Brett Weaver Studio - Blog

William Wendt Quote

2010-01-31T05:57:00-06:00

“The true artist does not paint to please the public -but he holds the interest of all who think, for a work of art expresses the mind of its workman. In it are clearly reflected his vices and his weaknesses, as well as his virtues. He may deceive men, perhaps, but not inspiration, which will not be duped by hypocrisy.” -William Wendt

Recent Commission

2010-01-31T05:18:00-06:00

I recently completed a commission of an evening sunset view from Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga Tennessee using the artistic license to depict the valley prior to all the development. I didn’t put it on my website because it was a Christmas surprise for the collectors Mother, but I was happy with the result and wanted to share it with you now. So here it is.

Princeton Show a Success

2010-01-31T04:53:01-06:00

Thanks to all my friends in Princeton who made the show at The Present Day Club such a success. Here are a few photos I took before the show opened. Regretfully things were so busy that I forgot to bring out my camera after everyone arrived.

Three Colors and the Truth

2010-01-30T23:15:00-06:00

The old saying goes all you need to know to play guitar is ‘three chords and the truth’. Keep it simple, tell the truth and put some soul into it. Not to offend any expert players because it certainly helps to know as much as you possibly can, but sometimes knowing just enough to be dangerous and having something to say can be really all you need. I think this logic can also be applied to painting...’Three colors and the Truth’ are really all you need. I say this because I recently went back to three colors on my newest work and I’m pleased with the results. You may not be able to match perfectly every color but you will certainly result in a better over color harmony which is very important. I don’t even necessarily think you should use the same three colors or even always stick to three colors (I may decide to do something different next week). I had been using 6 colors - a warm and cool of each primary, similar to Emile Gruppe’s pallette, but lately I decided to just pick three of the colors that will be most important in how I want to key my painting. But most importantly I better put a little soul into my painting.... That’s the ‘Truth’.

Back on Tennessee Time

2010-01-30T20:23:00-06:00

After much consideration I have decided to return to the Southeast. The amount of traveling I have done in the past year has been quite exhausting. My painting traveling have included (most of them more than once) Maine, Adirondacks (NY), Princeton (NJ), Charleston (SC), Alabama, Tennessee, Wyoming and exploring other parts of Colorado, not to mention all the places in between. Since the majority of these places are in the eastern US it only makes sense for me to live closer to that area and maybe just make a few painting trips to Colorado or somewhere in the west each year. Colorado is incredible, but I don’t seem to stay there long enough at once to really feel like I can be close enough to it to call it home. Sometimes I feel like I meet myself on the way from the airport. And I guess there’s just something to be said for seeing familiar faces and places when you do get home from your travels. I don’t know that I’ll necessarily stay in Tennessee but I’m on my way back to the South and the next time I see you I may just be on Tennessee time.

Importance of Drawing

2009-11-13T04:37:01-06:00

I was recently reminded about how important drawing is especially in the process and preparation for painting when I was reintroduced to ‘the Ted Kautzky Pencil Book’. I had seen this book 6 or 7 years ago but not realized how important it was until recently when another artist gave me an extra copy he had of the book (Thanks Bob). If you don’t have it in your book collection, I highly recommend it. The book has reminded me that better planning and composition always results in a better painting...It leaves you more freedom to be loose and expressive while actually painting...better to spend a few more minutes planning than to spend a few more hours or days fixing and overworking a painting. I was also reminded that no matter what level we are at or what profession we are in, we can alway learn something new when we reread or reexamine the teachers of the past that we have been inspired by no matter how much we feel like we know...Quite often we relearn something we already knew.

Workshops a success

2009-11-13T04:22:01-06:00

Thanks to everyone who took part in my October workshops. We enjoyed some incredible scenery, made some new friends, and hopefully all learned something including myself, which makes for a very rewarding workshop experience. the landscape was so inspiring that one day I even continued to paint thru the rain while the students held unbrellas over me...talk about dedication...anyway, I think we all had a great time and here are a few photos from the workshops.

Fall near Telluride

2009-11-13T04:03:01-06:00

During the last week of September I recently took a trip to paint down around Dallas Divide and Telluride. I was so blown away by all the color and kept taking so many photos that I barely got any painting done. ‘Autumn Aspens’ was one of the paintings I completed. Another potentially successful painting was all but ruined from the 40 mph winds during the first snowfall in the high country. so I decided to pack up and head for home, but hear are a few of the great photos I got during the trip.

William Lathrop Quote

2009-09-22T04:02:00-06:00

‘Great art tells its story of the great loves and passions. The great hatreds may also be great art, if they find adequate expression.....Given the usual human equipment of sight and touch, that one will be the best artist who is most profoundly obsessed by emotion, to the forgetting of self! Cezanne had a very poor equipment, defective eyesight, unsteady nerves, but his love was untiring and with it he built an enduring monument.’ - William Lathrop, from an undated journal fragment

Not home for long

2009-09-22T03:30:01-06:00

Even though I’m tired of traveling, I’m looking forward to heading back to Tennessee in a few weeks for a series of plein air workshops and painting the fall colors in October… probably my favorite time of the year in Tennessee. I’m also looking forward to making it to Ohio to see my 49th state. After that I have one more trip scheduled in November, then hopefully I’ll stay put in Colorado for winter...well maybe.