Color Sketches

I come to realize that the only way to get better at painting is to paint! The only problem is time, not enough of it. Solution 1-2 hour color sketches of master paintings that are not much bigger than a post card. Here are the results.

New Work

I finished another self portrait and here are a couple of figure drawings from the figure structure class that I taught this past semester at Utah Valley University.

I am waiting to hear back from the Springville Muesum if one of my self portraits made it into this years spring salon exhibition. Wish me luck.

Landscape Painting

I finished it, at least for now. 8x10

Landscape

I painted a smaller color study a while back of this stream, I am working on a larger version.

Vermeer Copy

I wanted to study Vermeer's painting technique of the milkmaid. Here is my success and failures so far. In process.

Rembrandt Update

Update

Working on the Bouguereau portrait and feel like I am making some progress, fixing some drawing errors and started a copy of Carl Bloch's Christ. I am becoming painfully aware that my edge quality is not up to par.

Bouguereau Update

After looking at this copy I realized that I could put it a lot farther and there is still a lot of errors to fix. It is testing my patience. I really don't have the patience for this, but I realize that patience is it's own reward and that craftsmanship and workmanship is born in the fire of affliction. Still is process and may be for the rest of my life.

In Process

This is a portrait of Natalie Malan. I am not sure I did her justice and there is something not right that I can put my finger on. Feedback welcomed.

Carl Bloch

Carl Bloch is one of my heroes. I did this copy to gain a better understanding of his paint applications. The values are a little too dark.

What Difference a Few Years Makes

Here is a copy of a Rembrandt I did in 2007, 2009 and one that is in process.

Rembrandt Copy

This is the Rembrandt I copied before my self portrait. It's 5"x7".

New Self Portrait

I've been studying Rembrandt lately and been intrigued with the way he applies paint. For me that solves the expressive nature I have been seeking lately in my work. I've also tried to fined that balance between expression and accuracy. I love some of Van Gogh's self portraits for their expressive nature, but they fail to satisfy the accuracy that I seek. Rembrandt seem to do a good job at both. I did a Rembrandt copy in oil before this self portrait hoping some of his influence would rub off on me.

Who Said it is Not Good to Copy?

I've been working on some copies of Bougeureau and Rembrandt. There is so much one can learn from the master. Copying was a major component of the education of the French Academy in the 19th century.

Update

I'm posting some copy paintings I'm working on, some drawings from the figure drawing and head drawing class I am teaching at UVU and the first two are a drawing from life and a drawing from memory. One of these days I'm going to learn how to photograph my artwork so it doesn't look like crap.

Drawings

It has been a long time since last post. Here are some drawings that I have been working on. The reference for the Indian drawings is from Edward Curtis. I love his lighting and composition. It makes for a more personal portrait. I am not sure if it is the composition, the lighting, or position of the head, or a combination of each. The other is from a scuplture of Bernini of St. Longus.

New Portrait

This drawing is for an oil painting that I'm starting.

Tree Study

This is a little tree study I did in Hunter, NY. The roots were that gnarly, there was no embellishment.

Yet Another

This is a 6"x8" study I did of North Lake. I decided to paint for the same location Thomas Cole had painted from. They had a plaque that marked the location. It was interesting to see the liberties that he took with what he saw and what he painted in painting that location of North Lake.

This is his painting.

En Plein Air

My attempts at painting weren't as successful as my drawings. I spent the first couple of weeks painting on panel that was too slick, luckily I had a friend who was able to bring me back some canvas from NYC.