creativity by wess
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Lonely Milkshake 18x24", $350
This painting actually came from a detail of another painting - I had the photo of the painting magnified on my computer and I noticed how nice the composition was. It's different, but with the subdued color palette and the simplicity, I really like how it turned out. I took this picture before adding my signature . . . and I might add a straw to the milkshake.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Enjoying the Match 18x24", $350
Here is the finished painting (I had posted the almost-finished version here but wasn't quite happy with it). The main thing I changed is that I removed completely the odd blue-man on the left side - the main thing that bothered me was simply that it appeared as though he were wearing the horse and rider as an over-sized hat. I tried moving the figure down and forward but could not quite make it work, so I made him invisible (as seen here). This allowed me to add a clearer version of the fourth chair on the left.
I also clarified the figure in red and added little touches of color here and there, amounting to a great deal of fiddling with the painting until I finally realized it wasn't making the thing better. Oh, yeah, I also added the polo ball (I don't know if it has any other name?)
An interesting observation I made while painting this one: I often see a painting similar to this, depicting slightly awkward, slightly stiff [and certainly stylized] characters and think, "that's cool." However when faced with a similarly rendered figure in my own paintings, I tend to think, "that's not cool." And I usually commence to "fixing it", making it more naturalistic, more realistic. Just an observation, and I suppose it depends on what the artist is going for in the end. Me? I'm happy with anything that works, anything I like - I just have to remember what i like.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Enjoying the Match, 18x24", $350
I might do a little more touch up work on this one, not sure. I like the color palette of this painting - there's just something different about it. Might have more to do with the proportions of the different colors, and I'm not sure if it comes off as interesting in the photo or not..
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Just another old sketch of mine. I had the thought of doing a framed series of these type pen and ink drawings of various plants or herbs. I still might - who knows?! The problem with pen and ink from the narrow perspective of a canvas painter is that you run into the problem of framing the artwork . . . dealing with glass, keeping it flat, keeping it dry, picking out and purchasing frames ahead of time - oh, and don't get me started on matting . . . man!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
It's been a while since the last installment of my Painting 101 series. Not sure if anyone read the other two, but, after rereading them myself, I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Someone, someday, might find the information helpful, so I will try my best to keep it up despite the large gaps of time that may appear between posts. The idea of this series is to provide some basics of the painting process for beginners. If this subject interests you, you might want to start with the first post of the series.
This time, at the risk of being repetitive, I just wanted to re-emphasize the importance of not shooting for perfection, especially during the early stages of the painting process. 
While some disciplines may demand this approach - I'm thinking here of surgeons, sky divers, and possibly builders of intricate card houses, though I have no experience with anything more than two-story hovels - the painting process, for the most part, takes the opposite stratagem: starting with a rough draft and perfecting the image as the process goes along (sometimes waiting until the final stage to add the detail). To demonstrate the process, I present exhibit A, B, and C - the three sketches to the right. The first, demonstrates that a child can handle the initial sketch for you if need be. Though I generally recommend drawing or painting the entire thing yourself to get the full effect. While this is a pen and ink drawing as opposed to a painting, the idea is the same: just get something down right away, a launching point, something to break through the cold white of the canvas, something upon which to improve.
The second photo shows a refinement of the initial sketch (in "real life" this would be more like my initial drawing or painting, but this is merely a demonstration). Indeed, in my own paintings, I find the process to be merely a series of corrective action until it finally looks close enough. I should point out, you might as well paint or draw the initial sketch as well as you are able - in fact, if you are perfect, go ahead and start with the final stage [and congratulations for being perfect] - but the point is, one shouldn't spend all day on these early stages; the idea is get something down and move on. Too often we put off doing things in life just because we want to need to see results right away - "guilty as charged," though I have managed to get over this hurdle for the most part in my paintings.
And, Voila! - the final photo demonstrates my ultimate genius. Well . . . It does demonstrate the fact that acrylic painting [and oil painting] has the advantageous property of being able to hide initial sketches and under-paintings of the painting process - if pen and ink can [almost] achieve this, 
I know paint can - it's an opaque medium, after all. That fact is quite liberating, isn't it? Well, it can be. It gives you permission to experiment, to be bold, to try out different colors and techniques. Cool, eh? Anyway, take a look at the first photo again. Now look at the final photo. No, it's no masterpiece, but compared to the initial drawing, it has come a long way. So the moral of the story is: don't be self-conscious of your painting, be confident in where the painting is headed, don't give up on your painting too early, and have fun with it.
And that's the importance of diving in. Next time, we'll wade into an actual painting, and I'll bring along some actual photos showing an actual painting in progress [yummy]. Until then, go ahead and get started! Send in photos of your own first attempts, if you would like [wess - at - wess foreman dot com] - I'd be happy to give you some pointers or encouragement. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions on the subject, something I might have forgotten or wasn't clear about. We will reconvene very soon [I'm sure] for Painting 101 - Part 4. Class dismissed.
Please leave me a comment if you liked this article, disliked this article, or if something was wrong or right with what I wrote. Thanks!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
This is a contour drawing from many years ago. I just ran across it in an old sketchbook and thought I'd throw it up here - I still get the feeling I posted this one already, but whatever. For your viewing pleasure...
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I was just going to do a quick sketch of the seated figure [the one in the detail] while waiting for some paint to dry. It was going to fit nicely in a blank space in my notebook/journal/planner thingy. That sketch quickly grew to encompass the entire spread. Good thing I was through with all the info on these pages, eh?
Posted on by Wess Foreman
If you haven't noticed, I'm trying out a new look for the Open Studio. I like the fact that it's a simple theme, with one main column. I still need to configure the menu on top, as it's a little sparse. If you have any opinions on the new look or suggestions for improvements, I'd love to hear them. Let me know if you find anything not working as well: I've only tested this on the Firefox browser, so if you're using Internet Explorer, for instance, let me know if it looks good. I hope to be posting more regularly now, so check back often, and thanks for visiting!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Just wanted to post a photo showing the "Saints of God" paintings all together, to give you a better idea of their sizes.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I have been painting and sketching and, in general, arting around ever since my annual Christmas slump, but being unmotivated in regards to updating my website, I find myself with a lot of catching up to do. Anyway, here are a few of my most recent paintings for your viewing pleasure. More to follow....
Posted on by Wess Foreman
This Saturday, in fact, I will be lugging all my gear over to the NorthShore Art Market in Covington [hope to see you there]. I feel ill-equipped this time. I have some new paintings to show, that's not it; I just feel like I haven't been preparing as much as I usually do. Well, I have three and a half days to do just that, I suppose.
A big part of my uneasiness might be the fact that this blog has gone unchanged in quite some time. It isn't as if some great catastrophe has befallen me, preventing me from updating the blog - nothing that fantastic - only a lack of motivation has prevented it. Well, anyway, I'll try to get back at it once again.
*friendly reminder: Federal tax return deadline is nigh, as well.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Just a quick note: I added a few new portraits to my portrait page.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
red apple on green
6x4" - $35
Please leave me a comment. And if you’re interested in purchasing this or any other postcard painting, contact me with the name of the painting you’re interested in - first come, first serve. Don’t forget to include your name and email address. I will email you back with further instructions. Thanks!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
orange peeled
4x6" - $35
Please leave me a comment. And if you’re interested in purchasing this or any other postcard painting, contact me with the name of the painting you’re interested in - first come, first serve. Don’t forget to include your name and email address. I will email you back with further instructions. Thanks!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
the encounter
4x6" - sold
A cute photo taken by my wife at a "Dream Day Foundation" event is what prompted this painting. One perfect, simple scene.
Please leave me a comment. And if you’re interested in purchasing this or any other postcard painting, contact me with the name of the painting you’re interested in - first come, first serve. Don’t forget to include your name and email address. I will email you back with further instructions. Thanks!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
mason #2
6x4" - $35
Please leave me a comment. And if you're interested in purchasing this or any other postcard painting, contact me with the name of the painting you're interested in - first come, first serve. Don't forget to include your name and email address. I will email you back with further instructions. Thanks!
