Painting Stuff to Look Like Stuff

Choosing the right gallery for you

2012-02-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

I get a lot of emails from emerging artists asking for advice about approaching galleries. I thought I would put together a list of things to look for in a gallery; things I have had to learn the hard way. I will say that I have considered myself a professional artist for only about 2 years, so take anything and everything I say with a grain of salt. In fact, don't bother reading this article.

1) The gallery shows other artists whom you respect.

You should see what sort of other inventory the gallery carries and if it is done by other artists whom you respect and admire. (When I approached S.R. Brennen galleries, it was because both Adrian Gottlieb and Michael Klein exhibited there.) It is also a really good idea to talk to other artists who show at the gallery as well to see what their experiences have been in terms of sales and payments.

2) The typical commission rate should be around 50% of the retail cost; any gallery that asks you pay them to be included in the gallery is a not a gallery that I would recommend.

3) Location, location, location.

A gallery does not have to be close to where you live, though it can be helpful. I live in Canada but sell everything in the States. It is good to research which areas are solid art markets, ex. Santa Fe, Palm Desert, Scottdale, etc. No matter how good a gallery may seem, if it's in a place like downtown Detroit, you may want to avoid it.

4) Make sure that art sales are the gallery's only source income. You may want to avoid any galleries with frame shops, crafts, all you can eat buffets, etc., as selling fine art may not be their primary focus.

5) Have work available before approaching a gallery.

That being said, it is a myth that you need an entire portfolio built up to give a gallery. You should have around 10-12 images of works of consistent quality you have done, but very few galleries want to commit to a dozen pieces all at once, nor should you want to commit all your eggs to one basket either. 3-4 is typically plenty. Having a website is the best way to showcase your work......or having the most manly blog in the world.

6) Artists are always getting approached by galleries. Choose carefully.

The better you get, the more people want a slice of the pie. Don't get overly excited and settle for the first one that comes along, like Kate did with me. You should have a strong and friendly relationship with your gallery. The gallery isn't doing you a favor by accepting you, they are going into business with you. Talking to Maggie and Carlen from "M Gallery" where I show feels like I am talking to my relatives.

7) If you are going to a gallery in person, wear a monocle and top hat to look sophisticated. I also fake a British accent to sound more intelligent. If that doesn't work, you can simply cold call a gallery to get a better feel for them and see what the application process is.

I am sure there are points I have missed or exceptions to the rules, so feel free to comment (or praise me).

Men Painting Manly things : Women's Edition

2012-02-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

I still haven't seen enough of a change since my last posting so once again I have to confront the pressing concern of the lack of manliness in contemporary art. In this particular installment, I will be addressing the depiction of women in paintings. I know a lot of people think women always have to look feminine, but as far as my ignorance is concerned, "feminine" is still a kind of metal on the periodic table. I was doing a lot of research recently on Wikipedia and stumbled upon some amazing statistics. Did you know that woman can do more than lie around naked in bed all day wearing sheer negligee and fawn over themselves in a mirror? I found out that woman can actually become doctors, soldiers, lawyers, vikings, and even astronauts. Shocking, I know. This post looks at women doing (wo)manly things in painting.

I will use the scale above to rate the following works out of 10. Just so you can get an idea of how the scale works, let's use Bouguereau's paintings as the gauge for wussy and Charles Bronson as the gauge for manliness. Something like beef jerky would be somewhere around a 7 and scrap-booking would be around a 2.

Harold Piffard's "Joan of Arc" proves to us some woman can fight by doing more than just pulling hair and scratching. Try gouging out eyes with thumbs and disemboweling with a halberd. According to Spike's "Deadliest Warrior", Joan of Arc would have even been able to defeat the Duke of Normandy on a one on one battle, and as we all know, Spike is never wrong. Rating 10

If Ilya Repin's Tsarevna Sophia Alexeevna walked into a Bouguereau painting, she would kick the crap out of some prissy peasant, steal her giant ceramic jug, fill it with whiskey, chug it, then smash it on a rock. She has the best "piss me off and I'll break you" expression I have ever seen. Visible outside of the window, the viewer can she has had her opposition hung to death. They probably recommended she wear a sheer outfit. Rating 10

Ok, I know what you are all saying, "but Dave, she is half-naked, weren't you just complaining about that, wah?" Wrong. Woman are allowed to be depicted half-naked in paintings as long as their back looks like a bag of potatoes, and she is in a fight to the death with a demon. Enough said. Leave it up to Frank Frazetta to save art again. Rating 10

Let's toss the old pigskin around

2012-02-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

This is the post that will lose us our vegan and vegetarian readership. Part of learning to tattoo is actually doing it, and we have to resort to tried and trusted methods: we are going to be practicing on pig skin, as it is the closest thing to human skin.

When we were offered some pig skin by a guy-who-knows-a-guy, we were kind of expecting cute little pink squares of ham-scented skin. Instead, we were given a garbage bag full of a crumpled, deflated pig, from snout to tail. But we're not looking a gift pig-sack in the mouth. We're very grateful to have it, because after doing some research, I found out that it is in fact very difficult to obtain human skin. And Dave's terrible at the tuck.

We set to work carving up sheets and stacking them in the freezer. Dave is already planning to tattoo the map to dry land from Waterworld, and I am going to do the scalp treasure map from Cutthroat Island. After mastering maps we'll branch out into other more marketable genres.

Here is the finished product ready to be frozen. Don't mind the lotion, I forgot to put it away in the basket.

Iron Maiden

2012-02-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

In between treks to the Circle K to get Mountain Dew for our sensei and wiping the sweat off his brow as he completes his latest human skin masterpiece, Dave and I have a lot of time on our hands to work on our own artwork. I've just started a portrait of Joshua's wife, Nichole. She's kind of like a walking portfolio of some of his best work.

The awesome thing about white chalk and charcoal on grey paper is that A) everything goes so much faster so you have time to do other more important things like check your facebook news feed, B) it forces you to simplify your half-tones, and C) as an added bonus it turns everyone into the Tin Man.

I managed to finish this drawing today after scarfing down a trusty bacon doughnut to jettison me over the finish line. Here's a close up.

For the people who read this blog to glean strategies to apply to their own work ("They're doing what?"), here is an in-progress shot of the face after the features were placed in with vine charcoal and before I committed to them with General's pencil charcoal. Vine charcoal is a great way to ensure that you can completely erase your erroneous tracks and pretend to be a virtuoso by presenting a very fresh and clean looking finished drawing.

Needles are the most hardcore brushes

2012-01-29T22:51:00.000-08:00

In our latest expression of bad-assery, Dave and I spent the afternoon tattooing some oranges under the tutelage of Joshua Carlton.

The results were pretty awesome. We could totally be the resident bic pen and electric shaver tattoo artists in a federal prison. We've pretty much nailed the shaky line work and speckling.

Maybe next time we'll tattoo a tear for every person these oranges have murdered in the joint.

ARC

2012-01-27T10:20:00.001-08:00

Don't forget the ARC Salon competition is around the corner. Lots of sweet loot to be won in 6 different categories. My only complaint is that they don't have a best swimsuit category like in Ms. America, which clearly I would win....unless of course, Jason De Graaf were to enter.

L.A. Fine Art Show

2012-01-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

Adrian Gottlieb and Kate Sammons were nice enough to snap a shot of my work at the L.A. Fine Art Show, where we are all exhibiting at the S.R. Brennen Galleries booth. From what I can tell, its an amazing show, but its L.A. so make sure to wear the proper gang colors if you attend.

On a completely separate note, there are few times when I tip my cap to a modern artist, but move over Hirst, this may be the best contemporary sculpture ever created.

New Studio

2012-01-23T17:50:00.000-08:00

We are fortunate enough to be studio guests with the great people at Crimson Torch tattoos, where our friend and fellow artist Joshua Carlton works. For those of you who don't know him, he is to tattooing what bacon is to donuts....important. We have the great opportunity to be learning this skill from him. Nothing is manlier than painting with needles. I don't have any tattoos yet, but when I get one, it will certainly involve something naked that dances when I flex. In addition, Joshua is a very accomplished painter (see below).

Ok, ok, I know some of you are asking for a painting update from me and I should have an update on "The Hunter" soon, but until then re-read our old stuff and pretend its new.

Like every annoying artist with a blog, I have to show pictures of how much fun I am having with my friends and remind you that you are not there. Wow, look at all the great places I get to travel to because I am an artist. Here's us at the shop.

And here's us in Paris, France. Ooo lah lah.And this is us when we set down on LV-426 when we lost communication with the colony.
Yeah, you thought my metaphor before didn't make sense. Well, bow down to this food group. And yes, I did actually eat this.

Painting Doppleganger

2012-01-12T10:14:00.001-08:00

Repin's "Ivan the Terrible" looks like a scared lemur.

Hunter Update

2012-01-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

I have started to lay in some color on the face and begin building up thicker paint layers, though it is no where near completion at this point. As you can see, it is still being kept in this patchy "first painted" stage to allow for correction. I find that when people blend too early in a painting, it is extremely difficult to adjust errors. Keeping things broken so to speak enables one to more easily adjust one area without affecting others. As the painting advances, the patches become smaller and smaller until the final layer is applied using medium. I know I have said some of these things before, but I simply am too lazy to re-read what I have said in past to see what is redundant. There is TV that needs watching.

On a side note, a lot of people have asked me where I have found the inspiration for my series on trappers and hunters. I know many artists will turn to nature and draw from its inherent beauty and majesty, while other artists will turn to classical music and literature. Me, I turn to something a lot less lame; Charles Bronson. Before creating this piece, I had watched "Death Hunt" with my main man Chucky B; a story about a lone trapper who is out to shoot the first man who crosses him. Drawing inspiration from things like classical music and nature are totally wussy, and when artists turn to these things for inspiration they end up with pictures like "nude woman with a venetian mask wandering the woods for no reason" or "little blonde girl in white dress smelling flower." If you really want to turn to the classics, start with Deathwish 2-4 and listen to Thrash Metal. I guarantee the manliness of your paintings will increase ten fold.

Also, I just found out my friend got a taxidermy bear. You know that's going into a painting.

Museum of Natural History

2012-01-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

I had a chance to visit NYC recently and stop by the Museum of Natural History. I was amazed by how impressive the dioramas were, especially the background landscapes. I thought it was time to give these artists some props for their efforts. In total, there have been over 20 artists over the past 100 years who have worked on these displays. Many of these artists worked from studies and life to create these elaborate landscapes, which integrate seamlessly into the foreground elements. Chris E. Olsen even did underwater studies in preparation for his oceanic dioramas. Now that’s dedication. You can read more about the artists here.

James Gurney already beat me to an article on underwater painting, so I will have to be the first artist to do an article on painting in outer space. Not to go on a tangent here, but did you ever notice how everything ends up in outer space or the old west when people run out of ideas? Just look at the Muppets, James Bond, Leprechaun 4, Critters 4, Jason X , Hellraiser: Bloodline, and so on. I think the art world has exhausted itself for ideas, and its high time we take it to outer space. Just saying is all.

Public Service Announcement

2012-01-03T19:49:00.000-08:00

Kate and I are blown away by the positive response our blog has generated and are very grateful to all our followers. Your encouraging comments and witty addendums have added another dimension to our enjoyment of this project. However, if you are in the habit of reading the comments section, you will see that there are some readers with very pressing concerns, some of which we will attempt to address here.

All artists and attendees of academies/ateliers are trust fund babies.

Absolutely true. I spent most of my 20’s working manual labor until I found out through an email that I was actually the heir to the throne of Zambia. After receiving this email, I immediately gave them all my banking information. I am still awaiting the deposit of my inheritance into my bank account, at which time I will roll it over into a trust fund so that I can finally be an artist. Anyone who says its possible to work and put yourself through school would cause me to drop my diamond-studded monocle into my brandy snifter in shock.

Classical realists choose to hide secrets.

Absolutely true. Like a select few artists across the globe, Kate and I have been inducted into a secret organization whose sole mandate is to preserve the secrets of Classical Realism. It’s like the Da Vinci Code times ten. The most cherished secrets, which are kept stashed in a pillowcase in our crawlspace, are the complete working methods of Bouguereau, Repin, and Bob Ross. I guess you will never know how black gesso is made.

Let's all just get along (link fixed)(insensitivity removed)

2011-12-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

Dave and I love trolling as much as the next person, but frankly we’re getting bored of the same old debate topics that are so popular in our little art community. We have a proposition for you: let’s find new stuff to argue about for 2012! The current contentions are stale enough to use for fondue.

Witness Exhibit A:

Contention: Should artists attend a mainstream post-secondary fine art institution or a 19th c. style atelier/academy?

This contention already had cataracts and a creaky hip when I became aware of it in 2004, and yet it still makes the occasional, baleful appearance when a newbie to classical realism shows up to the party. The redundancy of this argument is underscored by the fact that both educational paths will lead you to the exact same seedy apartment with a cupboard full of Ramen noodles and saltines. Also, if you did attend an accredited institution for fine art and not an atelier, stop complaining that they wasted your time. And if you attended an atelier, stop complaining that they wasted your time.

Exhibit B:

Contention: Should painters work only from life, or is photography not entirely shameful?

I’m sure this has been around since the 1800s. I’m not going to say too much about this one, except that there are stunning works of art made from photo references, and appalling works of art made from life studies; and that Leighton and Tadema and all those talented jerks used photos; and that most artists can’t afford full-time models; and that any painter from the Renaissance would have given his left optical nerve to have photo references to help them plan their paintings; and that if you make the process of making art, the art itself, than you are in fact a POST-MODERNIST. No, indeed, I will not say anything about my stance on that argument.

These are just two examples and my blood pressure is strangely elevated, so I think I’ll try to skip briefly over some more examples. There’s the Fine Art vs Illustration debate, which is as relentless as an underground oil fire, not to mention the abstract art vs realist art one, which is really just for varsity level debaters. For the sake of brevity I'm going to end my list here, but I formally invite all readers to add to my list of contentions in the comments section.

I think in the new year we should be magnanimous and let old bygones be bygones. Let’s turn a leaf, art community; let’s leave old arguments behind us. Instead, I would like to proffer a brand new shiny argument for us all to enjoy in 2012:

Should we North Americans give up fine art since the Russians are handing our asses to us anyways?

(Click here to see what some teenage Russians are painting in the academies over there)

If you must continue the old debates, may we suggest that henceforth these arguments be settled in Thuderdome. Two artists enter, one artist leaves.

Happy Holidays

2011-12-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

Ivan Shiskin, "In the North Wild"

Maurycy Gottlieb, "Rabbi"

Norman Rockwell, "Santa at the Map"

Have a great Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, and/or Festivas.

I like purdy colors

2011-12-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

So I have finished up the drybrush and ebauche and will soon be moving into first painting. You can already tell from a technical standpoint just how manly this piece is going to be. Watch out woodland creatures, you are about to get owned by this guy. The most challenging part of the piece thus far has been selecting the color scheme. The two color studies on the upper left were executed first, but after becoming indecisive, I made 7 more. I find that if you have any doubts, you may want to explore other options even if you end up selecting the first one anyway (people do the same for dating so why not). Like the famous illustrator Gomer Pyle said, even if the first one feels right, do another 49 to make certain. I did in fact end up going with a cooler color field as opposed to a warmer brown one. It gives more of a feeling that he might actually be outdoors as opposed to an interior. I am still playing with the idea of putting snow on the jacket as well.

Go look at someone else's blog for once

2011-12-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would take some time to use my blog to talk about other blogs. Ironic I know. Today, I would like to talk about Will St. John and Colleen Barry's blog "A Classic Point of View." Like Kate and me, they are another artist couple living and working alongside one another. They are both instructors and graduates of the Grand Central Academy of Art in New York city. Will recently was awarded a Shapiro Grant to study in Italy for several months, and Colleen joined him there as well. Italy is one of the greatest places to study art. It is the birthplace of the Renaissance, classical architecture, terrible discotheque music, and goofy looking clothing. Their blog documents their time and projects while in Italy. They are a good reminder of how much I need to keep practicing drawing.

A little about Will. He was actually born in the same hometown as me during the same year. Seems odd I know. However, we have to look at the history of central PA during that time to truly explain this phenomena. You see, it was the same year of the TMI meltdown, and after the nuclear fallout subsided, we began to notice strange powers emerging. Some say this is where our artistic skills derived, leading us to become artists later in life. Of course, others say it came from hard work and talent, but the TMI explanation is way more interesting.

Check their blog out here.

The Hunter

2011-12-11T13:31:00.001-08:00

So I am continuing on my series of paintings about men trapping and hunting poor defenseless animals because they are delicious. This piece, "The Hunter" has the same model as the trapper, but will include a variety of hunting gear attached to his jacket, along with a double barrel shotgun slung over his shoulder. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to import my shotgun and antique pistol up from the states yet because apparently Canadians want lethal weapons to be "registered" and "licensed" and gun owners should pass a so called "safety test." Pfft. Thats all fine and dandy until you have to protect yourself from the king of England marching into your house (yah 2nd amendment).

Here you can see the drawing study with the head more or less rendered. I set up a mannequin beside it (which is almost sight-size) with his attire. I am still waiting on a couple items from ebay to arrive however, like his bandolier. The only challenge with the set up thus far is that all I have is a female mannequin, and a hunter with man-boobs isn't really what I am going for. I had to do some clever re-structuring underneath the jacket.

Vanitas in progress

2011-12-08T17:43:00.001-08:00

Wanna see some photos of my Vanitas in progress?

This is an early manifestation of the set up. I find it neat how still life objects come together in paintings, and how they recur in painting after painting. The turquoise table top is actually an old rotten shutter that I found in someone's trash while they were performing an illegal home renovation in Toronto. I figure if they're already doing something illegal, how illegal is it for me to go through their garbage? These same shutters appeared in my "Bottle Fly" painting and in Dave's Vanitas painting. Which means that while Dave and I were purging furniture and kitchen ware to save money on our move across country, we decided it was necessary to keep a bunch of nasty old boards.

Here's a quick colour study. It's kind of pointless. I think I was trying to look busy or something so that I didn't have to help Dave with dinner.

Transferred skull. This is a lovely panel that Dave made.

Wiped transferred outline away a bit so that it's easier to paint over. The burnt sienna contrasts the turquoise and is going to make a neat underpainting. I did this with my Bottle Fly so it's pretty much guaranteed to work. When I apply the turquoise paint colour, I will do so with scratchy brush strokes and a palette knife so as to allow the underpainting to shimmer through. The most important thing though, is to make sure that this underpainting is exactly the right value. If you are tone blind, the monochrome setting on your camera can help you out. But really, if you're tone blind, take up macrame or ice-sculpting or something.

If you look really close you might be able to make out two giant arrows that are pointing at two gobs of paint. The gobs of paint are turquoise that I have mixed up to match the still life set up. I have smeared them onto the still-wet underpainting to see if the values sit right.

Start of ebauche.

More ebauche.

I knocked back the underpainting for the wood a little bit. There is now a motley of grey and red which I decided would work better. It may not look like it because of the exposure of this photo, but I maintained the value when I scumbled over it. The skull has been painted again and the flowers and shells are in place.

The skull was painted, oh, a couple more times. For the final pass I switched to lead white. As you can see I fudged the table top to make it about three times as thick as in the set up, and for interest's sake I added a keyhole, so ta-da, it is now a chest that the skull is resting on. This is the first still life that I have completed from natural light and I finally have the warm-cool balance that I've been trying to achieve. Time to go smash all my fluorescent light bulbs.

Not sure if these photos really show the full range of colour in the whites. There's a lot of bouncing around from blue to yellow to red, which I think it kind of cool. But that's the beauty of showing work online. I get to say, "Oh, my camera doesn't really capture it, my work is so much better in real life," and you have to take my word for it.

Ho-hum, here are the pre-mixed colours I used to paint my "whites."

So the painting's done now. Or is it? I have this dead dragonfly just lying around, all like, "So is there a reason you've been keeping me in a tupperware in the freezer for six months? Nah it's cool. Don't immortalize me if you don't want to. I'll be here the next time you go digging for frozen tater tots."

Answers

2011-12-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

1. Painting from "The Goonies." "Give me a nice big lickery kiss."

2. Painting of Vigo The Carpathian from "Ghostbusters 2." Who doesn't remember Vigo, the 400 year dark warlord who missed his kitten? For me, this is one of the most memorable paintings from my childhood, and still reads today as a fairly harmonious and well composed piece. The actual painting was exectued by Lou Police and is currently hanging in Ivan Reitman's home

3. Painting from the "Royal Tenenbaums." Just as cool in its randomness as its awesomeness. According to imdb, "The monster-masked men paintings in Eli's apartment are attributed to Mexican artist Miguel Calderon and were part of his 1998 exhibit "Aggressively Mediocre/Mentally Challenged/Fantasy Island (circle one)", though they were not actually painted by him. Calderón took photographs of his friends posed on motorcycles and, after deciding the photographs were not realistic, hired a portrait painter to reproduce them on canvas."

4. Formal portrait of Biff from "Back to the Future 2." Biff is one of my favorite characters from almost any film from the 80's, next to Lo Pan of course. On a side note, my friend brought up a very good point about the conclusion of the first movie which never really sat well with me. It was rather odd that at the end of the movie, Marty's family history had been completely changed with his father's altercation with Biff at the "Under the Sea Dance." The weird part is, his family didn't find it strange that all of a sudden Marty couldn't remember the last 18 years of his life upon his return to 1985. Makes you think.

5. The Necronomicon from "Evil Dead 2." The Necronomican is really one of the very few books nowadays that is worth reading. Also, if anyone responds with "what about the Da Vinci code?" You need to take a good long hard look in the mirror...then slap yourself across the face.

6. Sculpture from "Big Trouble in Little China." This was Kim Cattrell's only good role before she took the part for the grandmother in "Sex in the City."

Name these Awesome paintings from Awesome movies

2011-12-07T19:08:00.001-08:00

I thought I would test everyones knowledge of art history and see if you can identify what movies these masterworks came from. I will post the answers in a couple days. (And if you are wondering why I didn't include the paintings from Samantha's gallery in "Sex in the City", it is because I wanted this to be a post about awesome movies with awesome paintings, not wussy paintings from estrogeny movies. If fact, if you have ever even seen "Sex in the City", please leave my blog and only return after you have watched "Commando" and "Deathwish 3" back to back to redeem yourself.)

Super bonus ID, name the movie this sculpture is from.

Shameless Plug

2011-12-06T15:06:00.001-08:00

Spots are still available for our still life workshop at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio. In this 1 or 2 week course, my wife and I will take you through the various stages of still life painting and the creation of textural effects. This workshop is located in Seattle, Washington at the prestigious Georgetown Atelier. Sign up today and receive your choice of a free toaster oven, or take your chances and get what's inside the mystery box. Click here for more information.

Ok, I lied about the toaster oven and mystery box.

Big Trouble in Little China

2011-11-29T10:20:00.001-08:00

The ACOPAL Grand Prize Winners and Finalists have been announced and as usual we found out the results from better informed third-parties over facebook. Dave's "Trapper" piece was given one of the three Grand Prize awards and will be making an appearance in China. He was away visiting family on Thanksgiving, and on the phone the other day before we got the results he was all like, "Psshh, yah, I wasn't going to enter, but then I thought what the heck, and entered in like the last twenty minutes before the competition closed, and my painting's not even dry yet, and after entering I emailed Paul McCormack and asked him to reject my entry, but meh, whatever, it's not like I'll get anything."

Because Dave's painting is just too fresh to ship and needsto cure for several months in a meat locker to reach full potency, itwill not be appearing at the Butler Institute in Ohio; it will be included for exhibit in the World Art Museum in China in 2012.

Vanitas

2011-11-28T21:06:00.001-08:00

Dave and I were asked to each provide a Vanitas painting for a larger, multi-artist project. While Dave already had one, I had to come up with something specifically for this project. The problem is that I'm not really down with the whole "endeavor is futile, life is fleeting, moan moan moan," message behind the vanitas genre. The vanitas painters were the 17th century's emo kids. I understand the historical context, but come on, we live to like seventy these days, no one dies of leprosy anymore (not in my neighborhood at least), and all the luxuries and pleasures we enjoy these days preclude the woe-is-me-I'll-be-in-my-room-with-a-single-lit-taper-contemplating-my-skull attitude.

I wanted to do a new take on the Vanitas theme. The thought of doing a dark and grim painting was not inspiring; I wanted to do something bright and colorful, even feminine. I didn't want to present death as scary and hideous. In addition to bright colors and flooding light, I included some seashells (representing birth) and white hydrangea blossoms (I don't know what they represent but they're awfully pretty and they make me think of spring).

Here is my vanitas painting as it was last week when I had an awesome camera on loan from a friend. Mine will be back in action soon, thank god, but it will be like getting back together with a fat, lazy and emotionally distant ex after having a fling with a toned cabana boy on vacation.

Here's a close up of the chompers:

NOM NOM NOM!

One manly little girl

2011-11-26T21:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a progress outline of how I painted a study/sketch/whatever you want to call it (just understand it's not a pro work) of my cousin's kid Emily. My camera broke down part way through, but I've put this step-by-step together so smoothly that you probably won't even notice where a dozen steps are missing.

Step 1: Start drybrushing to place the features.

Step 2: Succumb to boredom and dive into colour.

Step 3: Keep going in spite of your instincts.

Step 4: That's better.

Step 5: Once dry, go over it again.

Step 6: Out of curiosity I did something I tried on a project last year. I imported a photo of the painting into my computer and compared it to the original photo by overlaying them in Photoshop. I was doing this to see just how accurate my drawing was, considering I slacked on that part. I was surprised to find that the only real error was that her left eye was a little far out. See below for the correction.

Here's the face at the end of the orbital reconstruction:

Step 7: Now finish it.

Looking at the picture here, her colour is a little saccharine, although pretty colourful for a palette with only black, white, yellow, and red on it, plus a cameo from Transparent Red Oxide. I think I went wrong when I lost the half-tones in the cheeks, and also the whites of her eyes are a bit bright, but any darker and she didn't seem to be meeting your gaze anymore. The white was necessary, but it kind of destroys the naturalism. Actually I'm starting to feel revved up to do some more work on this painting.

I have a bit of a problem with how cherubic Emily looks here. For one thing, in real life she's fascinated with all creatures slimy and scaly. For another, in addition to being artistically inclined, she draws pretty manly subject matter. Her granddad likes to hunt and she was recently caught drawing a picture of a hanging moose quarter. Drawings don't get much manlier.

Lucie and the Wind--DONE

2011-11-23T21:12:00.001-08:00

Kate here after a long hiatus. Dave did pretty great job running the blog there for a bit, although I might have to go back to my website and remove the link to this blog so that people considering buying my paintings don't stumble across Dave's Taco Bowel comments and get turned off by us.

Time to wrap up the Lucie painting. I finished it ages ago but right when I was ready to photograph it my camera croaked. Luckily I was able to borrow one from a very generous friend and so we'll finish this thing.

Here is the finished painting all greased up with essential oil of petroleum (a sneak preview of what it will look like with varnish):

I ended up repainting the face again. The problem with titanium white is it changes colour, and I am not imagining this. I used to think I was crazy but then a few years ago I talked to another stricken soul who had uncovered the truth (and actually had the most impressive swatch tests to prove it) and I realized I was not alone. You are not alone either. If you are having trouble matching your flesh tones from a previous day, or if when the paint dries and for some reason there is an obvious seam between different days' work, the solution is to bin the titanium already and switch to lead for the final pass. And wear gloves, please

Right when I was finishing the painting I had this revelation that if I want people to know my name I should probably put it, instead of a monogram, on my paintings. Yeah, I thought of that all on my own.

Anyhoo, I should explain the title. The reason why this painting is called "Lucie and the Wind" and not "Lucie in the Wind" (which some people have called it), is because I had Robert Munsch's children's book "Millicent and the Wind" playing over in my head while I was developing the painting. If you're not familiar with the story, it's about a girl who lives in the mountains far away from other children her age. With no one to play with, she entertains herself with the wind.

Fin

(I'm suddenly French)

Trapper FInished

2011-11-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a good image of the Trapper finally. I would like to give extra special thanks to our friend Angela for lending us her Canon 5D. This camera is good enough to shoot through time to capture images that haven't even happened yet. Thats how good it is.

Where's Repin

2011-11-19T20:02:00.000-08:00

As you have probably figured out, I am quite the Ilya Repin fan. The piece above titled "Religious Procession in Kursk Province" is one of his most impressive narrative works that revolve around his social commentaries of the church and state. The work depicts the annual procession of the bearing of the Lady of Kursk from its home at the Korennaya Monestary to Kursk. The writer Richard Brettell described the painting as "a sort of summa of Russian society, diverse members of which move uneasily but restlessly together down a dusty path through a naked landscape towards a future that cannot be seen even by the painter."

Just to make sure people take a good look at the painting, I hid Waldo in there somewhere and you have to find him.

Happy 4th Anniversary

2011-11-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

Happy 4th Anniversary honey. I would not be the person or the painter I am today without you.

Winner

2011-11-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

Jason De Graaf got the answers right in about 30 seconds, and has proved his manliness among the art world. Congratulations. Our close second, who wins my infinite respect (valued at over 195 dollars), was Matthew Innis.

Answers to questions below.

Answer 1. Click here.

Answer 2. Belly of the pig.

Answer 3. Click here.

Trapper Finished (more or less)

2011-11-16T11:13:00.001-08:00

Well, here it is in all its manly glory. Again, not the best photo but I wanted to show it anyway. I guess I should talk about some techniques but then I have to put some thought into this entry, and as my readers know, that's not my style. Instead, I bring you our first ever on-line blog competition (take that Underpaintings) to win the color study for "The Trapper". That's right, this is your chance to own a rather worthless non impressive original by yours truly.

Take a long hard look at the painting below before attempting to answer any of the questions.

Question 1

In "Commando", what did Arnold Schwarzenegger throw through Bennett to defeat him?

Question 2

What part of the pig does bacon come from?

Question 3

Which "Pantera" album cover features a man being punched in the face ?

email answers through here. First correct answers win. Please include mailing address with answers. NOTE: this competition is open only to individuals living in North America.

Painting Doppleganger

2011-11-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

Portrait painting by William Paxton looks like Mr. Pewterschmidt

Trapper 4

2011-11-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

First off, I am sorry about the quality of the photo. I have seen 8 year olds with shoebox cameras take better photos than I do. For photography questions, ask my wife. She's the brains of the operation, I'm just the trophy husband. I am sure she will do a posting on photographing artwork and cameras at some point in the future.

I am now starting to break down the face into smaller planes and more subtleties. I am working with some medium at this point. Some areas I will leave looser and more textured, while others will be tightened up. When it really comes down to it, the most important thing is how the piece reads visually from about 6 feet away. This is the optimal distance that most people will view works. If you ever see someone looking at a work from an inch away, they are probably an artist.

I have said this before; you cannot paint everything the same way and expect it to read as the proper texture. In my opinion, it is possible to over render something, at which point it can look graphic. You can see how much impasto there is on the collar versus the face. I built up the collar with thick brushstrokes of lead white paint which I let dry. I rubbed raw umber into the cervices then wiped the excess away, giving it a gritty quality and having the brushstrokes read as fur. I call this painting for "effect." This essentially means that I am not copying what I see verbatim, but actually using the various qualities of paint to emulate something. I did a similar thing to the hair. There are really only 2 ways to paint hair. You can render 100,000 of them, or group them together in masses. I hear a lot of people say to think of hair as fabric, but I prefer to think of it as slabs of bacon covering a giant ham.

I will try to upload some decent photos when I get them.

Video Review for Iain Mccaig's Visual Storytelling

2011-11-05T10:59:00.001-07:00

I had the good fortune to be able to watch the first edition of this series. Even though the DVD's seem to be targeted towards concept artists, I would have to say this series would be extremely useful for any fine artist who intends on painting narrative works. He gives you a lot to think about in terms of composition, design, expression, planning, and story. This is not a purely technical DVD, as it will take you through the processes needed to put the images in your mind into something visual.

One of my favorite points he makes about expression is how it has to be read in context. He discusses the idea that if you were to take an actor with a rather neutral expression, then put him in various contexts, the viewer will read his emotion differently each time (even if the whole time he has the same expression). Basically, you don't need someone screaming with rage and pulling their hair out to show anger. In addition, he manages to get me extremely emotionally invested in the characters he is talking about.

This is literally the only art instructional video I could watch the entire way through without taking a break. It moved very well, and before I knew it, 2 hours had passed. In addition, it has great re-watch appeal.

Iain Mccaig was the creative force behind the new Star Wars movie. He designed Death Maul and many of the stunning costumes of the film. He is a veteran concept artist and storyteller.

Click here for more information on ordering.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T13:22:00.001-07:00

Have a Happy Halloween! Here are some creepy paintings about witchcraft to set the mood.

John William Waterhouse, 1886, "Magic Circle"

Francisco de Goya, 1797, "Witches in the Air"
Luis Falero, 1878, "Departure of the Witches"

Salvator Rosa, 1646, "Witches and Sorceries"

Trapper Part 3

2011-10-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

So the piece is pretty well under way, but more importantly I have very exciting news. They have brought "Beavis and Butthead" back to television with brand new episodes. It is truly a great time in which to live. Remember these classic moments from our childhood? I certainly do.

Most of the piece has had at least one pass at it. I have spent a bit of time building paint up on the face, hand, and fur collar, especially in the lightest areas. The face is almost ready for second painting. For things like the collar, I always find it useful to start almost too soft to get the big effect before putting in any details. Edges and value relations are two of the greatest factors in creating atmosphere, so it is better to err on the soft side of things. They can be easily sharpened later if needed. In addition, I also try to not exaggerate values too much within each element of the painting. My wife mentioned value grouping in one of her "Lucie and the Wind" postings. And yes, that is a big shadow across the bottom right of the painting.

Detail of hand.

10 Helpful Studio Secrets to Make Your Paintings Better

2011-10-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

1. Keep art books in the bathroom. That way you will seek inspiration for at least 5 minutes a day; twice that if you eat at Taco Bell.

2. Time your breaks. I don't do this, but you should.

3. Don't overeat at lunch. It's so much more challenging to paint on an overly full stomach. However, if there is an all you can eat Golden Panda Buffet around, then you pretty much have to get your moneys worth.

4. Eat lots of red meat in your diet. The power gained from red meat will give you better cognition and increase the measurable testosterone levels in your painting. Leonardo da Vinci ate 2 pounds of veal a day.

5. Don't listen to smooth jazz when you paint, it makes you pretentious and makes it feel like you are painting in an elevator or "on hold."

6. Play an instrument. In the renaissance, Albrect Durer wrote that it was important to play a musical instrument to balance out the humors. Plus girls are way more impressed by guys who can play the guitar over guys who can paint.

7. Just because something says its "natural" on a painting product doesn't mean its not dangerous. Cobra venom is technically natural.

8. Photo document your paintings progress so you can look back at what you did in the future. What, you were expecting another joke? Its a good idea.

9. Be critical of your work. Ask yourself if this is truly a good work of art or is it the beer talking.

10. Don't waste your time on stupid blogs. Yeah, I probably should have put that one first.

Hilarious Politics

2011-10-26T16:49:00.001-07:00

So I never take any political stance but this is simply hilarious. Apparently, the Obama campaign has called upon artists across the US to participate in a poster design competition. The theme of the competition has to do with the Obama administration's promotion of job growth in the upcoming years. The kicker is that this is an unpaid gig. If you do happen to win, you get a copy of your own poster signed by the president, valued at 195 bucks. If you fail to win, you have still given up your copyrights of the images entered as they become property of "Obama for America." In addition, the rules state (according to the Graphic Artists Guild):

“Entering the contest means that you agree to the contest rules, and indemnifying the committee is part of the rules, so you agree to defend the campaign committee and yourself against an infringement claim at your expense.”

Here is an article on the issue.

Trapper Now

2011-10-24T14:05:00.001-07:00

I am starting to move into first painting at this point. At this stage I always like to lay in the lightest and darkest notes in order to scale my values.
I begin to break up things into broad planes. As you can see, the face is still rather grey in chroma. I always find it best to work less chromatic and darker in the earlier layers. That way, lighter and more chromatic areas will be the thickest areas of paint as you build up more layers. The opposite is true of alla prima however. Always start overly chromatic in the beginning of a single session painting as it will gray as the colors mix together. This stage is about an hour and a half into the painting.
The piece as of now after a little less than 2 days of work. The photo is showing it quite a bit grayer than it actually is. I will continue to build paint and correct things, and break down forms as I go. This is the painting's "ugly stage." Paintings to me are a lot like kids. They start out attractive and exciting, then they go their their frustrating ugly pimply teenage years, and finally they look normal again whey they are all grown up.

If you have any questions about my techniques, ask them here.

Trapper Keeper by David

2011-10-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would give everyone an update on my trapper painting. I posted the preliminary drawing in an earlier post, and later designed a small color study (seen above). These small painted studies, done from imagination, allow me to set up the dominant color harmonies and masses of light and dark in the painting. Scott Waddell has a great webisode about this on his blog , which has way better special effects than my blog. The last video I made was simply stop motion GI JOEs being blown up with firecrackers so I am a bit behind on video technology and editing. However, my movie did have amazing cinematography. I'll do some videos at some point.

After I felt fairly satisfied with the color studies, I transferred my drawings to canvas using graphite. Some artists will reinforce this with ink, though I did not for my painting. I massed in the areas of shadow to strengthen the lights and darks, while paying some attention to edge quality. I was able to see some of the graphite still through the dry brush, which allowed for me to hold on to my drawing as I had more beers throughout the day.

I began to mass in large areas of color based on my color study (the ebauche). I used a very thin consistently of paint, which allows for the paint to move easily across the surface, while deadening (graying) the colors. The big statement is now complete. I would warn people not to lay in the ebauche too thickly and hard edged, as you will end up with what looks like a Disney character from the 80’s and lose any sense of atmosphere. In addition, every time you go too thick in the beginning, a baby unicorn loses their horn and dies. Happy.

The colors I am using for this piece are fairly limited. Yellow Ochre Pale, Ivory Black, Lead White, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, and Vermillion. This is the first time I have used Vermillion in a painting, but so far I like it as a substitute for Cadmium Red. The only drawback is that it contains mercury and although I love heavy metal, this particular one causes even more brain damage than Pantera. (did you see that pun I made)

Still life workshop

2011-10-11T20:31:00.001-07:00

Kate and I are offering a one and two week Still Life workshop in Seattle this April at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio. In this course, you will learn about paint application, creating textural effects, artists materials, stages of a painting, and how to cast your very own medieval battle axe out of bronze. (ok, not the last thing, but everything else.) For more information visit the WIFAS site at http://www.fallcityfineart.org/

In addition, I will be teaching a classical painting course at the Vancouver Island University in February (more information to follow)

Landscapes

2011-10-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I have been fairly lazy about posting updates. So sue me. However, I have started some studio landscapes. I go outdoors and execute small studies from nature, which I compose in the studio later in the form of a larger more complex work. This pic shows some color studies and one study for the landscape in the distance. I still need to gather more info for the trees in the foreground. I learned this working method from attending the Hudson River Fellowship, which was hands down the best and most useful time in my art education. If you ever want a great experience, I highly recommend it, though be prepared to work 12 hour days.

Also here is a picture of me boxing a bear that I met when I was out landscape painting. We got into a fight because we agreed to order a pizza together. Then when it was his turn to pony up the dough, he was like "but I only had one slice, so I should pay less." That wasn't the agreement; when 2 individuals order a pizza, the cost is split down the middle, no exceptions. I had to teach him a lesson.

Lucie and the Wind, Part 6

2011-09-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

I'd totally apologize for not updating sooner, but I know you guys only drop by to read Dave's posts anyways. It's because men are funnier than women. I know this because when I say a joke, nobody laughs; but when Dave repeats my joke two seconds later to the exact same people, it's funny. Ovaries are such a drag.

Here's Lucie's wig hat:

And here we put it on her head:

Smeared paint on the reverse of the paper and then used a stylus to trace the outlines, creating a transfer. I usually use raw umber, but raw umber is transparent and would not show up well on the dark lay in of her hair. Solution is to add just a little bit of titanium white to my raw umber.

And then I filled the outlines in with colour to get started:

Then I began to tease at the hair until it looked right. Pushing darks, noodling some lights in. Have to give just enough form to the hair to read well, but not so much that it slaps the viewer in the face.

A synthetic bright is nice to start with because it creates really decisive strokes and forces you to commit to specific locks of hair, instead of being kind of vague and doodling a bunch of scratchy squiggles. However, I needed to move down to some very fine brushes to finish up.

And that explains the title of the piece, right?

Men Painting Manly Things Follow-Up

2011-09-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

I forgot to include this little gem in the last posting. It is a portrait of perhaps one of the most manly men in history. A man who eats bacon and KFC gravy with every meal. A man who has fought a silver-back gorilla over a matter of 50 cents. A man who doesn't know the meaning of the word brunch and has never had tofu in his life. Thats right, its a portrait of me.

This work was recently completed by my friend Matthew Mancini, and to make a portrait this manly, one has to be ready for the task. Matthew Mancini was born in the woods and raised by Grizzly bears until the age of 10. One day he got hungry and devoured his surrogate bear family. He consumed their hearts first, washed down with a handle of Jack Daniels, in order to gain their power. Researchers believe this is where he first gained his painting superpowers. Since this time, Matt resides in the Muskoka area of Ontario, living off the land and teaching art workshops.

You can visit Matt's work and learn about his workshops at www.matthewmanciniart.com

Representation in Brennen Gallery

2011-09-14T12:47:00.001-07:00

I just found out my wife and I will have representation in Brennen Gallery. We will get to show with some really great other realists such as Adrian Gottlieb and Michael Klein, whom we both respect quite a bit. So, um, yeah, go and buy our stuff so I can have beer money.

Snake Study

2011-09-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

I found a dead garter snake on my driveway a couple of weeks ago. Unlike most snakes found under such circumstances, this one wasn't flattened and crimped with tire tread. I scooped it up and popped it in my fridge and began to take it out every other day to paint from it. Unfortunately, our fridge broke down in protest and we had to move all of our essentials to a minibar. I kept the snake in the big fridge not so much to keep it cool, but to keep the smell sealed in. Now the painting is done and it's time to take the snake in it's Frigidaire sarcophagus to the dump to make room for a new fridge. It will be nice to eat food again; but it's been educational living as primitive man did before the invention of the full-size refrigerator, back when we had to use minibars to keep our mammoth chops cool.

Now excuse me while I go rinse out my nose with a Neti Pot.

Men Painting Manly Things Part Deux

2011-09-02T15:59:00.001-07:00

It's time for another edition of men painting manly things.

I have no idea what is going on in this piece but I know a piece is manly when it involves a naked caped super hero trampling half the animal kingdom. Notice the expression of the upside down cheetah. Classic.

Felix Louis Leullier was a French academic painting from the 19^th century. He studied under the renowned Antoine-Jean Gros. Very little else is know about the life of Leullier, but I assume he ate rusty nails for breakfast because he was so awesome.

Pfft. Bring it lion.

This painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder dates back to 1520. Cranach was a German Renaissance artist and court painter for the majority of his career. This work was done before the invention of chainsaws; when hunting was done bare handed.

Everyone knows that moment in a bar when they hear a stool kick out; Peasant fight ! (which is the actual title for this work). Grab your beer and some popcorn and get ready for the show.

Adriaen Brouwer was a student of Frans Hals and was an active painter in the Dutch Republic during the 17^th century. It was rumored that he spent much of his time in Dutch alehouses, which most likely resulted in his choice of subject matter. Both Rubens and Rembrandt had several of his works in their personal art collections.

This brings me to my manly doppleganger of a portrait by Adriaen Brouwers and, that's right, the lead singer from Metallica.

Lucie and the Wind, Part 5

2011-08-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

Did you know that our activity on this blog is inversely correlated to how much fun we're having? So we're pretty much having the best summer ever.

My notes get a little spotty after the coat. This was right before my show in Palm Desert and in between hysterical crying bouts and five hundred phone calls with FedEx I forgot to record stuff in my journal. It seems I reworked the face again. Here is a detail of the eye. I like to start off by painting a rich red line in the crease of the eye.

And then paint into that starting point:

It seems I got wonky with my values and painted everything a shade lighter on round three, and consequently went back for a round four to fix it. By now my show is on and I'm packing up house to move out west and poor Lucie is shoved in a box for several months. When I arrive on Vancouver Island, her chin is the only part that hasn't been darkened, making it project outward like she's some sort of slack-jawed yokel. Here is how I resolved the chin:

So by now I'm working in a room that has, like, windows, and I can see the sky and I realize how lame my sky looks. And in case I didn't realize it, Dave points it out to me about three times before I decide to do a couple of cloud studies outside. Here's one:

Fortunately there were no bears that day, because my pochade box lacks the basic survival accessories like pepper spray and perhaps a grenade launcher. Using my study I repainted the sky. I scaled down the contrast and made up my own cloud patterns from my head.

And now for some instant trees:

So I bet you've been wondering where the hell I'm going with her hair. Just wait. It stops looking like a mullet soon.

Lucie and the Wind, Part 4

2011-08-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

So I was obviously avoiding the coat. At this point, though, I have to paint it or scrap the painting. After having nightmares about it I realized I have this really awesome black wool coat in my closet, so I put it on and painted myself from my mirror. Problem solved.

By the way, if you want to make black a little more interesting, mix some ultramarine blue and transparent red oxide into it. When the blue and the red are perfectly balanced they create a lovely dark neutral that adds some pep to the black. Also, from brushstroke to brushstroke you can subtly nudge your colour a little towards the blue or the red for added interest. See? I think of these things.

Since all the folds in the arm (my painting arm, actually) kept changing I thought I'd take the painting as far as I could in one pass. For a while I thought I was Jeremy Lipking (a mistake we all make from time to time) and got a little cocky. I thought I'd paint a knock-your-socks-off alla prima coat. At the end of the day I came down off of my high and realized that I really needed another pass after all. I made an effort to make the button holes a little irregular, but the spacing, unfortunately, is so regular that it's distracting. All I want to do is look at them button holes.

I get really anxious about fixing halos like the one around Lucie's coat. The area I left for her torso ended up being too big and as a result I had to match the existing landscape and fill in the gap. Yes, it was a very stressful day. Now here's the painting in it's frame. It's always good to keep the painting from getting stale and popping it into a frame is one way to do that. You can also flip the painting upside down or look at it in a mirror, or put the painting across the room to look at it. Don't do this too often, or the upside-down version or across-the-room version will start to get stale too. I reserve these tricks for emergencies only, like when I've spent a couple hours painting a coat and I'm beginning to suspect I'm going to regret today's work tomorrow.

At some point that day I also revised the sky. Trusty old Mars and Titanium, with some Cad Yellow Deep to neutralize. Cad Yellow Deep is a pretty awesome colour to use in skies.

ARC Results are in

2011-08-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

ARC Salon results are in and Kate got first place in the still life category for "The Nest." She was also a finalist in the figurative category for "Winter Weeds" and I got finalist in the still life category for "Vanitas." Now we have to decide if Kate's prize money should go towards our new studio or if we should buy 2,500 different things at Dollarama. Hmmm.

Also, congrats to all our fellow artists and friends who placed in the competition.

International Artist

2011-07-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

Check Dave out in the most recent issue of International Artist Magazine.

Study for the Trapper

2011-07-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new piece depicting a trapper, and above is part of the unfinished study I am doing for it. I always do a number of drawings and small painted studies to better understand structure, color, and composition before I begin a more elaborate painting. The less you have to work out problems on the final piece, the better. This piece was inspired in part by the Russian academic paintings of the 19th century, such as Kramskoy, Repin, and Shishkin. Not only do I love their paint quality, but their subjects as well. It is amazing that Russia is still following in this painting tradition. My friend showed me this middle/high school in Russia. http://www.artlicei.ru/undoc.php?id=galeri/fond.dat No work on the site is done by anyone over 17. The four links on the page will take you to their drawings, paintings, and compositional studies. They are training in preparation for the Repin Academy, one of the world's greatest institutes for art. I remember when I was in high school, all I was making was crappy pictures of Wu-Tang.

I also have been playing around a little bit with sponge brushes and pastel powder, as seen on the fur collar. Hard to control, but great for blocking in large masses.

How to Build a Pochade Box

2011-07-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

A year ago we purchased an Open Box M for my wife. Amazing craftsmanship and a great product, it came in at around 300 dollars, so I decided to build my own version for myself. Most of the ideas for this design came from my friend Matthew Mancini, but since he doesn't have blog, I am going to pretend I thought of everything myself. Below are the details.

The tools needed are a drill, a sponge brush, a metal file, a table saw (not pictured), and a power sander (not pictured). Ok, so you don't really need a chainsaw but I wanted to show off the fact that I have one. I really just use it for hunting bears and juggling.

I started by picking up two cradled birch panels from the art store. The dimensions are up to the individual, though 12 x 16 inches seems to be a nice medium size. These were stained with 2 coats of Minwax and sealed with 3 layers of Varathane. Don't forget to sand the panels before beginning.

The first thing I did was to create two slots in the upper part of one of the panels. These will be for the locking mechanisms that hold the panel in place later. I left just a little under 5 inches in the space between them. This was all done on a circular saw, though it could also be achieved with a router.

The first thing that I attached were the two brass hinges on the back. Make sure that each panel is facing the correct direction before assembly.

The next thing I assembled was the hinge system on the sides. The curved metal brass piece and the piece on the upper right corner of the above pic is part of a box lid support. Sometimes they come with an extra unnecessary piece of metal that has to be filed off. Other than that, everything can be found at Rona or Home Depot. Make sure that everything is properly spaced and the box opens and closes smoothly before sinking in all the screws. The wing-nuts and bolts will allow you to lock the box in place to keep it open during painting. The brass handle is simply mounted on the front with 2 screws.

The last thing I attached was the T-nut, which will act as the connection point for a tripod. Make sure to drill a pilot hole before hammering it in.

I fabricated two sliding/locking mechanisms for the canvas panel using two one inch by one inch pieces of wood. I used a power sander to give them a 45 degree angle on one side and drilled a hole for the bolt to go through. I used the same sized wing-nuts, washers, and bolts that I used on the hinges.

Behold my Pochade box in all its glory. The only thing that I didn't get around to attaching are the two catches that go on the front to hold the box shut in transit.

Some of our readers have expressed concerns about what to do in case of a bear attack while painting. With a few easy modifications to your Pochade box, you will be good to go. For close bear combat, the box can now be used in a stabbing motion to ward off bears or thrown like a short-range spear. For long range bear combat; use the attached hunting bow. Painting can be fun, but studio safety is no laughing matter.

There is another version of how to build your own Pochade Box on Mark Reeders blog (http://markreeder.blogspot.com/)

Harry Potter Doppleganger Extravaganza

2011-07-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we posted our first doppleganger of Ronald Weasley:

In honour of the recent release of the final installment of the HP series, here's some doppleganger wizardry for you.

My favourite Hogwarts professor, Remus Lupin:

An uncanny look-alike of Professor Minerva McGonagall, right down to the wonky hat:

And the fez wearing Headmaster Albus Dumbledore:

Here are some more pictures to consider:

Don't you think Vernon Lee out-Harry Potters Harry Potter?

And are we the only ones who see Lucius Malfoy here?

Lucie and the Wind, Part 3

2011-07-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

Now that I've painted the face, it's time to paint the face. Again and again until it's right. I use pure paint but it tends to go on very thin, partly because of the surface I paint on (slick oil-primed stuff) and partly because I pet the paint to death on the canvas, so it doesn't hurt to have several layers of paint all describing the same thing the same way, because one day the paint will go transparent and if there aren't enough paint layers to hide it, the drybrush from an unfinished nude might start to show through.

Even though I established some pretty nuanced passages last time around, it's more time-efficient to obliterate them and repaint them than to try to put a dab of the exact same colour over every square inch of the canvas. Not only is it faster, but I get better at being a painter and not a dab-matcher. Instead of playing paint-by-numbers, I get more efficient each time around at painting the thing I'm supposed to be painting.

Here's what I mean by obliterate:

Over top of my nicely turning cheek, I've laid down some flat bands of colour, which is exactly how started it the first time around. I've labeled them so that you can see each one. Each band shifts in hue and value, and to a less obvious extent, chroma. If at least two of those qualities hasn't changed from one bar to the next, I'm breaking the form down too much. I exaggerate the hue and chroma at this stage, but try to keep the values right.

This is what it looks like half and hour later:

I don't blend to get here. After establishing the main colour bands, I take my trusty No 2 bristle filberts and create ever more narrow bands between the bands, using small strokes to nudge values back and forth to get the form to pop. If I start to lose a colour at a certain point in the form, like the pink in her cheek, I lay down a nice big band of colour again and start over in that area.

Now the same for the chin:

Colour "D" shifts in hue as it wraps the form.

By the time this photo was taken I had worked the whole of the face, including laying down simplified values for the eyes.

The next day I noodled around with the background. Noodling is a time consuming and inefficient technique reserved for painting things I don't know how to paint. My notes from that day say "Jan 17-Trying hard not to make it suck." It would have been nice to go outside and actually look at some grass, but the snow was up to our knees so I was going off of memory and some lousy references.

Next time, the coat.

Here's the start of a cherry study I've been working on:

Painting Dopplegangers #4

2011-07-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Picasso's woman looks just like a train wreck.

Lucie and the Wind, Part 2

2011-07-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

In the last post I left off part way through my first big painting day on Lucie and the Wind. After painting the face I still had a couple more hours to kill until my 4am curfew, so I went ahead and laid in a flat value for the hair.

There is a bluish outline around the face. This is the original bit of hair tone that I laid in earlier in the day and it is now sunken in. I didn't paint over it with fresh paint because I had very carefully softened the edges between the face and the hair and didn't want to lose all that work. Once the fresher paint is dry it will all look the same anyways.

Since the hair was going to sink in within an hour I decided to get the sky value in that night too, since we all know values are contextual:

See that nice warm halo the fuzz of the hair creates against the sky? Know where I saw that?

My man Bouguereau.

I went ahead and sketched in some trees because I was feeling antsy to get the feel of the painting. I knew they would have to be repainted later. Then I scrubbed in some darker value for the mid-ground.

So by now after a day's work I'm feeling pretty clever and it's not until the next day that I realize how half-baked those trees look or how squooshed her face got. But while I was painting that day I recalled a post I saw on Gurney Journey, and I started thinking about this guy:

He really simplifies his values.

So I took a photo of my painting in black and white to see what my value arrangement looked like.

And at that point I decided to try to maintain my fluke simplification of values (something I don't think I've ever managed before).

So far we've caught 62 slugs and my strawberries have never looked better. My dog also seems to like drinking the beer once the slugs are done with it.

Lucie and the Wind, Step by Step

2011-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

I started this painting over Christmas and blew through it until it was about 70% finished, and then set it aside and forgot about it until now. I experimented with a different approach to my cartoon: instead of just eyeballing it and using a needle to double check my measurements, I CHEATED by using guidelines in Photoshop to grid up the photo and then worked directly from my laptop screen onto gridded paper. It doesn’t really feel like drawing, but it’s a great method if you’ve got a tight deadline for a portrait commission and want to shave off a few hours. I transferred the drawing to the canvas and filled it in with some washy colour, not aiming to create something visually appealing, but a surface that is easier to paint on than pure white. At this point in the painting I hadn’t decided what colour or even what sort of garment she would be wearing, so I laid in some umber hoping it would be a good underpainting to whatever I eventually chose. That brings us to the stage you see here:

Once the washy stage had dried, I dove into the first painting of the face. Normally if I had to paint something really light and/or bright, I wouldn’t lay in any neighbouring dark tones first because then the entire day is spent managing contamination, but in this case I needed to have the value of the hair to judge my skin tones by. When painting faces I like to start by laying down some exaggerated colour in the cheeks, lips, nose and forehead. Now I have the “bounds” of my colours—the darkest note, the lightest note, the reddest note, and the yellowest note (the forehead, although in this case it is very grey). The bluest note in the face is soon to come. It’s easy to now work within these boundaries.

And here starts the ugly stage, which usually lasts a couple of hours:

I lay the eyebrows and irises in quite flatly. They don’t need a lot of detail right now, and I do a lot of softening with the surrounding flesh colour.

More exaggerated colour:

And quite suddenly, there you are:

Here’s an angled view without the glare:

This was half a day's work. I did some more once the face was laid in, but that's for the next post. As usual her features got a little smooshed in this stage, but there’s a couple more passes of paint to come. All the work so far was done with regular old store-brand bristle brushes. The wash was done with Gamsol, but the first-painting of the face was all pure paint. I’ll talk about my palette some other time.

Since our move Dave and I have been enjoying the country life. Did you know that you can set out beer traps in your strawberry patch to catch garden slugs?

New Studio

2011-06-21T16:40:00.002-07:00

Well, we are on our way to setting up a temporary studio until we can build one ourselves. I can't stress how nice it is to be working in natural light.

View from our studio

What's that you say? Do I have a neutral grey shrieking zombie palette? Damn right I do. I have to thank my wife and the artist (Kalene Dunsmoor) for this one. What an amazing Birthday present.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to our respective fathers. Thank you for everything.

David A. Leffel Award for Still Life

2011-06-10T15:59:00.003-07:00

Just received news that I won second place in the David Leffel Award for Excellence in Painting for Still Life. In addition, Kate received an honorable mention. Between the two us, we may have brought in enough prize money to buy a 3-D TV. Very tempting, but Kate says we'll probably end up spending it on boring things that we "need" like groceries and bills.

Video Review for The Study of Color

2011-06-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

This one hour video just released by Michael Klein covers his theory of color as used in his own paintings. He does a good job articulating how he incorporates the Munsell system of color into his work and palette setup, and explains what the Munsell system really is. This is all demonstrated through a still life painting and close up shots of his palette, which he narrates over. He also puts time aside to do some interesting color mixing demos. Though I would recommend this video for most, it may not be so useful for the absolute beginner. Only problem I had with the video, and almost every art video for that matter, is the lack of good music. By their very nature, these videos are a slow watch, so why not throw some Pantera in there to liven things up. Try not being totally pumped to paint while listening to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy4Db3eCxeg

For purchase information on the video visit http://www.michaelkleinpaintings.com/

Heading on out

2011-05-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the coop lease has come to an end and its time for another fresh start. I would like to thank the other members of the coop for inviting my wife and I to join them and for all their great advice they gave us over the months. We are headed to Vancouver Island in just a couple days, so we won't be doing any postings for awhile. However, expect some landscapes when we settle in.

Painting Doppelganger #3

2011-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Gene Hackman and Pope Innocent X by Velazquez

New Still Life

2011-05-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Below is a new still life I started at the beginning of May. For this one, I went with a 19th century medicine bottle theme. Its crunch time until my wife and I move, so I am painting with a cause, and have a week to finish it. You can see that parts of the painting are in different stages, and the cloth is still in the local color lay in stage. I find sometimes that it takes getting some parts finished so you can be excited about the piece, so I will sometimes not work everything up the same rate.

I also thought that I would do a little talk about palettes, since it seems like such a common theme on blogs and videos. Below is my palette. Notice how I don't clean it properly and I let the paint dry and cake up all over. I don't organize my colors, mediums, or tubes of paint. If you do the opposite of what I do, you will be better off.

Men Painting Manly Things Part 1

2011-05-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have noticed a recent slip in the overall manliness of subject matter in the classical realist movement. Most contemporary artists are defaulting too quickly to the age old cute kid in a garden for some reason, or the token, “hi, I’m a naked girl holding a flower who went hiking in the woods and forgot to wear clothes”, or the stereotypical nude woman in bed at 12 in the afternoon. Come to think of it, if my wife was in bed at that time, I would tell her to get the heck out of bed and get to work; there are bills to pay. It is time to bring some manliness back into art, and this posting is a tribute to just that.

What is manlier than hunting whales with sharp sticks, as seen in this piece by artist Scott Waddell?

I truly enjoy the moment he chose to capture in this scene and the three unique reactions of the people to the events unfolding before them. Too often, academic works lack any sense of action and often seem posed, but this piece has a great sense of movement.

I will say that Scott is a big influence for me in my own pursuit of subject matter. He is a graduate of the Water Street Atelier and an instructor at the Grand Central Academy. He most recently put out an instructional video for download on painting the portrait. For more information on Scott and his work, visit his website and blog at http://www.scottwaddellfinearts.com/

Man fighting mastodon by Frank Frazetta, need I say more.

Frank Frazetta is to illustration what Arnold Schwarzenegger is to actions movies. He is most widely known for his Conan cover illustrations, but has truly defined the genre of fantasy art. I would highly recommend his film “Frazetta; Painting with Fire.”

This piece by Brandon Bird is the clear winner for all of manlykind’s history; T-rex fighting a whale that is fighting a giant squid.

Brandon is an illustrator and artist by trade. From 2004 to 2006 he was an Artist-in-Residence at Cornell, and currently resides in LA. For more information on Brandon, visit his site at http://brandonbird.com/

(I would like to also give an extra special thanks to Brandon and Scott for being part of this posting)

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

"Madonna and Child" by Marianne Stokes

Happy Mother's Day to our respective mums!

Okay, who bought it?

2011-05-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me compliment your good taste. Secondly, please get in touch with me to arrange varnishing. The above picture shows the difference between the painting's current, sunken-in appearance and what it will look like once varnished.

For taking photos of works that haven't been varnished yet, Dave and I usually saturate the surface of the dry painting with essential oil of petroleum. That "oils in" the surface but without adding a layer of oil. The essential oil of petroleum evaporates and leaves the surface of the painting unchanged, but for a few minutes I can see the painting as it will look with the varnish coat applied. The next time Dave and I do this for a photo shoot we'll post some pictures of how to do it.

PSA 6x9

2011-05-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Dave and I were really upset that we had to sit out this year's PSA conference, but at least I was able to participate in the 6x9 mystery auction. My panel didn't arrive in the mail until the last possible minute so it was a bit of a race to get the thing done, dried, and in the mail. The subject of my painting is Brian, a nice old guy who lives in our neighborhood. Dave wanted to paint him since the day we first laid eyes on him and is currently planning a more elaborate piece involving him.

Brian was extremely flattered to model for a photoshoot a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, this painting wasn't done from life. I worked from my laptop. I did, however, make a few artistic changes. The colours in the flesh are a little different, and I changed his clothing and the background to give it more of a Flemish look.

I've roughed out the drawing and have started laying in my red notes. I usually start with red.

I've added in my dark notes and have started to lay in the yellower flesh notes.

The painting looks weird up until this point, but now it looks particularly ugly. This is a pretty typical stage in my portraits and this is generally when Dave suggests that I start over.

Starting to look a little more normal, although sunken in this picture. This is how it looked at the beginning of my second session.

Juicy brushstrokes brought to you by Liquin.

End of second 3-4 hour session. Done. Dave showed me a nifty trick for painting the beard, where you use an annihilated old bristle brush with splaying hairs loaded with thick paint to apply light, feathery strokes.

Portrait

2011-04-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show my last portrait piece all finished up (for the most part.) Unfortunately, I didn't get it done in time for the PSA, but there is always next year. I still don't have an official title as of yet. It is between "Suzanne", "Seung He" (her Korean name), or "Girl with the Feather Brooch." I could also give it a super pretentious name like "Untitled #12 in Grey" or "The Existential Harmony of Memory." That way, people think I'm a deep thinker.

One thing that I really enjoyed on this piece was working with multiple lead white pigments. I started in the beginning layers with Blue Ridge's Flemish White and did the finishing layers with Rublev Lead White #2 from Natural Pigments. Both great companies with great products. I enjoy the Flemish white for the early layers because it dries quickly due to the pigment Calcium Sulfate. It is also very thick in consistency and great for impasto. Lead White #2 has Lead Carbonate and a walnut binder, so it dries more slowly and yellows less in time. It is also more smooth in consistency and has great thixotropic properties. I like to use the smoother paint for later layers because it is much easier to blend and get fine details. (I also know my wife touched on this paint last post, so I thought I would follow it up)

And the winner is....

2011-04-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well, looks like I have managed to win the competition. As initially stated in the bet, Kate must now erect an obelisk plated in gold to reflect my glory. It will be no shorter than forty feet in height, and covered in precious gems. Every day, she will present it with offerings of frankincense and myrrh for no less than one year.

Painting something to look like the thing it's supposed to look like

2011-04-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

One thing Dave and I have been experimenting with in our painting is manipulating the character of the paint itself to imitate the textures found in nature. You can use a vast array of mediums to affect the texture of your paint, and any variety of tools to sculpt it. This extra attention to paint quality will increase the Awesome Factor of your paintings by about ten orders of magnitude.

In the above shot I took the lurvly Flemish White by Blue Ridge and, taking advantage of it's natural body and increasing its stringiness with a bit of stand oil, I dragged out irregular ridges of paint that imitated the roughed up edges of the book's paper. Without adding any other colour the effect of shadows between the pages was achieved naturally. Of course the effect might be lost under different lighting, so I added the shadows manually later on, but the tactual effect of the rough paper is still there. On the top of the book the paper was much more regular, so a single stroke of thick paint with a bristle brush was enough to create the striated texture desired.

Here is pretty much the exact same thing all over again.

Just a few more books to complete, and once the wall and the table top are painted the whole thing will be done. Alas, I have lost the race. Dave will be posting his smug update later today.

Comparison of First and Second Painting

2011-04-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

I took this shot yesterday part way through my painting session. I've second painted the large book and belt buckle to the top left (already sunken in), and the three little books clustered to the side of the large book are freshly second painted. The green and red book are still only first painted. Because of the coarseness of my canvas, I have a lot of difficulty painting with pure paint and bristles and consequently skimp on the detail in first painting. If I had a smoother canvas there would be more detail in first painting.

I took another shot at the end of the session. All the books have been second painted. There is some text and filigree to add in later. I won't paint the table top until all of the objects sitting on it are complete.

Painting Show-Down Update

2011-04-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would write this entry since my wife as been doing all the writing up until this point. In addition, the last entry about "Pride and Prejudice" was starting to make the blog a lot less manly than I had intended. I personally would have mentioned the painting from Ghostbusters 2 of Vigo the Carpathian; a much more worthy painting of note.

Anyway, I am pulling ahead in the race and have begun to add the finishing layer to the painting using medium, which consists of stand oil, linseed oil, mineral spirits, and a bit of paprika for flavor. You can see how certain elements of the painting are saturated and others seem dull. The medium, which I apply with a make-up sponge, allows the paint to move more easily across the surface and equalizes the refractive index of the dry paint layer. The refractive index for those who don't know is the way light interacts and reflects with the paint surface. It also makes me sound smart when I use the term.

Mr Darcy swoon

2011-04-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

Raise your hands if you remember the Lake Scene from Pride and Prejudice!

The painting of Mr Darcy/Collin Firth that we see in that scene went up for auction in London a couple of years ago and sold for £12 000. It's old news, not new news, but hey, I thought that was pretty neat. Too bad I didn't have £12 000 and an auction catalogue a few years ago. I'm sure Dave would love to have a life-size oil painting of my celebrity crush hanging in our house. Right, honey?

Painting Dopplegangers #2

2011-04-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

Kevin Kline and Dr Nicolaes Tulp!

"The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp" by Rembrandt van Rijn

One Week In

2011-04-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Dave is totally kicking my ass on this competition, but SOMEONE leaves all the tax preparation and bookkeeping to their wife, who ends up taking days out of the studio as a result. I went in yesterday and found that Dave is already first-painting the still life objects, meanwhile my painting was still just a half-finished drybrush riddled with drawing errors. So, I decided to just skip the rest of the drawing stage, which was actually pretty stupid, and just dived right into colour. I really, really hate the beginning stage of a painting and Dave does too. I think we're both coming to the conclusion that the best way to deal with this stage is to just skip it.

Here is my colour lay-in, or ebauche, or whatever you want to call it. Although I've abandoned the "drawing stage" of the painting, I still have to establish the drawing, and here I'm doing it with colour shapes instead of lines and light and dark patterns.

Here is an up-close shot to show the scruffiness of the paint in this stage. You can make it really solid if you want, but that takes premixing of paint. I like to slap colour up on the canvas and adjust it on the canvas surface, instead of the palette. This of course creates a mess.

Here's a shot to show the edge quality at this stage. Things have to stay kind of soft and undefined at this stage. Aim for accuracy, but keep it vague.

And now for Speedy Gonzalez's painting:

While I was killing my right brain with a calculator Dave wrapped up his colour lay-in and got well into first-painting. The colours are awesome and I'm really glad he went with the blue cable instead of the orange one.

Here's a close up of the first-painting. You can see that Dave is using a variety of paint texture. He'll probably keep building up the crusty impasto on the brick fragment until it feels suitably brick-y.

Paint off

2011-03-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Dave and I are each starting a new still life, side by side in our studio. Since our paintings are the exact same size and since we happen to be starting at the same time, we're going to have a competition to see who finishes first.

My still life has a traditional library theme. The fabric in the background is standing in for wallpaper, which is pretty difficult to find. There are still a few small elements missing from the set up, but they will find their way in before the painting is complete.

Dave's still life has a contemporary industrial look to it. The blue strip is an extension cord.

Dave and I have very different approaches to our drybrush, or drawing stage. I like to paint directly on the canvas with raw umber and mineral spirits. I use two large brushes (at least an inch wide), keeping one for applying the paint and one for removing paint and cleaning up edges. As my drawing gets more detailed I drop down to smaller brushes. I do a lot of the drawing by eye, using the handle of my brush from time to time to double check my measurements. So far I'm only part way through the drybrush.

Dave's method is more meticulous. While we were waiting for our panels to arrive in the mail Dave drew a very accurate cartoon of his still life set up on paper. Once he had toned his canvas and allowed it to dry, he transferred the cartoon onto the canvas and proceeded to fill in the shadows with tone so that he would have a light dark pattern established. His drybrush is complete, so he's in the lead so far.

Hirst vs. Hogarth

2011-03-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

We don't want to make a habit of taking so long between updates, but I was hoping to get some more photos of the opening before posting again. In the meantime, here is a very interesting article about a study conducted at the Tate Museum where some observers with stop watches timed the average view time for a sampling of modern and traditional works of art, among them works by Damien Hirst, Whistler, and Sir John Everett Millais. It worked out to an average view time of 13.5 seconds for the modern works (pickled lambs and such) and 1 minute and 49 seconds for the traditional works (oil paintings describing universal themes). Unfortunately the study doesn't take into account individuals like myself who bypass the modern wing entirely.

Reception in Palm Desert

2011-02-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from my reception last night. There was a great turn out and Dave and I had a lot of fun. Thank you Howard for all your hard work!

My work.

The evening in full swing, just before Sabin's unveiling.

Left to right, Sabin Howard, Howard Schepp, me, and Dave.

After everyone left Dave and I were able to take a picture of our work hanging together.

Dave and I will post more soon. For now we're going to try to enjoy our last day in the sun before going back to Toronto.

Painting Dopplegangers

2011-02-19T18:07:00.000-08:00

Rupert Grint and "Portrait of a Man" by Hans Memling.

Representation in Charleston

2011-02-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

"Vanitas," 20x24", oil on linen on panel

Dave is now represented by M Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. If you are in that part of the world you can find his "Vanitas" (above) in the window of the gallery.

Studio Update

2011-02-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of the studio all set up:

And here's some of the stuff we're working on:

Ping's new still life

Alex's new still life set up. I still think it could use a human ear necklace.

My charcoal and graphite drawing experiment.

Matt's figure drawing

Dave working on his painting of Suzanne

Show Opens in Palm Desert

2011-02-16T20:50:00.001-08:00

Today my show in Palm Desert opens! My gallery, Howard Schepp Fine Art, is hosting a group show featuring work by Sabin Howard, Jeff Faust, Josh Simpson, Fred Wessel, Toland Sand (great name for a glass artist), Paul Anders-Stout, and myself. There was delay with FedEx and my paintings only just made it to the gallery on Wednesday. I was so stressed out I was checking the tracking update every hour for the past few days.

Here are the paintings that I have in the show:

"Bottle Fly", 16x24", oil on linen on panel

A frog finds he has outgrown the exit to his habitat. The

feathers, the window, and the green bottle fly build

on the theme of captivity and freedom. Dave and I have

found ourselves in a similar position recently, feeling the

need to move but finding it really difficult just the same.

"The Nest", 24x36", oil on linen on panel

Two House Sparrows are building a nest inside a skull

in a dilapidated barn. All around junk is scattered.

Commentary on trying to make a home under less

than ideal circumstances.

"The Pair," 24x48", oil on linen

A girl and her dog double back to search for her

missing glove. Sometimes two things belong together.

"The Firefly," 18x24", oil on linen

A girl shares her discovery of a firefly

with her younger sister.

Unfortunately I've just realized I didn't get a proper photo of my Snail Shell painting. Here's pretty low-quality one:

"Snail Shell," 6x6", oil on linen on panel

The title pretty much says it all.

There are also a few framed charcoal drawings of bird studies--prep work for "The Nest."

Angel Academy Videos

2011-02-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

The studio is running, although there are still some things that could be finessed. Photos to follow. Everything has been going so well with support pouring in from unexpected directions, it's been like a guardian "Angel" has been watching over us.

We just had to share a few amazing videos. Dave has watched them each about nine times.

Damn, I wish Angel had an academy like this in Canada.

Dave's delicious new still life

2011-02-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Dave recently finished a still life and we thought we'd share the step-by-step. The inspiration for this painting comes from one of Dave's favourite things in the whole world. Meat. It's his reason to get up in the morning.

Drybrush stage. Mostly pure paint with a teeny bit of spirits.

Ebauche, paint thinned with spirits.

Start of first painting. Only pure paint.

Finished painting. Final layer painted with meatium. Get it? MEAT-ium?

Dave likes to juxtapose more highly finished elements (in this case, the wood of the shelf, the handle of the cleaver) with broken and atmospheric elements (the background and any objects in the background). The contrast adds significance to the detailed areas, and the broken and atmospheric elements recede in space and create depth.

Studio Progress

2011-02-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

Everyone has been working steadily at getting the studio ready. The walls have been painted and we're pretty proud of the lighting suspension system we've rigged up. Dave and I feel it's a shame we're only going to be in this shared studio for another four months, as we're planning to relocate to Montreal this summer.

We've painted the walls a cool brown.

Dave sinking drywall anchors for the suspension chains.

The suspension system was made possible thanks to Ping's PhD in Mathematics (centre).

Hopefully we'll be done setting up in a day or two and everyone can get started on their work.

Fresh Start

2011-01-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Dave and I move into a new studio space which we will be sharing with eight other artists. Our goal for a while now has been to create a professional studio space with our friend Matthew Mancini, in which we can share knowledge with other artists. Below are some photos of our new space.

Painting Stuff to Look Like Stuff

Choosing the right gallery for you

Men Painting Manly things : Women's Edition

Let's toss the old pigskin around

Iron Maiden

Needles are the most hardcore brushes

ARC

L.A. Fine Art Show

New Studio

Painting Doppleganger

Hunter Update

Museum of Natural History

Public Service Announcement

Let's all just get along (link fixed)(insensitivity removed)

Happy Holidays

I like purdy colors

Go look at someone else's blog for once

The Hunter

Vanitas in progress

Answers

Name these Awesome paintings from Awesome movies

Shameless Plug

Big Trouble in Little China

Vanitas

One manly little girl

Lucie and the Wind--DONE

Trapper FInished

Where's Repin

Happy 4th Anniversary

Winner

Trapper Finished (more or less)

Painting Doppleganger

Trapper 4

Video Review for Iain Mccaig's Visual Storytelling

Happy Halloween

Trapper Part 3

10 Helpful Studio Secrets to Make Your Paintings Better

Hilarious Politics

Trapper Now

Trapper Keeper by David

Still life workshop

Landscapes

Lucie and the Wind, Part 6

Men Painting Manly Things Follow-Up

Representation in Brennen Gallery

Snake Study

Men Painting Manly Things Part Deux

Lucie and the Wind, Part 5

Lucie and the Wind, Part 4

ARC Results are in

International Artist

Study for the Trapper

How to Build a Pochade Box

Harry Potter Doppleganger Extravaganza

Lucie and the Wind, Part 3

Painting Dopplegangers #4

Lucie and the Wind, Part 2

Lucie and the Wind, Step by Step

New Studio

Happy Father's Day

David A. Leffel Award for Still Life

Video Review for The Study of Color

Heading on out

Painting Doppelganger #3

New Still Life

Men Painting Manly Things Part 1

Happy Mother's Day

Okay, who bought it?

PSA 6x9

Portrait

And the winner is....

Painting something to look like the thing it's supposed to look like

Comparison of First and Second Painting

Painting Show-Down Update

Mr Darcy *swoon*

Painting Dopplegangers #2

One Week In

Paint off

Hirst vs. Hogarth

Reception in Palm Desert

Mr Darcy swoon