In the Studio

ATM - Yough Bike trail, Lil' Boston

2010-10-27T11:53:00.000-04:00

ATM Study 8x10, oil on panel

ATM 12x14 oil on panel

I had posted this study previously but thought I would post it again along with the studio version. I like the the way the study turned out but given the weather that day it was a hurried effort. It is a fun exercise to paint from a study done on-site. With the study I have already solved most of the problems in composition and eliminated all of the information that can be overwhelming on location. This allows me to focus more on my color mixes and the application of the paint.

Article in the Tribune Review

2010-10-27T11:39:00.000-04:00

The article about my painting on the bike trail ran in the Monday edition of the Pittsburgh and Greensburg Tribune Review. Check it out here...
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_705983.html

Below is a picture the photographer, Justin Merriman, took that day. Perhaps I should have smiled.

Justin is a fantastic talent behind the lens. Check out his website: www.justinmerriman.com

Quick Study

2010-10-17T12:19:00.000-04:00

ATM Study - Yough Bike Trial, Lil' Boston, 8x10 oil on panel

Set up and underpainting

The Tribune Review is running a story on my efforts to paint scenes from the local bike trails. I believe the article is going to be in the Monday (October 18), Westmoreland edition. Many thanks to my friend Patti for making this happen. Friday I met with Justin, a photographer from the Trib, down at the bike trail mid-morning so he could take some pictures for the article. He was on foot so I didn't want to travel to far on the trail. It was a cold, wet morning and the rain had just let up about 20 minutes before I got there. My main criteria for a painting location was simply a warm spot in the sunshine. Once I found a sunny spot I turned back and looked towards the trail parking. A banner hanging on the side of a building caught my attention. It had big red letters that read "ATM." I decided to make the focus of the painting.

After Justin left an older retired couple on bikes packed with some saddle backs and other gear stopped to see what I was up to. Turns out they where on their fourth and final day on the trail. They started out at Cumberland Gap and where finishing at the Point in downtown Pittsburgh. Hailing from Seattle they made the trip out here to ride the trail. I am always amazed at the amount of people who travel to our region just to ride this trial. Yet so many locals don't even realize it is here. Maybe in some small way, my paintings can help raise awareness of what a valuable resource we have with the trails and rivers around Pittsburgh.

I ended up overworking the painting. It is a good study though, and some great elements that will carry over when I paint this larger in the studio.

Iron Collar

2010-10-15T20:31:00.001-04:00

PUMPHOUSE - Great Allegheny Passage, Homestead, 10x8 oil on canvas

IRON COLLAR - Great Allegheny Passage, Homestead, 12x24 oil on canvas

Here are a couple more from my trail painting series. There is a section of the bike trail that travels along the Monongahela river in what is now known as The WaterFront. A former site of the Carnegie Steel Works, a steel mill that has produced more than 200 million tons of steel. The area is now a shopping district. This site is also the location of one of the most famous events in labor history, the Battle of Homestead. In 1892 a battle erupted when locked-out steel workers and local townspeople broke into the mill. On the banks of the Monongahela they encountered a private army known as the Pinkertons. Hired by Andrew Frick to secure the mill they attached the workers. The battle lasted most of the day with gunfire, cannons and burning oil.

The bike trail ends here at the Pumphouse. Originally part of the massive steel mill that once stood here it is one of a couple of structures that still remains. Along with the Pumphouse, watertank and a row of smoke stacks, there are remnants of the mill that lay about the grounds surrounding the Pumphouse. One of these remains is the subject of "Iron Collar."

Evening Light

2010-09-23T21:09:00.003-04:00

EVENING LIGHT - Yough Bike Trail, Lil' Boston. 12x24 oil on canvas

This is the second in a series of paintings inspired by the bike trails in the Pittsburgh region. After my trip to Sinnamahoning when I took my paint gear out on the trail I was really excited at the concept. When I got home I decided I would hit the local bike trails and do a series of painting based on my experiences, observations and plein aire works done on the trail.

This one was painted in the studio from references I took. The time was in the early evening and the sun was casting long shadows and cascades of light across the trail. A heavy but brief rain shower had came through about an hour before my ride and the grass and leaves where a vibrant green. The trail was still damp with rain giving it a rich, almost blue, hue to the path.

South Hills Art League Member Show

2010-08-24T20:27:00.001-04:00

Andrew Carnegie Free Library

Come and see the SHAL member show. Lots of great art in various genres. I will have three paintings depicting various scenes from local Pittsburgh bike trails.

The show will coordinate with the annual Carnegie Arts & Heritage Festival the weekend of September 9, 10 and 11.

For more info:
http://www.carnegiecarnegie.com/index.html
http://www.carnegieartsandheritage.com/
http://southhillsartleague.org/

A Gift From Raven

2010-08-10T08:29:00.002-04:00

A Gift From Raven - 10x10, oil and ink on canvas

Available at the Artisans Shoppe Gallery

The Laurel Blossom

2010-08-09T11:29:00.003-04:00

The Laurel Blossom - 10x10, oil and ink on canvas

Available at the Artisans Shoppe Gallery

A New Direction

2010-08-03T11:03:00.006-04:00

A New Direction - 10x10 oil and ink on canvas

SOLD

Some Plein Aire Paintings

2010-07-30T09:20:00.002-04:00

Finally got out to do some plein aire painting over the past couple of weeks. I tried strapping my paint gear to the back of my bike and riding out to different locations. My first trip up at Sinnamahoning State Park was successful. My paint bag rides nice on the carrier. I haven't had much success in producing good plein aire work. But I think I turned a corner with the study I did at Sinnamahoning. It has given me the confidence to go out and continue to practice painting on location. Certainly patience of mind is key. You only have about 2 hours to complete a painting before the light changes. Working quickly is important. Staying mentally relaxed and focused is as well.

Below is the painting I did at Sinnamahoning creek. The photo has more blue in it than the original but it is close. This is an 8x10 oil on panel.

This is a snapshot of my set-up. When I set up my easel I was completely in the shade. As the paint session went on the sun crept up on me and the light was illuminating half of my panle and pallete. This makes it difficult to mix color as the value and tone looks different in the shade and light.

One my second outing I went to tthe new section of the bike trail that was just completed. It starts in Duquesne and continues on through McKeesport onto Lil' Boston. I decided to paint this abandoned building just on the other side of the Duquesne bridge.

8x10 oil on panel

A couple of studies

2010-06-26T18:09:00.003-04:00

Been busy and haven't gotten a lot of painting in lately. I did manage a few quick studies. These are 5x7 painted from some snapshots I took while at Point State Park during the Three River Arts Festival.

Painting for ArtAllNight show

2010-04-23T10:00:00.004-04:00

"Approaching Fifth Avenue Place" 21" x 12", oil on panel

Saturday, April 24-25 is the Thirteenth Annual Lawrenceville Art All Night show. This is a unique event that showcases over a thousand works of art. Anyone can submit work, but only one piece of art. It is a fun show and is becoming a family tradition. Last year my wife Kate, my son Chaise, then 3 years old, and myself submitted painting for the event. It was fun to have all of our work in a show together. Chaise, now four, has already finished his painting and is exciting to hang it alongside his dads.

This year the event is at the former Iron City Brew works in Lawrenceville. This should be a great venue for the show this year. IF get a chance, or are looking for something to do Saturday evening, stop by!

I had planned a much larger piece for this show but failed to plan ahead to give myself time to complete it. Instead I created this painting and i am pretty happy with it. The photo of the painting is pretty bad and doesn't do it justice. It is still wet and I am hoping it will be dry in time for delivery on Saturday. The photo is a bit washed out with the greys being more prominent than in the original, which is much more subtle and much darker.

Cory

2010-04-23T09:41:00.004-04:00

"Cory" 10" x 8", oil on panel

Around the holidays and at various times of the year, I work with The Plant Lady & Associates, a business that maintains plantscapes in and around the Pittsburgh downtown area. I have done some design work for them as well having created a website for them that is still a work in progress. Mostly I help with preparing and hanging Christmas decorations for the holiday season and for Light-Up Night. It is fun to be a part of the downtown holiday season and they are a good crew of people to work with. What has become one of my annual duties is helping to hang the giant wreaths at Fifth Avenue Place. It is small crew of Janet, the owner, Cory, Pat, a crane operator and myself. They bring a cane in with a bucket to hoist the wreath up into the archway after we assemble the wreath out of four aluminum trusses. It is usually bitter cold and snowing. Despite that it is cool to get a different viewpoint on Penn and Stanwix Streets from about 30-40 foot in the air.

Last time out I took some snapshots from the crane, soon to be turning into a few paintings. In the meantime I painted this shot I took of Cory putting on his safety harness as we prepare to go up in the bucket. Cory is a real good guy and I have enjoyed working with him over the years.

Bird On A Wire #3

2010-04-23T09:26:00.003-04:00

Bird On A Wire #3, 4" x 4", oil on panel

After cutting down some panels I had a few small scraps left over. I find them good to paint on as warm-ups before doing a larger painting. Sort of like stretching before the big game. This is the result of one of those warm-ups. I almost tossed this one after I did it. I didn't like the color notes of the sky. Instead I went in and repainted the sky and I decided to keep it around.

Bird on A Wire #2

2010-02-27T20:09:00.004-05:00

I finally followed up my first Utility painting with this one. I got about a dozen sketches for paintings in this vain but I have only gotten around to the second one years after I painted the original Bird On A Wire #1. My goal was to keep the birds as simple as possible. Each pigeon was painted as a solid color. The bird detail was limited to about four brush strokes each. The verdict isn't in on this one for me yet. It has some promising elements but certainly needs further development.

11x14 oil on panel

Untitled Owl

2010-02-25T18:55:00.003-05:00

I painted this owl during a session of five bird paintings that I was preparing for the gallery. Check previous post to see the painting I sent. I really loved the way this turned out but felt it could be much better and improved upon. I decided to keep it and develop this into a larger piece and add some natural elements to help with scale. The image is much brighter than the original which is more nocturnal looking.

12 x 7 on panel

Framing and Ready

2010-02-25T18:51:00.002-05:00

These are five paintings that I recently sent to the Artisan's Shoppe. Three of these have my custom floating frame that allows the paint panel to "float" in the center of the frame. The frames are nice because you hang them, or set them on a shelf as seen in the photo.

Cardinal & Apple Blossoms WIP

2010-02-23T19:59:00.008-05:00

This is a small cardinal painted in oil. This was painted on a store bought panel. I believe 5x7. First shot is the charcoal sketch. I wanted to get this done quick so I used a grid method to aid in the sketch.

This is a shot of my palette and the five paint piles I have mixed up. I made a dark purple for the background. Two reds. A cool red and a warmer brighter red for the shades on the body of the cardinal. A medium green for the leaves and a lavender for the darks on the flower pedals. I'll use the purple to mix in with the other color notes for darks and lowlights. Titanium white will work to lighten and cool the mixes for the white of the blossom pedals and the highlights in the feathers.

I start with the darks of the background creating the negative shapes between the blossoms.

i
I painted the lavender color cof the blossoms covering the white of the panel. Then came in with mixtures of white to identify the shape of the individual pedals.

First I filled in the marking around the beak and eye area. then painted the body a solid red using the darker, cooler red mix. The dark area is the purple mix with a little Ultramarine blue mixed in to darken it. The beak is Cadnium Orange with the warmer red mix.

Adding highlights and low lights to identify the shape of the body.

Details are added around the beak and eye.

Finished painting framed and ready to go to the gallery

Time Lapse of study of a cardinal

2009-10-28T17:19:00.001-04:00

This is a time lapse of a quick oil sketch. The sketch took about about 20-30 minutes to complete. This was just for fun. I is cool to see the progress unfold.

South Hills Artist's League Annual Show

2009-09-16T19:11:00.003-04:00

I have recently been accepted to the South Hills Artist's League and have joined my first artist group. We have an annual juried member show this opening this weekend. The opening reception is on Sunday, September 19th at 2:00. The show runs for a week. For more info on the you view details at their website here.

I have three new works I am showing for the first time. They are a different direction for me, but I have enjoyed very much. I plan to continue in this direction of urban impressionism. They will celebrate Pittsburgh's many bridges.

Fort Pitt 729, 9.5x24, oil on panel

Fort Pitt 815, 19.5x24, oil on panel

Fort Pitt 85, 19.5x24, oil on panel

Inspiration struck

2009-07-02T14:09:00.006-04:00

I have had some ideas in my head for a while now regarding a bison painting. It involved a shadowy mix of dark and light contrasts with native rock symbols. I haven't been able to get the elements to blend and work in compositional harmony.

Then I came across the website of Shawn Kenney. His Bull rendering blew me away. I love the drama, action and the play of the marking coming out of the shadow and underside of the bulls. Shawn is an amazing talent. If you get a chance check out the website and particularly his blog. His food paintings and still life's are excellent.

Below are some Shawn Kenney paintings and drawings:

"Strange"

"the 402" (Study)

"Solea" (Study)

"Big Red"

I am inspired to adapt his approach to work with the bison images I have in my head. My bison would be still and sleepy in their rendering with a limited color palette. More prone to close ups then full body shots. The paintings would be a cross between what Shawn has done and the work of Gene and Rebecca Tobey only in paint. I have always admired the work of the Gene and Rebecca. It is nice to see the family carrying on the tradition after Gene's passing a few years back.

Below are some samples of Tobey's work:

"Song of the Deer"

"Genesee"

"Sunset Ride" complete

2009-07-01T19:26:00.004-04:00

Finally got this one finished. I actually finished the painting before vacation. I gave it a couple of weeks to dry and then painted the sides and applied a finish.

"Sunset Ride" oil on panel, 20x46 diptych

A good month..

2009-07-01T19:20:00.004-04:00

Last month was a good month as far as sales go. I sold three paintings, two from The Artisan's Shoppe, one from the Art All Night show in Lawrenceville and I also started a commissioned abstract, a first for me.

The beginning of this year has been tough. I haven't found (or perhaps made) enough time to dedicate to my paintings. My sketchbook continues to flow with ideas for paintings, but I cant even begin to come close to keeping up with the ideas.

I have five paintings waiting to see the light right now. I am trying to do all of the prep work first so I can focus on the act of painting without interruption. They are quiet the mixed bag. A chickadee for the Artisan's Shoppe (to replace the hummingbird), two abstracts, a bridge, and a bison. I also have a commission for cargo ship/lighthouse scene that has been on the back burner waiting for inspiration to strike.

Below are the paintings that have sold:

"Three Sisters" 22x28 oil on canvas

This one sold at the Art All Night event. I had two parties who where interested in buying this piece. I was very happy with this sale. The gentleman who bought it was educated in art and his interpretation of color, composition and brushwork reinforced my intention of the painting. Having someone with knowledge of the craft take an interest and purchase my art means a lot.

Th following two where sold at The Artisan's Shoppe:

"Hummingbird" 3.5x5 oil on panel

"Beyond the Grass" 9x12 oil on panel

Sunset Ride WIP Part II

2009-06-01T15:48:00.008-04:00

PAINTING

This is the rough sketch in charcoal. Mostly I need the horizontal line, which splits the composition in two, and the placement of the "bike" on the right. I rendering the bike and rider with some detail here. Not sure why because I knew I was painting over it and would lose the sketch. But I felt compelled to so I did. You can see the study on top of the panel for reference as I paint.

First thing I do when I approach a painting is mix up all of my major color groups. This one only had four; a dark brown mixture; a dark red (to match the Allen's room color); a dull orange; and a medium orange mixture. Any other color will be mixes made directly on the panel using straight tubed color; Alizerine Crimson; Ultramarine Blue; Orange Medium; Yellow Light; and Titanium White, all Gamblin oils. Normally I don't do studies for my smaller paintings. So having a study really sped up the process because I already know the colors I need and the order in which I am going to apply them to the surface.

First thing I did was lay down my darkest color. This consisted of the "trees", "bike" and shadow from the bike, as well as the horizon.

In this first passage of paint I blocked in all of the major color shapes. I did this with a 3" flat brush to quickly cover the surface. I dig this. It may be time to start doing more large works.

Using a smaller brush (by comparison) I break down the large shapes into smaller shapes and begin to transpose the color edges with overlapping strokes.

BTW: Most of the pictures are taken from an angle to reduce the glare coming off of the wet oil paint. I won't be able to get a decent picture until the painting is complete and partially dry.

For the second passage of paint I began to add more detail applying and mixing more color directly to the surface and building the thickness and texture of the paint up.

The third passage of paint is where the pop starts to happen. I have added more detail to the bike area, Brushed on thick strokes of Titanium White and added horizontal strokes of straight tubed paint. This is looking good to me so far. Next session I will touch up some trouble areas and let it set up. I need to separate the panels so I will give the painting time to tack up before I remove the clamps.

Sunset Ride Abstract WIP (work in progress) Part I

2009-06-01T10:25:00.015-04:00

THE PAINTING

I have been wanting to do some abstract work for some time and just haven't found the motivation. So when Allen, an old friend, contacted me about creating an abstract painting I took the challenge. He showed me a couple of samples of abstract work that he liked on-line and gave me a color scheme based on the walls/decor of the room it will hang in. I based my concepts loosely on those images and pulled in his love of motor cross by bringing an abstract rendering of him, on his bike into the painting. I created three studies of three unique directions:

IMAGES

The first study is pretty much straight up abstract using color and composition as elements of interest. I added the indication of Allen riding his bike to the right as a focal point. Broad brush strokes and pure elements of color define this study.

The second was an experiment to use Allen on his bike as a compositional element that would divide the composition up into separate blocks of color. Not as successful as I had hoped.

The last study I decided to just "fire in there" and see what happens. I not only ended up with a great study, but also a road map for future paintings based on this concept. I have a notebook full of sketches/compositions for abstract paintings. I have been looking for a way to apply the paint and create color schemes for these sketches for awhile now. I believe I have found the technique needed in this study.

After showing the studies to Allen he seemed very excited by the work and chose the first study. I think it will be a great painting full size and will work nicely in his room. Being that this is my first abstract I decided to document it so that I could go back and review the process, should it be a while before I can create another.

THE PANELS

Given the unique size and space of the wall, where this will hang, I decided to create my own panels for this painting. The overall size will be 20"x47" with a three inch space in between two panels creating a diptych. Each panel is 20"x22".

I used hardboard for the paint panel and 3" poplar for the frame to cradle the panels. Because this painting will hang as a diptych I made a three inch spacer panel that will allow me to paint across both panels without interruption.

Once the panels are glued/nailed and sanded, I applied a thin coat of wood primer/stain killer to the frame and panel. Next I applied a mixture of white gesso and modeling paste. The modeling paste helps to retain the brush strokes and gives it a nice texture to work on.

Again, to allow me to work continuously across both panels, I clamped them together with the spacer in the middle. I placed a slip of tracing paper between the panels to inhibit the primed sides from sticking to each other.

Finally time to paint. I got the clamped primed panels steadied on the easel. I had to clamp the panels to the easel in back to keep it from going anywhere. The last time I did a painting this large was about ten years ago. Can't wait.

Words to paint by (Irwin Greenberg)

2009-02-17T08:47:00.000-05:00

1. Paint every day.
2. Paint until you feel physical strain- take a break and then paint some more.
3. Suggest.
4. When at an impasse, look at the work of masters.
5. Buy the best materials you can afford.
6. Let your enthusiasm show.
7. Find the way to support yourself.
8. Be your own toughest critic.
9. Develop a sense of humor about yourself
10. Develop the habit of work. Start early every day. When you take a break, don’t eat. Instead, drink a glass of water.
11. Don’t settle for yourself at your mediocre level
12. Don’t allow yourself to be crushed by failure. Rembrandt had failures. Success grows from failure.
13. Be a brother (or sister) to all struggling artists.
14. Keep it simple.
15. Know your art equipment and take care of it.
16. Have a set of materials ready wherever you go.
17. Always be on time for work, class and appointments.
18. Meet deadlines. Be better than your word.
19. Find a mate who is really a mate.
20. Don’t be envious of anyone who is more talented than you. Be the best you can be.
21. Prizes are nice, but the real competition is with your performance yesterday.
22. Give yourself room to fail and fight like hell to achieve.
23. Go to sleep thinking about what you’re going to do first thing tomorrow.
24. Analyze the work of great painters. Study how they emphasize and subordinate.
25. Find out the fewest material things you need to live.
26. Remember: Michelangelo was once a helpless baby. Great works are the result of heroic struggle.
27. There are no worthwhile tricks in art; find the answer.
28. Throw yourself into each painting heart and soul.
29. Commit yourself to a life in art.
30. No struggle, no progress.
31. Do rather than don’t.
32. Don’t say “I haven’t the time.” You have as much time everyday as the great masters.
33. Read. Be conversant with the great ideas.
34. No matter what you do for a living, nurture your art.
35. Ask. Be hungry to learn.
36. You are always the student in a one-person art school. You are also the teacher of that class.
37. Find the artists who are on your wavelength and constantly increase that list.
38. Take pride in your work.
39. Take pride in yourself.
40. No one is a better authority on your feelings than you are.
41. When painting, always keep in mind what your picture is about.
42. Be organized.
43. When you’re in trouble, study the lives of those who’ve done great things.
44. “Poor me” is no help at all.
45. Look for what you can learn from the great painters, not what’s wrong with them.
46. Look. Really look.
47. Overcome errors in observing by exaggerating the opposite.
48. Critics are painters who flunked out.
49. Stay away from put-down artists.
50. If you’re at a lost for what to do next, do a self-portrait.
51. Never say “I can’t.” It closes the door to potential development.
52. Be ingenious. Howard Pyle got his start in illustrating by illustrating his own stories.
53. All doors open to a hard push.
54. If art is hard, it’s because you’re struggling to go beyond what you know you can do.
55. Draw everywhere and all the time. An artist is a sketchbook with a person attached.
56. There is art in any endeavor done well.
57. If you’ve been able to put a personal response into your work, others will feel it and they will be your audience.
58. Money is OK, but it isn’t what life is about.
59. Spend less than you earn.
60. Be modest; be self-critical, but aim for the highest.
61. Don’t hoard your knowledge, share it.
62. Try things against your grain to find out just what your grain really is.
63. Inspiration doesn’t come when you are idle. It comes when you have steeped yourself in work.
64. Habit is more powerful than will. If you get in the habit of painting every day, nothing will keep you from painting.
65. There are three ways to learn art: Study life, people and nature. Study the great painters. Paint.
66. Remember, Rembrandt wasn’t perfect. He had to fight mediocrity.
67. Don’t call yourself an artist. Let others name you that. “Artist” is a title of great weight.
68. Be humble; learn from everybody.
69. Paintings that you work hardest at are the ones you learn the most from, and are often your favorites.
70. Read values relatively. Find the lightest light and compare all other light values to it. Do the same with the darks.
71. Grit and guts are the magic ingredients to your success.
72. Let your picture welcome the viewer.
73. Add new painters to your list of favorites all the time.
74. Study artists who are dealing with the same problems that you’re trying to solve.
75. Have a positive mind-set when showing your work to galleries.
76. Don’t look for gimmicks to give your work style. You might be stuck with them for life. Or, worse yet, you might have to change your “style” every few years.
77. If what you have to say is from your deepest feelings, you’ll find an audience that responds.
78. Try to end a day’s work on a picture knowing how to proceed the next day.
79. Don’t envy others success. Be generous-spirited and congratulate whole-heartedly.
80. Your own standards have to be higher and more scrupulous than those of critics.
81. Pyle said, “Throw your heart into a picture and jump in after it.”
82. Vermeer found a life’s work in the corner of a room.
83. Rembrandt is always clear about what is most important in a picture.
84. If, after study, the work of an artist remains obscure, the fault may not be yours.
85. Critics don’t matter. Who cares about Michelangelo’s critics?
86. Structure your day so you have time for painting, reading, exercising and resting.
87. Aim high, beyond your capacity.
88. Try not to finish too fast.
89. Take the theory of the “last inch” holds that as you approach the end of a painting, you must gather all your resources for the finish.
90. Build your painting solidly, working from big planes to small.
91. See the planes of light as shapes, the planes of shadows as shapes. Squint your eyes and find the big, fluent shapes.
92. Notice how, in a portrait, Rembrandt reduces the modeling of clothes to the essentials, emphasizing the head and the hands.
93. For all his artistic skills, what’s most important about Rembrandt is his deep compassion.
94. To emphasize something means that the other parts of a picture must be muted.
95. When painting outdoors, sit on your hands and look before starting.
96. Composing a picture, do many thumbnails, rejecting the obvious ones.
97. Study how Rembrandt creates flow of tone.
98. If you teach, teach the individual. Find out when he or she is having trouble and help at that point.
99. Painting is a practical art, using real materials -- paints, brushes, canvas, paper. Part of the practicality of it is earning a living in art.
100. Finally, don’t be an art snob. Most painters I know teach, do illustrations, or work in an art-related field. Survival is the game.

More Wapiti On the Easel

2008-11-08T18:10:00.005-05:00

WIP (work in progress)

Below are a few shots of what I have on the easel at the moment. A couple more elk in development. I need to figure out a new approach to the one on the left. Usually I work alla prima. At the very least I finish a painting in a couple of sittings. So usually I am working wet into wet. I got pulled away from the easel for a while and couldn't get back to this before it dried. I may just start all over, applying a new passage of paint over the whole canvas. I will try to preserve some of the features on the face, as I like the way the eye and shadows of the muzzle turned out.

The painting on the right I just have a base coat down. I will most likely re paint the base as it is to green for my liking.

Elk Study #2

2008-10-22T22:35:00.005-04:00

Elk Study #2, 8x10 oil on panel

"Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

2008-10-15T22:35:00.002-04:00

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

I picked this quote up from the recent Robert Glenn letter titled "Dialogues." You can read the entire letter here.

I want to elaborate on this because there is so much truth in this quote. Besides, who am I to argue with Aristotle.

To relate this to my everyday life I do not have to look far. As a professional graphic designer I use the same three basic programs for almost everything that I do. Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Over the years I have developed "excellence" in my use of these programs. That excellence came from years of repetition.

I do not want to go to deep into the use of software. That is not what this blog is about. But to give a simple example I will talk about using shortcuts. When I first started using software programs I would always use the pull down menus at the top of the window to navigate to whatever feature I wanted. The more productive I had to be, the more cumbersome this became. You can use "short cuts" or key commands to excess those features in an instant. When I first started to use these commands it slowed me down. It was frustrating. I made it a habit to start learning those short cuts, use them all of the time. Now through habit and repetition I use those commands without even thinking about it. I am more productive as a result. More excellent in my performance.

How does this apply to art? That same course of habit and repetition makes you better no matter what you do. Whether it is painting, playing an instrument or replacing auto windshields (something I used to do, and was excellent at). For me I have seen this happening in my painting. Most notably on my palette.

When I started to study painting a year and a half ago I used to squeeze out what ever color that was close to what I was trying to paint, choosing from a bunch of tubes of every kind of color you could imagine. Shortly thereafter I took a workshop with local plein air painter Ron Donoughe. He taught me about using a limited palette. This palette was limited to about seven colors and white: Thalo Green, Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Yellow Lemon and Titanium White
At first this was very frustrating for me. I couldn't even mix common colors such as browns. Everything I painted was filled with bad color notes. Like a drunk tin-pan, back alley band, groaning out strange contradictory sounds. Tom Waits on a very bad day.

Yet with practice, patience and repetition, my palette became familiar to me. I no longer think of which pile of paint to reach for to make a nice golden brown. My hand just goes to it. I have even limited my palette more. Using only Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow Lemon and Titanium White. I can mix any color note I need. With the addition of Portland Grey (which I am still learning how to incorporate) and patience I can achieve almost any color mix necessary to complete a painting.

Now I don't consider myself having achieved excellence in painting by any means. I have a long way to go to claim that title. I still have many different color palettes to explore. Having observed my progress over the past years I can see how, through repetition and habit, excellence can be achieved. Just need loads of patience, and time.

Dave

"One raven, two raven, three raven more..."

2008-10-11T21:26:00.000-04:00

"One raven, two raven, three raven more...
...beware the raven knocking on your door.
One raven, two raven, three raven more...
...the raven has come to send you off to war".

Those words have been echoing in my head for some time now. Not sure what it means, but it sounds ominous. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the coming post election political and social climate.

Little poems and phrases pop up in my head all the time. I keep two hard bound sketch books for the purpose of capturing these fleeting thoughts. One is for potential painting ideas the other for writing. I have so many images that flutter though my mind in any given day it would be impossible to paint them all. I try to capture them in sketches and notes so I can tap into them later.

One raven,two raven, three raven more..

The images of ravens can't escape my mind. There is only one way to exorcise this "demon". Capture it in paint. Suspend it eternally in a frozen stare...

"One Raven" - 8x10 on panel.

Got him! That guy has been flying around in there for weeks. Good to see him in paint. One more...

"Two Raven" - 8x10 on panel.

I think that there will be a few more of guys coming in the future. I still need to search for the root of those words...

"Ka-Chow, Baby!"

2008-10-10T21:18:00.001-04:00

-Chaise Rasel, 2 years 9 months.

Finally Painting

2008-10-09T19:54:00.006-04:00

Those few sketches really helped to get the juices flowing. Time to get back to the easel. I gave my palette a much needed cleaning. The paint was so thick I needed to scrape it down with a wood chisel and take sandpaper to it to get it all smooth again. A fresh clean palette, fresh new paint worms and I am ready for some painting.

My palette has become very streamlined. Not sure at this point if this will hurt me in the long run, but for now it works and I am sticking with it. I use five tubed colors plus tubed grey. From left to right: Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow Light, Titanium White and Portland Grey (fast becoming my favorite). Basically I am using a primary palette and mixing all of my secondary colors from that. I have focusing a lot on mixing complements into to get "greyer" mixes. My first batch of paintings with this palette was over saturated with color. My values where good, but the color was to intense. Learning to use complementary color has helped to tone down the color, plus the addition of Portland Grey to my layout, has helped produce more realistic and pleasing colors.

This elk study is good example of that. The addition of grey to the woods in the background helped to push it back bringing the elk into the scene as opposed to being on top of it. this study took about two hours to complete. I am pretty happy with the results given the time worked on it.

Elk Study #1, 8x10 oil on panel.

A Dry Summer

2008-10-08T09:15:00.005-04:00

The beginning of this year started out strong. I had gotten some representation at a gallery who is now hanging my work in their showroom. I was feeling good about the work I was doing. Unfortunately the reality of life kicked in and personal circumstances made it difficult to keep up the pace. This summer proved to a challenge to my creative determination. I found it difficult to get to the easel on a regular basis. To quote a bad line from Highlander, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. If you don't take it out and use it, it will rust." I find this to be true with painting. The longer I am away from my easel and not painting, all of the skills aquired begin to slip from my consciousness, doubt and insecurity begin to set in.

Fortunately, thanks in part to blogging, I have found a cure for that mindset. I find that if I just go back to basics I can retrace my steps and find myself at the point where I had left off before. The exciting thing about it is this time it did not require much work to get back to that point. Turns out that all of that knowledge and skill, although it had slipped from my conscious, was still their in my subconscious waiting to be tapped into. A few pages of sketches and a couple of small studies in oil, and I get my groove, and most importantly, my confidence back. I also find that those skills and knowledge came back even better infused into my mind and I do not need to think so much upon them. They begin to come out naturally leaving me free to focus on new skills and techniques.

Being able to go to WetCanvas to see what other artists are doing. Having acxess to my blog and being able to go back and see where I started and where I have gone. Reading "The Painters Keys" newletters and Richard Schmidt's "Alla Prima", Southwest Art magazine, etc., have all helped to keep my desire alive through hard times. The hard times are not over. But being back at the easel makes these difficult times easier to deal with. I am happy when I am painting. Happiness is something we all need a lot of.

To that end, I have posted a few pages from my sketch book. That was all it took. A couple of pages and I am back in the saddle. Hopefully for a long while.

A page of American Bald Eagle studies:

A page of Elk studies:

WIldlife Art

2008-10-06T15:22:00.003-04:00

If you are a fan of wildlife art then you should check out Wildlife Artist Julie Chapman. I really love her work. I particularly am drawn to her painterly style. She is also inspiring in her efforts of self promotion. I receive her monthly newsletter and it is always informative with up to date information and new paintings pictured. She seems like a work horse which is something I can respect. Below are a few samples of some of my favorite pieces:

Welcome to my new blog!

2008-07-28T09:28:00.001-04:00

"Grey Rock, Wolf" Oil on stretched canvas, 9x12.

"A Shady Rest" Oil on stretched canvas, 8x10.

I have been wanted to get my blog streamlined a bit and finally got around to doing it. I have had a hard time keeping up with the blooging. Just trying to find time to dedicate to painting has been difficult. With 2 1/2 year old a home who demands a lot of attention (and gets it!) it has been challenging. This year has been a slow with less paintings being done but,I believe, better qualtity work being produced.

I have suspended, for the time being, my small daily efforts (a critter a day). I just dont have the time to do it these days. Good thing sare happening though. I now have representation! The Artistan's Shoppe has picked me up and is now selling my work. Wendy Reber is the owner of the gallery and has been very supportive. THe gallery is a great spot in the town of Wellsboro, just outside the Allegheny National Forest and Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Little Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. The clientele and tourist traffic should be make for a good fit for my work.

Sam WIP

2008-07-08T08:56:00.001-04:00