Still Life Painting

Elio Camacho, a friend and artist I highly regard often stresses the importance of doing still life paintings when not afforded the opportunity to paint en plein air. So many times I find myself painting from photographs or sketches when in the studio instead of forcing myself to paint from life. It's so much easier to see the subtle differences in value, form and color temperature when painting from life. Learning to actually "see" what life is presenting to us and successfully rendering it is something that I often miss when working from a photograph or sketch. Above is one of my best still life paintings.

Leavin' Town.

The paints are packed away, the canvases put aside to dry, in fact the studio is closed up so the dog won't lick my paintings again. Yes, reluctantly I'll be flying to Texas on business soon. This means I did some digging to find some art to post. I came across this piece, which was one of my finer attempts during a transitional period in my art life. I was realizing that just being a designer wasn't enough, and was hoping to bridge the gap with just pencil drawings and Photoshop. Digital fine-art they call it. Although I put nearly 2 years of my life into it, none of these ever saw the light of day. The reason? Digital work was too technical, with no room for spontaneity. Although I like this piece for sentimental reasons, most of them I see as merely stepping stones to what I'm chasing now.

Late Night Conversation

Night scenes have always inspired and frustrated me. I subscribe to Van Gogh's assertion that darkness can be as colorful, if not more so, than daylight. This doesn't mean that I've been able to effectively capture it, hence my frustration. I feel pretty good about this one though, a little 5"x7" painted with colors leftover on my palette plus a color I rarely use: cobalt blue.

Different Styles

Along the same lines of my previous post, here is a sketch I did years ago of an old friend. The necessity to create art often strikes when I'm ill-prepared, and this was done on a piece of cardboard which was all that was handy at the time. I'm currently fascinated with street artists such as Bansky and Shepard Fairey, which is why I revisited this one. Although my current work is nothing like theirs, or even this sketch, it's certainly something that continues to intrigue me.

Splatter Painting à la Jackson Pollock

Sometimes it's fun to do art in a style completely different from my own. It's even better when I get my 8 and 11 year olds involved for a Valentine's day present for the wife. When I taught art (K-8) in Oregon, this was a project reserved only for the 8th graders, which is easily understood given the mess. A lot of fun, and I really like the results, hopefully she will too!

The Beach House

Shortly before my family and I left Oregon, we paid one last visit to the Oregon coast with two of our closest friends and their kids. We stayed in Seaside, wandering around the town one particular sunny and seasonably warm afternoon, and ended up stumbling upon this house. We had the opportunity to go in and look around, as it was for sale, of course talking about how nice it would be to have a house on the beach that would force us to come visit frequently.

Seems like paintings always turn out better when there is a sentimental significance to the subject. Sometimes I borrow inspiration from friends or photographers, but rarely are the results this nice.

2 Hour Painting

I did something in the studio yesterday that I usually don't. Having a few hours to kill, and not wanting to work on any of the paintings I had in progress, I was having a hard time deciding what to do. Then I remembered something that my friend Celeste Bergin posted on her blog awhile back - start a small painting and force yourself to finish it. This was a great exercise, and I'm really happy with my little 5"x7"! Sometimes it's just a matter of continuing your craft forward and not thinking about making a sale. Art is a journey, not a destination.

Almost There

Here is an update on the Solomon's Island piece, as I worked on it today. I'm really dialing in the colors and values, refining edges and making everything work together. My biggest challenge on this one has been the closeness in value and color of the blues in the house trim and the shadows that fall on the house. I've found it difficult working from a photo in that respect, this is where working from life can really pay off.

One more session and this one should be done.