Masters Touch Products; 5" X 7" Canvas Panel Oil Painting

Hello All;
I hope everyone is doing well.  I realize everyone is getting antsy to venture from your homes and I can say I am no different.  Here in Illinois, it is 60 degrees today, but most things are closed.  So, I put in my Jimmy Buffet cd, open some windows and paint.  This is my newest oil painting I used Masters Touch products only.  The paint and the canvas panel was from Hobby Lobby before the close down.  I stocked up on panels and paint the day before they closed.  I will not replace my normal oil paints and primed hard board with Masters Touch products, but to be truthful, they are much nicer then I originally thought they would be.  The panels have a rigid backing and a nicely textured painting surface.  The oil paints go on well and the colors are vibrant.  The oil paints do have light fast ratings on the back of each tube that is pretty good as well.  My only real issue is the drying time.  Thicker applications dry much slower then artist grade oil paints.  Now don't get me wrong, they do not take weeks or months to get dry to the touch, but it is a bit longer then what I like.  I am averaging a full week to get touch dry and that is with using walnut alkyd medium from M Graham.  Even so, a week for oil paints is not that bad.  If your looking for a pretty decent student grade oil paint at a great price, by all means, try them out.  I think you will like them.  Have a Blessed day and hang in their my friends.

New Oil Painting; Cheap Oil Paints Review

Hello Everyone;
Since so many non essential stores are closing now, I still wanted to paint, but not use my really good paint not knowing when I could replenish.  My wife and I went to Hobby Lobby on Friday and I bought their ten 50 ml oil paint set.  Masters Touch paint was at 50% off so that set cost me $14.99.  This landscape and the following two posts were painted with these paints and they were painted on Masters Touch canvas panels as well.  I do not know the drying times as of yet since I did these paintings today, but this is not bad paint.  Actually, it is much better then I expected.  It mixed clean colors, it had a creamy consistency and the colors look bright.  I was able to use the same techniques I use with my more expensive artist quality oil paints.  Don't get me wrong, these paints can never replace artist quality paint, but for artists of all levels, there is a purpose for them.  For artists, it is a cheap way to try new techniques and pallet knife work without costing a lot of money.  For beginners, it is a nice paint to start with.  The pigment loads give good coverage and as I said before, mixing clean colors is not difficult as with other cheap brands of paint.  If you do decide to try these paints, (whenever stores open again)  be sure to use their 40% off coupon or wait until Masters Touch products are at 50% off.  It really becomes a great deal then.  One more nice thing about these paints is the tube size.  Normal artist quality paint comes in 37 ml tubes.  These are 50 ml so you get a lot more paint to play with.  Whenever you get a chance, go to your local Hobby Lobby and pick up a set.  They also sell them in individual tubes as well.  Have a Blessed day my friends.

Watercolor Painting; Bird On Aquabord

                                                                                Hello Everyone;
Today, I thought I would try something different with the aquabord I am working with.  I have done a couple of landscape paintings so I thought I would try a bird painting.  The colors do stand out well with this support.  My bird itself is by no means perfect, but it does stand out well.  The more I work with this aquabord, the more I like it.  The whole idea that my customers do not have to spend extra money on framing behind glass or framing at all appeals to me.  Another great advantage with the aquabord is the durability.  The masonite panel the clay adheres to is very solid.  Ampersand says these panels are archival as well.  I still have a ways to go before I am comfortable with this support, but on today's painting, I was able to layer without lifting the underlying colors.  On paper, that is not that difficult, on these panels, it gets a bit tricky.  I will continue to keep you posted on my progress with this support and share anything I learn.  In the mean time, have a great weekend.

Watercolor Painting; New Finished Painting

Hello Everyone;
I usually do not paint winter scenes since I really do hate the cold weather.  However, since it was 20 degrees as a high today, I figured, why fight it.  Painting in and of itself is a challenging endeavor, but painting a winter scene in watercolors has its own separate challenges.  Convincing snow is the main issue.  Since most watercolor purists use only the white of the paper for snow, it requires some really good planning.  The shadows will create the illusion of snow in that instance.  For me, I use a little bit different of a technique.  First of is the wet into wet sky with dark mayan blue.  This is a very deep blue that has a slight resemblance to paynes gray, but obviously much more blue in it.  To me, this looks a lot like winter blues you see in landscapes.  For some reason, when I paint this color onto the paper, I need to get a sweater, it just gets colder in the studio.  That is an atmospheric part of the equation.  Show the viewer a sense of cold.  The last part is easy,  I use white gouache.  Yes, that sounds like cheating, but I don't care.  It gives me the look and feel I want.  I have tried using the white of the paper and for some things I keep it that way, but for winter scenes, I much prefer the white paint.  I just feel it gives a much more realistic feel to being snowy.  The fact of the matter is, you are the artist.  Use whatever tools at your disposal you need to convey whatever it is you want.

Original Watercolor Paintings; How About A Couple Of Birds

Using photo reference

I have always loved birds.  Something about their colors and their confident posture makes them beautiful animals.  When painting birds, you can get really tight and realistic or very loose and borderline abstract.  Because of their colors and the way they seem to blend into each other, both techniques work.  Getting reference material to paint birds however, is much more difficult then you may think.  Really, how often do birds land near you while you have your camera ready to snap a picture in the perfect pose?  How about never.  Since I live in the western suburbs of Chicago, I am near Brookfield Zoo.  They have an indoor bird exhibit that helps with taking photos for reference.  The other way is to use others photographs and draw them free hand making

made up bird

sure not to copy the photograph exactly.  You can not use someone else material without their permission unless you give full credit to the owner of the material.  If someone takes a bird picture for instance and you draw gestural and make your own scene, you are probably ok.  Your painting can not look the same as your reference material.  There is also another way to accomplish a bird painting or any painting at all.  Make it up as you go.  Really, look at birds anatomy from books and online.  Once you have studied their body, draw free hand any shape that resembles a bird.  Use your own color schemes, your own proportions, your own everything.  You never have to worry about copyright violations and it will look artistic which is the actual goal anyway.  It takes some practice, but it is the best way, not just for birds, but for any animal out there.  Never be afraid of something looking silly.  Use each attempt as a lesson learned and pretty soon you have developed your own species that may be really cool to paint and for people to view.  You never really know until you give it a try.  The Cardinal was from reference materials, the other bird is, well some kind of bird I made up.  I don't know if this is close to some bird species or just my interpretation of a bird.  I know it was fun to paint and no one can say I copied anything.

Original Watercolor Painting; Sunlit Bluffs

How easy is it to imagine yourself right here?  A camper or tent, possibly a little log cabin, or maybe just an area you pass on a peaceful hike in natures beauty.  Landscape paintings have always called to me.  I realize that when a person paints a particular place, many others can do the same as well.  It is however, the landscape painting within your own soul that no one else can replicate.  I rarely paint landscapes of places I have been to or seen on the internet or television.  Yes, I may borrow a particular waterfall or mountain range peak to insert into a painting, but buy and large, my landscape paintings are made up.  I take the elements that draw me to landscapes to begin with and paint those.  If you look closely at this painting, you would probably get a sense of me as a person.  I love light, the peaceful melody of natures songs blowing in the wind.  I enjoy the relaxation of a quiet river flowing, and I truly enjoy the complete harmony that nature gives us. Yes, I am a 53 year old optimist.  Most things we see or hear are grim, full of no humanity and complete helplessness.  We get angry because we feel there is no hope.  I still believe.  I try to convey peace within my work.  I concentrate on the beauty of the world, not the ugly underbelly.  Paint the beauty my friends.

Watercolor Sketching; Ideas, Ideas and More Ideas

So, your a landscape artist, but your not really in the right frame of mind to do a finished studio painting.  Your mind is wandering with all sorts of ideas and it is making you a bit Van Gogh ish.  Fear not for I have the solution to your dilemma.  Instead of cutting your ear off, sketch a few of your ideas in your sketch book.  Regardless of how much experience we have as artists, paintings always look different painted on paper as they do in our minds.  Empty your brain by transferring your ideas from your brain to your sketch book.  Once your ideas are on paper, you can make subtle tweeks to get the composition where you want it.  Once that happens, use it as your reference for your studio piece.  Here is the best part.  Not only have you saved your ear from a bloody painful mess, but you also have additional reference material for future paintings.  Your sketch book is your idea place.  No one has to ever see it but yourself, unless you want to share it.  There is no right or wrong way to do it.  Use your sketch book to make your artist life better.  I keep  sketch book on my table as I paint a studio piece.  If I reach a point in the composition I am not sure of, I immediately do a sketch to see if my idea works.  Better to mess up a sketch book page then to ruin a studio piece you have already spent significant time on.  In art school, I to was reluctant to use a sketch book.  For some reason, I saw no value it it.  I was so wrong.  I wish sometime I could go back and talk to my younger self and explain how ridiculous that was.  Oh well, we can not go back.  We must keep moving forward and most importantly, learn from our mistakes.  Open your sketch book and get to work.  It really is a lot of fun.

Original Watercolor Painting; Saturday Afternoon Stroll

OK, I realize I live in the western suburbs of Chicago and have not moved somewhere warm yet.  Since winter is closing in, I thought I would try and warm everyone up a bit.  What do you think this is?  Maybe 80 degrees, a light breeze, maybe a Saturday afternoon getting ready to go and get some ice cream.  Yeah, that sounds good.  That is my story and I am sticking with it.  I mentioned in another post that when you add people into a landscape painting, it magically transforms from a peaceful landscape painting into a story.  Again, this can be 100 different stories to 100 different people.  I have always loved painting landscapes, I will continue to do so, but I am really starting to get into this story telling thing with a people element added.  It is fun to come up with stories about your own painting and it is even more fun to hear what stories others see.  We have too many gas stations, way too many pizza places, a Walgreen's or CVS on every corner and strip malls galore.  What we really need is an escape from stress.  We need an escape from stress that does not involve controlled substances or others, what we need are more story tellers.  We need more artists.  I bet there are millions of stories out there longing to be seen.  Make them seen.

Original Watercolor Painting; Lazy Day

What a great way to spend a Sunday morning.  With a day so beautiful, it almost doesn't matter if you catch a fish or not.  Is he listening to a radio?  Maybe he has an ipod.  Maybe he is just relaxing and listening to natures symphony. 
In the most basic of forms, art is a form of story telling.  Story telling that goes back to the cave man era.  As a matter of fact, art way back in very old times was in many cases, a form of communication.  Before there was a written language, there were small paintings strung together to tell other people what was happening.
I love story telling.  Since I was a kid, I have always loved to tell stories that interested me.  Point of fact, I tried telling stories in the more traditional manner, writing.  For some reason, I was never able to convey the story that was in my head onto the paper in a way that was interesting to the reader.  Enter painting.  I am now starting to understand that I can convey a short story in a painting as opposed to many pages.  What is even better, I can have a particular story in mind as I paint and the viewer can see another one.  Paintings are so subjective.  When people start to create their own stories from your paintings, that is when you have become an artist.  Tell your stories and see how much joy you can get.

Original Abstract Watercolor Painting

This is an original watercolor abstract landscape painting.  Watercolors really lends itself to creating some fun and very interesting paintings.  Landscapes are ideal for abstract painting in watercolors because nature itself does not have straight lines or perfect edges or perfectly focused elements depending on your vantage point.  This particular painting was done wet into wet.  Simply put, I wet the paper first, then added a wet brush with the colors needed.  When you use wet into wet, it can be difficult to control.  The paint travels wherever the paper is wet.  Word of caution, never try to control watercolors completely.  Part of their beauty is their unexpected runs, or blobs of paint or bleeding into each other.  Really, if you look at it, the unexpected travels of the colors does mirror real nature to a degree.  Point of fact, we really can not control nature completely anyway.  We simply allow it to do what it does and marvel in its beauty.  I would recommend painting smaller sizes if you want to experiment with wet into wet.  Maybe 8" X 10".  Smaller pieces are easier to control a bit and the blank page does not seem as daunting.  Give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Original Watercolor Painting

Here is a finished watercolor painting I completed on a piece of 140 lbs cold press watercolor paper.  I really tried to keep this composition very simple.  A bit of action in the sky and a bit of action in the water then everything else calm and peaceful.  In painting, and art in general, contrast is a very important part of making a finished work aesthetically pleasing or not.  Contrast, however, does not include a specific element.  Contrast comes in many forms.  Dark to light, rough to soft, busy to calm and more.  When you include contrast in your work, it gives the viewer something interesting to look at.  It breaks up the scene and helps to move the viewers eyes through the piece.  Once you get the hang of contrast, you will look for ways to utilize it all of the time.  Sometimes, you can even exaggerate the contrast and have a pleasing effect.  Contrast is one of many tools artists use to help create interesting and fulfilling art.  Try it in your own work.

Watercolor Sketching

Watercolor sketching is a wonderful way to not only get better at your art, but it is also a lot of fun.  When you are sketching, you do not have to concern yourself with how anything looks.  The colors do not need to be perfect, your composition does not need to be flawless.  Your sketchbook is your very own place to try new ideas, explore new color mixing combinations and play with things you would not try on a studio painting.
I keep my watercolor sketching supplies with me always.  I never leave my home without my watercolor travel set.  I found out a long time ago, you never know what you will see when you leave your home.  Even if you live in a busy urban area, you can see something you have never seen before and perhaps never again.  This is where watercolor sketching becomes invaluable.  Instead of taking a picture (which is perfectly fine if time is short) take a few extra minutes and use your watercolor travel set to paint what you see.  You do not need perfection, just the general mood of whatever has caught your eye.  As you begin to fill sketchbooks, you begin to realize the never ending supply of reference materials you have amassed.  Since you took the time to paint your reference material, too a degree, it is burned into your imagination.  When using your sketchbook material for a studio painting, you will automatically remember the day, the weather the general tone of everything around you at the time.  Those tiny details that you do not get from taking 2 seconds to snap a picture will become immensely valuable for your finished painting.  If you want to improve your art, try watercolor sketching.

My Artistic Beginnings

20 years ago I was born in a little log cabin in the woods.  Oops, wrong story.
Let me try again.  Fourteen years ago I was working at a job I hated, barely making enough money for my wife and I to survive in a small apartment. (sound familiar) So, my brother with a double degree from

The University of Iowa told me to go back to college so I can get a job I like. (Do they exist?) my parents got into the act then my wife.  It became a real pain in the a---.  I know they all meant well, but you see, I tried the college thing before.  I could never stick with it, pay for it or even get into it at all.  I was 32 years old and basically knew what I was doing was probably it.

So, my family did not relent.  I kept getting static on going to college to get my degree and join the ranks of many who get up in the morning and still go to a crummy job, the only difference is they paid money to go to school to get that crummy job.

One day I cracked, I told my family that if they would leave me alone forever about college, I would sign up for a class and see what happens.  (Oh my goodness, what happened)

I waited for the first day of classes at The College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL. before I registered for a class. Since I waited so long, I needed the instructors consent to go.  ( you see, I really did not want to go, clever huh) I left a message with the instructor for an advertising class.  You see, I had some sales experience and people always tell me I have an outgoing personality, so I figured ok I'll try this.

Unfortunately (I thought at the time) the instructor called me back.  I was elated to find out that I did not understand hardly anything this man was saying.  His harsh Chinese accent had me baffled. To tell you the truth I was elated.  All the way to the first day of class I was thinking, perfect, an instructor I can not understand in a school I did not want to go to.  I will flunk out within a month and go back home and spend my evenings after work like they were meant to be spent, with a beer bitching about this crummy world that I can do nothing about.

First day, actually evening at class I take a seat in the back row, no supplies bought since I waited so long to register, a look of why am I hear on my face and a profound distaste for me being there.  I will NEVER EVER FORGIVE THAT MAN.  David Chu is his name.  You see, I did not realize you needed drawing skills for advertising.  The course book left that out.  I could not even make stick figures.  So over the next few classes, my short comings  as a drawer came out, which led to the weirdest thing that ever happened to me. I found out, this instructor actually cared about his students learning.  Yes, I know many teachers do, also many do not.  He would sit next to me and literally take me by the hand to show me how to make the proper marks, the proper way to hold the pencil, everything.  I mean he really cared, plus, his accent seemed to change.  No lie, after two weeks I thought I was Chinese.  I understood every word from his mouth.  Because of him, I finished that class.  He gave me a B for the class.  (I was a trouble maker in high school, barely graduated) He told me on the last day, my work was below average, but my effort was off the charts. He recommended I take drawing classes in the Fine Art department.

The next semester I took two classes and registered on the first available day. David Chu and The College of DuPage changed my entire outlook and then focus.

I ended up taking many more classes there.  I loved the drawing so much I went into painting.  A few years later, I found a retired artist who took me under her wing and gave me private instruction.

That is the story of my formal art education.  The day I decided to try and be a professional artist was about fifteen years ago.  I was finished with what I thought was a very bad oil painting.  I looked at the final product for a month before I was disgusted and decided to toss it in the garbage.  I was also thinking that where I was skill level was it for me.  Laura (my patient wife) came home and asked where the painting was.  I told her I threw it out, she got pissed and went to go get it.  It wasn't in the trash area of our apartment for five minutes before someone took it. WHAT !!!!

The next week I signed up for Home Town Art Gallery.  They are not around anymore (too bad, I really liked them) 1 month later I sold my first painting.  A woman in Santa Rosa, CA. bought it to hang up in the living room of the new house she just purchased.

I have sold 80 paintings since that first one.  I still work at a job I do not like, making less then I want to, but now it is different.  My wife and I now have a house instead of an apartment, and even in a recession, I see the chance of the life I envision as a full time artist. 20 years ago I had no vision of any kind, hell I haven;t had a beer in a decade.  Even though things are still a struggle, things are looking up.