orange peeled

orange peeled, 5x7", SOLD

This one took longer than anticipated, to the point where I considered raising the price of the piece [but did not]. The finished product, however, makes it all worthwhile in my book.

off the vine

off the vine, 8x10", $75

Update on 2012-05-23 18:51 by wessf

I repainted the background a couple of times, and this one turned out the best so I stopped messing with it and called it good. But I'm still not a hundred percent in love with the background as it stands---it's not a deal-breaker; the painting isn't about the background afterall. Someday I might cut this panel down to a smaller size, removing some on the top and a bit on the left. That would make it an odd size panel, but it might improve the overall piece, focusing the attention where it belongs, on the tomatoes. Until then, I'm all right with it.

boiled shrimp

boiled shrimp, 5x7", SOLD

waterlily in bloom

waterlily in bloom, 5x7", SOLD

birds on a wire

birds on a wire, 8x10", SOLDMost of my paintings are derived from photographs, at least initially. This makes it easy to return to old favorites when I have no idea what else to paint. So it was with this painting. This isn't cheating, but it does fly in the face of the idea of this painting-a-day project---just in the sense that this should be an excercise in trying out new things, new ideas, and specifically painting more from real-life [not that this was ever the goal---there really are no rules here].

All that to say, I like this little painting all right. It's pretty cool. Another painting tomorrow!

captive audience #14

captive audience #14, 11x14", SOLD

This is a series I return to from time to time. It has its fans as well as its confused on-lookers. Some can't seem to make heads or tails of these Captive Audience paintings---I've heard some call them bottles and some call them cupcakes---but they were just meant to be a grouping of faceless people, a crowd. I see them as a crowd anyway. I don't mind what you see in them. As always, click the image to see a larger version.

flag

american flag, 5x7", SOLDI've painted American flags in the past, but this is the smallest version(s). Actually I painted two paintings at the same time, in the same style and size. I didn't find it necessary to post pictures of both, they are visually close enough that one photo will suffice, I think. If you're interested in purchasing both, I'll give you a deal and call it $70 for both.

egret

egret, 7x5", SOLDThe painting itself is a bit "softer" and less grainy than the photo above turned out. I should really have a disclaimer that every photo is slightly different than the painting itself, even though I try hard to get the photos very close.

bluebird

bluebird, 7x5", SOLD

dragonfly

dragonfly, 7x5", SOLD

cotton fields, small

cotton fields, small, 5x7", SOLDThought I'd do a smaller version of this cotton fields painting. Another painting tomorrow.

seashell

seashell, 5x7", $40

gumballs

gumballs, 8x10", SOLD

creole tomato

creole tomato, 6x8", $40

waterlilies, painting process

Thought I'd post a few photos of my painting process here---not that this is the best example painting to use (it's a bit too simple, I think, to perplex very many people as to how it was done), but it might just simplify and demystify the process for anyone thinking of picking up a brush and painting their own piece of artwork. So feel free to pick up your own brush and paint along!

Step one, fill up the canvas with paint. I usually just go with colors similar to the reference photo I'm painting but it doesn't matter much at this stage. This is acrylic paint, by the way, which dries pretty quick.

Step two, position everything where they need to be. I try to stick to a large brush as long as possible---this keeps me from putting down every precious detail only to have them be in the wrong place in the painting. Position everything first---doesn't matter how messy and imperfect everything is.

Step three, when you can't stand it anymore, go ahead and switch to a medium size brush (though some of this looks like brushstrokes from my smallest as well). In this step I will work on foreground objects as well as background, alternating as needed, to refine the shapes of things. In some ways I like how the painting was at this stage better than the finished product---maybe I should have left it more abstract like this.... Maybe next time.

And in the final stage. Detail work---though again, this is not a great example since I decided to leave the strictest details out of it entirely---and, as you can see, final color correction and alteration (I wanted more blue in the final piece).

waterlilies, 8x10", $75

Contact me to purchase this painting (as always, click above picture for larger view). Come back often to see more of my arwork. I'll be posting a new painting every day this month! Follow me on twitter to keep up-to-date on the day to day (@wessf) and if you aren't on my email newsletter list and would like to be, just contact me and tell me to add you! Thanks for stopping by!

jockey

jockey, 7x5", $40

Hong Kong Vegetable Market

Street Vendors, 5x5", SOLD

dancer

dancer, 6x8", SOLDThis little painting was completed in three different sittings and probably took me around three hours all told. I tried not to overwork the piece [leaving plenty of raw brushstrokes to prove I was involved with its creation]. Last thing I added was the business in the background of the painting---lines that hint at equipment and the back corner of the room---and that otherwise insignificant addition helps ground the subject, the dancer, to her world and makes the scene more believable. Contact me if you're interested in purchasing this painting on canvas. See you tomorrow for another one.

housefronts

housefronts, 5x7", SOLD

n. o. street car #12

N. O. Streetcar #12, 5x7", SOLD

Happy weekend! This is one of my frequently re-painted images, mainly because it's one of the few strictly New Orleans scenes in my repertoire. This is painted on masonite board. Another painting tomorrow!