The Artist's Road Painting the World's Beautiful Places

Voices of Experience

Camille Przewodek

Asilomar Beach Surf                              9 x 12"                              Oil

"Only the education of the art of seeing, unique as it is, supplies the possibility of continuous growth. As a good music teacher makes the pupil aware of finer sound tones and how to produce them, the good art teacher will make his student aware of finer color tones and how to paint them."

                      - Henry Hensche

   Camille Przewodek credits her time spent studying with Henry Hensche at the Cape School in Provincetown, Massachusetts, as a turning point for her artwork, altering her perceptions of light and color. Hensche taught the importance of letting nature guide the artist. He is most well known for his emphasis on seeing the relationship between color and light, focusing on the "light key" or quality of light illuminating the subjects being painted.

   Przewodek has also become a master of color with a distinctive style. Her rich and brilliant colors reflect the light of the time of day and tell the viewer the story of the moment in which they were painted. She continued Henry Hensche's tradition by teaching his methods in an extensive workshop schedule. She was a member of a group of his former students who have reorganized the Cape School as a non-profit organization dedicated to passing on the principles and enduring influence of Hensche and his mentor, Charles W. Hawthorne, in educating the artist and the public in the perception and use of color and light in representational painting.

   Przewodek wrote, "Studying color with Hensche was a life-changing experience. I was about to graduate with a degree in Illustration from the Academy of Art in San Francisco when I first attended his summer classes in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Watching him paint, I recognized immediately that I was in the presence of a master. His work expressed a vision that was so inspiring, I was no longer interested in painting the way I had been painting. I knew it might take years to learn this way of seeing and painting, but I have struck out on this path and not deviated since. The great thing about this way of painting is that you can always develop your visual perception to a higher level, so it is my quest to become as good at seeing color as I possibly can."

Wading Tree                        14 x 11"                      Oil

   Przewodek, who grew up in Detroit, began drawing as a child. Her brother was an artist with a studio in the basement. He became a mentor to her, taking her to area museums and encouraging her work. She went on to study sculpture and painting at Wayne State University before going to the Academy of Art in San Francisco. However, her study with Henry Hensche and his advanced students remained the most important teaching she ever received. "I have taken many workshops. I have been studying with Joanette and Cedric Egeli (also students of Hensche) for the last 10 years to learn the figure. They are the best at teaching the figure in space. I am now passing on what I have learned from them in my Friday morning classes in Petaluma CA. I have also studied with Jove Wang to learn structure and form as it applies to the figure. However, Henry Hensche and his advanced students have been my main source of information. My husband, Dale Axelrod, introduced me to Hensche and has been a big influence in my development."

   We asked Przewodek what it is about a landscape that sparked her creative juices. She wrote, "Without a doubt it is the light. I like to paint all lights, and am always trying to capture the light key of nature in the tradition of Monet. I will try to paint the difference between sunny and gray, early morning, mid day and late afternoon. Also different locations will change the color of the air or the light key. I see the painting in my mind’s eye and then I go for it."

Corner of Light                       11 x 14"                          Oil


Flower Power                   11 x 14"                                  Oil


White Roses                14 x 11"                  Oil

   She traveled to China, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, but believed that inspiration could be found anywhere. "It is having the eye that leads to a good painting, and this can be found in your backyard if you take the time to observe"

   Przewodek's palette was extensive. She felt that the modern technology that makes so many colors available to artists is something to be taken advantage of. "I have a lot of colors on it because this 'technology' helps me get close to capturing the effect of light. I don’t understand artists that use only a limited number of colors. They are not using the technology available to them. With the advent of the collapsible metal paint tube, artists were able to go outside and paint. The development of brilliant, light-fast pigments allowed Monet to paint the light key of nature. If Rembrandt were alive today, he would be a colorist I am sure."

   Camille Przewodek's Palette Colors (all Winsor & Newton, except where noted)

Titanium White
Burnt Sienna
Cadmium Green Pale
Cadmium Lemon
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Light
Cadmium Red Deep
Cadmium Scarlet
Cadmium Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Pale
Caput Mortuum Violet (by Rembrandt™)
Chromium Oxide Green
Cobalt Blue
French Ultramarine Blue
Indian Yellow
Light Red (by Blockx)
Mauve Blue Shade
Permanent Green Light
Permanent Madder Deep
Permanent Mauve
Permanent Magenta
Permanent Rose
Phthalo Blue Red Shade (by Rembrandt™)
Raw Sienna
Sevres Blue (by Rembrandt™)
Viridian
Winsor Emerald
Winsor Red

   Przewodek's focus was on the "light key" of nature. She considered hue to be just as important as value, if not more so. "We say 'hues on first' in my color boot camp workshops. Most painters are tonalists and stress value over color."

Around the Bend                                11 x 14"                             Oil

   "All my landscape work is done on location, even the large paintings. The only time I work in the studio is if I can’t get to the location and then I usually work from a color study. I will touch up paintings and put some finishing touches on them in the studio."

   We asked Przewodek to tell us who she would choose if she could spend a week painting and visiting with one artist from history:

   "It would be Sorolla. I meditate from time to time and ask him to be my guide. I think he had everything – color, drawing and a great ability to make epic paintings. Two other artists that I like to look at are Frank Weston Benson  and Edward Henry Potthast. I am working on developing my figures and including them in my paintings so these two artists, along with Sorolla, inspire me."

San Juan Courtyard                  14 x 11"                    Oil

   Camille Przewodek gave us these words of encouragement for beginning artists:  

   "Keep at it and you will improve. It is not the talent that makes you a good artist but the persistence. I think you need the type of training that doctors get in medical school. After you learn the basics and have a good foundation, there is never an end to learning, and adding to your skill level. Get good instruction because practice makes permanent. Look at painters that inspire you and learn, or interview them, about their journey. If you stick to it you will become fine artists. I have seen people with just a small amount of 'talent' (whatever that is) become very good painters by just being persistent."

Visit Camille Przewodek's website here. website here.
All artwork copyright Camille Przewodek