A New Commission Completed

I've had this commission to compete for some time now, an oil painting of a fruit still-life. I set the "models" up under an interesting light source and took some reference photos. Then I created some painting sketches on Corel Painter to get the feel and composition I might want to use for the painting. When working in acrylic or oil I usually begin by starting with a quick pencil sketch followed up by an oil sketch, usually with burnt umber and mineral spirits. Then I start blocking in the forms. I like to keep it very loose in the beginning and then work into the details. For this particular painting I wanted the the composition to be loose, quick, and full of brush strokes and energy. The texture of the paint is important for this style as well. Please feel free to comment and critique the work.

Finally Finished!

I have finally finished the ipad painting of my oldest daughter. I have probably spent the last three or so months working on it off and on. It was completed on the app, Inspire Pro, done totally freehand, with the exception of drawing some of the initial line work. It is not a "paintover." A paint over is when someone imports a photo into a computer app or program and just uses various smudge brushes to give the appearance of a painting. A lot of digital paintings on the Internet are done this way. The person pulling the stunt off wishes to receive all of the accolades of completing such a masterpiece but they never took the time to draw it, create the correct shadows,lighting or color. It really is a complete cheat. I'm not saying this type of workflow doesn't have a place in the arts, just be honest about it. What makes for a good painting are those small mistakes and flaws. These give it a human touch while at the same time mastery over the form and media brings credibility. When you can place the painting over the photo and it exactly matches, something is not quite right, it is a copy. Artists need to take the time to do their own research, spend the countless hours learning to draw and paint and then claim masterpiece status. Anyways that is my take on the excesses of computer art. I myself use technology to aid in my artistic endeavors but it needs to be used in such a way to expand creativity and uniqueness not create a plastic and lifeless art. 

The Final Painting, I think.

Painted Carving

I decided to paint a thin oil coat on the sculpture and then rub back a little to the previous color. I'm not sure if I like it. I'm still a little unsure about the overall sculpture, the small chin, the fact the left cheek bone is smaller than the right etc.  Well just as I tell my students, "you have to be willing to make mistakes to learn." And I will chalk this one up to the learning process. I'm in the planning stages of my next carving, which will be in Brazilian Cherry, a very dense hard wood but beautiful.