Weekend with the Masters '11: Before the Event

Last month, I had the privilege of working at the 3rd annual Weekend with the Masters conference, held this year in beautiful Monterey, California. The event is sponsored by American Artist and offers workshops, demos and lectures from some of the art world's leading representational painters. Aside from getting to meet many artists whom I've long-admired, I was in good company--joining me on the WWM work force were three friends who attended my college, Ryan Mellody, Taaron Parsons and Jon Stasko.

For a few days before the conference, we joined our friend Daniel Keys for some painting fun in the Monterey area. Our first stop was the beautiful Carmel River State Beach.

L to R: Ryan, Lauren (our new young, aspiring artist friend),
Jon, Daniel. Taaron is at the distant far right, wearing blue

I worked quickly in an attempt to capture the low cloud-covering
before it lifted. Alas, the clouds rose, and I had to paint them from memory,
but it was still an amazing time at a beautiful location.

The next day, Jon and I got to be the "lucky" models for two head study sessions.

After a long painting session, nothing satisfies quite like pizza!

The following day's destination: Big Sur. The grandeur of the landscape is stunning. It was a bit windy, but the surroundings could not have been more inspiring.

L to R: Ryan, Jon, Taaron

After we spent most of the next day prepping for the event, we retired to the studio for an evening of still life painting.

Ryan achieves perfect form on his
patented Master's Soft-Pass Upstroke®

It was a great time of painting, fun and friendship!

Be sure to check back periodically--coverage of this year's Weekend with the Masters event will be coming soon! For more on our adventures at the event, be sure to check out Ryan's blog here.

Southwest Art's 21 Under 31 Winners

The Cellist
Taaron Parsons • Oil
To inquire about availability,
Contact Taaron Parsons

I'd like to give a big shout out to a few friends who were recently included in Southwest Art Magazine's 21 Under 31 Competition. The contest showcases the work of 21 artists under the age of 31. This year, three friends from my alma mater (Pensacola Christian College) were chosen: Taaron Parsons, Eric Suchowesky and Chris Phillips.

Morning Has Broken
Andrea Orr • Oil • Sold

And I must not overlook my former classmates who have been included in past 21 Under 31 competitions. Andrea Orr (my lovely girlfriend) and Christian Hemme were selected in 2010, and Ryan Mellody was chosen in 2009. Artist-in-residence Mr. Brian Jekel is the primary painting instructor at the college.

Congratulations, everyone!

1st Place in Laumeister Competition

Snack for Two
Oil • 12" x 16"
Available • To inquire,
Contact the Clague Studio

As I plein air painted with friends at the stunning Carmel River State Beach in California last Saturday, I was positive the day couldn't get any better. But then one of my friends relayed the great news. My painting Snack for Two had won 1st Place in the Laumeister Fine Art Competition! The contest was held at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Bennington, VT and was juried by master painter Huihan Liu. Having admired Huihan Liu's work for years, I am supremely grateful that my piece was chosen and I praise the Lord for this wonderful honor!

Snack for Two

Snack for Two
Oil • 12" x 16"
Available • To inquire,
Contact the Clague Studio

Welcome back, everyone! Yesterday, I finally finished a painting that I began several months ago. I started the picture from life with the aid of Matt, a seasoned model who was terrific to work with. He had a great facial expression that suggested to me that he could be preparing a surprise snack to share with a girlfriend--hence the title, "Snack for Two."

For me, the most exciting part of this painting was trying to capture the beautiful harmonies of violets and maroons that were present under the cool window light we used. I tried to complement these hues with some greens (Some of which are much more subtle than the bottles and apple, so you'll have to look to find them).

I tried to call attention to the hands by reserving the most intense colors for the nearby apple and orange. To keep these colors unsullied, I used a clean paint knife rather than my dirty brush when mixing them up on my palette. Furthermore, I strove to make minimal alterations after laying down each stroke. I must admit, it took more than one try to make the fruit look the way I wanted :).

Until next time, happy painting! --Adam

Detail

The Red Hood

The Red Hood
Oil on linen • 12" x 14" • Sold

I had a great time painting the double lighting in this portrait. When rendering a subject under more than one light source, I try to make one light dominant so they won't compete with each other. In this case, the cool window light from the viewer's right is stronger than the warm bulbs from the left.

I tried to emphasize the reds in this picture by using three strategies:  
1 limiting my overall color range to include (mainly) just the red family and its two neighbors on the color wheel, the orange and violet families;  
2  subduing every color except red. Too many intense colors will compete with each other and weaken a painting's overall impact;  
3 reserving my most intense red color for just one spot (the model's shoulder). I had great fun applying pure cadmium red medium with my palette knife to define the sharp edge of the hood overlapping the shoulder.

Have a great day everyone! --Adam

Plein Air Paint Out in Hudson, OH

This weekend, my girlfriend Andrea Orr and I had the awesome opportunity to participate in the 6th Annual Plein Air Paint Out hosted by our gallery, Hudson Fine Art & Framing Co. The event was part of the Hudson Home & Garden Tour in beautiful Hudson, Ohio.

A Shady Seat
Adam Clague • Oil • 8" x 10"
To inquire about availability,
Contact Hudson Fine Art

To kick things off on Friday, I painted a whimsical garden chair at one of the homes on the tour. Andrea painted a pergola decorated with a hanging basket.

Hanging Basket
Andrea Orr • Oil • 5" x 7"
To inquire about availability,
Contact Hudson Fine Art

That evening was the Quick Draw Event, in which the Hudson Fine Art artists were given just two hours to commence and complete paintings. I chose to paint the Brewster Mansion, home of Hudson Fine Art & Framing Co.

Brewster Balcony
Adam Clague • Oil • 5" x 7"
Sold

Andrea and I

Live Auction

When our two hours were up, all the Quick Draw paintings were sold at a live auction on the square.

Koi Pond
Adam Clague • Oil • 8" x 10"
To inquire about availability,
Contact Hudson Fine Art

On Saturday, I found a shady oasis at one of the tour homes where I painted the homeowner's koi pond. Andrea painted a sunlit garden entrance.

Climbing Clematis
Andrea Orr • Oil • 8" x 10"
To inquire about availability,
Contact Hudson Fine Art

It was a beautiful weekend spent in the beautiful outdoors with my beautiful girl!

Until next time, Adam C.

Sam

One of my family's favorite restaurants is Café Muse in Downtown Royal Oak, Michigan. Café Muse is famous for its grilled cheese sandwich, which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and in other prominent venues. Among the café's exemplary wait staff is Sam, whom I had the privilege to paint yesterday.

 Sam

Oil • 12" x 14"
Available • To inquire,
Contact the Clague Studio