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!

FULL PAGE AD DESIGN

  American Art Collector ad March 2014

BEST ADVICE
Know your market: "Paint big and for the best walls"

Later....

Still in the Venice mode

I had a free day after finishing my Venice commission - still in the mode it seemed logical to revisit my first attempt with a fresh eye, perhaps improve on it a bit?

Soooo...out with the red marker!
 

RED LINE COMPARISON

889 Venetian Mist 48x44 oil on linen (2-16-14)

INSPIRATION PAINTING

 550 original 72x60

Aside from a colour shift from the original intent, I lined up three (3) key elements (sun, Salute and water reflection) without thinking. Not a major issue if I didn't also have filtered light drifting down to another major element, a reflective hot spot. Three is not a bad number in design, however here, it also caused a major balance shift left. The Salute is the only identifying element saying Venice skyline. It got in the way of my light drifting down to the waters surface. The drift is much cleaner when in front of a more nondescript background as in the original (above). The same (3) elements where used, creating a clean triangle. What happens, and did, because it's wet-in-wet process along with maintaining the Salute's integrity, I became overly cautious; you can't, there is only one shot here. It can easily become over cooked which I think it did! In the end it needed more air than I was able to give it here without moving the sun. A very good reason to jump ship with a fresh version, which of course I did!
With that in mind I decided to beef up the intensity and see where it went.

RED LINE PLAN

Red line #1 - I decided to bump up an "S" pattern already there and extend the suns light effect more right. This established a stronger secondary reflective light pattern in relationship to the Salute. The simple solution here is move the Sun, but I don't want to. I would rather take the time working with it, extending the light effect merging into my lagoon to the right....follow the light and see what happens....if anything.

Red line #2 - Needed cleaning up from overworking.

MODIFICATION

 889 Merging of Light and Water 48x44 oil on linen (reworked 3-2-14)

DETAILS

FRAME TEST

 

Not too bad in a frame either, good inventory....:=)

Did I improve it? I don't know. Making comparisons to the original design was a good exercise for sure. This isn't the same, so on it's own only time will tell..... 

The one commonality or charm all (3) paintings have, the original, this and the second commission version, is how they respond to different light conditions regardless of how soft or intense, but especially in relatively dark ambient surroundings. The subtle colour shifts add incredible depth and begin appearing more translucent as the surrounding light drops.....originally not intended as "evening paintings", it's what they became. The tragedy would be not discovering it.

Next project! Deliver commission painting - I'll show them both and hope for the best!

Later....

Back to reality!

After all my little side excursions, I still had some unfinished business, my failed Venice commission.  So with a fresh canvas, along with a great sunny day, makes for wonderful painting conditions.....game is back on!

Commission painting is meant for above the mantle in this lovely new ocean front home. 

Fabric sample......a commission must..:=)

FIRST SESSION

892-1a Skyline established

892-1b

There are some cloud details I can do better with a dry canvas so I'll let the sky dry and work on the lower section tomorrow.  Nice thing about a large canvas, there's always someplace dry to work.

SECOND SESSION

982-2a (interior grey day shot)

My second session went well, a full 8-hour day with about the same lighting conditions as the day before.....bright and sunny! As you can see I have the lower section covered. All my key elements are in place. As planned, I allowed drying time for my sky, being very careful not to disturb it while painting in the buildings. Its useful if both are dry before merging.......especially in a situation like here, where a wrong move could destroy a good passage with no recourse.

After sleeping on it, I know my salute is under-scaled in relationship to my other buildings and my original painting. I didn't really work much on it other than blocking it out.....glad now, otherwise this would be a repaint, something I don't want in this painting. 

THIRD SESSION

892-3 (outdoor shot)

Even though our day was very grey, my session stayed on track....still leaving my original session sky alone I worked on mist and fog merging into my water. I did increase the Salute mass....perhaps still not enough. Tomorrow should be my last session, the last 15-minutes, the moves that count...or escape us! Dry canvas will help a bit in latter..:=)

FOURTH SESSION

892 Venetian Mist 48x44 oil on linen (2-26-14)

 Not exactly my final day, as it turned out - a few things stood out and required a little further noodling.

FIFTH & FINAL SESSION

892 Merging of light and Water 48x44 oil on linen (2-27-14)

 Detail

 My final day was more about how it reads 30 to 100 feet away. The important "first impression" test. A completed paint is required to pass. Studying and making a few marks here and there....messing with the Salute, just generally softening edges, punctuating important details or perhaps reducing one trying to take center stage.

NOTE: There does seem to be a common truth in this business. The majority of the buyers, if not all, are first looking for art to decorate an important wall, we as artists endeavor to supply it.......if we are lucky, they grow to appreciate it, become collectors of our work and by default called collectors!

Love collecting them and their best walls! 

Later...