creativity by wess
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Just got back from the Meet the Artist shin-dig put on by Inside Northside Magazine (followed up by a burger meal at Outback). A great time was had by all. I'm a bit tired now, but I just wanted to post a big Thank You to all you who made it out tonight - it was great meeting you all, I'm sure :-) Thanks!
More later.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Here's another painting process. Just a note: I failed to correct the white balance of these photos - they are, in reality, less yellow-brown in color - the photo of the finished piece is pretty close to correct. Not the most dynamic of subject matters, and this is one case where I like the photo still a little better than the finished painting. Still there are aspects of it I love - I'll point them out later. Here's the initial sketch:
...and I think that's one of the main reasons I like the photo better than the painting - notice that I cropped the photo severely to better match my canvas. I thought this would emphasize the center of interest better (the red building and its leaning metal pole), but in reality it lessened its impact. (Hindsight is 20/20)
And then it's just a matter of paint-by-numbers. Filling it all in with paint.
et cetera...
et cetera...
And adding in the darkest darks and lightest lights.
And starting to fiddle with things - adding the trees.
And then it's just more detail work, until the final piece:
Ave. F - Bogalusa - 11x14" - $75
The details I love about it are the telephone pole in the background - I left the initial china marker sketch and just painted around it. That gave it a nice effect, I think. Also the building just below the telephone pole - I like the way it turned out . . . almost a watercolor look to it. I also enjoy the sidewalk/curb running along the bottom - the waviness of the hand-drawn lines give it a certain charm i think. The colors are not quite as contrasty as in this photo, by the way, and be sure to click the photo for a closer look - otherwise those details cannot be appreciated.
I'm pretty sure I will be returning to this photo in the future - a wider-aspect canvas and a more muted color palette would work wonders, I'm sure. Any thoughts?
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Ah, the elusive sketchbook. I always admired the idea of a sketchbook - always at the ready for a quick sketch in-between the goings and doings of real-world things. But practically speaking, I never quite got the sketchbook. Sure, I could fill up a sketchbook if it was for an assignment in art class - especially as a deadline drew nigh - but carry it around with me? Sketching those precious little vignettes of life at a moments notice . . . just for the joy and experience of it? Nah, I just didn't get it.
Well, I still don't carry one with me everywhere - nor do I find myself wanting to sketch much more than once or twice a week, truth be told - but I do find myself enjoying the finished product of my sketches of late. Who knows, I may even assemble them into a little book one of these days. Here are a couple of quick sketches of boats I drew the morning of the Madisonville art market, as I waited for the market to begin. Now that I think about it - these weren't in my sketchbook at all; they were sketched in my moleskinne. [Maybe I should at least get one without lines?]
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I just noticed that the article on me in Inside Northside Magazine is available on their website. If you're interested in reading it and aren't able to pick up a copy where you are, here's the LINK.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I've done several posts in the past on the painting process - my painting process, that is - and I thought I'd dig those out and put them into the spotlight for anyone interested. So, here are four links - enjoy!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I just changed up the gallery on the site. I used to have it hosted on a different site, but decided to move it back here and host it myself. So check out the new gallery page!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Yesterday was my first showing at the Madisonville Art Market. The weather was terrific all day, and the unobstructed view of the river was peaceful and worth the trip all by itself. Before the show started, I spent the morning watching a lone pelican making passes along the river, dive-bombing for fish, gulping them down, and taking to the air again (I think he had moved on by the time the market started).
The show got off to a slow start with only a handful of people strolling along the waterfront. My booth was the last booth but I frequently joked that it was, in fact, the first booth (a couple of people even thought this jest was humorous and gave a chuckle for my efforts). Before long, the parade of art lovers grew to a constant stream - never too much to handle, but satisfyingly steady - and most of the crowd made it all the way down to my end, despite the empty twenty foot (?) space between me and the "second" booth.
The photo above shows my meager setup - I put the American flag right up front to draw in the large contingent of Americans. In the afternoon, the breeze picked up a little - just enough, in fact, to pick a fight with most of my paintings, pushing them around a little and making a general disturbance of itself. One of the 11x14" paintings of my son, Mason, suffered a small gash when it was blown over by one of the larger gusts of wind - don't worry, I'll patch it up . . . shouldn't be a problem.
Long story short: I sold a couple of paintings, gave a LOT of business cards away, received a sizable number of compliments on my work, and met quite a few people interested in having a portrait or pet portrait done by me in the near future. What I was most impressed with was the high percentage of people who stopped by my booth and took the time to talk a bit about the art - that doesn't happen too often at these art markets, in my experience - the people of Madisonville must be above average :-)
I was also honored to get some praise from a few of my fellow artists yesterday - one was amazed with my sense of design and loose brushwork (I was, in turn, amazed with his tight brushwork - but that's how it goes, I guess), another gave me his thoughts on which of my styles I should focus on in the future (a question I had posed to him), he suggested that happy medium in which most of my paintings tend to dwell: halfway between realism and the abstract. "Make sure your paintings have movement," he went on to say, pointing to my New Orleans Street Car painting, "like that one." That made me happy because that was a direction I was already headed.
Anyway, this was a great show for me; a good confirmation of the direction I am headed. If I can only get myself on a more consistent work schedule, week by week, but this is a problem that has plagued me for some time now. Thanks to all those who came out yesterday in support of the arts. I am grateful for you.
That's all for now. Please leave me a comment, especially if you were in Madisonville yesterday!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Chocolate Puppy 20x16" $250
Just another cute puppy painting. Everyone loves a cute puppy painting.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I keep returning to these simple, colorless web designs. I don't know what it is; it's just nice and clean. Anyway, let me know what you think - especially if you have an idea for improvement. I'll take it under advisement.
Also, my painting, "30 Minute Commute," is on the cover of Inside Northside magazine this month with a nice little article within. So that's something.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Madisonville Art Market - Saturday, November 8th
Located along the Madisonville riverfront. I'll be there!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
The Northshore Art Market went well last Saturday, I thought. The weather was cooperative, and I sold enough small paintings to cover the booth fee for this one and the next. Thanks to everyone of you who stopped by long enough to have my business card slapped into your hands! A few of you even made allusions to wanting a portrait made in the near future (bless you - email me a photo and I'll get started right away).
Anyway. I returned home only to find a construction zone where our utility room used to be - don't get me wrong, I was expecting this. In fact, I had helped in the demolition of the utility room floor the day before (major flooding during Hurricane Gustov made the renovations a must). And so, after a brief nap I went to work.
...Skipping, skipping, skipping - and three work days later - I found myself finally able to rest. And rest...
So, tomorrow is Thursday and I think I will, at last, be able to actually do something creative (it was only today that I found myself able to imagine life without these aches and pains once again, though it may take the rest of the week for that to become a reality). Much of today was spent making lists - paintings I need to paint, items I need to purchase, emails I need to send, work I [still] need to finish around the house - and there is nothing like a good long list to get a person motivated and going and doing.
Sometimes there is work to be done - sometimes lots of work. For anyone else out there facing a time of physical or emotional difficulty, remember to take some time to recover. Remember that it's okay to do nothing. To reorganize. To plan ahead before getting back to the grind. Stephen Covey calls it "Sharpening the Saw" [GTD].
All that to say, expect more content soon!
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Bogalusa became one big game of pine tree pick-up-sticks in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I took this reference photo on a foggy morning after returning home from our evacuation vacation. The photo didn't really show much of the destruction - unless you knew what our street looked like before the storm - but the eerie mix of fog and peach colored sky was the main reason I took the photo, and the reason I wanted to capture the scene on canvas. Although the actual painting is a bit darker and the sky a bit richer in color.
Returning Home, 30x40" $800
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Hello, all!
It has been a while since the last newsletter, and I thought now would be a good time for a 4th Quarter edition with which to wrap up the year. Besides, I had a few announcements to . . . announce. Here they are:
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Northshore Art Market - Saturday, October 11th
I took the summer off, basically, missing the last two Covington art markets. I should have many new paintings on display. So mark your calendars and swing by if you can and say hello!
Inside Northside Cover Artist Nov/Dec
I am excited to announce that I have been chosen as the cover artist of Inside Northside magazine's November/December edition. No joke. Pretty cool, huh?
Painting-A-Day Blog
I will be restarting my painting-a-day blog soon - probably next month [November], but definitely during the month of December, as I mentioned I would in the Inside Northside interview. This is where I will be uploading one new painting everyday to my blog [for sale, of course]. I will probably do this separately from my main blog, just to keep it simple - a link to it will be displayed prominently on my website, of course, at wessforeman.com.
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It has been a long, hot summer. The kind of summer that makes you forget how cold winter can get, even here in South Louisiana. So, it was amazing when, a few weeks ago, the weather changed overnight, introducing the chilly mornings and pleasant afternoons of autumn - a season long-forgotten in my mind but remembered immediately with the first crisp intake of morning air to my lungs.
So, here I am. Relishing this great weather we've been having. Returning to the outside easel more and more often to put paint to canvas. The family is fine; all fine, thanks for asking. The wife and I are watching our son grow up before our eyes - he's two years old and ready for potty training and playing with Thomas the Tank Engine and jumping from the sofa to the pile of pillows on the floor . . . and life is great.
I pray that this new season finds you well. That you too are experiencing the joy of the changing weather and maybe recalling a time when life was simple and easy and new.
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To get these newsletter updates sent automatically to your email inbox, just contact me and let me know.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
For the most part, my paintings are generally based on real life - well, to be more accurate, real life by way of a reference photo usually - but every now and then I'll dabble in completely abstract painting. This painting was inspired from a song I wrote and my brother Matt put to music. It was a bit of an abstract song in it's own right and listening to it the other day, I just felt the urge to paint this painting. Needing something more than just dripping paint, I wrote the lyrics with a china marker, then, not happy with the look of the lyrics, I partially obscured it with paint, leaving legible only the words, "something unsure." Thus the name of the piece.
Something Unsure 30x48" $1,200
Interested in the lyrics? Thought so. Here they are:
"all the time in the world"everyday a new day - beginning and ending
and we wash away the dust from our sad shoes
give thanks for our lives and hope for good weather
but all of our lives we're running in circles
we're walking on eggshells, and borrowing hours
we're taking turns, we're stepping on shoulders
we're dangerous and angry and guilty and sadly
fortunate son, you've got big shoes to carry you
as you try to get by, try to get an alibieveryday a new day - it's calling our names out loud
say we don't need this, but there's something missing
and you say, "we've got all of the time in the world,"
but hot on our heels, the creatures are closing insomething unique - something creative
something unsure - beginning to believe again
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I just wanted to make note of the fact that I will not be at the Madisonville Art Show tomorrow - sorry for this last-minute announcement [though, I'm not so sure anyone was planning to attend because of my presence]. Besides, I'm pretty sure the show will have to be rescheduled because of flooding - not sure.
Anyway, next art show I do plan on attending is the usual NorthShore Art Market in Covington, Saturday, October 11th. I already have many new paintings to show off; by that time, I may be showing all new artwork. So come ready to buy, Christmas is on it's way [hint, hint].
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Coffee & Beignets 24x36" $450
Coffee with Grocery List 25½x36" $400
Coffee with Spoon 20x20" $350
