coffee and beignets
Coffee and Beignets #2
20x20", $250
creativity by wess
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Generally, when I can finish a painting in two sessions it means it's a good painting. This one was painted on masonite. It took two sessions. One rough-in with my large brush and the other with my detail brush. I kept it simple and tried not to overwork it. Turned out nice, if I do say so my-own-self. I'll probably make this available as a print as well.
Egret Landing,
8x10", $75
Posted on by Wess Foreman
A cup of coffee. There isn't much to say about this painting. I finished it in two sittings. The first, laying it out; the second, cleaning it up and adding interest. I like coffee.
Coffee of the Day,
8x10", $50
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Coming up with titles for paintings can be frustrating sometimes. At some point I start to default to generic names like "abstract landscape #4" or "dog with bone" or "a pretty good painting of an apple" . . . sometimes I'm able to resist this urge but sometimes I give in. This painting had me bouncing back and forth between obscure poetic nonsense and bland though descriptive simplification. I opted for the poetic route, though I think it isn't so obscure as to have no connection with the subject matter (there's even a bit of irony in the name: the subject matter is a clear day but the rendering of it would certainly not be described as "clear").
On a Clear Day in July,
24x36", $400
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I've been enjoying a bit of painting these last few days after a couple of weeks off. I expect to have many new paintings by the time my next art market comes around (New Orleans Art Market in Palmer Park, July 27th, 10am-4pm). So, that's exciting. Nothing else to say about this painting. It's an alligator. I added a bit of charcoal pencil at the end for added texture & interest. More to come.
Alligator,
22x40", SOLD
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Had a few days painting outside with watercolors last week--this was one of the more successful ones. Watercolor isn't my strong suit but it is fun to splash colors around.
May Flowers
watercolor, 15x11", $150
Posted on by Wess Foreman
I'm happy with this painting. It came together quickly for me, as many good paintings do. It was painted from a reference photo of our cat, Slater, who has more of a gray color than this and wasn't actually tangled up in yarn in the photo---that was added to balance out the fact that I started painting the cat too high on the canvas, leaving too much of an open area below. The addition of the yarn ball, as it turns out, is what makes the painting work, in fact. Otherwise, though I didn't do a bad job with the face and the eyes of the cat, the painting would have been boring to look at. As it is, it isn't boring. So, I conclude, it's a success! (I might need to make prints available for this one)
later in Yarn,
18x24", SOLD
Posted on by Wess Foreman
My studio space is not very large. On pleasant days I try to work out-of-doors, but more often than not I return to this little room of mine. (at least I finally got daylight-balanced fluorescent bulbs)
Pictured above is my studio space. By my estimation, it's a seven foot by thirteen foot room with a ceiling I can barely touch with my fingertips if and when I try to do so (though I've never, to my recollection, needed to do so).
I don't care for these dusty blue curtains, though I do enjoy all the sunlight the windows let in---it's a corner room that was once a sun-room, so I have windows all along two of the walls. I recently set up my homemade H-frame easel in the middle of the room facing one wall of windows. I keep a little laptop running solely for reference photos on a little stand I made out of a tee-ball stand and a square of plywood with a hole drilled in it---works like a charm. The desk on the left is homemade as well. So is the standing-up computer desk against the far wall next to the door.
My studio space probably looks a bit messy to the untrained eye, but I've seen it at it's worst and what's pictured here is sublime in comparison. And yes, paint gets on the carpet from time to time but I don't care about that. The carpet will be replaced one day.
As you can see I keep my paint in a plastic pallet with a blue plastic top---this keeps the acrylic paint from drying out when not in use---and I use a spray bottle to keep the paint wet during extended painting sessions. I use four brushes, generally. A large utility brush for covering large paintings quickly. A one inch flat brush which ends up doing most of the work. A half inch brush for smaller work. And a liner brush for lines and details and signing the finished painting.
I guess that's about all I can think to say on the subject---paintings in progress or paintings that will be painted over, as well as new canvases, all lean against one wall or another and I move them and resort them as the need arises. Pictured on both monitors is the reference photo for the bulldog I painted not long ago. And the blue mat in front of the standing desk is where I spend too much of my average day. More to come.
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Originally painted a couple years ago, this colorful painting has been hiding away in my garage awaiting a stretcher-bar replacement procedure as its old stretcher bars were somewhat warped. I've finally re-stretched and touched up the piece and now it's ready to present once again. One of my favorites.
Captive Audience #15
24x40", $650
Posted on by Wess Foreman
It's been a month since my last post. Huh. So it goes.
Here's a painting I did of a bulldog.
Bulldog Contemplation
20x20", $250
Posted on by Wess Foreman
Here are three paintings that weren't quite working for me. Instead of painting over them completely, I reworked them. I'm happy with them now and happy to share them [again, for the first time] here with you.
Captive Audience #17 (no. 1031)
20x20", $300
aptive Audience #9
20x20", $300
Captive Audience #18
20x20", $300