painting – Through My Eyes

Finishing Touches

It has been my experience so far that the last strokes on a painting can make or break it!

This painting was actually done as what I refer to as a waste canvas, you know when you use leftover paint to create another painting. It had actually been sitting in my barn for over a year. I pulled it out tonight with the intention of painting over it.

Sometimes just relooking at a piece can be a game-changer. What just looked like a bunch of strokes before tonight was given life. Just creating an open eye made all the difference.

She’s not perfect. She’s not even pretty, but she is unique.

Never throw out a canvas. A second look and a few extra strokes might be your next sale.

Merry Christmas and a blessed new year.

Paint & Glaze

Good morning my friends. As I continue on this artist journey I will pass on to you any tips and tricks I find.

When I initially unpacked my Dad’s art supplies after he passed I kept moving around this bottle of Glaze.

Over the years I did not find a use for it until today. Honestly, I really didn’t expect it to be any good since it had to be at least twenty years old. I shook it up and heard that familiar “slosh”. This plaque needed a little something on the edge.

I carefully unscrewed the top and poured a little into my palette. With a half-inch brush, I waited to see if this bronze Glaze was going to do the trick. Standing back looking at it I decided it was definitely worth the wait.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. The thing you pass on might be the one thing you should have done. Will definitely be glazing again.

Have a great artistic day.

Gallery Ready

Well, when my instructor asked me to show a few pieces at our local arts council I was a little hesitant.

My largest piece at 22×28 is my Kayak Run. If you are one of my FB friends you have already seen these but now you get the story with them.

As a photographer, I have many times photographed kayaks maneuvering the rapids and rivers including in the Smoky Mountains. Of course, my favorite places in full or in part end up in a painting.

My second entry is Shawl Dancer.

I have many times photographed beautiful native american women at Pow Wows doing this same dance. When I sat down to do this piece I wanted to do her with as much color as possible.

3rd Entry

My smallest piece at 11×14 is Cyprees Knees.

This picture really came about by accident as I use whatever paint I have on my palette to create my next painting. A few days prior I had been photographing knees in Edenton. I guess they were still in my head when I created this. The driftwood was simply a creative stroke.

Now that these pieces have been submitted I can just enjoy painting. Here’s today’s creation in water color on aged paper.

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my crazy artistic life.

Have a great day. Don’t forget to like and share.

Taking Art To The Next Level

If you are not making enough money selling your drawings and paintings you do have other options. Turn your art into sellable products.

For instance, I create art both digitally and through photography. I take an image and scan it into my computer. At this point, I can import the image into my cross-stitch software to generate a pattern or upload it to a print-on-demand company that will transfer the image onto their products like cups, T-shirts, etc.

This is the image I am going to start with. This is the initial raw sketch.

From this sketch I am going to create three-way products, painting on a canvas bag, cross stitch pattern and print-on-demand products.

This is a work in progress for the painting on a bag project.

Within just a few hours I was also able to initiate the creation of this pattern from this same design.

My last step in this diversification process will be when I upload the original image to a print-on-demand site to print on already established products like cups and tees. You now you should understand the process of diversification in art. Now I am not saying you have to do it the way I did but it is a way of keeping your art alive and monetized.

So artists get cranking out that beautiful work and let’s see the metamorphosis begin.

Have a blessed day.

Strokes… Painting Without A Canvas

Well, this week I have ventured outside of my comfort zone. Normally I stick to canvas and to landscapes. This is what I did differently, thanks to my art instructor. I painted an animal instead of a boring landscape. He’s a bit rough but developing his own character

Today I decided to ditch the canvas and paint on a raw live Catawba leaf. I wasn’t prepared for how much the leaf would absorb the acrylic paint. It’s going to take more paint since this one leaf spans about two hands wide. Going to need more paint still but here is my little cabin next to a mountain creek.

I like experimenting with different textures, sources, and new projects. Previously I have painted on wood, rocks, and metal watering cans.

Don’t be afraid to explore the unknown. Feel what you paint instead of just laying down strokes.

Until next time, keep stroking!

Painting Shenanigans

The art of painting is limited only by the extent of your mind and imagination. The canvas is one place where you can leave your stress and worries and step into another world. You can fulfill fantasies of adventure without injury and insult to your body. In a painting, you can recreate a memory that will fade with time in a photograph.

Here are two of my paintings. Comments welcome, but be kind.

If you have visited my Facebook page, you might have seen this:

Kayak Run is a 20×22 acrylic/oil mixed media. I have never been kayaking or “run the rapids,” but in creating this piece, I imagined myself in the last kayak with my dog.

In contrast, the next one was painted about a year ago, but I pulled it out this morning to touch it up. For you space junkies this one is for you. This acrylic piece is a small 8×10 canvas that conveys futuristic space travel.

Hope you enjoyed this peak into my gallery.

Have a great day, and remember God loves you.

Getting A Few Strokes In

For some artists, they are easily inspired. For me, that is not the case. Typically, I paint from photographs or prints like calendar prints. This painting I just did impromptu as a tribute to Native American women.

I have always admired Native American women because of their dedication to family and their artesian skills. This is a brief look into how I built this painting.

You can see I did a tentative sketch on the canvas. I always build my painting in layers, starting with the background and bringing it forward.

After I have put the first coat on the background, I start on the larger areas of the primary image. Laying in shadows and highlights as you go helps save time.

What makes a painting work or not work is the details. Here, I added detailed work on the shawl fringe, skirt, and boots. The background also got dome details with a few river Rick’s and grassy patches.

You don’t have to rush a painting. Enjoy the strokes.

Have a great day. Give a kid a brush today!

Alphabet Challenge – P

Painting

I hardly claim to be a Rembrandt but I do love to paint. Here is what I have just started.

And this is what I am painting from. I shot this at South Myrtle Beach last summer.

While I have a long way to go to make the painting more like the photograph, it’s about the journey.

In fact it may not look completely like the photograph because I tend to stray and add or take away to make the painting my own. I find that when I try to duplicate from the original too much it takes away my creativity and just becomes work!

Vanessa Horabuena is currently one of my favorite artists. Her paintings are faith based. Recently I have been pondering how I could include my faith in my paintings. Ironically, the shadow of the beams in the foreground form a cross.

Including a theme or message in a painting makes it much more powerful. It’s not the money you receive when you sell a piece, it’s that part of yourself you include that is the real reward.

If you don’t think you are an artist then you might consider supporting your local artists. Great art will not just give your home that “special something” it may inspire you as well or take you back to a special memory.

Have a great day. Be blessed and support art in schools.

From My Studio

I am very hyper so it is often hard for me to focus on one thing. I tend to bounce from one painting to another. Being somewhat of a perfectionist I tend to keep going back over a painting. Formerly I thought it was just a flaw in my character until I started studying the works of Akiane Kramarik. If you are not familiar with her look her up on YouTube. She is an artistic prodigy and best known for the painting “Prince of Peace” shown in the movie “Heaven Is For Real”. She paints over or makes changes to her paintings numerus times before completing a painting.

I on the other hand, just cannot be satisfied. The painting you will see below I have touched up or reworked several times and am still not completely satisfied with the face.

Native By Birth – American By Choice

I guess my biggest problem is I want my paintings to say something and not just be paint on canvas. A painting should convey a message or feeling. I love going to galleries and seeing paintings that just pull you in and then there are those that you wonder why they are even there. You know the ones…not just abstract but the ones that are so simplistic they lack any depth at all.

When you look at a portrait you should be able to have a sense of who that person was….needless to say I have not arrived yet but it does not deter me from trying to get to that point.

Well on to the next canvas. Until I lay the first stroke down I never know where the brush will take me.

Have a blessed day!

When Inspiration Drives Your Painting

I typically don’t do portraits but I was inspired by faith to create a painting of Christ.

While it pales in comparison to some paintings, this is my interpretation. Of course skin color is my biggest hurdle. Whites like to think he is white while blacks like to think he was black. I based the skin color based on what I know of his lineage.

He is not as perfect as he should be but then I am far short of being perfect.

As a painter you should challenge yourself daily. Keep Christ in your life and maybe add a little spirit to your paintings.

God truly bless you!