Lots of New Work

  I haven't updated this blog in quite awhile but that doesn't mean I have stopped making art. I've been busy doing so along with beginning a new art teaching position at a different school. It has been a joy to get to know my new students and see all of their talent come forth. We have been working on watercolor portraits, pen and ink designs and so much more. My teaching technique is to work along with them to produce an example which hopefully motivates and gives them ideas for their works.

  The two paintings above were actually completed last school year in the spring. They are digital paintings completed on the iPad using the Inspire app. They represent reoccurring themes in my paintings, beautiful light pouring forth in nature, dramatic skies, and a quiet, stable peace.

Ipad Jesus Icon

This particular ipad painting painting was inspired by icon painting. I choose an icon image from the internet to use as a guide. I trace the main outlines of the face from this image and then proceeded to paint in the colors in my own fashion. Bold dark lines frame the face and break up the value areas. I used some of Procreate's texture brushes to give the back ground a wood grain quality. The second image was created by using Pic Grunger and some of its texture filters. 

Creating art is hard to do lately.

Teaching art at the high school level is both fulfilling and a little exhausting. One of the more difficult aspects to teaching any subject to teenagers is dealing with the lack of motivation. That is my job, the job of motivating students to put forth there best effort, to create quality works of art. But many times that just does not happen. 

During the school year I find it difficult to be an artist myself and neglect my own creative drive because I am frankly tired. But I do like where technology and art meet. Here I am posting two manipulated photographs. One verges on the edge of
total abstraction the other seems to have a poetic quality to it. Anyhow if any readers would be so kind to comment and let me know what you think, I would appreciate it. 

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.

My Oldest

I've been working on and off on this painting for about a month and a half. I would say I'm a little more than half way through it. It is being completed with Inspire Pro and I am working it the same way in which I would work a traditional painting, perhaps even more carefully. It starts first with a sketch and then I begin laying in the darks and lights, gradually building up to the realism of the image. In this case I am working each area to completion rather than working the image as a whole. 

Jesus Drawing

I tweaked my original drawing in Corel Painter; added some strokes and color. I think the overall result is more powerful and artistic.

Japanese Style Print

I had fun creating this drawing. I've been practicing a lot recently with the ipad app, Zen Brush. I like the app because of the immediacy of the drawings, no pressure to create a masterpiece, just the pure joy of drawing. And it must be kept simple because the app itself is simple, not much to it like others with loads of tools and layers.
I started with Zen Brush and created the basic ink wash drawing. I then sent it over to the app, Etchings. That gave the crosshatching effect to the image. After that I used PS Touch and played with the color and saturation, I also added the scratches to the image. I finally used Pic Grunger to give some limited texture. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Little Creature

I've been working on this ipad painting for quite some time. I used the Procreate app. The bird is completely worked freehand with the details painted in after a confident contour drawing was rendered. The background was also painted with the final step being to add a slight texture layer. The subject is a female grackle, a very common bird in the Southern US. They are small unique little creatures in their own right.

New Digital Painting

I've been working on this painting for quite some time. The beautiful model is my wife. I used various techniques for the image but the majority was freehand painted with the exception of the texture layer added at the end. Texture tends to deepen the image and add intrigue.

Another Scene on the way to Work

As usual my long drive to work in the morning offers many beautiful scenes for a painting.