Our demonstrator was Mary Taggart. Her demo covered the rules of composition in a guache painting using the 14 Line Armature of the Rectangle technique. You can find more information about the armature at http://www.dynamicsymmetryart.com/the-importance-of-the-armature-of-the-rectangle.html
The meeting was held in the Guild Hall, First Congregational Church (middle side door), Sanborn Street, Reading, Wednesday February 13th, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
We have some photographs of the event in case you could not make it there in person.
Mary started out by explaining how she composes her
paintings and why she uses guache paints for her studies.
Guache has a flat texture, and it is very opaque,
allowing her to paint over areas. It also dries very quickly.
She explained how the 14 Line Armature defines the composition
of many paintings, in particular very famous paintings.
This was her setup. She always paints from live setups.
Mary drew the lines on a clear, plastic cover over her drawing so she
could show us how the composition follows the lines of the armature.
You can barely see the sketch under the armature.
She outlined some of the shapes to show how the match up with the lines.
Then, she removed the acetate to begin painting.
Mary also brought some of her other works to show us her style.
She began the background with the teal in the cloth.
To get accurate color matches with the setup, she paints a
small swatch onto a piece of paper and holds the paper right
right next to the object in the setup. In this case she was
capturing the color of the cloth that the objects are sitting on.
Once she has the color correct, she can go ahead and paint the cloth.
At this point, she has put in the basic masses of color.
More details have been added.
Adding details to the flower.
To demonstrate the ability of guache to cover other colors,
Mary changed the color of the cloth to yellow and painted it
directly over the gray. This allows her to experiment with the painting.
This was a very entertaining and educational demo.
Thank you, Mary for doing such a fine job.
You can see some of Mary's work at her web site, http://www.taggartstudio.com/home.html
Mary was raised in Wakefield, attending Wakefield public schools. She then went on to receive her bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Massachusetts College of Art, graduating with honors in Art Education. She taught art at Masconomet Regional High School and in the Methuen public schools before launching a mural business. She opened the studio in 2009, where she has been happily painting and teaching ever since.
Her art style is best described as "direct observational painting with emphasis on simplification and the relationship of adjacent tone color." Mary began her study of art as a small child, with local artist Nancy Gambone. Mary received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art and became a traveling art teacher and then a high school art teacher.
"I eventually opened my 'TaggArt Studio' in Wakefield, where I do my painting primarily in oils, and I also teach painting and drawing to both children and adults. I have studied with many painters such as Ellen Rolli, Beth Ellis, Susan Lichtman, and, most recently, with George Nick, a prominent Boston painter and teacher. I also returned to Mass Art in 2011 to study with Catherine Kehoe."
"My work has been shown in the Beth Ellis Gallery in Ogunquit; The Danforth Museum in Framingham; and in many local exhibits. My paintings are also hanging in many private collections."
Mary says she believes art is her true nature. When painting, she is happy and so alive--totally connected to her true self! She is looking forward to sharing her art with you in October.