Bagel Paintings Completed...pretty much

Two bagel paintings are done!  I have to consult with the client to see if she wants a third painting and if she wants text on the bottom but so far these two are pretty much done...

Bagel Bird's Eye View, 8x8 on canvas

Bagel and Cream Cheese, 8x8 on canvas

Bagel Painting Part Deux

So on Friday I worked on the small bagel paintings based on my photos.  I worked at my kitchen table...

which is now my workspace of choice since I can listen to the TV and paint at the same time.  For me the TV thing works mainly because I use it as a motivational trick to get me to start painting.  If I didn't have the pull of Regis &Wendy Williams I might procrastinate my studio time.  It also provides me with needed breaks while I am painting.  I almost never get up to watch it unless something really juicy is going on.

For now, my kitchen is my primary studio space.  What does your studio space look like??

Evolution Of A Food Painting

Step One:  Photography
When I get a commission to paint something for someone's kitchen I first have to come up with a good photograph to work with.  Although I could paint from a still life, I wouldn't want to leave food out for days and have the composition change or stink up my house.  Today I am working on a painting of a bagel with cream cheese and these are some of my photos:

Painting Problems and Memories

Today I am working on a painting of a man rowing a boat.  Rowing paintings always remind me of Thomas Eakins, an American Realistic painter of the late 1800's.  I am pretty sure we had a print of this painting hanging in our house when I was young and I always thought that one of the men was my Dad.  

A problem that I'm having with the painting are some of the reflections in the water.  I like how Eakins' water looks so placid and the reflections are soft.  Currently my reflections look kind of hard and "in your face".  I hope to resolve this today.  Let me know if you have any suggestions!

 

Art I'd Like To Make

Lately I've been pondering some ideas for large format paintings and also thinking of the ideal painting style I'd one day love to achieve.  As for the idea, I'd love to tell a story with my paintings or show real life emotion, problems and situations.  The style I'd love to achieve is hyperrealism.  This type of painting is like photorealism but the paintings are based on photographs from digital cameras.  The digital photos used for the paintings are toyed with or keyed up a notch through editing to make an image that is MORE than realistic.  Then the painters paint the image, typically on a large scale canvas.  There are many painters in this genre who I really admire.  Maybe if I take a lot of classes and keep painting I'll be able to do this one day.

Here is one guy whose stuff I like:  Eric Zener

Here is another painter:  Alyssa Monks

Painting Techniques: Plein Air Painting

The term, En plein air, as found in Wikipedia, is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.  I got plenty of plein air this week as I ventured outside to paint sans photograph.  The reason for this new approach is to improve my painting techniques and become a better painter.  I truly believe an artist can always improve and it just takes practice.


This is exactly what my new over-the-phone painting coach, Ian Roberts, told me on Monday when I had a critique.  Ian stressed that practice is the most important thing for a painter.  His other key suggestion was to get outside and learn about what nature REALLY looks like.  Knowing the true colors and shapes of nature helps to fix problem areas in a painting.  Seeing a subject in true context makes it easier to add or subtract from a composition while keeping the painting balanced.  Learing to paint En Plein Air will help me create more dramatic and powerful paintings. 


My first outdoor painting below was done in black, white and yellow ochre.  This limited palette was intended to get me to focus on the composition, the color shapes and the sunlight.  Plein Air painting is a bit cumbersome at first but I know that doing it repetitively will help my painting technique overall.  

  En Plein Air:  A path at Torrey Pines State Reserve, 4:30 PM, March 17th

Art Book Review Of The Month

In order to become a better painter I decided to read a new art book each month.  My aim is to read the book in full, put the teachings into practice and blog about the results.  My book for March is called Mastering Composition by Ian Roberts.

Composition is the backbone of a good painting and I know I could be a lot better at planning my compositions for paintings.  The intro in the book is inspiring because it reinforces the idea that any artist can get better through practice and continued learning.