P&C Head Study III

Graphite on paper. 25 minute pose.

Life Study

Oil on canvas panel. 5 hour pose.

New Stuff

A self-portrait:

Oil on shellacked chipboard.

And 2 paintings that I entered into the Palette & Chisel's Fall Sale:

"Green Gold"

Acrylic on panel.

"Mind's Eye"

Acrylic on panel.

Detail:

P&C Head Studies- II

All are acrylic and charcoal on chipboard. 25 minutes each. Colors used: Mars Black, Cadmium Red Medium, Yellow Ochre, Titanium White. 

On Election Day I Voted For Painting.

Oil on panel. 5 hour pose.

Colors used: Paynes Gray, Mars Black, Venetian Red, Yellow Ochre, Titanium White. 

20 Minute Head Study

Graphite on paper.

P&C Head Studies

A couple sketches at the Palette & Chisel in Chicago:

Gouache & charcoal on tone paper. 25 minute pose.

Colored pencil on tone paper. 15 minute pose.

Chicago Self Portrait

I painted a self portrait at the Palette & Chisel last night before going to the evening drawing session. I used acrylic paints on a primed MDF panel.

In progress:

The final result:

Detail:

Lady Agnew & Alyssa

Study of J.S. Sargent's "Lady Agnew". Golden OPEN Acrylic on chipboard.

My newly arrived niece. Golden OPEN Acrylic on chipboard.


Colors used: Paynes Gray, Cadmium Red Medium, Yellow Ochre, & Titanium White.

Painting at Seymour Oktoberfest 2012

I spent this past weekend at the 40th anniversary of the Oktoberfest in Seymour Indiana. I decided to set up my easel and paint a scene of the bank along with the booths along the edges of the street. The following images chronicle the process:

Keying up the canvas:

Lots of people stopped to watch while I worked. It was encouraging to see that people are still interested in painting and respect the craft.

Progression of the painting:

I painted this scene over the course of 3 days to make sure that the light was consistent. Thankfully I established the direction of the light and the main light and dark patterns so I could still work on it when it got cloudy.

Adding a foreground figure helped to push the building back in space.

The folks at the red booth in the center of the picture bought the painting on the last day. I had offers from several other people as well. 

"Seymour Oktoberfest" (SOLD) oil on canvas 18"x24"

This was the largest plein air landscape I have ever painted. I had also never painted from the same place over multiple days. I learned a lot about the advantages and challenges that the extended time, crowds, and changing weather provided. It was very exciting and rewarding and I look forward to doing this sort of thing again.

Portrait of Uncle Dale

Oil on canvas panel, 9"x12"

I have been staying in Indiana with my uncle Dale for the past week. He willingly sat for me this morning while I immortalized him on canvas. 

Colors: Yellow Ochre, "Red"(Terra Rosa w/ some Perm. Red Medium mixed in), Trans. Red Oxide, Paynes Gray, & Titanium White.

Anya

Acrylic on panel.

Sunflowers

Acrylic on chipboard.

Kettle & Stones

Acrylic on Paper.

Hampton Beach Sketch

Oil on canvas panel 9"x12"

I painted this while at Hampton Beach in NH. I had to work quickly because the figures and the ocean were constantly on the move.

Portrait of Mike

Oil on canvas panel, 12"x16"

This is a portrait sketch I did of my friend Mike, who was gracious enough to sit for almost 3 hours while I painted.

Elise in a Hat

(Oil on Panel)

I painted this portrait of my friend Elise in about 2.5 hours. As opposed to the other times I have painted portraits we carried on a conversation the entire time that I was working. When a person is talking important forms on their face become visible which help me to capture the likeness with more fidelity. The final product ends up looking more like the person because it captures the personality in action as opposed to what someone looks like when they are bored or about to fall asleep.

It also helps to have good models too.

Detail:

Portrait Commission

"Lydia" Acrylic on canvas, 24"x"36

I recently completed this commission for some friends of mine. They had the idea for the design and after several reworkings in the preliminary phase we arrived at a satisfactory result.

Warhammer 40K Painting

The following painting was a wedding present I created for a friend of mine by his request:

 Acrylic on panel, 12"x20"

This was a lot of fun to work on. It was a unique experience painting an image from my imagination. I did a lot of glazing over heavily textured dry white paint, especially on the weapons.

Details:

Hatchet

Graphite on paper.

Lake Massabesic II

A quick sketch from my trip to the lake this morning. Gouache & watercolor on paper.

Lift-Out Experiment

This is the result of an experiment with a technique similar to one used by artists like David Grove. I layed a broad watercolor wash over an underdrawing on a gessoed and sealed illustration board and using water and a dry brush to lift out paint in the light areas.

 Another experiment with a similar lifting-out technique:

Acrylic, prismacolor pencil and gouache on gessoed illustration board