Stu and Caleb
December 10, 2017 /11x14 oil on canvas
This is one of my favorite portrait painting to date, it also happens to be a landscape painting. This is my brother Stu who lives in Wake Forest NC. He’s basically a hop, skip, and a jump away from me...
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Peach Orchard Road
June 4, 2017 /16x20 oil on canvas
I wanted to start working with my own landscape photos rather then download them from the net. North Carolina is such a beautiful State offering tons of painting opportunities. Well maybe not tons, but many, many opportunities.
Peach Orchard Road is one of many scenic roads I’ll drive on when I visit my sister in Youngsville. The drive to my brother’s house in Wake Forest is in a different direction, but offers the same beautiful country scenery.
There are many old abandoned barns and wood structures that have been there for years, possibly from the days when tobacco farming was popular. I’m happy the structures were left for nature to deal with, they add to the charm of NC.
I’m a little disappointed with this painting. It was just about complete except for that large tree on the left side. I wanted to detail the trunk before adding the foliage, so I let the canvas dry before working on the trunk. After painting the foliage it looked cut out and pasted. I tried to re-work it, but it only got worse.
All the foliage under the tree, and all the foliage to the right of the tree is perfect, at least in my eyes. The brush work is exactly what I want in my landscapes.
This painting is a study, and the experience offers many lessons I’m sure to remember the next time I work on a landscape.
Emerson's first portrait
June 3, 2017 / 11x14 oil on canvas
This was a tough painting to do. You might not think so because it looks pretty simple as far as shapes and color goes. The features drove me crazy, but after three week-ends, I think I have it.
The downfall here is the photographed image of the painting doesn't give the piece any justice. With the right frame, this painting will be a nice family heirloom. Imagine being the great grandchild of Emerson and having a painted portrait of great grandpa as a baby.
Hmm... does anyone care about such things any more?
Emerson is another great-nephew. He is the son of Mathew and Brianna, and grandson to my oldest brother Steve.
Steve’s birthday is coming up in August and I planned this painting as a gift.
Two boys on the beach
May 13, 2017 / 24x18 oil on canvas
In my Google search for an ocean surf / beach scene to paint, I came across a stock photo of two boys playing on the beach. It reminded me of the Spanish painter, Joaquin Sorolla, who painted this theme many times.
The boys in the image look about 5 and 7 years of age. I love the innocence of the moment. They are running on the beach naked, never once entertaining the thought that their nakedness could be offensive to anyone. What a great period in our youth. A time, when we enjoyed life as a free spirited being. Not a care in the world.
Everyone should have that experience.
Portrait of Chase
April 13, 2017 / 11x14 oil on canvas
This is the second time I worked on this project. A year ago, I did a digital painting of Chase and before I could send it off to the photo lab for printing, my computer crashed and I lost all my files. I felt bad because I never did a wedding picture for my nephew Jay and his wife Jen.
Rather than work out another digital image, I went ahead and hand painted the portrait in oil.
Forest River in Spring
April 29, 2017 / 20x16 oil on canvas
I’m surrounded by spring so it’s only fitting that I’m feeling inspired to paint a spring scene. Once again, this is from a stock photo off the net. It was the peaceful feeling of the river and forest that inspired this painting.
Amish boy
I’m now starting to feel a little more confident and comfortable with my process. The Amish boy image is an internet find and I’m excited to work on this portrait. I bought a proportional divider, a tool that helps me to draw more precise. Before I start painting, I will do a sketch to make sure everything is in the right place.
The sketch
The final Painting
Landscape with a barn
OK, as I continue to get aquatinted with painting again, my next warm up exercise is a landscape. This image is also off the net. I do have plans to take my own pictures here in North Carolina, God knows there are many beautiful areas that will make great subjects.
Portrait of a black child
Value study
When I was a kid learning to paint, I used to plan my projects rummaging through piles of images that came from different sources. Some of the images came from calendars but most came from magazines. I remember the very first painting I did came from a calendar. It was an early Autumn scene, an open field landscape with tall golden grasses.
I don’t need to look through magazines or ask family and friends for their old calendars to find something interesting to paint. We have the internet! Although I can’t post any reference images I use from the internet because of copyrights, I can post my projects.
That leads me to a beautiful black and white image I found of this cute little black boy. The black and white image gave me the opportunity to practice getting the values right, (shades of light and dark). I also got to work on a portrait, my favorite area of interest to paint.
In this painting exercise, I started to find the process I was looking for. I tend to be very detailed oriented, but I don’t want my paintings to look like a photograph, something I once strived for years and years ago. I like loose brush strokes. Right now, my role model is John Singer Sargent.
Jessy
March 2, 2017 / 16x20 oil on canvas
My second painting was an attempt at a dog portrait, my dog Jess. Still searching for my process, this painting was a fail. Just hated how it was working out. Before washing the canvas down with spirits so I could re-use the canvas, I took this picture. I'll try painting Jess another time.
First Post / First Painting
Wow! It’s been about 16 years since I last picked up a paint brush. During that time I was working with digital painting. It worked out well for a little while, but I missed the smell of linseed oil and the paint.
The two oranges was just a warm up project. Every artist has a process they follow when painting, I needed to re-discover mine.
