Untitled Angel - Finished

Untitled Angel, oil on canvas, 18" x 40," in a private collection.

I recently finished and delivered this commissioned piece last weekend.  It was fun to paint, but I'm glad to be finished.  I have several other paintings waiting and I'm ready to start.

Derelict

Oil 12" x 14" on cradled panel. This painting is no longer available for sale. [The painting's colors are bright, but the photo toned the image up some, more so than in life.]

The remains of this house are on the corner of South Louisiana and West 13th Street in Little Rock (see the image below). I think someone may actually be renovating the house, but progress is extremely slow (hardly any progress over the last six years I've been watching them). It's a great house, I hope the succeed in finishing it one day.

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Wipe Out

I've been painting, but the results have been less than satisfactory. In fact, they have been terrible. I've ended up wiping down all of my recent paintings, so I can reuse the panels. As a kid, I always use to wonder why so many famous artists burned their early works. Now I know.

But, there is hope. The most recent one I started looks promising. Hopefully, it'll make it. If so, it should be posted this week. Wish me luck.

Hog Wild

I've been using the same basic set-up for my quick, plein air oil paintings since I began this blog. I use a limited palette of about eight colors (mars black, titanium white, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow light, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, indian yellow, and maybe burnt umber or yellow ochre), a cradled wood panel (6"x8" up to 10" x 14"), and a fist full of round, hog-hair brushes (rounds, sizes 8-12). I give myself around 30-40 minutes to work based on the size of the panel and the light & weather conditions.

The purpose of these quick paintings is to loosen up my painting style and to get me warmed up for bigger projects. And, this formula has worked pretty well for me. Sure, about a third to half the painting don't make it, but the ones that do have been getting better and better. And, most importantly, I'm painting.

Prior to this, a lot of paintings never got finished. I'd agonize about every brush stroke, and, if the painting was starting to look good, I'd be paralyzed with the fear of ruining it. And, I fretted about wasting my precious, expensive oil paints on bad paintings. For years, I didn't manage to produce much.

I tried to limit myself to as few variables as possible with my plein air exercises. My formal education in oil painting has been pretty erratic, so I figured that would have to learn through experimentation. This gave me the chance to explore what all I could do with a particular set of materials by limiting myself to using only them. It also allowed me to focus more on the painting itself than my material.

Recently, I've become dissatisfied with my round, hog-hair brushes. There isn't anything wrong with them, it's just that I'm tired of only using them. I've been looking at a lot of other artists' works and wondering, "how did they do that?" One of the answers is that they are using different brushes than I am.

I've bought some new brushes. Not too many yet since I'm on a pretty tight budget, but I have scrounged up some filberts and square brushes with synthetic and sable bristles. I've used them on a few of my more recent paintings which may be why some of them are not turning out as well as I like. It takes me a while to get use to new things, but I think that the change has been good. It may be ugly, but progress is being made.

Delays

Sorry I haven't posted more art this week. I've had lots of trouble with my car this week, so that has been keeping me very busy. I hope to have more art up by Monday.

Frühjahr

Oil on 10" x 14" cradled panel, for sale at The Frame Shop and Gallery in Russellville, Arkansas. SOLD.

Update

I've been working on some landscape paintings this week. I'm going to neglect working on our house tonight in favor of finishing them. Hopefully, I'll get one or two posted tomorrow.

Granny Smith

Oil on 9" x 12" cradled panel, $100.00.

Update

It was a very busy weekend, so I didn't manage to take pictures of my newest paintings. Hopefully, I get them posted later today or tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

Work in Progress

Oil on canvas, approximately 20" x 45."

A Quick Update

Sorry that I don't have any paintings to post today. That isn't to say that I haven't been busy with art. I have a couple big pieces that I am trying to finish that I may post soon. Also, one of my in-laws is going to self-publish a children's book, and he's asked me to do some illustrations as a favor. I tried painting some quick sketches of fruit this week, but they turned out very badly and were wiped down. Hopefully, I'll get into my groove tonight and paint something worth showing.

On a different note, I've been looking at a lot of artists online. I'm amazed by how many really good artists there are out there. And, I am also astounded by how many seem to be making a living with their art. That isn't something I saw much of while growing-up. Most artists that I encountered either did art as a hobby or they were a teacher of one sort or another. No one was just an artist. If I'd know that you could really make a successful career out of art at sixteen, my life may have turned out completely different.

But, as long as you have a pulse, it's never too late to try something new, right?

March, Afternoon Melting Snow

Oil on canvas, approximately 5" x 12," SOLD.

March, Morning Snow

10" x 14" oil on cradled panel, $250.

03/12/08 - I recently entered this painting in an art contest. I should know if I won anything in late April. Wish me luck!

Free At Last

So, here it finally is. I've been working on this painting since November 2006. It's 3'x3' oil on canvas. It is one of the monster commissioned pieces that I've been working on lately, so it is not for sale since it already has a home.

To date, this is the largest landscape painting that I've completed. Unlike most of the smaller paintings that I've been posting and selling on this blog, this painting was completed with the use of reference photos, a practice from which I've been trying to minimalize. Working from life is best, but sometimes you just can't manage it. This cypress grove is just off the interstate outside of Conway, and painting from the shoulder of the road just wasn't an option.

Update

Sorry that I haven't posted any new paintings lately. I've been working on two large, commissioned pieces. Once they are finished, I hope to have some new work to show.

Hot and Dry

Oil on cradled panel, 9"x12," $100.

August Hickory

Oil on stretched canvas, 18" x 24," $500.

Setting

Oil on cradled panel, 8" x 10," $100.00.

Haze and Hickories

Oil on cradled panel, 8" x 10", SOLD.

Big Ben

Gouache on illustration board, approximately 10"x10," $275.00.

This painting was a project at SCAD. Using our gouache sets (black, white, primary red, primary blue, and primary yellow only) we were supposed to paint a picture in the style of Chuck Close from a photograph.

I think the measurements are correct, but please check with me if I haven't updated this post and you are interested in the painting.