December 21st, 2009
“Oriental Kimono”
24″ X 12″
I had the honor of being invited to a dinner with Quang Ho this past month where we were all able to sit down and ask him questions about the meaning of art as well as the practical aspects of applying paint. Quangs understanding of the philosophy of painting and how that interacts with real life was very challenging. As can be seen in his work art is much more than simply rendering what you see. This flow and Zen like quality can be viewed in every one of Quangs paintings.
What I like about “Oriental Kimono” by Quang Ho
Light - The feel of atmospheric light in this painting is just amazing. It comes from Quangs use of edges and his ability to mentally abstract what he sees as he paints. This skill of abstraction is a quality that most of the great painters have. They could not draw will without it. It is another one of those concepts that is much easier to show someone than to try and explain with words.
Dark and light composition - It is clear in this painting that there is a dark area and that there is a light area. Placing these areas as they without any subject matter at all would have still made for a very interesting work of art.
Art not subject - I love that this painting is not about the subject. If it were he would have made sure we could see all of the face and all of the needle work in the kimono. This choice makes the painting a very poetic experience.
Look and Enjoy!
Quang Ho’s Website (If you are interested in learning more about Quangs Philosophy of painting I highly recomend his video series which can be found on this site.)
Posted in Figure Painting, Oil Painter, Quang Ho | No Comments »
November 2nd, 2009
In my opinion he is simply the best landscape painter in the country. Below you can check out his website (make sure and look at his studio - it’s every artist dream!) as well as connect with some available works.
Available Works
Scott’s Website
American Artist Interview
Posted in General, Oil Painter, Scott Christensen, landscape | No Comments »
October 21st, 2009
“Winter Morning” 30″x48″ Oil On Canvas
On Monday morning I was delivering a commission piece to the Bennett Galleries in Nashville TN. While waiting for the paper work I went upstairs to see what was hanging in the current show. There is nothing like seeing art in person. It tells you so much more than you can ever observe on a computer or in print and these paintings by Jason Saunders just took my breath away. Every piece in the show was worth posting on this blog and by following the link to his website at the bottom of this post you can see all of them.
What I like about “Winter Morning”
Values - All of Jason’s work has this. Solid values in a limited range which portray a wonderful sense of reality. I was amazed as I viewed his painting at how closely related the values were but yet maintaining the degree of difference needed to provide contrast. Jason really does this well.
Harmony - My guess is that Jason has spent a significant amount of time painting on location. When you paint out in nature, nature itself gives you some beautiful harmonies.
Color - You could say that this painting has limited color as well as limited values but all of the color swatches are accurate in there degree of difference which just makes these puppies sing! I can’t tell you howe much I enjoyed looking at his work and how much I learned from seeing how he handles the different aspects of painting. You should really stop by the Bennett Galleries and see what I mean.
Look and Enjoy!
Jason’s Website
Jason has some very reasonable workshops available!
Posted in General, Jason Saunders, Oil Painter, landscape, still life | No Comments »
October 12th, 2009
“Daybreak Sail” 24″x36″ Oil on Canvas
Available at J. Russel Jinishian Gallery, Inc.
I first read about Joseph McGurl’s paintings about 10 years ago in an American Artist article about a group of painters who traveled to France to paint together. I have always been captivated by his work and as you can see it is of the very highest quality. One of the things I find intriguing about his work is that he approaches it in a more academic manner. As I have mentioned in my post on Sarah Lamb, this manner of painting has regained steam in the past twenty years and the work that is being produced is astounding. To see a short demo of Joseph’s approach you can go to his “Works in Progress” page on his site. If you are interested in exploring artist (both past and present) who paint this way you can also visit The Art Renewal Center. You will never make it through all the paintings on that site but it is sure worth trying! The Art Renewal Center also has several pages of articles on the revival of classical realism and articles on “What is art?”.
What I like about “Daybreak Sail”
It glows - Which is very appropriate for a sunset and it is also one of the reasons they are so hard to paint. If you have ever tried to take a photo of a sunset you realize that it never really works out because sunsets glow and photos do not. The layering process that Joseph uses (and a excellent handling of values and colors) makes this painting glow. I would love to see it in person.
Drawing - As I read information in Josephs biography section on how he learned to paint I noted that he does all of his large scale paintings not from photos but from smaller paintings he does on location. You can’t do that if you can’t draw well.
Patience - There are not many who can paint this way. I really appreciate the patience involeved in paintings using layers. It is a testimony to McGurls integrity as an artist in a day and age where often volume is valued over quality.
Look and Enjoy!
Joseph McGurl’s Website
American Artist interview with Joseph McGurl
Posted in Classical Realist, Joseph McGurl, Oil Painter, landscape | No Comments »
October 5th, 2009
“Next Exit, Hill Street” Oil, 11″x14″
Maybe I rely to heavily on my own prejudices in deciding what is good art but it seems to me that when you can take my least favorite subject matter and transform it into a piece of art that I would enjoy looking at for the rest of my life, then you are an artist in every sense of the word. You have moved me beyond where I thought I could go. I am not a fan of urban landscapes but I am now a fan of the way Jennifer McCristian paints urban landscapes (as well as her other works).
What I like about “Next Exit Hill Street”
Soft edges - You can feel the haze in this painting. You can feel the depth in this painting. Much of this is due to the wonderful way Jennifer handles her edges and she does it without sacrificing her drawing in anyway. Just look at those light post!
Depth - The edges help to define depth in this painting but so does the the cooling of the values from front to back. With the exception of the sky there are only two major values after you pass the Highway signs….just a wonderful display of limited value and the use of color to define form.
Warm and Cool Colors - They are everywhere! This painting vibrates even with the limited capabilities of my computer monitor.
Look and Enjoy!
Posted in General, Jennifer McChristian, Oil Painter, landscape, urban | No Comments »
October 5th, 2009
“The Dawn of a New Day”
Tom Browning is the very first artist I was able to learn from in person. After years of receiving my art instruction from books and a few painting videos I happened across a workshops by Sarah-Brit-Arts right here in Tuscaloosa Alabama and Tom was the instructor. This particular painting was a part of the Prix de West show at the cowboy artists hall of fame in Oklahoma city. The day he set up the models for this painting he was also using my wife an daughter for another painting. So this one has some personal appeal for me.
Tom has also written an excellent book on painting that I always recommend to those who want to learn more about the basics of creating representational art. On his website you can also find out about the workshops that are available.
What I like about “The Dawn of a New Day” by Tom Browning
Personal Experience - I was able to watch Tom compose and think through this one so it’s hard not to love it on that basis alone.
Values - As with all of Tom Brownings paintings the values are clear and simplified. I really don’t think there are many in the country who understand values as well as Tom does and his paintings read all the way across a room as a result. If you go to his website and look at his Santa illustrations you get a wonderful example of what good values are.
Edges - When you are aware of the texture of items in a painting you know that the edges have been handled in an masterful way.
Look and Enjoy!
Posted in Figure Painting, Oil Painter, Tom Browning | No Comments »
September 26th, 2009
“Andrea” charcoal - 11″x16″
I probably should not call out favorites but I have followed Susan Lyons work for years and I try not to miss a single painting she posts. As you look at the links below you will see why she is own of my favorites. She shares a website with her husband Scott Burdick and the site is filled with valuable information about their work as well as their travel journals, artist materials, art demo’s videos and individual biographies. I thought I would also put a link here to my all-time-favorite still life painting!
What I like about the drawing “Andrea”
- Edges - I haven’t talked about this much (it’s another one of those things I really need to post an article on) but Susan’s work in general is a great example of edges that are handled well. When the eye observes objects in reality we do not see all the details at once. what we focus on is clear to the eye and other things outside of that focus are softer. Most exceptional paintings have a dominate hard edge and a variety of edges all the way down to a lost edge. When these are done well the textures and forms of the subject come to life as they do in this drawing.
- Life Drawing Skill - I have not asked Susan if this drawing was done from life but my guess is that it was. It certainly has the feel of a drawing where there is interaction between the subject and the artist.
- Composition / Center of interest - To me the most noticeable things about humans is their eye’s and hands. Both of these communicate so much about a person before you ever speak to them. I love the way the hands in this drawing are so graceful and draw you to the models face.
Look and Enjoy
Posted in Drawing, Oil Painter | No Comments »
September 21st, 2009
“Still Life With Homegrown Basil and Tomatoes” 4″x6″ Oil on Panel
Abbey Ryan is one of a very select few “daily painters” that consistently stuns me with her work. I am not usually drawn to paintings that have this level of detail but I find that Abbey’s work has a poetic aspect to it that draws me in. Another compelling aspect to her work is the consistency of her productivity and her amazing ability to paint on such a small scale. As you will see below, her work is also priced where most collector’s could add several of her paintings to their collections.
What I like about “Still Life With Homegrown Basil and Tomatoes”
- #1 Sense of Light - The modeling of form makes you feel like you could reach out and grab one of these tomatoes. There is no doubt what direction the light is coming from and the warmth of the light source is evident but not overdone. As I have mentioned before, this feel of light comes from careful observation and skillful interpretation of what nature has set before the artist.
- #2 Poetry - I never really know how to explain this in words but it is certainly a part of this painting. I don’t normally find a poetic feel in still life paintings but that feeling is evident in the majority of Abbey’s work. This most likely comes from having a good idea of what compositions communicates to our emotional side.
- #3 Color of the highlights - O.K. this is one of my pet peeves. The highlights on objects have color. They are almost never white. It’s evident that Abbey understands this. I really like this little painting.
Look and Enjoy!
Posted in Abbey Ryan, Oil Painter, still life | No Comments »
September 19th, 2009
“Embrace” 16″ x 26″
I love painting for a living. My second love is following other artists who paint for a living. I’m not exactly sure how I’ve managed not to run into Johanna Harmon’s work before now but it has been my loss. I came across her site via a link on another artists site and I’m thrilled that I made that one little click. As with all the painters that I post here, she handles the basics with great skill but she also has some aspects to her work that is very difficult to put into words. You can call it soul, feeling, essence or emotion but there is a magic to Johanna’s work that impacts that wordless part of the viewer. Your just impacted and this quality is found in almost all of her paintings.
What I like about the oil painting “Embrace”
- Color Harmony - This is one of the qualities that you find in the oil paintings of exceptional artist. From a technical standpoint this comes from sticking with consistent light source temperature. I really need to write a short article about this for those of you who are not artist but “Embrace” is a great example of doing this well.
- Flow - I spoke of the flow of paint in my last post but here I am using “flow” to refer to the composition. You view this painting and feel like you are viewing an elegant dance. Once again this is a difficult aspect to analyze with words but you can feel the grace and flow of this composition.
- Center of interest - The way the light in this composition moves from right to left draws you gently to the models face and then there is this wonderful area of dark values to the left of the models head which solidifies this area as the center of interest. Wonderfully done!
- A site note - Johanna does workshops, which is always nice for those of us striving to bring our work up to another level.
Look and Enjoy!
Posted in Figure Painting, Johanna Harmon, Oil Painter | No Comments »
September 17th, 2009
“The Way Home 2″ 6′x6″ Oil painting on Raymar Panel
This is the second post I’ve done on Carol Marines work. It would be a lot less work for me if I just posted one of her paintings every other day. she is so consistently good, and so prolific, that I can always count on seeing something of fine quality on her blog. She is primarily known as a still life artist but I love these landscapes she has been doing while traveling in Europe. Another thing that is fantastic about her work is that it is VERY affordable. You can check out her links below.
What I like about the oil painting “The Way Home 2″.
- Faithfulness - She is in Europe for a month and despite the overwhelming visual information that is being presented to her she is sticking with simple subject matter that has an intense emotional draw (at least for me). She is being faithful to the beauty she sees in the world. It is easy to get caught up in painting what you “should paint” and it seems to me that Carol always makes it her intent to paint what speaks to her.
- Loose handling - This is an area where my family and I most often disagree on artwork. I love work that is handled in a loose manner but yet the values, drawing and color are spot on. Carols paintings are very painterly and I really enjoy the flow of this one!
- Depth - Due to the excellent composition it feels like you could just move straight through this oil painting and go see whats on the other side of that hill. I love it, and it’s only 6″x6″.
Look and Enjoy!
Posted in Carol Marine, Oil Painter, landscape | No Comments »
