Representational painter and plein air artist Johanne Mangi is known internationally for her animal and floral fine art. When we asked her if she had any unusual habits as a painter, she had these gems to share:
1. I insert a guest color on my palette, then I set a timer on my iPhone not to paint the painting in a certain amount of time (although THAT’S a good idea!) but to know when I need to get ready for an appointment, such as lunch with my husband. Rather than say I don’t have enough time, I take what I can get. The timer allows me to stop watching the clock and trust me, it works! It’s very freeing.
2. I cut flowers, stick them in the spare refrigerator and forget about them, but not intentionally. Several months later I’m painting dried flowers, which make interesting subjects.
3. I use all my dogs as stand-ins for my commissions. (Editor’s Note: Learn the masterful way Johanne manages to bring the dog’s eyes completely “to life” in this video workshop on how to paint dog portraits.)
4. Every single day involves something related to painting. I say it’s a lifestyle.
On Confidence:
I think that as you develop confidence, you worry less about getting it right the first time. Guess where confidence comes from? Observing and knowing your subject. With that comes a certain amount of freedom. Confidence is the coin word for freedom. So maybe you take some time before jumping in. It would be nice to put one stroke down and leave it, but who REALLY does this? Sounds nice in theory, but even Sargent didn’t always do it, so why should you?
On Tech:
Take advantage of the apps that are available to help you identify value so you can relate it to color. It’s not an easy subject to master, so use the tools. I was teaching a workshop using one of the apps, and an “old school” instructor saw it and said it was cheating. I got a good chuckle out of that. We are fortunate to have the technology to help us accelerate our growth. Yes, age is just a number, but time is not our friend. Use the technology, but more importantly, understand what it is telling you.
Related: Johanne Mangi on Art School Live >
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Blog post prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas, Editor of Plein Air Today
