Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Figure on Linen

I just did a figure sketch on linen canvas for the first time today.  My thoughts:  It's okay.  As long as I can keep getting linen canvases cheap, I'll go with them.  But by no means will I use them exclusively.  Honestly the surface and ground don't matter, but how you manipulate paint on those grounds does.  Linen is nice though, and hopefully I can pull off some good paintings with it.  Here's the figure sketch I just did:

Figure sketch
oil on linen
24x18 inches
2013
These particular canvases are primed for acrylic, so I had to prepare them once more for oil.  I simply did that by working a very thin coat of raw umber heavily diluted with linseed oil into the canvas.  I had to work it in pretty firmly since the clear gesso already on the canvas pretty much rejected the oil.  The reason I did it this way was because the natural color of the linen is a really nice gray color, and I wanted to use that to my advantage.  So with the thin, liquidy coat of raw umber, some of that gray was able to show through.  Really this first linen canvas was to experiment and see what it's like.  Good thing I got these suckers cheap.  MSRP = $50, and I got them for $12.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

UCM Exhibition 2013

Here is my next exhibition.  No juries or awards here, just straight up showing off work (although if anyone out there would like to purchase some work, especially mine, that is strongly encouraged).  This is the 2013 Summit Art Summer Exhibition at University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, and I will have 3 paintings showing this year. 
The reception is on Saturday, July 13 from 1-3pm.  I'm not sure if I will be able to make it to the reception or not.  I am leaving for Chicago that weekend, and I'm not sure if I'm leaving on that Saturday or Sunday.  But the show runs from July 13 - August 9, so if any of you feel the urge to take a short road trip to Warrensburg, I hope you can go check out the show.
Here is the announcement, and stay tuned for more.  After Warrensburg, I am hopefully headed to Raytown for the 7th Annual RAA Exhibition, where I took the 1st Place award for my painting The Artist last year.  Looking forward to this year's show!

Cristo Crucificado/Happy Birthday Velázquez

After several weeks of contemplation, studying, and working, the Crucifixion piece is completed with a few minor touch-ups and edits to finish later. 
The complete palette used for this piece was as follows:  Raw umber, burnt sienna, French ultramarine, titanium white, lapis lazuli, Venetian red, and alizarin crimson.

Cristo Crucificado
oil on canvas
40x30 inches
2013




Now, the tricky part will be to frame this piece.  It is on a larger, 1.5 inch stretcher, so a custom frame will be needed, and will probably be pricey.  But we'll worry about that later.  I am just happy the painting is finished, and hoping something good will come of it.  I'm not used to larger canvases like this, and the last thing I want is for this thing to be sitting around and simply being a show piece.  My hope is, and has always been, to sell everything I paint.

So one bit of fun news, to change the subject, is that today is the observed birthday of my favorite Master, Diego de Velázquez.  I just finished a fantastic book about him and his work called Velazquez - The Technique of Genius.  It is authored by Jonathan Brown, the foremost expert of Velázquez as a historical figure, and Carmen Garrido, an expert of Velázquez's technique as a painter.  So the book discusses both the historical context, and the materials and techniques that Velázquez used for 30 of his works.  Like I said, it is a magnificent resource and it was great to learn so much more about him as an artist, and the approach he took in painting those awesome works.


So anyway, more to come soon.  Later on I will be posting my next exhibition announcement, so stay tuned.