Monday, December 31, 2012

Up and Coming in 2013

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

For those interested (which, by virtue of the fact that you are reading this page, I assume you are interested), Ryan Delgado Art on Facebook launches at midnight, with a new preview of a painting I started a while back, but never finished.  So I suppose one of my first 2013 resolutions is to finish it.  Here is a close-up detail of it, and there will be another preview on the facebook page.


I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.. I was very happy to get a couple of new books.  I have a third book on Velázquez now to add to my stack of Velázquez books to read.  This one is Jonathan Brown's Velázquez: Painter and Courtier.  Brown is considered the leading expert on Velázquez.  And even though he contends that the so-called "Portrait of a Man" at the Metropolitan Museum in New York is not a self-portrait, I still have respect for Brown.  I just think he's wrong about it.  I mean, come on look at it:


It's probably another topic for another blog, but trust me, it's a selfy.

Anyway, the book looks great.  Can't wait to get into it, but I just started on the other book that I got - Harold Speed's The Practice and Science of Drawing.  And simply based on the first couple of lines of the preface, I'm anticipating I will love this one.

Permit me in the first place to anticipate the disappointment of any student who opens this book with the idea of finding "wrinkles" on how to draw faces, trees, clouds, or what not, short cuts to excellence in drawing, or any of the tricks so popular with the drawing masters of our grandmothers and still dearly love by a large number of people.  No good can come of such methods, for there are no shortcuts to excellence.
 
It doesn't say who wrote the preface, although I assume it was Harold Speed.  Anyway, what a great line!  It definitely speaks to this generation that is incessantly looking for shortcuts to everything while also having high expectations to excel in its endeavors.  Indeed, shortcuts and excellence never mix.

So, hopefully what is to come for RD Art in the coming year is continued pursuit of excellence.  Before we know it, the Blue Springs Art Show will be right around the corner, so I am hoping to have some good work to show there again this year.  Stay tuned!

 

 

 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Who "likes" art?

Well, then you'll love Ryan Delgado Art on Facebook... as soon as you "Like" it. 
New paintings...
New blog posts...
New videos...
New art shows...
Coming in the new year...

Ryan Delgado Art on Facebook, coming January 2013.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Underpainting video

This is a quick, condensed video of my latest portrait underpainting... because I haven't done one of those for a while.  This was about 50 minutes in real time.  I may do a video of the rest of the process as well.  We shall see.  Hope you enjoy!





 

Friday, December 7, 2012

Good news everyone...

...I actually do remember how to paint.  And I suppose it goes without saying that I am still alive.  So here's my first underpainting in months.  And hopefully in another few months, it will become a finished painting.