Branching out

Olive Branch, above, 14 x 18" canvas in oil paint and wax medium. This is a commission for the Mount Dora Olive Oil Company in Florida. I'm adding a few shots of the work in progress for those who are curious about how these things take shape. 

 

 Above are two of the four thumbnail sketches I did. These are about 4" wide, and you can see I was trying out some different shapes for the branch and facing or slanting it in different directions. The bottom sketch is more finished because I liked it better and thus continued to work on it. 

 When I put the design on the canvas, I did it originally in a red-clay-colored pastel pencil. I didn't photograph that step because the pencil is a soft color, not very dark, and doesn't show up well in photos at all. You can see that I kept the basics of the design I had in the thumbnail, but made the branch somewhat more graceful, with fewer bare spots or abrupt curves. 

The photo above is of the stage at which I had taken a brush and some dark paint (mostly raw umber) and drawn the graphic-style outline with that.  I then left it to dry before continuing. 

Next, I had to start mixing the greens and browns I wanted. Greens are tricky, and what looked nice and neutral to warmish on my palette, looked really minty-blue on the canvas. I had to keep adjusting it.

The shadow you see on left is mostly cold wax medium, which is this translucent stuff about the consistency of Crisco, and you mix it with oil paint; and in this case I applied it with a palette knife, like skimming a wall with a trowel. Eventually I covered the whole surface in it, making the colors lighter as I moved toward the right. Wax medium lets me build up a lot of transparent to semi-transparent and then opaque layers really quickly.

When you start with a transparent layer and then put opaque layers over it: *poof* instant feeling of depth. It's really fun to do. The rest of the painting process was one of applying layers of transparent, translucent, and opaque paint, with the brightest and most opaque "foreground" or focal area in the lower right quadrant. That's also where I used the coolest, bluest colors in what is otherwise a very warm painting. Had I used the same colors all over, in the same proportions, it would have been pretty but not very interesting -- more like wallpaper.

"I didn't know you could DO that!"

That's what someone said to me yesterday. The man's neighbors had hired me to create a set of three big canvases for a dining room wall, and until then it had never occurred to him that this sort of thing was possible.

The canvases in question -- each 40" high x 30" wide. My years of experience as a muralist meant that the size was not a challenge for me. The homeowners wanted an old-fashioned Italian type landscape with a medieval/Renaissance procession of figures, with five banners that would represent the family's five children and their occupations.

This is all oil paint, and the decision was made by the homeowners and their designer (the wonderful Mary Mackmiller of mackmiller design + build)  to keep the colors low-key so that the art would fill the space but not overwhelm it.

Tribute to a Sweet Sheltie

Portrait of Lady, 11 x 11" mixed media on cotton paper. This elegant little girl passed away earlier this year, and I had the honor of capturing her from a few photos her owners had.

Hopkins Honda in progress

This is my fifth holiday season doing painted windows at Luther Hopkins Honda. Still loving it.

The photo above is how it looked after around 7 hours' work -- typically the point at which I run out of steam and have to quit, or I'll later look at it and wish I had quit.

Below, how it looked at around 5 minutes,  while I was figuring out placement of the various elements.

A note for anyone out there who creates stuff, or wants to create stuff, but keeps not doing it because of that terror of "I have no clue how this works" that stops you. That fear is normal. I had it yesterday when I looked at this window, and I'll have it again today when I start the next one. And then it'll be fine. It always is.

Dangerously Close to Done

This is a 48 x 60" canvas in progress at La Patisserie bakery, corner of Snelling and Randolph. If you haven't visited, I recommend it; great made-on-site baked wonders and the friendliest people anywhere.

The top image is where I left off today, and below is how it looked when I started. I won't be back there until Friday morning and should be finished by Friday around 5.

  

Lovely Hannah

Here's the finished piece that you saw in progress last night. What's new: additional carbon pencil (black) shading and details, and layers of cream-colored chalk, terra-cotta colored pastel pencil, white pastel pencil, and touches of white pastel.

Hannah has such a soft, sweet face. She required a lot of time and care, and was worth every moment.

At 14 x 11" unmatted, this is larger than the 8 x 10" size that I'm most commonly asked for.

Painting a Custom ... Dog Kennel? Yep, Dog Kennel.

So this is where I was tonight, finishing this project for Pawz and Rest. It's a beautifully crafted hardwood dog kennel/bed, and I had the honor of designing an Arts and Crafts style pattern to enhance the top.

Inspiration came from various stained glass patterns and from the seeding plants I've been finding in my walks around town -- reminding me that spring will be back soon enough.

It's rare that I'm asked to do more graphic work like this, and I enjoy the process very much.

This took about fifteen hours from design to completion.

The Commission Continues

Here's the earliest stages of paint application. These are oil paints, thinned with a lot of mineral spirits, and I'm not being ultra-careful or accurate with them yet; that will come as I work the painting toward a finish. You can see that I'm not using much color yet, either. Instead, I'm establishing the light/shadow contrasts which are really the most important thing about the picture, and form its foundation.

Oh, and those blacks aren't black. They're a mix of raw umber with dark blue and alizarin crimson. It gives something a lot closer to the color of the black on the horse's legs. 

I'll update this again tomorrow or Saturday (tomorrow, with teaching at Michael's, is going to be a very busy day; I may not have time).

How a Commission Begins

In this case, it's a memorial. The gentleman in this photo has passed away, and -- as so often happens with portrait commissions -- this is the best picture available. And it's a great picture, but it's small, and fine details aren't visible. I scanned it and enlarged it to an 8 x 10" print, which is the photo you see on the left here:

 

 

On the right is the 8 x 10" panel I'll be painting on. What you're seeing is the first stage. I've applied a one-inch-square grid to the print and a corresponding grid to my panel. The grid system dates back at least to the Renaissance, and is a great way of getting accurate proportions down. 

You'll notice that the photograph "cut off" the feet of the horse, and that I've compensated for that. I allowed extra room at the bottom, and then sketched in the hooves before I did the drawing on the panel. 

Not obvious yet: I will simplify the background of this image a LOT. All those busy, busy tree trunks? They're not helping the picture, so most of them are going to go away, and the ones I do keep will be soft-edged and their colors greyed down so that the focus is where it should be, on the people and the horse.

For the drawing, I'm using pastel pencil, which is delicate and will simply vanish into the oil paint. Anyone who's ever tried painting over standard graphite pencil lines will know why I don't use graphite!  It bleeds through like mad and the grey color tends to muddy up the paints.

If you have questions about any of this, do ask. Most people never get to see a painting in progress and it's fun for me to talk about how it works.

Completely Enchanted! The finished mural

5 p.m. on 9/11/11 at Wet Paint Art Supplies; tired and happy with the finished work.

 

See Enchanted Makeovers for more about the organization. The mural will be on display at their booth at the Creative Connection Marketplace on Sept. 16 and 17. Many many thanks to Wet Paint for donating the canvas and paints, and to The Creative Connection for all their assistance.

Most common questions people were asking:

What it's made of: Acrylic paint and a LOT of waterborne faux finishing glaze, on canvas.

How long it took: Approximately 24 hours' work for me, plus a few extra for my Valiant Volunteers. This is LIGHTNING speed for a project this size -- 10' long x 5' high.

Is this a specific place somewhere in the world? It's inspired by scenery here in Minnesota as well as in France and Italy, but it's an allegorical landscape rather than a literal one.

Egret canvas commission

36" x 48" oil on canvas, finished last night. This is for Mary Ellen Gardiner of M. E. Gardiner Interior Design, here in Minneapolis.