Kendall and Berkley

Here, I have posted the original photograph, along with the painting I finished for my brother-in-law for xmas. These adorable puppies are Kendall (left) and Berkley.

At the time of this painting, I had yet to meet Kendall, so I concentrated most on trying to capture his body stance and personality.

In the final painting, take a look at the extra 'treats' I painted in for the boys to play with.:)

Big Skies in Montana

My sister requested that I paint her a landscape of Montana - ' Big skies and rolling hills'. So, I found a pic on the internet and came up with this landscape within a week. Since it was Montana, I tried to concentrate on the sky and making the movement be within it. I also played with several colors in the skies, yellows, pinks and purples. The final effect looked a mix of grey and blue, which I thought was nice.

Spires in Madrid

This was my first attempt at abstracting real life.

I found a photo online that was absolutely beautiful, the subject was church spires of a cathedral in Madrid, with an amazing sky behind it.

But I wanted the sky in my painting to be the subject, not the spires, so I purposefully abstracted the shape and length of the spires in my painting.

I must say that this painting is one of my favorites, simply becuase of the colors.

Mamasita's Lighthouse

So this painting was a mesh of two separate subjects. I found a lighthouse photograph that just spoke to me. But the sky in the photo was a just a plain blue, nothing special. I felt it needed color, and since I really enjoy painting skylines, I went to town. Of course, the photograph of this painting does not do it justice.

Pop's Fishin' Hole

This painting was one of my most fun. I have never encountered water before in any of my subjects, so this was a learning experience.

But I did use an acting technique on this painting, believe it or not! I 'acted' like water when I was painting it. It allowed me to become free an unrestricted.

After the oils had dried for a bit, my eye kept being drawn back to this painting. Something told me that something was missing. I attempted to draw in a fishing pole and bucket on a rock, but it did not look right.

My second attempt was for me to paint a fish jumping out of water and splashing the rocks nearby. It worked, and it ended up making the picture!

Jared's Portrait

One night I unceremoniously went to the 'artists' part of craiglist. The first post I saw was meant for me. Someone was asking for a portrait done of them in oils.

Now, I had never done a human subject before, but I was ready to try. I responded to the ad, and within a week, I was working on my first commissioned painting as an artist.

This painting is only similar to his actual picture, simply by doing the 'gridding effect' on the canvas first.

This painting took me longer than most do, simply becuase I kept doubting myself. But I am proud of the final product, and the buyer was also.