30-34 (30 in 30 Challenge) - Qiang Huang and a bunch of studies

Every time I get on blogger to make this final post I've gotten distracted by other art blogs I follow. Namely Qiang-Huang. His artwork in my blogger dashboard feed makes me completely forget what I got on my computer to do. That and makes me re-think posting my little attempts at painting. His work -- the shapes, the tones, the angles, the colors, the brushwork.... I could look at it forever. So, yes, what I was saying: it has been a very busy week and the limited time I've taken to post to the blog has been hijacked by Qiang Huang (pronounce Chong Wong, fyi). If you don't have 20 extra minutes in your day, don't click on the link.

My 30th painting turned into five. Rather, five studies for future paintings. Some studies were for a commission, some for upcoming shows. All completed on July 1st, which was really the 30th day in the challenge for me, since I began on June 2nd.

 

Details are still being worked through, but a number of the paintings of the 30 in 30 will be on display at Gallery Flux's "En Plein Air" gallery artists and "Big Skies" juried exhibits during August and September. More details to come!

Thanks for all the "likes" on the blog posts on facebook and the encouragement during the month. I'm honored that you all actually take the time to look and read. Thank you!

22 (30 in 30 Challenge) "Azaleas in Bloom" 18x24

You may remember this post from the end of May. Well, several more hours (most of which were spent on those windows) and it's complete. I dropped it off at it's new home and the couple was thrilled. (And it made the artist feel great.)

I began the painting before the start of the 30 in 30, but it was completed during the challenge, so I'm counting it! Hope that's ok with you.

Azaleas in Bloom

18x24, oil

If you're interested in the last few step-by-step photos of the creation of this house portrait, here ya go:

(See Part #1 here)

 

How does the saying go? "Happy collector, happy artist"? Eh, not quite. Nor does it rhyme, but that's ok. It's true.

21 (30 in 30 Challenge) - How about the cutest house ever

 

Cutest House Ever

6x8, oil

This one was another commission.

Love these little house portraits.

19 and 20 (30 in 30 Challenge) - Two Snippets... that are out of order

These paintings were commissioned by friends and will end up as a gifts to their respective special someones. I've got no plans to ruin any surprises around here (but still gotta get credit for the 30 in 30), so you internet folks get to see a cropping of the painting.

The one on the left is from the final painting, the one on the right is a cropping of the small study I did leading up to the larger/final painting.

Full size will be posted at a later date.

A Commission in the works

Hope you all are having a good holiday. I missed some time painting last week, so I spent the majority of the day in the studio with this one:

 Below is a  18x24" painting I've been working on for the last few weeks. I'm enjoying the intense spring colors. Those blues, yellows and reds are so delicious.

The biggest challenge with this house portrait is the perspective of the garage. It looked awkward even in the photos. I've spend I don't know how many hours moving the angles of the roof, shutters, siding a millimeter over and a millimeter back again and again. 

So many lessons I should have learned already. Don't attempt to paint something that looks wrong before you even begin.

I'm still not happy with the angles, but it will have to wait for another day.

To be continued.

"Lauryn and Matthew" pencil, 5x7

Lauryn and Matthew

pencil, 5x7

A good friend asked me to draw her and her husband as a Valeninte's Day gift. Loved the strong light, dynamic diagonals and personal connection of these two fabulous people. Such fun to draw!

"The Three Bears", 6x6

"The Three Bears"

6x6, oil on panel

This little painting was created as a gift for a friend (and his wife) who helped set up and hosted my website for years and years. (Thanks, Tim!) It was so much fun to paint -- those colors, the kids expression/stances and of course those beautiful blues of the ocean. I painted from an Instagram photo (i think) taken by Gail Emerson.

A painting grows up: "Clouds Over Jockeys Ridge", 10x10

Sometimes small paintings stay small and sometimes they also grow up into a little larger paintings. This was the case for a recent painting commission. Over the summer I painted a 6x6" painting titled "Clouds Over Jockey's Ridge". I painted it on location in OBX.

I was contacted by Diana at For Art's Sake to paint a slightly larger version of the piece for client. I took progress photos of the painting to share.

 

 Burnt Umber underpainting to lay out the shapes.

 

 I began with the sky, and everything that touched it -- the trees on the horizon and the bush in the foreground.

  

A shot of my palette post-sky.

 

The water on Jockey's Ridge (the sound side) is shallow and the waves were small. Love that dark smokey blue with the flecks of the white caps and the reflections of the sky.

 

Next, I started constructing the shapes of the driftwood/bear branches.

 

Beach complete, but the colors needed to be corrected. I gave it a week or so to dry before adding some thin glazes of color.

 

"Clouds Over Jockey's Ridge"

10x10, oil on panel

It was definitely a fun one to revisit.

Thanks for reading!

15 Paintings in 15 Days (Round 2) - Day Four

For Day Four I'm posting a commissioned painting that I started a few days before the 15 in 15 began, but the majority of the work was completed during the last 3 days, so it'll have to count for one of my 15 paintings. 

 "Gunny's Lookout"

9x12, oil

(It's not 100% finished -- still need to work on the lettering of the sign on the side of the house.)

As I mentioned this was a commissioned work, so here's an opportunity to explain my process for creating a painting for a client. 

5x7" study of "Gunny's Lookout"

1. After discussing the concept or location the client wishes to capture I paint a loose study of the scene and ask for feedback. We settled on this vertical orientation to capture his puppy, Gunny, standing with front paws on the railing, looking out over the beach.

2. Next a size is chosen and the underpainting is begun. In this case I spent a lot of time getting those architectural angles correct and adequate spacing of the railings to "let" Gunny peak through.

3. I don't usually paint one section to completion before adding color to the rest of the canvas, but I did in this case because of the amount of detail necessary in such a small almost 1" squared area.

4. I ended up painting almost this entire painting section by section. As I said I don't usually do this but I had my previous study by which to assess my colors and values. In the above photo I painted in the color of the house and the beach chairs/fishing rods/Adirondack chairs that would be behind the railing. I let this section dry overnight.

5. Next step was the railing & posts/pillars. For some reason getting the right gray with the correct amount of color in it was pretty difficult. I'm very happy with the result, but this portion of the painting was quite time consuming.

6. After several hours the paint was starting to get tacky so I sealed it in a large palette saver (plastic air tight box) and placed it in the "freezer" (the back porch) over night. Above is after working on it a bit more. I made a "swipe" of the sky color next to the house which really helped to asses values and hues. Wish I had done that the day before.

 

7. And then the fun dabs of color to make up the beach, bathers, tents, sea gulls, kite, sand and sea grass. The client asked for an oval OBX sign to commemorate the trip. I still need to work on the letter for the warm wood colored sign on the side of the house, but the rest is complete.

Below are a few detail shots of the painting.

 Definitely counts as another fun one! I'll update this post when the sign is added... but I had to get a painting posted before I head out to the in-laws' house tonight. Have a great weekend!

House Portrait: "Tír na nÓg" 18x24, oil

"Tír na nÓg"

18x24, oil on canvas

This was a commissioned house portrait. Tír na nÓg mean "land of eternal youth and beauty". With 10 beautiful, woody acres on the banks of the Swift Creek Reservoir, I would say so!  My client actually designed the house himself. Another very enjoyable piece to paint.

Six Beautiful People

Allow me to introduce you to six beautiful people.

These were commissioned by my uncle as a Christmas present to his family.

Ed

8x10", graphite on bristol

 Carol

8x10", graphite on bristol

Will

8x10", graphite on bristol

Vandi

8x10", graphite on bristol

Sarah

8x10", graphite on bristol

Helen

8x10", graphite on bristol

These were an absolute joy to render. Hope it shows.

Thinking back I just wanted to share the "mosts" of the creation of these portraits:

Most tedious part: All those curls!

Easiest part: Those lovely toothy grins were easier than anticipated

Favorite feature: The eyebrows! It's amazing how unique eyebrows are to each face. We take them for granted way too often.

It's beginning to look a lot light Christmas...

I believe it was the beginning of October that I noticed the first Christmas decorations out in the stores. Earlier and earlier every year, I'm telling you folks. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas & all the hype leading up to it. All I'm saying is to let the pumpkins and fall foliage have their fair share.

Here, however, was a good 'n' proper opportunity to blast a the Christmas tunes a few months early.

A client (and now turned friend) commissioned me to paint a few scenes of her hometown, McAdenville, NC, a.k.a Christmas Town USA. Every December the small town outside Charlotte is decked for the holidays in white, red and green lights. This is what Wikipedia has to say about McAdenville:

The lights attract visitors from all over the country and is one of the biggest light shows in the US. Begun in 1956 with the assistance of Pharr Yarns, the largest employer and land owner in the town, many trees and buildings in the town are covered in Christmas lights and some form of decoration. More than 300,000 vehicles visit each year.^[4] The lights are entirely maintained by volunteers from the community, and no admission is charged. Pharr Yarns picks up the electric bill for the event.

(source)

Sounds like a fun place? Well, then I don't need to say much about how fun these two paintings were to create.

 

 "The Pharr House"

Home of W. M. Pharr, owner of Pharr Yarns, the company who (according to Wikipedia) picked up the electricity bill for those who participate in the Christmas lighting event.

McAdenville, NC/Christmas Town USA

16x20, oil on canvas

(sold)

 "The McAdenville Lake"

The lake is located in the center of the town, along with the textile factory (mentioned above), and is one of the main attractions.

McAdenville, NC/Christmas Town USA

6x8, oil on canvas

(sold)

Now if it doesn't feel like Christmas yet but you don't mind getting your toes wet, here's a good place to start. :)

 (Feliz Navidad, Playing for Change video)

Climbing Mount Rainier, 18x24

Climbing Mount Rainier, 18x24, oil sold

This commission appeared on my newsletter at the beginning of the month. This piece has to be one of my favorite commissions of all time. I had a low dpi reference photo, which can make things difficult but with the graphic nature of this piece plus those dazzling deep blues, this piece, while challenging, was quite fun and gratifying.

 Below are the step by step photos of the creation of this painting.

1. Before beginning the final piece I completed a loose 6x8" study painting and sent to the client for approval:

 2. All elements are penciled in, then the first layers of the background are applied.

 

 3. The first layers of the snow in the foreground are begun below:

 

A shot of how I set up to paint from the study:

 5. More layers added to the sky, background and snow, figures and gear are painted in as well.

Climbing Mount Rainier

18x24, oil on canvas

sold

Closer look at the figures:

Mount Rainier is located in Washington State, elevation 14,411 ft. 

Interested in commissioning a custom painting?

E-mail me for more info or head over to the Purchasing FAQ page on my website.

Gunny on the Beach

Gunny's Beach House

The Lookout

Gunny was a 8 month old Yorkie I met on the beach in Nags Head this summer, filled with wonder and adored by his owners. His owners asked me to paint a piece of Gunny on the beach. These were two of my study paintings from the brainstorming process. It was too cute not to share on the blog.

"Cleo" - Black and White to Color

I know I've been MIA for the past week or so, but that doesn't mean I haven't been painting. If you're on my Facebook page, you've seen I've been doing a bit of painting on location as well as sketching for the Summer Sketchbook Challenge. In addition I've been working on a number of commissioned paintings. I hope to share a few of them here over the next few weeks.

Below is one that took quite a bit more effort than most. I don't typically paint portraits from black and white photos, although we did quite a bit of that while in art school at VCU. I wouldn't even consider myself a portrait painter. This commission was a tough one to tackle, but I am happy with the result.

Cleo

16x20, oil

I recorded each step in the painting's progression:

I started with a 5x7 "study" to make sure I could handle it.

Here I set up the underpainting with burnt umber, then added the dark areas of the hair, eyes and eyebrows.

My palette and the flesh tone mixtures.

 

Here is the reference photo next to the study. Flesh tones were being placed and the blouse painted. The request was for a blue blouse. :)

 

 

A loose block in of the flesh tones, and some refining of the tones & transitions.

Finishing up with the eyes & then painting in the background.

Now I'm ready (as I'll ever be) to paint the full-size piece - 16x20:

After laying in the underpainting, I decided to start with the eyes this time.

 

Here I'm beginning to lay in the skin tones & clothing.

Finalizing the facial structure & defining the hair.

 

Here, the reference photo with the study & final after the background was added.

 

The finished piece. 

16x20, oil.

She loved it. :)