"POPPY" print by Georgia O'Keefe

"Chocolate Cake "by Wayne Thiebaud

"Poppy" by Georgia OKeefe

"Frosted Cake "by Wayne Thiebaud

"Ballantine Ale" bronze sculpture by Jasper Johns

"Ballantine Ale" bronze sculpture by Jasper Johns

"Small Tree" print by Joichi Hoshi

As artists we begin with an idea, then with a blank piece of paper, board or a blank canvas. We establish experimental projects or concepts to justify the new work. One such project is to attempt to paint a quintessential or archtypal image. The ultimate poppy blossom {Georgia O'Keefe], the ultimate frosted cake {Wayne Thiebaud], the perfect tree {Yoshi Horoshi]the ultimate beer can [Jasper Johns].

The idea is to produce an image by which others will be compared, or at the very least to do better than one we admire. The desire to do better than our mentors or role models, this is an ongoing spur to make art. It is the proper place for elegy work or copying, to learn by the doing and hopefully excel beyond our role model. Not only to copy but to go one better. We try to produce that paragon image that ultimate expression of the form, that quintessential image. On many occasions I have been impressed by a painting that made me want to paint as well, or even exceed in my own work. One way to refer to these efforts is as "Quintessential images", they stand as models and often as icon objects which take on a life in excess of or beyond their simple means. I have often painted Iris blossoms seeking to produce that ultimate painting. I have tried to paint the reddest red bowl. I have painted an elegy to "Christina's World" in my own fashion to learn Andrew Wyeth's dry brush technique. I have in my career as a painter tried to create iconic quintessential images, which might stand as single effort proof of my own aesthetic and artistic abilities. Select your own ultimate image and work to master the perfect presentation of the idea.

"A Quintessential image" using any media discussed, compose and paint an ultimate image from life or your imagination.

Creativity has no limitation. What and how you paint need only be affected by your experiences, your knowledge and your imagination. It is the benefit of the painting process that we lose ourselves in the process of painting, especially when it is going well. Time passes without our conscious awareness. By intense focus we block out or ignore everything else. Afterward we are pleasantly tired as a result and interpret that sensation as relaxation, when actually the process is precisely the opposite. For students who say that painting is relaxing, I reply "Then you must be doing it wrong". It is easily the most focused and most mentally exhausting of any activity I have experienced. 'Time flies when you are having fun' and few things offer more satisfaction.

Relief Prints with gold leaf as one color layer produce a very enticing image and what could be called the quintessence of tree images. Hoshi, is a contemporary master printmaker who brings all the technique of a rich cultural history of printmaking up to date with a very modern attention to detail and true-to-life organic forms as well as a particularly western sensitive color sense.

	I saw this tree one fall morning just at sunrise and tried to capture what appeared to me to be a quintessential tree. The name seemed self evident.
"Burning Bush" by JRJ

"Cartoon Iris" by JRJ

"Red Bowl" by JRJ encaustic on board

"Path Light" by JRJ

"View Outside" by JRJ 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas

"Cartoon Iris " by JRJ acrylic on canvas 48" square

"Red Bowl" by JRJ encaustic on board

"Path Light" by JRJ

I have often tried to produce "the ultimate image. I liked painting Irises, and thought it might be a worthy goal to be known for the quintessential Iris, the way Georgia O'Keefe is known for the ultimate "Poppy" painting. Since the timing of my education coincided with the Pop-art movement, it was natural that I might adopt some of the same philosophy, specifically the desire to capture the sublime beauty in common every day objects which surround us. Chance encounters with light and color have been the foundation building blocks of my work. Teaching to pass on what I have received is the burden I took on with the gift of my education and my developed aesthetic.

In my own work I experiment with design objects and elements to serve as the foundation or basis for my own attempts at iconography. I used encaustic to enhance color saturation in the painting "Red Bowl". I have a long list of ultimate images I would like to develop. The ultimate green bowl, the ultimate transparent porcelain bowl, the ultimate glass vase with or without flower

For a long time I have aspired to a small greatness. I don't need fame and fortune, but I do have great hopes for a single painting. Imagine an artist known for a single work that became world famous, becoming an iconic image known by millions who don't know the artist save for that one work. It would be enough for me to gain that kind of fame. I will give you the name of such an artist. You don't know his name but his work was copied and reproduced, used for advertising and became a notorious example offending the Victorians, and becoming a cause-celebre for free expression in art subject matter. You won't recognize the work by the artist's name "Paul Emile Chabas". You might recognize the work by the name "September Morn", but the image will be more than familiar.

A good place to begin a quest for an iconographic image is a serious attempt to produce an "ultimate or quintessential image,iconography comes from acceptance based on exposure. Popularity creates a cultural icon, As is my usual procedure,I make several thumbnails sketches in a sketchbook or on graph paper. Small color drawings are next in watercolor crayon or oil crayon. Finally I will decide on watercolor or acrylic for the final images, and produce several trying to explore the subject. I can recommend this process for most problems, concepts or exercises.

Technique Oil Crayon as a Paint alternative

Oil painting may be approached with these same steps, but substitute oil crayons for watercolor crayons, and push or blend with solvent(turpentine, turpenoid, odorless paint thinner or other solvents) Odorless paint thinners are not recommended, because solvent inhalants are best gauged by the buildup of unpleasant smells. There are new alternatives, specifically walnut oil which offers much the same painting characteristics as solvent based oil without as many harmful side effects, but frowned upon by oil purists who complain that it is too new and untried.
Oil paint has several unfair advantages. It has been around for a long time with a good reputation for longevity and art conservation & restoration techniques. It is great for over painting. Allow the first layer to dry thoroughly and delicate light brush strokes on top keep their identity without soaking in or mixing.

Oil paint offers one major advantage over acrylic. Because it takes time to dry, it remains workable mixing with new layers immediately, and it allows scraping back, to remove excess color or to expose canvas texture beneath when and if needed.
As I said,I am not a fan of oil paint for several reasons. It exists as a health hazard. I can't tolerate more than an hour of exposure to solvent vapors in the air without developing a 48 hour migraine. Some of my former instructors developed skin sensitivities which preclude any further exposure. I worked on developing a oil paint handling simulation that has fooled many people. Oil paint yellows and darkens as it ages,so adding a little yellow to white passages provides a small illusion. Another is to use the toned under-painting that affect higher layers and peeks through the passages where bare canvas or bare gessoed canvas might lend sparkle or the appearance of unfinished or incomplete work. Likewise varnished upper layers might carry an additional colored veil to create the illusion of age. The Sistine Chapel's recent cleaning and restoration can provide a clue. The clean bright colors were denounced as not what Michelangelo intended because color reproductions for 100 years showed dark passages with subtle color made more neutral by the overlay of dirt. Ergo: darken bright passages to simulate age, and the master's hand as well as the older medium.

* An additional page link on stretching canvas .

watercolor sampler offer: http://www.stampzia.com/catalog/accessories/experimentalwatercolorpack.htm

watercolor canvas techniques: http://www.michaels.com/art/online/display Article?articleNum=ae0282

Links:
Brush manufacture,http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/brush1.html
Paper making: http://gort.ucsd.edu/preseduc/papermak.htm
http://42explore.com/papermaking.htm
http://www.infostuff.com/kids/paper.htm
http://laceimports.com/michelle/projects/paper_instr.html

Art Material suppliers:
Dakota Art Store,http://www.dakotaartstore.com/
Daniel Smith Inc.,http://www.danielsmith.com/
Utrecht Art Materials, http://www.utrechtart.com/cat_request/dsp_request_catalog.cfm
Cheap Joe's http://www.cheapjoes.com/store/navigation.asp
Dick Blick http://www.dickblick.com/

Techniques preview
egg tempera society techniques: http://www.eggtempera.com/paint.html :

Books:

"The Artist's Handbook" by Ralph Mayer
"Formulas for Painters" by Robert Massey
The Craftsman's Handbook: "Il Libro dell' Arte" by Cennino d'Andrea Cennini
"Creative Discoveries in Watermedia" by Pat Dews
"Splash" series
"Master Class in Watermedia: Techniques in Traditional and Experimental Painting" by Edward Betts