Figuring it all out

There are so many things that make a good painting - composition has to top the list but there is also color selection and the use of highlights and shadow. If you're trying to convey a mood or feeling there is a challenge to get that just right.

The most useful thing I ever heard from a painting teacher was "Never forget - your painting must stand on its own - you will not always be there to explain what you meant to say."

This most recent painting was an exercise to convey a feeling of childhood excitement. I like the composition for the most part - the parts were taken mostly from photographs. First, I had to figure out the colors I wanted to use to make the subject stand out. I worked out how much detail I wanted to put in to the surroundings, trying not to draw attention from the subject. After the first pass I stepped back and asked myself "Does this painting say what I wanted it to say?" - If not, why not?

I think I'm on the right path with this one. I need to work on the shadows on the floor and the back wall might be a little too dark. I like the looseness of the cabinet and stove areas but the chair, since it is attached to the subject, needs more detail. The pot on the stove does not work at all and needs to be changed or removed all together. Do you have any ideas where I might improve this one?

"Cookie Watch" 8 x 8 acrylic

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Basset Hound on Blue

Some dogs deserve to be dressed up but when I tried to imagine a shirt and tie on this poor fellow I could almost hear him saying "I'm already pretty silly looking, please don't make it worse"...

"Basset Hound on Blue" was a quick acrylic based loosely on a very cute photo from a magazine. I may rework this one later and dress him like a clown, a banker, or a cowboy. What costume do you think suits him best?

"Basset Hound on Blue" 8x10 acrylic

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Walk the Dog

With pet ownership comes responsibility, right? That was my thought for this painting - neither the boy nor the dog look too thrilled about this assigned chore.

"Walk the Dog" 8x10 acrylic on canvas

As I was working on this painting I looked back at a painting from last week and was shocked at the similarities - it almost looks like a 'then and now' comparison. Can you see what I mean?


I think I'll do a few 'dog only' paintings this week. After watching the movie "Plunkett and Macleane" last night, I'm in the mood to dress the dogs like 18th century English gentlemen...

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Two Little Chiefs - Updated!

This post went up a few hours ago - then a friend commented on FaceBook "Are those boys supposed to be naked?"

My first reaction was "Huh?". Then it was "You're being silly". Then I looked at the painting again and realized the boy on the left did not have any pants on!

He was supposed to have leather trousers on but in my big hurry to finish the painting I just swished around some brown paint and threw a few shadows down there. How was I to know my random shadows would look like private parts. When I said I thought I was 90% finished with the piece I never realized how literal that really was!

I am completely embarrassed and I have not laughed so hard in months. Here's the painting updated - everyone is fully dressed - I promise!

Little Chiefs - 8x10 on canvas

----- Original post ----------

After painting "Late for the Parade" I decided to try a few more paintings with a rustic American theme. I found a great photo of two boys dressed in American Indian costumes. The light was hard and their faces were partially shadowed. I really loved their smiles and the white feathers and red highlights against the blue background.

I tried a new technique with this painting. I gessoed the canvas and while still wet, I placed some red tissue paper on top of the wet paint and let it wrinkle where it wanted to. After it dried I applied a layer of clear gesso to cut down on the bleed through from the red.

I think I'm 90% finished with this one but I'll leave it for a week to see what else I need to do to it before I seal it with varnish.

Little Chiefs - 8x10 on canvas

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Rooster Redux

I just got around to varnishing my most recent rooster painting and I realized I forgot to share this one!
The idea for this painting came from a great picture of a very noble rooster I found:

Heart Throb

He was described as the "heart throb" of the barn yard so I decided he needed a fan club in his portrait. This one is titled "Chick Magnet"... for obvious reasons :-)

"Chick Magnet" acrylic on 12 x 12 stretched canvas

I've got my eye on my next subject for a crazy rooster painting and he looks a lot like Mick Jagger... stay tuned!

You can see an earlier Crazy Rooster painting here

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Mission Accomplished!

I promised myself I would paint today (and go to the gym and read part of a book). I'm quite proud of myself because in spite of my crazy to-do list, I took the day off and did it all!

Here's the picture I wanted to paint from my earlier post:


There were a few things about the picture I wanted to change but for the most part I wanted to paint it in a loose style and keep the "Rockwell" feeling about it. I've named the piece "Late for the Parade" and I think it turned out pretty well!

"Late for the Parade" 8x10 acrylic

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I WILL paint today!

Things are crazy busy around here since we started these candidate forums - so many things to coordinate and prepare! We're working hard to give the voters some exposure to all of the local candidates before the primary election:



I'm trying to squeeze in some creative time and this afternoon I might have a chance. Here is the picture I want to try and capture on canvas:


I adore that little dog and the challenge will be to make him stand out!

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Creatures Great and Small

Along with celebrating the holiday weekend with friends, I took some time off to do my second favorite thing today - paint!

After the tiny boxes painting (see last post) I fell back to my favorite subjects - anything in the animal kingdom!

First I painted a crazy rooster, inspired by something I heard on the radio - a fast food chain out west called "Koo Koo Roos". This was a lot of fun and I think I could do an entire series of crazy roosters.



After that I tried to clean up a doggie potrait that has been sitting around for a while. I found this great image of a dog with a brown and a blue eye. I don't even know what kind of dog he is, do you?


Finally, I went after a new subject I had never tried before - a sea lion. I found an adorable photo in Audobon magazine that looked like a sea lion having a dream. If I were a sea lion I'd be dreaming of fish everywhere...


Tucker my cat is asleep beside me right now - his paws are twitching so I guess he's chasing things in his dreams as well...

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Little Boxes on the hill side...

Little boxes made of ticky tacky. Little boxes on the hillside and they all look just the same...

Do you have that song stuck in your head now? Welcome to my world!

I decided to paint a landscape last week - a subject I rarely take on. There are two reasons for that: I find the subject BORING and probably more importantly, I don't think I'm very good at it.

I saw an amazing photo of a fishing village with lots of brightly colored, sunlit houses and thought "Yummy colors, I could paint that..." Three dozen houses later I was thinking "WHY did I ever take this project on!?!" This painting took about 8 hours (super long for me) and I have now learned that if you're going to try and paint three dozen tiny house - draw them first! Painting in a loose style does not mean you can ignore the laws of physics or architecture!

I think I'm finished with this painting, mostly because I don't have any more energy or interest in painting little boxes...

"Little Boxes" 14x18 acrylic on canvas

Oh, and I now have a greater respect for landscape artists...

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