A new painting commission - Burden County Fair 1940.

A few weeks ago, I was approached by a local follower of my artwork with a request to undertake a commission painting. He told me that he had been brought up in Kansas and wanted to capture his memories as a young boy attending a local County Fair.

He was specific as to the location and many of the things he wanted to see: the horse race track, the Ferris wheel, the grandstand, and many details of the fairground midway. Plus, the time was to be set at about 1940. After some more discussion, I requested that he prepare a sketch "map" of the fair layout, which we both agreed would the basis for the final painting.

Upon looking at the quite detailed map he presented, we decided on a viewpoint that showed the required activities and objects. With all this in mind, I prepared an intial thumbnail sketch to futher pin down the painting. From this we agreed on the aspect ratio and the size of the final painting (so that it would fit his available hanging space). Also, the sketch allowed me to correct details where my own interpretations did not agree with his memories.

He had already done quite a bit or research. He had some photographs, and prints from Google Images of specific objects, events, and scenes from that period. As I started painting, I have augmented these images with many others from my own research.

There will be many figures in the final painting which raises many supplementary questions: What were the woman's dress styles and length from that period? What kind of head gear did men and boys wear? What do Kansas skys look like in the summer? What did older Cars and Trucks look like at that time? What was racing regalia like then for both horses and riders? And so it goes on.

I have got about half way through the initial layout. I have been sending him digital photographs of the work as it progresses. Soon I will have him over to my studio to see where I have deviated from his memory. I love big crowd paintings. The project is both challenging and enjoyable.

Serious Conversations.

Four Latino men were discussing the problems of the day. One seated man seemed to be giving his opinion while the others listened. But another is leaning on his bicycle pausing to hear the story, before proceeding on his way.

Maybe the four are friends who gather often to ponder on the issues of the moment.

I discovered this group among the many photographs I had taken while traveling in Mexico during 2006. Their study in human interaction intrigued me, and I used it to constructed this 16 x 20 inch studio oil painting.

Waiting At Starbucks

We were sitting at a table near the line of people waiting to place their order at a Starbucks coffee shop. Service was slow. Perhaps everyone wanted a complex order.

But this row of mostly young people found waiting as an opportunity to socialize.

As sat there, I became fascinated by their shoes. I pulled out my digital camera and with my hand close to the floor I took a series of photographs from which this 18 x 48 inch oil painting was developed.

I added the napkin on the floor (which has the imprint from someone's lipstick) to bring interest to the foreground. The painting is a study of imagined human interactions. The body language from the legs, leaves much to the imagination.

Formal Portrait of a Friend Completed

Last month I received back the digital image of my recently completed formal portrait if a friend. The portrait is too big to use my scanning/photomerge technique to make the image myself. The canvas was too large to balance on my scanner. I had to send it to my local photographer who has access to a 25 megapixel camera.

I wanted the high resolution to allow the possible full size print reproduction at ImageKind. I try to make all my paintings available this way.

This is my first attempt at a formal portrait. I started with a series of digital photographs taken at his home. There were groups of images in each of several poses, some seated, and some standing. I used daylight augmented by a floodlight.

From these images I chose a specific pose. Then painted the portrait looking at the various photographs of that pose. The facial expression varied with each image, allowing me to choose the best data from each. I chose to paint a near black background (actually a mixture of red and green complementary pigments) with a slight green rear highlight behind the left shoulder.

New Group Painting - Encounter/Yellow Umbrella

A couple meet on a cold rainy day to talk briefly under a yellow umbrella. From the bright colored bag dangling from her hand, it appears she has been shopping in a nearby store. He carries a portfolio and a small bag over his shoulder. Perhaps he is on his way to a business meeting.

This painting is loosely based upon various photographs I took in Paris, France, last Spring (2008). I wanted the image to induce the feeling of a connection between the two figures. Yet it is only a brief encounter, since each has their own agenda. The yellow umbrella links the two together for these few moments.

I am trying to play down the individuality of the figures. I want the viewer to identify the people from their own imagination. The male figure's face is hidden. The female's face is only sketchy - enough to see she is please with the chance encounter.

The composition has been chosen to use a wide range of values, from the dark coats of the figures to the white of the distant light on this rainy day.

30 x 24 inches. Oil on canvas. Unframed with painted edges.

Pretty Baby, Another Painting Completed.

"Pretty Baby" is latest of my new group portraits in the soft story telling style of my recent work.

A young mother, while out walking, is showing off her baby to her girlfriend. The friend looks at the hidden baby with an expression of awe and perhaps mixed with other feelings.

While traveling in France during early 2008, I saw these young women near an open air café. I took several photographs from which this painting was derived.

For a while I thought the woman in green was the mother and the woman in black was the friend - and then I saw the wedding ring on the hand of the figure in black.

The most difficult task was to handle the details of the under side of the baby carriage. There was a lot of detail in the original photographs. It was necessary to simplify yet maintain a structural integrity so that it felt sturdy.

In the end, I used the long supporting posts as visual lines to draw the viewer into picture.

The baby is very present in the thoughts of the viewer, but not seen. The mother's face is hidden, but also is present in the tensions of the picture. Only the girlfriend's face is seen in detail and provides the source of energy to the viewer.

Morning News - Another Painting Finished!

My latest painting "Morning News" (24 x 30 inches) has been finished and scanned. There seems to have been a host of events that have delayed its completion.

Among many things, we have had some work done in and around the house which has needed my attention away from painting. Also, I twice took the partially finished painting to my critique group who each time gave me good advice in steering the painting along more interesting lines of composition.

It is based upon some photographs I took along the streets of France, last spring. The three men are fairly close to the original situation, but the background, the wall and window signs, and the newspapers all came from imagination or other places.

I am happy with the outcome.

Portraits and the Sitter

An issue facing every portrait painter is the acceptance by the sitter of the finished result.

A recent article in the New York Sun by the London Daily Telegraph writer Neil Tweedie neatly sums up this dilemma.

Tweedie outlines various past and recent, famous and less famous portrait painters who have faced this situation. For some the subject just destroyed the work so others should not see it. For others, they eventually learned to lived with the finished painting.

I have just received back a portrait painting that I gave to a couple to celebrate their wedding. The wife has requested that I rework her nose.

I have another portrait that hangs near my studio awaiting the sitter to return for a final sitting. In this case the sitter is embarrassed that I chose him as a subject and so far has not been brave enough to view the nearly completed work.

The dilemmas of a portrait painter.

A Few Days in Palm Springs

This time of year, Palm Springs, California, is very hot and usually dry. Each June my wife and I take a week off to dry out. Any one who has lived a few years in Santa Barbara soon knows that June is famous for its "June Gloom" - a time of daily cool overcast weather.

As I type the temperature is approaching 110 degrees (F) and surprisingly humid. The newspaper indicates that the Santa Barbara weather is in the high 60's, and overcast - the usual June Gloom.

Most of the time I spend the week catching up on my magazines, while my wife alternates between soaking in the pool, reading, and shopping in the few local shops still open this time of year.

One "must" visit for me is to the Palm Springs Art Museum, a couple of blocks from where we always stay. This year they have a great exhibit of sculptures by Henry Moore and similar works from the early 20th century. But the must see exhibit is "D. J. Hall: Thirty-Five Year Retrospective ."

I have to admit I was not familiar with this artist Debra Jane Hall (she always signs herself with her initials: D. J.) before visiting the exhibit. But one quick glance and I realised I was in love!

To quote from the curator, Katherine Hough "Her subjects are women of privilege - those with time to lounge by pools or lunch on patios. But the hyper-realism of the work gives it an edge, makes the viewer wonder what is amiss in paradise."

The exhibit features about 50 paintings, along with examples of photographs, drawings, studies and notes that Hall has used to prepare large paintings.

"One of things she captures," continues Hough, "she presents an illusion of reality. It's not really reality and she captures that magical moment when memory reminds us of happy time we had with friends in the sunshine. It's a memory or an illusion. It's happy and bright and cheerful but when you start really looking at the subjects, there are deeper meanings."

I love her work because it is almost photo realistic, but obviously composed - the players, all women, have these wide open toothy smiles and often big opaque sunglasses. The smiles and glasses keep the viewer from really observing what was going on. There is an appealing artificiality about the paintings that captured me as I examined each.

Also, there were examples of her notes and sketches used to compose particular paintings. Often they were detailed in the style of a story board - similar to planning out a movie. A really good draftsman/artist, her sketches are very detailed and accurate. The notes said that she hired models, who often became her friends, and often provided props from her own household. I noticed how the same models and props, such as pitchers, and other items, appear in several paintings.

Though working mostly in oil, also shown were smaller artworks in colored pencils, crayon, watercolor, gouache, and pastel. I learned a lot about how she planed her "shoots" and how she set up "stories" that play with the viewer's emotions and capture one's thoughts.

If you are in Palm Springs this summer, try to visit this inspiring exhibit. Then let me know what you think about the paintngs.

Another Musician Painting

We were painting in an area near an old church, when suddenly a funeral procession came by. I was attending a painting workshop near the mountain colonial town of Patzcuaro in western Mexico.

The coffin, born by six burly men, apparently contained someone of some local stature. For the procession was large and accompanied by a band of some fourteen Mariachi musicians.

As the crowd started into the church, the musicians arranged themselves along the path beside the entrance, and played to the gathering morners.

Each player was probably a local shopkeeper or worker in the small town. Each had probably taken time off to honor the dead person.

I have always enjoyed developing paintings with a musical theme. This painting, named Mariachi, is loosely based upon several photographs I took years ago while at that workshop.

Another Portrait Finished

We were eating at the café at the Getty Villa Museum, Malibu California. There was a noisy crowd at a table across the patio.

I took a series of photographs of the group, because they were interesting and animated. Upon examining the images later, I liked particularly this woman's face.

The painting I developed is quite a bit different. Her coloring and clothing has been changed.

I named her Jan. But once again, I never knew her real name.

As you may see, I made a layout change here from my usual portraits. I placed the face to the right of the canvas, instead of in the center. She gives me a soft feeling with her glance, and I felt the space in this layout conveys that softness to the viewer.

She has this "tooth" smile. In real life the teeth were not quite aligned at the bottom. When submitting the nearly finished painting to my critique group, they felt the irregularity attracted too much attention. So I "filed" down her teeth and painted them neatly in a row.

Painting teeth are difficult. Getting just the right color is hard. Again, too white brings the viewer's eye to them too quickly. Too much of any other color may make the face dour.

One of my critique group is a retired dentist. His feedback has taught me a lot.

On Painting with Gouache

As I may have mentioned in an earlier Blog, the most popular page of my website is a discussion of how I paint with Gouache.

Starting in the middle of the nineteenth century and continuing through the middle of the twentieth century, most European & American artists painted in Gouache at one time or another in their careers.

Throughout the twentieth century commercial artists used Gouache widely. This association with commerce caused many contemporary artists of that period to avoid its use. And, until recently, few fine artists used Gouache.

Much of my early work was in watercolor. To increase the boldness of the colors I started intermix Gouache with my transparent watercolors.

This technique, with its resulting strong colors and sharp contrast, appealed greatly to me. Also, at about the same time, I started using a varnish finish and doing away with protective glass and its reflections – a big plus.

Maybe the general interest today in Gouache painting is due to it still being some what unusual. Now, I mostly paint in oil. But for some years I painted in Gouache, and produced many fine paintings.

I have been gradually enriching that web page on Gouache techniques with additional material and illustrations. Also, I have been adding to my website examples of my Gouache period paintings, with links from the popular web page to my web galleries of the Gouache paintings.

As I refine my web page, perhaps some visitors will look beyond that and see some of my more recent work.

New Painting Completed.

Just finished this new painting "Friends." As usual these days, this 16 x 20 inch painting is an oil on canvas, unframed, and with painted edges.

Two women, one well dressed, the other – perhaps best described as a bit of a slob – are sitting on a street bench. Both have a paper cup of some drink in their hands – probably picked up at a nearby stall.

They are in a deep discussion of some problem. The woman in yellow looks worried. The other is offering helpful ideas and encouragement. After all, that is what friends are for.

Quite possibly it is about a man, or a relative, or maybe about a health issue. All the usual possibilities. It is left to the viewer to decide.

I wanted to push the images a little, to make them more dramatic. The story is the key element. The result is a rather more styled painting than my more recent work.

Last summer I took some photographs at the Thursday evening Street Fair and Farmer's Market, while visiting Palm Springs, California. In the background of one photograph, very small, I saw these two women sitting on a bench and talking. From that fragment I developed this painting.

Why I Paint.

Maybe some people will say I am a fool, or even non-professional.

Many artists I know get into a groove painting images that they have found sell well. They get continual feedback from their successful sales. The work they are producing is liked by others. Their customers keep coming back for more.

This flow of positive feedback means that they keep turning out images that (hopefully) will be loved by their audience and bring them a steady income. This motivation is reinforced by their spouse and family, who like the security.

Perhaps because I have never found this cocoon of comfort. Perhaps because I have turned away buyer feedback because it did not jibe with my own feelings as to what was good work. Upon completing an artwork, I always look for a new challenge – a new approach to convey my message.

For years I have always been looking for the next mountain to climb. I am never satisfied with what I am producing. Maybe I have missed opportunities. Maybe I confuse my customers. I probably discourage agents and galleries.

But I am lucky in that I do not have to depend upon my sales to pay for the bread on my table. And, I have reached an age when I am not out to impress anyone. I paint what I enjoy painting. I am always trying to do better.

Of course, I have the problem of storing a lot of unsold painting. But I have partly solved that by giving them away – either to friends and family, or donating them to local charity fundraisers.

So watch this space. The future should be interesting – at least to me!

Another Painting Is Finished!

"Evening Serenade" is oil on canvas, 12 x 24 inches. It is loosely based upon several photographs I took several years ago in Puerto Vallarta, a beach resort on the west coast of Mexico.

I have always enjoyed developing paintings with a musical theme. In this image a group of ten people (probably tourists) are sitting at a beach side cantina.

As the sun slowly sinks into the ocean, they are listening to four guitar playing musicians serenading them with sweet nothings.

With this painting, the first with a music theme I have painted in oil, I will introduce a new section to my website to exhibit some of my earlier goauche paintings with a similar theme.

2008 - getting back in the swing of things.

At last I am back at painting everyday. And now to get my blogging up to a schedule.

I am about 3/4 finished on a new painting with fourteen figures - do I call it a group or a crowd? It is based upon some images I captured in Mexico a couple of years or more ago. I always liked the photos and now have got around to painting them. The painting consists of a group of musicians entertaining some people at a beach side bar.

It has a sunset sky (I seem to be hung up on these skies), the ocean, and the sandy beach with lots of shadows. There a lot of tiny details which I enjoy painting with my smallest brushes (000), but it is slow work. Still have not got a name for the painting. Will have to work on that one.

Otherwise, I am putting a lot of time into helping my non-profit Santa Barbara Visual Arts. It is membership renewal time and I have been arranging for the solicitations and answering the many questions that arise. Plus, I have to build the emailing lists for 2008 as people pay.

To make things easier, last year we tried using the PayPal method of allowing people the option of paying online with a credit card. It gets the money in faster, and requires less handling and bookwork. This year we expanded the approach by adding several different fee rates and using the online payment method for each.

On the whole things have gone very well. Of course, some of the larger organizations still require invoices, but I have been submitting them by email, which seems to be accepted and makes thing easier (and cheaper for us).

New Painting and Consequential Issues

At long last I got my recent painting of "Marty and Diane" back from my photographer. I immediately shipped it off to them as an early surprise holiday gift.

A few days later I received a phone call Marty expressing strong appreciation and thanks, and then tentatively asking if I could alter Diane's nose.

My wife, my resident critic, never liked the way I had painted Diane's nose. I had struggled with it, but thought I had got it right. One of the troubles of painting portraits of friends, family, and of course commissions, is that the likeness has got to be good.

After the phone call I blew up in Photoshop the original photograph to show Diane's nose, and also the same area of the painting. The comparison was not so good. The photograph showed the nose both shorter and softer. I wish I had done this before I completed the painting. I guess that is how one learns.

Marty (a really old friend) and his recent new wife Diane, live in San Diego, and are planning to travel up to see us in January. They will bring the painting with them, and I promised to apply my painterly skills to adjust the offending nose.

Another Finished Painting.

Today I finished up another new painting. This is to be a gift to our good friends Marty and Diane who live in San Diego. A short while ago we went to their wedding and from the many photographs I took that day, I have composed a painting to commemorate their wedding.

It is on a 16 x 20 inch canvas and shows head and shoulder poses of them looking at each other. As is common for me, the image was derived from several photographs. No one image had exactly the expressions that I needed to capture. One of the advantages that an artist has over a photographer is that he may improve on nature. Or at least choose the best parts of several shots.

Hopefully this coming week I will be able to drop it off at my photographer for him to take the usual high resolution image, and then I will mail it to them.

Heal The Ocean Exhibit - I Am Juried In!

Last Monday was the ingathering for this month's special juried exhibit at Gallery 113, benefiting the local charity "Heal The Ocean." My wife and I had to go to Los Angeles for the Monday night to look after some of our grandchildren. A neighbor artist friend was kind enough to enter my new painting "Sunset Stroll," and it was accepted.

The annual show is hung salon style with paintings crammed in from floor to ceiling. So I do not know where my painting ended up hanging, but it will be part of a wall of art. I will be there in a couple of weeks for my monthly duty of "sitting" the gallery.

New Painting

Have recently finished another painting "Sunset Stroll." It is a hybrid between a Landscape (which I have not painted for several years) and a Group of people. This painting shows two people walking on the beach at sunset, and is different than what I have done lately.

My intent is to enter it in a new show at Gallery 113 next month, a benefit for a local charity "Heal The Ocean."


The image was created by scanning the painting in four sections on my scanner. And then using Photoshop Element's Panorama photo-merge feature to knit the four images together. I found several problems. The scanning of the painting directly on the glass table produced many highlights where the surface of the paint touched the glass. These had to be edited out by hand. Also, the brightness/contrast of each scan had to be closely balanced to reduce color banding between the knitted sections.

The knitting process takes quite a while on the computer, and the result is very effective. But the preparation is very time consuming, and the result is still not perfect.