7

jennifer1I had been in Michigan all week teaching art and preparing for a show. I had paintings all ready to go, but wanted to add another one. I tried to finish it up, but I couldn’t stand my results. I decided not to enter it, but instead, I wanted to paint over it.

I was at my daughter’s house. I asked her to sit next to a window so I could get natural light. This portrait is what was painted.

Note the color of her hair and face on the left side. It is painted white because that is what I actually saw as the outside light illumnated her face. Next, look at her eyes. As the light shines through the irises, the right sides lighten up to a light yellow. There is a highlight on the eye on the left. It is on the white of the eye and crosses slightly into the iris. These techniques give life to them.

5

duskontheblueridgeSince I was a little kid I have been bored with “scenery” pictures. My dad would show slides he took. I loved the ones with people in them, but he stared forever at the scenery shots. Because of that, I’ve been more interested in painting people, buildings, and cars than landscapes.

This may have changed last Sunday night when our son and his wife drove us on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

This painting portrays a typical scene along the drive. Note the atmospheric perspective as the mountains become bluer and more faded the further out they go. Then the lone tree stands starkly silhouetted in the foreground. These things give depth to the painting.

I will say I was charmed with the scenery.

3

ladawn2I love doing oil paintings. What I enjoy the very most is portraits. I feel that if you can do a portrait you can do anything.

This portrait is of a very wonderful woman. LaDawn is a fantastic wife and mother. She is active in her church and her community. She is extremely creative. She loves people and has many friends. I think the world is a much better place because of her.

I enjoyed doing her portrait because I know her personality. I feel like she is a light to the world, so I expressed this with the light on her face. I had her next to a window on the left side, but the indoor light was on which lit the right side. The outside light is “cool” light and has a bluish tint because of the sky. The indoor light gives off a yellow or “warm” light.

You will see shadows and highlights which give dimension to her face. There are two little dots of white in her eyes. These highlights bring the painting to life.

3

helpinggrandpafishI went fishing in a farm pond recently. While I tried to concentrate on catching something, my two grandchildren were hanging on my legs, jabbering away at me, asking if they could fish, if I could get them a worm on their hook, and telling me it was their turn to fish.

There are some painting techniques I wanted to mention. First, there is definite atmospheric perspective. You can see depth because the weeds are painted over the top of my grandson. This gives the illusion that the weeds are in front of him, while my granddaughter is painted on top of some other weeds. They look further away than she is.

The lake looks wet. It reflects the sky. I have painted a mirror image of the trees that are above the shore directly below. If you look at the clothes you can see shadows and highlights and some wrinkles. This keeps the objects from looking flat. There is dimension to them.

4

ae280a2muse-email1-216x300

A•Muse
4th Juried Art Exhibition

Pendleton Art Center
October 2-30, 2009


201 Main Street
Rising Sun, Indiana
812-438-9900

An eclectic display of paintings and sculptures
from traditional to contemporary styles
by artists from Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky

Opening Reception
Friday, October 2, 2009
6:00-9:00 pm – Awards 7:00 pm
Wine and Hors d’Oeuvres
Benjamin Belew, classical pianist

 

My paintings accepted for exhibition:

Paddling With Grandpa

paddling-with-grandpa

 

Afternoon Sun

afternoon-sun


3

broadwayI’ve always loved the night lights on downtown city streets.  Reflections from store fronts, traffic lights and overhead lights bounce off cars and sidewalks.

Notice the linear and atmospheric perspective.  The front car is on the far right but the others end are displayed in a line going from right to left towards a vanishing point.  The same thing is happening with the buildings.  You will see a roof top at the top right which angles downward to the left and the overhead lights angle to the left.  The cars. the roof and the lights all go to a vanishing point in the distance.  This is linear perspective.

Atmospheric perspective is shown by the cars at the front being larger than the ones further back.  Both types of perspective give depth  to the painting.  You have a feeling that you could walk down the street.

This painting is 18″ x 24″ and is for sale at $850.00.  If you are interested in purchasing it, contact me on the email address on this site.

7

I seem to be having some very serious problems with my legs.  This has been going on for a few months.  Sometimes I can’t walk or stand.  I experience a lot of excruciating pain.  The doctor advised me to get as much exercise as possible to help kill the pain and to keep my problem from getting worse.

plein-air-bike-trip

With this in mind, I have purchased a new bicycle.  I try to ride at least ten miles a day.

I talked to my friend, David Owen this morning.  He is an award winning oil and pastel artist.  It made me want to try some pastel work.  Since I had all the supplies I needed, I packed them on my back, put on my helmet and took off.

I stopped at a parking lot next to an old mansion.  My friend Joe used to have his real estate office there.

I set up my easel.  I drew in the scene,  Next I got out the pastels.  I was having the best time — until a wind gust came along.  Over went my easel and my pastel sticks fell to the ground, shattering into little pieces.  I don’t know if my drawing was any good, but I think that sometimes just going through the motions is pretty fun.

I had a nice ride back home.