Cincinnati's finest unknown artist -- Todd Price

It's my intention to take you step-by-step on how I am doing my newest landscape oil painting. I started working on the painting on Dec. 3. I delayed posting my blogs till I could do them consecutively, week-by-week.

Artwork by Todd Price

Actually, the first week's journey will be delayed one week because it's only fitting that I give acknowledgement to my best friend, Todd Price. Once a week during the spring, fall and winter months, I spend most of the evening painting alongside him in his studio. He is generally working on one of his pieces to be entered in his annual summer show in Gettysburg, PA, while I am working on my painting. 

Todd oversees what I am doing and his pointers have been incredibly beneficial in developing my progress in oil painting. 

Todd Price

That being said, I am truly amazed at how little recognition he receives in Greater Cincinnati, yet he is regarded as one of the foremost historical painters in the United States. He is represented by the prestigious Lord Nelson Gallery in Gettysburg, PA and is considered one of their top artists.

Completely self-taught, Todd grew up in Deer Park and always had a passion and talent in art. His passion for art in grade school may be labeled mischievous in retrospect, but certainly, at the time, he was a teacher's tribulation. 

"I started drawing in grade school just to get through classes. They were so boring to me and a waste of time, so I used to draw," Price said. "In about the fourth or fifth grade, I was probably a troublemaker. If I would cause enough trouble, the teacher would just wind up saying, 'Price, shut up and draw.' So they let me draw."

Todd, however, was a voracious reader, especially in history and the Civil War in particular. It proved to be an outstanding foundation for his later career. Ironically, now, he is invited by his sons' teachers to make historic presentations in classes regarding Civil War history. 

Todd applying the first layer of detail

After high school, Todd went to work briefly for his father, before acquiring a position with Flexoplate, Inc., which actually produced plates for the printing industry. When the company learned he could draw, they started having him do illustrations . He worked there for seven years as Production Artist and Illustrator, working on projects for United Dairy Farmers, Smuckers and other companies.

In the mid-1980s, after seven years with his company, wanderlust attacked him and he decided to take a hiatus. He purchased a motorcycle and headed west, eventually landing in Arizona. He walked in to an automotive company that was looking for a design artist. He told them he had no formal training, but as soon as he showed them his portfolio, he was hired on the spot.

Though he only spent a year in Arizona, it proved to be yet another brick in his art foundation. Always a hiker and camper, and still is to this day, Todd enjoys spending a day outdoors, studying clouds, or streams or simple tree lines in the distance. He is a watcher of nature.

All the while, he painted.

"I actually started painting in the fifth grade -- always oil painting, always historical scenes and landscapes," he said. "I can remember the very first time I painted. My mom opened up the first tube of paint and I can still remember the smell ... Mom was also the first one to tell to me to 'do your shadows first'. I live by that to this day."

By the late 1980s, after moving back to Cincinnati, Todd realized he was ready for the next step.

"I wanted to be taken seriously as a painter. So a started the Gettysburg Series," he said. His reading of history had finally taken hold of him. "I was reading about Pickett's Charge and was so moved by it, I knew I wanted to paint it. The next question I asked myself was, 'How do I paint it?'

Price work in progress

"So I went to the art museum every day and started reading books about art, and about color and light and how they worked together," Price continued. "It wound up being a series of four paintings."

And while the paintings sold -- "enough to break even" -- it was rarely to local individuals. 

"People just don't buy historical art here," Price said. "No galleries want to carry it. There's a lot of galleries here in town, but they are shaking their heads 'No' before I even opened my portfolio. When I got turned down by Summerfair, I pretty much went nuts painting."

In his travels to Gettysburg for his history sojourns, he came across Lord Nelson's Gallery, which represents many of the top historical, traditional artists in the country.

"The biggest artists are there ... that's where I always wanted to be," Price said.

Todd had sent them brochures of his artwork for several years, however, and never got a response. Then in 2007, an artist backed out of the annual Gettysburg "History Meets the Arts" Festival. The co-owner of Lord Nelson's remembered seeing Price's brochure and called him to see if he would be interested in being part of the annual show.

"I thought it was one of my friends messing with me," Price said. " But it was Phillipe (du Bois). I had some work available because no one ever bought any of it. That's when I thought I had finally got a break."

His anxiety level, however, during that first show was monumental.

"I had been selling my paintings at the Montgomery Art Show for $100, and here I am hanging next to the top five artists in the United States. I remember saying to myself, 'What  am I doing here?'"

He had just finished hanging his first three pieces when David Wright and John Buxton, two artists whom Todd and studied and admired for many years, walked over to his display.

Todd Price artwork

"I'm thinking, 'Oh gawd, these would have to be the first two guys to come over and critique my work," Price said. "After about 10 minutes or so, John said, 'David and I want you to know you are not allowed to paint water any more. You paint it better than us. If you paint water again, we'll break your hands.

"They started laughing and I knew then I had made it."

Currently, Price works diligently every year getting between 15-to-20 paintings ready for the Gettysburg show. But, like anyone who is driven to excellence, Price keeps pushing himself. For one, he still works a full-time job, while nearly every artist at the Gettysburg show is a full-time artist.

"I think I'm an accomplished artist, but I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I've never been invited to do a private show. I think that would catapult me to where I don't have to work every day."," he said. "I would love to have an invitation to do a private show at the Cincinnati Art Museum ... "

That would be in his home town. Then maybe people might know who he is.

Art Shows this weekend

The Irregular Blogger Returns! At least irregularly ...

I've been painting quite a bit lately -- and, sad to say, neglecting my drawing skills regimen. I have been excited, however, about how I am progressing. While I've done about 6-10 paintings since I've last posted, the two that have been most satisfying while be featured this weekend at two different Winter Art Shows.
 
Winter at the Horse Farm in New Hampshire will be at the Loveland Artist Studios on Main for Friday, Dec. 5 artists reception from 6-9 p.m. I have won People's Choice Award two years in a row at the Loveland Winter Art Show. Food, wine, music and merriment! Click the link for directions, though the easiest way to find the studios is to located the Loveland Post Office and the studios are across the street in the old school house.

Winter at the Horse Farm in New Hampshire  is a 24 x 30 oil painting. I've been working on it off and on most of the summer and fall, but really pulled it all together over the last 4-6 weeks. It sounds as if I put more time in to this than it really was. In actuality, less than half the time I would take on a normal-sized colored pencil piece.

Winter at the Horse Farm in New Hampshiire

The Three Brothers

On Saturday, The Three Brothers will be at the Essex Art Studios on Essex Place for the annual Friday-Saturday Winter Art Show that runs from 6-10 p.m. I will be at the Saturday show in or around studio #124. Both nights shows run from 6-10 p.m.

The Three Brothers is my first excursion in to the world of fantasy artwork. I loved doing this. The white dragon was more difficult to do than I ever anticipated. I still am not sure I completely like it, but you reach a point where you need to stop noodling and accept it. For the time being ...

The third dragon, by the way, is the gold dragon, up near the peak of the distant mountain.

The painting is 24 x 30 and done in acrylic painting. Easier clean up. Oil is more fun cause you can BLEND so much more easily. Getting transitions accomplished in acrylic is challenging and I find myself constantly re-doing it. I am not sure, however, i could get the detail on the red dragon as well in oil paint. Especially since I have a tendency to rest my hand on the canvas. (Yes, I am aware of maul sticks. I find them cumbersome. More learning must be done).

Facebook 

One of the reasons I haven't been posting as much on the blog is that I have been posting more often on my Facebook page. Most of you who might read this blog (and the throngs are overwhelming, I know), are already "Friends" on Facebook. If you are not and want to stay up with my art musings and such, feel free to send me a "Friend" and I will be more than happy to respond in kind!


Hopefully, I will see you at one of the two shows this weekend! Hope your Thanksgiving Holidays were fun and eventful and happy!!!!
 

Masonflowers

My guess is every community in the United States and probably around the world has a patch of sunflowers that draws folks every year.

There's one here in the Mason area on the corner of Snider and Irwin-Simpson, across from Cottell Park. My guess also is that every artist in the United State has wanted to or has drawn or painted a sunflower. This is my contribution. It may not be my last sunflower, but it is my first! 

Masonflowers (Acyrlic 15 x 30)

It's not completely finished yet, but it's pretty darn close.The painting was done in acrylic on a 15 x 30 gallery wrap frame.


I will have it hanging this coming Thursday (August 21) at the Artists Lounge gallery in the Pop Revolution Gallery on 105 East Main Street in Mason.

Third Thursday runs from 5-to-9 p.m. at the gallery and will feature drinks and snacks and music and a door prize!

The painting will also be available as an inexpensive print via Imagekind.com (Searchword: mbpgrafix) some time this coming week as well.

Hopefully you can be part of Thursday's fesitivities!!
 

 

Fantasy time

(Can't believe it's been almost two months since I have posted a blog!)

Growing up with asthma, I spent a lot of my youth indoors wishing I could be outside doing things. I ended up reading a lot -- Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, chief among them. A lot of comic books and a lot of doodling and a lot of wishing for this and that. Some folks probably call it fantasizing. There were a lot of artists who I thought were just the best (that varied from one week to the next, of course) -- Gil Kane (The Atom), Jack Kirby (Fantastic Four), Steve Ditko (Spider-Man), Al Williamson, Wally Wood, Jim Steranko and Neal Adams.

Frank Frazetta's Tarzan

None, however, could replace my all time favorite artist, Frank Frazetta, who I have written about before. I can't tell you how many times I sketched, traced, drew the drawing here by Frazetta as part of his series of drawings of Tarzan.

I think the very process of doing that helped me in several areas that I never realized until I started actually pursing artwork about eight years ago.

First of all, drawing in black and white, I developed a strong sense of values. The darkest darks, the whitest whites and the various shades in between. I remember when I first took a drawing class in Hamilton, my first instructor -- Allison Shepherd -- remarked how well I had a sense of value and contrast. Who would have known? It really is about the drama of the light source. The light establishes your darks.

Second, to this day, I still have a fairly decent sense of anatomy and muscle structure. Foreshortening is another story altogether, but where muscles attach and how they work with and against each other is something I've manage to understand pretty well too. I wish I had drawn the hands and feet more, though!

Third, I learned a sense of drama or story-telling that is important in artwork. Can one painting carry a story? For me, that's the sign of a great artist. That may not be the textbook definition of artwork, it may not fly in the museum or gallery community, but it works for me. It's something I strive to do in most of my paintings.

Finally, the most important lesson, was the fantasy. The escape. The place to weave dreams and replace reality with something else. It's the kind of painting I've always wanted to do. 

Once I started taking up artwork seriously, however, I came to the realization that fantasy artwork -- while probably the least respected or regarded -- may also be the most difficult. As an artist you need to master ALL the genres -- portrait art, anatomy drawing, landscape (afterall, you need a dramatic setting), still life and motion.  Furthermore, you can't do a plein air painting of a dragon in flight, and there are no photos you can take of elves and hobbits and ogres. I was nowhere close to doing this kind of artwork when I first started.

I think I'm getting close now. And, what excites me most of all, is that I am doing it in painting, instead of drawing. Both of the paintings are NOT finished.

The Defender of the Realm (oil)

The painting on the right, I'm calling it The Defender of the Realm. This was done in oil and I am really glad that I started it in oil because painting the dramatic clouds in the background are so much easier to do in oil paint. (Thank you, Todd Price for teaching me this!)

Much of the front leg and some of the armor will still need to be worked. The shadows under the right arm, along the cape, need to be darkened. The sword still needs to be fine-tuned. All in all, for the first one, I'm pretty happy.


I have five different books of Frank Frazetta artwork but, interestingly enough, he never painted a dragon. He's painted all kinds of monsters and demons and winged creatures, but never have I come across a hard-core dragon painting. 

The Three Brothers (acrylic)

Dragons have always fascinated me. Magestic creatures. That's my word. Majestic and magical combined -- Magestic.

This piece, painted in acrylic, still has a long way to go, but most of the right third of the painting is set. I needed to get the Red Dragon fully realized to get the perspective of the other two dragons. The middle dragon -- the White Dragon -- needs to be tweaked. The far dragon -- the Gold Dragon -- is well placed, though a suggestion from my Monday night guru, Ken Buck, helped in tilting it more.

The mountains (again, lessons learned from Todd Price) in the background will need further detailing. I need to get some separation from the front mountainside from the mountains behind it. Some different lighting will achieve that result. 

The bluish blob in the lower left is actually going to be another mountain/hillside, but there will be several towering trees that will lend perspective to the landscape. Just how far away are those mountains? How big is the White Dragon if those trees are that big?

I'm having fun. Starting to paint Fantasy Art. Something I've always wanted to do. The time has come.

324 Revisited

324 (Colored Pencil)

I had the great fortune to have my colored-pencil painting, 324, selected for the prestigious Viewpoint show. The 46th Annual national show, sponsored by the Cincinnati Art Club, is also one of the most difficult shows to get juried in to each year. I am very honored.

I am, however, drawn back to being upset with the fact that this piece -- which has now been entered in five different shows (three juried shows) -- and has won awards in three of them -- wasn't deemed good enough to get in to this year's Colored Pencil Society of America show.

You have to wonder what the CPSA judge saw -- or didn't see -- that seven other judges (five of whom are well-regarded artists in their own right) thought was worthy of inclusion. I know it smacks of sour grapes, but my logic says otherwise.

Demo Artist armed with a paint brush

Doesn't seem like it's been a month since I've posted anything. I actually started two other pieces, but have decided against publishing them for the time being. Instead, I'm going to do some "catching up." 

Last Thursday (June 12), I was the demo artist at the Artists Lounge in the Pop Revolution Gallery in Mason as part of our monthly Open Studio reception. Not having done something like this before, I wasn't sure what to expect. Unlike the previous blog in which I was actually teaching a short pastel workshop, this was an exhibition for people to watch me work and ask questions during and about the process.

Me, allegedly hard at work

I decided to do the demonstration in colored pencil, in the technique that I employed in my self-portrait, The Irony of Me. Some of the guests and all of the artists had seen that painting in the "Self" show.

I loaded up most of my pencils, reference photo, erasers and gadgets, as well as one of the two electric pencil sharpeners that actually work. I had done some preliminary work so as not to spend half the evening transferring the image on to the illustration board. After setting up on a card table, I was pretty much ready to go.

This was different than the workshop in many ways. For one, I wasn't explaining as I went along. It was, for the most part, as if I was working in my studio at home with people wandering in and out. I think that created some anxiety within me because I could see as the night, and the project, was going along that I was doing some things that I wouldn't have done if I had been working alone in the studio. I felt as if I was rushing myself instead of just taking the time and "letting it happen" as it usually does at home. I think another factor that came in to play was working at a place that wasn't my drawing table. I had to keep looking for where I placed things instead of knowing where they were instinctively.

The nice thing about the night, though, was that there were a good number of people coming through the gallery. Interestingly, however, most of the questions I got were from fellow artists or artists who had come to view the Open Studio event.

All in all, it was a great experience and, if I should ever do this again, I will be better armed -- mentally for sure. The painting, itself, won't get finished. Along with strokes and colors in the wrong place, it was good to learn that the size of the image was not big enough for work on the 16 x 20 board that I seem to prefer using lately. I plan to revisit this project in the near future.

I want to thank my good friend, Ben Effler, and fellow artist and photographer, John Weller, for taking photos of me at work last week so I could post them on the blog. As it turned out, I felt this was the best one!

Painting, painting and more painting

Despite the fact that my demo was in colored pencil, I have had some difficulty with my colored pencil work this year. Given the fact that last year I spent seven months working on two pieces, I haven't been able to get myself motivated to overcome that daunting amount of time required to do quality work.

The Elk at Glacier National Park

Instead, I have been painting more and enjoying it more, too. It truly helps taking classes on Monday nights at the Essex Studios with Ken Buck, who I believe is one of the finest teachers in Cincinnati. And another great benefit has been the one-on-one work with my good friend, Todd Price, once a week.

I can't even begin to touch upon all I have learned in oil painting from Todd, who I believe is one of the top 25 historical landscape artists in the United States.

The River in the Valley

The two paintings I have here, The Elk at Glacier National Park and The River in the Valley, were done over the course of the last three months. That seems like a long time, but in actuality, I painted with Todd once a week for anywhere between two-to-four hours. Both canvas are 12 x 16.

I employed Todd's palette colors, which in itself, is limited to about eight colors. He doesn't have one lick of green paint on his tray at the start of the night. All his greens are of his own making. In addition to being a marvelous artist and a great teacher and friend, Todd could probably teach history at any college in Greater Cincinnati. For his paintings to work and sell, he has to know what he's painting. His research is -- down to the buttons on the uniforms of the Civil War soldiers to the gas mask he found for his World War I painting -- is unparalled.

I have a greater sense of satisfaction seeing the finished product of my oil painting than I do with colored pencil. There's a feeling of "majesty" (for lack of a better word) to it.

That's not to say that every thing I've painted has gone well. I have been struggling with the painting I have been working on with Ken on Monday nights. We have done extensive revisions to it. Part of the problem has been the water-soluble oil paints, which just don't work as well as regular oil paints.

The Dreamweaver WIP1

The other part of the problem I am having is that I knew the image I wanted to paint. I just didn't have it as well-defined as I originally thought. I had roughed out several sketches and while those looked good on paper and in my mind, it just wasn't translating on canvas.

We have made at least three changes to the painting, eliminating chairs, eliminating the pantry, and -- most importantly -- defining the light source and its impact on the surroundings in the painting. The light on the tables in the second image demonstrates where I want to go with this eventually. One of the next steps is to start manipulating the shadows.

The Dreamweaver WIP2

I think I am now at a point where I have a much better sense of where I need to take this painting. On the other hand, I'm not sure this is going to work as it is and may have to start all over. If I do that, at least I have much more confidence in where I am going with this.

I also feel a whole lot better now that I have a title -- The Dreamweaver. (This is another piece in my Romance series.) Usually, I have a title for a painting in mind before I even start a painting. For me, it helps me to define or focus. 

There's much more work on this ahead. Not sure it will ever be as good on canvas as it is in my head, but that's what every artist struggles with every time they start the day!

Finally ... I actually have a couple more paintings I was planning to show here, but this blog has already gone on far too long. Maybe next time ...

Teaching a workshop

Teaching is something I've always entertained as a possibility during various points in my life. My patience level has never been the best, however, and it's a quality among those of the teaching profession that I have always admired. I clearly couldn't have taught elementary school. Third graders, I suspect, would have trouble getting their little mitts around my sense of humor.

When I was approached last fall by fellow colored pencil artist, Autumn Huron, to teach a pastel workshop in May, I admit I was a bit wary. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought I would give it a shot. Afterall, the Colerain Artists Guild would not include third-graders.

The first thing I do whenever I have to make any presentation is "The Five P's." Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

I outlined a plan (just like a real teacher), and assembled my supplies accordingly. I decided to start with basics. Making assumptions that all artists have done a media was the incorrect approach.

Colorfix

Perhaps moreso than with any other media, the basics in pastel surrounds the support of the artwork. With watercolor painters, for example, you start with Arches watercolor paper and end there. Anything else, really, is a waste of time.

Pastels are the other extreme. You can work on a lot of different surfaces. I prepared the four most common on Masonite board so I could pass them around to the members attending the workshop.

The most commonly seen, and perhaps used, surface is the Canson Mi-Tientes paper. It has a slight texture and is good for pastel, but I found, as I mentioned in the presentation that it really doesn't have much tooth. It doesn't take many layers and after a point, the pastel won't cooperate.

Canson Mi-Tientes

The next textured paper I have used is the Colorfix Sanded paper. It is an excellent product and it will take a lot of abuse and layering. It's also pretty pricey.

The third I passed around was Velour which I have also used on a couple of pastel paintings and I really like its texture. It doesn't hold pastel very well, however, but its positive is that it is so darned soft and willing to help you as an artist as much as it can.

Velour

The final product is what I use most often and that's Richeson Sanded Paper. The texture is a more gritty than the Colorfix and, for my style of pastel painting, it suits me best. 

The next part of the presentation was noting the difference between oil pastel and "soft"/chalk pastel. Within the pastel family there's at least three steps or grades to use. The first is Nupastel, a stick produced by Sanford (Prismacolor) and it's hard. Great for putting down the first layer and perhaps at the end for fine detail work

The second is the Rembrandt level pastel which really carries the load. This "medium" level makes up about 75-85% of your painting. The third level is your softest brands and there is a large variety to choose from. My favorites bounce between Unison, Terry Ludwigs and Great American (made in Cincinnati!). Sennelier makes a soft brand as well, but it is not one of my favorites.

Work space with Velour "Mr. Lou" in background

With my table all set up and ready to go, I began working on the painting based upon the photo that I brought with me. Simple photo -- two apples and a banana. Having attended a number of workshops myself, I tried to follow what has been helpful to me -- having the instructor talk about what he or she is doing WHILE they are doing it. 

I admit that I was more nervous than I thought I would be. Artists are always told that they never do their best work in a workshop. Well, I wonder if teachers think the same thing! My painting worked satisfactorily, but it wasn't as good as when I have done this same piece in my studio. 

Yours truly starting painting

The sort of finished product

I easily went longer than the 30 minutes Autumn had originally suggested, but I hoped that when all was said and done that the ladies in attendance learned even a little something. I had a good time. And the "teacher" learned a few things too. For one, it's okay to breathe. It helps alleviate the jitters!

Painting and more painting

The more I am painting, the more I realize how much I enjoy doing it. I work once a week painting with water soluble oil paints with instructor Ken Buck at the Essex Studios, and once a week in oil paints with my good friend, Todd Price. I am actually -- finally -- gaining more confidence with the brush. It's such a great feeling to know that you can actually fix a mistake! That colored pencil anxiety just isn't there. It's only paint! (My new mantra). If you don't like it, paint over it and start over, rearrange, add, subtract and -- all on the same surface!!!! I don't have to throw my Stonehenge colored pencil drawing out after 6 weeks and start over again! So cool!

WIP: Water soluble oil/Part of Romance Series

My other big concern when I first starting painting was "So I mix these paints and get this cool color ... how do I do it again the next day." Two key things that Todd Price has taught me -- limited palette and his weekly reminder -- "You mixed it once, you can mix it again." And you can. Especially with that limited palette.

And, like anything else, the more you do something, the more comfortable you feel. The more you mix Prussian Blue and Van Dyke Brown and a hint of Indian Red or Magenta -- you get Black! It works every time. I impress even myself.

There is, as I have noted in previous blogs, a decided difference between oil paint and water soluble oil paint. Regular oil paint is the way to go for me. At least right now. I keep working the water soluble though in hopes I find the right mojo.

Where have I been?

It has been quite a while since I've posted anything whatsoever. I have to admit I'm still chapped from not getting accepted in to the CPSA International Show this year. I've actually written three blogs addressing that issue, but as much as it is against my inherent nature, I am trying to tone down my comments. So the first three attempts remain unpublished in "draft" mode. The next blog or so will probably include my observations and criticisms. Part of me says to publish my first rant -- I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog anyway. I keep thinking time will assuage my feelings. Nah ... not really.

Loose ends

Never enough time to do all that I want. I suppose that's good in a way as I am never looking for an idea hiding under some Illustration Board.

So this blog edition will be a hodge-podge of what I've been doing, what I am doing and where I might be going. And probably too long-winded ...

What I've been doing ... I am nearing the conclusion of Flowers for Katie. One of these days I will learn to shoot my artwork correctly (that line at the bottom -- where the flower pot is resting -- is really straight!).

Flowers for Katie (oil painting)

Hopefully there never comes a time in my arting journey that I haven't learned something or two or three ... 

There's a couple of insights that this painting has provided. First and foremost is that this is the first larger scale painting I've "finished" using water-soluble oils. That, in itself, was an experience. The positive so far has been that the paint blends so much more easily, at least for me, than acrylic paints. The clean-up is fast. Just soap and water and you're good to go. The negative has been that it does seem to take a long time for the paint to dry. Much longer than oil paint. There almost seems to be a "tacky" feeling to the paint and I'm not sure what is causing that. Any insight would be appreciated!

Close-up of door

The second thing I discovered near the conclusion of this work was trying to make the door recede a bit. At one point in the previous blog you might notice the door seemed flush with the wall/frame. There was one simple little thing that I did that made it work ... and it really looks better in person than in this image. 

I simply added some lighter streaks of paint along the edges. The lighter paint against the dark streak pushed the dark end of the doorway further back.  .... Still a few things need to be done to this before I'm as satisfied as any artist can be with their work. I want to work the daffodil in the upper right a bit more, punch in a few more lights. Tweak the little yellow flowers in the front of the flowers. Make the lower right petal on the middle daffodil slight larger, so it forces the blue rose out in front more (sort of a reverse on the door edge). The panel insets on the door still bug me a bit and that needs a tweak or two.

Roger (oil painting)

Finished up another of the smaller water-soluable oil bird paintings. This one is varnished. An egret. For lack of a better title, it's being called Roger.

Oil Landscape (Untitled)

Then there's my Wednesday night painting sessions with my good friend, Todd Price. He has helped me immensely with my oil painting (oil oil, not water-oil ... hehe)

The painting on the right is about 16 x 20 or so. The top image is actually the reference photo. My painting is below it. I am guessing it will likely take another two or three weeks before it's done. But I'm liking how it is coming along. I have picked up a few techniques in how to put in the mountains and paint rocks, as well as painting trees.

You might noticed the brownish strip along the bottom of my painting. That will provide the shadow for the grasses that are to go in this week. If you look closely at the bottom of the ref photo, you can see the straw-colored grass. There will likely be an elk or deer put in this scene as well to lend more perspective to the entire piece.

I can see myself moving more and more in the direction of oil painting. The blending and just the vibrancy of color really can't be reproduced in any other medium I have tried thus far.

Colored Pencil and ... Who knows what?

The annual CPSA DC Chapter #119 annual show is coming up in September and I have to begin work on what I hope will be two pieces that I hope I can find time to finish. The one below is in the very very infant stages. It's an corrugated metal shed with old tools that are hanging on a dried out wood board. 

Old Tools Shed (Colored Pencil)

This image is based upon a photograph I took while I was in San Antonio last fall. The light at the time of day when I took this photo was outstanding. There will be a lot of rust and a lot of shadow and ... sigh ... a lot more work to go. 

It's a lot more detailed and intricate than the image shows.The chains are convoluted and they cast shadows on the corrugated metal wall. Never let it be said I settle for the simple things.


Finally, I have been playing around with the "mixed media" notion that I first did in a workshop in Rising Sun that I took a couple years ago. In that workshop, I was using newspapers and rice paper and paint and this and that and who knows what because I can't remember what all went in to the final product.  I remember the weekend well, however.

Red Sails in the Sunset (acrylic/glitter)

In any case, I finally decided to work with a color component -- glitter. I am not sure how it is going to work, if it will work at all, but I won't know if I don't try. I have done some experimental paintings with what I'm tentatively calling the "glitter technique" and, surprisingly, it met with a positive response from a few of my artist friends.


One of the drawbacks to the "glitter technique" is that is really doesn't translate on an image/screen. It was and is my idea to use the glitter not as a crutch or a gimmick, but actually incorporate it in to the artwork itself. Thus, a little glitter goes a long way. Will it work? I really don't know. I know I will have to spray-varnish Red Sails so that the glitter doesn't fall off. I will get it framed, but I'm not sure whether I need to put the painting under glass now or not. Lot of questions still need answers.

If you have made it this far ... I leave you with a outstanding quote from a dear friend and fellow artist, Paul Sensbach, "Life is too short. Go for the dessert first."