Lucy MacGillis Painting
I met Lucy MacGillis through a friend at the Boston Globe. Lucy is the daughter of Don MacGillis, who sadly passed away this past Fall. Don and his wife Ingrid talked many times about their daughter who moved to Italy and was so successful at her painting that she never moved back. Lucy grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and as a youth would visit the Clark Institute in Williamstown to study master’s paintings. Lucy now lives in Umbria with her son and her companion. She makes gorgeous oil paintings of the italian countryside, portraits and still life.
Lucy paints from life, directly from observation, as a “perceptual painter”. The style might also be called “magical realism” or just “realism”. She first studied at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and got a grant to study in Italy at Nick Carone’s former International School of Art in Montecastello di Vibio, Umbria. “Along with Carone I learned from Lennart Anderson, John Lees, Jake Berthot, William Bailey, Ying Li and many others; quite the line up.”
On her website you can book a workshop in Umbria, Sicily and Austria. She travels back to Massachusetts for openings at the Hoadley Gallery in Lenox, Mass. and teaches a class that same weekend at IS183 in Stockbridge. I was fortunate to attend a free public art talk hosted virtually by Black Pond Studios this March. She offers an online class studying classical painting by sketchings and writing observations. Lucy also described how she makes her own italian earth paint in her studio by mixing ground earth and stone with Walnut oil.
On a visit to a Hoadley Gallery opening a few years ago, I was able to ask about her methods which she was very generous to share. She first stretches the linen and sizes it with rabbit glue. I noted that some of the tan canvas can be seen between the splashes of paint on the finished work. This reveals confidence in the medium and location. Her impressionist playful dabs of color shows a deep understanding of what makes a good painting.
“Lucy MacGillis combines an appreciation of Cezanne and Morandi with her own unique style to create exquisite oil paintings of her life in Umbria. Her paintings are timeless and classic yet have a fresh contemporary feeling.” –– Hoadley Gallery.
If you get a chance, visit Hoadley Gallery in Lenox to see Lucy MacGillises outstanding work.
Featured Image: “Gaetano (Man’s Name)” at Hoadley Gallery, Lenox. Inset Image: Italian Earth Color Study, by Lucy MacGillis.
While I was in a week long plein air class at Truro Center for the Arts, I noticed some of the students using a pochade box. It is an artist easel and supply box that mounts on a tripod. Since I have a Bogen Tripod from my photography days, I decided this was the perfect solution. I was tired of hauling around a portable table, easel and box to do my painting, especially on hots days in the summer.
A few years ago I purchased a used artist box (including some paints) for $20 at a flea market. I’ve been using that along with the metal easel with expandable legs and table, etc. Too many parts. The more I looked at this box, the more I realized it had every feature I needed. It has a place for paints and brushes, of course, but also four slots for 12 x 16″ art boards (larger than the Sienna medium box would accommodate) and paint palette, which slide right into the grooves in the top. That will carry one or two wet paintings and a cleaned up palette back to the car. The only option missing was being able to slant the box top back to angle the board while painting. I discovered if I use the bottom of the case to secure the board, it should be fine. But how to secure the box to the tripod?
I knew from my research that you could buy a tripod attachment plate from an art supply store in the UK for a little over $10. I screwed this right into the middle of the bottom of the box. As I feared, the screws are too long and came through the bottom, so my husband used a rotary tool to cut off the excess. Now I can add paint tubes without worrying they will get pierced by the screw points. It’s important to keep your materials at a minimum. Not more than six or so tubes of paint and brushes to keep the weight light. Additional materials can go in an old back pack. So, back pack, box and tripod and you are good to go! Happy painting!