Chasm

Last night I had some free time for what seems like the first time this semester, and i felt like painting.  I had a couple pictures I wanted to paint, but I was drawn to this one because of the colors and the sharpeness of the rocks and such.  Overall it turned out to be a really fun painting, one of my favorites.  I got this photo from Daniel Edmondson's landscape workshop.  I know a lot of my paintings are from these, but they are such great photos.  My next photo is going to be one that my sister took at Mt. Ranier this summer, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Here's the original photo:

 

Here's my effort:

8x10

Oil on Panel

I like red rocks better...sue me.  Actually, don't.

Fall Work

This fall semester of school has been tremendously busy.  Going to school full-time, working two jobs, and playing lacrosse is definitely a lot to juggle.  It is little surprise that I've found very little time to paint to my dismay.  On top of that, my current residence doesn't have internet, so updating my blog has largely been forgotten.  I can't wait for winter break so I can once again enjoy painting like I did all summer!  Now onto the fun stuff:

This is the last still life painting in the class I've been taking from Daniel Edmondson.  I've really learned a lot and my painting has improved greatly.  Dan is a great teacher and keeps the whole process fun. He also sends video critiques of your paintings when you're done which are very useful.  So here is "Peach and Blossoms"

Next is "Hidden Waterfall"

 

 

Both of these were really fun to paint.  Looking forward to some more paintings in the near future!

Asian Vase

This still life I tried a few different techniques and such involving paint thickness, some of which I liked, some that I didn't.  So here is my latest still life.

For Sale

The following paintings are for sale for the listed price.  Contact me at Kevman06@hotmail.com with any questions.

 

Spring Apples

Oil on Panel

9x12

$80

Purple Pansies in a Vase

Oil on Panel

8x10
$70

Watermelon, Vase, and Plums
Oil on Panel
9x12
$60

To the Coast!

Tomorrow I leave for the San Juan Islands with my family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  I can't wait to go back to the place of my childhood and see the gorgeous state we call Washington.  It'll be a fun family vacation with lots of activities.  I'm planning to do a painting or two while there, but I am for sure going to be taking a lot of pictures so I'll have lots of material to paint.  So over the next month or two, look forward to a lot of Washington inspired art.  I personally can't wait.  So to get me in the mood for the ocean, here's a painting I did in this last winter entirely with a palette knife.  I absolutely love the red boat and could probably look at it for hours.  

 

Oil on Canvas Board

16x20

As a side note, I've added Paypal buttons for anyone interested in purchasing artwork.  Prices are listed below selected paintings.  Email me with any questions (kevman06@hotmail.com).

Spring Apples

This was a really fun painting for me.  I liked it enough that I finished it once, looked at it, and then decided to scrape it off and do it again.  Thank goodness I did, because the second one is so much better.  The blossoms were really interesting to paint because there were so many of them and they were so bright.  I tried to have a pretty free approach to painting them, and for the most part I like how they turned out.  Overall I really like how this one all came together.  This is definitely one of my new favorites, but like every other painting, I'll have to see if I feel like this tomorrow.  Most likely I'll find all the flaws in it and want to paint something better.  My mentality is both a curse and a blessing.  I'm always pushing myself to produce better paintings, but its also sometimes discouraging because I expect more or thought I could have done better.  But either way its still a lot of fun.  So here's the painting I call "Spring Apples"

Oil on Panel

9x12

$80

....as compared to my first effort...

Oil on Panel

No longer in existence

Brown Vase and Flowers

Here is my latest painting.  I decided to do a larger painting then I have been in the past (this one is 16x20) and I liked the grandeur that size adds to a painting so I'll be probably doing a few more larger paintings in the near future.  Overall I like but don't love this one.  It has some nice features and I love the background, but I'm still struggling with flowers and leaves so this one was definitely a learning exercise in both of those.  Since I've moved back to Provo and have been busier in the work and social aspects of life, its been hard to get in the same rhythm as I had before.  It seems like I'm not improving as rapidly as earlier.  I believe a lot of this is because I haven't been painting just about everyday.  So to try and get in a better routine, I'm going to try and do at least part of a painting five out of seven days a week.  Many of them will be small studies, but I hope that it helps me stay in a rhythm, though I'm not looking forward to using that much paint.  If there's one thing I hate about painting, its how expensive everything is, but nevertheless I love it too much to stop.  Here's the latest:

 

Oil on Panel

16x20

Pear Martini Still Life

Well this was my week five painting for the workshop I'm doing.  I like how the pear turned out and to a lesser extent how the grapes turned out.  The martini glass however really bugs me.  I messed up with some proportions, its drawing, and its too frosty so stands out too much.  Because of this there is a pretty good chance I'm going to do a redo of it in the next week or so.  For now here's a picture of it as it is:

oil on panel

 

American Fork Canyon

Yesterday I left Provo to drive up American Fork Canyon in search of a scenic venue.  Though American Fork Canyon pretty crowded, I found a few good locations.  Painting outdoors is such a different feeling then painting in a studio (my room).  The scents, the sounds, and the people are all distracting, but by far the most difficult aspect was the sunlight.  If you can't find a nice shady spot, its really hard to mix colors properly, and even in the shade its difficult.  I learned a lot about painting outdoors from my two attempts.  First is that color mixing is really really really important.  Getting the correct colors is the most important thing when painting landscapes.  Second is you have to have loose, but planned brushstrokes.  You don't have time to dabble around on the same little area for a while, this means your brushstrokes have to be right the first time.  The final big lesson I learned is that when doing a landscape, so much of it is implied through color and brushstrokes, so its important not to try and paint every detail you see.  Regardless if you're subject is a tree or an entire mountain, the amount of detail included in the overall painting shouldn't change much.  keeping it simple yet well crafted is one of the difficult aspects of painting, especially in landscapes.  One of my favorite painters, Maynard Dixon, was very good at that (scroll about halfway down and look at "Snow Patch", one of my favorites).  So now here's a few pictures I took while on my adventure.  I'm still debating whether or not to post the paintings from it though.  So while I go lather up with aloe vera, enjoy some beautiful mountain scenery.  

Beautiful mountain meadow

Is there a better place to paint then by a roaring river?

This may be a future subject for a larger studio painting

 

On the Docket

I've been looking forward to this Saturday.  Things worked out so I didn't have work or any other obligations for the day,  That means I have plenty of time for painting.  I'm  going to take a trip somewhere close by to do my first plein air painting.  I love the look and feel of plein air, and painting outdoors just seems so fun.  Check out this blog for some fabulous plein air paintings by Laurel Daniel, someday I hope mine turn out that well.  Time will tell.  So that just about all I really have to say for now, so off I go!

Interpretation, Frustration, and Time

I sat down today and tried to paint, but quickly realized I wasn't in the right mood or mindset to paint.  It really takes a special mood and mindset to sit down and paint a quality piece (quality of course is relative regarding me).  Painting really is a very personal activity.  When I get in the proper mood to paint its almost to the point of being fanatical about it.  I usually can't focus on anything else and I see things different.  I'm constantly looking at my surroundings and imagining them as brushstrokes and colors.  That's really all a great painting is.  Its a relationship of the right colors in the right places with the right brushstrokes.  So simple yet so frustrating sometimes.  However the right place and the right color is what you want it to be.  Painting is about interpreting not copying, and its hard to do effectively.  Its one of the areas I'm trying to work on most.  I see so many beautiful things everyday, like that yellow vase from work or that cloud during a sunset, but interpreting those onto a canvas in a compelling way is difficult, and not just because of the subjects complexity.  

Sometimes painting is discouraging, like tonight.  Some days I feel like my art is at a level so far below hundreds of other great artists that it seems like I'll never get to a higher level because there will always be something better then mine.  Days like this are tough, but I know that tomorrow can be completely different.  In regards to comparing your art to others, I found a great quote while reading another blog that says, "It’s important to know who you are. There is no competition if you are not copying someone else." (Cash Art Blog).

And the final random musing for today is that so far, scheduling time to paint hasn't worked out.  Even if you arrange your schedule so you'll have some free time to paint doesn't mean you'll feel like painting at that time.  Its frustrating when that happens, just like its frustrating when you want nothing more then to paint, but you can't because you have to do something else.  Its like ignoring an itch, almost drives you mad.

Well that's all for today, hopefully in these next few days I'll get to use the canvas I've prepped for some plein air painting.  Really looking forward to painting a raw, live scene.  Thanks for reading, please leave some comments if you want, and please share this blog with your friends.  I promise it will get better...hopefully!

Purple Pansies in a China Vase Oil Painting

This is my most recent oil painting and possibly my favorite.  It seems like each new painting is my favorite, and I'm glad its that way because it means I'm improving with each one.  Being young in painting its a journey of discovery every time I pick up a brush.  The photo was supplied by Daniel Edmondson's online workshop for his week four class.  I really like the texture of the flower stems, it even comes through in the photograph, though the photographs never seem to do paintings complete justice.  Hope you enjoy it though.

 Oil on 3/4 Panel

8x10

Watermelon, Plums, and a Black Vase Oil Painting

This was the week three painting from the online course I'm doing.  The focus was to work on keeping clean, vibrant colors.  I also had a personal goal to really work on the black vase in the back.  It fades into the background and so I wanted to get it a subtle but definite and finished look, and I feel like I got that relationship pretty well with it.  I love the little red reflective light spot on the right side of the vase.  This is one of my favorite paintings and was one of the most fun so far to paint.  Every new lesson is so exciting because I learn and improve so much with every one.  

  

Oil on Panel

9x12

Pear and Grapes Oil Painting

This oil painting was done a few weeks ago from a photo provided in week two of Daniel Edmondson's online workshop.  I tried to get a tighter look for this painting to see if that was a style I liked.  Turns out I prefer a more loose approach, but I still really enjoyed painting the pear and grapes.  My personal favorite part of the painting is the purple grapes to the right of the pear.  I struggled with them being to purple for a while, and then it hit me that the core of the grapes was actually red.  So I put a little red in the darker areas and like that they were perfect.  Pears are fun to paint because they can be such a range of colors from green to red and brown to yellow.  Its really up to the artist to determine which colors they want in it.  So enough rambling, here's the picture:

 

Oil on Panel

8x10

The Peak

This is a painting I did about six months ago.  It was at the time my favorite and most complete painting I had done.  Its still my favorite landscape painting I've done, though I haven't tried any recently.  In the near future keep an eye out for a new landscape.  I've been wanting to do one for a while, so hopefully I'll have the time to do a plein air (which means painting in the open air) painting of Mount Timpanogos or something like that.

Oils on Canvas Panel

14x18