Margret E. Short Fine Arts

Portland, Oregon artist Margret Short - a modern day master of 17th Century Dutch art using the chiaroscuro technique to create still life and floral paintings.

Awards Banquet, Salon International

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Christine and me repaired for blog at opening

It was also a great pleasure to meet Christine Drewyer, another fellow artist, who won the Salmagundi Club President’s Award in 2009. Christine and I, along with her husband, Richard, had the great pleasure of going to the Koogler McNay Museum exhibit and lunch with Ray Kinstler on the day of the reception. Mr. Kinstler is not only the renown portrait painter of today, but is also a captivating raconteur. Over egg salad sandwiches at the Twin Sisters restaurant, he told us lively stories of his experiences while painting luminaries such as James Cagney, Katherine Hepburn, and John Wayne.

Kinstler cropped
Raymond Kinstler speaking at the Salon banquet.

Chiaroscuro Painting

Oil painting with the chiaroscuro technique illuminates the focus area with a strong light. All other areas are painted with less detail, lower values, and intensity of color giving a mysterious appearance. By putting one or two objects in the important focus area, a strong but simple composition will emerge. Combining these oil painting techniques with a selection of superior natural pigments and oil paints result in the beautiful and evocative quality known as Chiaroscuro Painting.