Gregory Becker

3 In One Day

2012-01-03T19:47:00.002-05:00

This one took a couple of hours but a nice impression piece. 8x10 oil on panel.

This one took only an hour and I was going to take it further but something told me to stop. 8x10 oil on panel.

My favorite one and it took me about an hour and a half. 8x10 oil on panel.

I haven't posted in a while because of my divorce. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things. I have been wrestling with some personal issues.

Hope to talk to some of my fellow bloggers.

Greg

Some Recent Oils

2011-10-15T12:15:00.001-04:00

Some recent oils.

Studies

2011-05-15T14:41:00.003-04:00

Here are some recent studies. I bought a sketchbook that is the size of a world atlas and the paper is made of cotton fibers and sucks up the watercolor fast. I like being surprised by the differing qualities of paper surfaces and the challenges they present.

FML0003

2011-04-23T20:55:00.004-04:00

This is a pleine aire landscape. 11x14 oil on canvas board. Started as a color/light and shadow study but quickly turned into a finished piece. 997 to go.

FML0002

2011-04-16T19:51:00.005-04:00

998 more to go.

This is actually bigger but I had to crop it. Full Palette. 11x14 oil on canvas board. I had to make 5 passes on this painting to get the textures and edges right.

Windy Landscape

2011-04-03T13:47:00.003-04:00

I grabbed an old sketch book and saw a surface I could paint on. I didn't prime it. It took the paint well. I'm sure these paintings have a shelf life. For now it's beautiful. I know that painting on unprimed surfaces is an artistic sin. I promise to make an act of contrition.

I used white, cad lemon yellow, alizarin crimson, ult blue and burnt umber.

FML0001

2011-03-20T17:18:00.003-04:00

This is the first painting in a series of paintings. FML is personal but let me just say that there are 999 more to go.

It is 16x20 oil. It took about 6 hours. Full palette.

I did this from one of my notebook sketches so I think my notebook sketches are going to serve me well. It is done from my imagination and things I've learned and creative application.

I am pleased with it.

Cheers

Notebook Sketches 12

2011-03-13T18:19:00.003-04:00

I highly recomend a composition book that school children use to paint in. It's portable and durable and I hope that I have conclusively proven that it is suitable for water sketches.

I use a Cotman watercolor travel kit and replaced the colors with the good colors. Maybe I'll do a post on my supplies.

Till then,

Cheers

Sunrise

2011-03-04T05:26:00.001-05:00

I did this oil the other day when it was warm out. I cant wait for it to warm up more so I can use my oils.

I used white, burnt umber, lemon yellow and ultramarine for this painting and that's it. It makes for a nice limited palette that is able to exploit temperature variations.

Cheers

Artwork GB 2010

2011-02-24T18:34:00.001-05:00

This is an easier way to see a glimpse from 2010.

Notebook Sketches 11

2011-02-12T16:39:00.003-05:00

The portraits were done at the Livonia library, here in Michigan. People tend to sit very still when they read or relax in the library. The portraits took 20 - 30 minutes. I couldn't finish the ear on one of them because she got up and left.

I threw in some landscape sketches as well.

Cheers

Notebook Sketches 10

2011-01-26T05:44:00.003-05:00

I included some figures in this post. I am gaining a wealth of information from these tiny sketches. The real challenge is making use of this information. If it's not useful, it's waste.

Economy of sketching allows only for that which is useful. Discard everything else.

Cheers

Notebook Sketches 9

2011-01-04T13:18:00.002-05:00

I was able to pick up some new colors and try them out. I got a rose color that is so powerful that I bet I dont go through the tube in a year. Some of the colors are potent. There is a world of color out there and it is time to embrace it.

Plus, I got a new notebook.

Happy New year.

Notebook Sketches 8

2010-12-26T22:47:00.002-05:00

I was able to get to Blick today to replenish some severely depleted watercolors. Now, I'm all stocked up and fully loaded. The bad thing was that nothing was on sale.

I use Winser Newton for my primary colors and the Cotman for my secondaries. When they mix they are just as good as having all the top brands.

Paper, I'll paint on anything.

Brushes, Princeton camel hairs and sometimes a Chinese calligraphy brush.

Cheers.

Notebook Sketches 7

2010-12-26T01:07:00.002-05:00

These sketches have been very therapeutic for me recently aside from the fact that I love to do them. I warn you though, if you decide to begin doing these sketches on your own, it's habit forming.

Cheers

Notebook Sketches 6

2010-12-19T20:33:00.005-05:00

A day of sketches.

I want everyone to know how grateful I am that you take time to visit my blog. In the colder months I paint in watercolor because my daughter has asthma. I dont paint with oils during this time because the fumes may trigger an attack.

I will probably use better paper because my ideas are flowing and try to work from these sketches for color inspiration.

These sketches are mostly about atmosphere and color but I actually would like to develop some larger work from the compositions as well.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Cheers

Notebook Sketches 5

2010-12-06T03:33:00.002-05:00

Notebook Sketches 4

2010-12-04T13:59:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I find it hard to keep my focus on one particular idea when it comes to painting and so sketching in color is a way to get alot of my thoughts down on paper and when ideas flow at a slower rate I can then settle on one and focus in for more time consuming work.

Notebook Sketches 3

2010-12-02T21:33:00.004-05:00

I love these little beauties. These liitle 10 -15 minute sketches have an incredible power to clear my thinking.
I really dont think of these little paintings as art but instead, like drawing, they are a way of thinking. Like shorthand. Simplification is the name of the game.
When I do these my thinking becomes very simplistic and focused. I tend to do them when my thoughts are all over the place. It has a way of sorting out complications.

How To Live A Happy Life

2010-11-29T06:21:00.005-05:00

I am going through the most difficult time in my life right now. I have strived for this kind of normal and simplistic approach to life but what may sound easy to one person is difficult to another. I am tethered to a conditioning of life experiences that keep me from producing success in areas of life that most people find simple and at ease with.
I am trying to change all of this.
I try and try and fail and fail.
When I paint or draw or play music or write, I create places of sanctuary where there is no one but me and the sound of reflection. Places of safety and peace and contentment. Places where failure doesn't occur.
This blog is a kind of invitation, an invitation to share some of those places with others.
You're invited.

Notebook Sketches 2

2010-11-28T23:50:00.004-05:00

Just some comps from my imagination. These studies take about 5-10 minutes each. Fun Fun Fun.

Twice Painted Poetry

2010-11-27T21:11:00.003-05:00

How can something so adrift

have such purpose in me.

I am still, yet moving.

A motion causing emotion,

the flower that never stops unfurling.

The clouds above,

the clouds within,

consign themselves,

'sif to begin.

Notebook Sketches 1

2010-11-27T11:53:00.004-05:00

These are 5 minute sketches in a composition notebook. I added watercolor to bring them to life a little bit. These are the things I like to see from other artists because it gives real insight into the way they think from an artistic point of view. I hope to see some from my fellow bloggers.

Cheers

Watercolor Tonal

2010-10-31T12:26:00.004-04:00

This is a tonal watercolor. I used the dry brush technique. This allows for some nice darks. Also you are working with only 4 major values. White, light gray, dark gray and black. Some of the greatest landscapes ever painted were done using no more than 4 values. I am writing an article to demonstrate this process and it will be published in an online magazine called http://www.artaprenticeonline.com/

I will be demonstrating the 4 value technique in charcoal. I could republish it here but I want AAO to increase in visitors and subscribers. I hope you check them out.

Dark Clouds

2010-10-30T10:03:00.003-04:00

Playing with a previous cloud study. 9x12 Oil on canvas board.

Watercolor Landscape

2010-10-29T20:24:00.003-04:00

This is really just a cloud study that I put some land underneath. I love those fire in the sky clouds. There are so many variations of them that I bet you could make a career out of doing them.

I used a fairly open palette except that I kept the tones very close. It tends to create an old master feel to them. There is a theory behind this but it is difficult to explain without demonstrating it at the same time.

Most of the colors are derived from a nuetral dark and light creating cool and warm variances. Essentially, you pull the nuetrals in the direction of primaries and then secondaries leaving the tertiaries transparent.

Cheers

Oil Sketches on Paper

2010-10-24T05:12:00.003-04:00

One Hour Oil Landscape

2010-10-21T20:11:00.002-04:00

I gave myself an hour time limit on this. I coated a panel with linseed oil and wiped it off and it helped get the painting done real fast. Made some nice blends also. Hmmm....

Watercolors in the Rain

2010-10-17T05:15:00.002-04:00

I did these about a month ago and forgot about them.

Painting watercolors in the rain? Really? Yes really. I wanted to see if painting in the rain produced a "painting in the rain effect."

I like what I got.

On the Easel, Literally...

2010-10-16T09:23:00.001-04:00

This is really just a cloud study but I am starting to like it.

This one is definitely going to end up in a frame for someone.

I try to stay away from oil painting in the winter but inspiration calls.

My 100th Post

2010-09-30T05:15:00.002-04:00

Here are some Autumn Tonal Thumbnails in honor of my 100th post. Art and beauty is something that anyone can celebrate and in fact participate in.

A painting can remind an individual or a society or even the whole world that meaning, purpose and beauty should find themselves in the rigors and routines of our day to day lives.

A painting can be a mirror for our soul and to pause and wonder with awe at the reflection is not vanity.

Watercolor Landscape

2010-09-27T03:24:00.005-04:00

This is a watercolor I did last night.

George Inness is the best friend I never met.

Portrait

2010-09-25T22:14:00.003-04:00

I primarily paint landscapes but I couldn't resist posting this portrait. I can never get anyone to sit still :) So I did this from my imagination. I really should be doing more figurative work. They are quite lovely.

Color/Study Comps

2010-09-23T04:45:00.003-04:00

These little color/study comps are done mostly on the leftover strps of paper from a larger piece of arches paper. Arches tends to waste valuable surface area with the insistence of having the Arches name on not one corner but two corners of the paper. So after I cut away these areas I save the strips for these little paintings. You could probably line up 3 quarters and cover these paintings entirely. That should give you an idea of the size. They are fun to do simply out of boredom. But, once you start playing with them the boredom vanishes.

These little paintings are something I will probably never part with. The subtleties captured in them are inspirational to me.

No rules applied just intuition.

Here you can see part of the word aquareles in the tree to the left. Arches, if you're reading this, that imprint is annoying. lol. It really is.

How could I ever part with these?

Let me just be quiet. HA! the sun is square and it still looks beautiful.

I can feel the warmth. Opps I said I would be quiet.

I could never paint this on location. For me it has to be done from memory.

Autumn is here. I have to try and capture some of that.

Enjoy Friends

Watercolor Tree Studies

2010-09-19T09:31:00.003-04:00

This is a very cool light painting. To achieve this in watercolor is fairly easy. Lay in your local colorof the tree and the, while it is still wet, lay in your core shadow. To produce light,carefully add water to the side that the light is coming from and the white of the paper and the transparency of the color will do most of the work. Then adjust to your hearts content.

This is a slightly warmer painting. I added a red-orange mix to the lights using the same technique. Very small adjustments can create enormous shifts in mood.

Think of it this way...There is an ocean of possibilities in a single drop of water,

Enjoy...

Landscape Impression

2010-08-29T09:13:00.002-04:00

Here is an impression. I'm feeling a little more free in my ability to interpret the visual information in front of me. Especially when it comes to color. I used to tell people that I was color blind. Now I celebrate color much more.
This is a watercolor on Arches hot press paper. 2 hours.
Cheers

Tonals

2010-08-13T22:20:00.003-04:00

This one took 2 hours. Ultramarine blue, Burnt Umber and Lemon Yellow.

One hour. Watercolor with India Ink.

2 hours. Watercolor and India Ink.

3 hours. Watercolor and India Ink.

5 Minutes. Watercolor and india Ink. I did this on the back of one of the previous watercolors.

Yes you can paint on both sides so long as you dont saturate the paper.

Watercolor With Additions of Ink

2010-08-11T18:17:00.003-04:00

Here is a water color and india ink painting. Too complicated to explain the technique but I think it yielded a good result.
Cheers

Watercolor Inness Inspiration

2010-08-02T22:48:00.002-04:00

Charcoals

2010-08-02T22:31:00.003-04:00

Yes I am still alive. I just had to get my priorities straight.

Enjoy friends.

Tonals

2010-05-23T21:03:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of tonals. I hope to do some more of these.

Head in the Clouds

2010-05-02T08:13:00.002-04:00

My article on light and shadow is being published. Alright now it's time to come back down to earth.

Maybury State Park

2010-04-30T09:05:00.001-04:00

5x7 oil underpainting. Keeping it this way.

8x10 oil was painting at Maybury State Park.

Maryland Pleine Aire

2010-04-13T09:26:00.002-04:00

3 hour waterfall study at Patapsco state park in Maryland. 8x 10 oil on panel. Land of waterfalls.

2 hour study before the state park opened. Oil on linen panel 5x7

Pleine Aire 2 Hour Study

2010-04-03T08:08:00.003-04:00

2 hour pleine aire. 4 1/2 x 6

A Few Paintings and a Drawing

2010-03-29T06:58:00.003-04:00

Charcoal

20 minutes after I began this portrait of my daughter Sarah she rolled over. I finished it as best I could.

Oil

Homemade Pochade

2010-03-26T08:53:00.002-04:00

http://guthrieart.blogspot.com/2009/11/homemade-pochade-box.html

Article on Values

2010-03-19T10:59:00.003-04:00

I wrote an article for an online magazine called Art Aprentice Online. I illustrated it with some of my drawings and paintings.
It is pending approval.

Although there is so much more to say, I think it is a good begining to the subject of Value Theory. I will be experimenting over the course of this year with value and keeping a record to show my findings. If they want to publish them...ok

Here is my first post.

Light and Shadow
Value Relationships

If I were to have my way I would've wanted to study values before drawing. Without values it is impossible to sort the two worlds of light and shadow. So, I have put something together that I think will help those who want a better understanding of the two worlds.

Look closely at the illustration above. I have sorted a ten value scale into five lights and five shadows. Looking at the ground plane you can see five light values and five cast shadow values.

10 represents white and 1 represents black.

10 through 6 represent white through black in the light. 5 through 1 represent white through black in the shadows.

Something I have been thinking about alot recently is which shadows we tend to see as more important to telling the story of light and shadow. Is it form light and shadow or cast light and shadow?

Look again at the painting above. I have deliberately painted the column in a way so that I could use light and dark values indiscriminately to represent form.

From top to bottom here is the order of values.

10, 9, 6, 7, 8

9, 8, 5, 6, 7

8, 7, 4, 5, 6

7, 6, 3, 4, 5

6, 5, 2, 3, 4

(note: the cast shadow is an illustration of what a cast shadow appears to look like respective to its' light counterpart. Therefore, no fallof effects are applied. Also the value of 1 has been reserved for the darkest cast shadow.)

This breaks the rule of light and shadow. In other words, some of the values used to represent light are also used to represent shadow and vice versa. I don't believe that bothers the viewer as much as it would if I painted the cast shadow one continuous value.

Ask yourself this, would I have noticed the order of light if it were not pointed out to me?

I wouldn't have.

The point is that what we see in the shadows is just as important as what we see in the light.

Here is a hard and fast rule that is fun to break. White in the shadows is darker than black in the light. Or, Black in the light is lighter than white in the shadows.

This rule can be broken by overlapping the worlds of light and shadow as well as the presense of extreme reflected lights and such. I'll get back to that in a moment.

A couple of general things to remember about landscape is that the greatest source of light is usually the sky. Second to the sky is the ground plane, then slanted planes and finally upright structures such as trees.
This is a little sketch I did with the leftover paint from the first illustration. Do you see how I have made it possible to see inside the shadows? That creates readability.

These were fun.

(Upper left) This was done by restraining the dark side of the value scale but still keeping light and shadow distinct. It looks hot and hazy.
(Upper right) This was done by restraining the light side of the value scale. It looks like a nocturne. Try going out at night to do a pleine aire painting. Not this guy…I will turn to values.
(Lower left) Here I have minimal zed a midtone for variation, relying mostly on the darkest darks and the lightest lights. It looks like I stared at the sun for a minute and then painted my landscape.
(Lower right) Here I have done a clear day. Fives values for light and five values for shadow. Notice how I broke the rules with overlap. The white flowers near the trees are clearly in the light but overlap creates a nice contrast to tell the viewer about the intensity of the light.
Here is the funny part…after deciding what is in light and what is in shadow, I basically slopped the paint on the canvas and I mean slopped it. I could do this because I knew that once I established light and shadow and separated the values in each world, I could not really make a mistake. Moreover, the four landscapes above were created from nothing more than my imagination. The only place I have ever seen this place is on the canvas. Although there is no substitute for direct observation, it is clear that knowledge of values and how to use them to represent the effect of light is paramount to successful drawing and painting. Value is POWER.

In conclusion, but in no way conclusive…
Make a value chart of your own and on the chart create value separations and study the contrasts created by separating the vales by one, two, three, four and five tonal separation.

In landscape painting, as objects recede in space their value separations are closer together.
This value chart can help with that idea. The top two rows of values are separated by one tone. The bottom two rows of values are separated by five tones.
The bottom two rows of values could easily represent the separation of light and shadow in the foreground of a landscape. The top two rows of values could also easily represent the separation of light and shadow far off in the distance.
So, what can we see already from this chart?
The top two rows relate to background values. The next two rows relate to mid-background values. The middle two rows relate to the middle ground values. The next two rows relate to the middle foreground values. And last but not least, the bottom two rows relate to the foreground values. (This is by no means definitive)
Ultimately, studying values and how they relate to one another whether by narrow or wide contrasts will greatly enhance your ability to represent the world around you.
I hope that this is the beginning of value theory for you the reader.
Remember...
The light came. The darkness fled. The light prevails.

Hines Drive

2010-03-17T17:17:00.002-04:00

11:30 am on Hines drive. Charcoal on stonehenge.

Charcoal Studies

2010-03-15T11:03:00.001-04:00

A couple of quick charcoals. Just playing with it really.

Church Painting

2010-03-01T20:03:00.002-05:00

Concept

Light

Getting closer

Oil Concept

Acrylic Concept

Burnt Sienna underpainting

5 hours later

8 hrs later. Had to stop. 6x6 painting Acrylic

2010-02-20T07:01:00.002-05:00

I am playing with some drawings and paintings for a mural project for the church I attend.

5'x6' area. I plan to do 3 different lighting situations. I'll end up putting it on the projecter and sketching it from there. Then I'll paint it.

The theme is...The light came...the darkness fled...the light pevails.

So far I dont think bright daylight is going to pull it off. I want to show the epic battle between light and darkness. I dont think this composition will work either. No time limit except the one I impose on myself.

I'll keep you posted.

2010-02-03T17:28:00.002-05:00

Some process pics and the finish on a flemish still life apple. 5x7 oil on canvas board.
Cheers

Oil Studies on Paper

2010-01-29T12:53:00.002-05:00

Oil Studies on bristol paper. I didnt prime the paper...I know thats an artistic sin but the paint handles really well. I wonder how long they'll last. All are from my imagination.

Cheers

Portrait of Allison

2010-01-25T21:10:00.003-05:00

I have to warm it up a bit but it's coming along. I learned alot from this one. She looks a little too grave. I have to let it dry before attempting any glazes. This is my 4th oil portrait.

Before and After Zorn Palette Landscape

2010-01-18T08:47:00.003-05:00

This is a 12x24 landscape from imagination. I used white, yellow ochre, cad red and ivory black. That is it. I was given some good advice from Ignat Ignatov on how to make a gray in this palette look more blue and it paid off.

Cheers

Studies

2010-01-10T08:50:00.002-05:00

Water color study exerpt of John Singer Sargent painting

Drawing study exerpt of Bartolome Esteban Murillo painting.

Kensington Metropark 11-22-09

2009-12-06T16:07:00.003-05:00

This painting fell off my easel facedown in my driveway when I got home from pliene painting with friends. I reworked it quite a bit. Used a zorn palette.

Inspiration from Bambi

2009-11-20T03:36:00.002-05:00

I did this after watching Bambi with my daughter last night. That movies artwork still amazes me. This is watercolor on Arches. 5"x5"

Something before work

2009-11-11T04:45:00.001-05:00

Pleine Aire at the Metro Park

2009-11-07T16:40:00.003-05:00

I did this charcoal at the park and I also did a painting and I got home and the painting fell face down on the ground in my driveway. I am going to have to scrape it with a razor and repaint the whole thing. I was upset. I wasn't a total loss though my friend Heiner liked it. Heiner is a pro.
Cheers

2009-10-31T20:48:00.002-04:00

A small watercolor.

2009-10-26T00:28:00.002-04:00

Imaginative Landscape.

2 1/2 hours. Heavy on Sepia. I will probably take another shot at this with some different planning. I like it though.

Watercolor and Gouache.

2009-10-20T04:53:00.002-04:00

Watercolor and Gouache for the lights.

2009-10-18T07:30:00.002-04:00

Water color and gouache.

Watercolor Landscape

2009-10-15T04:24:00.001-04:00

Charcoal Landscape

2009-10-07T05:07:00.002-04:00

I don't use charcoal because I think it is messy but I may do some more to try and get it to handle the way I want it to. I just invented this landscape because I wanted to use the charcoal.
It's vine charcoal on a piece of sketch paper. I almost always tape off my drawings to put it in a frame so to speak.
I definitely need to work on the technical side of what charcoal has to offer.
Cheers

Award for Tree of Life

2009-10-02T04:27:00.003-04:00

This drawing entitled Tree of Life won an award at the Canton Fine Arts Exhibition last night. It was very exciting to win an award from a show with such good work on display. There were 147 submitting artists, with over 500 entries and 41 of those artists were chosen each displaying one piece.
It's such a good feeling.
Cheers

2009-09-26T16:09:00.002-04:00

Here are some of the Michigan Pleine Aire painters at work. Heiner wasn't there today. We painted at a farm. So much fun. I wanted to get photos of the work being done but my camera died on me.

I used a Zorn palette. I think it reads ok. I have to rework it. I may paint one of these photos today.

Fun Fun Fun

Figures

2009-09-13T12:13:00.003-04:00

Apple Branch Birthday Gift For Beth

2009-08-29T10:19:00.002-04:00

Here is what I was looking at during this painting session. I have no studio so I have to make do with what I have. In this case 2 speakers.

Here's my palette.

Viridian, Cad Yellow Light, Alizarin Crimson, Cerulean Blue, White, Raw Umber and Burnt Umber.

In the middle of the palette is a string made from cad yellow and cerulean blue. Above the middle string the colors are added to white. Below the middle string the colors are added to raw umber. I also mix a couple of grey greens at the bottom.

This is how I achieve harmony on the palette.

This is the underpainting. Just some raw umber used like watercolor.

A few color notes to get started in a general sense. Rendering with color.

Here is where I decide to go for it and I am working purely from intuition.

This is right before the final go for it mode. At this point I am 4 hours into this.

Here is the final painting. 5 hours total that went by like 5 minutes.

Today is my wifes birthday and this is her's.

Cheers

Philodendron Oil Sketch

2009-08-26T04:20:00.004-04:00

This is an oil sketch that took 1 hour to mix the colors and 40 minutes to actually paint. It is a limited pallet of 4 colors. Raw Umber, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cerulean Blue and Titanium White.

My wife scolded me for taking a clipping from one of her plants for a painting.

Gift

2009-08-18T18:17:00.003-04:00

I gave this to Stephanie today she was real happy about it. I gave her a tonal watercolor also.
She's going to frame them and hang them in her house. I love how art can make people happy in times that are difficult. It really creates better relationships.
Oh, Stephanie is my wifes friend that grew up with her and we work at the same company.
Cheers

Sunflower WIP

2009-08-09T07:04:00.003-04:00

Here's a wip. Oil on canvas panel. 11x14.
We have a garden and something knocked over a sunflower and so I put it in a vase a started a painting.
I did an underpainting with raw umber and mixed some preliminary color to get the thing on canvas. I used a medium of 2 pts turpentine and 1 pt damar varnish. It helps it set up quick and loosens it without destroying what you have so you can pretty much add and subtract with liberty.
I am trying to stay within a green, purple and orange color comp but yellow is demanding an appearance.
I mixed alizarin crimson with yellow ochre for some of the orange. If you haven't done this in your mixtures just get those two colors and it will get you so excited about color you'll race to get a canvas.

Cheers.

Pleine Aire Cloud Studies

2009-07-26T20:14:00.004-04:00

These were all done at Northville park. I did the first one and switched to ink on the rest built up in washes.

As it turned out it was pleine aire day at the park and it was swarming with artists. I was invited to join an art society while I was there. They were a very warm bunch of people.

I spent about 20 minutes on the ink washes and about an hour on the watercolor gouache study.

Whenever I draw or paint clouds I remember a poem that I wrote because I love them so much...
How can something so adrift
have such purpose in me
I am still, yet moving
a motion causing emotion
the flower that never stops unfurling.
The clouds above
The clouds within
consign themselves
'sif to begin.

Enjoy

More Clouds

2009-07-26T00:11:00.002-04:00

I have been working on atmoshperic perspective and I wanted to share some of what I've learned.
This is watercolor and gouache btw.
Richard Robinson is an artist living in New Zealand. He put out an instructional dvd on atmospheric perspective and I had to get it. It is very simple and concise but as anything else it requires personal observation.
To achieve it mix the color of the sky at the horizon. Mix alot of it and make sure that it is accurate.
Mix the colors in the foreground. Only mix a highlight and a shadow of each element and line them up to the left of your palette. Once you have those colors, simply begin adding your atmospheric color to the piles of paint and string them to the right of the palette. Make the values of each color recede to the horizon color.
Mix another atmospheric color of white and a touch of orange. This will be your light color. If the light is coming from one side to the other, then simply add some of that color to your mixes as they get closer to the light. It doesn't take much though. Think subtle.
With your paint mixed, do a line drawing and simply apply the paint.
If your do this right, you'll be amazed at the sense of light you can achieve.

And look up Richard Robinson. Wow!

With this painting I did all of that except that I added paynes grey for the cloud shadows on the land.
Enjoy.

A couple of Lightscapes

2009-07-19T21:03:00.000-04:00

Long live the Hudson River Landscape Fellowship.

Rock Study

2009-07-19T08:03:00.001-04:00

I did a rock/waterfall study after the work I have been seeing on the Hudson River Landscape Fellowship.

One person I am really interested in is Shane Wolf. He does highly realistic work and his rocks look like flesh tones. So, I did a study based on flesh tones. This is watercolor and gouache.

Yesterday I painted with the Michigan Pleine Aire Painters.

They have some good things happening. They were very supportive and and encouraging.

My watercolor turned to mud. They told me to bring out the oils next time I meet up with them.

Good group of people.

Submission for Critique

2009-07-15T17:46:00.000-04:00

I have submitted this Painting for critique to Stapleton Kearns. He is an extremely gifted landscape artist. I hope to gain a better insight into technique as well as what I cant personally see. So, that's that.

Northville Day 3

2009-07-12T23:20:00.000-04:00

This was interesting. I arrived at 4:00 P.M. and worked for 2 hours. That's when the attention starved kids showed up and started throwing branches in the stream right between the rocks I was drawing. It's about 2 feet of water here and I wasn't going in so I had to finish. I was a little ticked off by it. They knew I was drawing these rocks and did it anyway.
I decided to highlight the water with a gel pen again. I was much bolder this time.
If any of you bloggers go out to do pleine aire drawing, I highly recommend taking a white gel pen. This is now an indispensible tool in my kit. I think it was only a dollar.
BTW I did this drawing on scrap booking card stock and it is laid paper so it has a slight cross weave texture you may be able to see it.
I have been following Sadie Jernigan Valeri's blog posts on the Hudson River School Fellowship that she is a part of and her work looks splendid and I can't wait to see what all of her work turns into.
You can also look up Hudson River School Fellowship and see some great work.
Oh well, I'm off to bed.

Northville Day 2

2009-07-09T21:04:00.001-04:00

This one took 20 minutes and then the light disappeared. That's when I put my stuff away and ate cheeze its. I love that snack.

This one was difficult. I had to keep my eyes from following flow lines in the water. It took 2 hours. I may try it again.

Northville Village

2009-07-08T21:58:00.001-04:00

These drawings took about 1 hour each. They are done in graphite and currently exist in my sketchbook.

Woodland

2009-07-08T00:37:00.000-04:00

I'm pleased with this one. I think mostly because I learned some new things in terms of technique. It has an Inness feel to it.

2009-07-06T22:39:00.000-04:00

2009-07-01T22:03:00.001-04:00

2009-06-29T18:49:00.001-04:00

2009-06-25T18:56:00.001-04:00

I had time to fit this in. I wish I actually lived around this kind of scenery.

2009-06-20T09:30:00.002-04:00

Work has been exhausting. I found time to fit this in.

I have a couple oils on panel but they're not dry enough to scan yet.

2009-06-14T22:14:00.001-04:00

Just trying my hand at transitional light. One of my favorite art periods is the Tonalist period or American Barbizon School.

2009-06-14T12:28:00.000-04:00

2009-06-11T20:56:00.001-04:00

Now these I am pleased with.

Feel free to critique though.

2009-06-11T07:09:00.001-04:00

Some sketches. Mostly imaginative.

2009-06-06T21:44:00.001-04:00

The first one is a copy of a pen and ink study on display at the Detroit Institute of Art. The original was done by Felice Giani cir. 1700's.

The rest are light and landscape studies.

All are watercolor and gouache.

Light Studies

2009-06-02T18:59:00.001-04:00

More watercolors. These are basic light studies but it felt good to be a little bolder with the brush and the light.

Hey Jeremy, you have to check something out. Look up Erik Tiemens. On his site is a link to his blog. Once at his blog go to his archives and look at March 2008. There is an incredble tutorial there. It is sure to please.

2009-05-31T15:48:00.001-04:00

This a tree in a park near my house.

I see it all the time so I pulled over and got it.

Watercolor Postcard

2009-05-27T18:17:00.000-04:00

This is a copy of a Paul Lasaine painting. His was done in acrylic. I did mine in watercolor. Mine is painted on a blank postcard. All I need now is a stamp. Maybe I'll mail it to Paul. That would be hysterical.

I did this sketch while waiting for a dock at the airport. I am a delivery guy. They are always mean to me at the airport. The architecture and plays of light are beautiful.

Landscape Sketches

2009-05-20T22:04:00.001-04:00

I saw this scene on the way to Baltimore Md from Michigan. There was this tree out on the fringe and it was distinctly beautiful. I recently did this drawing from my memory. I saw it a year and a half ago.

I got off work early today and took a detour through a state park and did a sketch of this tree. I think it is either an elm or a sycamore tree. I am faithfully taking Nathan Fowkes advice to do one serious study each day. He also told me that the experience that comes from that is exponential in it's progress. That is good advice.

I left the tape on this one because I might take it further. I use post-it tape. It peels off very easy and makes a clean frame around your work.

I also did this one at the state park today. This one is a quick 1 minute sketch. 2 State park fire fighters were doing routine brush fires to renew the ground and clear brush. There was a huge tree between them and I got this gesture study before they told me to stay back. I told them that I wanted to sketch them while they worked. Finally they agreed but the wind changed and smoke was everywhere. I talked to the person in charge and he invited me back to do more sketches.

I saw a Nathan Fowkes painting and did a drawing from memory.

Again I appologize for the crooked scans and that line from my scanner.

Cheers

Still Life Dead Layer

2009-05-15T05:19:00.001-04:00

Update.
Here is the finnished dead layer.

I have been busy at work and at painting.

Here is a still life that I have been working on for about 6 months.

I am halfway though the dead layer. This classical still life is done in the Flemish Technique which admitedly I don't know that much about, except what I have learned from Alexei Antonov.

Here's how it has progressed so far...

Art Day With My Daughter

2009-04-29T01:11:00.001-04:00

Today was, paint with my daughter day. Here's a few of our Daddy Daughter paintings.

My daughter, Sarah, is 3 years old. This is her frog painting.

This is her banana.

She absolutely blows me away. She has some keen artistic senses. I didn't help her at all with these. In fact I never interfere with what she wants to paint or anything. The only time that I help is when she asks. Most of the time she flies solo. I have stacks of these.

This is one I did.

We have so much fun when we do this.

We did these with finger paints.

Cheers

My 1st Oil Painting

2009-04-27T15:39:00.001-04:00

This was done on an unprimed piece of cardboard with one paintbrush and some oil colors.

It actually didn't turn out too bad for my 1st painting.

This from my back porch.