wanderers. wonderers. creators. Meet Pam and Claire...

People who inspire for all kinds of reasons, small or big.

There are folks in my life who have inspired me to be better. They’re my mentors. My teachers. My heroes. They’ve shared their knowledge with me, patiently and gracefully. Some are older. Some are younger. Age doesn’t seem to matter. All are wise and doing what they love. Once in a while, I’ll be chatting with them about what makes them tick and sharing their stories with you. I hope you’ll feel energized by their insights. And, one day, perhaps you’ll be my next featured wanderer. wonderer. creator.

A Colorful Conversation

Me (left), Pam (center) and Claire (right)

My friends Pam Spicer, Claire Tarnacki and I share the same painting mentor and color theory teacher…Nina Weiss. Nina has taught us how to paint with colors to create depth and contrast in our paintings, versus using black for shadows and white for highlights. Today I'm taking this opportunity to “talk color” with Pam and Claire. Together we had a very colorful conversation and learned more about each other’s unique painting styles. Meet Pam and Claire here…

(Diane) Hi Pam and Claire! Thanks for chatting with me about color. How did you discover Nina as a teacher and how long have each of you been studying with her?

 Claire, Pam and I with our teacher, Nina Weiss

(Pam) Thanks for inviting us into this conversation Di! In 2009 I took a chance on a landscape painting class with Nina Weiss at the North Shore Art League in Winnetka, IL and I have not stopped painting with and learning from her yet! I introduced you, Di, to Nina and invited you to paint with us in about 2015. 

(Claire) Always good to chat with you guys—about color or anything else!

(Claire) For Christmas 2014, my kids bought me a painting weekend workshop through the Evanston Art Center. The teacher was Nina. She made an impression on me and I realized she was the Nina I had heard Pam speak highly of. When I retired in 2016 I started the Monday night classes with her where I met you Di. 

(Diane) Yay! I miss Nina’s classes. It was nice to paint with other painters, share ideas and critique each other’s work.

Viewing our unique painting styles side by side. (Di: left, Pam: center, Claire: right)

(Diane) We all learned the fundamentals of color theory from Nina, but yet our painting styles are different. How would you describe your individual painting style? 

(Pam) I describe my painting style as as “contemporary landscape” although I often tackle still life imagery.

Pam's "contemporary" landscape 

(Claire) I work to capture a sense of place—often landscapes, often with a house or structures playing an important role. Many people have described my paintings as “evocative.”

Claire's "evocative" landscape 

(Diane) I've coined a word for my style and call it, “Andreonism," because it evokes dreamy impressionistic qualities and has fantastical characteristics of Expressionism—two genres of painting I’m attracted to. 

Di's "Andreonism" landscape

(Diane) I wonder, what is the key takeaway from Nina’s lessons that has stuck with you the most? 

(Pam) A key takeaway lesson for me from Nina is, “It’s not there YET." These words give me the confidence to know I will get there!

(Claire) That’s a good one Pam. I guess I would say, “Don’t just use local color.” and, “Trees aren’t green!“😊

A beautiful example of not using local color from one of Claire's paintings. 

(Diane) Ah yes, not using local color (an object's true color) is a good one! I need to remind myself of this constantly, and instead, interpret colors as either warm or cool. When I do my paintings turn out better! 

(Diane) Nina taught us to paint from a limited color palette which basically consists of a warm and cool version of the three primary colors: blue, red and yellow. I am often amazed at how many colors I can make from this small palette. When I begin a painting I think about what its three dominant colors will be. How do you think about color as you begin your own paintings? 

(Pam) I begin my paintings with a drawing in paint on my canvas of my composition. From there I build form and create depth using my warm and cool colors.

Pam's painting process from start to finish.

(Claire) For my underpainting I don’t think about the color at all except in terms of warm and cool. I find that very freeing. 

(Diane) We were taught the same paint layering technique from Nina, which is to use thin coats of paint to build light colors on top of dark colors. I like to make my shadow colors the complimentary color to what my highlight colors will be. How have you adjusted your approach to color layering to fit your own art style?

(Pam) Layering color, as we have been taught by Nina, brings a richness and depth to my work. Applying color over color and also next to color brings life to our paintings!

Pam's richly colored, lively landscape. 

(Claire) Pam I totally agree. I need to feel those layers even if I don’t see all of them. But seeing the bits of layering really brings a painting alive. 

(Diane) Agree! In fact, some of my paintings usually end up having hundreds of paint layers because I’m often repainting over them, ha ha!

Details of Di's multiple paint layers.

(Diane) Nina taught us to keep our colors pure and use very little white. This is something I tend to struggle with, but lately, instead of white, I’ll add color to make a highlight. I’ve had good results with this technique. Is there a way you approach creating highlights that might be different? 

(Pam) White versus bright is a key lesson I have learned from Nina. I challenge myself to use brights (yellows, oranges, warm blue) to create highlights rather than adding white to highlight a form.

(Claire) That’s a good point, guys. I still struggle with that sometimes and have gone to white too quickly. I need to remember the color highlight trick. 

Colorful highlights. Details of Claire's painting (top); and Pam's (bottom).

(Diane) How do you know when a subject matter will make a good painting? 

(Pam) I choose a location or subject to paint that calls to me. I look for interesting forms, depth and light.

(Claire) I always ask myself, “Is this a place I want to spend time in? “ Also, the strength of the composition. 

(Diane) I look for movement in a composition, meaning how the shapes flow and move the eye around the canvas.

(Pam) I appreciate the idea of movement in a composition Di!

Di's moving composition.

(Diane) You both do a lot of Plein Air painting, where you sit outside and paint what you see, versus painting in a studio from a photograph. What has this taught you and which environment do you prefer to paint in? And, why?

(Pam) I paint in Plein Air as a compliment to my studio practice. Surrounded by amazing landscapes where I live now in northern Michigan is wonderful for inspiration! My artist friends up here call it “painting out." It can be social, refreshing to be outside in the elements and I get to learn about the many, many cool locations there are to enjoy nature and paint.

Pam painting en plein air. (French for "in the open air.")

(Claire) I have painted in Plein Air several times and even did a Plein Air festival this summer. Agree with Pam that the social aspect is fun. I also think the immediacy of it can lend itself to loose and energetic paintings. However, I prefer working in my studio—I suppose I like having more control over my environment. 

Claire painting en plein air.

(Diane) I like to paint fast; I feel like that’s when I get the freshest results. What’s your favorite way to paint? 

Two of Di's fast and fresh landscapes!

(Claire) I do like to paint fast! That’s one of the reasons I paint in water based acrylic and gouache. I don’t know how you oil painters do it 😉

(Pam) I also paint fast Di! I usually have two or three paintings going at a time because I use oil paint, and moving from one canvas to the next allows time for the paint to dry.

(Diane) Me too Pam! In fact I’m working on five paintings right now!

(Diane) Tell me, what artists do you both admire? 

(Pam) I admire The Group of Seven out of Canada, Matisse and Diebenkorn to name a few, and of course, Nina Weiss’s work!

(Claire) Oh yes, all great. There is a painter, Henrietta Berk, whose landscape work I’m always drawn to. Vibrant color and very little if any white. Seems to work for her. How about you Di? 

(Diane) I have always been a fan of Toulouse-Lautrec and Egon Schiele for their gestural brush strokes, and Degas and Monet for their brilliant use of color.

(Diane) Sometimes, it takes me a long time to finish a painting because it’s not working and I keep repainting areas, or the entire painting! Do you ever get frustrated as an artist? And what keeps you going to want to continue painting? 

(Pam) I see the challenges in my paintings as learning opportunities. I do admit I have a few of those learning opportunities still hanging around my studio crying out to be solved!

(Claire) Yes, of course. It’s been my experience that the more I work on something that’s not coming together there is some other fundamental problem, (usually composition). The good ones come together quickly. 

(Pam) I agree with you Claire that a strong composition as well as a strong light source tends to make a painting come together more quickly!

Fun memories from Nina's painting classes.

(Diane) With every painting I make I learn something new. Like the last painting I worked on I realized it wasn’t working because I didn’t use my dark and light colors effectively, and I was using too much white paint. What things have you learned from mistakes you’ve made on past paintings that you would like to share with us? 

(Pam) Nina teaches us that, “A painting will let you know what it wants to be." When I find a painting isn’t working for me I realize I was forcing my vision onto the canvas rather than listening more to my instincts and trusting the process.

(Claire) I spent a lot of time recently on a painting that I ultimately did not think was successful. My color values were too similar. 

(Diane) What’s your favorite part of the painting process? 

(Claire) Going somewhere else in my head while painting—feeling like I’m actually in that place. 

Indoors with Claire.

(Pam) I get completely sucked into the painting process which I love! It’s a journey…one painting at a time.

Indoors with Pam.

(Diane) Me too Pam and Claire! I feel like I’m literally inside the environment of the painting I’m working on. It’s the greatest escape!

One of Di's "Small Spaces" paintings.

(Diane) Finally, how do you know when your painting is done?

(Pam) Oh…it tells me that, too!

(Claire) The eternal question. If I step away from it for a few days when I think it’s done, then look at it with fresh eyes I can make a better determination. 

(Diane) When there is nothing else I think I can do to it, then it’s done. It will feel right.  

(Diane) Thank you Claire and Pam for taking the time to chat about color. Your answers are insightful! You both are marvelous artists and I’m grateful we’re friends. 

(Pam) Thank you Di for our colorful conversation!  I met you both through work in our early days in Chicago and I too am incredibly grateful for our friendships that have grown over time and continue to blossom. 

(Claire) Thanks to you both. I value your friendships—and am so happy I can turn to you guys for your expert “fresh eyes“ when I am stuck on a painting! 

(Diane) Yes! It is so helpful to have the support of other artists, or anyone! In fact, my husband is often an objective art critic and gives me interesting feedback that I will often use. I like that I don't fall in love with my paintings too much so I can stay open to making changes to them, until I feel they are done, of course! Then, I enjoy looking at them. 

To see more of Pam and Claire's paintings, check out their work below…

Pam Spicer 

Pam’s work can be found at Tinker Studio on Old Mission Peninsula in Michigan as well as at Becky Thatcher Studio in Glen Arbor, MI...

https://www.tinkerstudiotc.com/

https://www.beckythatcherdesigns.com/

Claire Tarnacki 

Visit Claire's website to see more of her "evocative" landscapes and other works...

https://www.clairetarnacki.com/

Nina Weiss

Make a plan to visit Nina's current exhibit, "GROUNDED:" which showcases her large-scale midwest prairie paintings, on display at the Peggy Notebaert Museum in Chicago, IL through February 4th...

https://naturemuseum.org/explore/exhibits/grounded/

And, visit her website to see more of her midwest prairie and waterways paintings...

http://www.ninaweiss.com/rzz1ty0lhdecty8e81jzxdh1t324pq

Our fab teacher, mentor and friend, Nina Weiss, at her "Grounded" exhibit opening.