheri Stucke

Work in progress, by Barb Franelli

Work in progress, by Karen Schmeiser

by Sariah Clonts

Frank Covino, Modern Master and Teacher Extraordinaire

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All the best,

Marsha

PART 7, CLASSICAL ACADEMIC APPROACH, MIXING VERDACCIO

Mar16

Before you begin your verdaccio underpainting, make sure you have completed everything you want to accomplish with India ink, charcoal, and gesso and/or gelatin in bas relief, so that your rendering looks as perfect as it can. This functions as your value map for the underpainting, and if it is perfect, nearly everything at Value 5 and under can be quickly glazed, rather than painted. Of course, the need for the perfect underpainting is that glazes are transparent, and everything will show through!

Look closely at the enlarged version of this drawing; can you see the areas where it seems to be especially white? Those are the places where, if you could run your fingers over the board, you feel the bas relief of the gesso that has been built up only in the areas you want to advance, to give the painting extra dimension. Pretend you are a sculptor and pay special attention to areas like jewelry, headwear, the forehead, nose bone and tip, shoulders near the viewer, lower lip, muscle structure, illuminated areas of dark garments, fabric folds that are closest to the viewer, and anything else you want to advance. Make sure you smooth those built up edges so they blend smoothly into the board surface–you don’t want them looking pasted on. You should not see the physical edges of the build up:

Mixing verdaccio in nine values is the next step. Here is where you will make your life so-o-o much easier if you have purchased Frank Covino’s Controlled Palette.

Before mixing any paint on the Controlled Palette, coat it lightly with olive oil.

To mix verdaccio:

*Put 2, 8″ strips of chromium oxide green on Value 2
*Put 1, 8″ strip of mars black on Value 2
(= 3 strips total on Value 2)
Mix together thoroughly for a “Value 2 verdaccio.”
Value 1 is comprised of equal parts of Value 2 with Mars Black.
Values 3 – 9 are made by the addition of Flake White to Value 2, then 3, etc. (aka a “color string”).

Then cover it with Saran Wrap (the most non-porous wrap in my tests) and put it in the freezer until you’re ready to paint. Even better is to buy multiples of the three colors and some empty tubes, and tube your mixtures. That way, you won’t have to mix it again for a year or more.

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All the best,

Marsha

P. S. Just a note to let you know of an upcoming workshop–

Hello, readers. The Arizona Renaissance Art Guild is hosting a one-week workshop with Maestro Frank Covino, art teacher extraordinaire. If you will be in the Phoenix area on April 6-10, 2015, we would like to invite you to attend and make some new painting friends. The cost for the week is $695. Respond to this post if you are interested. We still have two spaces available.

PART 3, CLASSICAL ACADEMIC APPROACH, THE PALETTE

Aug23

The other item you will need right away is a 9-value (+black and white) palette. 12″x24″ is the most useable size. Any smaller and you won’t have enough mixing room; any larger and it gets cumbersome and harder to reach over it. Making this yourself is an excellent learning experience and begins to train your eye to see nine values in 10% increments, plus black being the absence of light on one end, and white being the absence of dark on the other end (based on the Munsell system). You will have eleven value strips total.

Frank Covino created this and he calls it the “Controlled Palette.” As of this writing, I don’t know if he still sells it. A couple of years ago, he began making it smaller than the one I bought (and love) from him nearly ten years ago, and now I see on his site that it seems to be all a 5th-value gray, similar to Richeson’s Grey Matters palette paper (another excellent tool to provide that extra paint mixing space you sometimes need). I suggest you contact Frank if you would prefer to buy a palette that is ready to use. If you find that it is now indeed all gray, I strongly advise you to make it yourself instead. Your acuity for values will be considerably heightened and, in the long run, you will become a much stronger artist for it.

Here is my palette in use. I still have Saran Wrap (the most non-permeable brand–I have tested this) over the colors. The flesh is still in verdaccio, since it’s always best to remember that “what surrounds the form affects your perception of the form’s values”:

Here is what it looks like:

Front

Back

You can print this value scale for reference. Remember, there is a white strip to include at the right end:

Supplies needed (all available at Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, etc.):

2 pieces 12″x24″ thin Plexiglas–glass is better for scraping or cleaning if you’re not going to be traveling with it.

1 piece 12″x24″ 1/8″ Masonite

6′ length of 2″ wide gray Duct tape

1 piece of 12″x24″ Contact paper of your choice (wood grain shown)

1 12″x24″printed or painted value scale on lightweight card stock, not paper

Coat one side of Masonite with contact paper, then assemble “sandwich” from the bottom, up, as follows: 3. Masonite (Contact paper on underside), 2. value scale, face up, 1. 1 piece of Plexiglas (or glass) to cover. Duct tape edges with half the tape width showing on top and half on bottom, long edges first, short edges last. Palette is complete. The extra piece of Plexiglas is used on top of the palette to mix paint on and keep the actual palette clean. When you use it, make sure to very lightly rub it with olive oil before you put the paint on, thereby making it easier to clean. When the top gets scratched and mangled after many uses, just toss it and get a new top to go over your palette.

Test the measurements of this palette before you make it to ensure it fits in your freezer (adjust, if needed), as that is the way to store your paint for as much as six months. This saves money because when you mix a flesh palette, for example, you can just use the remaining paint for another portrait.

All the best,

Marsha