Thank You!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out on Friday for the grand opening of Capoeira: Roots, Myths and Legends!  We had a great event with a fabulous turnout!  

For those of you that missed it, here is a photograph of the finished 6 foot by 12 foot painting.  I still have some limited edition prints available, so contact me anna@annaludwigart.com if you're interested.

Capoeira: Roots, Myths and Legends, Anna Ludwig, oil on canvas, 6' x 12'. 09/2012.

I will continue to catch up my blog in future posts, to showcase the work that the kids did, as well as show work in progress of the completed painting.  I also made 2 oil paintings, portraits, of Mestre Bimba and Mestre Pastinha, for this installation, that were unveiled as a special surprise on the night of the grand opening and will be featured in future posts. 

My fiance, Sam, caught most of my artist talk on video, so we will be posting that on youtube in the coming weeks.  For now, I would like to repeat the Thank You's section of my talk, because it just that important.   As an artist, I am truly honored by the support I have received from the community to make this public art project happen.  It has been an incredibly moving experience!  Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Patron Sponsors

Ms. Janice Batchelder

Ms. Susan Kumagai of Lafayette & Kumagai LLP

Ms. Joyce Hicks and Mr. Eric Behrens

Mr. Gary Lafayette of Lafayette & Kumagai LLP

Gold  Sponsors

Ms. Donna Lee (Algodao)

Eco-struction

Warren and Elizabeth Ludwig

Silver Sponsors

Dr. Michael Whalen

Ms. Keri Lloyd

Ms. Catherine Jordan

Ms. Elizabeth Blase

Ms. Ola Dlugosz (Mel)

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bentley

Ms. Clara Marigmen

Mr. Eli Batchelder and Ms. Simona Agnolucci

Ms. Constance Ludwig

Mrs. Terry Ludwig

Supporters

Dr. Hsuan Hsu (Ligerinho)

Mr. Philip Tegler and Ms. Anne Goldstein

Ms. Rebecca Batchelder

Karen and Bruce Jackson

Ms. Cynthia Neary (family of Jack or De Cara)

Ms. Yania Escobar

Mr. Marty Mulvihill

Ms. Whitney Craig

Mr. George Lee

Mr. David Ezekiel (Fidalgo)

Ms. Bonnie Asano

Ms. Tahlise Hines

Ms. Eleanor Jones

Ms. Peggy Parker

Ms. Laura Gilinsky

Mr. Stuart Adamson (family of Elizabeth and Sarah or Piscadinha and Tortoruga)

Ms. Katina Gad

Ms. Gretchen Gold and Mr. Tom Batchelder

Ms. Natasha Saleski

Mr. Donald Coley (Mestre Bengala)

And thanks to all the families who donated at the mother’s day raffle!

Special Thanks to Algodao, Mel, Acao and Mestra Lagosta for their assistance with fundraising! Thanks to Instrutor Pezao for his expertise in installing the large painting and making sure it stays on the wall. Instrutor Esquilo, and Instrutor Oracio for their help with the kids project! A big Thank You to Mestre Bengala for his help locating old photographs, with the kids project and with publicity.

A very special Thank You to my fiancé Sam (Instutor Sumido) who has helped me with every thing from the kids project to running studio errands and providing all kinds of moral support over the past 2 years.

And of course many many thanks to Mestre Marcelo: without his work, dedication and support this project would never have happened.  And frankly, without his support as a teacher, I probably would never have been making capoeira paintings in the first place.

This project is supported by a grant from the East Bay Fund for Artists and the East Bay Community Foundation. For more than 75 years, the East Bay Community Foundation has connected donors with nonprofit organizations that work hard to make their communities exceptional places to live. For more information, visit www.eastbaycf.org or call (510) 836-3223.

Getting Ready for the Grand Opening on September 7th!

The painting is almost finished! This is a really good thing because the grand opening of Capoeira: Roots, Myths and Legends is coming right up on Friday, September 7, from 6:30 - 9:30 pm at the Capoeira Mandinga Academy, 4137 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611.  Artist Talk by Anna Ludwig at 7pm, followed by a dedication ceremony and a capoeira demonstration by Mandinga students.  Refreshments will be served!

Here's a small section of the almost-finished 6' x 12' oil painting

I have been doing so much painting that I have gotten quite behind on my blogging!  So let's step back in time a few months and see how I got here. I spent about 3 weeks enlarging my pencil drawing onto the canvas, using the grid system I created with the help of my trusted assistants.  It was hard and tedious work, as pencil marks do not erase well from gessoed canvas.  But it paid off, and I was able to move quickly into the underpainting at the beginning of May.  

05.14.2012 - the first day of underpainting

The underpainting was done with very transparent oil paints (thinned to the point of dripping with Gamblin's Gamsol odorless mineral spirits, an product which has none of the problematic smell of turpentine and is just slightly more solvent than the Weber brand). In the European tradition, an underpainting would consist of a neutral, monochromatic grisaille, or value study. Here, I used an incredibly limited palette, in colors chosen for the complexity they would add to the final layers of color yet to be painted. I used cadmimum orange for the sky and water and any white pants, knowing that orange, the opposite of blue, would make the later layers of blue glow from underneath. 

05.18.2012 - about 3 full days of under-painting

I used a rich brown mixed from dioxazine purple, burnt sienna and orange for all the greenery of the jungle, knowing that this rich deep brown would make the lush green foliage pop out and provide a dark earthy background shadow color.  

The same purple and a bit of ultramarine blue tempered with burnt sienna and orange were used for the flesh colors and for the sand. 

5.22.12 Underpainting is almost finished, but the academy will be full of capoeiristas for the upcoming batizado! Time to use the pulleys to haul the painting up into the ceiling, away from flying kicks!

At this stage the painting really resembles my watercolors on paper, since I have left a lot of the white of the canvas showing amid large splashes of transparent color.

6.18.12 The underpainting is finished!

In early June, I finished the underpainting and began work on the second layer of color that would cover the canvas in the vibrant colors of a tropical paradise.  I started with the sky, mixing large batches of about 15 different shades of blue, warm blues, cool blues, yellowish blues, light blues, dark blues.  I did the sky and the line of trees on the first day and have since then spent a huge amount of time in the jungle.   

6.25.12 - about a week of painting in color

Every day that I work on the project, I try to take at least one photo of the painting from the same spot every day.  At the end of the project, I’ll put them all together for a sort of animation of the painting from start to finish.  Stay tuned for the next update, which will be devoted to the kids project we completed in July!

Drawing

Well its been a long time since my last post and a lot has been going on with this project!  Before I get started, don't forget to sign your kids up for the second week of camp (July 16-20th) at the Oakland Mandinga academy!  That's the week that I will be doing a whole week-long super awesome project with the kids: the end result will be displayed as part of this art installation!  (I also will be teaching a couple of art classes during the first week.)

I began working on a detailed pencil sketch in February.  At the same time, I began priming the stretched canvas.  After coating the front and back of the canvas with clear acrylic size using a 4-inch bristle brush, I began applying layers of white acrylic gesso (I used Liquitex) to the front and side of the canvas  with a 3 inch rubber brush.  It works sort of like a squeegee, and presses the gesso into the fibers of the canvas without leaving brush strokes.  I like to build up a really smooth surface by applying lots of coats, in this case, 7-that's right, 7 coats!-and sanding in between each layer.  Each coat takes about an hour and a half to apply, and after it dries, over at least 24 hours, I gently sand the canvas using a very fine grit sandpaper.  Its important not to breathe in the dust, so I try to wear a mask when I do this part.

the first coat of gesso

While I was gessoing the canvas, Mestre Marcelo was devising and testing an ingenuous system of pulleys and ropes to raise and lower the canvas from the ceiling down to the floor.  This system allows me to move the canvas out of harm's way when they are a great number of people at the capoeira academy for an event...like the batizado on May 26th! 

The canvas hanging from the ceiling after being lifted by the pulley system.

My pencil drawing allowed me to figure out a number of details that I wasn't able to resolve in the photoshop collage.  First I printed my photo-collage out at a size of 12 cm x 24 cm, then I drew a grid on the photo so that I had 6 rows and 12 columns, forming 72 squares, each 2cm in height and width.  (I knew that this would cause me to do some major math later on, but for now the simplicity of measuring in millimeters was extremely attractive!)  Then I drew a similar grid on the paper, except that I doubled it in size, so my new grid was contained in 24 cm x 48cm rectangle. For this drawing I used nearly my whole box of pencils, using the H series for the lighter areas (a 2H or 3H pencil is great for those really fine light lines, while  6H to 9H pencils are so dry they will basically just scratch your paper), and the B series for darker areas (a B is a good medium grade for sketching, 2B is equivalent to the standard No.2 pencil, and a 9B leaves such rich mark that you only use it for the darkest shadows).  For erasers I always use a kneaded eraser (its a lot like a piece of gray poster gum) that I can form into tiny points for hard to reach areas.  I also like a pink pearl eraser for erasing larger areas...I usually trim the ends with an exacto knife to keep them fresh.

the finished pencil sketch!

The drawing took me just over 2 months to complete.  Twice it traveled to the east coast with me on unexpected trips, rolled up in a cardboard giftbox intended for a bottle of wine.

After finishing the pencil sketch at the beginning of April, I was ready to have another kids' workday at the academy.   I wanted to transfer the drawing to the canvas using the time-honored method of the grid, and I needed some help!  I put out the call, and I was lucky enough for 3 very patient and focused kids, Josh (Cola), Lily (Mariposa), and Monika, to come lend a hand along with Instrutor Sumido.   I'll mention here that Instrutor Sumido has been an invaluable help with this project so far!  In addition to being a sounding board and source of inspiration for ideas, he's been there every time I needed someone to help me plan a kids workday, move equipment, or just raise and lower the canvas using the pulleys!

Cola, Mariposa, Monika, and Pintora

So to transfer the drawing on paper to the canvas, I needed to create a grid on the canvas.  Since this canvas is pretty big at 6 feet by 12 feet, I wanted to use a plumb line to mark the lines on the canvas.  This device is really just a string that winds up into a container full of dust (I used artists' graphite powder).  You pull out the length you need, lay it gently against your surface and gently pull it taut, then snap the line, and voila! You have a nice straight, 12 foot line.  In theory its easy, but it can be tricky to place the string just right and even so it does create a bit of a mess!  Luckily these kids were up to the challenge!

Sumido and the kids doing some capoeira moves in front of the finished grid!

Now to transfer the drawing onto the gridded canvas!

Well, this blog post takes me up through mid-April.  Since I'm a little behind, I'll end it here for today, but stay tuned, because the next post will show paint on canvas!

Finally, a very special thank you to our supporters: Y’all made this whole thing possible!

Patron Sponsors

Ms. Janice Batchelder

Ms. Susan Kumagai

Ms. Joyce Hicks and Mr. Eric Behrens

Mr. Gary Lafayette

Gold  Sponsors

Ms. Donna Lee (Algodao)

Mr. Mitchell Slade (Eco-struction)

Mr. Warren and Ms. Elizabeth Ludwig

Silver

Dr. Michael Whalen

Ms. Keri Lloyd

Ms. Catherine Jordan

Ms. Elizabeth Blase

Ms. Ola Dlugosz (Mel)

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bentley

Ms. Clara Marigmen

Mr. Eli Batchelder and Ms. Simona Agnolucci

Mrs. Terry Ludwig

...and thanks to all the individuals who donated to this project!

This project is supported by a grant from the East Bay Fund for Artists and the East Bay Community Foundation.

Getting Started

Happy New Year and welcome to my blog about the art installation and collaborative youth project in progress at the Capoeira Mandinga Academy in Oakland!  This is the first of many (I hope) posts on this blog, which I hope to update as frequently as possible during the next few months.

Lots of work has been going on behind the scenes since my last update in July 2011, and now work on the large canvas is in full swing!

Putting together the stretcher bars and cross braces...

We ordered all of the supplies needed to build the trio of canvases (also known as a triptych) back in November.  I started building the aluminum and wooden stretcher frame and cross-braces for the large 6’ by 12’ canvas on January 2. 

The assembled stretcher bars

Because this painting is so large, I am working on it onsite at the Mandinga Academy on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland.  This is incredibly exciting, since folks will be able to see the painting progress each week, but it also presents a number of unique challenges that I’ve never dealt with before in my studio! There’s the danger that someone might accidentally land a backflip or a parafuso (a flying kick) on the painting, or maybe just lean back against it in their white uniform to catch their breath, only to walk away covered in oil paint!  Luckily Mestre Marcelo and some of our Instrutors have been helping to devise some ingenious systems to protect the painting!

Squaring the corners before stretching the canvas helps prevent warping

Working from the centers out to the corners, I use canvas pliers to pull the canvas tight and then staple it to the back. (OK i know this photo is not that exciting, but this process took hours!)

On Monday, January 14, we had our first informal workday with some of our older Mandinga kids.  De Cara (Jack), Joaninha (Laura), Raposa (Grace), Piscadina (Sarah), Elizabeth (Tortoruga), and Sombra (Shyla) were all kind enough to come by the academy on a school holiday and help out with building the large canvas.  They helped me finish stretching the canvas, learned how to fold the corners of a stretched canvas, prepped the canvas for initial coat of size, helped me set up my makeshift studio.  Most importantly, they had a blast just goofing around!

Demonstrating proper corner-folding technique (Photo: Sombra)

Pintora and Tortoruga (Photo: Joaninha & Sombra)

Raposa, holding it down (Photo: Joaninha & Sombra)

Sombra and De Cara just hanging out (Photo: Joaninha)

Raposa and De Cara (Photo: Joaninha and Sombra)

Joaninha preps the canvas for the first coat of size (Photo: Sombra)

For a sense of scale...Sombra, Joaninha and Piscadinha

 L-R: De Cara (Jack), Sombra (Shyla), Joaninha (Laura), Tortoruga (Elizabeth), Sumido (Sam), Pintora (Anna), Piscadinha (Sarah), Raposa (Grace)

For me, one of the most important parts of making a painting is planning.  This means that I like to do a lot of research, and for this project I have spent countless hours on google image searches, asking friends for all of their pictures of Brazil, working closely with Mestre Marcelo to incorporate subtle references to capoeira’s largely undocumented history, and dreaming of taking a trip to Brazil myself.  One day…but the timetable for this project demanded working from an assortment of different found photographs, pulling bits and pieces together to create the image I will paint from.  I have created a digitally collaged image, from which I am currently making a pencil drawing, as well as a couple of small oil sketches, which I will use to work out proportions and my color palette-this is absolutely crucial on a piece this large.  To make the actual oil painting, I will need the photo collage, the pencil sketch and all color sketches.

And speaking of planning, we're almost done working out the details for the kids project I will do this summer.  Stay tuned, because we will be announcing dates very soon!

Finally, a very special thank you to our supporters: Y’all made this whole thing possible!

Patron Sponsors

Ms. Janice Batchelder

Ms. Susan Kumagai

Ms. Joyce Hicks and Mr. Eric Behrens

Mr. Gary Lafayette

Gold  Sponsors

Ms. Donna Lee (Algodao)

Mr. Mitchell Slade (Eco-struction)

Mr. Warren and Ms. Elizabeth Ludwig

Silver

Dr. Michael Whalen

Ms. Keri Lloyd

Ms. Catherine Jordan

Ms. Elizabeth Blase

Ms. Ola Dlugosz (Mel)

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bentley

Ms. Clara Marigmen

Mr. Eli Batchelder and Ms. Simona Agnolucci

Mrs. Terry Ludwig

...and thanks to all the individuals who donated to this project!

This project is supported by a grant from the East Bay Fund for Artists and the East Bay Community Foundation.