Winner
Happy to see "Early Moon" won an award for "Best Nocturne" at the Newport Back Bay show. It's always a challenge to find a new way to paint the Back Bay.
Blog
Best of Show
I was honored to have my painting "Rocky Coastline" win Best of Show at the heArt of Orange County All Media Juried Exhibition held at Chemers Gallery. Thank you, Karen.
Painting Nations Cup
Mission Fine Art artists combined with Lpapa artists to paint at the several day event of horse-jumping, the celebrated Nations Cup. One of the highlights was the winning rider/jockey purchased one of the exhibited paintings.
Took a vacation!
My wife (Sandy, for 52 years), and I took a month off to take in a part of the world neither of us were much familiar with, Eastern Europe. The picture of us depicts the view from the top of Rozafa Castle, Albania. We toured with a small group through Croatia, Montenegro, and eventually Greece. Very entertaining, and informative. We couldn't have done it without Intrepid Tours, which I strongly recommend. Nothing fancy, some home stays and once a local bus, and always very active. Lots of photos to sort out. Might be a nice painting in there for someone!
Zoom Demo
I was asked to do a demo for the Orange Art Association, which turned out to be a bit of a learning experience for me also. The tricky part was placing the camera (selfie camera) close enough to get a decent shot of the canvas. Ideally one needs some sort of boom camera over the shoulder. It was a tight working space between easel, palette and camera, but things always turn out okay in the end. Right?
Artists' Choice
Socalpapa held their first outdoor show this year at the Newport Environmental Nature Center (whew, long title). It was a new venue for the association, and I had never even been there before. Set off from the Back Bay, the location wasn't ideal, but we still had clients find us and there were sales. I was very appreciative of receiving the award from fellow artists. It means a lot.
Underpainting to Finish
Here is the second half of my previous demo. The first half covered getting a good thumbnail sketch and solid underpainting. Here I move faster (much is time lapse) before giving a brief explanation of my palette. The title is "Finishing La Jolla Cove." Click HERE to view the short demo.
"Fabulous" Studio Tour
I thought you might like a quick look at my studio, a work place which has served me well the past 20 years or so. Keep in mind I use a lot of space in my garage for frames, display racks, lights, paints, finished work, and canvas panels. There might be a car or two in there as well. Click HERE for a two-minute tour.
Is My Painting Done? Here is my 5-step checklist.
I get the question more than you would think: How do I know when the painting is done? And this is from both artists and clients/art enthusiasts. Okay, I'm confident with the design concept, color harmony, focal points, but... ??? Here are my next go-to steps :
1. First, let it sit, for an hour or day. Like with all our senses to some degree, when experiencing sometime steadily over time, our brain relaxes and becomes comfortable, rather than discerning.
2. Now with a fresh perspective, I ask myself if I've given the painting enough light? Not on the painting, but IN the painting. Does the painting pop? Does it need stronger edges or more value change in a crucial area?
3. While I consider this, I place the painting in very dim light and access the value range. Is it consistent with my original concept?
3. Next is an old but useful trick, especially when drawing architecture. I view the painting in a mirror and check for errors in perspective. The mirror can also expose other problems of unbalance and space issues.
4. Finally, I put the piece in a frame and check for possible lines now just touching the edge of the frame tangentially. One great argument for a floating frame!
Only after these steps do I feel confident that it's my best work.
From Thumbnail Sketch to Underpainting
I've taped a short 20-minute video showing clear steps on a path to a successful painting. Click HERE.
Recent Works
