Angel Statue

Here is my latest painting.  It is another statue.  This one of an angel.  She has obviously been outside for a long time and has moss growing on her in places.  I've added just enough details to her body and wings to give her form, but the overall impression I wanted someone to take away is that of her have sat outside for a long time.

I started painting her with a base color of payne's grey for her body, then slowly added in some van dyke brown in some shadowy areas, or anywhere that I wanted to make her a bit warmer.  (as the payne's grey can get a little cold sometime)  I just gave indications of some shadow lines on her body and her wings.  They give just enough detail.  I kept her face as clean and as bright as I could.  I wanted it to be a bit lighter than everything else on the paintings.  This was to make her face the focal point of this painting.   I'll be t you did it subconsciously.  You looked at the entire painting, but your eyes kept coming back to her face.

I'm happy with this painting.  I might go back and make the background even a little darker, which would make her a little lighter by contrast, and therefore jump off the page a little more.  But if I never get around to doing that, I'm happy with what I have here.

If you have not seen my video of this painting,  I've got a link below.  Thank you, and I hope you enjoy it.

Weathered Statue of a Woman

It was cold in the studio when I painted this.   I've got bookmarks on several pictures across the web that I might want to paint one day.  I was thinking that if I painted a warm picture, that I might warm up myself.

The picture I took this from seemed like it was taken on a warm summers evening.  I convinced myself, after looking at this picture again, that painting it would definitely warm me up.

I used yellow ochre, van dyke brown and transparent orange oxide for the majority of this painting.  Those 3 colors certainly put a warm spin on this.  In order to cool it down a bit, I used a bit of payne's grey.  In some places I used it straight, without mixing, but mostly mixed it with the van dyke brown to warm it a little, almost like a sepia.

I used a lot of layers to build up the depth and detail on this painting.  I probably should have done a few more layers.

I did put a little spatter on this painting.  I used the same colors that I used to paint her body.  In hind sight, I should have done a little more of the spatter too.

I hope you like it.  If you have an interest in watching me paint it, I've provided a video below.

Foot Bridge over a River in Zion National Park

Here is my representation of a bridge over a river in Zion National Park.  I've been to Zion many times, and it is truly one of natures most stunning places.  At least if you like that desert, canyon kind of thing.  The red rocks of the cliff faces tower over the valley floors.  I don't think there is one place you can go in the park that doesn't have stunning views.
I believe this bridge is at the beginning of the path to Angels Landing.  You cross this bridge, then into refrigerator canyon, up Walter's Wiggles, and out across a some very thin rock faces, to the precipice. The last half mile of the trip is not for the faint of heart.  There will be thousand foot drop offs, and path's with seemingly no handholds and almost no footholds.  But if you make it out to the end, the views are terrific.   The last time I went, it was in the mid 70's on the canyon floor, and by the time I got about 1/2 way out to the end, it started snowing, and got quite windy.  I didn't know if I should hurry to fight the cold, slow down to combat the wind, or  just turn back.  In the end, I just soldiered on and made it to the end.  Some German hikers were nice enough to let me warm my finger by the camp stove they had carried with them.

As for this paintings, I think I got a few things right.  the distant mountain really distant, the close mountain is close.  The trees are definitely closer than the mountain and they have a little depth to them.  True there could be a little more, but there is some.  Even the water looks like it gets closer as it reaches the bottom of the page.

I might try this one again.  Or at least I'll do some other paintings from Zion.  As with many of my recent paintings, i did a video to go with this.  If you are interested in seeing how I did it, you can see the video below.  Thanks for taking the time to view and read.

Christmas Card - Poinsettia

As you have seen in an earlier post, I've started on my Christmas cards a bit early this year.  I didn't want to wait until the end and then have to rush to get them done.

Yes, this is essentially the same card I did last year, if you were lucky enough to receive one of those, but with a couple notable exceptions.

Even though this years cards are not really what poinsettias look like they are much closer than I got last year.  Last years had much longer thinner leaves/petals.  This year, I've moved to a bit more of a realistic flower, but not too far.

This flower, as you can see, has red petals, but each petal also has a healthy dose of yellow also.  The effect gives the petals a lot of life in them.  They look much better than just a plain old red petal.  And if you look closely at the second level of petal, you will see that not only is there yellow in the red, but the shadow color is actually green.  3 colors in those petals!!!   Finally, the green leaves aren't just green, they have a bit of yellow in them as well.   Just enough to bring them to life a bit.

Well, thats probably more than you wanted to know about how I painted this christmas card, but since you asked.  Oh, wait, you didn't?  Well, I wanted to tell you anyway.  And don't forget, if you want to watch me paint it, you can do it below.  Thanks for the quick read, and take a look at the video, it's really pretty good.

Don't forget I've got some social media accounts.   Check them out below.
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Christmas Card - Decorative Glass Balls

So, I have started painting my Christmas or Holiday cards for this year already.  I want to start early.  Last year I got a little behind, and it was hard trying to catch up.  So here is the first one that I am posting.  It is of course some hanging ornaments.

You might wonder how I got the balls so perfectly round.  Well, let me tell you.  Electrical Tape.  It is the perfect size for balls on a 5 x 7 card.

So, I figure I've got about 20 cards to paint.  It seems like a lot, but not a lot.  Between work, family and friends, that could easily be many many more.  I've limited the number to just those that have made the biggest impact in my life over the previous year.

The cards? Well, last year, i bought packs of them at the local hardware store.  This year.... Amazon.  I got a pack of 100 for 30 bucks.  Thats pretty good.  I'm pretty sure that means I get them for 30 cents a piece.

I think this one looks pretty good, and its pretty easy to paint.  If you have an interest in seeing how it did it,  you can watch the video below.

Thank you.

Painting Negative Spaces with Hydrangea

I did a similar painting several months back.  It just kind of happened organically.  I didn't purposely go into thinking I would paint all the negative space around an object, but it kind of worked that way.  In this painting, I specifically set about trying to paint only the negative spaces.  I do with I had mixed in maybe a little purple or magenta with all the blue but I came out pretty neat.

Also, I think, that if I do this again, or maybe I'll go back and do it on this painting, that I'll incorporate some veins into the leaves.  I did put the button in the middle of these flowers, but that was all.  Perhaps a bit of veining will really bring this painting to the next level and give the leaves a little more texture and depth.

Well, regardless of whether I go back and do more or not, I had a great time painting this one.  I hope you enjoy the painting, and if you would like to watch it, I do have a video of how I did it.