Studio Sweet Potato

Studio Sweet Potato

2017

Oil on Masonite

10 1/8 x 7 1/2 in

Hello everyone! It has been a really, really, really, really long time since I have done an alla prima painting. I used to do these on a daily basis, I decided to get back on the wagon again last night and went straight for it, 8 hours later I was done! I'm paying for it today being so tired but it was totally worth it. There is something about challenging yourself to finish a painting in one session. You have to consider the surface area you're working on, how oils react to the smooth surface and how you have to manipulate it to come out looking the way you intended it to. There are a lot of bumps along the way but in the end, there is a satisfying feeling that you reached your goal. The other reason I enjoy alla prima painting, it forces you to really pay close attention to your methods of painting. I'm constantly revising the way I paint certain sections and if it works well then I apply it to other areas, due to time constraints it's trial by error and I enjoy the errors. 

This sweet potato I intended to paint many months ago. Initially, I was attracted to it due to the curvy snake-like body, I have never seen one like it. After not painting it for quite some time, roots sprouted from the tip. I kept looking at it every day when I would go to the studio, I knew at some point I would paint it and that point was last night. Usually, after I paint a vegetable or fruit I eat it, this time I decided to bring the sweet potato back to the studio and keep it there. I enjoy having it there while I paint away, I'm intrigued to know how many roots will sprout and how long will they get.  

I went to home depot and got 56 masonite panels cut in various sizes, I felt like a kid on Christmas day, and the best part it was all under 7 dollars (Home Depot cuts wood for free). I gessoed the canvas and sanded it down to a smooth finish, I repeated this about four times until it was right. After letting it dry for a day, I tinted the gessoed masonite board with raw umber and mineral spirits. I let this dry for a day as well.

I started by drawing with raw umber and no mediums. I did not use any mediums throughout the entirety of the painting. It was a minimal amount of paint sort of like a dry brush technique. After the drawing was complete, I started lightly painting it the sprouted roots. I make sure to not put a lot of paint on the brush, the idea is to build up to your key values. Think of it as drawing with a pencil, the amount of sensitivity you have to it determines the value you'll create.

Once the sprouted roots were complete, I moved onto the body of the sweet potato. This was challenging in its own way. I started with the darks and build up to the lights. Again it is important to stress I do not start with a lot of paint on the brush, I build up to the value and texture I am going for.

After the body was completed and I stepped away from it for a bit, I thought I was actually going to bed because I was so tired and it was already 2:30 in the morning, I decided to complete the painting and start on the wooden board.  Pushing through it was great, I am very happy I was able to conjure up some energy to complete the painting.

This was a lot of fun to complete in such a short period of time. I hope you enjoyed this painting and the journey I took to complete it. Thanks for stopping by!

Leonardo

Leonardo

2018

Ball Point Pen on Paper

4" x 5"

Hi everyone! I've been super busy with being a new dad and a second/final year of graduate school. It's been a wild ride but one that I've enjoyed more than I would have expected. I have been posting more on Instagram, you can follow my account by clicking here. I have this ballpoint pen drawing up for sale. You can bid on it by leaving a comment on the post. Bidding will end on 2/22 at 5pm CST.  You guys can also see new paintings I have been working on that talks about identity and the Latin community.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Figure Study in Graphite

Figure Study

2017

Graphite on Paper

8" x 10"

Hi Everyone! Wow how time flies since my last post, I promise I do not mean to leave for such a long period of time, I've been super busy since May. My wife and I have had a baby and have been adjusting to the new daily routines in our lives, wouldn't change it for the world. Graduate school has been going really well it's been really busy with a lot of writing, research and producing paintings. I have been learning a tremendous amount during my time in school, it has been an amazing experience so far and can not believe I have one semester left to complete my Masters! I am getting to the thick of it with writing my Thesis paper and continuing my research phase. 

This drawing I completed not to long ago as a sketch and exercise, they serve to sharpen my rendering abilities and observe nuances within the figure. As you can see from the bottom picture the various stages the drawing goes through all the way to completion. 

I wanted to let everyone know as well that I'm way more active in my Instagram account than on Blogger, I wish there was a away I can automatically post onto Blogger from Instagram. You can follow me at @jonallerpaintings.  

Thank you for you stopping by and viewing!

Portrait of Marten Pepijn after Anthony Van Dyke

"Portrait of Marten Pepijn after Anthony Van Dyke"

2017

Oil on Masonite 

12 x 9 inches

As you guys might know I am huge fan of Anthony Van Dyke, this painting is after one of his masterpieces. The difference with this painting from the past ones is the surface and preparation. I was able to get two large sheets of Masonite board ($4.00 each sheet) cut to size at Home Depot for free. I have about 40 panels ranging from 8 x 10 to 9 x 12 inches, this is considerably a cheaper route especially knowing I only spent $9.50 after taxes for all those panels. I gessoed and sanded each panel to the level of smoothness I want. It does take a little time to get it set up right but well worth it.  After the gesso has dried I rub raw umber with mineral spirits all around the panel until there is a even medium tone. Once the raw umber as dried I start painting with thin paints progressively getting thicker with each stage. Painting on such a smooth surface compared to the cotton canvases I am used to was an adjustment. I got a lot out of this painting, and excited to continue painting on these panels moving forward.

Process Pics:

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Fuyu Persimmons

Click here to purchase

"Fuyu Persimmons"

2016

Oil on Canvas Panel

8 x 10 inches

It was neat being back at the grocery store and searching what to paint rather than what to eat, I can't remember the last time I did that. I noticed the practice of putting together the whole picture from beginning to end was something I really missed. Finding the subject, then composing it (which can take a while), then either painting from life or taking a picture, document the process while painting it, and last but not least finish the painting in one session. Daily or Alla Prima painting is great practice no matter what style your painting in. I have and will always recommend everyone to at least try it, its the best way to practice and hone your skills as a painter.

Here is a step by step process:

Thank you for stopping by!

Absence

"Master Copy From Anthony Van Dyck"

2016

Oil on Canvas Panel

11 x 14 inches

I have to start out this post by apologizing, I have neglected blogging for so long. There has been to much time between my last post and now.  So much has happened between now and then, not sure where to start?  I am currently enrolled at MCAD pursuing my MFA in painting/drawing. Going back to school has been challenging after being away for so long. Challenging in a good way, my colleagues and professors push me to get better every day. I am constantly around so many artist who all have different practices and not one is alike, this diversity brings fresh perspectives. I started in late August and can not believe the first semester is almost complete. The duration of the MFA program is two years, excited to see how this experience will influence my work during this journey. 

Since I have given you snippet of what I've been doing I also want to mention that I will attempt to get back into doing daily paintings. I do not expect to produce one every day but attempt to one or two minimum per week. I wanted to get back into having my paintings accessible through ebay as well, which is why I am selling this painting. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings and hope you enjoyed the painting.

"Peony"

10 x 8 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I enjoy painting peonies, from their beautiful colors to gestural pedals. Instead of doing a whole arrangement of peonies, I decided to keep it simple and just paint one. The colors as mentioned before is one of the beauties of this plant, its always fun trying to match the radiant colors it gives. Painting the pedals can be challenging as each of them are different. Overall it is a fun plant to paint and a beauty to always come across in the flower store

Thank you for stopping by and viewing. Cheers!

"Semblance" Art Opening

(Putting the finishing touches a couple minutes before the opening)

This past weekend was the opening of "Semblance" my first solo art show at the Fox Tax Gallery. It was such an amazing time to have so many people come out and see the work I have been producing.  A special thank you to Fox Tax Gallery for giving me the opportunity in showing at their beautiful gallery and thank you to everyone that came out and made that evening a special one to remember.

With this show I wanted to push my paintings in a new direction. I wanted to explore the boundaries of modern art that is influenced by colors and patterns and see if it can sustain with a classical/neo classical figure. The figures were kept in a classical pose with patterns and bold colors intersecting through out the body and background. I was definitely not in familiar territory when producing these paintings which also made it more exciting to create. I think as artist we must always evolve and see how far we can challenge ourselves. For me the challenge was going outside my comfort zone of painting still life's and figures and try to produce a body of work that is unique, original and speaks to me.

The other half of the show was dedicated to ball point pen drawings. They are unique in their own right and thought having them with my paintings was only a natural thing to do. I wanted to draw people with beards for the most part, I have a fascination of interesting faces with cool mustaches or crazy looking beards. Either way its destined to produce an interesting drawing...hopefully.  Ball point pen drawings have always been a form of practice for me, I can't always carry a brush and paint everywhere I go so drawing with a pen has been the closest thing.  I never really thought of showing these in the past until my wife saw them and thought it would be a good idea to start showing them.  These drawings I made for the show were a lot of fun as some of these models were found locally at shops or people I ran into in the streets. The drawings were as fun to produce as the paintings were.

(This night before the opening.)

As you can see from the picture above, I mixed the drawings with the paintings as far as set up goes. This gave a good flow from one drawing to one painting. The following pictures are in order how it was set up in the show.

"The Bearded Lady"

Ball Point Pen

"Darling"

Oil on Linen

"Ultra Man"

Ball Point Pen

"Logic & Belief"

Oil on Linen

"Curly"

Ball Point Pen

"Catching Light"

Oil on Linen

"Seiler"

Ball Point Pen

"Ivan Kramskoy Study"

Ball Point Pen

"Lady Sublime"

Oil on Linen

"Ruben & Ribera Study"

Ball Point Pen

"Technicolor"

Oil on Linen

"Prismatic Repose"

Oil on linen

"Ruffles"

Ball Point Pen

"Hypnos"

Oil on Linen

"Old Sport"

Ball Point Pen

I wanted to say a special thank you to my beautiful wife. The person who helped me with my work in improving them with her sharp eye and constructive critiques, I can not imagine the results without her.  The person who made sure I didn't have to worry about anything else other than getting ready for the show.  She is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am really blessed to have her by my side. Thank you!

Back on Etsy

Sold

My paintings are back on Etsy, I have done a horrible job on putting them up for sale. Take a browse by clicking here, its free to browse.  I am working on a lot of projects right now and will be able to share shortly what I have been up to. Till then happy painting!

Peonies

Sold

Click here to bid

"Peonies"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I have posted this painting before but have not offered it for sale. If you are interested bid on it through my ebay page.

Cheers!

Edina Art Fair

"Peonies"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Back to the easel into producing more art work for the Edina Art Fair.  The fair will be from June 5 -7. Last year was my first time showing and it was a lot of fun participating in the event. The amount of people I met and got feedback from was immense. I recommend anyone who has never been a part of one to do it, it is a great experience.

It is that time of year that peonies bloom for about two weeks. It's a short window but I want to take advantage of it. They are one of the most beautiful flowers to paint. Peonies are always a challenge to paint in one session because of their intricacy, but is one of the main reasons I am attracted to paint them. 

You can see with the process shots above I went with big form modeling of the lights for all three Peonies. I was not interested in details until the hue and chroma were stated overall. I was working from general to smaller forms. Starting right away with details will hurt your painting. Work with larger shapes then working into smaller shapes. Which is the same as doing big form modeling first then completing the painting with smaller form modelling. Edges are also another key component with this painting. I left some edges blurry to push the middle main Peonies forward. I stress to my students how important edges are, they will either make or break your painting. Transitions from one value or chroma to another depends greatly on the edges and how fluid the transition is. 

I like to paint peonies from life as you can see all their true colors. Which goes with anything you want to paint, photography looses a lot of the colors and distorts the picture. I do use at times photography if I have no option and will paint into the night. I always prefer painting from life with natural light when I am able to. This is another painting I am doing for the art fair. Peonies open their pedals so quick, by the time I was getting closer to finishing this painting the white Peonies that I painted was already half way blooming. 

Thank you everyone for stopping by and viewing my paintings, cheers!

Art Show

"The Gypsy Life"

36 x 48 in

Oil on Canvas

There was a great show this past weekend that I was lucky to be a part of. I showed two new pieces and four older ones. I collaborated with three new pieces as well. It was a lot of work getting ready for this show but worth every moment of it. Here is a great video showcasing opening night of the show and artworks from the other participating artist.

This painting I hold very dear to my heart. I have been wanting to execute this one for about 9 years. Its a story I came up with when living in Florence, Italy. Narrative paintings have always been a direction I wanted to go with. Telling a story and connecting with the viewer with my paintings is something I am getting into and very excited about. 

Closer view of the "The Gypsy Life"

"Eve"

35 x 25 

Oil on Linen

Sorry for the bad picture of this one and of "The Gypsy Life", I am in process of getting these professionally shot. 

The space the event was held at is called "Architectural Antiques". Great venue with so much rich history with every antique item. There was also a band playing while the show was going on. These pictures were taken the day after the opening, I did not have time to take photos of the show on opening night due to how busy it was.

My ball point pen drawings.

This was the space leading to the other side where the bar was and more art work was embedded with surrounding antiques.

Entrance to the show.

One of the main rooms with a couple pieces from Peter Geyen. 

This was one of the collaboration pieces Peter Geyen and I worked on. I did the painting and Peter completed the sculptures on top. Always great to work with Peter on these projects. 

"Cutting Board"

16 x 20 in

Oil on Canvas

I painted this one about a year ago and finally got it framed. Was excited to show it with the frame for the show.

Another piece Peter and I worked on together. I drew the portrait in oil pastels and Peter completed the rest.

This one was another piece Peter and I completed. I completed the drawing in charcoal on MDF board. What I enjoy about working with Peter is always trying different mediums and different ideas that push me as an artist. 

The show was so much fun to be a part of, by the end of opening night I had no voice and extremely exhausted. Thank you to everyone that made it out and made it such a great event. I am looking forward to many more.

Cheers!