Sunstruck

Sunstruck 16x20 oil on gesso board.

 Following this new counter intuitive painting process. Building values from light to dark. 

Throwing down thick paint and scraping away.

This painting was inspired by John Cosby. I was painting in Heisler Park.  I was approached by another plein air painter and was told John was painting at Rockpile.

John Cosby cranking out another masterpiece.  I must be honest I did not see his painting.  I finished my plein air painting, packed up  and then walked over to check in. John had just packed up his painting...but John is a master so I am sure it was amazing.

This was the view that captured my interest after visiting John.

irvine park

 Irvine Park gouache on paper measuring approximately 22"x30".

March @ Quorum Gallery

I have been selected to join the Quorum Gallery in Laguna Beach on PCH North.  I am very excited to join this group of artists and look forward to having a venue to showcase my art.  This piece is called Reflections 24x36 inches oil on canvas

These pieces represent my most current oil paintings.  They represent a change in application for me.  It is difficult to appreciate the thickness of the paint and the texture.  This is Heisler Sunset which was really the piece that changed everything for me.

In the Weeds measures 30 x 30 inches

Misty Morning in Irvine Park is very subtle in it's pallet but I really like the dynamic brush strokes within the painting.

This painting was important in my development of my new technique.  In this painting I built the values from the lightest to the darkest.  I gently laid down the blue paint with thick paint and gentle stokes letting the brush bristles describe the contours of the San Gabriel Mountains.  This painting measures 6x6 inches.

 Into the Canyon measures 8x8 inches.

Here are my paintings grouped on the wall at the Quorum Gallery.

I look forward to changing up my paintings frequently.  In April I will present some of my recent plein air efforts.

A Day in Paradise

 

New Medium for Plein Air Painting

My first plein air gouache painting 22"x32". Picnic Beach
 

Art Goals 2024

 -Finish website X

-30 photo realistic graphite drawings.

-Enter 30 events: LPAPA Best of Plein Air, 8" squared,

-Clean and organize studio X

-Complete studio makeover

-Redo business cards X

-Marketing 15 % of art time

-Figure prints out for drawings

-start known contests events early

-paint smaller plein air for best of plein air

-The art of Orange County X entered did not get juried in

-Artichoke series

-Water / pool series

-Time lapse posting

-Learn new camera

-Organize completed artX

-Redo Shirt X

-Calendar on dry erase board X

-Note cards

-Underwater dog photography

-Small acrylic ink for shop 10 strong images

-Get setup for Back Bay Show

-Get name plate for wall X

-July Muth hanging

-You tube channel X started

-Quadruple art income for year. 

-Read 10 art books. In natures temple, Plein air Techniques

-Focus on increasing instagram following

-Increase painting skills in all media-10 things I am going to do to improve my skills 1-start thumbnails again, 2 -paint in oil en plein air 3 -start including figures in my art 4 -paint every day 5 -develop acrylic art skills 6 -continue to take plein air paintings out and develop them further than one session 7 -carry sketch pad and practice quick drawings of people 8-100 small oil paintings this year 9-develop paintings from my sketches 10-build stronger paintings through better composition and putting the paint down and leave it alone 11-

-Begin painting pastels in  studio again

-Catalogue work

-Gallery representation X

-Bio for the backs of art X

-Start painting with oils plein air.

-Review and update goals every 2 weeks

-Start Art Resume

-Start Newsletter

-Cards for artX9

-Sketch book with me at all times and drawing figures

-How to start teaching private art classes learn and develop and begin process.

-Get faster at oil painting.

-Begin process journal with notes small paintings and color notes to take ideas and turn them into paintings.

-Better video editing on my Instagram videos

-Get sound figured out for videos

-Restart Pinterest engagement

-Get more involved with the CAC

-Join a pastel society

-Color charts

-Email list start. Mail chimp

-Cottage gallery-San Juan Capistrano mission paintings

-Crystal cove paintings and get into gallery

-Get into Laguna art.comX

-Update portfolio

Curatorial Review

Curatorial Review

At the end of 2023 I began to paint "small" paintings.  I had never really painted smaller that 24"x24".  After 40 years of painting large paintings I began the process of figuring out how to paint in a different way.  Larger paintings allowed me put in all the detail I wanted.  My first efforts at smaller paintings were unsatisfying.  I did not want to sacrifice the detail so I changed the way I painted.

The following paintings are examples of my recent direction

Last Gasp 6"x6" oil on gesso board.

Mountain Shadows 6"x6" oil on gesso board

Into the Canyon 8"x8" oil on canvas

Laguna Sunset 16"x12" oil on gesso board

How was I going to be able to get the detail I was looking for in a small painting without using really tiny brushes forever? Building the painting from light to dark.  This process is counter to everything I had learned and done as a painter for 40 years.

Layering progressively darker and darker values with thick paint and not  allowing the paint to dry enables me to workback into the lighter values by scraping away the darker values to get to the highlights.

The thick paint application allows for a significant increase in the amount of texture within the painting.  When I start subtracting that paint with a shaper the level of detail increases dramatically.

Irvine Park 12"x16" oil on gesso board

The following detail shots show the underlying detail created through my process

Irvine Park

Misty Morning in Irvine Park 16"x20" oil on gesso board

This shot allows you to move throughout the painting to see the mark making and texture created

The following are detail shots from within the painting.

The texture was achieved by my adoption of a new paint application technique.

Building the painting from the lightest values to the darkest.  Adding layer over layer without altering the color below.

Thick paint over thin paint.  Brush strokes pushing into the paint leaving lots of texture

The under painting focused on the lightest colors in each area to build upon.

The surface covered and ready for the build up.

The layering begins.  The interaction between addition and subtraction.