Our demonstrator for March was Gene Mackles. He presented an Oil Cityscape demonstration.
The meeting was held in the Guild Hall, First Congregational Church (middle side door), Sanborn Street, Reading, Wednesday March 14th, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
We have some photographs of the event in case you could not make it there in person. You can click on any of the images on this page to view a larger version of it. Then, use the Back button on your browser to return to this page.
Gene showed us how he paints a large scale cityscape by dividing the canvas into a grid and using his computer to aid in his painting of the image. He painted the canvas using a photograph that he took of downtown Concord. Prior to the demo he used PhotoShop® to manipulate the photograph into the form that he wanted it for the painting. Then he divided the image on the computer into rectangles the same size as the rectangles on his canvas.
This was a very large scale painting for a demonstration.
You can see the computer on the right where the image is displayed.
Here is a photo of the image on the computer screen.
That is just one of the rectangles in the middle of the canvas.
The image on the screen is actually upside down while Gene paints it.
He begins blocking in the rectangle using the computer image for a reference.
He continues blocking in the contents of the rectangle.
In this photo, the rectangle is almost complete.
One last detail, a light, goes into the corner.
Then he turned the canvas right side up to check it.
The same process is done on the adjacent rectangle.
More detail.
Once again, he turned it right side up to check it.
On to the next adjacent rectangle.
This is the image being painted into this rectangle.
It is easy to see here that the image is upside down.
Once again, the canvas is turned right side up to take a look.
This is as far as Gene could go in the time allotted for the demo.
Learn more about Gene by visiting his web page, www.gmackles.com/
As senior designer at WGBH, Gene Mackles collaborated on programs such as NOVA; Evening at Pops; Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego; and Zoom. He was responsible for WGBH's on-air image, including station breaks, print advertising, and fund-raising elements. He was the lead designer for children's program promotion for PBS and an original developer of their "Ready to Learn" service.
More recently he has designed and produced work for NBC Sports, HGTV, The Food Network, The History Channel, and The Cleveland Orchestra. Gene has been nominated for four Emmys (one for music) and received Gold Awards from The Broadcast Designers Association, Promax, the Advertising Club of Boston (Hatch), and The Art Directors Club of Boston. His work has appeared in American Institute of Graphic Arts annuals as well as in Print magazine and Communication Arts. He is a member of the Newton Art Association and the Concord Art Association and is listed in Who's Who in America.
Gene studied graphic design with Milton Glaser at The School of Visual Arts in New York City and served on the faculty of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gene says, "Painting is my passion. I love imagining something, then step by step realizing it. By creating compositions that 'click' for me, then finding unexpected truths in the relationships they present and tapping into my memory, I strive ultimately to create pieces that resonate both for me and for the viewer. The experience is immersive, 'transportive' and occasionally exhilarating. I live for that."