48 Artists Magazine May 2020
SCHMID’S
MATERIALS
Surface:Schmidsays,
“Ilikea fairlynonabsorbent
surfaceandprefertoprep
myowncanvas/linenwith
a leadground.”
Palette:cadmiumlemon,
cadmiumyellowpale,
cadmiumyellowdeep,
cadmiumorange,cadmium
scarlet,cadmiumred,
cobaltvioletlight,cobalt
violetdeep,yellowochre
light,Venetianred,terra
rosa,alizarinpermanent,
transparentoxidered,
transparentoxide
brown,viridian,phthalo
green,cobaltbluelight,
ultramarinebluedeepand
titaniumwhite
Brushes:Rosemary& Co
Paletteknives:Schmid
says,“Iusea varietyof
paletteknives,butHolbein
No. 35 isamongmy
favorites.”white pitcher and the silver cup in
front of it. The two gold cups next to
the geisha doll were not as far back.
These small differences in perspective
meant that I had to draw the ellipses
slightly wider (more open) in the
closer objects.
In the beginning stage, I had to
carefully outline most of the ellipses.
Doing the plate was interesting
because it was somewhat curved,
which made its close edge appear nar-
rower than its far edge. Once I got
past that, the other ellipses were easy
to see and draw.
The next task was to do all the loose
and juicy painting of the fruit, flowers,
ribbons, et cetera, without obliterating
the ellipses lines until the final finish-
ing strokes of the various areas were
done. Then all that was necessary was
to look at the painting as a whole in
order to make refinements in edges,colors, values and paint application—and to make sure that
the geisha doll remained the principal focal point.LBH: In My Still Life Art you note, “The flights of fancy
that I take in a still life are limited only by my imagina-
tion and willingness to try anything new—and perhaps
do it in a new way as well.” Can you cite a particular
painting that illustrates how you transcended your
reference material?
RS: Orchid is a good example of how I often don’t paint
everything before me but rather, select from the setup toOPPOSITE
Bavarian Doll
2004; oil on canvas,
14x12BELOW
Zinnias
1999; oil on canvas,
24x16