Returning Home #2 - process

This is a large painting - a bit over five feet tall. I was commissioned to paint it based on the painting Returning Home. It was a fun painting despite a lot of ancillary problems that came up during the painting process (several days of foul weather, an artshow, and an evil bout of lower back pain from which I am just now recovering). The slideshow, of course, shows some of the painting process. The photos are in order, but as you may notice, the painting took a circuitous route to completion as I experimented with different techniques, especially in the sky and trees. Click the slideshow to get a larger view of the finished painting.

Oranges and Jellybeans

This is just a quick little sketch of some oranges and jellybeans that were lying around on the kitchen countertop. I had an urge to sketch something and this was the first thing I spotted.

White Lillies #1

White Lillies #1 - 30x40" $600

Started and finished this painting in one sitting . . . er, standing. Inspiration came from a neighbor's yellow day lillies - they seemed so happy, like they were all giddy and chatting freely amongst themselves [perhaps it was the fact that Spring is in the air, perhaps they especially enjoyed and still celebrated May Day, who knows]. Painting from memory, I began by painting the flowers quickly in white on a green background. The reason for this is that yellow shines much brighter if painted over a white foundation (yellow is just not as opaque as other colors). After that, I painted the flowers yellow, but I had already gotten used to the idea of white flowers, so I painted them white once more (boring story, I know). I added some charcoal, smeared and smudged it here and there, added other colors for interest, and that's it. I called it good enough. The end.

Happy May Day.

May Day-ish update

The weather has been tremendous this past few weeks. I have been out there much of the time, experimenting with paint, keeping my two-year-old out of trouble, and painting some more. It's been a strange week in regards to my painting - I've been going at it full-tilt and most of it has been totally different than anything I've painted before. So now I'm left surveying all that I've been busy at, wondering: is this good? do I like this? will other people like this? I suppose the answer is yes, but only time will tell.

The next NorthShore Art Market will be Saturday, May 9th - starts at 10am, goes until 4:30pm. I will be there with a booth full of new paintings. And like last time, I will be painting throughout the day. Should be fun. This is the last of the Spring markets - starting up again in September. More details at northshoreartmarket.com.

Two Paintings

These are two of the paintings I did while at the NorthShore Art Market. This first one I'm just calling "Rainy Streetlights" (22x28" - $275, click image for larger view) because I'm not that creative at naming paintings. I did the majority of it at the Art Market and finished it the next day at home. I struggled with getting the balance of the thing just right and though it still doesn't make my favorite-paintings list (if I had such a list), I did manage to get it to a point that I can call completed, and I'm generally happy with many aspects of the finished product.

The second painting, I'm calling "Dragonflies on Red"(11x28" - $175, click image for larger view) for the same lame reason I gave for the first. It would definitely fall under the heading of decorative painting. That is to say, there are no subtle points to explore, no greater themes or techniques at play here; it's just what it is: a fiery red background with three images of dragonflies superimposed on it. It's just: "look at these interesting shapes paired with these pretty colors" - blam. Nothing wrong with it. It's still art. It's just different, that's all; in some ways, easier.

I guess I'm to the point of rambling now, so I'll stop. I've finally recovered from the last art show and I'm just beginning some new paintings to have for the next Northshore Art Market (May 9th). I'll post them as I finish them.

A Few Pet Photo Tips

A few tips on taking dog or cat photos (works for kids too, go figure), as well as a shameless plug at the end:

1) best to get the camera down to their level or bring the "animals" up to the camera level, with the help of a platform of some kind (chair or table . . .). The reason: shooting on the same level as the subject is more natural looking (much more natural than that "deer-in-the-headlights", top-down angle that we've all shot from from time to time because we were just too lazy to move).

2) best to "fill the frame" with the subject matter - this one is true as a general photography tip. If you take in an entire yard, for instance, wanting to simply capture a shot of your precious pet, he or she gets lost in the background. Better to zoom in, or move in, to a point where most of the picture frame consists of Fido's smiling profile.

3) best to avoid using the on-camera flash if possible - move the "animal" outside or near a big window if it's too dark inside. The on-camera flash looks unnatural, creates a halo-like shadow around the subject, promotes red-eye, and tends to blast away details in the face. (interesting side note: if shooting in direct sunlight, it's usually better to use a flash as it will help fill in any shadows created by the top-down sunlight - though some point-and-shoot cameras might not fire the flash in that situation)

4) Try to catch your pet off-guard. Usually when a dog sees the camera come out, he drops his head and ears as if to be friendly/submissive toward the camera - this might not be the best pose for your loved one. Always pay attention to how the subject looks (sounds obvious, but you never know)

5) take plenty of photos to choose from (doesn't hurt, especially with a digital camera), plus the more photos you take the more familiar and natural your pet becomes toward the camera.

6) coincidentally, I paint portraits from photos (amazing coincidence, no?), and I highly recommend commissioning one today! If you plan to do so, I can always use an extra photo or two to give me a better idea of what they look like from different angles.

Pet Pricing:
14×11″ - $200
24×18″ - $350
30×24″ - $500
40×30″ - $1000
(same price for two pets :-)

Examples and Portrait Pricing and more info available here: http://wessforeman.com/pricing

Hope at least part of this was helpful! (and Happy Easter!)

I'm one sun-ripened tomato. Turns out that painting outdoors all day in direct sunlight without sunblock turns the skin a bright red, especially the arm holding the paint brush. But I'm not complaining - it was a great day yesterday at the Northshore Art Market.

I enjoyed meeting lots of new people and recalling familiar faces - great fun was had by all. I didn't have time to take any more photos, maybe next time, but here's one of my modest booth. I opted against putting up my canopy, and you'll note the easel on the left, this is where I was for most of the day, painting four paintings in all.

The first painting was sold before it was completed - it's an abstract painting of the street lights, pictured below. Several other paintings sold yesterday as well, and several new contacts made, all adding to a very successful art market for me. Sincere thanks to all who came out and to all who wished me well. Next Northshore Art Market is the second Saturday of May - I'll be there painting once again (with plenty of sunblock this time).

click for larger view

Deep Greens

Deep Green #1 - 16x20" $300

Deep Green #2 - 18x41" $500

I like the simplicity of these two paintings. I have decided to make a few more versions, varying the color palette . . . blues, greens, and yellows, probably.

Slant of Sunlight

As an artist, I sometimes hit upon an idea that catches in the brain. It turns into something of a compulsion: to capture that idea, to expand upon it, and to alter it [finding the edges, the breaking points]. A series of paintings along a central theme. Sometimes obvious, sometimes hard to put into words. This happened a couple years ago when I explored my civilization series - primitive landscapes painted in primary colors with brush and pallete knife. I stayed with that theme for about a year before moving on to other ideas.

I had one such idea catch hold yesterday, completing painting after painting, as if possessed of some artistic apparition. Hardly a theme as these seven paintings basically depicted the same scene with the same basic design elements - an unmowed corner of the field behind my house - but all created from that same compulsion in my artist-brain. I did not stop to judge the paintings too harshly - sure, as an artist this is all I do, judging the various aspects of design, judging the likeness of the painting, judging whether the painting is working or not - but I simply [ultimately] judged whether I liked them or not . . . a simple litmus test . . . yes/no, true/false, good/bad. Passing that test, I moved on to the next painting. And so on.

I am a fairly quick painter on the whole - I don't bother with the details if none are called for [I've perhaps left a few paintings a little short of their potential as a result, in fact] - but seven paintings in one day?! Well, they are simple paintings, and they are basically the same painting - flowers at the edge of a field set against the dark beginnings of a tree line, painted with a certain level of whimsy in their positioning and their bright colors - really, the same painting. This makes it impossible to give them unique names, so I present "Slant of Sunlight" numbers 1 through 5 [the other two are similar, of course] . . .

Slant of Sunlight #1, 24x36", framed - $500 (click for larger version)

Slant of Sunlight #2, 18x24", framed - $350

below:

...#2 & #3 - 11x14", framed - $200

...#4, 9.5x14.5", framed - $200

New Irises

New Irises 14x11", framed $200

Lighthouse

Madisonville Lighthouse 8x10", framed $100

Thanks to Brent Brown (gbbrownphotography.com) for the reference photo!

Welcome to the New Website!

Anyone looking to put up a new website, I highly recommend squarespace. This is the web platform I am using for the new site. It makes it a breeze to get up and running quickly and a lot easier to make changes to the templates, in my opinion - not to mention, being easier in the longterm to maintain the site going forward.

I'm pretty happy with the new design - would love to hear what you think. Please comment below. Thanks!

With the onset of Spring, I have been thawing out. stepping outside more frequently. painting a little more. and have become something of a confident artist once more [happens every year around this time]. I'll use this post to show off a few of my latest pieces.

These two are: Balloons 12x12" SOLD, and Egret 10x8" SOLD(charcoal pencil)

And of course, pictured above is a New Orleans Streetcar painting (the second one I've painted from the same reference photo - interestingly, this one has garnered a distinctly different perspective than the last . . . the cars are coming a little more head-on than in the first). It's 24x48" SOLD.

To the left, Field of Sunflowers 8x10" SOLD.

Update

on 2009-03-18 16:56 by wessf

Art market went well last Saturday, just to let you know. It rained a little, here and there, but relented for most of the day. And more people than I expected showed up. Also I got to pet a giant cockroach and let a millipede crawl on my hand (the New Orleans Audobon Mobile Bug-mobile was there).

Update

on 2009-03-18 22:29 by wessf

Got a request for a larger version of this one . . . here's a cropped detail . . . I could get up from my chair and go out to the garage/studio and take another, clearer photo of it, but I'm not going to do that. Here's a slightly fuzzy, but larger version. Enjoy!

Shrimp on Newspaper

Shrimp on Newspaper | 8x10" $100, framed

Update on 2009-03-20 15:07 by wessf

This one is sold, but I plan to paint more like it in the future.

charcoal pencil sketch

I suppose it could be called a sketch, but I think of a sketch as a less-finished, loose interpretation - this one is a little more substantial. Let's call it a drawing.

Anyway, this was drawn from a photo of a childhood home. The photo had great potential for a drawing because of it's nice lines and shadows, and no bright colors to get in the way of seeing those lines [if that makes sense].

Although not the best pencil artist, I think I did alright with this one. I was pleasantly surprised with how fast the drawing came together - after a light sketch, I basically started at the upper left corner and slowly made my way down and to the right until I reached the bottom right corner where I signed it. I can definitely see where I could improve upon my techniques [and my patience], but this was probably the best I could do at the level I am now. Now hopefully I will make time to practice and improve. Look for more drawing/sketching in the near future!

Feb Northshore Art Market

Here's the story of how it went:

Before the Art Market started, things were looking bleak - this photo was taken just as the rain was starting to clear out.

Once the market started, however, the rain was gone, never to return that day. Turned out to be a great day for all. The End.

Getting Ready for Art Market

The Northshore Art Market is coming up this Saturday (Feb. 14th). It will also be Valentine's Day, by the way [even though none of you took the time to remind me all these years, I'm doin' you a solid, as the kids say - oh, and paintings are the perfect Valentine's gift, pass it on]

passive-aggressive subliminal message complete - more later

painting outside

art show cancelled

Tomorrow's Northshore Art Market in Covington has been cancelled due to the probability of lousy weather. Well, this will give me more time to prepare for the next show - it's on February 14th. Be there or be square. I'll try to post some new artwork soon: some '2009' artwork to be exact.

back of the head

I might have to get back into charcoal drawing - haven't messed with charcoal in many years - this was a fun drawing to complete. Not complicated or anything (and nothing amazing in the resulting drawing either, for that matter), but it was an enjoyable experience.