Migration - Day Two

I came down with a flu bug a few days ago but being male decided to ignore it! Luckily it wasn't a bad painting day, about 5 hours, my typical day, only I started earlier than normal. It was dark and rainy all day so exterior light was useless. As it turned out, good, because colour matching was easier with my connecting panel, plus my palette is still fresh in my mind.

895-2 Migration - panel 1 & 2 of 3

There are many advantages of  big paintings. They allow room to move along faster than normal. Shapes form easier too. As you can see I'm almost down to my far horizon. The painting is open enough, so I can still move around my trees and enhance my fog effect at will.

Detail showing my painting plan for tomorrow.

My red lines give me a basic starting point in the morning and my painting goal for the day. The foreground clump of trees is an unknown commodity right now....how much and how focused will it be or need to be? Time will tell.........I just know it needs to be there because its a very important scale marker if I want to engage my viewer with a feel of being there....the closer I make these trees the better.

Later....

The mood struck - Migration left panel - day one

I woke up thinking about this painting! Like an unfinished book, I got curious about the ending!

I

 Stretch a panel 66x60

Hughes Easel-setup

 good vertical movement

Good side movement

The Hughes easel is everything and more than advertized, a very capable contraption, very user friendly, almost intuitive to your needs as a painter!

Key player plan

Red line #4 & #5 will establish a triangle composition leading to a group of horses, each with a key player

 Sepia connection - beginning of a triangle composition using my horses in combination with the sun

#4 leads to my most important player amongst all horses on this panel

I'll post progress daily.

Later....,

A few weeks worth of paint and canvas

I was in the mood to paint something on the large size, perhaps one similar to the small scale study below. My original plan was to use (4) 62x48 panels finishing out at around 62x192...yep 16 feet! Sadly my study sold before I got a chance to act on it.

SMALL STUDY

 738 - private collection

Today a 62x48 panel seems rather small since I have a better studio set-up allowing me greater latitude. I still like my original concept, but not certain I'm up to 16 feet of glory at the moment...There is another possibility here, I do have a clean 66x60 canvas with a good frame available. I could design a painting consisting of  (3) 66x60 panels forming an almost seamless triptych with the middle one as an independent painting giving me a "bailout option"; also use of an existing inventory frame. Not particularly a bad idea since I did want a very large impact painting in the first place. Of course one of the real pluses of triptych is ease of handling and shipping. Could get my cake and eat it too! I was also thinking more of a landscape than a seascape. I could play more with atmosphere and fog which I'm into right now.

 SMALL WARM UP -  NO RELATION TO FINAL PAINTING

893 Spring Waters 24x24 oil on linen (3-5-14)

BACK AT GROUND ZERO with a plan & CONCEPT DRAWING

 (3) panels 66x60 or 66x180 (Scale 1/2" = 1'-0")

CENTER PANEL DETAIL

Center panel - 66x60

FINAL PAINTING

 894 Migration 66x60 oil on linen (3-23-14)

PROGRESS STAGES

DAY ONE

After studying my sepia wash (Sienna with Neo Megilp) I added a red line where I wanted a second group in the upper distance to start joining the main heard at the bottom

DETAIL

I like this better - it adds more opportunity and interest; distant horses making a sharp turn which emanate from around the distant trees from the next panel on the right.....not in my original drawing so a few quick marks will hold that thought.

 Big canvas so it has to be carefully staged for painting times.

SECOND DAY

 894-2a

894-2b

 894-2

A remarkably good painting day - never went into the sky after this session

THIRD DAY - RED LINE STAGE PLAN 1&2

 

Stage (1) left is where I'll start and only start stage (2) if  time and energy permit - as you can see I could easily break this up into (3) sessions

 894-3

Merging the left tree bank into my sky took most of the morning. I would need a complete afternoon to finish my first stage because it includes a small herd of distant ponies which could be time consuming......so I took advantage of a natural stopping point just at the top of the herd.

FOURTH DAY

894-4

At the end of the day my right trees are in place - not sure they are finished yet, but was tired of messing with them! I shifted my energy to the all important distant perspective line leading to my foreground ponies with so-so results.......I can already see more thought is needed.....bit of nighttime study.

FIFTH DAY - HORSES

894-5 Detail

I'm kinda feeling my way here - each horse takes some time, plus also trying to develop my marsh lands, where water will and won't be. Tricky, working in small space amongst the horses...not a lot of progress to show for a full days work. The distant perspective seems to work better, but no clear plan yet!

SIXTH DAY - MORE HORSES

 Red line plan - #1 & #2..again I really have (3) possible stopping points

 894-6

I had a full day and things worked out reasonably well, so I got (4.5) horses in place. The painted middle horse still needs more attention....no point fooling with it until all my players are in place.

DAY SEVEN - MORE HORSES

894-7

The (3) bottom left horses were time consuming - the white one is too harsh for my overall key. I'll deal with it at the end.

DAY EIGHT - TWO MORE HORSES

 894-8 Detail (lower section)

My white horse is in context with the rest - still too center stage......a bit of a battle between my bit player and my real star below

894-8 Detail - he'll get dressed up a bit more because he is my star

DAY NINE - BACK TO DISTANT HORSES

894-9 End of day

My attention was on my distant mid group of horses emerging from marsh waters - it was a very impromptu move on my part...hope I don't regret it later on.

 894-9 Detail - bit more detail on his markings

DAY TEN

894-10

I worked more on bringing my horses into harmony with each other, including darkening my white horse...feels right, my eye ends with my star, so I signed it! 

894-10 Detail

Bit more light on his cream markings and deeper blacks confirms my star is looking like a star, my star is not exactly stage center....perhaps one day he will be!

The finished painting ended up taking several weeks. It has open doors right and left, if the mood strikes, to continue on. I also didn't over exploit the ground fog either. I want that door to remain open as well. It's the possibilities left that will cause the next moves and more importantly if I do, my star is in the right place!


Later........

A weeks worth of paint and canvas

The last week or so I've been working on a rather large wild pony painting, trying to finish for an ad deadline, now passed. I knew going in it was an ambitious project with only 10 days. Typically as a painting progresses it takes on a life of it's own and how well we follow determines the outcome. I've learned over a lot of paintings, following is a better course of action. At some point the music stops and you get to sign it.

Catching the essence of your subject on canvas is the big reward. If it feels right to the eye from any distance, chances are good you'll be rewarded with a strong painting.

Wild horses are very cool painting subjects, a variety of wonderful patterns. All you need is the correct shape for each movement. It can be exaggerated and still work. Filling in seems to take on a natural flow with each movement. Muscle seems to emerge in the right places via light and shading....just has to feel right!

Progress detail from 894 Migration

Tweaked

 And tweaked again

Later.....

5 years in, Juicy buttery paint and loving it!

Today will mark 5 years as an oil painter. My first 3 years was spent developing my art, developing my name and brand, not on marketing to galleries or sales. I only did that after I had a product to sell and I did it through advertizing. I stayed focused long and hard on paint quality. I wanted a  juicy buttery quality to my paint, not just on a small painting but at any scale. I wanted a fresh clean look to my colours. I wanted my paintings to look good closeup, if you will "touchable art", and read at 100 feet. I had an objective and I didn't expect it to happen overnight. I didn't get frustrated and feel it was unattainable and god forbid, ever thought of it as "work".  Even though on the surface it might appear that way, it was not! It was done over the course of painting; a lot of painting, improving each brush stroke as I went.....making sure it was the most beautiful one I could make. I did not want a labored look to my work and rarely gravitate to any that do.  I like a painting to have a flow, a rhythm and shapes that "feel right", not awkward. I don't mind gritty as in Lucian Freud, there is a beauty to his work, especially his handling of paint......"good paint quality" always wins.  Good paint quality establishes  a visual quality to our work; call it craftsmanship, attention to detail.  All these are important, including a quality appropriate frame for your intended market and most important to where you eventually want your work to hang. As for myself,  I want and paint only for the best walls. I have no second position nor do I want one.  I do not want my paintings hung frame to frame in a gallery, although it happens. That's not a "best wall" situation, nor will it attract a quality buyer who is in the market for that special piece. It diminishes the value of the work, artist and the gallery. To get those creamy, dreamy display spots, paint quality is just one requirement amongst many!  I would say unequivocally, "size" is the most important thing there.....a painting has to hold a wall first and foremost....and lastly, if in a gallery, sell!

I painted a variety of smaller sizes during my learning years and found it useful but not marketable in my situation. My intended market would not be interested in small works and neither would I be as a designer.  Most of my work is meant for larger spaces and when smaller paintings are close by, including my own, they are invariably ignored. When large work is presented well with air or by itself, it becomes a statement and if the right buyer walks in, it will leave the room. Galleries know this but also need affordable work to go along with statement paintings. If the statement piece is out of financial range, as it would be for most beginning buyers, the smaller work will stand a better chance of selling those buyers. I'm not talking about the tiny 8x10's our world is swimming in. These are not best wall paintings and could hardly be expected to hold a decent size wall. The walls most are looking to fill.....the proverbial "statement" art, the hardest to find, to fill the most valuable wall space frequently left bare until it is found.

As a daily painter, to keep my routine fresh, I also developed a broad range of painting subjects......not styles, perhaps the most important aspect my art. I have a natural way of working; my taste and personal preferences come into play.  I don't try to be different.  I'm not trying to be the "next new thing" or emulate any other artist; only to produce beautiful paintings for important walls for a chosen market. I have a signature look, in both design and now art because of it.

MY FAVORITE SUBJECTS

THE JAMES

 KOI

VENICE

WILD HORSES

BALLET

LONDON

WATER FIGURES

WATER 

NUDES

PEOPLE YOU KNOW

SUN, LIGHT AND COLOUR

MOST IMPORTANT SIZE!

My motto is simple, "paint big and for the best walls"! 

Awhile back I dropped all my small sizes in favor of one, a 20x20. I use this size for en plein air (a valued learning tool), research and development (R&D), warming up to a larger painting or simply practice paintings....all are one-session paintings. I chose this size because previous sales indicated, a 20x20 with a 4 or 5" gallery frame makes a nice presentation for secondary walls.....not a market I deliberately paint for. But, Galleries can sell them to fill the "affordable" slot my main body of work won't fit into anymore.

VALUABLE TOOLS - SMALL 20X20 WARM UPS

VENICE

Because my paintings, so far, have appreciated and by default are a good investment, I believe only because I protected my brand and did so from the start. I don't have discount sales on my work. I protect my galleries, my prices and therefore protect my collector!

Like a good investment stock, we expect it to increase in value.......if not, we instinctively shed it. The owners of a statement painting won't have that luxury. They won't be happy if a friend got one cheaper at a sale. They won't be back!  Investment might not be the reason it was purchased, however once in their possession it becomes an asset they want to see increase in value, not down!

I don't put inferior or unfinished art out for sale...ever! LOL....I don't burn it either! It goes into deep storage as part of my painting history. I'd rather control it than have it end up in someone's garage sale or dusty attic.

My standard work process is always finish a painting to my best ability and never have multiple paintings in various stages of finish in my studio....it would split my focus.  I want each and every painting to have my undivided attention, and if it does, the rest will fall into place!

Some of the other important things I do to protect my brand is national advertising. I do it to keep my name in the public eye and show new work. I list my galleries in those ads because I only sell through galleries. I do not sell directly! All my sales and prices are qualified gallery sales based on what the market will bare and last sale. I have also effectively used size to break price barriers.

All this said, it still requires a good work ethic and genuine talent.  It can't be successfully done without it. Just like a business, it also has to be managed with discipline; without that no amount of talent will  make it work! And by that I mean........pay the bills and have lots of change left over.

A good artist can make a serious living doing what they do best and to my surprise, with good focus it can be done in less than 5 years.

There are many reasons to be an artist; paint and produce paintings is just one of two reasons I do it! The other, I enjoy doing it!

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Later....