cabinart weblog

Back in the day when I used a real camera, a complicated drawing might take 2 rolls of film. Now that the restraint of “wasting film” has been obliterated, I take as many photos as I want! It is such a nice thing to never stop to change rolls. Despite the abundance of images, there are always more needed. That is why there is a large gap in the middle of this drawing.

Here is the right side so you can see a bit more detail. The stone steps are so beautiful that I forget to admire the (unfinished) river!

I have decided that there are 3 kinds of sky colors applicable to my painting:

1. Photography blue  - can be washed out, greyish blue or fakey overdone blue
2. Real blue, so frighteningly blue that no one would believe it in a painting
3. Believable painting blue that most painters just fall back on - default blue!

Blick.com had a great sale on 10×10″ canvases. Since I have enjoyed the 6×6″ squares so much, I decided to try these.  There may be a show in Sequoia over Labor Day, and it makes sense to paint subjects that are relevant to that area. These are all from photos that I have used in the past, but the square format adds a challenge and makes them look new.

One more week in the studio due to technical difficulties with the mural. The Mural Team will sort it out, and I should be back on the wall next week. Meanwhile, back at the studio, I am working on this large drawing of a beautiful back yard on the river.

It is taking a pile of reference photos, and a list of more needed is growing daily.

This is the upper left corner. I started there, and now am jumping all over the drawing because I am missing so much visual information. No matter how many photos I take, I always seem to need more. This is because people hire me for accuracy, not just my “impression”. My art is called “realism” for a reason!

(the weirdness around his nose is the reflection in the wet paint)

One might think that after painting about 80 pieces of citrus, one might tire of the subject. One would be wrong.

The rough early stages no longer fill me with dread and worry that this will be the painting on which my career croaks.

These are for a special purpose and have a bit of a story. I bought 12 2×2″ canvases to try - no, oops, I bought 12 packages of 5 each! 60 of these little canvases should last me awhile.

Dante is just drying, and I have finally finished this early a.m. painting of Mineral King in addition to almost finishing a commission of redbud.

This is a table full of dreams and plans. It will take some time to think about my current inventory and upcoming shows before I know what sizes to paint which subjects. Anyone have a working crystal ball they can lend to me??

Here is Dante again after several hours. The proportions got reworked a bit, the background darkened, and more paint added all over. The eye on the right is a little weird, but the paint is too wet to respond to any commands from a brush!

This is a commissioned piece in progress of a magnificent German Shepherd. The customer is unable to see my emailed photos, so I am showing it to him in this fashion. You all can peek over our shoulders - we don’t mind!

Sierra Swinney is 15 years old and has lived in Three Rivers her entire life. Ballet seems like an odd obsession for someone who loves to backpack with her dad in the local mountains, but Sierra has been dancing since she was four and dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. She has been accepted to the American Ballet Theatre’s summer program in Alabama, and this little painting is for auction on eBay to help pay her way. You can go to eBay and bid on it now, and let’s make lots of money for Sierra!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110554193307#ht_500wt_896 

“Please, may I have more leaves?”

“But of course, you are the customer!”

The German Shepherd is named Dante, and there is no rush, thank goodness! I’ve never painted an animal before, so I’ll need all the time that the customer will allow me to learn how. The almost blank canvas will become redbud blooms. And the dancing feet deserve their own photo, because this is a special little project for my dancing friend, Sierra Swinney.

Sierra has been accepted into some Big Deal Ballet Thing in Alabama this summer and it will cost her a ton of money. When this 4×6″ painting is finished, I will auction it on eBay and the money we earn will help her get to the Big Deal. (Yes, I know it is called something else, but more will have to be revealed in a later posting.)