When we last looked at this challenging pencil commission of a Texas scene, it looked like this. When I don’t know where to begin, I just pick something that is somewhat concrete, something with a photo to follow, rather than work on the things I have to make up. So, distant trees, grass, and tractor. […]
Back at the Drawing Table
I told you that I have a very challenging drawing commission. Well yippee skippee, I finally had a pair of minutes to concentrate on the project. It is almost more of a design problem than an is-this-even-possible problem, like those tiny faces back in the winter. (Visible as Item #10 on Ten New Things Learned […]
Somewhere in Oregon
These paintings of rural Oregon scenes were high on my list of Want To Paint, but rather than go to a retail establishment that caters to visitors to Sequoia National Park, they will get framed and then be part of my upcoming show, Around Here, and Sometime a Little Farther, in August at the Tulare […]
Because I Wanted To
When I began oil painting with only the primary colors (“double primary palette” means 2 each of the 3 primary colors + white), I wondered why I thought that 2 different sets of 120 colored pencils were necessary. Colored pencil is not a main part of my art-making life: De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, […]
Custom Art Job—A Map
The owners of a ranch used a hand drawn map to show visitors (for various reasons) how to find the right pastures, and they decided that a pretty map would better serve their purposes. They brought the hand drawn map along with a county map showing property lines and buildings. Think, think, think. How do […]
Two Starts, One Finish, One Start-to-Finish
Translation of the title: I started two new paintings, finished one painting, and completed one in a single painting session (called alla prima in ArtSpeak, which means you layer wet upon wet). With a sequoia painting in the queue but not wanting to waste paint in non-sequoia colors on the palette, I chose to begin […]
A Little Painting Session
Recently, I had to leave Three Rivers at 10 a.m. This presented two choices: A. waste time until 10, or B. paint for an hour or two before leaving. Being the responsible mature adult that I am (oh hush, you!), I wisely chose B. Creating Tulare County-based paintings is what I do; wasting time is […]
Growing an Oak Tree (in Oil Paint)
Let’s review. I really liked this painting, but no one was willing to give me green pieces of paper with dead presidents’ faces on it in exchange. So, after going through some photos and thinking about my current inventory, I decided to grow a big oak tree on the canvas. Jackson required some attention. He […]
Drastic Do-over in the Painting Workshop
A friend of mine sells agriculture real estate. When I used to waste time on LinkedIn*, occasionally I’d see a photo of his and ask to paint from it. That’s where I got this painting, Springville Ranch. Apparently, no one else shared my interest in this subject or my happiness with the colors. Bye-bye, Springville […]
Finishing Tasks in the Painting Workshop
The reason I refer to “the painting workshop” instead of “the studio” is because I paint in a different building than where I draw. The drawing studio came first, and when I began oil painting on March 8, 2006, it was imperative to keep that mess away from my pencil drawings. It still is imperative; […]