BALD EAGLE ART LEAGUE MEMBER
info@BaldEagleArtLeague.com

Maile Marshall

I have spent much of my life attempting to become a good painter. I began by studying sumi-e, then watercolor, acrylics, pastels, and finally oils. The teachers I have had are too numerous to mention, but my sincere thanks to each one. I also have masters degrees in education and painting. I hope I can pass on some of what I have learned to those of you who come to listen.

Painting is about learning skills: drawing, brushwork, values and colors, and composition.
It is about learning to truly see. If you can see it, you can paint it.
It is about creativity. Creativity is not some gift bestowed upon the chosen. It is a thinking skill that allows you to make novel connections in your own unique manner. Fear is creativity’s greatest impediment. A helpful question to ask yourself is “What will happen if I….” Then, take a risk. It’s ok to ruin a piece of paper; the paint is not wasted if you have learned something.
Painting is also about philosophy, what you believe in and how you view things. What do you have to say through your paintings?
It is about an attitude. Why do you paint?
It is about a tradition, a body of knowledge. There is a wealth of information written about painting and the arts. See book list.

In my presentation I will touch on a small portion of this wonderful occupation that we call painting, specifically sumi-e or black ink painting. There were two very significant things that I learned from sumi-e: brushwork and composition. I will elaborate on these aspects of painting.

L. Maile Marshall

BOOK LIST
The Art of Sumi-e by Shozo Sato
A Painter of Our Time by John Berger
Girl with a Pearl Earing Tracy Chevalier
The Artist’s Handbook by Ralph Meyer
Figure and Form by Lou Bro
The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
Leonardo’s Ink Bottle by Robert Weir
The Painter’s Eye by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
The re-Enchantment of Art by Suzi Gablik
The Madonna of the Future by Arthur C. Danto
A Fine Disregard—What Makes Modern Art Modern by Kirk Varnedoe