Recent Art by Exceptional Artists

David Malan does not exactly fit into the categorical intent of this blog, but his work is brilliant so I thought I would introduce him to you. I don’t think I’ll do a “what I like” portion to this post because I would think that it’s obvious.  There is not an artist out there who would not strive to draw as well as David does.

However, I will note that for some reason David’s blog loads uncommonly fast even on dial-up, which is always nice for those of us stranded in our studio’s out in the middle of nowhere.

Look and Enjoy!

David’s Blog

David’s Website

One of Adebanji’s sketches

There are many things I do not like about technology and the web.  This blog is not about my minor discontents but I mention that to contrast how wonderful the web is at introducing you to people you would have otherwise never run into. Adebanji’s sketching blog makes me very thankful that we have the web.  There was so much content to choose from on his three sites that I have decided to post on his work in general rather than a specific piece in hopes that you will take the time to look through his sketch book and enjoy the journey he is recording for us.

What I like about Adebanji’s work.

• #1. Integrity - I believe all the artist I have posted have this but when you are out in the streets each day recording life with your pencil as it passes you by…. well you really can’t have a more honest approach to producing works of art.
• #2. Composition - As with so many of the artist I really enjoy Adebanji has a great eye for composition and you see this in all of his sketches.
• #3. Drawing - I guess that’s obvious. To fully understand what I mean, take a sketch book, go sit on a street corner and try and draw people…. while they are moving….  with the light constantly changing. I really love the skill and freshness of his work.
• #4. Fun - I try and stick to 3 observations but I can’t leave this one out. It is simply fun to follow what Adebanji is working on!

Look and Enjoy!

Adebanji’s Sketching Blog

Adebanji’s Painting Blog

Adebanji’s Website

Purchase Adebanji’s Art

Morning Exercise 6″x6″ Oil on Masonite

Before I jump in to talking about this oil painting I want to mention how much I appreciate artists who maintain decent websites and blogs.  If I post an artist on this site it is usually for two reasons: The art is exceptional and the art is accessable.  This was brought to my mind while looking through Karen’s website. It was a very enjoyable “browse” and I encourage you to check out the link at the bottom of this post.

Karin is one of the few “daily painters” I have come accross that has a great variety of subject matter.  She does have some reoccuring themes but it seems that she simple paints a subject that grabs her.  I really respect the honesty of this approach and it has resulted in some wonderful paintings.

What I like about the oil painting “Morning Exercise”

• #1 The Subject Matter. I love coffee. I would love to only comment on the artistic merits of a piece of art but the reality is that subject matter plays a large roll in why we respond to art. Most people purchase happy art because it is enjoyable to live with.
• #2 The Sense of Light.  Karin has handled the values in a way that you can feel it is morning. Another example of an artist observing what nature gives her and then translating it with her own skills and leanings.
• #3 The Squint. Non-artist may not understand this concept so I should probably do a post on squinting. In any case, the handling of the newspaper reveals an artist who knows how to squint!

Look and Enjoy!

• Karin’s Blog
• Karin’s Website (This is a fun website to check out)
• I had intended to put a link here to bid on this painting but did not get this posted until after the painting was sold. Sorry about that. I’ll try harder next time. You can keep up with her available paintings on her blog.
• By the way Karin also does workshops. For information please see her website.

Blue Hydrangea 8″x8″ Oil Painting

This will be a short post due to time constraints (I must paint!) but I love this little painting. Purple never seems to work (that’s what my galleries tell me) but how can you say this painting doesn’t work. It’s fantastic! Once again I am stunned at how well the painting is done at such a small size. Apparently M Collier at a high level for a very long time.

What I like about the painting “Blue Hydrangea”

• #1. Drawing - I don’t normally like very detailed realism but there is something about Collier work that attracts me and one of these things is the skill involved in the drawing.
• #2. Compositional depth - My eye moves through this painting instead of being stagnant.
• #3. Color - As I mentioned in the introduction purple can be a killer in paintings but not in this one!

Look and Enjoy!

• M. Collier Blog

Glacier Wall 8″x10″

Kevin Macpherson is a prolific painter known throughout the world as on of the top outdoor painters. One of the great things about his commitment to painting is that there are usually several paintings to select from as you will see at the Redfern Gallery link below. I had the honor of watching Kevin do a demonstration at the North River Yacht Club several years ago here in Tuscaloosa. The colors were amazing and Kevin’s approachable demeanor and great sense of humor made it all the better.

Kevin has also written two books that you will find very helpful if you are interested in learning how to paint. You can find links to these at my blog.

Here’s What I like about the oil painting Glacier Wall

• #1. The color. Kevin’s approach to painting is to take hue, value and color and think of them in terms of “color spots”. This is wonderful way of simplifying the observation process when painting from life and the result is accurate color relationships that vibrate of the canvas.
• #2. His reputation. Buying one of Kevin’s paintings is a historical event, in my opinion. He is a painter who will be remembered for his beautiful paintings and his incredible contributions to other artist and the popularity of outdoor painting.
• #3. The atmosphere. Having just read Kevin’s first book last night (I have read it several times) I was reminded that this beautiful sense of atmosphere in this painting is the result of keen comparison and observation of what he has seen in nature. Often the light in a scene changes so fast that the artist is painting what he saw 30 minutes ago. So visual memory also comes into play and there are not many who do it as well as Kevin.

Look and Enjoy!

• The Redfern Gallery
• Kevin’s Website

Over the years, several home school families have asked me for recommendations for art education. I have always appreciated their desire to ensure that their children have a well rounded education that includes a basic knowledge and understanding of the skills needed to create top quality art. I am hoping that sometime this year I will be able to do a weeklong workshop covering the basics. This of course sometimes becomes difficult due to the wide variety of ages that an average family has. So until I figure that out I have provided a category on my “On The Easel Store” that provides some solid suggestions of books that would be helpful in home schooling. Due to issues of modesty, I have only included titles that would be non-offensive to all ages. There are books at the “On The Easel Store” that are more in depth but must be used with more discernment. I have not listed these in the home school section. I hope you find this helpful.

The store can be found at my blog: On The Easel

By the way the painting shown is a pastel done by John Kelley (me!) several years back.

“Girl With A Fan” 5″x7″ Pastel Painting

Creating art is such a Privilege. A free prosperous nation makes it possible for thousands of artist to create and make a living at the same time. Margaret Dyer was one of the early influences in my career who helped me see how healthy it is to be an artist. Her work has always inspired me both because of it’s emotional impact and because of the great skill she has developed with both oils and pastels. I would have posted one of her paintings sooner but apparently she has been working on a show which you can find out about on her site. I love that I live in a country where you can get your hands on such beautiful work at such a reasonable cost.

Here’s what I like about the pastel painting “Girl With A Fan”

• #1 Margaret’s use of warm and cool colors. If you ever get a chance to study with her or watch her do a demonstration I highly recommend it. I was able to do so several years ago and it is a delight to watch how she will dance back and forth between cool and warm colors to develop depth and form in her figures.
• #2 Atmosphere. This primarily comes from the use of soft and hard edges. Her paintings always feel mysterious to me and I think that comes mostly from this edge quality.
• #3 Size. Once again, as with most daily painters, I am stunned at how well she works at this small size. It is also important to note that Margaret was doing these little paintings well before the small painting-a-day trend became the fashion.

Look and Enjoy!

• Margaret Dyer Website
• Bid on “Girl With a Fan”

“Flowing Color”

5″ x 7″ Oil Painting

I was not familiar Qiang Huang’s work until very recently but I am really impressed with his work. Qiang Huang is always trying to bring his work to the next level.  As he explains on his blog, he is trying new surfaces to see if he can get more painterly effects with thinner paint. This is something that I have also been trying and I have found that I get a much more painterly effect and I can control the paint much better.

Here is what I like about the oil painting “Flowing Colors”

• #1. The way the color from the yellow apple flows into the red apple. Actually, the color is bouncing of the red apple into the yellow apple, but I like the way he handles this.
• #2. There is a harmony to this painting that comes from astute observation. If you were to paint these three local colors with your head you would not get a very good harmony. If you observe what is actually there you always find a harmony due to the light source.
• #3. By allowing the green apple to be slightly submerged in shadow the painting takes on great depth.

Look and Enjoy!

• Qiang Huangs Blog
• Buy “Flowing Colors”

“Confidante” 40″x25″

On this blog I am going to try and stick with paintings that are available at the time of posting.  I’m making an exception with Morgan Weistling because I am enamored with his work and it is very hard to get your hands on.  More than any other artist Morgan just consistently blows me away. This kind of skill should be illegal due to the heartbreak it causes other artist!

Here is what I like about the oil painting “Confidante”.

• #1. EVERYTHING!
• #2. The full range of values. In comparison to the painting by Scott Burdick in the previous post, this painting has some very dark, dark’s and some light lights.  It is hard to tell from this web version, but my guess is that there is no pure white in the painting even in the highlights or in the flame. Highlights have color.
• #3. The modeling of the form with a mosaic of color and value changes.  This is why you feel like you can walk straight into this painting and begin to sneeze because you are allergic to cats!
• #4. The subdued nature of most of the color which makes that flame seem all the warmer.

Look and Enjoy!

• My dream is to one day see one of these paintings in person but until then here is Morgan Weistlings website.  If you are interested in his DVD’s you can find links there as well as information on the stunning number of top awards Morgan has won.

“Cortez Reflection” 10″ x 12″

I love to do oil paintings on location directly from life.  The problem is that it is extremly difficult and out of all the paitnings I’ve done outdoors there are only a handful that I think are presentalble.  Scott Burdick is one of those guys who seems to get it right every time. On top of that he is a really nice guy and a fantastic teacher.  You can purchase several different videos of Scott demonstrating how to paint, draw and photograph your paintings. I have a video of Scott’s that I reference on a regular basis that has proven very helpful in developing my abilities.

Here is what I like about the oil painting “Cortez Reflections”.

• #1. The THICK paint! His paintings are not always this thick but I love it when they are.
• #2. The reserving of values. I did a painting at Sokol Park last week where I made the values of the tree trunks so dark that the rest of the painting fell to pieces. In this painting none of the values are close to black and look how beautiful the color turns out as a result.

Look and Enjoy!

• This painting can be purchased at the M Gallery of Fine Art
• Scott’s Website
• Scott’s Videos