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Siempre En Movimiento

2017

Acrylic, Latex Paint, Color Pencil, Marker and Oil on Canvas

30 x 40 inches

Hi everyone, I have been very busy, per usual, in getting ready for shows and completing commissions. My painting Siempre En Movimiento has been accepted into the XL Catlin Art Competition and will travel part of the show to San Francisco Art Institute, then to Chicago at the Linda Warren Projects Gallery, and finishing at the New York Academy of Art. You can get more information about the competition and show by clicking here.  

My painting, Siempre En Movimiento, is currently up for an audience aware on their Instagram page. All you have to do is like the painting. If you have Instagram go to @xlcatlinartprize and my painting should show up as their latest post. You can only like the painting between today8/16 and tomorrow 8/17. I appreciate all your help. Spread the work if you can, the more the better!

Thank you, everyone! 

Another Portrait Painting on Ebay

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After Ribera

2017

Oil on Canvas Board

10 x 8 inches

Painting on Ebay

Sold

Portrait of Marten Pepijn after Anthony Van Dyke

2017 

Oil on Masonite

12 x 9 in

I just posted this painting on Ebay which I forgot to do last time I posted.

Also...I have a workshop coming up from April 7 - 9 go to www.jonathanaller.com for more information and to sign up.

Thanks!

Im back!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long delay in posting. This spring and summer have been one of the most memorable times in my life. The reason I have been away from posting is because I just got MARRIED! My dream finally came true marrying the love of my life. We first met almost seven years ago in Florence, Italy. I moved to Minneapolis for her after studying there and has been the best decision I ever made. From the first moment I laid eyes on her I knew she was the one. We got married in Pistoia, Italy which is 30 minutes outside of Florence. The villa we got married was just spectacular.

To have family and friends with us was even more special. It was all such a surreal experience. An experience I will never forget. We also had another event here in Minneapolis to celebrate with everyone that could not make it to Italy, and one prior leaving to Italy. To say we have been busy is an understatement, but have enjoyed every minute of it. 

Aside from getting married I have been busy finishing commissions. I'll post the older work in a couple days. I did however create three small 4 x 4 inch paintings for a local show here in Minneapolis. I really liked painting that small and seeing how far I can take it.  Here are the paintings I had in the show.

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"The Butcher"

4 x 4 inches

Oil on Masonite

This is a familiar face that I have painted and drawn before. This guy is the local butcher at our grocery store. Although I haven't seen him lately, so I can totally be sure he's still our butcher. But he has a great face to paint and have always wanted to paint him. Excited he agreed to pose for me, always unsure what the reaction might be when asking someone to pose for you.

NFS

"Mason"

4 x4 inches

Oil on Masonite

This is a very interesting individual I know. He's intelligent and extremely funny. Again it's a portrait I wanted to paint for a long time and finally had the chance to do so.

Contact me if interested in purchasing

"Mustache Jim"

4 x 4 inches

Oil on Masonite

This individual is somewhat of a local celebrity here in Minneapolis. He's a musician, and a barber. Another individual I would see from time to time and wanted to paint but never had the courage to ask him. One day I ran into him at the mall and took advantage of the chance. He was extremely nice and was very welcoming of me painting him. His hair and mustache are obvious reasons why I wanted to paint him. A very unique individual and a pleasure to paint.

Thank you again everyone for tuning in. I hope to post more shortly. Its hard getting back in the routine of things after such an amazing time. 

Cheers!

"Ivan Kramskoy Copy"

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"Copy after Ivan Kramskoy"

10 x 8 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I hope everyone had a great holiday season, I cannot believe the year is almost over.  This Christmas I had a great time with family and friends.  I was happy to also paint and enjoy the time with everyone, I would sneak in a couple sessions when the ladies were in the kitchen cooking.  I always seem to go back to Kramskoy whenever I need to practice, his portraits are captivating and his technique is breathtaking.  I never regret doing these little studies I learn from them with each session.  I will post other studies I did from Kramskoy in later post.  

I did not take any process pictures other than this one.  This a good description how I develop a portrait.

Happy Holidays everyone and a Happy New Year!

Peter Paul Rubens

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 "Self Portrait of Ruben"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I have been away for such a long time doing other works and have not really worked on any daily paintings.  I have been also doing copies to try to keep my eye sharp, copies are always beneficial when trying to learn the particular artist technique your copying from.  At the Angel Atelier that's what we did for the first half of the program is copy master drawings and try to duplicate it to an exact match.  The hardest part though is not just settling for it to look almost like it, you have to push pass that barrier and make it look exactly like it (If that's what you want).  

Rubens has always been one of my heroes and it seemed fitting to try to duplicate his self portrait.  Seeing his paintings in person can be overwhelming, I remember thinking to myself one guy made all this happen, what the hell am I doing with my life.  In this modern day and age I still have not seen art taken to the magnitude that the masters took it, I am guilty from not taking it to that level either.  I do think we are getting closer but to say we have surpassed them and carrying the torch, we are far from it.  It's inspiring to see where we can go and how far we can take it, to see the masters especially Rubens take this medium to a realm where we believe whats happening on a piece of cloth is incredible. 

 I can go on and on about how much they inspire me and what I have to do with my art, the important part is recognizing and doing it.  I know I have much to say with my art, the exciting part is deciphering this language of painting like the masters did and presenting it.  I have moved away from the daily paintings for this sole purpose, to know more of my personal voice in art, to know what I am trying to convey to you guys and not just paint a simple alla prima but to have meaning of what I am painting far beyond what the surface holds.  It's a journey and not a simple one but one that satisfies me the most for when I look back at my career I would be satisfied with the choices I have made.  Alla prima paintings I still believe are beneficial in training and learning your craft, but it cannot end there.  One has to go beyond that craft of training and imply it to your personal work, learn of what you practiced and transform it to your language.  I know I will never let go of the alla prima paintings, but I do know that my own body of work for the long run needs more attention.  I hope to find a happy medium for both of them, as for now my personal work has and always will be my passion.

"An artist must breathe life into those ancient works he depicts in his art, and if necessary 'adjust' the source to achieve the desired image."  Peter Paul Rubens.

"Michael"

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"Michael"

10 x 8 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I did this painting today of my friend after our conversation that I do not do enough figures and portraits.  I completely agree with him and had a great talk about art and the direction we wanted to take our art.  He ended up posing for me for the painting, it took two hours to complete.  I was so happy to start the painting, to say I was beyond motivated is an understatement. 

I'm also excited to announce I will start teaching at the Bloomington Art Center next week, if anyone is interested just click here for more information on my classes.  

"Dominique"

"Dominique"

16 x 20 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I had attended a figure painting session at a friends studio, and we had the good fortune of having a great model.  Her name is Dominique and she was such a great model, she stood still the whole time and always had a grin on her face through out the pose.  She apologized in the end for laughing so much I told her that I thought it was great because we got to see more of her true side, from that we're able to portray that onto the painting.  This is only a three hour painting wish I had more time, but I do like the result of the session.  I hope to do more of these, I truly miss doing portrait and figure paintings.