DJ Geribo

I found Seraphine while searching through movies on Netflix. I decided it was one that I wanted to watch since it had to do with a French woman who worked as a housekeeper and became a self-taught artist. I love reading about how non-traditionally trained (i.e., self-taught) artists become famous, or at least successful.  

Based on a true story, Seraphine Louis, a housekeeper by trade, was a hard-working common woman who worked long hours making barely enough to pay her rent and buy food. But she would often forego these necessities so that she could purchase paints and boards to paint on. She would work on her paintings long into the night, creating amazing works of art. Her inspiration was nature, and her paintings were full of leaves and floral arrangements using paints that she made herself with a secret formula that has withstood the test of time for durable vividness.

Considered a modern primitive (or naïve) in style, she was discovered at the age of 48 by a tenant who was renting an apartment that she cleaned. Wilhelm Uhde, a German art collector, loved her work and purchased everything she bought. In 1914, the war between France and Germany created an unwelcome situation for Mr. Uhde and he was forced to leave France. And then in 1927 while visiting Chantilly France, Wilhelm Uhde visited an exhibition of local artists and immediately recognized Seraphine’s work. She would be about 63 at this time. 

According to the movie, he again purchased her work, she was painting larger now, and as she made more money she began purchasing new clothes, redecorating her apartment and additional rooms, sending the bill to her patron, Mr. Uhde. When she wanted to purchase a home that was beyond his means, Mr. Uhde put a stop to her out-of-control spending. In the middle of the Great Depression, Wilhelm Uhde and other patrons could no longer purchase her art. 

In 1932, she was admitted to a psychiatric ward for chronic psychosis. There was no outlet for her art and in 1942 she died there, friendless and alone.  

Wilhelm Uhde exhibited her work in 1932 in Paris in an exhibition called “The Modern Primitives” in 1937 in Paris, Zurich, and New York  in an exhibition called “The Popular Masters of Reality”, in 1942, “Primitives of the 20^th Century” exhibit in Paris, and in 1945, a solo exhibit of her work in Paris.

Individual Art Instruction in Landscape, Nature, and Animal Painting

DJ Geribo is now offering individual art instruction in her studio in Alton.  Sessions are for one or two hours, at $15 per hour.

This is not a group instruction course, this is for one or two individuals at a time. This means that you (and possibly one other person) will be the only one receiving personalized instruction for your time with DJ. (This instruction is for teens and adults only.)

Mediums used: acrylics, oils, pastels, watercolor – you choose the media you want to learn how to use, or improve your skills in.  Price includes materials used in class. This gives you the opportunity to try the various media without investing a lot of money in materials.

If you’ve always been interested in painting but don’t feel you have the necessary skills to participate in a workshop with other students and would feel better having individual instruction, this is the class for you! No previous painting experience is necessary! 

Learn the basics of animal and nature painting in a private studio setting! 

Animal and Nature Painting Instruction:     $15 per hour
(includes all materials used)

Although this picture shows a still unfinished painting, I must admit it is in a more advanced stage of completion. I should have showed the first couple of times I worked on this but it was not something I even wanted to show. I apologize and will definitely show the earlier stages of progress for my next new painting. I'm making great progress on the three current projects and sometimes stopping to take pictures (and remembering to take pictures) and then writing about then on my website is just taking time away from painting and the other writing projects I have going on.

Another 30x40 painting that I'm working on is a challenge for me. And I do love a challenge! It is from a photo that I took on one of my trips (with my husband, Jim) out west to Montana. Whenever I saw any animal(s) standing off the road, or with Bison, even standing in the middle of the road, I would have to stop to take pictures. I love horses so much and seeing a group of them standing together just screams TAKE PICTURES to me! I thought it was interesting that while I was taking their picture, they all stood perfectly motionless, staring at me, as if waiting to see what I would do next. 

The painting on the left is a rough fill-in of the horses - getting their shapes and putting in a rough background. As I've mentioned before, I like to fill in the canvas, that is my first goal, while getting in the major shapes. The painting on the right obviously has more detail as I began working on the faces and more of the bodies of the horses and their stances. I've set it aside to dry for a few days before working on it more.
 

This painting is taken from a photo I took at a photo shoot during a week long workshop with artist Carl Brenders. We spent one day at a wildlife reserve taking photos of the various animals as they ran around an open grassy area. Most of them were restrained on leashes led by workers at the reserve. I got a lot of photos, many of which I'm still using for paintings.

I decided to show this work in an advanced stage of completion. Although I still have much work to do, you can see I've already worked out the composition and much of the detail. I've set it aside to work on other paintings, giving this one a chance to dry somewhat before I continue.

I love the pose of the pup curling under its mom, his head up to her as they walk along together. I'm going to name it Puppy Love.