Mars black with burnt sienna

I got up early today to work on this one but it turned out to be such a nice day that I had to get out of the house, so I just filled in some darker colors with mars black mixed with burnt sienna, gold ochre and white. Nothing fancy at this point just filling in color and reworking the drawing a little.

Frank Frazetts practice in progress # 2

I enjoyed drawing the first Frank Frazetta so much I've decided to start another one. Hopefully I'll start to put the color in soon.

Frank Frazetta in progress

I’ve been working on this one all day now, I sketched it freehand with Burnt sienna and raw umber.

Frank Frazetta practice in progress

What inspires a child to oil paint ?

I was wondering just what kind of artwork I was exposed too as a child, that would have inspired my passion for oil painting today. Not an easy question to answer, because I have absolutely no memory of a teacher’s encouragement regarding art at all, and while encouraging in there own way my parents weren’t artsy people. We never went to art galleries or art museums and the artwork in our home over the years was store bought and drab. So not a lot of inspiration there.
Then what was it? What was that inspiring element of my youth that opened up my heart and fires my passion for oil paint today? After some thought the answer became clear. It was Church and Frank Frazetta! I know an unlikely combination, but let me explain. While going to Sunday Mass may have been a chore for me growing up, once at church I can remember being captivated by the dramatic story telling of the frescos. I never herd a word the priest said. I would just stare at the ceiling and walls for an hour. The passion of Christ, his ascension into heaven, angels, sinners and saints it was all amazing.

Well then....now that I think about it, every week my parents took me to the best art gallery in town! Thanks mom and dad! So yes... without a doubt I can say that going to church was the key factor that opened up my heart to the world of art. But what was it that inspired me enough to grab a paint brush and try to paint something.

Well ....we all read comic books growing up, but I could take them or leave them.... for me it was just something to do. My brother on the other hand had an awful lot of comic books. I would say he had thousands of them. But that was his thing not mine. I don’t think I ever read any of his comics and I’m not so sure he would have let me either. But one day I noticed he had some framed Frank Frazetta prints hanging in his room and I don’t think I’ve looked at art the same way since. Vikings in battle with axes in hand riding enormous horses, giant snakes, crazy monsters, beautiful woman with lions and leopards. I had never seen anything like them before, what imagination they were mesmerizing. I would stare at them with the desire to create my own.....I just didn’t know how.

I can remember doing a lot of pencil drawings of snakes, dragons, space ships and monsters what ever was in my head I would try to draw it, but it was difficult with no guidance and it wasn’t long before it became discouraging. Then came high school, girls, beer, cars and it wasn’t long before art went right out the window.

Not learning how to oil paint has always been one of my biggest regrets and for some reason about four years ago I decided to make up for lost time by learning as much as I can about the process. I know I can do this, it does not come easy for me and every painting is a challenge. But my mind is set.

So as I stare at a Frank Frazetta painting on line my heart beats a little faster and the lost child in me says he wants take a another shot at it.

Muddy Palette

I think I’ll call it quits for today. The paint is starting to dry and its become difficult to blend the colors on the canvas. When to colors start getting muddy, you know its time to back off. I’ll stare at it now for a day or so and see what I like and don’t like about it. Then I’ll come back at it with a clean palette and hopefully finish it up.

palette knife to make a more painterly painting

I have added more detail in some areas and started using a palette knife to make it a more painterly painting. Although I am pleased with my progress there are still a few issues with the shape of the armoire that I will have to address. I can remember almost having a nervous break down getting this thing up the stairs, I guess it’s not through beating me up yet.

Painting is Mandatory When its Raining

Saturday morning and it’s raining ....again. And my motto is "painting is mandatory when its raining and sunny days are for getting the heck out of the house." I ‘ve been working on this now for a few hours. I’m trying to bring some depth and detail into it.

Oil painting, blocking in of the shapes

I started to roughly block in the shapes with color using the same limited palette as the last painting. So far I mixed all the colors on the canvas to speed things up but more likely because my foot still hurts and I didn't feel like running down the stairs again to get my palette knife.

Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna wash

Sketching with a wash of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna, I just about have the composition work out.

Oil Painting the House

I’ve decided to start another oil painting, this one will be of the upstairs master bedroom. I have to admit that I’m intrigued by Andrew Wyeth’s idea of documenting old homes and there past way of life through his art. It kind of lets the home live on long after its gone and you can never go back . Like an old photo but more intimate more personal. After my last painting of the spare bedroom I’ve decided to do the same with the rest of my home, document it through my paintings. I’m always looking for interesting things to paint and this house seems to be full of them. I just have to bring the easel from room to room without making a mess.

Andrew Wyeth inspiration,day# 3

I’m still working on this one.....I might just let it dry and look into those amazing dry brush techniques of Andrew Wyeth, although it may be difficult with oil on canvas. I used the palette knife to highlight some of the lightest lights and I am pleased with the results. I may just decide to let this one go as is. I’ll see how I feel about it in a few days.

Andrew Wyeth book review

I have been reading the Andrew Wyeth autobiography. In the book the artist explains in his own words the story behind his paintings. Painting with words he allows the viewer to see his paintings and enjoy them in a whole new light. The book has 133 tempera, dry brush and watercolor paintings and five pencil sketches. The amount of detail that he gets from his dry brush techniques are mind boggling .

Andrew Wyeth inspiration in progress,Day #2

This is my second day of working on this painting, my palette is Chromatic Black, Raw Sienna, Sap Green, Burnt Sienna, Alizarin Permanent and Titanium White.

Andrew Wyeth inspiration in progress

Northern light is truly amazing, I find myself really painting the light. I started to add some more detail to the sketch, while trying not to over do it. I still want to keep this painting simple. Perhaps on the order of an Anderw Wyeth.
I've been painting for about four hours now, I think I'll take a break and have a late lunch!

Northern light oil painting

I have been wanting to paint the spare bedroom in my house with the northern light for some time now. After (cleaning the room up a little.......because know one wants to see a painting of cloths on a bed right?) ....I opened the blinds to allow the correct amount of light to come in. I then started sketching the room with a wash of burnt umber.

Oil Painting Value Exercise

A good exercise for studying value is to set up your still life with as many objects of the same color as possible. I feel this forces me to be more observant to all the intricate details of an object and to view each item as an individual abstract rather then a whole.

Dead Roses

The roses in this painting are from my yard and believe me they were full of life when I started painting them, but they wilted so fast that I just couldn’t keep up. By the time I was finished with the painting they were totally flat.

Stokes Forest

I went on a camping trip to Stokes Forest this weekend. My intention was to get in some mountain biking and to run there many challenging trails. Well....after the 2nd day of running I tore something in my foot, probably a ligament or a tendon who knows....all I herd was a loud rip and that was it ....run over. So I wrapped my foot in an ace bandage a limped five miles back to camp. With the rest of the day to kill I blew the dust off my old watercolors and tried to remember how to do it. The next time I come here I’m going the have to get a french easel and bring the oils.

Bouguerea painting attempt

I’m still working on this Adophe William Bouguerea painting. I’ve been building up the color by first oiling up the section of the painting I’m working on with a mixture of Walnut oil, Dammar varnish and Turpenoid. I’ve also been adding this mixture to the paints as needed to control the transparency. The more mixture added the more transparent the colors become. If you click on the link it will take you to a great PDF file written by Mark Warker titled Bouguerea at work. There is so much useful information on Bouguerea's process here that I would not have gotten this far into my painting without it.

Wipe it off, Scrape it off or Paint right over it.

The apples in this painting weren’t working for me so I painted a wine glass over them. I love the freedom of oil painting, because your never really committed to a mistake. You just wipe it off, scrape it off or paint right over it.........Now you just can’t say that about all the other mistakes you make in life... now can you?

Movies for the Oil Painter, How To Steal a Million

In this elegant "caper" film, Audrey Hepburn stars as the daughter of a wealthy Parisian (Hugh Griffith), whose hobby is copying famous works of art. His replica of a famed Cellini sculpture is inadvertently displayed in an art museum, and he begins to worry that he'll lose his reputation once the experts evaluate the statuette. Audrey decides to rob the museum, and hires a burglar (Peter O'Toole) for that purpose. But the burglar is really a detective, who has every intention of arresting Audrey and her father when the deed is done. All style and little substance, How to Steal a Million is consummately acted by the stars, but the film is stolen hands-down by a "double take" reaction from French comic actor Moustache. The film was originally titled How to Steal a Million Dollars and Live Happily Ever After, which gave the whole game away and thus was pared down before release

Adolphe William Bouguereau Study

Tinting With Oil Color

After tightening up the drawing a little more, I started tinting some areas with the colors one at a time using Burnt umber, Prussian blue and Chromatic black.

Drawing with a paint brush

With a few different size bright brushes I cut into the dark’s to sharpen the drawing, adding detail and light . Basically I’m drawing with a paint brush. Adding and subtracting light where needed to give the form dimension.