Master Copy

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Master Copy From Anthony Van Dyck

11 x 14 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I've been experimenting with the Flemish technique, again. I am fascinated by the way Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony Van Dyck painted. There are many more other painters I look up to from the past but these two are on the top of my list. My past posts I was dabbling here and there with this technique (click here to view the one I am referring to) , I thought I made some advances but fell short once I started applying it to other paintings. These shortcomings I find very educational as they are not failures, I see them as learning of what not to do for the next painting. The two paintings I am referring to is "The Gypsy Life" and "Eve"  These two paintings were not up to my expectations. I don't dislike the paintings but to the level I want them to be, as of yet they're not there. I learned a lot from them and that is very important to point out. Since completing them I have ventured to different paintings and especially a different direction with my body of work. The new direction of work I am doing now I am wanting to mix with the Flemish technique. That being said I had to go back to the drawing board and figure this technique out. I am not saying I solved it and now I am a master at it, but I do think I am one step closer in understanding it.

Thanks for stopping by and always for your continuous support!

Plein Air Painting

 

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"Dust"

9 x 12 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I went up north to Park Rapids, Minnesota for vacation. Every year I go up I always leave saying "I wish I brought my paints with me!", finally I did! I am the first to tell you that painting landscapes have always been a weakness of mine. I do love them I just do not do them enough, maybe once or twice a year I'll get out and paint a landscape. Going to Park Rapids I wanted to change that and at least do a couple landscapes.

Experiencing nature when you're outdoors painting is something that I truly enjoyed. I would recommend everyone to do it as much as they can. With this process I wanted to lay down the tone or mood of the painting right away. After the initial drawing I painted each section with their general tones, not worrying about details just laying in the overall tones. Doing this allows me to see a "rough' draft of how the final will look, it also lets me get the tones down quicker especially for plein air painting. As I stated in my previous post the "rough" in stage does not mean scumbling paint everywhere in a messy way. I am still thinking of smooth transitions, edges and paint quality. At this stage I also keep the paints thin as I will be adding more layers when putting in the smaller forms or "details". Once the "rough" in stage is complete I start section by section in completing the painting, going from darker to lighter forms. I like to make sure each section is to a close finish as I can take it before moving onto the next section. Once all sections are completed I look at the painting as a whole and put the final touches so the painting can be cohesive.

Till next time, cheers!

"White Ranunculus"

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"White Ranunculus"

10  x 8 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Hi everyone, it has been a long time since I posted especially an alla prima painting. This year has been a whirl wind for me, an amazing year to say the least. After the wedding this summer I dived into several commission projects, one of them I was able to share on the previous post.  A long with working on those projects we have become new home owners! I still cannot wrap my mind around it. A little scary but amazing to own our own home. I know thanksgiving is long passed but I have many things to be thankful. I could not have dreamed for such an amazing year and what it's still surprising us with. I wanted to thank you guys as well for still reading my blog, even though this passed year I have been very limited on how much I have posted. I swear when I say I'm trying to get better in posting regularly, it's hard to post about painting walls when all I want to do is paint on canvas. 

I've stated in previous post I was not going to paint alla prima paintings for a long time, well, long time has definitely passed. I really do miss doing these little guys. They are equivalent to sketching in your sketchbook when practicing. I have not painted in a while do to the move and we are still getting situated in our new home.  Painting this alla prima gets the blood flowing again, gets my routine going with painting. I will never stop doing these alls prima's for that reason a lone, it allows me to always practice fine tuning my craft, which I think we should always keep doing as artist. This painting is the first painting to be done in my new studio, fitting to say the least. I did not want to just post the finishing painting, I miss explaining my process. It's always beneficial to share your process no matter what your style is, there's always going to be someone out there that will benefit from it. 

I started with a dry brush and raw umber for the drawing stage. In this stage I like to keep the drawing simple and clear. Not worried about details, just concerned with placement and proportions.  

I then fill in the basic colors for all the sections of the painting, this is the only stage I work everything at the same time. I do this to get the overall tone of the painting from the get go. I work with big form modeling at this stage as well. The point of big form modeling is to state how the lights and basic color note wraps around the form. The colors I use is naples yellow, raw umber, viridian, cerulean blue, cadmium yellow. 

I know all my shapes are not final when I move on, I like to have the freedom to be able to move things if I need to. Now I start concentrating one section at a time. After big form modeling is complete I start with small for modeling in the darks. I start with the left side of the flowers, first by stating the middle to darker tones. I do not like to state the darkest darks first, I like to slowly move into them by starting with a middle tone. I am using the same colors as I did in the previous step. The good thing about this method is that you'r painting wet into wet, the tricky part is to not get to muddy or thick quickly. 

Once the smaller forms for the darks are complete I move onto the lights. I like to jump between those two stages to get to the right look I'm going for.

I repeat the same process with the right half of the flowers. First by stating the darker smaller forms. An important thing to understand with smaller forms, they can only exist if the big form modeling is done correctly. Small form modeling is the icing on the cake, all your work is mostly done with big form modeling. A lot of people like to jump straight into small form modeling or the "details" instead of concentrating on big form modeling. Big form modeling stage is extremely important to get right, it's the stage where you have to make the lights believable. 

After I worked with smaller form modeling of the lights I moved onto the vase and vines. I apologize for not showing more process from that point. I essentially repeated the same process what I did with the flowers. I changed the vase to fit better with the overall composition. After the vase was established I went back into the flowers and brought out the lights and darks more.  I keep tweaking sections that have changed by values I established in other areas. I constantly walk back forth from the painting, especially towards the end. The painting looks much different when standing back, I never judge my values and chromas from up close, always by standing back. I could keep working on this painting, but I have to stop, especially when I feel it served its purpose. 

Thank you again everyone for tuning in and interested in seeing my paintings. I appreciate all the support. I hope you guys enjoyed this one, see you guys soon!

"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!

"Roses"

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"Roses"

9 x 12 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

The weather is definitely getting cooler as October draws to an end.  Halloween is right around the corner and day light seems to be leaving quicker.  With this painting I wanted to capture the feel of colors that seem to be transitioning from fall to winter.  White roses are beautiful in any color setting, it can get tricky due to its nature of absorbing it's surrounding colors.  With any subject you paint it radiates its surrounding colors, its even more with white roses in comparison to a regular object.  Learning to control its hues and temperature is key in order to make white roses believable.  You can argue that is true with any object your paint, with right roses one has to be even more careful with these observations.  

I hope you enjoyed this painting, thank you for stopping by.     

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.